New Cab Project

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:04 pm

Doh, I just bought another Cab that was just too irresistable to ignore! Very Happy

Silver Final Edition '98 2.8 which has a loaded spec list which includes:-

Final Edition bodywork
17" Bolero alloy wheels
Hardtop, sold with car on original purchase by 1st owner. Very Happy

Black leather electric heated Recaro interior Very Happy

Trip computer
Cruise control
Air conditioning.
Premium sound system with subwoofer.

Most major mods I've put on the Ruby cab will be going onto this one, so it looks like I've got to do the work all over again! Laughing

Pic coming soon.... Cool

UltraUser Joined: Jan 30, 2003 Posts: 1743

ooooooh, sounds lovely. Picies needed!! whats the plan with ruby?

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:53 pm

Ruby is going back to 2.8 12v power and auto, having the final edition front and possibly the Bolero alloys chucked on, unfortunately the rims are badly corroded and one has a bent lip from a pothole encounter. Eventually it will get sold on when finished.

I picked the silver cab up not far from you in West Malling! Razz

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:53 pm

thgat would be everything on my cabby pick list... go on.. tell me its dark metallic and i might have to shoot you.

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 6:11 pm

go on.. tell me its dark metallic and i might have to shoot you.

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 6:15 pm

go on.. tell me its dark metallic and i might have to shoot you.

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 7:51 pm

Can't wait to see the pics Wink

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 10:54 pm

go on.. tell me its dark metallic and i might have to shoot you.

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:27 am

Was it fear of not having a huge amount of work to do to the car! Hard topped cabbies i really like, + bolero, + leather + final edition.

more to the point, get the camera out!

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 12:08 pm

The bodywork is in very good condition, which on the ruby was in an awful state particulrly the paintwork, it's come a long way and looks good now but there were a few areas that just needed more attention and money thrown at them.

The leather is in better condition but I will still want to re-dye the front seats as they have the usual wear patterns on the bolsters.

Pics are coming. Razz

UltraUser Joined: Jan 30, 2003 Posts: 1743

Happy days!! sounds spot on. Looking forward to seeing it all on the silver one.
We need to get some photos of our cabs together if i ever finish mine
We were busy having a baby at the weekend or else id have said pop in for a brew! Very Happy

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 3:58 pm

Congrats matey, I thought you might have yer hands full Very Happy

She's done intergalactic mileage of 227k most of it from one owner who travelled from Brum to Glasgow on regular motorway commuting. All running gear, gearbox and engine will be replaced so no probs with the high miles. Mainly interested in the straight bodywork and interrior. Fully spec'd with the hartop for £2k bargain! Razz

UltraUser Joined: Jan 30, 2003 Posts: 1743

lol, yeah, has been a bit manic. That sounds a billy bargain. especially as you using it as a base to build from. Top job
Gav

Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 8:57 pm

Some early progress, pulled the front bumper and lights ready for the big job tomorrow..

Engine has been pulled from the ruby cab..

I think the engine bay needs a clean, I've seen cleaner crypts! Laughing

Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 9:00 pm

Premium sound system based around the Audi Delta head unit with active speakers and sub..

rear speaker

I'm undecided whether to keep the stock system, seems a shame to rip it out when it is a rare sight in these cars.

Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 9:18 pm

Started a little repair job on the driver's Recaro seat which had a worn seat bolster, the leather was is good nick but the foam had worn away underneath

Filled the hole with some spare cushion foam..

Put some tape over the area to hold the foam in and to reshape the bolster and put everything back together ready for a good clean and a few coats of black leather dye.

bad boys ready to go back in...

Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 9:27 pm

Now that's a set of seats Razz

UltraUser Joined: Jan 30, 2003 Posts: 1743

ooooooh looking good Very Happy

is that te same style hard top as the other silver one or the same as the black one as i have?
I see youve got your rims on the silver one already Smile

On a side not could you do me a massive favour? when you swap the porsche mirrors across could you take some pics so i can see how youve mounted them? ive still not got round to fitting mine

Cant wait to see this one finished
Gav

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 12:29 am

Yep, exactly the same as the other silver one, the Audi manufactured job. This hardtop also came with the trolley stand which was a nice bonus. There is also a slot that you can lock the hardtop lock under the sun visor using the ignition key.

Gav, I'm spraying the wing mirrors at the moment so I'll post up a few pictures as I go along. Smile

Two of the four original Bolero's were badly corroded and one had a bent rim from pot-hole damage so the new alloys really had to go on. Cool

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 10:49 am

Nice seats remind me of a pair i've got at home Laughing

Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:10 pm

Had some time to work on transferring the engine over to the new silver cab. Always a good opportunity to scrub the engine bay clean with no engine in there Smile

. As usual a very leaky autobox and valve covers! Rolling Eyes

The steering system was also leaking badly from the pipes around the bomb but not to bother as it was going to get all ripped out in favour of pneumatic brake assist. There was a reconditioned steering rack fitted so pretty much most things on the chassis are new or reconditioned. All new Powerflex bushes on the front and rear suspension, new drop links, bottom ball joints, top mounts and of coarse the H & R suspension kit Smile

.

Work in progress lifting the 2.8 30v + gearbox in>>>

The firewall is slightly different and further forward in the cabriolet which makes for a bit of a squeeze.

Slotted in at last, just fits between the frame rails.>>>

A/C compressor resting on the floor still connected, just slots into the identical location on the 30v, same external block as the 2.8 12v engine.

This is where things get tight. In the previous cab I had some serious engine vibration traveling up into the cabin via the exhaust manifold rubbing on the frame rail. This time I ground a corner out so the manifold just clears the frame.>>>

The manifold heat cover just touches the heat insulation on the frame rail but there is no solid contact with the manifold. Cool

Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:15 pm

Wonderful job, can never get tired of reading about your work.

Just about get a Rizla inbetween there Shocked

Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:22 pm

Nice lol, bet you could do this with your eyes closed.

UltraUser Joined: Jan 30, 2003 Posts: 1743

oooooh happy days!! looking good there matey Very Happy

Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:41 pm

Had an episode today! Embarassed

Took the cab out to get an alignment as all my attempts with lasers, trigonometry and alignment gadgets had failed Rolling Eyes

. Didn't hold out much hope as previously ATS had told me to get lost "we don't do them" obviously referring to the likelihood that the tie rod ends normally are seized solid. I thought I would try kwikfit ( Shock

I know!) as it was a Sunday and the only place likely to be open. Anyway same story "no we don't do those", I pleaded that the tie rod ends had been freed and greased but to no avail. He did suggest I go to another local tyre fitters and try them so off I trundled.
Parked up at the next tyre centre (seemed to be a bit more professional) was greeted and I asked about an alignment, "we'll take a look". Excellent I thought at least they seem interested! Chap got in the car to move it on the ramps and no movement , uh oh Rolling Eyes

. "It's selecting gear but not moving, shit I wonder if the gear selector linkage as come apart. The 2 lads there were helpful enough to push the car into the garage to try to get the car on the ramps to take a look. With some major effort and some nasty grinding noises we managed to get it in. I took a look under the car and to my disbelief the n/s/f driveshaft was hanging out of what looked like exploded inner CV joint.......

There where a few parts on the floor and the CV heatshield had taken a hit and was sheared off it's mountings. After agreeing that no alignment was going to take place I was stuck as being fwd I had no transmission to the o/s/f. So a call to a mate with a UrS6 who lived a few minutes away got me a tow the 4 miles or so back home but not before I got my aircon recharged and working again, it was flat empty so it had to get a hour's worth of treatment from the machine, all for £45, not bad I thought, 'least there was something to show for my outing! Cool

Got home safely and whipped the driveshaft out and removed the inner CV joint remains, not much to see apart from an empty CV case and a lot of cleaning up to do!...

So I'm after a V6 driveshaft, it so seems that the V6 models AAH/ABC have the 130mm tripodic shafts and I see the inner CV joint is not listed just the driveshft with the CV attached, lesser engined models have separate inner CV joints so it looks as though I have to buy a complete driveshaft from a breakers. Annoying if this is the case as the inner CV joint is held onto the end of the driveshaft with a circlip but without the remainder of the CV joint I cannot really justify if the joint is easily assembled/disassembled, oh well..

To be honest I suspect the front suspension is too low and this is the unfortunate result. I personally would like another 20mm in spring height so I will look at some new front springs while I'm waiting for a new driveshaft. I've made a decision to upgrade the brakes so I will most likely do all these jobs at once.

Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:53 pm

Fast; Mark is breaking at least one V6 80- he may be able to help you out with the bits you need;
if it helps, the club has managed to strike a deal on PI springs- only in complete sets mind- ones for the Coupe (should fit your Cabby) come in at around £120 delivered. Drop is 40mm, they claim. I'll be fitting a set to my 90 in about 2 weeks (need a pair of struts first)

Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 8:46 pm

Thanks Andy. Which Mark(screenname?).

Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:34 am

Can't remember (he's only made one post on here)- you can get him on his mobile - I'll pm you his number later Wink

Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:33 pm

I thought I would post some updates...

The driveshaft has now been replaced with a new inner CV joint. Smile

There are some major upgrades in the works that will carry on into the next year. No.1 project is the fitting of bigger 4-pot brakes. The cabriolet is a heavy car to start with and with the extra weight of a 30v V6 with A/C and supercharger and not forgetting the Hardtop too there's a lot of weight to stop!

I've acquired so far 324mm x 28mm Ford Focus discs - yes I'm keeping the 4-stud 108 PCD. The centre bore needed to be enlarged to fit the 68mm Audi hub so they were opened out the few mm on a lathe. No problems with fitment once machined.

The calipers I'm using are Brembo 4-pots with 44mm and 40mm pistons, these are used on BMW 740i V8s., they so happen to also use 324mm discs upto 30mm thick. The calipers I bought were refurbished and came with a brand new set of Yellowstuff pads that are a perfect fit on the Focus discs. Razz

Used BMW Brake lines were included with the calipers and would fit, if a little too long but I had some rear Cq Goodridge lines knocking around that are an ideal length so I shall be using them.

Trial fitting the calipers I will need the mandatory custom brackets, I cannot use the RS2 type brackets as the caliper mouting faces are parallel to the caliper which makes machining the brackets slightly easier - basically a stepped rectangle with four through holes. Hopefully a friend at work can machine these at home on his mill for a few notes. Razz

I just need to source some steel and hand over the drawings to him.

Project 2 is to fit automatic climate control, this is a long term project I'm in no rush to complete until the warmer weather arrives but so far I've been steadily acquiring parts. I have an A4 motorised flap unit that houses the heater matrix, most of looms and plugs to go between the control head and flap motors, the control unit -as used on 100/A6 cars with climate also found on LHD B4s and Coupes. Various temperature sensors off other car makes such as a Saab cabin temp sensor with in-built fan, a sun light sensor from a vauxhall etc. Other parts will be required no doubt as I research the project more.

While I was tearing most parts from an A4 at a scrap yard I grabbed some interestinf items such as a leather gear knob from a 5-speed TDi which is a nice upgrade and a plug'n'play fit.

While removing the A4 dash I removed the centre console that had an arm rest fitted which got me thinking, "I wonder" Confused

so I grabbed that too for a test fit in the cabriolet. In no way is it an easy mod but toatally possible with a bit a fetling. The alloy frame will need modding to clear the handbrake mechanism and the centre console will need cutting as well as the plastic surround on the arm rest frame but it should fit and bolt down on the transmission/exhaust tunnel. Currently it's a platinum grey colour so the hard plastics will get sprayed black and the grey cloth covering will be replaced with black leatherette material.

Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:56 pm

hijack... oh well done that man.

is that the focus RS discs Si? There is a thread on s2forum with a type 85 90 quattro running focus RS brakes.