Frosty Saturday Collection Thread - Biturbo V8 A8 collected!

[Schaefft]

With a new trailer come new opportunities! We are off to collect another car less than 24 hours after delivering the Oldsmobile from Germany.

One hint: The car we are collecting today once was "the most powerful" in its particular class.

It's cold this morning.

[mintwth]

Peel P50? 

[MorrisItalSLX]

V12 Jag?

[Schaefft]

Neither!

Tank filled, trailer attached. Off we go, westwards!

[ProgRocker]

Mercedes C-Class AMG ? What were the numbers - C43 and C63. 🤔

[Stinkwheel]

1 hour ago, Schaefft said:

The car we are collecting today once was "the most powerful" in its particular class

Citroen CX Turbo Diesel, first car that springs to mind as the most powerful in its class

[Lanciaman]

Daihatsu charade 1.0 GTti.... 

[Remspoor]

Rover SD1 Diesel 

[Schaefft]

You are all aiming too low!

May I present you, the 2003 Audi A8 4.0 TDI, the most powerful Biturbo V8 Diesel in any production car at the time!

All bought from a dodgy Carlisle industrial estate for a mere £600!

It's rough but runs! On the way back now, more when I'm home!

[High Jetter]

Jeez, you don't hang about! Safe trip back

[Schaefft]

45 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Jeez, you don't hang about! Safe trip back

It's the one that was posted in the low cost big liability thread the other day. Considering the taillights are worth almost what I paid for the entire car it wasn't going to hang around for long. Someone else was already on the way last week and then just vanished, so as usual, be a semi decent human being and people are happy to work with you. Today was the first day I could pop over.

And we are back. First impression of this top-spec A8: rough but ready! I'll take it for a quick test drive later but it might be worth saving this one. Airbag light and fob battery warning on the dash but that's it. The stuck display will be its biggest issue and it might need a strut in the back. It's filthy and worn inside at 200k, it just once again shows in what an amazing condition the forum bike A8 is in at 230k+. Stories of two completely different owners.

[Split_Pin]

[Schaefft]

Had a chance to take it for a drive and boy, does it fly! I can absolutely understand why Audi said you get sports car performance with this diesel!

However, naturally there are issues. And no, the front bumper might not have to come off (although a headlight adjustment error might say otherwise). So if it drives well and looks fairly tidy, a few scuffs and blacked out trim pieces aside, what does it need?

This shouldn't happen while you drive! There are some severe electrical issues that crash most systems over and over right now. The battery terminals are on tight so that's not the problem. There seem to be voltage problems though so either the battery is knackered (unlikely, my S8 doesn't behave this way), there's an earth issue, possibly from a water leak inside (carpets seem dry) or the alternator is on its last leg. At 211k miles (not 185 as advertised) I wouldn't be surprised at all if that was the last straw for the last owner. Also what the hell happened to these wheels? Someone actually painted them this way...

I'll check the alternator output tomorrow and connect my laptop to see what's really up.  There might be a chance for this one to live on if it's something relatively simple. We'll find out soon enough.

[big_al_granvia]

my lords, that's hellfire

[cort16]

Nice. These big v8 diesels are never to be repeated.

[stuboy]

4 hours ago, Schaefft said:

 

not seen that idea since the 90s

[Schaefft]

14 minutes ago, cort16 said:

Nice. These big v8 diesels are never to be repeated.

Diesel always sounds a bit like a compromise and if you compare most diesel V8s with their petrol counterpart of the time it would probably be true up to the point Audi released this 4.0. Looking at the performance numbers Audi was miles ahead of BMW and Mercedes and things quickly escalated from there when they really caught on in the mid-2000s. Nowadays they are a proper liability but this and the TDV8 (and the 3.0TDI A8 before them) convinced me that they very much have their purpose in these cars, without much compromise in refinement. The Lion V6 in the C6 and 2.0 diesel in the X-Type maybe less so😂

[cort16]

1 minute ago, Schaefft said:

Diesel always sounds a bit like a compromise and if you compare most diesel V8s with their petrol counterpart of the time it would probably be true up to the point Audi released this 4.0. Looking at the performance numbers Audi was miles ahead of BMW and Mercedes and things quickly escalated from there when they really caught on in the mid-2000s. Nowadays they are a proper liability but this and the TDV8 (and the 3.0TDI A8 before them) convinced me that they very much have their purpose in these cars, without much compromise in refinement. The Lion V6 in the C6 and 2.0 diesel in the X-Type maybe less so😂

I think the diesel craziness peaked with the Q7 v12 diesel.. A bespoke engine developed for the about 14 cars they sold as the were so expensive. 

Is the 4.0 basically 2x2 0 PD engines?

[IronStar]

Up next:  Touareg V10 TDI and Q7 V12 TDI? 😄

[D.E]

12 minutes ago, cort16 said:

I think the diesel craziness peaked with the Q7 v12 diesel.. A bespoke engine developed for the about 14 cars they sold as the were so expensive. 

Is the 4.0 basically 2x2 0 PD engines?

It's a shame Audi eventually decided not to offer the V12 TDI in the R8 as well. A diesel supercar would have been interesting, I think.

@Schaefft: well bought! Based on the (few) pictures of the ad I assumed the wheels had been painted black, which had worn off at the edges, but they deliberately sprayed the centre only? That's... weird.

[Schaefft]

45 minutes ago, IronStar said:

Up next:  Touareg V10 TDI and Q7 V12 TDI? 😄

To be fair, Taylor (AutoAlex) buying two high mileage V10 TDI Touaregs without going absolutely crazy made them a bit more of a realistic option than they might have been before then. The V12, as impressive and special it might be, apparently is even more of a nightmare. I do love the reasons why it exists though, Piech/VW wanted to prove that they were at the pinnacle of automotive engineering no matter what it would take and their massive diesel engines were just one way of showing that.

38 minutes ago, D.E said:

@Schaefft: well bought! Based on the (few) pictures of the ad I assumed the wheels had been painted black, which had worn off at the edges, but they deliberately sprayed the centre only? That's... weird.

Yeah, and it's not just a rattle can job but was done while the wheels were refurbished, there's a clear coat on top. Can't say I'm a big fan. Even the spare wheel looks like this. I'll check if the tyres are any good, if not and the car is worth fixing I might try to get a cheap set to replace them.

Browsing the tubes I have found this Top Gear economy challenge using the 4.0TDI again. For your viewing pleasure:

 

[CGSB]

6 hours ago, Schaefft said:

 Also what the hell happened to these wheels? Someone actually painted them this way...

 

This looks a belter. £600 is basically theft, what a deal. Can't wait to see your usual transformation on it.

Regards the wheels - someone who bought some A2 pepperpots from me this week was doing so to replace some plasti dip'd wheels that he said, quote "some stupid cunt" had put on the car, which looked similar to these. Probably a quick/cheap way to tart up some rough wheels which doesn't last. He was pulling off the coating in chunks as a demo. 

[DirtyDaily]

Wowzers. That could be an absolute dream if you can pull it off. From memory these 4.0tdis are a bit of a pita. The 4.2 that replaced it, sorted out a number of the issues the earlier ones had but i may be wrong. I did have a moment thinking i want a d4 4.2 for getting around in but theyre still a little expensive for my taste.

The screen is a bit of a nightmare but doable. I have a permanent scar on my wrist from where mine took a gash out of me. Do let me know if you get stuck with any of it but i am sure youll be able to get it sorted!

[Schaefft]

16 hours ago, CGSB said:

This looks a belter. £600 is basically theft, what a deal. Can't wait to see your usual transformation on it.

Regards the wheels - someone who bought some A2 pepperpots from me this week was doing so to replace some plasti dip'd wheels that he said, quote "some stupid cunt" had put on the car, which looked similar to these. Probably a quick/cheap way to tart up some rough wheels which doesn't last. He was pulling off the coating in chunks as a demo. 

 

1 hour ago, DirtyDaily said:

Wowzers. That could be an absolute dream if you can pull it off. From memory these 4.0tdis are a bit of a pita. The 4.2 that replaced it, sorted out a number of the issues the earlier ones had but i may be wrong. I did have a moment thinking i want a d4 4.2 for getting around in but theyre still a little expensive for my taste.

The screen is a bit of a nightmare but doable. I have a permanent scar on my wrist from where mine took a gash out of me. Do let me know of you get stuck with any of it but i am sure youll be able to get it sorted!




 

Thanks guys. Im hoping that the major issue with this is all coming down to a failing battery management module. The engine and gearbox seem healthy but the electrics are going mental for no apparent reason. The good news is that the source doesn't seem to be the alternator as I can see it charging the battery up to 14.5V when its allowed to do so. The problem is that the voltage just randomly drops to just below 12V only to go back to normal again. Its doing that even while not running and with a different battery (the car came with a brand new AGM, so thats a 3rd of the price right there). I can't imagine it being anything other than the module thats sitting between the negative terminal and the actual earth point. I'll ask around in the usual groups as Im not the only one experiencing this, fingers crossed its sorted quickly.

[TrabbieRonnie]

Excellent buy Schaefft!

Nice to see another early one, I actually prefer the pre-facelift grille and three-spoke steering wheel.  The rear lamps must've been replaced already, so as you say, an absolute steal!

Seems to be the same colour combo as mine?  Although my wheels are boringly just the one colour...!

Good luck with t'lectrics, as you know these are worth a bit of effort!