94 Audi 80 2.6 V6 Quattro Avant

[karl7900]

When I had my A6 I bought a set of springs to lower it and whatever company I bought them from sent me two sets in error. I'm near certain the second set is still in the roofspace. My A6 was the 2.4 V6 and the springs were a 40mm drop iirc. Don't know if they'd be any use to you?

 

[r16vka]

I'd imagine the newer a6 would have a completely different setup, plus it's properly heavier. But thanks anyway!

Get them up for sale on the likes of Facebook marketplace, bound to be someone could make use of them

 

[r16vka]

Finally the correct rear hubs arrived, along with new bearings. Dropped them at my mechanics to get them pressed into the carrier. Just need the 40mm springs to hurry up!

Tonight we got the rear bumper off along with the towbar.

Followed by the front bumper, bonnet headlights and trim from under the lights.

It's obviously had a small knock at some point as that support bracket is bent. I've the one off the tdi I can use. Radiator is clearly a recent replacement too.

One nut was putting up a fight on the wing so drastic measures were applied lol

Richard is away next week on holiday, so I'm taking the bonnet up home to get it prepped for primer, along with a few other bits.

Passat earning its keep as always

 

[r16vka]

Not much to report, the 40mm h&r springs arrived from germany. Waiting on the rear hubs coming back with the new bearings pressed in from the mechanics. Then we'll get it all built up at the rear and see how the 60mm springs at the front sit with the 40mm rear. Chances are I'll run the 40mm all round since they're weighted for the v6 and the 60mm weitec ones are for a tdi.

Budget isn't going to stretch to buying new tyres for the 18s, so a trip to Fosters got it some part worn Michelins (and one dunlop)

Went with a 205/40/18 to give optimum clearance.

Once it's built up and I can see how it sits I'll get them off to Nu-luk for a refurb. Although I'm still waiting on the new centre caps coming from China

 

[r16vka]

So in a bid to bring life back into the old plastics, I bought some textured bumper paint from ebay

Which I tried on a bit of trim, turning this...

Into this....

plan on using this on the bottom of the s2 bumpers and the side skirts.

Made a start on prepping the bonnet wing and bumper for primer.

Started with 320 grit, but it wasn't really getting through it

Which coincides with that being the original paint, but just the lacquer has broken down after 28years

320grit was fine on the bumpers, which came off the diesel shell, that had been painted at least twice while I had it.

Front bumper took a lot of work due to lacquer peel and stone chips. Also discovered a crack which will need plastic welded

Centre caps finally arrived from China. I was expecting fakes, but they have the right stamps and part numbers on them, so that gamble paid off

Threw them on a wheel just to see how it looked

Noice

 

[r16vka]

So on Friday I loaded up the passat with all my bits and headed to Greyabbey to my friends house where the 80 is currently staying since my garage is too small to actually work on a car (plus it's full of junk lol )

Odd design quirk of the audis of that generation is the shock sits inside the strut holder.

I had a full set of weitec sports shocks from the tdi, but obviously the rears take a different size. So swapped the front shocks, the weitecs feel a lot harder when you try and push them down, compared with the original ones!

Decided since the 40mm h&r springs were weighted to the 2.6v6 to run them on the front as well as the rear, rather than the 60mm wietec tdi springs.

Nice having them the same colour as the car Fitted new brake pads to the s2 calipers, the discs were new and never fitted in 2009, so there's some light surface rust that should come off with use.

Then fitted the rear springs and the hub carriers with the new bearings and hubs. New discs and pads aswell.

Running a 20mm spacer rear and 15mm front

And finally got it off the axle stands

Drivers side wing is off as it needs painted

Then pushed it outside into the rain for a better look

Might look at swapping the spacers and running the 20mm on the fronts, which should give it a nice square stance. I think I'll have rubbing issues at the back if i don't.

By that stage it was getting late, so pushed it back into the garage

Need to get at least one rear arm as the drivers side threads were butchered. And the brakes need bled, wheels need off for a refurb.

Probably won't get back to it till mid July with holidays and life getting in the way. But we're getting there slowly

 

[Ben P]

Class, just dont see these anymore!

Those wheels

 

[subie_andy33]

Really liking this. I've had a real notion of the likes of a volvo 940 estate for some time. Something retro but relatively practical and usable. Had never considered an Audi 80, but it certainly ticks the boxy, old school estate like the volvo would.

Will be watching the build with interest for sure!

 

[r16vka]

So with family holidays getting the way theres not been much progress on the old girl. Swapped the spacers around so 20mm on front and 15mm rear, think its sitting a lot better now. Also threw on the s2 elipsoid headlights

Then before i went on holiday dropped the avus off to NuLuk for a full refurbishment.

The level of detail they go into is incredible, they have a highlight reel on their instagram of the various stages the wheels went through if you get a chance to have a look.
Two of the wheels had a slight buckle which they straightened. I went for a Porsche Grey finish based on the various wheels they have in the showroom. I know everyone always complains about them being more expensive than anywhere else, but when you see the level of work it justifies the cost!

They're like new!!

Cant wait to get down to the car next week and get them fitted.

I've two rear arms and camber bolts arrived from Autodoc, so will get them fitted, along with bleeding the brakes then thats the chassis finished with bar a decent alignment. Need a big push on the bodywork side of things in a bid to actually get driving it before the summer escapes us!!

 

[Craggus]

Wow - those wheels look class!!

 

[ger16v]

looks great
great detail with those wheels really suit that car

 

[Mr.Mint]

One of the nicest wheels ever made!

They done a great job on them too.

 

[Ian A]

Those look fantastic. Nu Luk have the reputation for a reason, brilliant finish.

 

[mrloaf]

Love those wheels, had same style on my previous s3 and current s4, they will look epic on this 80

 

[r16vka]

So back circa 2008 I bought a set of S2 side skirts and lower door trims from a guy off the s2 forum for £300. With the tdi shell being at the bodyshop I'd never actually opened the box and had a good look at them. Fast forward 14 years and it turns out the door trims are rotten, the skirts have been painted badly and the masking tape he's used to strap everything together has now formed a special bond with the plastic

Numerous scrapes and scuffs on the paint. Hope is to sand the worst out and i've the textured bumper paint to return them to a bare plastic finish.

For some reason there are two sets of door stips, one painted one not

The door strips are a rubbery plastic around a [ shaped metal strip. Over time the water gets in and rusts the metal. You can see it bubbling through.

I gave on a quick hit with the textured bumper paint, but as the saying goes, you cant polish a turd...

So i have placed an order with Audi Tradition for brand new door strips and a few other clips and things for the skirts. The bits of trim that fix to the bottom of the wing and rear quarter next to the door strips are all in decent condition, so they got rubbed down and painted...

I'm lucky the seller included so many little bits, its crazy how much it all adds up if i had to buy everything separately! Each of those end trims is circa €30!

Im loving this finish from the textured bumper paint. Time will tell how durable it is to scrapes etc. That said, this car is going to see minimal use when i do eventually get it on the road anyway!

Meanwhile, managed to get down to greyabbey to get the new arms and bolts into the rear, bleed all the brakes etc.

Changed the lower camber bolt (some previous mechanic had destroyed the threads on the drivers side rear) on both sides, then after a quick try on a bolt suggested it might shear, we made the executive decision to let my mechanic change the rear arms when he has it up on a ramp, with access to heat etc.

Bled the brakes, however i think the ABS needs bled as the pedal is pretty much crap. But anyway, got it on all fours and jump
started it to see how it was ride height and clearance wise.

Definitely over the moon with the wheel colour, think it suits the red really well Ride height it should come down a smidgen more with the rest of the body panels on, and will settle once driven.

 

[ger16v]

love it keep up the good work

 

[Tufty]

Them Wheels really make the car.

That textured paint seems fairly good as well there is a nice finish with it.

 

[hannakournikova]

what is that textured paint?

 

[r16vka]

Just searched on ebay for textured bumper paint. Time will tell how well it wears and holds up once I actually get driving the car

 

[r16vka]

So on the front S2 bumper there was a hairline crack. Asked about on Instagram and got advice on what to use to have a pop at plastic welding myself

So I started by grinding away a V into the crack to give the plastic more surface area to bond to.

Then using a soldering iron and some plastic welding rods in the correct type to match the plastic code on the bumper, I set about melting them together.

Pretty pleased that i'd a good strong bond, i started to sand down the plastic.

Unfortunately the first time i tried to move the bumper it cracked again I clearly hadnt melted enough of the original bumper to bond to the new plastic so it simply wasnt strong enough. With sanding it down i had reduced the thickness of the area so was reluctant to give the plastic welding another attempt. The hunt was on to find a bodyshop to do the repair for me.

Next for repair was the drivers side wing. Lacquer had worn away along the top, and there were a few small pin dents. So started to sand them all down. You can see the Kurust doing its thing to help prevent the rust from coming back.

I popped open the Isopon filler, the smell of which brought back Nam style flashbacks of using giant quantities making the Caligra for that TV show with @Rocko

Thankfully only a small amount of filer required for this small indent.

Ive flattened all the filler and give everything a quick coat of Zinc primer to keep the rust at bay till i get it in proper primer and painted.

Next up was the side skirts. Poorly painted and rough with scrapes and grazes they were going to need a bit of tlc

First up a good scrub

Then attack the better of the two skirts with sandpaper on a DA to take this...

Down to this.

Then it got a good wipe down and holes taped etc in prep for the textured bumper paint

First coat on. Once it dried i went over any dry spots to ensure even coverage

Quite the transformation compared to the painted blue finish

 

[Rocko]

I popped open the Isopon filler, the smell of which brought back Nam style flashbacks of using giant quantities making the Caligra for that TV show with @Rocko

 

[r16vka]

Keep meaning to get this up to date! So got stuck into the other side skirt which was in a much worse state

Sanded down to get the worst of it out

Then gave it filler where required

Then using my high tech blocking apparatus I.e. a small bit of wood

Got it all nice and level

Then gave it a good coating of the textured paint..

20 times better than before

 

[r16vka]

Box arrived from audi tradition

€295 worth doesn't look like much...

But it's hard to beat brand new parts

Laid them all out to compare the new against the painted and unpainted older ones

As per a previous post, the door trims are a rubbery plastic around a metal [ shaped strip. Over time water gets in and corrodes the metal which shows as bubbles under the rubber

Hopefully with the minimal use in wet weather this car will get the strips should last decades

Rest of the bags are numerous clips from the skirts

Dilemma now is when I line up the painted bits with the new door strips there's a slight difference.

However I'm reluctant to paint brand new parts, the feedback on Instagram was that when it's on the car you'll not notice as it's all so low down.

But we'll get them on the car and decide then

 

[Paul.]

Hypothetically, what if you were to rustproof the metal behind the plastic now? You'll never get a better chance to slap Hammerite (other products are available) over the flawed part of the design than when they're brand new after all. Loving the thread too - mentioned it before that I remember a true helmsman running from the German Polizei in one on Police, Camera, Action - but seeing sorting all the wee details is sublime.

 

[r16vka]

@Paul. The problem is its completely covered in the rubber/plastic so you can't really get at it. It should be fine as this yoke won't be out in all seasons