[s-cars] Re: Mr. Hull bids adieu to the s//S2

[Chris Hall]

So he stopped counting at $60,000 to make a "fake" S2.  If the -real-
S2's are going for $10,000 - $15,000 U.S.   What would it cost to
import it here and have it made DOT legal?  Certainly not $60,000....



On 6/17/05, Emre Washburn <yumyjager at gmail.com> wrote:
> Brandon asked this be cross-posted from his AudiWorld psot to the various lists.
> 
> His post follows-
> 
> "Wednesday a hauler showed up at the house to take the eS2 to it's new
> owner in Canada.
> 
> It was about ten years ago that I discovered the existence of the Audi
> S2, and concluded it was the perfect next car: stylish yet discreet,
> fast, great technology, and quattro. The only problem was they didn't
> sell them in the U.S. I explored the prospect of importing one, which
> as many folks have discovered over the years, isn't practicable. I had
> been an internet user since Paleolithic times, and quickly discovered
> the quattro list. From conversations with folks there, and the newly
> formed 20v list, I was introduced to the prospect of building an S2
> using a US CQ with a 3B engine. Guys like Mark Nelson, Ramana Lageman
> (who would later build the eS2 website, then go on to a rally driver
> career), Eric Renneison (sp?) Jeff Goggins, and a half dozen others
> planted the seed of what was possible. Ned Ritchie had actually done a
> conversion, and introduced me to it's current owner, Dean Treadway,
> who graciously gave me a drive. I was hooked.
> 
> Thanks to the power of the internet, I networked my way to a very nice
> guy in South Africa who happened to be head of VW/Audi logistics for
> the whole country. He liked Americans, thought my idea was great, and
> mailed me copies of the S2 and RS2 parts microfiche (this was before
> the days of ETKA, boys and girls). Using my kid's compound microscope,
> I painstakingly tracked down a parts list of components required to
> convert the Coupe. Further networking brought me to a guy named Harald
> who worked for Schmidt Motorsports, the racing contractor hired by
> Audi to design the S2 in the first place. Harald shipped me all the
> parts I needed. Thanks to guys on the q list like Steve Eiche and
> Bruce Bell, I did a full refresh of the 3B I bought (also a lead from
> Ned), and also discovered George Baxter in nearby Bristol PA. George
> wound up doing the actual conversion, courtesy of his ace mechanic
> Corey, now running an Audi service department in FL.
> 
> The car was everything I'd hoped for, fast, reliable, with room for my
> three young kids in back. I loved being able to embarrass M3s on the
> way to home depot, then fold down the rear seat and carry home 300lbs
> of bagged gravel. Most importantly, the car got me involved with the
> quattro club, where I met guys like Paul Royal, Chris Miller, Greg Amy
> and lot's of others whose names I'm embarrassed not to be able to
> summon as quickly as I type. I started doing track events, which
> turned out to be the entrée I'd always sought into the racing world. I
> made a lot of great friends, and became an annual attendee of track
> events at Thunderhill and Mid Ohio.
> 
> Other highlights included the '98 or '99 quattro quarterly article,
> which I think inspired a lot of imitators particularly on the west
> coast, as well as one almost perfect clone built by George and Corey
> for Tom V in MN. Lowlights included crashing at Pocono in 2001??
> Although the subsequent rebuild allowed us to make the car even better
> in almost every respect. Along the way I organized a dozen or so
> karting boondoggles, where quattro guys would meet at kart tracks at
> various cities around the US.
> 
> Anyhow, I sure enjoyed that car. It was stunningly expensive to build
> into the spec I envisioned, (I stopped counting at $60K) but at the
> end of the day worth every penny not just in terms of the hardware but
> of the life experiences it opened up. However life marches on. My
> three kids haven't fit in the back seat for a long time now. My wife
> finally confessed she didn't like driving such a stiff suspension on
> the street. I started driving the car less and less, while needing
> more space for things like racecars, trailers, tow vehicles etc. So I
> don't have any regrets about selling it. I did get a little choked up
> when I was sorting through some misc parts and found the S2 badge from
> the Pocono crash. I got transported back to the thrill of opening all
> the boxes that came from Schmidt, and seeing the S2 badge for the
> first time. It was possibly the first S2 badge in America, certainly
> the first I'd ever seen.
> 
> I'll let the new owner introduce himself if he wants to, but he seems
> like a good guy who will really appreciate it; and that was important
> to me. I'll keep the eS2 website up as long as rennlist will host it.
> I know it's been as much a source of frustration to users as it has
> been help, and I never did acquire the skills to update it properly.
> So thanks again Ramana whereever you are these days.
> 
> I'll stay subscribed to the eS2 list, but again wanted to thank
> everyone for their contribution to a great chapter in my own motor
> life, and for all the friendships and good times.
> 
> Brandon
> Ersatz S2"
> 
> -End of post.
> 
> --
> Emre
> 92 //S4
> 90 Cq
> 40 valves 'O plenty!
> _______________________________________________
> quattro mailing list
> quattro at audifans.com
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/quattro
> 


-- 
Chris Hall
badcomrade at gmail.com
"making girls cry since 1974"