Audi UR Quattro Rally Build
Posted by BRAIDusa
Alex Mega Moderator Location: Vancouver, BC Join Date: 05/21/2012 Age: Ancient Posts: 24 Rally Car: 2015 Fiesta ST, 1990 celica alltrac, 2018 WRX |
awesome project! wonder where do You get time for doing what You're doing.
i'm currently working on 1990 Celica alltrac. it's pretty much in the same condition where You started Yours. 
just don't have time for full restoration. for now i'm replacing busted fuel and brake lines and exhaust system to get it running. Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2018 11:26AM by alexinvancouver. |
Paul Eddleston Mega Moderator Location: Birmingham, Michigan Join Date: 09/06/2012 Age: Ancient Posts: 554 Rally Car: Subaru Outback Wagon EG33, 911 Carrera |
I don't know LOL. Just keep picking away at it I guess. Paul Eddleston BRAID Wheels USA www.BRAIDUSA.com Team Illuminata Motorsport www.teamilluminata.com |
A.J. Johnson Junior Moderator Location: Pendleton OR Join Date: 01/07/2011 Age: Settling Down Posts: 1,381 Rally Car: 88 Audi 80 |
Paul Eddleston Mega Moderator Location: Birmingham, Michigan Join Date: 09/06/2012 Age: Ancient Posts: 554 Rally Car: Subaru Outback Wagon EG33, 911 Carrera |
TIRES
It’s time to start thinking about wheels and tires. Well, it’s a bit early but a) we are obsessed about wheels and tires and b) this project is as much about showing off our BRAID wheels as anything. At least that’s how we justify it. You may recall we previously purchased a set of BRAID Serie 6 in 16x9 and mounted some 245/45-16 Bridgestones on them. 
This size combination seems to be typical of what people run on these tribute cars but we ordered them way too soon (obsessed remember) and another build needed them for their project so we let them go. We always thought we would order up the exact same thing again at a more sensible phase of the project. Then we saw this: 
And we knew what we had to do. We have always loved the Michelin TB15s as we sell hundreds of 911 wheels for them and they look just perfect on those RSR recreations, but we never thought we’d have a car suitable for them as the sizes they come in are either too narrow or too wide for anything we have. Or so we thought. It turns out that back in the day at least some Quattros were running the 23/59 - 15 TB15s (about a 270/40R15) so we knew they should fit on our car too. Unknown though is at what offset and rim width. Michelin only make the 23/59 – 15 in a TB5 now so we ordered up a TB15 in 23/62 – 15 from Coker tire on the condition that we could return it if we didn’t mount it. Specs for the tire are: Section width: 10.6”/270mm Tread width: 9”/229mm Diameter: 24.6”/625mm Rim width: 8.5”-10.5” Measured rim: 9” Unfortunately we had nothing similar in the shop to test with; or so we thought. One of our customers keeps his 944 Turbo race car in the building and it runs Hoosiers in 275/35R17. The specs on those: are Section width: 11”/279mm Tread width: 10.3”/261mm Diameter: 24.7”/627mm So just slightly larger than the TB15, apart from tread width which is quite a bit larger. We had us a surrogate. 
Now some of you might point out that a Porsche 944 is not going to bolt up to a Quattro. Well normally that’s right but we have some hub adapters that allow us to bolt a set of 911 Safari wheels to our Audi Allroad so we employed one of those in our test fit. The 944 wheel, which coincidentally is a BRAID Serie 6, has an offset of 55. Our hub adapter is 27 and we also have some 18mm spacers. That makes the resultant offset of the test setup et11, right about where we anticipate our new wheels need to be. Time to find out. 
The Hoosier cleared the strut but kissed the tie rod ball joint. Not to worry, The TB15 is not as wide at that point so should clear. 
On full lock and full compression the Hoosier barley kissed the rear inner fender. OK, same as above, the TB15 should clear. 
Lots of room under the front fender too: 
So with the front suspension in its worst orientation (full lock and full compression) the big Hoosier almost fit. We were so happy as we came away very confident that the smaller TB15 would have no issues. Still, we best throw it on the rear just for fun right? Uh oh! What’s this? 
Lots of interference with the rear arch. Who would have thought? It only has to go up and down. It might fit if we tucked it in a chunk and hacked the arches up but then it might rub on the front inside and look odd. We concluded the overall diameter of the Hoosier and the TB15 precluded us from using the TB15 on this car. What to do? Well, remember the picture we found showed a much smaller diameter 23/59 -15? That size is available in a TB15 which might even be a better tread pattern for us anyway. So we returned the TB15 and ordered up Coker’s last set. 
And mounted one on a 15x9 Porsche Serie 1 we had on display to see if that width would fit it well. 
It would probably be happier on a 15x9.5 or even a 15x10 but by going with 15” we have somewhat painted ourselves into a corner, in that there aren’t any other 15” tires this wide available and who knows how long the TB5 will be around. By restricting ourselves to a 9” wide rim we have at least left the door open to some currently available and suitable 245 or even 225 tires. Hopefully we never need to go through that door. So the next big issue to resolve: what 15x9 BRAID wheels to order to mount these on? Her are the candidates: https://braidusa.com/collections/wheels/passenger-cars+tarmac-rally+5-x-112+15-x-9 What would you choose? Paul Eddleston BRAID Wheels USA www.BRAIDUSA.com Team Illuminata Motorsport www.teamilluminata.com |
Paul Eddleston Mega Moderator Location: Birmingham, Michigan Join Date: 09/06/2012 Age: Ancient Posts: 554 Rally Car: Subaru Outback Wagon EG33, 911 Carrera |
Installation was relatively simple as we kept all the hardware.
Then we remembered that we also have a broken reflector which we thought would be better used on this car rather than the pristine one that came off it as we are going to be wrapping it anyway a la Rothmans livery: 
But how to fix the crack? It can be unsightly but has to be smooth as any hint of a crack will show up through the vinyl film. Fortunately one of our guys has a lot of experience with plastic adhesive and managed a nearly invisible repair. 
Now we have to figure out how to wrap the black side pieces. As they have horizontal grooves running along their lengths they won't take vinyl very well. We could try to paint them but it might not match the vinyl and we'd be ruining a set. We have considered filling the grooves with body filler and sanding them flat. That would wrap easily but we'd still be ruining a set. Currently considering making new filler panels. Fortunately we don't have to decide for a while though. (BULKHEAD) More rear of the car projects. Another piece (two actually) that would be better stored in the car is the rear bulkhead. It comes in two parts: a lower and an upper. The upper part is essentially a parcel shelf as it is mostly horizontal but is definitely not flat. No parcels will be stored here. We think this will be just a test fit as it may be in and out a lot in the course of the build, though it will be going to paint with it fully installed. It will definitely need to come out to allow us to clean up the aperture edges. Looks like that was cut with a torch. Both pieces clearly needed to go through the side window openings. The lower panel fell into place without much trouble. 
But the upper one fought us hard. We even called the cage builder and the body shop; the last people to mess with it but they couldn't remember how they did it. At least we now had the confidence to know that it does fit so we continued to jiggle it around and look for a way in. This seemed like the way it wanted to go but it wouldn't slide any further back. 
Eventually we sort of curved it as we slid it down the cage bars and then it fit nice and snug. 
Now we have to get it out again! (DASH) Work continues on the dash, bit by bit. We bought an old rally computer that came off a Rothmans car in the middle east. It has no internal parts but we have another one that does and that may find its way into the car eventually. For now this one is easier to install. 
Then we thought we'd have some fun. 
We just need to repaint one of the 911s and get a Rothmans Quattro model (on order) and we'll have a perfect set! FUEL TANK While we seem to be working on the rear of the car we thought we'd throw in the fuel tank. It's big and takes up a lot of space on the parts shelf. What more rationalization do you need. Oh, we also want to see where the fuels lines exit the trunk area so we can figure out where to locate lines, pumps and filters etc. 
It was a bit awkward to wrestle into location, but soon cooperated. 
The fuel lines protrude through the trunk floor. Perhaps we can extended them through the lower rear bulkhead and mount the fuel pump/s in the cabin. Paul Eddleston BRAID Wheels USA www.BRAIDUSA.com Team Illuminata Motorsport www.teamilluminata.com |
Paul Eddleston Mega Moderator Location: Birmingham, Michigan Join Date: 09/06/2012 Age: Ancient Posts: 554 Rally Car: Subaru Outback Wagon EG33, 911 Carrera |
Acquisitions and (no) Mergers
Another long gap between updates, sorry. We have been traveling and working a lot and then there was the holidays to contend with. Still, we did manage quite a few parts acquisitions but we didn’t get to merge much of them with the car. Our long awaited 20V engine arrived late last year. Thanks to Marc of EFI Express for assembling it for us. It’s a AAN engine out of an S4 or something like that. Marc tested and resealed it, replaced the head gasket, water pump, timing belt etc. Chipped the ECU, stripped the wiring harness and included an S4 down pipe. Then packed it in this amazing box. 
We feel we can have a more reliable 350hp out of this 20V than trying to make the 10V do the same. We had an oversized grill badge 3D printed by our friend Brandon Horsch. 
During our travels we picked up some warning lights and switches from England. We did get to “merge these with the dash. 
The dash just needs fuse panels and Dzus fasteners now.. Blower cover from Europe. 
We also acquired some works of art from a fellow Audi rally enthusiast in England and couldn’t resist mocking one up. 
We have now made it back into the workshop and have been busy refurbishing various parts. Hopefully our next update will be more about mergers than acquisitions. Stay tuned. Paul Eddleston BRAID Wheels USA www.BRAIDUSA.com Team Illuminata Motorsport www.teamilluminata.com |
Paul Eddleston Mega Moderator Location: Birmingham, Michigan Join Date: 09/06/2012 Age: Ancient Posts: 554 Rally Car: Subaru Outback Wagon EG33, 911 Carrera |
Rally Cars Need Heaters Too
We could have just wiped the dust of the heater box a bolted back in place but we are glad we took it apart as we found the heater core had been weeping or leaking. Besides, all the seals needed replacing and it was full of leaves inside. 
We had also broken off a tab from the blower while removing it from the heater box so that needed to be glued back together. 
The heater box consists of two halves held together by spring clips. It didn't take long to split it. 
The leaky heater core and its replacement. These seem to have been used in every Audi, VW and Porsche made in the 80s so finding one was quite easy. 
We broke a clip off the heater core lid but have already found a replacement on eBay. We'll pop that on after the dry build. 
New seals and into the car with it and the cover we got from a fellow Quattro enthusiast. 
It's nice to bolt things to the car. We get all warm and fuzzy inside, plus we'll be warm inside the car too. We also took the opportunity to refinish our helper springs for the coilovers. Even though these have never been used most of the powder coating had already deteriorated. We decided to try Plasti-dip rather than re powder coating as this is way more flexible and will not crack. We will see how well that works one day in the future. 
Wipers, tie rods and heater are next up. Don’t miss it.  Paul Eddleston BRAID Wheels USA www.BRAIDUSA.com Team Illuminata Motorsport www.teamilluminata.com |
Alex Mega Moderator Location: Vancouver, BC Join Date: 05/21/2012 Age: Ancient Posts: 24 Rally Car: 2015 Fiesta ST, 1990 celica alltrac, 2018 WRX |
Paul Eddleston Mega Moderator Location: Birmingham, Michigan Join Date: 09/06/2012 Age: Ancient Posts: 554 Rally Car: Subaru Outback Wagon EG33, 911 Carrera |
Paul Eddleston Mega Moderator Location: Birmingham, Michigan Join Date: 09/06/2012 Age: Ancient Posts: 554 Rally Car: Subaru Outback Wagon EG33, 911 Carrera |
DEFROST MANIFOLD
Now we had the heater in we thought it a good idea to install some of the ducting to spread that heat where it might be needed. The foot wells heat comes right out of the side of the heater box so we don’t have to deal with that, and the center and side vents are fed from flexible pipes so we can figure those out later. But the windshield defrost blows through the firewall bulkhead and into a distribution manifold that used to be part of the molded dash pad. Fortunately we hadn’t managed to throw the dash pad away. This is the plastic distribution manifold on the underside of the dash pad. 
From what we gleaned looking at hundreds of restoration pictures is that you cut the dash pad to leave just this front area containing the manifold and vents then remove all the molded on dash pad foam from the top and bolt it back into place. Of course our manifold was cracked so we had to disassemble the thing. 
This is how the manifold interfaces with the bulkhead/dash tube once it’s all put back together. You can see the central feed from the heater box below the dash tube. 
Next we removed the excess dash pad material with a cutoff wheel and set about cleaning it up. 
We covered up some excess holes that were previously blocked and painted it and the vents satin black. 
Then we set about fixing the plastic manifold. 
While the glue was setting up we riveted the vents back into place. 
Then we applied some sealant before riveting the two parts back together. 
And then popped it into place. 
For some reason this was one of the most satisfying projects we have tackled so far. Next time we’ll restore and install the washer bottle and coolant reservoir. Maybe not so satisfying. Paul Eddleston BRAID Wheels USA www.BRAIDUSA.com Team Illuminata Motorsport www.teamilluminata.com |
Paul Eddleston Mega Moderator Location: Birmingham, Michigan Join Date: 09/06/2012 Age: Ancient Posts: 554 Rally Car: Subaru Outback Wagon EG33, 911 Carrera |
Cracking on with engine bay stuff we installed the clutch master cylinder. Remember, we have an 20V AAN engine just itching to try on this engine bay for size so we want to get as much engine bay stuff figured out before it crawls in there.
Not wanting to lose our bottle before the engine fit we also tested and installed the coolant reservoir. We rigged up this pressure test to see if it would hold 1.35 bar: 
The reservoir didn’t leak but the cap let go at about 1.2 bar. We tried our cap from the 85 URQ and it held. We are going to need a new cap. 
We cleaned it as best as we could and bolted it in place along with the washer bottle. 
We should’ve thought about this earlier but after crawling under the front bumper all afternoon we decide it was time to take the front bumper and bumper bar off the car. Duh! 
We now have a walk-in Quattro. 
We know, not very exciting stuff but next we are going to work on the very trick twin master brake system with bias bar that we got from England! Riveting stuff! No, actually it bolts in. Paul Eddleston BRAID Wheels USA www.BRAIDUSA.com Team Illuminata Motorsport www.teamilluminata.com |
Infallible Moderator Join Date: 08/02/2013 Posts: 22 |
Paul Eddleston Mega Moderator Location: Birmingham, Michigan Join Date: 09/06/2012 Age: Ancient Posts: 554 Rally Car: Subaru Outback Wagon EG33, 911 Carrera |
Infallible Moderator Join Date: 08/02/2013 Posts: 22 |
I took it! You weren't paying attention. Now get back to wrenching! 
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Paul Eddleston Mega Moderator Location: Birmingham, Michigan Join Date: 09/06/2012 Age: Ancient Posts: 554 Rally Car: Subaru Outback Wagon EG33, 911 Carrera |
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