[V8] Dilemma

Tue Apr 10 07:33:29 EDT 2007

Kent:  And just where is this cornucopia of Audidom?  Huh, huh, huh, huh?
Tell all now, ve haff vays of making you talk....

Ah, yes. THE dilemma:  V8 or 20-valve Avant.

First off, I absolutely disagree with your comment about the 20Valve Avant
appearing "dated".  I think the car's lines are still elegantly elongated
compared to the slab-sided bricky SUV's that are everywhere.  And the more
that I look at Mariah, the more I appreciate her utilitarian style.  Never
renowned for great cargo capacity compared to other station wagons...due to
the aggressively sloped rear hatch and roof line, the actual cargo capacity
of the Type 44 Avant is pretty good in comparison to all but the biggest
SUVs.  

I think the solution to the dilemma is to have one of each if it is a
perfect world.  They are actually cheap enough so that it possible to do and
the only real limiting factor is whether or not there is enough money to do
the necessary restoration/maintenance that the V8 will require.  The Avant
will be less expensive to drive over time I think, simply because the V8
engine is MUCH more complicated and has MANY more rubber gizzies to weep
than the 5-cylinder.  

Whether or not it was as good as the pure statistics, it would appear that a
sub-60,000 mile, 1994 V8 Quattro on the east coast is worth less than $8900
in this market. We know that a similar priced '93 on the west cost is not
bringing more than that as we speak.

Last fall a 1991 20-Valve Avant with under 90,000 miles went from a dealer
in Florida for under five grand.  

Pretty cheap.

I just had the rear axle bearings replaced on Mariah, and will replace her
windshield wiper motor shortly.  She is going to have to have tires, and the
airbag "broken wire in the steering column" syndrome, plus the abs situation
fixed before the end of July.  Probably shocks, too.  But the car, now that
the rear bearing howl is gone, is smooth, quiet and VERY powerful....VERY
satisfying to drive in all weather which means every day for me here on the
Maine coast.  

New rear shocks and new rear suspension control arm bushings will tighten
the handling and quiet the inside down even more.  The pulsing of the UFO's
is completely GONE.  Do NOT ask why or how because I have NO idea why that
happened.  But the brakes are firm, powerful and for all the world, if I
didn't KNOW that she had over 180,000 miles, I wouldn't believe it.  Oh,
yes.  Now that the REAL cold weather is gone, fuel mileage is up, too...AND
regular gas.  No knocks, no engine lights: she LIKES regular gas.

And I can put the rear seats down and carry stuff.  A LOT of stuff.  I
needed to buy a couple of hundred feet of 1X4 trim boards and was able to
carry all of it in eight foot lengths from the lumber yard that had the
stuff in stock home....90 miles...inside the car.  I didn't have a truck
available that day with a bed long enough to do that.

I don't insure Mariah's carcass.  I just buy liability insurance because no
matter how enthusiastic I may be about her, and no matter how good and
thorough my mechanical overhauls have been, on her best day the market place
is going to give me not much more than $3500 for her.  So if I get run over
by a hit and run 18-wheeler, I'll walk away and not expect to collect
insurance dollars to replace a car that might not be replaceable.

Right now, I am not sure what to do about Mariah in the long term.  I cannot
replace her with anything that I would want to own.  It is VERY tempting to
start to plan further restoration.  A new front end clip that has all the
chrome bits in place.  Better headlights.  Some sport seats for the front
interior.  And new Panther black and maybe some newer wheels.  All the stuff
is lying around for relatively small dollars, except for the clip.  Might
this be a good candidate for a V8 nose?  Then again, look for another 20
Valve Avant with fewer miles....might be tough to find!

And how about a V8 in MY garage?  I want another one, but am ambivalent
about how seriously I am going to search.  We have too many projects on the
plate right now for me to think about anything other than the trucks that we
have and need to haul stuff, and with a new house starting as early as the
fall, I don't see myself trying to find another non-utility vehicle in the
short term.  It is actually a very nice place to be:  eventually I think I
will buy another V8.  But it will come along and be THE car that I want in
MY time, instead of being THE car that appears and the one that I make
myself crazy to get to before someone else as I simply must have it now
because it is THERE.  

As far as your dilemma, Kent.  If the miles are right, and the price is even
more right, BUY the V8 as a project.  Put it in the garage and bring it
back.  But if you NEED to have a utility driver NOW, buy the 20Valve.

And tell me where they all are so I can get real EXCITED.

Roger

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