jbhornibrook

I am a 30-something (35 as of this posting) in the US, and grew up admiring European cars. I currently have a 1985 BMW 528e and have been accustomed to a well supported community for parts (www.bavauto.com) as well as advice on maintenance and restoration (www.mye28.com). I am looking to buy a second project in the coming weeks and would love an Audi GT or Audi 4000 of 1980s vintage.

Can anyone recommend a good source for new Audi parts? Is there any company out there that has parts available bumper-to-bumper -- or do enthusiasts moreso rely upon having to refurbish existing parts and/or purchase used parts?

Also, are there any vendors in Europe that offer a comprehensive source of parts?

Rogviler

Welcome! I think old Audis are a lot of fun and I don't want to discourage you from getting one. At the same time, if you're coming from the world of BMWs it can be a bit of a shock as far as how few and far between the resources are. That doesn't mean there isn't any, it just takes a bit more digging.

Hopefully this will get you started...

For most "everyday" parts, like distributors, fuel pumps, various sensors, that sort of thing, I usually bounce between my local parts store and Amazon.com, depending on which is cheaper. Amazon ships every order over $25 (even car parts) for free, so that's usually what I do.

If those two don't have it then it's hard to beat AutohausAZ. There's also Rock Auto, but their shipping can make you spit your drink sometimes.

For anything that's NLA, junkyards are cheap. There's also Force 5 for anything you absolutely can't find or for something like a motor or transmission (especially if you want to do a 10v or 20v turbo conversion). And of course there are always people parting out cars on here or one of the other sites.

Performance stuff is out there too. There's 034 Motorsport (they sometimes make NLA parts, like the infamous shifter bushing), and 2Bennett Audimotive.

Also, if you want to ditch CIS or get a performance chipped ECU you have quite a few choices, such as 034 (above), Megasquirt, and Intended Acceleration.

The biggest thing I can tell you with parts is SHOP AROUND. One manufacturer will treat their parts like they're made of solid gold, while others will sell the same damn thing for a perfectly reasonable price.

As far as a community to ask questions: There's this site, but it's slow. Then there's Motorgeek, but it's mostly split between racers and purists (both have tempers), so it's easy to feel like nobody likes you and you should go eat worms if you're even slightly outside either of those. Also, there's VWVortex, which is slow and sometimes full of haters. So it's best to feel each forum out before you post to see if what you're into is going to fit in.

But I still think you should get one. It's hard to beat the fun you can have with a 4000 quattro (turbo or not), and Coupe GTs are nice easy cars to look at, drive, and work on. I have two 4kqs myself, and I used to have a CGT. It's easy to get hooked. In fact I'm currently really wanting another CGT...

-Rog

CanadaCGT

quattroworld.com is another helpful resource.
Very active and helpful 4000/cgt section

Parts can be a bit of a pain for the NLA stuff, especially tracking down little unique trim bits.

Coming from British cars i was used to being able to order everything new from a catalogue. Not quite the same with audi

Like rog said, make sure you shop around, another site is www.sjmauto.com, and get to know your closest VW/Audi wreckers

Rogviler

Agreed, although their nested layout is absolutely horrific. That's sooo 1998.

-Rog

mt6127

I've done some mail order parts work in my day and here's a few handy links

http://car-part.com/index.htm - Used parts.. Beats yard picking in the winter.
https://www.autohausaz.com/index.html - good prices, OEM + after market

http://www.fcpgroton.com/ - great for Volvo's, Good guys to call for info.

I haven't used either of these two in a while... not on my short list right now, but worth a look.

http://www.worldimpex.com/

http://www.bestforeignparts.com/

Most of my other links are specific to Audi or Volvo or part specific...

for the Audi/VW crowd, here's the link to your dream engine...

http://www.eurospecsport.com/product...ce-engines.htm