[V8] Missing my V8....now a V8 Avant

[Roger M. Woodbury]

So familiar. Back along the dawn of time when I had an 89 200 Avant and 
a Porsche 928, my mechanic who was a factory-trained 928 mechanic AND 
factory-schooled Audi wrench and I shemed a bit about putting an early 
928 V8 into the Avant.  We never got much further than scheming on that 
project but it was a tasty idea, even though the '89 200 was a fine 
running car by itself.

Now, we have a '94 100CS Avant that has a lot of miles.  I've always 
felt there was nothing wrong with that car that another 50 horsepower or 
so wouldn't cure.  We love the Avant, although it is now at the point 
where it will need exterior restoration soon, and it wouldn't hurt to 
have the engine pulled and resealed as it does leak. But at 205,000 
miles or so, the little oil leaks are unimportant.  The bottom line is 
the car runs fine, starts every day, and does exactly what it's utility 
mission says it should do.  Best of all, despite living in Maine for the 
past 140,000 miles, the car is NOT rusty and every time it goes to the 
shop everyone remarks about how clean and rust free the undersides are.  
Still and all, sometimes I do feel the absence of those 50 added ponys.

So what about a V8 Avant.  As it happens time has marched on and Audi 
had the same thoughts I had and has produced many models that I would 
LOVE to have, all of which are Avants with V8's.  And I came close about 
five or six years ago.  In the little "sell and swap, yard-sale" type 
mag that comes out every Thursday (every area has one. Here it's called 
Uncle Henry's Sell and Swap), I saw someone advertising a V8 allroad. 
That car was a 2004 year so a farily late car.  The ad said the car 
would not shift into gear and the asking price was $2500.

It was REAL close that one.  Geographically close that is.  I came near 
to selling something with some value to go and haul that car back to let 
my mechanic try to fix the trans issue.  But before I could even make a 
phone call the car was gone.  I've always wondered what happened.

Now, since that time I have continued to wonder about the allroad 
Avant.  I have learned that the air suspension is NOT the evil monster 
that it has been portrayed as being and can be fixed to be reliable.  
But what I have also learned is that the real issue with that car is the 
engine. The engine is installed backward with a nifty chain in place of 
the timing belt.  In fact there are two different chains and all use 
plastic guides that sooner rather than later will get old and fail.  The 
engines make a defining rattle that spells the end, because not only do 
the chain guides get old, but so do the chain tensioners and the all the 
assorted parts needed to replace the chains are expensive....I 
understand on the order of $4-6 grand.

Then of course, the engine must be pulled and the entire process of a 
chain refurbishment, IF it is done before something catastrophic happens 
in back there with all those little plastic bits floating around, can 
result in a little "servicing bill" approaching eight grand. This is why 
allroads V8's are so cheap. (and the horror stories I have read about 
the 2.7 twin turbo allroad are just as bad.

So, I guess I'll pass on the entire concept.  The old Avant we have runs 
really well and needs very little. Eventually it will either get done or 
maybe just retired.  It goes and is paid for which counts for a whole lot.

Roger