The 1970s may have given us flares, ugly buildings and some of the worst music ever, but thankfully also something worthwhile in the shape of the B1 Audi 80... Trevor Brady’s reworked his ’73 barn-find to create an absolute stunner

Words: Sarah Harrington-James | Pics: Arkadiusz Szturc 

When I think of barn-finds, the first image that conjures up in my dizzy little head is of rusty 2CVs caked in a thick unsightly layer of dirt, straw and chicken sh*t. Thankfully this barn-find in question had nothing to do with moving the French peasantry on from horse and carts. Instead, it was an ultra rare and totally original 1973 B1 Audi 80 that had been owned and stored for 20 years by an old lady after her husband’s death. It was only when she passed away that her family, on seeing the garage falling down around the Audi, decided to sell it on as a restoration project. The stuff of dreams no less!

Swapshop

Back in 2009 Irishman Trevor Brady went looking for a diesel Mk1 Golf to use as a daily driver. When one of those didn’t come to light, he was offered a petrol 1976 B1 Passat in need of a resto so he figured if he bought that, repaired the rot and dropped in an oil-burner he could use this instead as a cheap and cool retro daily. Shortly afterwards a shutdown scrapyard in Kildare was briefly reopened to clear it of the ‘70s and ‘80s cars that were languishing there. Trevor’s neighbour Ken (a well-known hunter of early watercooled VAGs) picked up a complete but rotten 1973 B1 Audi 80 out of that yard and swapped it with Trevor for a set of Pirelli P-Slots! Trevor decided to use that Audi 80 as the donor for the Passat restoration when, call it a bizarre coincidence, he was offered another 1973 B1 Audi 80 and since they’re so rare, he agreed the sale over the phone and went to collect it. This indeed was the awesome barn-find; an early 1.3 ‘L’ spec, (the second lowest of the options scale) Irish registered model in right-hand drive.

“When I met the seller I knew that this was the best of the three B1s by a long shot,” remembered smug Trevor, who knew at this point he’d just landed on his feet. “By now I had collected a few spares for the Passat that would also suit the Audi 80 so I decided to embark upon the restoration of it instead.”

It was 99 per cent complete of all its factory fittings and fabric trim where the ‘luxury’ items were – well, just the carpets, a passenger sunvisor, an electric window washer pump, arm rests in the doors and an anti-glare rear view mirror. It didn’t even come as standard with headrests, a passenger’s door mirror, centre console or radio! The lowly spec didn’t bother Trevor, it was the Audi 80’s bodyshell that was the cause for concern. Twenty years of loitering in a darkened lock-up hadn’t been kind to the metalwork and rust had eaten its way through the front wings, boot lid, inner wings, rear ends of the sills plus the fuel tank.

PROFILE

NAME:
Trevor Brady

AGE:
33

LOCATION:
Laois, Ireland

OCCUPATION:
Engineering & technical drawing teacher

DREAM CAR:
An Outlaw Porsche 356

FAVE MOD ON CAR:
Coilovers

TOP CHOONZ:
Early Prodigy before they let Keith Flint ‘sing’

THE KNOWLEDGE

Engine:
1.8 8v, stock 1973 carburettor
Transmission:
High-ratio four-speed manual
Suspension:
Home-made coilovers on the front, Koni adjustables rear
Brakes:
Mk1 Golf GTI 239mm vented discs, VW Vento rear drums
Wheels & Tyres:
Fully polished Porsche Fuchs replicas, Bridgestone 165/50/15 tyres, including the Porsche steel spare wheel, FK adaptors (15mm front, 20mm rear)
Interior:
Leather retrim in factory colour and pattern, stock uncut door cards and restored factory carpet, restored dash with radio deleted
Exterior:
Straight gloss black paintwork, full factor ‘L’ spec stainless trims and bumpers, custom crystal headlamps
 

Thanks:
First and foremost my wife for her patience, my dad for technical advice, Marty Lane for paint, AT Autostyle for leather, Eireplates.ie for the period correct numberplates, Cathal O’Toole, Tony Sanchez, Tsar Sheane for various parts and the good folk at Eircooled.com, VAGdrivers.net and the Dasher Owners Group for technical advice and encouragement

To read the rest of this feature see the November 2011 issue of Golf+.

Back issues available here.