CT928

My '80 is in a very sorry state.
The front shocks are completely finished, i think they don't even have any oil left in them!

This means I have some serious front sagging especially on the drivers side. Whenever I go over a speed bump I bang the lower control arm mountings on it unless I take it at an angle. Not good at all!

So I'm going to go to the local scrap yard to get some temporary second hand ones but all they have are s4's.

If I get the complete coil over will this be a bolt in swap? I may also get the lower control arms as they are probably past their best.

Does anyone know if they'll fit?

I suppose while I'm in there I could convert to s4 brakes, but would that require the master cylinder to be replaced?

Thanks

rixter

if it's just the front you may want to consider the Club Sports... IIRC they should be close to a direct swap

Garth S

You can transplant the entire S4 front suspension, but you must do everything: upper & lower A-arms, spindles & ball joints, stabilizer bar and drop links, rotors , brakes & hoses.
If just the shocks are gone, and the lower A-arm is OK, then the standard S4 coil over assembly should be a direct bolt in. The shocks will be a Boge Gas, and the height adjusters will be there. I believe the top strut mount is the same, but if not, compress the spring and swap the top component.
The spring rates are likely a bit stiffer, but not a problem: Grab the S4 coil overs and go .... and then reset front and rear suspension heights and align.

WallyP

If you still have the aluminum lower ball joint carriers, you REALLY need to change those out ASAP. Sounds like now is the best time...

Rez

Springs should be fine. I'd just replace the front Boge shocks. As Wally pointed out, stick a magnet to the ball joints. If they are aluminum replace them. I'm in the process of doing all this now (brakes, ball joints, shocks, etc.). Hopefully sooner ($$$) then later, I plan a Rennlist write up with lots of pics. You may be interested, since my MY is an 80'

Marc Schwager

I dropped in a pair of shocks from an 83 or so with the adjusters while I was replacing the aluminum ball joints on my 1980. You'll need some spring compressors to swap the cylinders and springs if you choose to go that way. The new (old) shocks work great and getting the height set correctly was a great improvement. Search the forum on techniques to screw the coil overs in through the upper A arms. It takes some wiggling, but can be done with persistence and finesse.