Hey everybody. I am new to this site and I like it a lot. I just got a 1987 Audi 4000s over the summer for Free. Couldn't pass it up. Although it has no rust and it runs, it does need some work done as expected with a free car. Already I put a new bumper on it and replaced all the missing interior peices, but I have a few questions for you guys and maybe you could help me out. The body is in really nice condition except for it was in a minor front end collision(the impact didn't touch the hood or fenders). The thing is, the front crossmember that holds the radiator, headlights, and grill is bent in about 2". I am having some problems getting the silver trim above the bumper and grill attached because they won't fit in place. I can't unbolt this peice because it is welded to the frame in some places. Is it an easy job to take it off or should I just try to bend it back? Also the car runs smooth except when starting. I have to constantly give it gas or else the engine will die when the engine is cold. Also, it overheated a little when I drove it home. Since you guys probably have seen these problems before it would be great if you could let me know how to fix it. By the way, my car has the 1.8 liter engine and the automatic without 4wd. Thanks a lot and I really like this site.

I got my 4000 for free also! And like you said, it did have its share of minor problems. Im clueless about the body problems. As for the overheating...how did you know it was actually overheating? If the temp light didnt come on, you shouldnt have any trouble.

With the bumper off the car, take it to a body shop and see how much they would charge to pull out the bent section. They may be able to do it without the use of the frame machine. It's amazing what they can do with a come-along! If it truly is bent in 2", I would think that it is having an effect somewhere on the chassis or other mounting points.

Hopefully this'll help:

for the bend in the front, a judicious use of a come-along and a good sized tree helps...as long as you don't just move the car closer to the tree with it......

As far as the overheating/cold starting issue, it could be one of the temp sensors that affect the fuel injection system that allows for a cold start/warm start condition which senses whether to enrich or lean out the fuel. The 1.8 is a VW motor and there should be tons of info out there on it (unfortunately I'm more familiar with the I5's systems)

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I knew it was overheating because when I turned the car off, all of a sudden, the car errupted steaming coolent from under the hood. It scared the hell out of me. Free cars are great aren't they? I just could not pass this one up.