[V6-12v] respray

[Roger M. Woodbury]

This is the kind of issue that causes people to rush out and get rid of
whatever they had and buy something new to save the money that they would
otherwise "waste" by putting it into a restoration of their old car.  It is
also nuts, and makes NO sense whatsoever.

The only thing that makes a car not worth restoring is obsolescence...the
total unavailability of parts that renders the car unuseful as a vehicle, or
rust and corrosion that makes the car structurally unsound over the life of
whatever the cost/magnitude of the restoration project was.  

I am in the process (as Kent knows well), of planning for my next car.  My
1991 20-valve Avant is going to need quite a lot of relatively expensive
work before it will pass inspection next time around...which is next summer.
I do not want to spend the money on THIS car, which has had a few too many
northern New England winters to make the physical/mechanical restoration
process truly effective. That coupled with my wife's preference that I have
something that she can drive also for those many times that we are in the
car together, is making my 91 20-valve Avant obsolete.  And the devil of it
all is that there is nothing, absolutely NOTHING on the market that is newer
than this particular series of cars that is even remotely interesting to me.

So, what I am leaning toward (today, subject to change tomorrow), is a '93
V8 Quattro.  All of which brings me around to the subject of "respraying" or
repainting, as we say here in the colonies.  I have had this done to two
other Audis in the past, and in both cases the jobs were mediocre and
inexpensive.  The first job was done on my burgundy '87 5000CS Quattro
Avant.  That was a pretty complete job, and I had all the chrome...roof rack
and the like...removed.  The masking job on the rest of the car was
outstanding, and when all was done, there was hardly any overspray anywhere.
It cost $1500 U.S.  at the time and although the quality of the spraying
itself wasn't the best, the car looked new from fifteen feet away, and only
a careful examination of the body work revealed that the car had been
painted...a little ripple here, and a tad of "orange peel" there.

Then I had my '93 V8 Quattro repainted by the same shop.  A little more
expensive and not as good.  The new owner had to have the hood repainted...

In neither case were the windows removed, nor the rubber scrubbers replaced.

Now, IF I tumble and actually buy another Type 44 Audi like this mysterious
V8, I might take it to the body shop that I know about 130 miles from here
that does "magic" body work...or at least they always did do "magic" work on
high end automobiles, and for a long time was THE only, true concours shop
north of Boston. My plan for the "new" V8, will be to 'do' all the
underneath stuff first, and then pull the engine and (maybe) the engine.
While the engine and transmission are out, the car will go to the body shop
and have the exterior properly prepped, windows removed along with chrome
gizzies and so on, and the car properly redone.  Depending on the condition
of the interior, I might get some of the interior redone at the same time.

Meanwhile, the engine and transmission would be resealed at least, and
again, depending on miles, the engine and transmission might be overhauled.
Once the body and interior is done, it would come back to the wrench's, and
the reassembly reaccomplished.

The result would be a "new" V8, as near new as possible, and a car that will
be capable of another 100,000 miles of properly serviced driving.

Cost?  Well, I dunno, but I think that the breakdown will work something
like this, in current US dollars:

1.  Cost of car:  $2500-6000.
2.  Body restoration:  $5-8000
3.  Engine reseal and service:  $3000
4.  Transmission rebuild:  (I don't want to go there right now, so let's
pretend that it doesn't need it).
5.  Tires, wheels, brakes, brake lines, suspension bushings and the like:
$4-6000.
6.  Misc.  odd and ends:  $3500. (A/C and other electrical services)

So, yes, the total restoration cost will equal $25,000 or more in the worst
case.  Will spend this much to restore a Type 44 V8?  Probably not. But it
might be tempting to head down the road at least part way.  There are few
other cars that will deliver the kind of performance that the V8 Quattro
will for much less than twice what the cost no object restoration price will
be.  Then figure in the added cost of insurance, taxes and interest on the
purchase of a new car, and the restoration of a V8 looks more attractive.
And if you need further confusion, just figure in the comparative cost of
tires for a V8 versus the cost of tires for something equal and newer, like
an S8, and you get my drift, I think.

The ideal car will be either white or Black with black interior and around
100,000 miles.  I know of a dark green one right now that has pretty careful
ownership and maintenance over its 220,000 miles, but the asking price is
still so high that I won't even make an offer.  The '93-94 V8's are VERY
scarce, and in the end, it all may just be a pipe dream and go up in smoke.

So, around to the idea of respraying the James Whitehouse 80 in the UK, my
thoughts on the process are to make a decision first about how long you
really plan on keeping and caring for the car.  If your decision is to keep
it in service for five years more, then take it to a quality shop, and pay
them the money to strip the car properly, resand and square the body panels,
and property prep and repaint the car.  The car will likely be off the road
for two or three months to do it properly, but the result should be a
sparkling new looking Audi that you will be pleased to keep in service
throughout the term.

Roger