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So .. I haven't updated this thread in a bit but the reality is .. nothing much has changed .
Car been running great ... hasn't needed much other than it's yearly oil change and I've still been beating the piss out of it - A few months back, it stuck fender to fender with my buddy's R8 V10 6MT and a random C7 RS7.
Thing still surprises me and I haven't gotten bored of the power yet.
Reason for updating this thread?
Fast forward to yesterday - I found another shitbox and there's a good possibility it'll be in my garage tonight.
Seller says no deposit is necessary, we have a time set tonight, and I got a ride to LA.
Was yellow an OE color?
Plans?
Balls-out build, or a quick flip?
Yup, Imola Yellow is an OEM color.
I'm purchasing this strictly as a flip opportunity.
Plans are unclear at this moment because I haven't done any of the troubleshooting yet, but - it's being sold cheap because the car has blown turbos and has a slight misfire ... it surely needs an engine out service.
Details:
140k miles
1 owner CA car
Clean title
Tons of service records
Decently clean paint / interior
Full Stage 3 with RS4 goodies including turbos / inlets / fueling, nice downpipes / exhaust, nice suspension setup and intercoolers.
Build done in 2002 @ $25k price point from a reputable shop in LA so, it's not a hack job by any means.
The plan is getting it running again / taking parts from it and putting them on my blue car.
Timeline for completion is 4-6 months (realistically).
I'll post some updates as they come. Can't see much getting in the way of this deal.
V10 R8 with 3 pedals is the fuckin dream.. ..surprised you couldn't take him considering they're not all that fast by today's standards.
As for adding another project car, love to see it.
Seriously .. he let me drive it .. and lets just say it's as satisfying & joyous as they say it is.
It's pretty brisk for it's lack of torque - the car has legs and is definitely geared to go 200mph - B5 has long gearing and it made it look like an S2000
Probably one of the coolest car buying experiences I've had so far.
Figured I'd drop a quick picture - I'll type up the whole story when I'm off work.
TLDR; Car is much cleaner / tighter than I thought it was ... so ecstatic - it traveled 150 miles on blown turbos, an intermittent misfire, a bad wheel rear bearing - turbos are so blown that it burned 2 quarts of oil on the way home - smoke was everywhere. Really surprised it made it, but it did.
Bit of color mismatch in that photo, but probably down to differences in painting metal v plastic.
I remember a girl I knew in college had a MR-S that was 3 shades of yellow after a minor accident.
Looking at the 2, I prefer the body color mirrors. Never was a fan of the silver S/RS mirrors on the newer cars
Bit of color mismatch in that photo, but probably down to differences in painting metal v plastic.
I remember a girl I knew in college had a MR-S that was 3 shades of yellow after a minor accident.
Looking at the 2, I prefer the body color mirrors. Never was a fan of the silver S/RS mirrors on the newer cars
Yup - you can tell the hood was blended with the 2 side fenders. Funny, Imola Yellow (especially on a B5 S4) is really hard to match and it's rare to see cars with any uniformity - this car is 2 colors ... I've seen Imolas that are 3-4 shades of yellow .
I'm sure with a decent correction / polish, it won't quite fix the paint mismatch but it'll certainly draw some attention away from it haha.
RE: the mirrors - I like the fact they match the wheels / headlights / interior trim and are machined from aluminum .. you get a sense of quality and it defines it as a sports package car.
From an aesthetic standpoint, I could go either way.
Body is clean / paint mostly matches - no cracks in the front bumper.
1 owner - clean title - minor accident reported awhile back
Low miles for year (140k)
Interior is clean-ish - need some leather repair on the driver / passenger seat, or replace them all together .. otherwise, very livable. OEM headliner is *not* sagging .. don't think I've ever seen that in a B5 before.
No bad window regulators, interior panels are tight / leather is in good condition and not lifting.
Suspension is tight - no play in the steering, lower / upper control arms all feel good, no clicking / pops.
Center display screen has no dead pixels / all gauges work
I have all service records from 2011-2022 - this includes pulling the dash for heater core, 2 x timing belt changes, lots of documented service on this car which is awesome.
This thing has a full AWE Stage 3 kit from 2002 - includes manifolds, downpipes, exhaust, upgraded intercoolers, Borgwarner OEM RS4 turbos, OEM RS4 inlet pipes, AWE intake / 85MM MAF housing, 550cc injectors, and ECU (Everything can be repurposed except for the turbos and if the manifolds aren't cracked).
The bad:
Both turbos are done - exhaust tips are basically dripping with oil. Turbos have approximately 130k miles on them but can be rebuilt for around $900.
Misfire is present at idle only - could be something simple, or could be a hurt motor - troubleshooting yet to come.
Driver side rear wheel bearing is shot
Coilovers need rebuild .. they bounce a lot.
Rearview mirror is starting to fade & autodim looks brown
All things considered, an absolute steal for parts alone.
Thanks for reading.
I'm still unsure if I'm flipping or keeping ... this thing brought back everything I loved about my Nogaro before I touched it
Either make it a safe DD level car, or go bonkers huge power, low mileage use.
Unless the B5 market is hot, then a profitable flip makes sense too, after you scavenge the good for the recycle bin, put the school bus out to pasture.
Tesla swap
Keep your EV status, but in a sporting pkg.
Not sure how you'd accommodate the batteries, or how much it would ruin the handling adding all that weight.
Tesla swap
Keep your EV status, but in a sporting pkg.
Not sure how you'd accommodate the batteries, or how much it would ruin the handling adding all that weight.