Project Merlot

Status
Not open for further replies.

2work

Well Known Member
United-Kingdom
Hello all,

May I take this opportunity to introduce you all to Project Merlot, a January 2003 FSI Sport stunningly presented in Merlot Red.

Some of you have seen that the family has recently grown after responding to this thread. To save time scanning through the link, here are the pictures that initially got my attention:

2E46C2EF-CFA0-447B-9D70-1882A1B4E982.jpeg


11384629-D8C5-4AA2-B1E2-84C8C16C2346.jpeg


D9F71040-DAE6-4086-BE0B-96425E1636CC.jpeg



D5E9DBA7-C1CE-42F9-926C-1AE74F4AC773.jpeg


18141B85-7F10-470E-8933-A2D1167C6718.jpeg


After viewing the thread and examining the pictures I just had to register interest and was so lucky to be the first of many to register such interest. It looked awesome on the advertisement produced by Phil @Philjourno and a viewing was booked a for a few days later. I was very pleasantly surprised the way it was presented when I arrived to view and had pretty much already decided it had to join the rest of the fleet at 2work Towers within minutes, but first had to confirm that any issues might well be within my ability and pocket to rectify.

The viewing lasted some 3 hours where I was superbly hosted by Phil, the conversation never paused during in the inspection which involved many scans with VCDS to see what faults could be cleared and what was persistent. Phil thank you so much for your time, helpfulness and top notch hospitality Sir, it was a real pleasure to meet you.

As you can guess, the deal was agreed upon and transaction completed a day or so later after confirming collection with one of the Shiply couriers. I was quite surprised at the cost of getting this glorious A2 delivered from Stanford to Coalville, - as a driver was already in the neighbourhood I was offered a corker of a deal on the transportation:

5C1ECB87-FA00-47E0-BBEE-FDC2F84F56F2.jpeg


Although previously shown on the Today I... thread, here is the Merlot FSI arriving last night:

4AE73AAE-5FCF-406D-A643-1A63F45FC80B.jpeg


Looks amazing but had to be pushed from the road to the driveway due to the known dead battery. It has since had a fresh battery fitted and fires up straight away.

I know I've said this before with Project 250, but there is no plan of going over the top with this project. It is absolutely perfect just as it is, a gorgeous looking, honest A2 in a fantastic colour. That said look at the current specification that Project 250 boasts! I'll try hard to resist the temptation to retrofit the items within my ability but first the oily bits must be concentrated on before any upgrades are remotely considered.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
Hello again,

So I suppose the real questions here is… Why another A2? The short answer which I assume most of you can appreciate is that the A2 is sooo addictive.

The longer answer is I’ve owned a FSI for roughly 6 months some 4 years ago and really liked it. At the time I was commuting in an Ebony Black 1.4 petrol which was great and worked just fine and had just spent a tidy sum on it doing routine maintenance. Therefore the FSI sat in the driveway whilst I waited to fund a new cam belt etcetera before I considered using it for commuting or as a second A2. Not long after, a good friend and work colleague was in need of a little work horse and pretty much give it away. It was a fully sorted Ebony Black FSI that ended up with Platinum Leather Sports interior and have always regretted letting it go.

When this opportunity presented itself I thought I’d have another go with the FSI as have always admired them, even with their niggles as I know first hand how brilliant these engines are when running as Audi intended.

The long term outcome for this car is it’ll probably go to very close friends of ours who have always liked seeing both Project OEM and 250 our driveway and asked if I would hunt down a petrol variant for them. They won’t need it until next year so this give me plenty of time to get reacquainted with this engine and it’s joys once in good fettle.

As my mechanical knowledge is quite limited, even more so on the FSI engine then I’ll probably be reaching out to our resident FSI experts for advice on what probable causes of issues this one has might be. I’ll add the VCDS scans throughout the progress and see what the wider membership can offer in regards of potential failed items etcetera..

I’m well aware that some of the issues will require some replacement parts that could be costly so might have to free up some of my more exotic spares to funds such purchases. No spoilers here, you’ll know what’s available once they’re in the Market Forum.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
That is a very classy colour.
Does it have a special license plate? Doesn't look like a regular UK plate to me.
Evening,

The number plate is from Berlin. The previous owner had it in the garage from years ago and only put it on as the private plate it was sporting the last few years was retained by him and has since disposed of the original number plates.

This Berlin number plate was mainly put on for the advertising pictures as it looked odd with no number plate at all.

It’s since been removed and will shortly be wearing a set of bespoke Club branded number plate surrounds. A new number plate will be purchased once I have the new V5.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
that's a German export plate, specifically from the town of Berlin and from early this year (expiry in 2023-02-01).

lovely colour!
Evening Bret,

Yes it really is a lovely colour. I’ll add a few more pictures of it later this evening as I’ve had the polish out this afternoon. Looks brilliant.

According to what I found on another website this plate expired 23 January 2002:

A8A44A25-713B-4415-80B6-74F65AE57672.jpeg


Explained below but only from a quick online search so could well be incorrect:

B5A243BE-3D60-4F7B-BBDE-9933F2AE5954.jpeg


Kind regards,

Tom
 
Evening all,

Although Phil had this awesome A2 cleaned up prior to my viewing on Monday, it had already succumbed to natural debris from trees etcetera and I really wanted to understand how nice the coachwork was.

This afternoon I wased and rinsed the vehicle twice to get as many contaminants off the surface without spending hours with the Clay Bar, that will come at some point though. Once dried off for the second time I got the AutoGlym Super Resin Polish out and gave it plenty of layers to bring the exterior to a wonderful shine, the pearlescent aspect of the paint glistened beautifully.

Not quite content with that though I applied a few coats of DodoJuice (Blue Velvet as the Purple Haze won’t be delivered until tomorrow) which created an even deeper and luxurious finish. Here is a few pictures from this afternoon:

Offside
1A5E8C9A-DE0A-48A8-96AD-CF62CF2FF95C.jpeg


Nearside
F0BFBA16-2EBB-487D-8E47-BBA95FCFDD5D.jpeg


Front
26AB817E-E9F3-4CC0-B72C-A28449A62FD8.jpeg

Those headlamps really are crystal clear!

Rear
724B0EFA-5AC5-4785-8546-092FB2AF05D2.jpeg


This A2 also boasts the currently unavailable A2-Line badges
A31C1549-0ED0-4C56-BDEB-8DE90C9E1758.jpeg


A close up of the polished and waxed coachwork, the pictures really do not do this finish justice as it sparkles beautifully in the light:
96BB3B6E-BED1-4D9C-974B-2E3F3EF071E5.jpeg

That is one very dirty Project OEM in the reflection!

Kind regards,

Tom
 
Hello again,

Thought I’d add a few more pictures, first off the 17” Sport Wheels it sits on, to look their absolute best they could do with refurbishment but are quite adequate for now:

OSF
92DEE5DC-CAEE-456E-BF9B-8D8E7121D748.jpeg


NSF
2CB7639F-CC76-4319-9290-3BC53F6AF3EB.jpeg


OSR
59D545B4-A657-4300-973A-20978D48CE4A.jpeg


NSR
292AE8EC-A211-4208-81FD-AA53DADDB1F8.jpeg


You may be able to spot the heavily corroded brake discs which will be replaced early on during the repair phase, I really need it roadworthy and in a safe state before fully test driving to put load on the engine to see if further issue raise they ugly head.

The tyre are in great shape though but will monitor as they’ve been sat in the same position for some time.

Onto the interior:
F69824EC-8A82-44E5-882F-24EC70F21300.jpeg


You’ll possibly notice there is an aftermarket CD changer on the left of the luggage space floor:
769D6706-5CE5-48C2-A76F-7AC832F9BB37.jpeg


4108EC80-BD01-4E69-BB99-221A5736740A.jpeg


I’ve not tested it so far, even if it works it will be removed, if I’m to be honest by this A2 then everything must be OEM.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
Continuing with the interior, I gave it a quick wipe down but not hoovered it out yet. To be honest it’s still nice and clean from The viewing preparation that Phil done over the weekend prior to me arriving Monday afternoon.

Here is how pleasant a cabin it is to be in:

OSF
2B800940-CF64-41FD-B54E-27A445F2876B.jpeg


D21E2A97-7A40-407C-9F25-923FBF52C111.jpeg


NSF
F60C4E95-52E2-47C6-8F77-2A1409A04058.jpeg


A94CD894-25D5-4474-8BF3-D8BB43DF2B5E.jpeg


OSR
A3755621-71F1-4AF4-B607-B075642AF3DB.jpeg


9B9F46BC-9D1F-4B05-946F-6D4C9ED611E0.jpeg


NSR
51AE0136-2EED-434D-BBB6-DE31CC1AE27E.jpeg


0DAE9363-8926-42B5-ACE3-5DE2843F0827.jpeg


It could do with an A6 C5 armrest, handbrake tray and a rear cup holder. I have spares of each item but need to decide which one will get the aforementioned toys, RN53 or Merlot. Such decisions I know!

Would it be great to find a stunning set of leather sports seats (possibly Twist as I think it would contrast the exterior nicely), well yes but that will have to wait as the oily bits must be spot on before the wallet is opened for such luxuries.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
Almost done introducing the interior now but a few more images for you all to see:

Usual Sport refinements
25387F45-BFFC-4DF5-9198-93C36FE581D8.jpeg


Centre console
BC442124-E0AD-4DA5-9581-16C9ED43E523.jpeg

Not too much soft touch ware and a Chorus head unit performed perfectly well for my first 3-4 years of A2 ownership, but could really do with something double it’s size. Must resist as I also have a spare in the garage with custom firmware installed all ready to go.

A zoomed in shot of an earlier image:
48EB515C-7854-4090-8978-EC748AFE1112.jpeg

Again not too bad on the soft touch front. Could do with a bespoke footrest along with TT pedals. No spares so that might have to wait. Also that steering wheel is a little too round and missing a couple of thumb rollers, again must resist!

So here’s the fleet as it currently stands:
77305028-CB30-47F8-8EF9-AF5E82EC0CA0.jpeg


Anyway a busy week and very long day, time to relax:
268A2177-96A1-4AAA-BEEB-452C0A03DA13.jpeg


Kind regards,

Tom
 
It has OE rubber mats too! You know I always appreciate that Tom.

I really approve of this one.
Evening David,

Thank you for your endorsement. Yes the factory rubber mats are a great addition and I really like them. I guess the time is nearing I’ll go back to carpeted mats in the summer months though with the current venture so close to fruition. This particular set of rubber mats has been put together over time.

You may remember that I sent you a passengers rear rubber mat sometime last year (or the year before) as it was part of a pair of rears I had spare.

Since then I have sourced another passengers front rubber mat (cannot remember who from now) and was left missing the drivers front and the passengers rear I sent you. Months later led me to obtain another drivers front rubber mat from Graham @rosiedog which left the only missing item from the whole set was the passengers rear.

By chance it was recently secured by the bargain offerings by Parmjit @slumdog. It’s been a long time coming to generate members spare items into a full set but I got there, very happy with the outcome of our brilliant membership.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
that's a German export plate, specifically from the town of Berlin and from early this year (expiry in 2023-02-01).

lovely colour!
You are bang on!
Right when you say I imported a 330d Estate in Estorial Blue paint which cost me a fortune on the individual programme. Six months later they introduced that paint as a normal cost option. Thanks BMW :rolleyes:
 
If we carry on like this we may find that the only Merlot cars around are owned by A2OC members! It is difficult to find out how many there are as my V5 says 'red'.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top