Busted door locks

[Mike Arman]

Fix the locks. All of them.

This isn't a real big deal. You'll need a you-pull-it junkyard, a few 
hours, and not much money.

Go get all four door handles (check to see if they work, first!) and all 
five vacuum capsules. (There's one for the trunk, remember?)

Taking them off the donor car is easy, and if you break anything, it isn't 
your problem. Also, if you break anything, you'll remember not to break 
that part on YOUR car, right?

The vacuum capsules are easy to check. Wet your finger and place it over 
the vacuum inlet. If you can't move the actuator rod, the rubber diaphragm 
in the capsule is good, if you can, it is bad.

Here's what I see going on in the type 44 world - as these cars move 
further down the food chain, they are getting less and less maintenance. 
Type 44 Audis *require* consistent attention - it doesn't have to be very 
expensive if you do most of the work yourself, but it does take some time 
and skill (some of which can be learned "on the job".)

What is happening is that the older cars are accumulating so many problems 
with deferred maintenance ("Can I fix just ONE lock? Can I use something 
other than that expensive pentosin stuff? Can I drive anyway with a bad 
bomb?") that when anything serious breaks or a fender gets dented, the next 
stop is the junkyard - the car isn't worth fixing any more because it has 
too many other, unaddressed problems.

And you will find that the type 44 Audi is unique - it is hard indeed to 
replace this car with anything decent for comparable money. $2,000 can buy 
you some very, very good type 44 cars, or it can buy you a Ford Escort or a 
Chevvy Cavalier.

Best Regards,
Mike Arman