Nice to hear that. Keep us updated and good on you for sticking with it. Car is a great sleeper example and hope things work out for the best.
Glad to hear you’re not giving up on your beast!
I think it’s good to have your switching over. Ditching the cats is a good idea and I think we all would love to hear your feedback on the new header set up.
Sorry to hear you had to go through all this but it’s exciting to see your getting some new go fast parts out of it
Headers + Nitrous sounds really fun
Updates and a few pics…
I towed the car from RI to NJ on a rented u-haul trailer behind my Grand Cherokee… actually went surprisingly well, considering i was maxing out the towing capacity of the jeep, and i had never towed a car before! 
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/489/18499645629_df488e69f3_z.jpg
Car updates by Dan Gray, on Flickr
Prior to towing it down, i finished a few projects.
New nitrous tank setup (look back in this thread to see previous) including a composite 12lb tank from NX with a billet mount. No more side mount, and i am hoping that this functions better.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/483/18681091872_38148d1155_z.jpg
Car updates by Dan Gray, on Flickr
My stock hood was dented from somebody backing into me around the same time the engine blew. I decided to replace it with a CF hood from Aerofunction (vorsteiner mold). The center vent is functional, as of now, the side vents are not. Its been painted to match. I have hood pins ready to instal, but have not done that yet. Still need to work on getting the drivers side to line up correctly. PS, i got a RS4 hood strut, and its still too powerful.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/466/18498085338_23e9247b28_z.jpg
Car updates by Dan Gray, on Flickr
Status of re-build and plans:
Car is at RS Worx, engine is at RS Worx… Waiting on mid-length headers to ship from JHM… apparently a lot of people want those damn things! Planning to ceramic coat before instal.
New parts going in:
Mid Length Headers, no cats, same FI catback with res.
JHM Aux oil cooler
JHM trans cooler
Snub mount plate to accompany snub mount i already had
034 density trans mount
Timing service to new engine (80k miles)
Re-instal:
JHM Nitrous kit, colder plugs, and nitrous tune
JHM ported intake and TB
JHM LW Crank Pulley
Additional tuning and plans:
Have a nitrous specific shop run though everything and look at checkin and tuning the nitrous system?
Get JHM TCU tune
Get JHM LSD
Brembo BBK front, JHM BBK rear
Aesthetic and weight saving plans:
Ditch rear seat?
Swap out front seats for Recaro Sportster CF seats
Respray or replace front and rear bumper covers… DTM?
New/lighter wheels… HRE FF15?
More to come as we progress… will hopefully have a vid of the first start on the new engine soon!
Nice to hear. Lookin good it will be nice to see it back on the road again.
So basicly now it’s going to be even more fun Avant ;D
Btw speaking on DTM bumpers, that would be awesome. The only thing you’d need to fab up rear bumper as they never made those for Avants. Shouldn’t be that hard of a task for a competent shop.
Funny you mention this… After having ECS tell me that the DTM rear bumper doesnt fit the Avant, i spent 15min searching google image trying to figure out what was different about the shape of the bumper cover on the sedan vs the Avant… im still not possitive… but im guessing its in the angle the trunk lid sides vs the hatch?
Wonder how much modding i would have to do, and to what?
Ill have to look into it.
While speaking on this subject. There’s a mutual acquaintance of my client overseas and he converted his B7 A4 to DTM and it’s black as well. That is the only time I’ve seen full DTM exterior conversion on Avant and it didn’t disappoint. I’ll have to look up where I have those pictures stored. I know I posted those on AZ before as well.
Got em:
https://b-a.d-cd.net/9042fv/960.jpg
https://f-a.d-cd.net/5042fv/960.jpg
https://a-a.d-cd.net/842fv/960.jpg
https://g-a.d-cd.net/8842fv/960.jpg
I think those are S4 blades and he’s still missing DTM sideskirts here.
Im trying not to be picky, but i dont like those wheels, and i think the exhaust tips stick out too far… the DTM front and rear bumper covers really work though… i dig it.
Now to find out what is required to mod a rear sedan DTM cover to fit an Avant… Hmm…
Update:
As will happen, the engine swap is dragging on…
New mid length headers took a while to get from JHM. They just got back from the ceramic coater last week.
Assembly begins this week. Timing service is being done on the “new” block.
Brake rotors were badly rusted from sitting outside for 6 months… so i decided to do a BBK up front. Went with a Brembo GT kit… 355 slotted rotors with 6 piston calipers. That should be in any day.
And the big news… While it sits with no engine, somebody happened to be selling his B7 6MT parts at a price i couldnt refuse… those are on the way, and 6MT conversion will be getting done when everything gets put back together. The trans, rear diff, and drive shaft are on the way, all sourced from a B7 S4. In negotiations for additional parts like front CV axles, clutch peddle assembly, CMC, and shifter box.
Need to decide on clutch/flywheel package, but i am leaning towards the JHM LW flywheel and R-series pressure plate with stage 3 clutch. Any input on this would be great!
Also considering benefits of going JHM short throw and linkage package, vs using stock components… again, input is appreciated.
Getting there!
Awesome news! With manual it’s going to feel like a totally different car.
Yeah man… cant wait!
Need to settle this debate… JHM LW fly wheel, or OEM dual-mass flywheel???
Get JHM take, but seem to remember certain JHM clutches not playing really nice with the oem dual mass. Could be mistaken tho. I have not heard much complaint about JHM clutch / lwfw and chatter. I had a vast stg3 clutch and lwfw and chatter was really nothing unless chugging in the wrong gear at low rpms
Great to hear things are progressing
As of now, my plan is to order the R-Series package… LWFW, R series PP, 3R clutch…
The JHM LWFW has some chatter to it but not as bad as some of the other LWFW chatter I’ve heard in other off-platform cars. It’s actually pretty unnoticeable unless you like to ride the clutch at low-low RPMs and the ride powers through with gentle throttling 
Looks like you have some good progress happening Sir.
If your going to ditch the auto the LWFW is a great add on to help the reaction of the car. The R series is almost a must with the NOS as it will kick really hard and you need a strong clutch to hold the instant power. Its good to hear that the car is not only coming back together but your getting almost a hole new car. New headers new trasmission swap.
Sounds awesome! I love the 6 speed conversion idea, that is brilliant.
As for the clutch and etc. I went with the JHM/034 Light weight fly wheel and LOVE it. I don’t get much chatter unless I am trying to get rolling uphill. I also went with the R series 5R 6 puck clutch and it is actually not to bad at all for a daily now that it is broken in a bit more.
%100 get the JHM shifter trio, it makes the driving experience so much better. Probably one of my fav mods I have done to my car. The shifting is so crisp and kinetic its hard to describe but its similar to the action of a vintage Mauser.
Did they ever determine the cause of your engine failure? Was it a failure in the Nitrous system?
No debate JHM LWFW> OEM.
My OEM flywheel failed on me in dramatic fashion, I will never run one again.
If you’re doing the 6MT swap, I’d HIGHLY recommend doing the JHM Trio shifter upgrade while the trans is out. It is night and day imo. And the shifter linkage install is a bit of a pain with the motor and trans in if you decide to do it later. I know builds add up quickly, and it’s certainly a “enjoyment” mod vs a “power/performance/reliability” mod, but I really enjoyed my setup.