S2 Avant into saloon

[Acidburn]

It just doesnt work!
At the moment I also have the added bonus of being able to sell my leather (which I would of put into the saloon until I found it didnt fit! :mischeif

I'd have thought if you removed your rear seat and the rear seat from the donor car the leather could be swapped over quite easily? from what i've seen of the rear benches I doubt it would be that hard, or at the very worst you could just get the rear bench covered in leather at a later date.

So when you starting to do this? so I know to try get some time off work

as aiden said I doubt it would take too long to do, especially if you had error404 and his mate doing it, they flew thru removing the engine/box etc from my s2.

If you could get the donor car that would make a big leap forward in getting the ball rolling. I'd get the interior out and dash in around an hour - hour and a half, bumpers are around 20 mins, side trims (being carefull of the top trim) not too long. Rear suspension etc I personally would undo the propshaft and handbrake cable (if possible under the handbrake lever) then the rear hoses, top mounts and try drop it all off connected up then take it over and roll it straight up onto the new car, saves a lot of hassle but needs a couple of people to do it.

Front suspension, engine mounts is main thing after that it won't take too long to do the other bits, remove as much spare stuff as possible, take the box/prop/engine out in one go with a decent hoist and same with the s2 then swap the engine over.

Front suspension easiest thing to do is just unbolt the steering arms, top mounts and subframe bolts (and brake lines) and slide straight onto the new car.

don't forget you'll want to keep your side trims as they are different on the saloon but just slide off then back on.

It can be done quite easily just depends how much space you have.

[dest]

As Ive already said, the sums do not add up!!
What do people REALLY think mine is worth? 3.5k-4k on a good day?
Ok, lets use 4k for arguments sake...

Then I find a decent enough saloon for 500.
I have to then find a mechanically sound S2 Avant cheap... not an easy task!
Looking on Pistonheads now I could only buy this one:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1211175.htm
You would all then say that it was too good to break too

But seriously, I would probably end up with a 2-2.5k totally standard money pit.
I would then have to replace all the bits I would use from mine...

Wheels/tyres £300
Milltek/Similar £500
Homefry £250
Brakes £300-500
Shocks £400?
Springs £150-200
Boost hoses £200
Boost gauge £50
HIDS £30

It just doesnt work!
At the moment I also have the added bonus of being able to sell my leather (which I would of put into the saloon until I found it didnt fit! :mischeif

Please tell me where I am going wrong, because what you are suggesting just doesnt add up to me!?

[Bram]

@dest - have you changed your medication recently...

Sell the lovely Avant as is... Use that money to get a rough looking (mechanically sound) Avant donor and a tidy looking (mechanically rough) B4 Sedan - THAT is the best path to enlightenment.

100% agree

[Josh-stateside]

Remember you have to factor in welding in the engine mounts!
I do want to do it, but would have to save a little first to buy the saloon, but in time it is definitly something I am going to seriously consider

Honestly. It's what we do in the states with the sedan. I could make a list of things I would do and wouldn't do with items. Yah u could weld in engine mounts but why not just fabricate some that bolt in. I plan on making a setup and selling a kit possibly at some point for this exact idea. Right now I got welded mounts from the engine block to the stock v6 mounts. Works ok, but at some point I'm going to swap it and retain the orginal aluminum mounts on the block and have aluminum or steel mounts that bolt to the frame rail. The mounts come off, and gives some more room to work on things. It's that a nice feature? I'm making a custom radiator bracket that mounts to the frame rail via rivet nuts at some point in the near future so that once again i can remove more stuff in the engine bay.

You have choices to make with things and also your car is right hand drive. So i don't know all the little details but for instance i'm using a vacuum booster setup in my car. The Aby stock high pressure line doesn't work the b4 vacuum booster on left hand drive cars because it hits the booster unless u coil it a bit and bend it around the booster. Even then I'm using a b3 booster and bracket now because it gives me some more room in the engine bay. If u mount hydraulic brake assist back in the car the mount for the Bomb attaches to the stock welded on frame rail so one less thing for me to worry about too with custom mounts.

Everything has it's positives and negatives. Easy OEM has it's positives but as far as making the engine bay a little more user friendly. bolt on mounts are nice.

[quattronutter]

i reckon most bits could be swapped over in 2-3 days easily including welding in new mounts

[dest]

Remember you have to factor in welding in the engine mounts!
I do want to do it, but would have to save a little first to buy the saloon, but in time it is definitly something I am going to seriously consider

[Acidburn]

Id have a use for your avant shell, if i could weld! :mischeif:

be easier using a non s2 shell i.e. 2.6 v6 quattro

I simply cant see any good reason to why i would want it to work out more expensive, take longer, or have a lower spec? Being realistic, how often do good spec cheap crashed s2's come up for sale? Plus if its crashed id probably have to replace some bits too! If i did go for it i would use my avant no question.
So can we leave the moral issues and stick to the technical side of it please

So when you planning on doing this if you do? Seems you've already made your mind up, if you do need any help give me a shout if i'm free i'll come up and give you a hand. Shame you ain't got a lift, that would make it stupidly quick to do the swap, unbolt everything possible, lift the shell up above, then drop on the new shell.....



Yeah bwoy be racing in no time at all

[dest]

I simply cant see any good reason to why i would want it to work out more expensive, take longer, or have a lower spec? Being realistic, how often do good spec cheap crashed s2's come up for sale? Plus if its crashed id probably have to replace some bits too! If i did go for it i would use my avant no question.
So can we leave the moral issues and stick to the technical side of it please

[K Simmonds]

Fair point, it could be a long wait. That said a good mate and a member on here purchased a low mileage FSH, cat C (medium rear end) Avant for £500, this was a couple of years ago as well when these cars actually fetched what their worth. Suppose it depends on how much patience/space you have. The cheapest solution would be to buy a doner car whist you still have your current S2, swap over any bits you wish to retain for the conversion ie Miltek ect and sell the car, all be it for a little less. Loads of hassle I know but I have the privilege of space and proper workshop.

Id have a use for your avant shell, if i could weld! :mischeif:

[lind4hl]

i am with you Dest, it is just a car after all

And if you want an s2 saloon then go for it, you have almost every pieces that is needed for sure, and your avant shell must be worth good money for someone that maybe want to build a stripped out track-day toy or something..

[dest]

I couldnt be bothered with waiting for a good cheap one to come up, they dont exist! Plus a crashed one with decent bits on like mine would always be broken as its worth more.
Seems funny that this morning everyone was saying mine isnt worth much but now are saying its really nice and worth decent money being too good to break!?

[dest]

My plan would be:
Buy saloon
Sell any bits off it definitly not needed
Swap everything into saloon
Sell any bits left over from both

[K Simmonds]

I'd sell your current very tidy Avant, for say 4K ish. Then wait till a suitable write off/stolen recovered comes up for grabs to use for the conversion, could get one for not much more than a grand. Just my opinion, would be a pity for such a tidy car to be broken.

[gavs20v]

i say buy marks (rotoryboy) and get on with it. Use petes mounts that have already been removed and try and sell you shell on or transfer everything over from the donor onto your avant and sell it on.
Or buy my cab as i might be selling it
Gav