In a rather unexpected twist, Bert's barn-find FE is now my barn-find FE
I snuck it on to the lift after Ricky's went home so I could get a really good look at it, and I made 'the list':
Its a biiig list
After discussion with Bert about how much it was going to take just to make this in to a usable car again, not even considering the cosmetics, we concluded that it simply is not economically viable in any way - much the same as the discussion in the original thread. If this was bought by someone who wanted an avus and red FE, who could do the work themselves, and who was prepared to spend more time and money on it than 'market value' because they planned to keep it, then this would be a viable project. But, as a 'fix and flip' it just doesn't work.
The sound
financial thing to do, per Ian's suggestion, would be to break it for parts, but thats not going to happen now I have hold of it
Its an FE, and it must be saved, in part because I still feel guilty about the two I took apart already
So, Bert and I have come to a mutually acceptable agreement and I have taken ownership of it as a longer term resurrection. I have avus body parts from my dead one (which is in an even worse state than this one as it doesn't have an engine or gearbox), so that one will be fully dismantled now to save this one, and I will use my stock of spares as necessary (or at least what is left after the Murple disaster) to rebuild it to a decent state whence it will be sold on. Alternatively, if anyone wants to take it on as the resurrection progresses I'm open to discussion. I'm not going to make a profit on it but I am going to save it, and we have Bert to thank for grabbing it in the first place
So, on to the inspection...
Nasty nasty mudflaps! These have got to go.
Well that'd be why the suspension is knocking then
A repair has been attempted to the power steering lines using hydraulic compression fittings. It has not been successful.
The undertray is missing so the arch liner has been rubbing against the tyre
The leaking power steering fluid has sprayed up on to the upper arm bush and dissolved it! The inner sleeve and rubber are still bonded but have split from the outer portion of the rubber
The headlight level sensor was attached with a cable tie
The gearbox has been refurbished at some stage as it has been both sandblasted and painted. Whoever did it painted the sump silver as well which is an odd move. I think its safe to assume it wasn't done by Mackies! The gearbox shifts nicely, but until I open it up I will treat it with the same suspicion I developed from the Murple's gearbox.
You may recall the original ebay listing said 'needs nsf wheel bearing, comes with the car'. A Chinesium no-brand bearing of the wrong type is indeed in the boot. The reason they didn't change it is because some cretin destroyed the nsf wheel lock with a rattle gun so they couldn't get the wheel off to mess with the bearing
The key wasn't with the car, presumably because they also destroyed that at the same time. Using slightly more finesse than brute force, and a spare key, I was able to eventually get the locking bolt out but I had to cut the ruined bolt off my spare key!
Someone has also perpetrated a slightly unorthodox repair to the wiper mechanism. This is not a D2 motor and isn't sitting in the correct place so I'm not sure what's going on here. The movement of the wipers could be described as 'glacial' so I suspect the mechanism is almost seized which burned out the original motor. This replacement motor is interesting though because (if fitted properly) it might be a handy alternative to the original.
Its not a good sign when the brake fluid is darker than the engine oil! Obviously the Brembo bleed screws are seized solid, hence why no one has touched this in a long time. This will get done when the calipers get refurbed.
Not shown is the A4 front ABS sensor bodged in to the S8's rear hub
The ABS is very cross at the moment as it has had all sorts of bits swapped and has not been recalibrated so I have no idea if this A4 sensor is actually working or not. Wait and see I guess.
I needed
another D2 like a hole in the head, but they seem to just find me like stray cats