85 UR quattro

In reply to Rupert:

Rupert, I think a Miaita is a great car. It's fast, handles well and is easy to upgrade/maintain. What I don't like about them is when a pack of them all get on the same race track. The current rule sets, at least in the SCCA, are designed to get keep the cars cost effective and evenly matched. They've over achieved on both fronts. There are now Matias in just about every class of production car, SM, SM2, IT, FP and GTL. The cars are so evenly matched that the only way the mediocre drivers can get by another car is to push them out of the way. (too much NASCAR mentality). When they race with me in groups of two or three (FP, GTL mostly) I have no problem with them, most of the drivers respect the other cars around them and we all have fun. When they combine them into large packs, (SM, SM2, IT) you won't ever see a race stay green the entire event, a few cars are always going to run into each other, gather up other cars and ruin everyones day.

Rubbin isn't racing, it's lack of car control, and unfortunately, it occurs too often when a group of Matias get together.

Don't get me started on Spec Racer Fords, almost as bad for the same reasons.

mike

What about Spec UR quattros?

Not much URQ action lately. I did find an almost new radio on eBay though :) Thanks Artur.

to replace the bling thing that's in it now:

I may have an opportunity to drive the car this week as a friend of mine wants to barter a drywall job for a drive in the car! Not a bad deal hey?

For music in my CGT I used the standard (crappy, BTW) oem radio but installed a CD changer in the back. I mounted it to a removable panel that slid into the sunroof holder, so no holes drilled.

Took the UR quattro out for one last blast today before I put it away for the winter. Strange concept for me this. Not used to it at all. Car performed flawlessly again and was a joy to drive :) I took it to say "Au revoir" to Francois' URQ which is off to Maryland then home to say "Bonjour" to our new A3. Not much family resemblance here IMHO.

After this little rendevous I filled it with gas, added a bottle of Stabil, took it back to the shop and gave it a good wash. Tomorrow I will wax it and put it away :( As it will be down for a fair few months I intend to do some serious work on it. Stay tuned for developments

I tried putting the new-old radio in before I put the car away but got flummoxed by the unusual (to me) mini DIN speaker sockets on the back of the unit (top left)

Apparently the plugs that go into them look like these:

But of course, mine are long gone, replaced by some fatter, after market speaker wire. I did get the thing to power up and make noise by touching bare wires to the terminals so that's a good sign.

We had a bit of fun before we put the car away, test fitted an 18" BRAID Winrace A off a customers A3. I think it looks, er, interesting. Offset is all wrong and the tire is an inch to tall but it looks kind of cool IMHO

HEY, WHERES IT GONE !!

Ah, there it is. I think this is called "hibernating"

I also been doing a bit of "aquisition"; on the parts front. Snagged this huge workshop manual and lug bolt covers from eBay UK.

Did these cars come with lug nut covers? Lug nut heads are certainly ugly affairs. Still need a removal tool though.

My sister made me this lovely canvas of the car for Christmas

and then I bought myself this to get me through the long, dark winter nights

And so it begins, pre-season refurb. Just a few items to take care of before spring gets going (even more):

Detail heat stuck on Ps fluid-replace Relay head lights & Main beams Ignition rotor arm Perished breather hose Check timing Radio reception Radio replace Upper strut mounts front & rear Rear brake lines Replace coolant Replce ball joints Lower control arm bushings Dampers Timing belt cover reinstall Washer aim/function Aim lights-adjusters Gear box play, mounts? Wipers slow Cold starting exhaust leak *oil Leaks

Perhaps I should have gotten started sooner.

First task, finish putting an original radio in. I found some old style speaker connectors on eBay and spliced them into the aftermarket speaker wires, Works too even with the tape adapter playing from my Iphone but only 80s music comes out. Rear speakers appear to be blown. No bass but front work fine.

Next I turned my attention to rebuilding the suspension. Soaked all the fasteners with PB Blaster. Started by removing the front anti-roll bar.

Maybe I didn't allow enough time for the PB Blaster to work as I broke one of the end links. Where can I get a new one?

I felt this was enough progress for the first evening especially as I am now fully committed to replacing the suspension components rather than driving the car round in its compromised condition. More to follow..........

Slammed it:

Everything in the front suspension is loose and ready to come off:

Except this:

Non of my pullers or presses could get a purchase on it. I tried heat and hammers to no avail. Need more tools.

You need one of these.

Something from this box should work

Like this perhaps

BINGO!

All gone

Now I have to tear this apart.

The parts haul so far

I also discovered that my right side engine mount is collapsed so that will have to be replaced too. And, my right side hub is very loose in int housing. Is that normal or should I be doing wheel bearings too?

More unbolting today.

I was advised to remove the tie rod ends so I could free up the adjusters as I will need an alignment when I'm done.

So I did, then sprayed it with PB Blaster.

This is where it bolts to the rack. Interesting arrangement.

I took a gearbox mount off to change it but it looked new so I bolted it back on and crossed it off my list.

Have an exhaust leak from here. Had to cut the bolts with a hacksaw blade. Going to need a new donut.

Drained the coolant and flushed the system.

Removed the heater valve as I have constant heat. Seems to close though. I think I will replace it anyway.

Monday I shop for parts and do my taxes.

Where do I find the UR quattro Blue strut mounts in the US? Can/should I use 034 Motorsport versions?

and wheel bearings? 75mm or 82mm?

How do I make sure my engine mounts are shot? The right one is such a PITA that I really don't want to replace it unless I have too.

Disassembled both front struts today. Wasn't too hard.

The only problem is the free Bilsteins I have aren't going to fit. They are off a later model. So, I need some inserts. Koni or Bilstein. Can't seem to find them in stock anywhere. Anyone have any sitting around?

Need quite a few parts before I can put this thing back together. namely:

Blue upper mounts Dampers, Koni preferred Front 86-2086 sport 2-6 weeks Rear 86-2087 sport in stock at Koni Front Strut bellows End link Wheel bearings heater valve coolant G12 or regular green stuff? Exhaust donut

Koni inserts are on their way from a fellow URQ owner. Thanks Martin. I've found nice German top mounts and wheel bearings and most of the other parts I need. Still looking for the anti roll bar bushings and I'm not sure if I want to spend over $200 on an OE ball joint.

Took my struts and control arms to see my Freind Mat at MCE Tuning. He pressed out the wheel bearings for me no problem.

Old worn out bearing on the floor.

Inner race stayed on the hub! Mat got ot off.

Then cleaned up the wheel bearing hosings so the new bearings will go in nicely.

Next I start working on getting the control arm bushings out.

I got the rear struts apart yesterday. They were not as bad as I thought. I held the nut in a vice, applied heat and hit the steering arm with a hammer till it came loose.

People have suggested powder coating all the suspension components while they are off the car. I have been reluctant to do this as I am trying to not restore the car but maintain its originality. However, looking at the surface rust on the rear struts I feel I must at least POR15 the springs, rear struts and top hats just to preserve them.

With that in mind I degreased them with Marine Clean yesterday after removing loose rust with a wire brush.

Today, if I get chance, I will prep them and paint them with POR15 black.

Started the POR15 rust inhibition project today. Prepped with POR prep stuff.

First coat of POR15 applied. Of course I managed to get some on my hands and face.

Huge parts haul today. Coolant, front wheel bearings, top mounts, handbrake cables. Control arm bushings etc.

I think I may be starting put the car back together. After installing the new heater control valve I added coolant and put the steering arms back in the car today.

After that I dropped off the control arms and bushings at a friend's so he can attack them with his new press.

Have a good weekend.

It's KONI time in the shop this week!

Time to start putting this car back together but one question to resolve before I do that is where to set the adjustable KONI inserts. I like a responsive ride, my other car's a race car, but don't want to ruin the ride quality especially as you have to take these buggers out again to adjust them. So where to begin, #1, #2, #5?. Anyone have any experience with these?

I started to re-assemble the front struts this afternoon. Pressed in the wheel bearings.

Pressed the hub on and inserted the Koni inserts.

Need to decide on settings before I install the springs. Currently on 2 out of 5. Anyone know where these go?

The POR15 was a bit glossy so I went over the top hats and springs with some flat black.

I also re-installed the control arms and new right side ball joint. If I get chance tomorrow I'll install the springs then put the front struts back on the car!

Semi productive day today. I was hoping to have the car back on its wheels, maybe even driving but alas, I was thwarted by a wrong part. Seems I have a ball joint for a 4000 instead. Bugger!

Still, I got all four struts assembled and the Konis set. I went with 1 turn on the fronts, 1.5 in the rear. If I don't like it they are easy to adjust.....NOT!

Installed all but the right front strut on the car. Even that is technically on the car. Just hanging from the upper mount for now. I ordered a TSW ball joint from Rock Auto as a back up. OE versions are very pricey. Tomorrow I will search locally for a decent one. If I can't find one I'll wait for the TSW one. That's what's already on the left side anyway.

Hopefully, if I get time tomorrow I'll drop the rear on the ground and tighten all the bolts, put the rear seats back in and maybe, if I can find some, replace the blown rear speakers. I guess I could also drop and tighten the front left too. I can also install the new catalytic converter gasket and cinch that up so I can start the engine and burp the coolant. Then an alignment and we drive it. Damn, wish I had a ball joint.

Looks like a car again. At least this side does.

This side's still missing a leg!

So, thirty years ago a small, select group of Audi engineers sat down together to eat pizza and hatch a cunning plan. "I know..." proffers one particularly sneaky engineer "...... let's build a 4wd turbo car that looks just like the Coupe GT but uses non of its parts. NONE. This will really mess with their heads in about thirty years time. HAH!"

See, it wasn't about rally at all. It was just a German practical joke!

It's funny what you'll do while your waiting for parts. I decided to have a look at the aftermarket speakers on the rear parcel shelf. They are ugly and sound really tinny.

Oh my! How do we improve on this situation? What is the OE configuration like? Anyone have an original parcel shelf? With speakers?

I tried some other speakers in there but they were too bg and still sounded tinny. Maybe my acoustic issue lies somewhere else.

Still no sign of another (probably wrong) balljoint so I decided to pull out the passenger seat. Why? Severe case of wobble-bottom due to suspected worn slider bushings. BTW easiest seat extraction ever!

Or non existent slider bushings.

Oh, here it is. Hiding in the slider rail. Yuk.

and here's the new ones I surreptitiously picked up off eBay. Yes, I did buy two sets but the driver's seat is not so bad just yet. maybe, when my wrong balljoint gets here I will decide it is aweful and swap them too.

Here, that's better.

Then, really desperate, I downloaded this to play through my new OE stereo.

[LEFT]AUTOBAHN (Kraftwerk) - self made music video - YouTube[/LEFT]

I wanna go for a drive :(

Look what Postman Pat brought me yesterday.

It fits too!

OK, I know, it's not OE and will probably wear out in about 10,000 miles but it's a tenth of the price!

So here it is, finally, back on all fours.

So i fired up the quattro and backed it out to get it up to temperature. I needed to burp the cooling system and test my new heater valve. Heater valve works but still runs a little warm at full cold. It is not closing fully though it did on the bench. I think a small cable adjustment should take care of things.

Then I took it out for a test drive. I must say the Kraftwerk worked perfectly. Exactly as described. New suspension's not bad either. Initially the new dampers seemed crashy over small bumps but soon settled down. I was a little surprised that the dampers did not feel stiffer as I set them around half their range. I couldn't really get on it though as the front anti roll bar is still off and I only have an eyeball alignment. I'm sure I'm going to be very happy with it once it's aligned and fully together next week.

I put the old speakers back in place but didn't reconnect them. The front are fine for now. Would love to get a replacement parcel shelf and original speakers though. Anyone?

I also installed the new cat gasket/donut but I think it's still blowing a bit :(

So I'm done for now. There's quite a few things on my original hit list that I didn't do yet and a few new ones but it's time to drive this thing.

I took the car down to Auto Europe for an alignment Tuesday.

My eyeballed alignment was way off as you might imagine but Charles whipped it back into shape.

So I've only put a few dozen miles on the car and the front anti-roll bar is missing but this beast has been transformed. No more boings and rattles from the loos suspension, goes where you point it and is very responsive. Just rolls a bit in corners as you might imagine. So everything is good. Not quite..........radiator started leaking yesterday. just a little froom the top seam:

and maybe the core

Can this be fixed, perhaps in situ? I don't want a new radiator as I love the look of the aged brass top.

I also have a small leak now from the power steering regulator but haven't yet isolated the source.

It never rains but it pours (or weeps) with these cars. :):(

Looking good.

Keep it up.