mhayward
Member
Hello all! I thought it was about time I said hi, as I seem to have become a bit of an A2 convert over the last few years. Have loved reading through the forum, and have found it a very useful resource over the years. Anyway, for anyone interested in a bit of an A2 saga 
The original A2
How did I end up with an A2? About a decade ago, my dad bought a cheap £800 1.4 petrol A2 from a local car dealer. I was intrigued. It was in need of some love, but but before I really had any time to get accustomed to it, he sold it to a work colleague. I never really thought much about it after it disappeared, but a few years later the car was offered back to my dad. As it turned out, my brother was looking for a car, and as an 18 year old, it actually made a lot of sense – so it returned to the family once again. My brother ran the A2 for a couple of years, and grew quite attached to it. Eventually he upgraded to a much nicer 1.6FSI, and the poor 1.4 ended up parked up, slightly unloved for six months or so.
Around this time, I was looking for a cheap set of wheels for the winter. I've always run older, slightly more interesting cars but it always breaks my heart running them through salty UK winters. The A2 seemed to tick a lot of boxes: conceptually interesting, good to drive, fairly rust resistant, economical, cheap, easy to work on and easy to find parts for...
This was the car when I got hold of it:
It was on around 150,000 miles and came with a fresh MoT. Presentable from 10 meters away, but lots of scuffs and scrapes. Very low-spec, but with (non-working) OSS, it actually drove surprisingly well. It needed a new set of tyres, so I decided to source a set of 16-inch SE alloys and fitted a full set of 185/50/16 Falken tyres. I also managed to buy a false floor kit and a few bits and bobs from someone breaking a car locally. It smartened it up no end.
Not long after this I decided to tackle the slightly suspect cooling system. The radiator was weeping, the cooling fan seized, heater was tepid at best and the temperature gauge barely moved off the bottom. New rad + fan, thermostat (and housing), coolant temperature sender, and it all seemed to be operating correctly. My brother reckoned the headgasket was on its way out, but at this point it wasn't using any coolant.
After about 10,000 miles of fairly trouble-free motoring, it needed an exhaust, then a rear coil spring decided to snap. So I replaced everything. rear springs and dampers. I did the fronts at the same time, as it needed a top mount bearing. It really transformed the car, both visually and on the road:
As usually happens when I spend a lot of time working on a car, I started to get attached to the A2, but at 170k miles the list of impending work was mounting. There was a driveline vibration which seemed to be getting worse, the head gasket was certainly starting to show a few signs of trouble and the rear brakes were in need of a service. It was also overdue a timing belt. I was actually starting to price up doing everything – against my better judgement. Every day I was seeing much tidier cars than this being broken for spares or simply scrapped, which did get me thinking: Maybe I should stop being so sentimental and just buy a better example...?
Well, I didn't actually have to make the decision myself, thanks to an unfortunate meeting with a badger late one evening:
It didn't look too bad superficially, but the badger did quite a lot of damage, including wiping out the radiator, smashing the front panel, wheel arch liner and various other bits of plastic. it even ripped off the exhaust heat sheild. I parked it outside my unit and debated repairing it before coming up with a much more sensible solution.
The 'new' A2
A couple of years ago I got chatting with a fellow A2 owner on a work event, and we kept in touch. He was actually planning on scrapping his A2, as it was in need of some suspension parts and a timing belt – and at the time the scrap value was higher than what anyone else was willing to pay. I was going to raid some parts off it, but as it often does, life got in the way and we fell out of touch. Roll on to mid-2023 and now I'm feeling the urge to buy another A2 project, I messaged him on the off chance it hadn't met its maker. Thankfully it was still sat under cover, where it had been been since the first Covid lockdown. After seeing the pics, I was very keen on finding out more, and after a few more WhatsApp messages, started to worked out a rescue mission.
A colleague from work offered to pick the car up using his trailer, which was a big help! With some fresh fuel, and a jump start, it fired straight up.
This example was considerably better maintained than my last one, but with around 155,000 miles – again a 1.4 petrol – it needed some attention after being stood for so long. You would think that I might have gone for something a little fresher, but I like to give good cars a second life. And thankfully, I had a useful donor car outside the workshop. I set about getting the new A2 up and running using a mix of new parts, and some scavenged from my donor vehicle.
Here's a list of what I've done with the car to get it up to scratch so far:
- New battery
- Full service, including timing belt/waterpunp
- Air conditioning re-gas (still need to change pollen filter)
- New thermostat + coolant temp sensor
- LED rear number plate lamps (a bit bright for my liking, plan to modify these for a more OE look, but better than one hanging out and the other not working when I got it)
- Removed a dealer fit tracker and phone kit – huge amount of 'not great' wiring and old 12v battery
- Rear brake cylinder replaced for MoT
- Removed and cleaned undertray - lots of gunk from oil residue (need to work out the leak)
- New oil pressure warning sender
- New gearbox oil
- Fitted bluetooth/USB/handsfree phone module - still need to wire in a microphone (not that bothered as I don't use my phone particularly when driving anyway)
- Replacement driveshaft (after several poor quality incorrect replacements, opted for a good used item – long story with this!)
- Repainted the wiper arm and fitted new blade
- Replaced fog lights, and surrounds/grille with new items I had in stock
- Tidy up wheel centre caps
Swapped over from other car:
- Freshly polished headlights
- Wheels and good tyres
- Bits and bobs swapped over – tool box, first aid kit etc
Suspension refresh:
- Dampers from other A2 – under 10k miles old
- Lowering springs (fancied a slight drop in ride height, seems to be similar to the Sport set-up)
- New strut tops + bearings
- New bump stops + gators
- New drop links
- All new bolts
- Track rod ends
- Alignment
Still to do
- Fit new oil separator
- Full brake refresh
- Check/clean earths
- Fit cruise control
- Tidy up some of the soft-touch plastics
- Sort usual check strap issue
- Touch in a couple of minor scratches
- Wheel refurb/possibly fit set of 15-inch wheels and winter tyres
Apart from the timing belt and and the bits for the MoT, it went straight through with a couple of advisories. I've been easing it back into regular use, and aside from a few electrical niggles (and the first replacement driveshaft that was fitted by the garage ripping off one night!) it's been pretty good so far. It's even polished up rather well.
This A2 will still play the role as my sensible daily transportation (I need to keep the salt away from my other non-aluminium cars
, and occasional ULEZ driving), but hopefully this one will be a little more bearable sat in traffic than my last one in summer thanks to working aircon!
I've already invested a significant amount of time and money into it. While I could have bought a decent A2 for what I've spent so far, for me it's not so much about the money and more about the joy of saving an A2 from impending death. It also makes me feel a bit less guilty about scrapping my old car.
Anyway, well done if you made it this far
The original A2
How did I end up with an A2? About a decade ago, my dad bought a cheap £800 1.4 petrol A2 from a local car dealer. I was intrigued. It was in need of some love, but but before I really had any time to get accustomed to it, he sold it to a work colleague. I never really thought much about it after it disappeared, but a few years later the car was offered back to my dad. As it turned out, my brother was looking for a car, and as an 18 year old, it actually made a lot of sense – so it returned to the family once again. My brother ran the A2 for a couple of years, and grew quite attached to it. Eventually he upgraded to a much nicer 1.6FSI, and the poor 1.4 ended up parked up, slightly unloved for six months or so.
Around this time, I was looking for a cheap set of wheels for the winter. I've always run older, slightly more interesting cars but it always breaks my heart running them through salty UK winters. The A2 seemed to tick a lot of boxes: conceptually interesting, good to drive, fairly rust resistant, economical, cheap, easy to work on and easy to find parts for...
This was the car when I got hold of it:
It was on around 150,000 miles and came with a fresh MoT. Presentable from 10 meters away, but lots of scuffs and scrapes. Very low-spec, but with (non-working) OSS, it actually drove surprisingly well. It needed a new set of tyres, so I decided to source a set of 16-inch SE alloys and fitted a full set of 185/50/16 Falken tyres. I also managed to buy a false floor kit and a few bits and bobs from someone breaking a car locally. It smartened it up no end.
Not long after this I decided to tackle the slightly suspect cooling system. The radiator was weeping, the cooling fan seized, heater was tepid at best and the temperature gauge barely moved off the bottom. New rad + fan, thermostat (and housing), coolant temperature sender, and it all seemed to be operating correctly. My brother reckoned the headgasket was on its way out, but at this point it wasn't using any coolant.
After about 10,000 miles of fairly trouble-free motoring, it needed an exhaust, then a rear coil spring decided to snap. So I replaced everything. rear springs and dampers. I did the fronts at the same time, as it needed a top mount bearing. It really transformed the car, both visually and on the road:
As usually happens when I spend a lot of time working on a car, I started to get attached to the A2, but at 170k miles the list of impending work was mounting. There was a driveline vibration which seemed to be getting worse, the head gasket was certainly starting to show a few signs of trouble and the rear brakes were in need of a service. It was also overdue a timing belt. I was actually starting to price up doing everything – against my better judgement. Every day I was seeing much tidier cars than this being broken for spares or simply scrapped, which did get me thinking: Maybe I should stop being so sentimental and just buy a better example...?
Well, I didn't actually have to make the decision myself, thanks to an unfortunate meeting with a badger late one evening:
It didn't look too bad superficially, but the badger did quite a lot of damage, including wiping out the radiator, smashing the front panel, wheel arch liner and various other bits of plastic. it even ripped off the exhaust heat sheild. I parked it outside my unit and debated repairing it before coming up with a much more sensible solution.
The 'new' A2
A couple of years ago I got chatting with a fellow A2 owner on a work event, and we kept in touch. He was actually planning on scrapping his A2, as it was in need of some suspension parts and a timing belt – and at the time the scrap value was higher than what anyone else was willing to pay. I was going to raid some parts off it, but as it often does, life got in the way and we fell out of touch. Roll on to mid-2023 and now I'm feeling the urge to buy another A2 project, I messaged him on the off chance it hadn't met its maker. Thankfully it was still sat under cover, where it had been been since the first Covid lockdown. After seeing the pics, I was very keen on finding out more, and after a few more WhatsApp messages, started to worked out a rescue mission.
A colleague from work offered to pick the car up using his trailer, which was a big help! With some fresh fuel, and a jump start, it fired straight up.
This example was considerably better maintained than my last one, but with around 155,000 miles – again a 1.4 petrol – it needed some attention after being stood for so long. You would think that I might have gone for something a little fresher, but I like to give good cars a second life. And thankfully, I had a useful donor car outside the workshop. I set about getting the new A2 up and running using a mix of new parts, and some scavenged from my donor vehicle.
Here's a list of what I've done with the car to get it up to scratch so far:
- New battery
- Full service, including timing belt/waterpunp
- Air conditioning re-gas (still need to change pollen filter)
- New thermostat + coolant temp sensor
- LED rear number plate lamps (a bit bright for my liking, plan to modify these for a more OE look, but better than one hanging out and the other not working when I got it)
- Removed a dealer fit tracker and phone kit – huge amount of 'not great' wiring and old 12v battery
- Rear brake cylinder replaced for MoT
- Removed and cleaned undertray - lots of gunk from oil residue (need to work out the leak)
- New oil pressure warning sender
- New gearbox oil
- Fitted bluetooth/USB/handsfree phone module - still need to wire in a microphone (not that bothered as I don't use my phone particularly when driving anyway)
- Replacement driveshaft (after several poor quality incorrect replacements, opted for a good used item – long story with this!)
- Repainted the wiper arm and fitted new blade
- Replaced fog lights, and surrounds/grille with new items I had in stock
- Tidy up wheel centre caps
Swapped over from other car:
- Freshly polished headlights
- Wheels and good tyres
- Bits and bobs swapped over – tool box, first aid kit etc
Suspension refresh:
- Dampers from other A2 – under 10k miles old
- Lowering springs (fancied a slight drop in ride height, seems to be similar to the Sport set-up)
- New strut tops + bearings
- New bump stops + gators
- New drop links
- All new bolts
- Track rod ends
- Alignment
Still to do
- Fit new oil separator
- Full brake refresh
- Check/clean earths
- Fit cruise control
- Tidy up some of the soft-touch plastics
- Sort usual check strap issue
- Touch in a couple of minor scratches
- Wheel refurb/possibly fit set of 15-inch wheels and winter tyres
Apart from the timing belt and and the bits for the MoT, it went straight through with a couple of advisories. I've been easing it back into regular use, and aside from a few electrical niggles (and the first replacement driveshaft that was fitted by the garage ripping off one night!) it's been pretty good so far. It's even polished up rather well.
This A2 will still play the role as my sensible daily transportation (I need to keep the salt away from my other non-aluminium cars
, and occasional ULEZ driving), but hopefully this one will be a little more bearable sat in traffic than my last one in summer thanks to working aircon!I've already invested a significant amount of time and money into it. While I could have bought a decent A2 for what I've spent so far, for me it's not so much about the money and more about the joy of saving an A2 from impending death. It also makes me feel a bit less guilty about scrapping my old car.
Anyway, well done if you made it this far
