Cheaper Beater: 1981 Audi 5000S Diesel

I get it. A diesel powered Audi 5000S is going to be slow…really slow. But it has to be faster than a Rabbit diesel and that was one of the most memorable cars I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning/driving. And before you get the idea of LS1 swapping it or putting in a new 600 horsepower Audi inline-5 from an RS-somethingorother, note that this car has rust. So this is the car that you need to just fix the described piston ring issue (maybe new rings, maybe some Marvel Mystery Oil and a case of Seafoam…I dunno, we’ll see where the weekend takes us) and drive it till your wife starts complaining about all of the cars you own. All I can say is — that is the cleanest engine bay in a $1000 car I’ve seen in decades. Find this 1981 Audi 5000S Diesel offered for $1000 in Colorado Springs, CO via facedasher marketbeans. Tip from Mark.

From the seller:

1981 Audi 5000s Diesel 5- Speed
$1,000
Vehicles
Listed a week ago in Colorado Springs, CO
About This Vehicle
Driven 290,000 miles
Manual transmission
Exterior color: Silver · Interior color: Burgundy
Fuel type: Diesel
Seller’s Description
Selling my Classic 1981 Audi Diesel 5-SPEED 5000s. In-Line 5, 2.0L, Mechanical Fuel Pump. 290k miles.

It Runs and Drives but it runs poorly. Had a mechanic check it and he said blown piston rings. I bought all the parts to replace the rings including gaskets and seals but I haven’t had the time. Some rust on corners. No hail damage.

Everything worked perfectly when I bought it but it’s slowed down over time so I just parked it. You can turn it on no problem. Real head turner on the road. Clean Title. Great project car for diesel heads. Very few of these are in the US. This car had to be ordered from Europe when it came out.

Here’s some info on it.
https://www.audiworld.com/model/5000/81-5000.shtml

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