CQ project, the road less traveled (They're never done)

[AngryTaco]

Cool beans. When you 6-71'ing that slow 2.8

[scubadave]

1 major project at a time bra

[scubadave]

one of the parts I got from the junk yard a few weeks back was a front strut bar off a b4 90. had to cut the strut top plates off with a hack saw which took quite a while. I got it regardless, and since it was a halt off day I got it for cheap ass shit.

got the passenger side welded on so far.

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picked up a spare radiator for a trade, and plan to alumify the tanks and make sure it all fits without any modification to the brandy new RS2 headlights I got recently. every day I get closer and closer to firing it up. starting to get exciting.

[Dave]

Sounds like you are liking that junkyard! It is just so damn far out there.... Oh well, the things we do for our Audis!

[PRY4SNO]

Jealous of your junkyard luck.

We get bupkis out here.

[scubadave]

Its not that far in the scheme of things. It comes down to availability. Pick n pull, cant stand that place. They nickel and dime you for everything. I have dropped parts and left with nothing at least twice from there. Tear a part, I like that place, but they cycle through inventory way too fast. If you dont drop everything and go get what you need, the car may be gone by the time you get to it. Pull n save cycles through cars at a reasonable pace, and doesnt charge you for every single piece of an assembly like greedy bastards. At the end of the day, you cant predict whats going to be where and for how long. Its either feast or famine. I get what I can when I can.

[scubadave]

Its been a short while since I posted. I have been working on re-engineering the front end while I have a few spare moments before october. I got a spare radiator to cut the plastic tanks off and redo it in aluminum. I also had plans to drop some weight off the front end with the crossmember.

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I managed to weld a little sumthin up yesterday. its not quite finished yet, but I have today to get a little more done. Yeah, its not as pretty as hanks weldin, but Im learnin. in fact, I have been getting better. I can weld the inside corners now, its still a little messy but it is penetrated. I do love this TIG machine. It does the job pretty well even with the thicker stuff. EAT YOUR HEART OUT JARED!! HA HA

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[AngryTaco]

Real men have v-belts

[scubadave]

My belt has lots of little V's in it.

[AngryTaco]

more like rectangles or rounded squares!!

[scubadave]

CURSE YOU ANGRY TACO!!! (shakes fist)

How's this look?

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[PRY4SNO]

Looking pretty good, heat looks to be set nicely. I can see a bit of undercut but it shouldn't leak, much.

[scubadave]

Looking pretty good, heat looks to be set nicely. I can see a bit of undercut but it shouldn't leak, much. ;)

Well, since that front brace does not need to hold fluid, I guess I'm good. As far as the big bulky stuff that does not need to be perfect welds, I'm happy to get more practice on the machine. I wont be welding the end tanks on the new radiator... I'm not that good. Do have a friend that is a master welder that will be doing that!

K so I added a lower brace on the bottom which is the weld I showed previous. Then felt my re-envisioned snub-mount could use a trimming and bump down in weight. so I lost some of the bracketry and simplified it.

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Then back to welding... this did not turn out very pretty, but is functional. I'm not worried since it will not be seen really.

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[scubadave]

So here is a few more inches of progress

One with the brace.

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My re-imagined snub mount fits like a glove.

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And since I have been adding what I can to make this awesome, I started to add some more lightness!

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This is not the final revision of the front brace. I still have a few more additions to make while making the revision to the radiator and mounting solutions. Stay tuned for more.

[Marc]

I like it. nice snub solution

[PRY4SNO]

Love the progress!

[AngryTaco]

Snub mount is awesome

[scubagli]

Mkiv sway bar link yes?

[scubadave]

Mkiv sway bar link yes?

Nope. It is an actual engine mount. Its a dogbone from a toyota if I remember correctly.

Thanks for the thumbs up on the snub mount solution guys. However, I made this transition a year or two ago. Its documented earlier in my thread. I may have included the part number of the part I used as well. The bracket wasnt hard to make if you can cut steel and weld. Its very solid, and not at all noisy. Does the job better than even a poly snubber could by far. It cost me prob 20 bucks to make with a few peices of scrap. Definitely one of my best ideas.

[AngryTaco]

I may do that on the new motor. Gotta keep 525 wheel under control

[scubadave]

Finished enlightening the front brace. Now just need to weld on the tabs for the lower radiator support.

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Have the tankless radiator kinda mounted up for measuring up and making the cardboard prototypes for the end tanks.

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Had to trim a little bit aroud the tabs on the RS2 headlights. Makes me nervous.

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And finally I'll be able to use that V8Q oil cooler I've always had laying around waiting to go in.

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[PRY4SNO]

Love where this is going, keep up the good work.

[scubadave]

Ive got the radiator tank prototypes done. Dropped the radiator, the sheet of alum off to the master welder an hr ago. It will hopefully be done by sunday, and I may be going over to help clean the material before welding. Of course it wouldnt be an update without pictures...

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They wont look perfectly identical, but very close. We plan to round and eliminate corners so there arent any pockets for steam to collect, which would and could be a bad thing. More to come as soon as more happens.

[scubadave]

I been tryin hard to make more progress over the last few. I spent the last few Saturdays at the welders using the sheer and the brake to cut and bend the pieces for the tanks. I didn't get any pics of the separate pieces. I asked Chris if he would drill and tap a block for the Thermo Fan Switch. He did. Hes the man.

So on Saturday, I got all the pieces to put the Rad together. We did.

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[scubadave]

At the end of the day, this is what I had!

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