The Project Pad

Not quite as quick of a transformation as Dave's 84 days, but 8 months is pretty good for me!

2015-10-13_09-01-55 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Turned out great. Can't wait to see it!

Such detail. Many shiny!


Well done man! Now all this thread needs is some videos

Had a great time again at BBQ VI, and for the first time drove to AND from the event in an Audi
3,511 pretty much eventless miles in the 7A CGT.

First up, dyno results. Strapped up to the Iroz Motorsport Land & Sea Dyno (previously 034's dyno). Hank had replaced the strain gauges and recalibrated the dyno after having issues with it last year. We still think it's reading low though as my car dyno'd 122whp/135wtq through a FWD car. He previously had dyno'd a stock 7A CQ at around 140awhp. We expect the FWD numbers to actually be higher than that, but it's a dyno so it's always subject to interpretation. On the road, the car had no problem pulling away from a couple stock 20vt UrQ's and a stock UrS6 Avant even with a few hundred pounds of tools and parts in the trunk. So overall I'm happy with it's performance, so much more fun to drive now.
The surprising part of the dyno is that we swapped in an 034 chipped ECU and saw absolutely no gain...in fact it lost a few ft-lbs over the stock ECU, but it did lean it out a bit more than stock. Granted I'm still running the stock MAF, but I did get a V6 MAF to swap in. Seat of the pants dyno says the 034 has crisper throttle response despite no gain in power. Between that and the fact it runs leaner (for hope of better MPG) I kept it in for the return portion of the trip.

Solid line is stock ECU, dashed is 034.



I logged every tank of gas and hand calculated (well...with a phone app) the MPG for all. I didn't notice as much of a difference on the return trip with the 034 ECU as I might have thought, but I also had another person in the car for the return. The 034 chip probably gives a 0.5mpg improvement over stock. A lower 5th would definitely be nice, with a 205/45R16 the car is turning about 3300rpm at 70mph.

Mixed city/highway right after completing the build, lots of WOT = 20.7 mpg
Tank at BBQ, some highway and LOTS of WOT = 22.2mpg
Pure Highway (lots of hills/mountain passes/windows down mostly):
60mph = 29.5mpg
65mph = 28.1mpg
65-70mph = 26.5mpg
70mph = 26.0mpg
75mph = 24.3mpg

Lots of pics coming soon!

Gripes List - Post Trip
-Need to hookup alternator light/energizing wire. Currently have to rev to ~2200rpm at startup to queue the alternator to start charging.
-Car developed an occasional starting issue where it took extra time to crank or I had to give it some gas. Fuel pump also seemed louder than usual at some points. New stock Bosch pump has less than 4k miles on it. I'll probably upgrade to a Bosch 040 or Walbro regardless. Gotta check the accumulator too to make sure it's holding pressure.
-Car burns and/or leaks quite a bit of oil; about 1qt per 1000 miles. I've known my 1.8T rear main was leaking since the start and after seeing it on the dyno I think it's definitely leaking more than burning. I didn't see a lot of smoke out of the exhaust on the dyno so I think most of it is leaking out of the rear main seal and burning off on the engine/exhaust. The head could probably use a rebuild regardless.
-The new throwout bearing with less than 4k miles started making noise on the drive home along with me feeling some funky clutch behavior in the pedal. I'll investigate this while I have the trans off to fix the rear main seal. Will try bleeding the new master/slave again while I'm at it too.
-Headlights need new adjuster screws and aimed. One of the headlights is visibly dimmer than the other too despite both bulbs being the same/new and both apparently seated correctly. Going to investigate while I have them disassembled for new adjuster screws.
-Exhaust is too loud. Tried a different cheap Autozone muffler at BBQ, but it was louder and raspier. Gotta plan out the next system. It's currently 2" most of way, but I want to step it up to 2.5".
-Need to install rear bumpstops. Other than that, I'm really happy with the suspension.
-Car could use some dynomat, even after quieting the exhaust I bet it'll still be pretty loud. Got a revised trans mount from HPR since my first one wasn't tall enough due to the differences in the AWD/FWD mounts. Also got some softer poly for the engine mounts to try and quiet down the idle vibrations.

While I was gone I did get some parts.

New turn signals; still need decent reflectors.

IMG_20151025_164634705 by Vex Art, on Flickr

IMG_20151025_164826729 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Coupe GT dash badge; still want to 3D print my own Coupe GT 20v badge...

IMG_20151025_164546212 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Couple spare switches including another front fog and front defrost? (heated windshield? grabbed it since it looked rare)

IMG_20151025_164309887 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Looking good glad you had a safe trip. Some of those pics you had in that big thread are incredible.

It's been a while...was busy parting out the Merc and then was out of town for 3 weeks for the holidays. Haven't driven the car much, maybe once a month.

I had been eyeing a 'twin' Alpine White CE '86 Coupe GT with red interior on Craigslist for a few months and it finally got cheap enough for me to justify buying it. The paint on the bumpers and doors are nicer than the ones on mine so I'm going to swap those and then resell it and hopefully break even or close to it. While the digital dash is cool I still think I like the analog better so I'll be keeping that (and the wiring harness is completely different).

Twins!
2016-01-10_10-18-45 by Vex Art, on Flickr

A few hours after picking up the CE I had the interior out and cleaned.

IMG_20160109_223359 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Driver's seat isn't in the best shape, but I found some red duct tape that blends in better than the black that was on it. Leather is still pretty soft.

IMG_20160109_223406 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Door cards are nice too

IMG_20160109_230751 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Rears are really nice though. Installed.

2016-01-10_10-26-40 by Vex Art, on Flickr

And all in!

IMG_20160110_013353 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Went to a local meet of old school Audi fans in Seattle. Car ran great despite sitting most of the time since BBQ. Still need to get on the gripes list...

SeattleAudiJan16-1040031 by Vex Art, on Flickr


Maybe I've just got too much time invested in this car, but I'm loving it more and more. Come spring time I plan on selling an Audi to fund another venture and I initially thought I'd sell this and keep the Avant....but the more I drive it the more attached I get. It'll only get better as I fix all the little things. Those who say FWD Audis aren't fun haven't driven this thing!

Decisions...

2016-01-10_10-26-59 by Vex Art, on Flickr

That interior is seriously badass! It'd be perfect with that drivers seat fixed. I love it. Glad you're enjoying the car! I'd rather have the avant just for the utility of it, but you kinda have that covered in other areas, so maybe not!

loxxrider wrote:That interior is seriously badass! It'd be perfect with that drivers seat fixed. I love it. Glad you're enjoying the car! I'd rather have the avant just for the utility of it, but you kinda have that covered in other areas, so maybe not!

Yeah, I do love the utility of the avant, especially since I want to build a teardrop trailer to tow behind it. I also plan on selling the Touareg once this dieselgate thing gets figured out so I probably will keep the Avant. It'll be hard to let the CGT go, especially for a price that I would want.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Haha I was wondering who bought that other white CGT! Looking goooood.

Not too much progress in a while. Have been working on swapping doors from the 'parts' CGT that I bought; one door down, one to go. Bumpers swapped. Hoping to get that ready to sell in about a two weeks; gotta do the other door swap and I want to do the timing belt too.
Swapped a new steering wheel on:

IMG_20160220_114001 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Went to swap on the big MAF that I had and it ran fine for about 10 minutes and then started sputtering and throwing a CEL for 'no MAF signal' so I think the MAF is shot. Swapped back to stock for now, got another big MAF on the way to try. Not really happy with my DIY modded silicone elbow to make it fit so I'll probably order the 034 one.

2016-02-12_06-08-39 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Cleaned the ISV and the idle is a lot smoother now. Also picked up a spare 7A head that I'm going to have rebuilt since something is burning oil in my current engine.

Found some center caps for the TSW Hocks with some candy red nuts. Gives a nice contrast and matches the interior. The center plates are chrome so I need to paint those silver but doesn't look too bad right now. Was thinking of maybe painting the wheels white, but I haven't decided yet. I need to do a photoshop.

IMG_20160221_155306 by Vex Art, on Flickr

IMG_20160221_155255 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Still have a few things worked on, going to try and get that done soon so the 90q and another Type 85 that might soon be arriving can get in the workshop.

P1040769 by Vex Art, on Flickr

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Trans came out to fix the leaking 1.8T RMS...FYI, don't use the paper gasket with the updated style RMS, just a dab of Yamabond/etc in the corners on the bottom flange. Built a jig to drop the trans while on the lift, worked great. Thanks Jim Green for the idea.
So far, it seems like the leak is fixed, but I've only got about 5 miles on it.

2016-03-20_01-27-32 by Vex Art, on Flickr

While it was on the lift I threw on the mudflaps I pulled off a 4kq in the junkyard a while back.

2016-03-20_01-24-08 by Vex Art, on Flickr

IMG_20160319_224932 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Also removed the pin stripe left on the doors from the other CGT and removed the badly cracked and yellowed stone guards (heat gun + plastic razor blades + carb cleaner + goo gone = easy)

IMG_20160320_011259 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Looking good! I like the frame you made to drop the trans on. Much more elegant than dropping it on your chest like I always end up doing.

A tale of two coupes

P1040970 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Took a break from working on the UrQ to work on the CGT a bit.

Bought a Cupra R lip last year and was planning on installing it on my UrS6 Avant. I sold that car and kept the lip. Was cleaning the garage and remembered I had it so I figured I'd see if I could make it work on the B2 bumper.

As you can see, the corners are much sharper on the B2 bumper.

IMG_20160523_230316 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Thankfully the lip is ABS and pretty flexible. I cut out triangular notches ever inch or so near the corners to allow me to bend it. Then secured with pop rivets. I trimmed about 1" off of the end at each side to make it transition nicely to the corner of the bumper.

IMG_20160523_232735 by Vex Art, on Flickr

And mounted back on the car. I'm super happy with it. Subtle and I think I paid $60 for it.

P1060836 by Vex Art, on Flickr

P1060838 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Test fitting some Sparco Terras I got and attempting to color match them to Alpine White.

P1060842 by Vex Art, on Flickr

P1060843 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Previously the Sparcos were a much brighter and blue-er white. This first pass was with Duplicolor 'cloud white'. Still not perfect so I am trying another shade now...although I'm regretting that as I screwed up and went on too heavy so now I'll have to sand and try again.

2016-05-24_03-35-50 by Vex Art, on Flickr

And while I was doing this I noticed a put a nice hole in my previously mint turn signal :( Could've been worse as the last time I drove it a rock came at the windshield, thankfully only leaving a barely visible chip.

IMG_20160523_222635 by Vex Art, on Flickr

When you're using hubcentric spacers, pay attention to the hub depth and don't buy 12mm like I did. The front hubs are 14mm deep and the rear are 19mm on a Coupe GT. So when you put on a 12mm and tighten it down, you break it. So now I need to figure out what size to get that will work around the hub depths. I need 8mm to make the wheels the same offset as the TSW I had before and could add a little more without rubbing.

IMG_20160524_221155 by Vex Art, on Flickr

IMG_20160524_221143 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Needed longer bolts/studs since I'm using spacers so I did a stud conversion.

M14x1.5 x 64mm (total length) studs

IMG_20160523_220332 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Also finally got around to installing the big MAF I had sitting around. I previously had tried to mod a simple silicone elbow to work like others have in the past, but I didn't like the results even though I did it twice. So I finally broke down and bought the 034 boot.

IMG_20160521_163416 by Vex Art, on Flickr

At the same time I also decided to order the 034 poly snub mount. Sadly that install did not go nearly as easy. I don't know if it's just B2's (friend also had this problem on a 4kq), but their mounting bracket is wrong and has to be slotted to fit. Getting the poly bushing on was a bit of a pain, but the microwave softened it up and some lubricant helped slide it on.

IMG_20160521_170939 by Vex Art, on Flickr

IMG_20160521_181836 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Nice! I like the lip and wheels. How does it run with the big mad?

Bummer on the busted spacer. The obvious solution is that you get your lathe running so you can bore the center of the spacer to fit the hub ;-)

Have only driven it around the block, seems like a small improvement

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Good job Alex, everything you've done so far is spot on. Keep er going. Which car do you plan on bringing to BB BBQ..?

A20V200 wrote:Good job Alex, everything you've done so far is spot on. Keep er going. Which car do you plan on bringing to BB BBQ..?

I'm hoping to bring the UrQ...but that is looking pretty daunting right now. We'll see.

OZ/Sparco decals from '80s rally wheels in a custom size to fit the smaller Sparco Terra center. Still waiting on some carbon fiber 'OOOO' center caps decals.

2016-06-10_10-41-03 by Vex Art, on Flickr

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P1060875 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Couple pics from Audi Expo 2016 this weekend

P1070140 by Vex Art, on Flickr

P1070111 by Vex Art, on Flickr

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P1070147 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Had a good parts collecting weekend.
B3 FWD disc brake rear axle assembly. Will have to figure out brake lines and parking brake cables, hopefully SB stuff isn't NLA.

IMG_20160710_162703 by Vex Art, on Flickr

G60 2pc front suspension and spare 7A intake manifold for when I feel like experimenting with ITB's

IMG_20160709_125146 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Nice collection of Audi's at the expo! That rear axle looks frightening for some reason.

ITBs = Awesome

Petar's 7A was butter smooth with ITBs.

I'd love to see an ITB set up on a turbo motor one day.

Took advantage of the low GBP exchange rate and ordered a new exhaust system from DCperformance in the UK. It's a Fox 2.5" stainless system, made in Germany. I'll have to fab up a small stainless pipe to go from the stock 7A downpipe to the stock CGT cat location. Whole kit was just under $650 shipped to the USA.

IMG_20160723_114615 by Vex Art, on Flickr

IMG_20160723_125110 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Resonated tips

IMG_20160723_114624 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Installed

IMG_20160730_113542 by Vex Art, on Flickr

IMG_20160730_113602 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Had to make a custom test pipe since the engine downpipe is different than stock and I'm not running a cat. Turned out pretty well for my first time welding stainless. TIG with solarflux on the inside as I don't have a spare argon bottle yet.

IMG_20160730_105136 by Vex Art, on Flickr

IMG_20160730_111847 by Vex Art, on Flickr

Happy with the sound.m Quite a bit quieter than the last setup which is good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ2DiF90FBM&feature=youtu.be