Project Chronicle

The long-term single owner of the 1995 Audi S6 Avant I bought in September is a well-maintained car. I received a stack of paperwork from the shop that looked after the Audi indicating as such. But like most "special" cars owned by someone who wasn't an enthusiast, the cosmetics clearly weren't a priority. It didn't help that the S6 was basically an "island car," which means it sat for months at a time outside. 

The paint was just bad. Dead. No shine. And a ton of swirl marks, because I'm guessing when it made the annual trip to Manhattan (where the owner lived when not on the Vineyard), it was taken to some God-awful brush-style car wash that roughed up the dead paint even further. 

I use Griot's Garage products for dealing purposes, mainly because they are easy to use and allow you to build a system pretty efficiently. I also finally got adventurous with the different orbital buffer pads, using the orange correcting pad for the first time in tandem with Griot's "Complete Compound." The result? The paint is much improved. There's still a ton of swirls - those will likely always be there - but the S6 now looks far more presentable, and as you can see here, the paint still pops nicely from 10 feet away.

There's a little thing called "service position" on Audis of a certain age. You see, as cool as old Audis are, they did this kind of dumb thing where they jammed the engine bay so full of motor that there was no room left to actually work on the car, save for changing spark plugs and the valve cover gasket. Anything on the front of the engine necessitated removing the entire front end. 

So, as my cheap-as-chips S6 Avant went into the bay for a long overdue timing belt job, I got to see just how much labor happens before the actual labor happens. And realize that while all this labor is happening, there will be more labor happening when the front end is put back on. It's insane. 

Bumper, grills, lights, radiator, rad support - all off the car before you even touch the timing belt. When this work was started, it was also realized the main pulley for the timing belt was junk and the tensioner was squealing with glee. I found a pulley in Germany, new in the box (and otherwise obsolete); the tensioner is seriously NLA but someone fortunately figured out that a bearing from a Volvo is the same part as originally supplied in the Audi, so that will be swapped in as well. 

I'm looking forward to actually driving this turbocharged five-cylinder wagon, and still very glad it was as cheap as it was. 

Every now and again, I'm reminded that you never know how and when a contact or friend will chime in with a great idea. 

I've known Dave, the owner of Auto Europa on Martha's Vineyard, for as long as we've been making an annual trip for our anniversary. I stopped in years ago because he was the only European shop on the island; later, it was because he owned a few Eurovans and given I owned one, his advice into the model's durability was invaluable. 

Dave and I hadn't talked since our trip in September of '21, so when he pinged me out of the blue in June, I figured it was for good reason. Turns out he has a customer who has owned an Audi S6 Avant since new and was going to donate the car. See, people who live on the Island tend to be of some means, so the prospect of trying to eek out $5,000 for a tired wagon that would then have to be transported off the island didn't hold much appeal. 

The S6 is a pretty special car. Two years of production, with the wagon accounting for under 500 total units sold stateside. The AAN engine is a legendary motor, a turbocharged five-cylinder with 227 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. It also responds to modifications quite well, with the ability to put down 300 b.h.p. or better with minor tweaks. 

Now, we won't be modifying this example. It's bone stock. It needs cosmetic help and is long overdue for a timing belt job. There's a bit of a stumble, too, which I suspect is due to a bad coil. The S6 has always been in the back of my mind as a car to buy, especially in fast wagon form. With this car falling in my lap for mere peanuts, I am looking forward to giving it the refresh it deserves and enjoying it for years to come.