This weekend was slated for some serious car tinkering, but as is often the case, reality had other plans. Saturday morning started with a classic car owner’s annoyance – a malfunctioning mirror demister. Only one side working? Bugger indeed. But with a mission in mind, I headed to M-Tech, a treasure trove of parts, hoping to snag a few bits, including a rare interior that had caught my eye. M-Tech is always a good shout, not just for parts but for a chat with Adam, who’s got a stunning B5 RS4 and a wealth of knowledge about these cars. He’s been slowly dismantling a parts car, and I was keen to see what goodies it held.
My mate, driving his trusty Audi 80, met me there. His mission? To ensure my ambitious plan of fitting a whole interior into my B5 A4 Avant was actually feasible. Turns out, it was a tight fit, but doable. To ease the load and prevent any damage, I offloaded some parts to him – no wasted journey for him then! Of course, I couldn’t resist a playful jab about his 2.6 80 being a tad slower than my barge as we cruised back. We both had tasks lined up, mine focused on the interior, his… well, he had a list. In the end, we only managed to tackle fitting some new ARBs on his 80. My own car project also hit a snag, but in a different way.
The reason for my M-Tech visit was this – a Terracotta brown/orange interior. I know, it sounds a bit out there, especially for a bright red car. But sometimes, the most wrong choices feel absolutely right. I was smitten. However, the Avant I was pilfering this interior from turned out to be a very early B5 A4 Avant. No side airbags – not a dealbreaker. But then I saw the rear door cards… bloody wind-up windows! A right fking nightmare. Suddenly, the allure of this unique interior dimmed. Dealing with resistors and airbag lights wasn’t on my weekend agenda.
This early discovery did present an unexpected opportunity. My current cream leather interior, while comfortable, had seen better days. This setback became a chance to give it some much-needed hide food and tackle the frankly disgusting muck lurking under the seats. What complicated things further was that I had already arranged for someone to take my old interior off my hands in exchange for some S4 downpipes/cats and a cat-back system – parts he desperately needed. And he’d already set off! Double bugger. Thankfully, a quick phone call confirmed he was still interested in the “new” interior (now not so new plan), and he was conveniently convoying with a buddy. Forty-five minutes later, we had an impromptu mini Audi meet. My Audi 80 2.6, my 2.8 Avant Quattro, James’ B5 2.8 Avant Quattro supercharged, and Aiden’s B5 S4 Avant. Pretty cool to see all these B5 generation Audis together.
He was still happy to do the swap, thankfully. He’s a collector of rare parts, and this terracotta interior, despite its early spec quirks, definitely falls into that category. Both he and his buddy were a fountain of knowledge and great company. My rather… agricultural exhaust system became a source of amusement. It was moments like these that highlight the fantastic sense of community around these cars – endless help and shared passion. Something that will be very welcome when I tackle the cambelt change next month!
To cap off the day, we drove to a pub in Sherborne, had a good chat, and enjoyed a proper car enthusiast’s wind-down.
Of course, no car meet is complete without a little drama. One car (the supercharged one, naturally) decided to play up before everyone departed. A quick tightening of the inlet pipe sorted it out. Cracking day overall, even if the terracotta interior swap didn’t pan out as planned. Can’t complain in the slightest.
Oh, and I might have also collected my first ever speeding ticket this weekend. Probably something ridiculous like 45 in a 40 zone. Not sure how inaccurate my speedo is. Utterly my fault – was chatting away and then spotted the dreaded camera van. A slightly sour note to end a day of B5 A4 Avant adventures.
