I am thinking of buying a GT5 coupe (the original square one) but do not know a great deal about them. Basically, are there any areas that require special attention when viewing a used one or just all the usual things?
How economical are the 5cyl. engines? Is there much difference in the economy of a two wheel-drive when compared with a Quattro?
Also, is it possible to extract more power from these engines at low cost, or are they generally deemed sufficiently gutsy as is?
Sorry for the list of stupid questions, and advice is greatfully received
"Undercover Elephant" wrote news:jAyUb.48374$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfep2-win.server.ntli.net...
Look at the back side, the wheel arches at the back, they start to rust fast. Look at the underside for any damage and rust. Check suspension, wheel bearings, drivetrain, clutch, oil leaks, brakes, electrics (some pins at the back of the fusebox can be burned out) Check the engine for strange things like oil leaks, if it burns oil or water, if it still runs well and with enough power. Check also any kind of rubber mounting/suspension. After some 15-20 years they wear out... Vacuum hoses, fuel hoses(!!!), battery. And then of course all the usual things when buying a car.
I got an Audi 80CD with a 5cyl. engine (85kW). It can do 13km on 1l if driving quietly, but also 8km per liter...
- the Coupe GT is very similar to the 4000 (aka "4k"). Basically a decent little car, but not galvanized so rust wreaks havoc with the bodies in the "salt belt" (assuming that you are in the US/Canada). The 5 cylinder engine....when running properly (which usually takes some tinkering). If you're not lead footed, you can expect mpg's in high
20's/low 30's....but then you ask about "power" and "gutsy"..um...expect high 20's. The 2wd vs. quattro (small 'q' - the capital "Q" usually denotes the legendary original "Quattro" or the ur-Q/Quattro Coupes that were developed from the DKW Munga/VW Iltis) is a long, protracted thread, which will evoke lots of opinions/arguing/etc. Basically, in a nutshell: The 5cyl front drivers have excellent weight distribution over the front wheels - the engine and tranny are forward of the front axles. The addition of quattro to a car increases the weight, may effect mpg (heavier car decreases mpg, but more driven axles increases mpg...go figure), it'll help you get unstuck (but may give you a false sense of security that leads you into the snowbank in the first place), there's a price premium attached to quattro, there are more linkages in the quattro-equipped car (more to fix) but the quattro system (at least the early ones IME) is pretty bulletproof (provided nothing stupid is done like running a dry differential or running different rolling diameter tires). As far as "power"/"gutsy"...the 100-ish hp non-turbos in the Coupe GT produce a decently "peppy" car (by virtue of a light car), but it won't win you anything at the track. Audi made luxury cars that could cruise at high speeds in comfort - winning trophies at the local "Sport Compact Drag Races" was not in the cards. The non-turbos can be modified to produce some power gains.....port&polish/head shaving/different cams/etc. See Huw Powell's web site at
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to see what he has done with his cars (other than powdercoating stuff yellow...for which he is well known). You can also replace the head/cam with one from an early 5 cyl turbo (1980-83, I think) to get larger sodium filled exhaust valves (ooooh....aaah) - that can set you back next to nothin' if you find the right junkyard. No, you can't just buy a "chip" from eBay - I wouldn't recommend that, anyway (it can = "motor go boom"), and I'm not going to talk here about K&N's. Very important to look at is the vintage of the Coupe - if it is made in late 1987 (aka "1987.5"), and has rear disc brakes and a digital dash, then it's what was referred to as a "Special Edition" or "Special Build" Coupe. The engine in those cars is a higher compression 5 cylinder and considered more sporty right out of the box. Now, if you want to really soup up that Coupe - make it a real "sleeper" at the track, you can do something as extreme as shoehorning a V8 in there (Jesse James? You out there?) - it's been done by somebody on the Audifans list (the king of engine swaps had to be the Project LT-1Q of Bob Dupree's at
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Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes (SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)
"Undercover Elephant" wrote in message news:jAyUb.48374$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfep2-win.server.ntli.net...
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