DWS964

I am in the market for another C4 coupe. Prefer a 92+. 94 widebody would be great but may not be in my budget. The car will be a daily driver + DE. I might consider going to a 993, but not a 996. (DWS996 just doesn't sound right).
The fate of the old car is not completely decided, but the bottom line is that I need another car to replace it. I am driving a Previa, and I am not happy. When the dust has settled I will pass along my tale.

There is an interesting C4 with a widebody conversion here with lots of records, but I am cautious of "conversions". Does anyone have any knowledge of this car?
I looked at a nice 89 C4 with low miles, but I think I want air bags.

velocitylover

I have a Previa:It's a '92 All track with 200 000 miles on and it does't want to die
On serious note I can't wait to find out what happend
Will keep an eye out for you !!

Kahdmus

NO!...the Informants ride with its bum-print preserved in leather is leaving the family?!!

It didn't get hurt did it?

ilko

Good luck Darrell, I'll keep an eye out for you.

DWS964

I have TWO Previas, neither one will die.

A bit of data - 17-year-old air bags do still work. I am getting things settled today, I hope. More later.

Thanks, everyone, for keeping an eye open for me.


DWSPREVIA

Kahdmus

OH NO!!!!!

DWS964

I almost had a deal to swap my goods into another red C4, but my friend and I decided that was not a good deal amongst friends.
I am following up on leads on a rennlister's 93 C4 and a 90 C4 w/ a widebody conversion. There have been a few 94 C4 widebodies showing up on Ebay, Pelican, etc. - one of these would be ideal, but are just on the outer edge of my budget.
Does anyone know of a nice C4 with a blown engine? I would swap my goods into it and have "my" car back. Red would be perfect.
I settled with the insurance company (went well), and right now I am hanging onto my old car until I get a suitable replacement. Later, I may start parting it out with the help of a friend - No wolves scratching at my door, yet, please.

DWSPREVIA

Hambisa

Hi Darrell;
Sorry that your 964 met an untimely end. My '91 C4 is for sale, if you are interested. Not a low-miler, being my DD, but it runs great, is meticulously maintained, has new lowered suspension with 17" Cup IIs, and would be excellent for DE. Contact me if you would like more information.

Jim Howley

I am currently on my second widebody conversion and the only advice I can give is to investigate why the conversion was done in the first place. If they were replacing panels anyway due to accident damage then beware but if you have documented proof that the conversion was done for looks only then I would say go for it and see what you knocked off the price for the fact it's only a conversion.

DWS964

Jim,
Thanks for the heads up on the WB conversion - good point, if it was to repair a damaged car or not. On your conversions, anything else to look out for? I assume the front suspension was moved to the outboard position, but that also requires use of the longer axles for a C4 - are those hard to find? Did you use the Turbo rear arms, or use NA arms plus spacers? (several threads have recommendations by Geoffrey to use the NA arms, but preferably w/ wheels with proper offset) For the rear fender flares - is it a full quarter panel replacement, or just the flares? Anything else structurally in the rear fenders?
Thanks for the help.

DWSPREVIA

Jim Howley

I would check the quality of the paintwork as it will obviously have had to have some done. Check to see if the whole car was done, whether there is obvious overspray etc but that is part of any standard check you should be doing anyhow. If there is overspray in places then a good auto detailer can often remove this with some polishing work so if it is good overall with a few bits lacking you can always use these as bargaining points rather than disregarding the car.

The additions are just flares rather than full quarters but that may vary depending on the parts used. My previous WB was a C2 with the suspension in the inboard position and I used wheel spacers, it was on my list of things to do when I wrote the car off. This WB car is a C4 and to be honest for me the cost of changing everything will prevent me from doing it so once again spacers it is. Having said that I won't be tracking the car so it won't be subjected to that level of driving.

Kahdmus

Darrell, did we ever get the story on what happened to 'The Informants' car? Now you have settled, can you reveal all?

DWS964

The accident happened less than a mile from my house. Snowy morning. Only the second day back home from a long business trip. I live on a narrow, winding, hilly, country road. Start going down the steep hill with a right hand turn at the bottom, notice the car slip around a bit. Did not want to use the brakes and cause the car to shift (hindsight... maybe should have used the ABS?). I thought I would just steer through the turn and all would be OK. I steered through 1/2 of the turn, and then realized that I was going to go off the road (i.e. understeer). I hnestly thought - "oh, crap, I'm going to scratch up my car". Then - BANG - I hit a tree on the front left. It took me a bit to realize that my air bags had gone off. And, my windshield was gone, blown 10 feet in front of the car. (I would like to have seen a video of this...) I did not feel the air bags contact me, other than maybe on my thumb. I tasted the "gunpowder" all day. I could not get my tow hook out because the trunk lid was jammed. My wife slid off the road coming to get me. I think I was more sore from all of the pushing of cars than the crash.
Damage:
front bumper and all components shot. Left fender possibly repairable. Front tub section and left frame member pushed in. ABS/PDAS pump and system OK. Car runs and drives OK (but breezy without a windshield). Both airbags deployed. Chance to replace that pitted windshield. Sunroof popped out. Total repair estimate, largely due to high cost of parts especially air bag system, far outweights the value.
The insurance company settled very fairly with me. I have no complaints with them. I kept the car, allowing me to have some time to decide what to do with it.
I will post some pictures soon.

Conclusions?
I have been running all season tires for two winters with no issues, going anywhere in many inches of snow. Next year - winter tires for me and the wife.
Driving too fast? Yes, obviously. But, not driving crazy. I probably drive more conservatively than I used to - part of learning from DE's and part of the aging process.
Use the ABS to full advantage? Not sure if this would have helped, but perhaps
These cars are very capable, but not foolproof.
These cars are a performance "bargain", but are very expensive to repair.
17-year old air bags DO still work.

I am still devastated over losing my car. I was very happy with it. But, I am on the trail to getting another one soon.

DWSPREVIA

DWS964

Look at what I brought home today:

Indycam

You bought an undertray ?
How hard did you say you hit your head ?