Strange question, A6 Avant into A6 Van!

[sigibbons]

Hiya im new, im a tradesman who doesnt carry alot of material so at the moment i have a vaux Astravan 2000' Mk4.
I am now doing rather alot of commuting on the motorway, the astra is getting very tiring to drive, noisy, slow and uncomfortable!

I saw how cheap c5 A6 avant's are now and had the idea of removing the rear seats, creating a flat floor and a bulkhead to separate the two front seats from the load area and having the two rear windows vinyl wrapped/painted body colour. Also having the rear door handles smothed over.

With this setup i'd have the same sort of size van as the astra but with a much more refined drive, 4x4, faster etc.

Do you guys have any input on this?

Many Thanks, Simon

 

[silverstealth]

Sounds feasible, although why ud want to smoothe over the rear door handles is beyond me. you get no added security unless ur replacing the windows with metal and then it will all start getting costly. You need to consider a few things:insurancepetrol or dieselwhat engine sizerunning costsdo u need quattro or will fwd be ok (affects mpg + running costs)how will yr changes affect residual price when u want to sell?They r lovely cars but I'm sure theres a reason that nobody does this! best of luck

 

[elan2s]

Not quite the same but there is a car bodyshop company around here who have modified a 5 series estate into a pickup. It actually looks pretty good, except for the perspex window in the bulkhead behind the front seats, but I guess being in their line of business helped a lot.

 

[sigibbons]

Thanks guys! Good input. I have had a disscussion over on VWAudi Forum and have decided the idea is good enough to put into practice.
I'm just a bit concerned about reliability/build issues with the 1998-2000 A6's after reading some stories!!?

What is the engine of choice with this car, i'm considering 1.9TDI, 2.5 V6 TDI and also the 1.8t petrol.

Here's a few pics for your imagination!

 

[sigibbons]

Oh and another question, were there any body/exterior changes for the A6 in the C5 shape? Facelifts etc?