1980 Audi 4000 Garage Find/Estate Sale: Only 11305 miles!

[MickR]

Just wandered into the Audi area and read your whole thread and looked at the pics. Love it! What is the name of the color? Is it metallic? Good find, hope you enjoy many more miles.

[sgjii]

MickR,

Thank you.

The color is Indiana Red and yes it is Metallic.

Just a few minor tweaks like the new water pump & belts, fuel accumulator and she will be ready for the summer. I am looking forward to a fun summer and a few thousand more miles.

Stephen

[safetyguy62]

Now I am the proud owner of a 1980 Audi 4000 2Door Sedan. (PICTURES at www.sbfiles.com/audi4000)


I was in the Army in 1980 on orders for Germany. I had just bought a 1980 Honda Wagon because I was going to Germany soon and I thought the car would be good for Europe. It was not. Honda was about the only car company that made engines that worked well with unleaded gas and could not be brought to Germany and burn regular gas, they would burn up. The dealer also sold new Audi's! I looked over the inventory and bought a cream/yellowish Audi 4000 S/5 Cly. When I got to Germany I made friends with a German family. Reinhold worked for VW making the Audi. He took my car to the factory with him and three weeks later I got it back. It had been Germanized! I could cruise at 170 MPH all day on the Autobahn. I loved that car. After three years we went back to Ft. Sill Oklahoma. Driving home one day I stopped in at the local dairy queen just down the street from the house. Somewhere just north of us it was one of those famous Oklahoma downpours and the drainage ditch next to the dairy queen filled and overflowed its banks in a matter on seconds. I had left the car running, windows open, and the water just picked it up and down stream it went. The car was recovered and the insurance payed to replace the engine and transmission that had been destroyed. The car just never ran right, at least for me after that. I sold the car and bought a 1980 Fleetwood Cadillac. The wife was in Real Estate and that was the perfect car for her. I often wonder if that car is still in Lawton Oklahoma somewhere. I do not have pictures, divorce destroyed them. I cannot find any paperwork with numbers on them. The dealership is long gone too. I miss that car. Yours is beautiful.

[Maggiolone]

^ Huh?

[sgjii]

Sorry to hear about the flood taking your Audi.

Your post must have pushed this back to the top as I got a Statcounter report with an unusually high page count, which made me take notice and come check the thread.

Although I made it to Carlisle, PA for the 2012 Import and Kit show this summer, my summer has been swamped with work and business travel. My car projects and especially Vortex postings have fallen way behind.

I have some new photos and updates I need to post to all three of my vehicle threads, I have been off the grid for too long.

Thanks for bringing my attention back

On a side note, there is a cream 4000 2 door that looks to be in great shape on eBay currently. If I remember it is a 4 cylinder though...

Stephen

[teach2]

Keep the updates coming, Stephen!

[moyaled]

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Any guy who also use these lamps ,I like to share the experience .Thank you !

Nauman 10-12-2012. attached comparision of the halogen picture & LED .

[sgjii]

It has been too long, but in the words of Randy Quaid's character in Independence Day, "I'M BAAAACK!"

Well, I have been working way too much and doing way too little with my project cars for the last year. I have registered for Carlisle 2013, just finished a major work project and once again have the time and motivation to work on the Audi.

I pulled the cover off, connected the battery and she fired right up! Time to start working on tweaks and upgrades before Carlisle. Genevieve just crested 15K miles with the two commutes to work since waking her from her winter slumber.

Last fall the car developed a fuel leak and I had to drive the Mercedes to the Columbus Audi GTG Spook Run. First thing to address this year was the fuel leak. The line between the high pressure pump outlet and the fuel accumulator was cracked and spraying Upon further inspection the culprit became obvious. Aside from the age of the line, the fuel accumulator mounts seperated and had let go, this allowed the accumulator to bounce around and stress the brittle plastic and it started leaking right at the connection to the pump. I had a new/upgraded fuel line kit from MK1 Autohaus for my Scirocco and all of the fittings were correct. The line length was a bit of an issue but I got creative with routing the lines and moving the pump back a couple of inches in the bracket. What a pain, the leaking fuel had softened the undercoating and everything I touched was a black tar goop mess! I went through half a box of Nitrile Gloves and a Saturday.

Upgrades for this year will include mechanical and cosmetics.

COSMETICS

I found a New In Box, New Old Stock Kamei front spoiler for the car. It has a hand signed and dated inspection sticker from 1983. It will nicely finish off the front valence and hide some of the sins of parking lot curb stop damage from the original owner.

For the rear is a trunk lip spoiler. I was going to do an OEM 4KQ trunk spoiler but hated the idea of drilling the trunk deck. I ordered the small lip style by length and it attaches with gold ole' 3M tape. Since the Kamei is unpainted and black, I left the lip spoiler "natural" as well.

The exhaust has been an "eye sore" for me and I have been debating a remedy ever since I got her running. Not the highest tech solution but I painted the rear muffler Hi-Temp flat black to help it hide/blend and I added a mass auto parts store chrome exhaust tip (yeah, I know... china special). Might not be Borla or Ansa but better than before and inexpensive.

I am exploring some wheel center cap ideas to fit the Mesh X wheels and dress them up a little beyond the bland cap they have now. We will have to see if the new caps will fit reasonably...

Lastly I plan to have the windows tinted. A nice 35% smoke window tint (shhh don't tell the Ohio Highway Patrol, they think 50% is the limit). I like the way it looks, it keeps things cooler and it will protect the fragile, aged interior from UV damage.

MECHANICALS

Good news for this summer's heat is that at the end of last year, I had the AC serviced and it now blows snow from the vents, well not literally but the air is nicely chilled.

It took 6 months to get them and they have been setting in the corner of my living room for another 6 months but it is time for a set of springs. I started by looking for H&R then Vogtland and then Nuespeed and Eibach, No Joy, All discontinued. I had not heard of or used B&G Springs before but they were the only player left in the market and they received the thumbs up from a local Audi enthusiast. They are not a stocking item and were a production order item from overseas. I ordered, they were put on the schedule to be made and then came on the slow boat across the ocean. Since I like the 4000 chassis and I have also acquired a Coupe GT, I was afraid I would never have another opportunity for springs once these were discontinued and it looked like that was a real possibility... I ordered two more sets! I ordered nearly six months ago and they showed up last week. I plan to mate them up with some Saches/BOGE shocks and that should cure the mushy ride. The shocks are rotten from age and the springs have NO performance character to them at all. I affectionately call the current suspension setup the "Mashed Potato One" suspension package LOL.

The suspension upgrade is under way and the entire front is down. The ball joints and tie rod ends are tight, as they should be for so few miles. The control arm bushings are a little questionable and since they have always been a weak link I have 4 new ones. I dropped the entire front suspension, cradle and all. Everything will get wire brushed, cleaned up and given a fresh coat of chassis black paint before re-assembly (thanks Eastwood). I also have new strut mounts since the original ones were soo crusty.

A question I would pose to my fellow Audi folks, since I am not changing the tie rod ends or ball joints nor disturbing their alignment, should I have the car re-aligned from a spring change? I am guessing the alignment will likely change with the lower stance of the new springs.

Check out last nights photos: www.sbfiles.com/audi4000

[sgjii]

Made more progress last night. More pics at www.sbfiles.com/audi4000

Rear suspension is buttoned up. Front parts are cleaned, painted and ready for re-assembly.

I did run into a problem, well two actually. First problem was minor and just a pain in the ass to fix. When I was taking the rear shock mounts loose, I dropped the top nut and washer and lost it behind the gas tank. It went right between the tank and back seat mounting panel. I fished around with a telescoping magnet and got it caught on something and it broke off... Now I had missing pieces and a potential rattler lost in the abyss. I bit the bullet and emptied the trunk. I took the spare tire out, trunk fascia out and then loosened the gas tank. I was able to retrieve all pieces but it was a serious time suck on what should have been such a simple rear shock change.

The next problem was much bigger and start Wednesday evening. I have done control arm bushings on later 4000/B2 chassis cars and they can be stuck and challenging but doable. This car has the early control arm and bushing style. Getting them out was rough but now the little bastards won't go back in. I greased, I sprayed with silicone, I talked sweet to them, I swore at them, I tried gentle persuasion and ultimately brute force... No Joy. What to do? When all else fails, read the directions!

I broke out the Bentley Manual and found reference to specialty tool number 3039. It appears to be a funnel like sleeve that the bushing presses into which compresses the lip to allow it to pass into the control arm, of course I don't own specialty tool number 3039. I (wrongly) thought that by sleeping on it, I may have some great epiphany about getting them pressed in -or- some help from a friend -or- just another fresh try that was not at 11PM might make the magic happen... yeah right.

Google and forum searches lead me to Zelenda to find the tool is $95 plus shipping and God only knows if it is in stock and how long to get it. No control arms are a show stopper. This is definitely looking to affect my plan of going to the Columbus Audi GTG Saturday and starting to jeopardize the trip to Carlise, all over some $3 bushings.

I then started looking for complete control arms and found some on eBay but in California. About $70/ea makes it start looking like new arms with new bushings and fresh paint was likely how I should have approached it in the first place and not much more money than the tool. Now I am back to long distance and shipping time.

Thursday/Yesterday morning I resigned myself to the fact that I need to order either control arms or the tool and worse yet, suck up the overnight shipping to keep things on schedule. Instead of using my phone for internet research, in the dark, from the tailgate of the pickup, I sat down at my office computer and started looking around, then I found it! Hans Auto Parts www.hansautoparts.com was east coast in NC, had the arms in stock and holy smokes they were only $15/ea. I still sucked it up on $120 overnight shipping but hey the arms were so cheap it was still a deal. I looked around their website and they have some pretty cool VW/Audi parts for super prices. It is worth a visit.

I hate to utter the words (or type them), China has become less and less of a "bad word" and source of poor quality. Heck, most of what we can find in car parts across multiple makers/brands are from China as aftermarket and damn if they aren't OE parts in a lot of cases now. I think the control arms are Grazzmetal brand, and the only choice in the market if you can't find New Old Stock genuine VW/Audi. They also had ball joints and tie rod ends for great prices and I decided to just go for those as well. All told, I bought two control arms w/bushings, two ball joints, two tie rod ends, sway bar bushings, strut top nuts & overnight shipping for $179.68 My only disappointment would be no bolts/hardware with the ball joints but for $4/ea how can I complain too loudly?

I just can't shut up about my amazement at $15.00 control arms, $4.00 Ball joints & $5.00 tie rod ends!!!

Hopefully tonight, I get her back on the ground and rolling on the new suspension parts. I will update again soon.

Stephen

[sgjii]

A very productive weekend.

Finished up the suspension late Friday, early Saturday morning. Had the car aligned and then met the Columbus Audi GTG folks at City Barbecue in Gahanna.

The suspension came together great. I have to admit that I was a little worried when I compared the new B&G front spring to the stock one, uncompressed there was almost a six inch difference.

I think I now know why B&G didn't list this car in the application guide. I was reading in the Bentley Manual that there were two different style springs, one that was the same diameter coils top to bottom and one where the last coil on each end was tighter/smaller diameter. Fortunately I had the later style so my spring seats and perches were correct for the B&Gs, lucky me!

Everything is scraped, painted, fresh, tidy and back together. The sway bar was challenging to remount though. I figured out that the suspension had to be compressed with the weight of the car to re-install the bar. I placed jack stands under the ball joints and let the lift down, thank you Sir Isaac Newton.

I also did a little "hidden" body work on the front valence where the previous owner had hit a curb stop. Those Harbor Freight body hammers really do work! I was quite proud of my metal smoothing skills and took some photos of the primer but was so excited to install the spoiler that I forgot to take painted photos. Probably all for the better since the paint mix was significantly off in color. Instead of "Indiana Red" I think the boys at Sherwin Williams mixed "Dry Bloody Scab" for the color... The couple of touched up sots on the door look better than nothing but I am definitely disappointed in the very dark color differential. It is un-catalyzed single stage enamel so I figure it will simply polish of with some compound when I try again for a better color match of touch up paint. The front valence on the other hand is hidden behind the spoiler and the work was more for anti-rust than cosmetics.

The car has COMPLETELY different road manners. It now feels like a sports car rather than a mush wagon, Sunday geriatric driver. When accelerating, the nose no longer rises so high that small aircraft warnings are issued, the car stays nice and level. Taking the freeway ramp at 50+MPH is no longer a suicide mission. Aside from the lack of control that the Automatic offers versus a 5spd, it drives out quite respectably. She will hold her own even better in this fall's October Spook Run.

I also like that the car just looks better with the lower stance. The NOS Kamei spoiler has been a major improvement as well, the nose finally looks "finished" rather than like something is missing.

On my way to the Audi GTG, the $10 exhaust tip silently disappeared on I270. Apologies if it ended up in some poor sap's grill or windshield, damn Chinese junk. I took it as an omen that it was not meant to be so I just painted the rest of the exhaust tip matte black and moved on.

As for wheel center caps I mentioned previously, I had some really cool red/carbon fiber look BBS caps ordered but they will not fit the wheels on the car. Close but too loose, so no cosmetic change there.

After a great weekend and about 200 miles on the new suspension, I got up this morning and drove her to work, Just Because I Could! Well that and it was sooo fun to do so. Actually made me smile on this morning's commute rather than pre-occupying my mind with fantasies of employing the "Pit Maneuver" on the lousy drivers that surround me at 7AM.

I plan to get the windows tinted Wednesday with the best window tinter I have ever found, kudos to Mike Riley at Ziebart Reynoldsburg, OH. He tinted my 2013 Chevrolet Cruze and even though it is not a vintage Audi, VW or Porsche, I am just as picky and meticulous with it. He is conscientious, careful and downright a true craftsman. There is a lot of crappy window tint out there and any schmuck can call himself a tinter (hell I have even tinted a couple of cars myself) but Mike is the master!

Next, I re-install the back seat, wash & detail and she is ready for Carlisle!

This coming Mother's Day weekend, I plan to do the wash & detail followed by a photo shoot at my parent's farm. They have a beautiful lake and covered bridge in the backyard for a nice back drop.

[case m]

Wow. Amazing car and history. The guys on the quattroworld 4000 forum would love to see this if you've not posted it there. http://forums.quattroworld.com/4000/

[xMIKEx]

STephan

Car looks great! Cant wait to see it at carlisle this year again.. I had the 84 4ksq with bbs rm's last year.. This year Ill be rolling in a 82 4k diesel..

Funny thing is last year I also got a brand new in box kamei front spoiler!! With all documents and stickers




I wasnt sure about mounting it to the diesel but maybe I will just to steal your thunder

Have any pics of how you mounted it?

Mike

[sgjii]

Wow. Amazing car and history. The guys on the quattroworld 4000 forum would love to see this if you've not posted it there. http://forums.quattroworld.com/4000/

I have been considering expanding over to Quattroworld and/or Audifans forums. I guess since I started with my Sciroccos on VW Vortex, I have just stayed in one "sand box".

[sgjii]

STephan

Car looks great! Cant wait to see it at carlisle this year again.. I had the 84 4ksq with bbs rm's last year.. This year Ill be rolling in a 82 4k diesel..

Funny thing is last year I also got a brand new in box kamei front spoiler!! With all documents and stickers

I wasnt sure about mounting it to the diesel but maybe I will just to steal your thunder

Have any pics of how you mounted it?

Mike

I found mine on eBay from a company in up-state NY. they had one listed for a 4cyl as well but it looked a little different than the one I received that was specified 5cyl. I probably should have bought it also and kind of regret not doing so.

As for mounting, I did not photo the holes I drilled. I drilled 6 holes as it did not mate to any existing holes in the apron. I used a 9/32 bit and nylon plugs/nuts that I found in the Oreilly Auto Parts fastener section. They were kind of like license plate fasteners but were packs of an assortment from Dorman (click here). It took two packs to get 6 plugs that fit round holes the same size as most were meant for square holes. I looked through my tool box and couldn't find any square drill bits...

[sgjii]

Mike did the window tint last night. Sublime!

I love the look of the tint, the attention to detail that was employed and the UV protection it will provide for the interior.

Check out the photos:
www.sbfiles.com/audi4000

[dat521gatherer]

I love this car. Keep up the good work You are doing an excellent job.

I picked up a 4000 4dr a few months ago. Not nearly as nice as your 2dr though.

[gt-ire]

Love it!

[sgjii]

Last night I added a couple of last minute touches. Back in the day we just called them H1s and H4s but the "cool kids" now call them "E Codes", so I now have new E Codes installed.

I also have not been happy with the water temp the car runs. Other 5cyl cars I have had, my two previous Coupe GTs, a 4kq and even a Quantum GL5, all ran hot. They would run at nearly 3/4 on the temp gauge and the fan kicks on about one needle above the 3/4 mark. Maybe it is my domestic ownership but it was always my belief that they should run a little closer to half way on the gauge and the fan not run so damn much when in traffic. This 4000 has been no different on coolant temp so I decided to chase the issue.

I first tried drilling a couple of relief holes in the thermostat flange to allow some constant coolant flow but saw no change. I then found an alternate temperature thermostat through Autozone. Instead of 180F it is rated at 160F. The box was Duralast branded but the unit itself was stamped Motorad. I installed that and drove it for a couple of days. Partial success, it now ran cooler and near middle gauge on the open road but the temp would still rise to 3/4 and run the fan almost constantly in town and it hasn't even been that warm here. Further research took me to a "Warmer Climate" fan switch that was about 10F colder closure temp.

Finally, I have an Audi 5cyl 10V engine that runs at middle gauge and doesn't crest above 2/3 gauge. The fan seems to cycle much less than before. My theory is that since it is not allowed to run at such a hot temp it doesn't cascade to a tipping point in temperature and isn't as hard to get back down to a lower temp with the electric fan.

My next problem is concern about making it to Carlisle, health wise. My neck has been killing me and I am having pain and finger numbness on my right side/arm from a pinched nerve. I haven't slept for crap for 3 nights now and I am running on coffee and 5 hour energy... I am really concerned about the 5 hour drive to Carlisle. I see the chiropractor again tonight and hope for some significant improvement before tomorrow morning...

[Maggiolone]

Last night I added a couple of last minute touches. Back in the day we just called them H1s and H4s but the "cool kids" now call them "E Codes", so I now have new E Codes installed.

I also have not been happy with the water temp the car runs. Other 5cyl cars I have had, my two previous Coupe GTs, a 4kq and even a Quantum GL5, all ran hot. They would run at nearly 3/4 on the temp gauge and the fan kicks on about one needle above the 3/4 mark. Maybe it is my domestic ownership but it was always my belief that they should run a little closer to half way on the gauge and the fan not run so damn much when in traffic. This 4000 has been no different on coolant temp so I decided to chase the issue.

I first tried drilling a couple of relief holes in the thermostat flange to allow some constant coolant flow but saw no change. I then found an alternate temperature thermostat through Autozone. Instead of 180F it is rated at 160F. The box was Duralast branded but the unit itself was stamped Motorad. I installed that and drove it for a couple of days. Partial success, it now ran cooler and near middle gauge on the open road but the temp would still rise to 3/4 and run the fan almost constantly in town and it hasn't even been that warm here. Further research took me to a "Warmer Climate" fan switch that was about 10F colder closure temp.

Finally, I have an Audi 5cyl 10V engine that runs at middle gauge and doesn't crest above 2/3 gauge. The fan seems to cycle much less than before. My theory is that since it is not allowed to run at such a hot temp it doesn't cascade to a tipping point in temperature and isn't as hard to get back down to a lower temp with the electric fan.

My next problem is concern about making it to Carlisle, health wise. My neck has been killing me and I am having pain and finger numbness on my right side/arm from a pinched nerve. I haven't slept for crap for 3 nights now and I am running on coffee and 5 hour energy... I am really concerned about the 5 hour drive to Carlisle. I see the chiropractor again tonight and hope for some significant improvement before tomorrow morning...

Usually a pinched (sciatic) nerve might give you leg pain over arm tingling.

I'd stop seeing that chiro and get yourself to a cardiologist or neurologist and have some imaging done. At the least, an EKG.

[sgjii]

It is my cervical spine area, around C4/C5/C6. I am paying the piper for auto accidents of the past. I have had wrist pain and finger numbness previously and thought it was carpel tunnel related but was informed from x-rays and diagnosis, that it was cervical spine related. This time it started in the wrist but has escalated to encompass from the shoulder to the fingers. If it were just the numbness I could handle it but the burning and aching is brutal.

Walking and standing are the best but I can't lay down or sit for long periods. The primary issue that kept me from Carlisle this year was the lack of sleep for the preceding 4days and second place was I didn't think I could hack the 5+hrs in the car to get there, when 45min is about tops I can do at the moment.

Sorry I wasn't there this year and it was a tough decision.

I do appreciate the concern from all and yes I have had a cardio work up.