[V8] V8 5 speed conversions

[Mike Arman]

I'd like to advance a slightly different viewpoint on proprietary 
information of this nature.

1) Most people are NOT going to attempt a job of this magnitude themselves 
anyway, and the few who would actually do it won't be paying anyone else 
anyway.

2) If the scope of the job is defined, instead of just saying "Gonna cost 
ten grand!" (or whatever), then people will understand WHY it's gonna cost 
X amount, and are MORE likely to pay it because they'll realize just how 
much work it is, understand what they are getting for all that money, and 
that having someone else do it is WORTH IT - because it will be done right, 
and the project won't stall in the middle and never be completed.

3) The wanna-bes won't even get started, they'll realize it is beyond them 
both in cost and skill, and that will save everyone a lot of trouble. I'm 
sure the guys who are doing these conversions (and my hat is off to them) 
would rather not have uncompleted cars laying around because the owner ran 
out of money. And if the owner is out of money, they're not going to get 
paid at all, until they get a storage lien, which is another can of worms. 
It is hard to sell a car that is all took apart, and I doubt they want to 
complete it on their nickel so it can be sold to recover the money.

4) The people who can afford it will know they are getting their money's 
worth because they will understand the scope of the job, and thus won't be 
as subject to sticker shock when the job is completed.

Remember, we are not talking rusty Chebby Cavaliers here - I think a 
majority of the V8 Audi owners on this list are starting to have more money 
than time, and are not going to be doing this themselves. I've already 
noticed this progression with the five cylinder cars - five years ago, the 
Quattro list was FULL of type 44 discussion, there is much less of it now, 
and the owners are talking more about mostly keeping them running instead 
of making them go faster, stop better, etc. The average type 44 is worth 
much less now than five years ago, and the guys who can afford to have 
moved on. Five years from now, the type 44 will be where the LS100 
currently is - a few around, but basically a curiosity.

In a few more years, 1989 to 1994 Audi V8s will be much closer to the 
bottom of the food chain, and then NO ONE will be doing these conversions 
even if they have a full set of instructions, a complete parts list, and 
diagrams in triplicate - this information will become less and less 
valuable as the years go by and the cars become fewer and fewer, and are 
owned by progressively poorer owners.

Just my thoughts on the subject - I'd love to have a V8 5 speed, but I know 
I'm not going to do this myself even with the instructions (I have enough 
projects already), and I seriously doubt I'll have it done - If I were 
going to spend some large sum on a car, I'd probably get a newer Audi 
because while it might be worth it in satisfaction, if anything happened to 
the car, I'd really get hammered on the insurance value - I learned this 
lesson the very hard way after I put $1,800 into my wife's car to get 
another 75,000 miles or so out of it, and when it got totalled not three 
months later, the insurance company - MY insurance company - tried to pay 
$450 for it.

I'd like to know what the conversion entails mostly because I'd just like 
to know, not because I'm going to do it or go into business doing it.

Best Regards,

Mike Arman