Fivepotshite

[wuvvum]

Picked this up yesterday.

I suddenly realised a couple of weeks ago that I have three cars running out of T&T at the end of this month, and all are going to need various jobs doing for their tests which, with the weather the way it's been, I'm unlikely to get round to by the end of August. The only thing I would have been left with was the Trooper, and that's too slow and thirsty to use on a daily basis. So when I got a second chance offer on the Marea it was a bit of a godsend. Especially when I queried the all-important cambelt status with the seller and he said "it was done at 60K but I don't have a receipt, so I'll drop the price to £250". Mileage is now 107K so (in theory) I've got another 13K before I have to start worrying. It's got more or less six months' rent on it and test till around Christmas, and apart from a ding in the boot lid and the usual flaking of the black paint on the door mirror mounts it's in pretty good nick. The bonnet is dent free, which is rare for one of these. It even came with half a tank of petrol (most of which I wasted by turning the wrong way up the M1 and not realising for about 25 minutes ). Being an HLX it's fairly well specced, with electric windows all round and climate control, and most of it seems to work. It's got a towbar too. And then there's the engine. I've always been a fan of 5-cylinder engines and the way they sound, and this one doesn't disappoint. It warbles like a Volvo 850 at lower revs but once it's past 4000 the note turns into more of a snarl. It actually sounds better than the Cadillac in my opinion. It's quite addictive, and I've found myself changing down a gear just for the hell of it. Hopefully, for the sake of my fuel bills, the novelty value will eventually wear off. For now, though, I'm just relieved that I'll have something to roar around in until I can sort out the bizarre dim-brake-light issue on the Caddy and the doubtless multitudinous jobs the Saab will need for its test. I don't even dare to think about what the Sud's going to need...

[Split_Pin]

I didnt know these came with a five-pot! Is that not quite a rare model? I like it for this!I take it that is a similar engine to that fitted to the Coupe?I remember when I was about 13-14 I used to try and make my dad hold second gear for longer than he really wanted to in his Volvo 850 due to the five pot thrum!

[wuvvum]

I take it that is a similar engine to that fitted to the Coupe?

Yup. If it were an older car I'd be tempted to find a crashed Coupe Turbo and do an engine swap then go out Impreza-baiting. Unfortunately this would involve way too much buggering about with Italian electronics to make it worth attempting.

[Split_Pin]

Fiatdaft might be able to advise on that as he has a Coupe and also breaks expired examples for spares

[r.welfare]

Do these "other" fives like the Fiat and Volvo sound quite as good as the original and DADDY, i.e. the 2.1 Audi lump? If so, a 5cyl motor would excite Welfare again for certain.

[fiatdaft]

I do approve ! 20v turbo into 20v marea ain't too bad a swap,brazil got them as standard,although they only had 185 bhp and could run on alcohol !r. welfare listen to this and you can decide if they sound or not,i think you maybe pleantly surprised!http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... t=lf&hl=en

[Split_Pin]

That sounds minted (once I'd got over the PIMPZ music lol!)I didnt know that the 5 cyl was a turbo in the Coupe. Wonder if this engine would be too long to fit in a 131 - now that would be interesting

[fiatdaft]

you get 16 valve turbo's and 20 v turbo's in coupes,i need to get some exhaust noise from mine on film,before i think about keeping or selling it :cry:it could be possible to fit one in a 131,but it would be a very long term project that would not be so easy,16 vt goes in much easier and has been done before.

[wuvvum]

Do these "other" fives like the Fiat and Volvo sound quite as good as the original and DADDY, i.e. the 2.1 Audi lump? If so, a 5cyl motor would excite Welfare again for certain.

I reckon the Fiat engine actually sounds better than the Audi. It's slightly more subdued as it's a more modern engine, but it sounds more sporty, especially at high revs. The Volvo is not quite the same - it makes a kind of mellow warble pretty much throughout the rev range and never really seems to acquire the high-rev urgency of the Audi and Fiat engine notes. Still sounds a lot better than any four-pot though.

[r.welfare]

Aha. That Danish one sounds superb, but obviously runs a non-standard exhaust. Audi 5cyls sound wonderful - even on standard pipes - between 2000-4500rpm, but I found they sounded strained at the top end. Mmm. £250 for a 1998 car is good going regardless of what it is, esp. something with an engine that sounds like that!

[Milford Cubicle]

What a steal! I've been looking out for cheap 5-cylinder cars, mainly aged Audis, but these hadn't really crossed my radar.

[vicsmith]

These really are lovely cars, and there is a way of tilting the engine over to do the cambelt rather than taking it out, not all mechanics are confident in doing it but if you find one that`s done it before you can save a fortune.

[andrew e]

From experience a lovely car but fitted with shite headlamps. Heres mine on a downward slope loaded with hardcore - I think it was only 5 years old at the time, I bought it half price under a year old!

 

[andrew e]

From experience a lovely car but fitted with shite headlamps. Heres mine on a downward slope loaded with hardcore - I think it was only 5 years old at the time, I bought it half price under a year old!