Break, Bale or Bounce back?

Another update.

During the week removed the starter motor, stripped, cleaned, lubed and refitted: no more squeal! That, I have to say, makes a massive difference to the whole feel of the car. All for about 10p Best of all, the starter is much easier to remove than the previous 1.4 petrol's one.

Could resist no longer: fitted club stickers, A2 20yr anniversary stickers and A2OC 'RS' style side badges (which are perfect as just lift that big slab of dark colour on the side). Delighted with all of these.

As per elsewhere, oil pressure light came up on Friday. Long and short, got it home on assumption that sender most likely culprit. Borrowed a pressure gauge the next day, oil pressure behaving perfectly. Fitted new sender (Haas as that's all I could get from Euros at short notice, although to be fair that's not a terrible make). Now all fine.

Fuel light: I've got quite used to that flashing up randomly. Suddenly I realised it's not done it for a couple of days. Might be that the fuel level has gone down and away from an iffy part of the sender / cluster / whatever. Will brim the tank this week and see if it returns.

Did a gear-oil change on Saturday night: old oil looked, well, old. It didn't look metallic, milky or smell too awful though. Nevertheless, even the standard Euro's GL4 75-90 Fully Synthetic I used resulted in a noticeably improved change. Will see if I can lube the tower at some point as well and call it a day at that point. Box itself feels absolutely fine.

By same token, driver's door is random as to whether it triggers interior light etc. Sometimes it'll behave correctly when manually locking (and trigger central locking), sometimes it won't. When it won't, the internal locking rocker switch fails to work. I'm assuming door module or A-post loom. Oddly, today the car's in a fantastic mood, so it's all started working again. Have decided to use purely manual locking for a while in hope any sulky micro-switches might get some exercise. Failing that, I see I need to remove module and check the switches and for dry joints. If that fails, look at door loom.

Need to add 'noises, rattles, creaks and groans' to the jobs list, as took it on a long run yesterday and the interior had that horrible 'not quite solid' very used car feel. There are so many very slight noises it's going to take a while to get them all gone. In the past if I can't get on top of them I've removed all suspect trims, added in felt where I can and then use little dobs of Wurth Bond and Seal as it goes back together. These stop any creaks or rattles but I don't use so much as to prevent dismantling in the future. Noises: I hate them ?

I have to say, although the car feels very different to the 1.4AUA petrol I had before, it was still fun to drive the length of the A272 yesterday. The re-mapped engine really pulls it along well and it was very impressive up some of those lovely twisty uphill drags you get on this route. So success in most regards: it started, got there. Started again, got back and entertained in both directions. With caveats, I'll call that a win for its official maiden voyage.

Latest total:


Car £250
Wheels: £100
Fuel: £110
Valeting materials: £10
Rear springs: £33
Key cutting (no chips, manual locking only): £25
Rear bump stops (pair): £14
Various paints / abrasives from stock: £10.
MOT: £37
Air freshener: £3
Parts taken from Lasi (price reduction to dealer as result of): £100
Timing belt (bare), Dayco: £35
Oil Filter: £4
Oil let's say roughly £25.
Air filter: £10
Deproman wiper arm rebuild: £35
Deproman check-strap rebuild x1: £25
Deproman electronic services: £35
Postage with returns for above: £22
Old set eBay mudflaps: £5
Rear window repair: £0
Webasto exhaust repair: £0
Club regalia £28
Wiper blade £15
GummiPfleger sealant restorer (1/3rd bottle) £3.50
Roof seals strip (1/3rd roll) £3.50
Used Parts (hatch trim, 2x remotes, right hand vent, wheel centre puller) £35
Rear spring bases £13
eBay A2 carpet set in black: £11
Thermostat £9
Temperature sender £12
Oil pressure sensor: £12
Gear Oil £7

(Less theoretical value of spare 15"'s (£75)

Running total at this point: £963

Still to go at this point:


Climate control.
Centre vent repair. Wanted: vent lever! I think the rest looks O.K., just need the actual lever. Will be nice not to use a pencil to adjust it ...
Flat and polish or have painted the bonnet (only cleaned so far).
Upgrade main beam bulbs possibly.
Split and clean headlights, re-polish.

P1020742sm.jpg
 
Rusty, it strikes me that you’re not bonding with this little beast (yet, at least) and that she may be up for sale at some point?

If so, rest assured in your calculations that to a discerning buyer, the time it’s spent in your care has added more than your total outlay to its value proposition.

EDIT: Also, do you have a link for those carpet mats?
 
Last edited:
gills said:
Great work and a lovely photo - you wouldn't know it still had some issues!
Click to expand...

Thank you: I'd just pushed it the last 30 miles ?

No, to be fair, it didn't miss a beat and I drove it quite hard later on the outward journey as got caught up with an M3 and some hot Merc of some flavour. They certainly weren't going flat out (clearly) but were 'making progress' and the little A2 was keeping them in sight. Being narrow is quite an advantage on such a winding route as you can get your vanishing point so much further ahead, plus can smooth the bends a bit.

I certainly returned home in the evening feeling that, although it still has a few charming little foibles to resolve, it'll absolutely start and then get you where ever you want to go. A long trip to see the family in Durham for instance.
 
dj_efk said:
Rusty, it strikes me that you’re not bonding with this little beast (yet, at least) and that she may be up for sale at some point?

If so, rest assured in your calculations that to a discerning buyer, the time it’s spent in your care has added more than your total outlay to its value proposition.

EDIT: Also, do you have a link for those carpet mats?
Click to expand...

I'd say that's fair: it might turn into a grower but it's been a fair old journey and quite early on I realised this was never going to be a lovely example. It's not as though I picked up a potentially really nice car with three or four particular things to tackle. This is one of those where everywhere you look and everything you touch was nasty. It's at a pretty good level now though and would do someone well if I sold. My thought is if it paid all costs and the price of the VCDS (£305) that would probably do. I'll carry on using it and see how I get on with it!

Having said that, everyone that sees it wants to buy it, and I'm talking to a club member about an FSI (yes, another 'too good to scrap?' car). We'll see, there's no pressure to do anything straight away.

Here are those carpets: black only but good value and these are the second set I've had from them. Good service too:

rover.ebay.com

AUDI A2 2000 - 2005 Tailored Carpet Car Floor Mats in Black 4pc Set 8 Clips for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for AUDI A2 2000 - 2005 Tailored Carpet Car Floor Mats in Black 4pc Set 8 Clips at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
rover.ebay.com
 
Well, a bit of an upset that I didn't see coming!

First, an update as to how things were going: after kicking and fighting almost all the way through the build, it started to turn into the magical self-healing car:.

Fuel warning light started behaving: brim full, no warning and no warning right the way through to pretty low (I chickened out of running lower than 1/4 full).
Driver's door module: I had assumed it was a dry joint leaving it intermittent, but the more the car was used the better it got. After a week or so, it behaved perfectly and never gave a problem again. Can only guess the microswitch was grubby from standing around.
Many of the creaks settled down: I can only think that having stood for so long it needed some of the plastics to be jiggled about and reset a bit. Anyway, with one bit of felt, and I confess, a moderation of tyre pressures, it was much quieter inside.
The alternator light that had come up at the very start of the build never appeared again and battery voltage was perfect.

I did put on an offside front ARB drp link to get rid of a noise that had appeared.

To date I've done a little over 600 miles and it proved to be very good. A bit of a grower actually: although I still that diesel hilariously noisy on start-up, it has such an inevitability that it 'will' start on that first compression and then run forever that I grew to really like it. Tank number one was 64mpg, number 2 was 62. Former was a spirited long drive on A roads, the latter all short journey's. I have no doubt I'd have got into the 70's on a steady run.

So all is good: bonding well, cheap and fun, looks great: nice outcome so far.

Out of the blue I got a call from the trader I sold Lasi to (the 1.4 mpi): his sister's having Lasi but his ad's still running. He's got a chap that had set his heart on an A2 but didn't want to go through the usual 'round the houses' of finding one. Would I consider selling?

Yes I would: I've really bonded with the Devon car, and obviously there's a big part of me in it. BUT, I'd not rush for an OSS again, there was still more work to be done (none of which bothered the buyer) and here was a chap that clearly loved it. What to do?

Sell, it turns out. The buyer was over the moon and has already said he might pair it with a petrol one as well. Turned out he'd always fancied one (or two), but only now have his stars aligned to get one. So it's gone to a fantastic home and although I'm genuinely sad to see it go, it was the right call to make I'm sure.

Thank you to all that have followed, and contributed to this thread. As there's an FSi project waiting in the wings and I still haven't manged to back-to-back a petrol with a diesel, I'll try to find a non-OSS TDi75 project to look at. As I've got those lightweight wheels, I feel a super-frugal one coming on.

Final tally:

Car £250
Wheels: £100
Fuel: £110
Valeting materials: £10
Rear springs: £33
Key cutting (no chips, manual locking only): £25
Rear bump stops (pair): £14
Various paints / abrasives from stock: £10.
MOT: £37
Air freshener: £3
Parts taken from Lasi (price reduction to dealer as result of): £100
Timing belt (bare), Dayco: £35
Oil Filter: £4
Oil let's say roughly £25.
Air filter: £10
Deproman wiper arm rebuild: £35
Deproman check-strap rebuild x1: £25
Deproman electronic services: £35
Postage with returns for above: £22
Old set eBay mudflaps: £5
Rear window repair: £0
Webasto exhaust repair: £0
Club regalia £28
Wiper blade £15
GummiPfleger sealant restorer (1/3rd bottle) £3.50
Roof seals strip (1/3rd roll) £3.50
Used Parts (hatch trim, 2x remotes, right hand vent, wheel centre puller) £35
Rear spring bases £13
eBay A2 carpet set in black: £11
Thermostat £9
Temperature sender £12
Oil pressure sensor: £12
Gear Oil £7
ARB drop link £14.50 (TRW)

(Less theoretical value of spare 15"'s (£75)

Final total: £977.50

Isn't it amazing how it tots up? No labour there obviously, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was 75-100 hours spent on it, and there was further to go as well.
 
Last edited:
Rusty911 said:
Well, a bit of an upset that I didn't see coming!

First, an update as to how things were going: after kicking and fighting almost all the way through the build, it started to turn into the magical self-healing car:.

Fuel warning light started behaving: brim full, no warning and no warning right the way through to pretty low (I chickened out of running lower than 1/4 full).
Driver's door module: I had assumed it was a dry joint leaving it intermittent, but the more the car was used the better it got. After a week or so, it behaved perfectly and never gave a problem again. Can only guess the microswitch was grubby from standing around.
Many of the creaks settled down: I can only think that having stood for so long it needed some of the plastics to be jiggled about and reset a bit. Anyway, with one bit of felt, and I confess, a moderation of tyre pressures, it was much quieter inside.
The alternator light that had come up at the very start of the build never appeared again and battery voltage was perfect.

To date I've done a little over 600 miles and it proved to be very good. A bit of a grower actually: although I still that diesel hilariously noisy on start-up, it has such an inevitability that it 'will' start on that first compression and then run forever that I grew to really like it. Tank number one was 64mpg, number 2 was 62. Former was a spirited long drive on A roads, the latter all short journey's. I have no doubt I'd have got into the 70's on a steady run.

So all is good: bonding well, cheap and fun, looks great: nice outcome so far.

Out of the blue I got a call from the trader I sold Lasi to (the 1.4 mpi): his sister's having Lasi but his ad's still running. He's got a chap that had set his heart on an A2 but didn't want to go through the usual 'round the houses' of finding one. Would I consider selling?

Yes I would: I've really bonded with the Devon car, and obviously there's a big part of me in it. BUT, I'd not rush for an OSS again, there was still more work to be done (none of which bothered the buyer) and here was a chap that clearly loved it. What to do?

Sell, it turns out. The buyer was over the moon and has already said he might pair it with a petrol one as well. Turned out he'd always fancied one (or two), but only now have his stars aligned to get one. So it's gone to a fantastic home and although I'm genuinely sad to see it go, it was the right call to make I'm sure.

Thank you to all that have followed, and contributed to this thread. As there's an FSi project waiting in the wings and I still haven't manged to back-to-back a petrol with a diesel, I'll try to find a non-OSS TDi75 project to look at. As I've got those lightweight wheels, I feel a super-frugal one coming on.
Click to expand...

AHA, so this is the update you refer to in @rosscanning ’s for sale ad. Well done Rusty, out of interest are you at liberty to comment on whether you got all your money back that you’d invested? Clearly, in terms of hours of your life, it should have sold for many thousands - however I’d like to think you at least got £1000 - 1200 for your trouble?


EDIT after reading the follow-on post to this one:

Excellent result, hope you’re well pleased. It just goes to show that folk will pay a premium for a car that’s been sorted out by a proper enthusiast even if was on the knife edge in terms of viability when you got it.

Look forward to the next chapter in the series!
 
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dj_efk said:
AHA, so this is the update you refer to in @rosscanning ’s for sale ad. Well done Rusty, out of interest are you at liberty to comment on whether you got all your money back that you’d invested? Clearly, in terms of hours of your life, it should have sold for many thousands - however I’d like to think you at least got £1000 - 1200 for your trouble?
Click to expand...

Of course: I sold for £1600, but by chance I'd just brimmed it and the new owner had to get back to Essex so I also sponsored his Dartford tunnel crossing.

Therefore I guess I came out a little under £600 ahead which, frankly, I really didn't expect. I'm sure if I wanted someone to work those hours for that return I'd be up in front of some sort of tribunal, but I'm delighted. It was a challenge of a project but it really looked smashing when walking back to it. The little 'S-Line' style A2OC badges plus the 20yr sticker just gave a nice splash of something to break up the Cobalt.

So I'm very glad I stuck with it and to get a little dollop of pocket money to recycle into more A2 related activity is wonderful.

I never did it for the money and when pricing was aware the AC still needed doing and I never did do the balance chain assembly. I detailed both of these things fully to the new owner and he fully understood and was quite happy.
 
Wow!!

I've just joined the fold and read through this thread. It's been said before but.... what a fantastic job. This is sustainability at its best, repair, update and modify using the least possible input of raw materials.

Our society is conditioned to the environmental disaster of new cars and (possibly worse) electric cars using vast quantities of rare earth minerals with massive environmental impact 'oh, but it's zero emissions '. Seriously??!!

I love the make-do-and-mend philosophy and adopt this wherever possible.

Well done, a great effort and a great read. ?

Pete
 
A2Dreamer said:
Wow!!

I've just joined the fold and read through this thread. It's been said before but.... what a fantastic job. This is sustainability at its best, repair, update and modify using the least possible input of raw materials.

Our society is conditioned to the environmental disaster of new cars and (possibly worse) electric cars using vast quantities of rare earth minerals with massive environmental impact 'oh, but it's zero emissions '. Seriously??!!

I love the make-do-and-mend philosophy and adopt this wherever possible.

Well done, a great effort and a great read. ?

Pete
Click to expand...

Thank you Pete, my feelings on sustainability exactly.

Oh yes, and welcome to the fold!
 
Joga said:
Nice thread this, a delight to follow. Your new FSI might have its own thread soon? ;) (or did I miss it)
Click to expand...

Thank you, and no, you've not missed it! Coming soon, but there's been a flurry of other car-related things going on at Rusty Towers (and Rusty Co.), but it's waiting in the wings. As it happens, there might be another TDi heading this way as well: more on that in due course hopefully.
 
A2Z said:
Sitting on a bonnet somewhere and rubbing his grubby hands over some nicely polished paintwork!

The word 'clueless' comes to mind, could think of many more though!
Click to expand...

Could not agree more

Paul


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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A2Z said:
Sitting on a bonnet somewhere and rubbing his grubby hands over some nicely polished paintwork! ?

The word 'clueless' comes to mind, could think of many more though!
Click to expand...

I've had many a discussion with people on this topic - winds everyone up but tbh i think he does that on purpose its almost like he's playing a character
 
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