How should I spend £1500?

[ctolladay]

Right then... I have £1500 to spend on the S2.

To start with I need to sort out the Rad. The plastic top seems to have split which allows water to weep out of the top. This needs sorting but can it be done without replacing the Rad? If I need to replace it that's £250 I think?

Right then... I now have £1250 to spend on the S2.

I think I need to replace the bushes and the top mounts on the suspension. That's £350 all in (prices from Vag Parts).

Right then... I now have £900 to spend on the S2.

Every time I change gear there's a knocking sound under the car. If I strip off the transmission and get it re-cond that's £???, lets say £400?

Right then... I now have £500 to spend on the S2.

What can I get for £500? What should I do first? Can I save money on the other fixes to give me more to spend? Help please!

[Jas11n]

Genuine replacement rad can be had from GSF for £110 or there abouts. See this thread. Steve, Jamo and Mark ("fat audi 80, "Jamo", "Rotoryboy") have all used them.
Stay well away from NISSENS rads..
Knock when changing gear will prolly be one of the three rear diff mounts or the gearbox mounts. It's a drivetrain issue and wouldn't have thought it to be a gearbox issue..

[rotoryboy]

Rad should cost you £100 ish from GSF

Sounds like your dif mounts need replacing, not a tranny rebuild

Invest in the propper top mounts not the green etc......

This should leave you with about £900 to spend on mods

[ctolladay]

Have you got the part numbers that you would recomend for the Rad and the top mounts? I had a look on GSF and was not sure which Rad was correct for the S2.

[Fat Audi 80]

Yep! Jas is right the GSF Rad fits perfectly!

If I were you I would either:

A.) Have it remapped by MRC (if you have not had it mapped already) £500 - £700

B.) Get some Porsche brakes on it £500 - £600 see Bry or the various threads on the subject

C). Get a lovely sounds system £500 - £1000

D.) Invest in new wheels or cosmetic enhancements depending on condition of the car.

Do post some pics of your work!

Cheers,

Steve

[ctolladay]

Steve - The car is original. It's only had the Cats removed. A re-map is a good start but I'm thinking brakes first. I've got a kit of parts for my sound system, I just need some time, MDF, fibreglass and some power tools - ummmmm powweeerrrr tools.

I would like to keep it looking original. I like to suprise people; hence, removing the S2 badges front and rear.

Keep the ideas coming please.

[Fat Audi 80]

Right, now that I have seen it that helps.

IMO

1.) Buy some clear indicators and clear side repeaters.
2.) Personally (and I know I am Mr OEM) I would be tempted into some new (quality) rims to go on it. (You WILL need rims if you go for a brake upgrade anyway )
3.) Let me know if you need info on boot builds. I did mine with a sparewheel sub box and a flush mounted amp in the boot floor....

Cheers.

Steve

[Jas11n]

Just done a quick search on "Behr" rad.
Rad part number as posted by Jamo, is on the last post of this thread here

[4WheelDrifter]

What's wrong with orange indicators?

[ctolladay]

Cheers Jas11n! I just love this forum!

New wheels? I'm not sure. I thought that you could hide some big brakes behind the standard 16"s.

The trouble is that I have not yet found, what I think to be, a better looking rim. They need to suit the car without looking like an after thought. I think I'm just to fussy.

I have always been considering changing the orange glass to clear but what about the rears? They are the original bright orange affair.

Sorry to be a complete novice but this is why I like this forum - lots of ideas and experience.

[Jon441cc]

I actually prefere the orange indicators with elipsoids

Ive got a rad from an audi 90 20v which is exactly the same as the s2 rad just hasnt got the pipes for the auxilary rad, which would free up some space for a big *** intercooler

[Fat Audi 80]

Cheers Jas11n! I just love this forum!

New wheels? I'm not sure. I thought that you could hide some big brakes behind the standard 16"s.

The trouble is that I have not yet found, what I think to be, a better looking rim. They need to suit the car without looking like an after thought. I think I'm just to fussy.

I have always been considering changing the orange glass to clear but what about the rears? They are the original bright orange affair.

Sorry to be a complete novice but this is why I like this forum - lots of ideas and experience.

You can get a "red'er" looking rear light cluster that looks more up to date. You don't have to get clears but I think it smarten's up the car and makes it look that bit newer. I agree about putting chav type wheels on S2's - it looks horrible. IIRC though, you cannot get big brakes under the Speedline five spokes you have and depending on the type of brake you choose they can be tight on 16" Avus wheels (which are wider than the 5 spokes)

P.S. Yes this forum is great isn't it!

[Jas11n]

A few pics of what Steve is saying about the rear lights. If you were to buy a new set of lights today from either the dealers, GSF or ECP then you'd get version three in the pics below. (original pics courtesy of www.s2power.com)

1/ First version of the rear light units fitted to the coupe.
This light has the solid orange indicator and solid white reverse light.


2/ Second version of the rear light unit.
This light has red horizontal stripes through the orange indicator
and a solid white reverse light.


3/ Third version of the rear light unit.
This light has the red stripes through the orange indicator and also through the white reverse light.


4/ This is the American version of the rear light.
This version is virtually red through out. They look good, but will be illegal in the UK, because the indicators have no orange reflective material inside and will flash red!!!

[ctolladay]

Ok, accepting that I need some bigger wheels to fit some bigger brakes behind them, what do people advise?

Post some pics to help please. The more OEM looking the better I think.

[ctolladay]

After my last post I was checking out another thread and lokk what I have found -



Oh yes that's what i'm talking about. Sorry for steeling your pic buddyracing.

Where can I get a set of these from? Will they destroy my budget?