[V8] In search of....

[Roger M. Woodbury]

Well,last Saturday I left here at o-dark-thirty after a nasty little four
inches of snow and drove to Concord, New Hampshire. There in Concord as all
good Audiphiles know, is one of the main mother lodes of Audi parts known as
Force 5 Automotive.  I was totally unprepared for what I found there and
thought it worth letting this list know, or at least letting anyone who
doesn't know, what Force 5 is.
 
The business is normally closed on Saturday but will open by appointment, so
I made one for ten, figuring at least three and a half hours would be needed
for the drive.  The day before I had dismounted the winter tires and wheels
and mounted new General Altimax tires on my S4 rims on the 100CS Avant.  I
had decided to use the Avant rather than the big Chebbie truck simply
because I knew it would be far easier to drive the Audi than push the truck
through what I expect to be a lot of high speed Interstate traffic. I was
glad of the choice, and the Altimaxes were dead silent compared to the half
worn Dunlop Graspixes on the winter rims.
 
I got to Concord about twenty minutes early and no one was about.  That gave
me a great opportunity to look around at all the Audi eye-candy that was
there.  
 
Outside of the shop itself, actually a long block garage building built
sometime in the mid 1950's perhaps, were perhaps fifty Audis of various
types. A8's and A6's were in abundance, and I was surprised to see a lot of
Allroads and various other recent Audi models, all with bruised noses,
banged sides or kicked in rumps.  A LOT of current model, good condition
parts waiting to be plucked!
 
Then I walked across an open space toward two large trucks emblazoned with
"Force 5" logos.  On the ramp trucks were another couple of cars, including
one '91 twenty valve sedan that had just been picked up in Pennsylvania.
The car was intact, I think, so virtually all of it will be recycled.
Incidentally, the trucks themselves were all newer model Fords (I think they
were all Ford Super Duty, perhaps 550's), and I found out later from Chris
Semple, the owner, that they go whereever they need to go to pick up cars
that they can recycle in this quite specialized business.  
 
Then next to where the trucks were parked was a yard that was enclosed in
hurricane fencing.  The yard is probably an acre or a bit more, I would
guess, and inside it jammed cheeck by jowel were Audi and VWs upon more
Audis and VW's.  In addition across the yard I could see stacks on stacks of
exhaust systems of various types, and who knows what else.  If it is an old
part for a VW or Audi, it is probably there somewhere.
 
After a while Chris Semple arrived and we did the business that I had
traveled for.  We also chatted a lot about Force 5 and what they do. They
can actually recycle an entire car from salvaged cars, and he told me the
story of how he had "built" a "new" A4 for his father who had retired.  I
didn't actually get into the shop area, but it is large, perhaps ten cars, I
would guess, or at least close to it.  How much is parts storage and how
much is working bays, I don't know and I didn't look through the garage door
windows.  Maybe next time I'll get a more complete tour.
 
So from there I rolled down to meet Ron Wainwright in Ludlow, Massachusetts.
He had a set of BBS wheels for me, and a couple of small switches I needed.
I really enjoyed stopping and chatting with someone I have "known" on this
list for a long time, and I wish I could have hung around longer, but I had
a luncheon date wtih my son and grandchildren whom I rarely see, so I pushed
on.  (I'll be down again, Ron, when the V8 is on the road once more!).
 
There was a lot of snow squall activity on Saturday throughout the time I
was in Massachusetts, and only as I headed back north did it and the wind
start to die down.  It was an interesting trip. My curiosity about Force 5
is satisfied. I enjoyed meeting Chris Semple finally, and to see such a
treasure trove of Audimobilia is a treat.  I doubt my insurance company will
insure a salvaged vehicle, but it has made me think about the options that
might be available by getting a salvage title vehicle that was salvaged
because of the wrong reasons....often the damage to just plastic pieces is
enough, depending on the car and the attitude of the insurance adjuster, and
a perfectly good this or that model could be recycled for another couple of
hundred thousand miles for pennies on a dollar.  At least that is the
theory.  I wonder if I might find that elusive S6 Avant that I covet.....
 
Roger