A few weeks ago, I popped this 190E 2.6 up on our Facebook Fanpage; while it looked quite nice at the time, there weren’t many photos and the pricing seemed a bit high. But the big question was “Why?”; why would someone choose to convert the less desirable 2.6 inline-6 automatic model into a fast Benz when you already have a solid starting point in the 2.3 and 2.5 16V models? In part, the seller answers that in their description below; but to me, it doesn’t necessarily matter what the base model is – after all, there are plenty of people modifying Porsche 912s and 944s, there are countless E30, E36s and E46s that aren’t M3s that people choose, and even plenty of Audi A4s that get turned up in favor of the S4. Why not the 190E 2.6, then?
Author: Carter
Some time ago, I picked up a set of BBS RS wheels for my Audi Coupe GT. I’ve always been a big fan of BBS wheels, and of course by 1980s standards, the RS is the Holy Grail of road wheels. They have an accompanying price to go along with their desirability, however, as most clean sets will easily set you back over $1,000 dollars. When you factor in the number of sets that are available in the Audi Coupe’s 4x108mm bolt pattern, there just aren’t many options. However, SPG SAABS had the same bolt pattern and were available with 15×7 BBS RSs from the factory. What I was able to track down was a set of just those wheels, in original and un-modified shape. That was a plus to me, because I’m honestly not a fan of the overly polished or crazy colored BBSs, so finding an original set what great. Unfortunately, that meant they also had 25 years of wear on them, and in many areas – especially the center caps – they looked quite tired. I mulled over what to do for years, between sourcing replacements, having the wheels refinished, or just trying it myself. And to be honest, although there were many “DIY” BBS RS rebuild threads, I wanted to see if I could refresh these overall clean RSs that just needed some love without pulling them apart. So over the next few weeks I’ll do my best to chronicle the cleanup. I started with the center caps, replete with peeling, pitted and corroded clearcoat:
4 CommentsLast week, Paul wrote up a nice 2005 Audi S4 Avant, one of the few manual V8 wagon options ever offered to Americans. The package of the B6 and B7 Avant were certainly quite desirable and as Paul also noted, they developed quite an enthusiastic following. As they should have; as enthusiasts, we hear constant whining about all of the cars that aren’t offered to U.S. markets; yet when afforded the option to buy these cars, often the folks doing the complaining won’t ante up and buy them. Consequently, we’ve seen the S4 Avant model leave U.S. shores in favor of more and more “sport” utility vehicles. What are we to do as enthusiasts? Snap up the remaining clean examples of Avants, that’s what. And today, if you want to stand a bit apart from the crowd, there is one of the rarest color combination B6 Avants available:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2005 Audi S4 Avant on Craigslist
3 CommentsIf you missed last week’s awesome Westfalia that Nate wrote up, you missed a great example of the breed – as Nate put it, all you could ask for in a Vanagon. But if you don’t need the kitchen and awesomely cool pop-top, you can save a bunch of money and still have the Vanagon experience. Granted, you could argue that a large part of the appeal of the Vanagon is those camper Westfalias, but there’s a neat simplicity about the non-camper version. Today there is a stunningly clean version of the regular Vanagon GL on Ebay:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Volkswagen Vanagon GL on eBay
5 CommentsAbout a month ago, I wrote up a 2002 M20 Turbo built by a company called Manofied. Well, the Manofied folks have been at it again, this time with a 535i. They’ve fully built the car in the style of the Alpina B9, replete with plenty of Alpina parts, some Euro bits, and what appears to be a fantastic individual throttle body engine. The downside? As with the 2002, the price for this build is quite high for a non-original car. But before you jump to conclusions, take a look:




