B8 S4 project thread

[Simon]

Well she has arrived this morning and to say I am please is just a tiny understatement

Apologies for the crappy auction pictures - mine are to big to upload at the moment.
this is the damage

And that is literally it, suspension arms are all good, chassis is perfectly straight, none of the airbags went off even the crashbar looks perfectly fine. I've checked the spec and it has B&O sound, ADS and Sport Diff so super pleased about that, colour is moonlight blue metallic.

I found an ID badge in the boot and managed to track down the owner (second owner actually) and sent him an email, he was nice enough to reply and it turns out it was stolen off his drive in Surrey and crashed into a lamppost in Wales.

Service record looks good and matches up with the milage of 48k showing on the dash and having taken it for a quick spin up the road and back it drives really well.

I can start ordering parts now - watch this space!

Simon

 

[cmdv]

Nice been really considering doing something like this but I don't yet have a garage!
Looking forward to see what you do

 

[Simon]

I have a garage but it is full of crap, this will all need to be done on the drive but as it is pretty much bolt off and bolt on it should be fine, I have a mate that paints so he will be doing that for me. How do you tell what version of MMI you have?

 

[cmdv]

ah damn I need a friend that does paint too, haha!! You can check out this guide here should work out what MMI you have but with B&O I suspect you might have a 3G MMI High variation, dependent if you have satnav or not.

 

[Simon]

ah then I think I have 3g MMI High, I've got the little joystick thing and Satnav. it has Dab too if that makes a difference

 

[Booboo]

Don't forget to buy a stop lock if it's keyless !

 

[Pie-eyedpiper]

Back in the '90s I unwittingly bought an Audi 80 quattro that had been a cat 2 write off, and rebuilt
I was gutted when I found out, but I contacted the previous owner who lived near Headingly cricket ground. The car had been parked on the street, and one morning a joy rider came round a corner and hit 5 cars, the 80 being one. The panel repair and paintjob made it BER and written off.

Some real bargains to be had, just have to get over the write off stigma.

 

[Simon]

fortunately it is not keyless, the other advantage I have is that my car port and garage are at a level below the house so the distance between the pantry where they keys are kept and the car is huge.

 

[Simon]

first order placed...

 

[Simon]

had a chance to get a bit more of a look around the car between meetings this afternoon, it looks like it was subjected to a stinger, the rear tyre is torn open and the alloy is damage, and the front wheel on the same side has damage to the rim of the wheel and through the sidewall. That probably accounts for the low speed impact and why the damage is so low and none of the airbags went of.

I already had my eye on a set on 19x9 et33 wheels anyway so will just pull the trigger on those and get the 18's repaired and fitted with winter tyres.

been tracking down parts for the rebuild this evening which is proving a little tricker than I had hoped, if I stayed B8 it would be much easier!

Simon

 

[RyanJonS4]

Looks like you got a belter there with the spec, especially being an avant. It’s the best colour as well, once fully polished and coated it comes to life on a sunny day and people always think it’s black when overcast.

what interior trim does it have?

 

[Simon]

It has nappa leather with alcantara inserts, quite nice but not as nice as the super sport seats, but I need to not get carried away at the moment.

 

[Andy Butcher]

Don't forget to buy a stop lock if it's keyless !

Big rabid dog to live in it.
Failing that a Disklok steering lock.

 

[Simon]

Gave it a bit of a clean today and had a poke around

 

[Simon]

Chassis rails are perfect, as is the crash bar, some damage to the wiring which is more irritating than anything else. The worst news today is that reattaching the rearview mirror I managed to smash the windscreen.

 

[Simon]

So I think I have managed to track down all the parts I need for the rebuild with the exception of the wring loom that goes under the drivers side wing to the headlights, but I can always repair the loom if need be. Parts should be here before the weekend so with a fair wind I should be able to have a crack at swapping parts next weekend.

I am mostly on track with the budget, decided on a fresh set of tyres and the new wheels to have a full refurb from the outset rather than wait. Managed to speak to my paint guy and he is going to do the whole front end for me and possibly blend it it if we think it needs it.

 

[Simon]

well as quick as that parts have started arriving, drivers side wing and passenger side headlight so far. Offered the wing up to the car and can see no material difference in shape.

So as I see it either the b8 and b8.5 wings are the same or the seller has sold me the wrong part although I double checked the listing and it is for the facelift cars... Obviously I don't have the drivers side facelift headlight to try it yet and that is not due to arrive until Friday!

 

[jdp1962]

fortunately it is not keyless, the other advantage I have is that my car port and garage are at a level below the house so the distance between the pantry where they keys are kept and the car is huge.

Still buy a Disklok,; oh, and then get an Autowatch Ghost installed. You really want to protect this baby.

 

[Simon]

It should be safe enough, I’d rather not give anyone a reason to try and get in the house.

 

[MattS5]

Are you sure its a B8.5? (I thought one of the identifying features is that the 8.5 have rectangular fog lights, not oval)

 

[Simon]

Not sure what you mean? The car I bought is a B8, I am converting it to a B8.5 RS4 Style front end.

 

[MattS5]

Apologies, I didnt see that in the thread.
I just read you'd ordered a wing and wasnt sure it was the right one for the car, you mentioned would have been easier staying at B8 in post 10, which suggested to me you were ordering an 8.5 wing.
However, I've completely mis-read the situation, sorry to confuse!

 

[Simon]

No worries OS headlight arrived today so will be testing fitting on the car very shortly, so we will learn if wings are required to do a b8.5 conversion or not!

 

[Simon]

well I can definitively state that the B8 and B8.5 front wings are different, the distance between the top of the headlight cutout and the headlight mounting bracket are about 25-40mm different. Unfortunately for me that means I need two new headlight mounting brackets and the one I already bought needs to be resold...

Other good news is that using the ballast from my wrecked headlight on the b8.5 headlight that it works without any requirement for coding, it is just the secondary control unit for the DRL/indicators I need to find now as they are different between the two headlights.

Simon

 

[scotty76]

It should be safe enough, I’d rather not give anyone a reason to try and get in the house.

That was always my view. Take it. It's insured just leave my family alone. Not many people interested in the 1.2 Ibiza that replaced the S4.

 

[Simon]

In all honesty the S4 will be the slowest least valuable car on the drive, if they come it will be for the GTR and the Aston, but they are all just metal at the end of the day

 

[RyanJonS4]

In all honesty the S4 will be the slowest least valuable car on the drive, if they come it will be for the GTR and the Aston, but they are all just metal at the end of the day

You would think that but the main criteria for cars to use for ‘jobs’ is to be quick and have 4 doors so people can get in and out easily, hence very few 3 door golf Rs or 3 door S3’s getting stolen. An older S4 may be a bit more desirable than you give it credit for to certain tawts!

 

[Simon]

you could have a point there, but cest la vie!

anyway onto more interesting things for anyone that wants to do this swap here is a list of parts you are going to need (no I don't have all of them yet )

8K0823029H Bonnet
8K0821105J + 8K0821106J +8K0853823 + 8K0853824 Front wings and stone protector trims
8K0821135H + 8K0821136J + 8K0807283H + 8K0807284H Front wing supports and plastic mounting pieces to the end of the support brackets
8K0805607B + 8K0805608B + 8T0941453D + 8T0941454D Headlight support pieces (2pcs for each light)
2pcs 8K0807333B Headlight support mounting pieces
Bumper with grilles and fog lights. Many part numbers depending on version.
8K0807647A Grill for "splitter"
8K0941043B & 8K0941044B Xenon headlights without curve-light function. If swapped from xenon to xenon it is really easy. One change with vcds, - 8K0807081B & 8K0807611B Plastic parts for under & top of the bumper (between bumper and radiator)
8K0821171L + 8K0821172L Arch liners

that parts list has been shamelessly stolen from an Audizine thread from someone who has done this before me. I am trying to source all my parts from breakers rather than direct from Audi and all the good parts that come off my car will be sold on to puts some funds back in the pot.

My new wheels are done, they are not pristine as there was some corrosion on them that couldn't easily be removed but I am not looking for a concourse car, just a usable daily driver that can take the dog and do the tip run etc

The tyres will need replacing with some proper ones (probably MPS4 as that is what I use on the GTR) but that can wait until the car goes back on the road in a few weeks time.

Simon

 

[Nitro_CR]

My new wheels are done, they are not pristine as there was some corrosion on them that couldn't easily be removed but I am not looking for a concourse car, just a usable daily driver that can take the dog and do the tip run etcView attachment 202965

The wheels look good enough to me! Looking forward to seeing how the build progresses and intrigued to see how the front end looks once you've finished the complete facelift rebuild. Bet it was a relief that there wasn't more damage lurking when you received the car!
My girlfriend bought a 63 plate Mini Cooper D from Copart sight unseen, ended up getting £4k off retail and the only thing wrong with it was a cracked front bumper. Deals to be had

 

[Simon]

Yeah I am pleased but was confident from the pictures I could make it work. If I stayed b8 I could do it much much cheaper but with the plan to keep it for a good while I may as well go for what I like from the outset. The wheels are bad and it isn’t super obvious but close up you can see it.

you do have to be careful with copart they certainly have their share of horror stories coming out of their auctions...

hopefully better picture of one of the wheels.

 

[RyanJonS4]

Wheels look good! I’m running the same at the minute but in 20” off a q5

 

[RyanJonS4]

 

[Simon]

Looks great! This is a daily so wanted a bit more sidewall for comfort

 

[Pie-eyedpiper]

Are they plastic dummy screw heads like the old Speedlines?

 

[Simon]

No I think they are a proper split rim.

so today has been interesting, for anyone considering doing this trust me it is a PITA! Getting the wings off is not a straight forward process with some really tricky screws to get to. Managed to get the new wings mocked up and trial fitted the lights, I think I may need to change the slam panel as with the lights bolted in they don’t line up correctly with the wings. It is a bit irritating as I was hoping not to need to change that.

some pics

 

[Simon]

One of the other things I got done today was fitting the new wheels, this through up a fairly significant problem though, see if you can spot the problem...

At least that explains why it was running so low! I guess it is a reasonable excuse for a cheeky set of lowering springs all round

anyway got the wheels on so I can roll it around a bit easier

 

[Pie-eyedpiper]

I like the colour of your replacement wing. Not going to get the rest of your car resprayed that colour?

 

[Simon]

No room in the budget for a full respray, could possibly go for a wrap but tbh I doubt it.

 

[Simon]

Bumper and bonnet have arrived this morning, can't wait till lunchtime when I can get them unboxed and have a look at them, and I've ordered some H&R 20mm lowering springs, after watching a few youtube videos on how to fit them I've found a Audi Specialist garage in Nottingham to do that for me - at just £160 for the job it is not worth my time to struggle with it!

 

[Simon]