Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,784
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Jul 10, 2012 20:27:21 GMT
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I took a little trip yesterday/today to collect this. I was in need of something to tide me over for a few months as the lada still isnt done and the missus has he driving test next week so may well be needing the lupo back. first put together by a forum member who is no longer with us. its a 1981 audi 80 GL, saloon, 1.6 carbed auto. I started off the morning waiting for a pre-booked train at chalkwell station- I managed to get the ticket for £29 by booking a bit in advance. I then spent a hour listening to chavtastic morons talking wibblepoo to get to fenchurch street. well, I was on the basildon train. the one sat opposite had tourettes though which made it slightly less mind numbingly wibblepoo. then, a quick dash round to tower hill tube station, carrying the heaviest toolbox in the world. I had to stop every 100yrds to change arms, not easy with a big bag and the dog as well. half an hour on the hottest tube in the world saw me at kings cross, here I then had to walk about 15 miles to get to the platform to get the leeds train. where I then spent another hour and a half listening to mindless morons chattering away enjoying the sound of their own voices, or arrogant 'businessmen' w@nkers getting curse word about stuff from the price of their ticket to the temperature of their beer with the attendants. the female one was from wakefield though and soon put him in his place so yeah, I love public transport. that hour and a half ended me up here- lovely. thankfully my dad was waiting in the car park, so picked me up and took me back to my parents (10 miles south of donny), where I waited around and caught up with family a bit until Mike finished work. then again dads free taxi took me to lincoln, in the torrential rain. I love being back up north once we got there, it was all a done-deal as the car was already paid for, so a bit of messing around tightening the fanbelt, doing the paperwork and sorting out the bits, and we were off, via the no-speedbumps route out of where mike lives. a quick stop at the nearest petrol station for fuel and to top up the water and we were on our way back to my parents for tea. (roast dinner- the perks of using the 'rents taxi service!). first impressions were favourable, pretty slow and high-revving, but I had just come from a chipped up lupo tdi sport that does 85 at 3k rpm. and this was a 31 year old 1.6 auto. steering don't feel great, quite twitchy and not really feeling like it wanted to go round corners, but I think thats a combo of old, wide tyres, very wet roads, and probably the tracking being a bit out. other than that and the loudest blowing exhaust in the world, it was quite enjoyable, certainly a lot better than I expected given the very chopped springs. here some pics once we were back- I bloody love the interior. so horribly 70s its cool. 4 shades of blue, 2 shades of brown, loads of chrome, that horrible shiny 70s/80s carpet, and some mad patterned material for the doorcards and seats. needs a good clean, but otherwise in pretty good nick! the car has only done 63k though, its typical old codger spec.
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Last Edit: Aug 12, 2012 18:37:43 GMT by Dez
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sumpcracker
Posted a lot
Yes, I’m still here.
Posts: 1,751
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Jul 10, 2012 20:36:29 GMT
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Glad you got this. I spent time thinking about it, I'm sure its in better hands now though.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,784
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Jul 10, 2012 20:44:13 GMT
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I stopped overnight for a few beers with the family, then next day I did a quick check over of the fluids and other basics before setting off. I found the coolant was hissing past the bleed screw on the top water pipe block adapter thingy once it warmed up, so a new fibre washer on there cured that, a tighten of the battery terminals got it starting a bit better too. I was reluctant to start from cold as someones done away with the autochoke in the past. well, it is a pierburg! I also fitted a stereo I took with me to try to drown out the sound of the exhaust a bit. with a combination of an iphone through a tape adapter, a 90s phillips tape deck and two tiny 31 year old OE speakers in the dash you can guess the sound quality. good job hardcore punk rock doesnt suffer too much when played through such a system. in some ways it adds something to it! all fluids checked again, tax bought, fuel filled up, and off a go. it was an entirely uneventful 200 mile trip, cruising at 70-75 most of the way, and taking about 3 and a bit hours. I recon ive used 35 quids worth of fuel, will have to figure out the MPGs later. back in essex- then, seeing as it wasnt persisting it down, I did this- the exhaust don't actually look that old, I think its just a midbox/floor interface that had split the box at both ends. to sort out the noise and prevent it happening again, I did this- fitted it all back up, and its a lot quieter. it would be silent, but the two tubes of firegum I had the other week are nowhere to be found, so theres still a slight blow on the front slip-joint. plus it started hammering down at this point so I left it at that for today. I may have waved a tape measure round the suspension and wheels whilst I was at it though.......... the rear shocks appear to be mk2/3 golf with proper lowering springs, which sit the back end pretty much perfect. the front are chopped springs, which are pretty shocking tbh, the coils literally fall off the strut past the spring pan when its jacked up, so something will have to be sorted there asap. I popped the hubcaps off and I have a set of mismatched 14" mk2 golf steels on there at the mo, 1x driver and 3x normal ones, so I need 3x more driver ones before I do any surgery there.......theres about a month left on the ticket though, and I think a few bits will need a tickle with the welder for it to go through. suprisingly, its not really had that much welding though by the looks, only one or two patches in the past.
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Last Edit: Jul 10, 2012 20:48:28 GMT by Dez
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,784
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Jul 10, 2012 20:50:18 GMT
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Glad you got this. I spent time thinking about it, I'm sure its in better hands now though. I'm really surprised no-one bought it before i did tbh. its not gunna be a permanent member of the fleet i don't think, as it will need ot be moved on once the lada is sorted, but it is gunna get the more pressing issues sorted, some better suspension and some rims.
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FOAD
Scotland
Posts: 1,335
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Jul 10, 2012 23:14:58 GMT
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Fancy swapping the grill for a badgeless one or a vw one ? I'm pretty sure they're a direct fit from a mk3 Polo.
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1981 Vauxhall Chevette 1984 Mercedes S123 230TE 1988 Peugeot 305 GR 1988 Hyundai Stellar 1992 Subaru MV BRAT 1992 Peugeot 205 D-turbo 2004 Ford Ranger retroshite.wordpress.com/
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will be interesting to see this get the Dez treatment, i suspect selling it on after will be a doddle
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'90 Audi B3 Coupe 2.3 Auto [gone] '92 Audi S4 Avant 2.2 AAN Turbo Auto [gone] '93 Audi 80 Avant 1.9TDi [gone] '96 Audi A4 Avant 2.6 Quattro [gone] '97 VW T4 1.9td LWB [gone] '03 Skoda Octavia 1.9TDi [gone] '05 VW T5 Shuttle LWB 1.9TDi '15 VW Caddy Maxi Kombi 1.6TDi
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mclellanmac
Posted a lot
Hand me the hammer and the WD40
Posts: 1,178
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Jul 11, 2012 11:17:21 GMT
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I really fancied this, but then the Saab came up much closer to home, will be keeping an eye on this!
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Mercedes 190e, Lovely
MK4 Golf GTi 20v Turbo, Dull, but always works!
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VIP
South East
Posts: 8,293
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Jul 11, 2012 17:53:22 GMT
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Fancy swapping the grill for a badgeless one or a vw one ? I'm pretty sure they're a direct fit from a mk3 Polo. No need, the logo just unclips/unscrews to leave a perfect badgeless grille.
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Mike
East Midlands
Posts: 3,387
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Jul 11, 2012 19:20:48 GMT
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a tighten of the battery terminals got it starting a bit better too. My bad! Glad to see this is getting some attention rather than sitting festering on my driveway. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.
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Jul 11, 2012 19:21:36 GMT
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I love these, I remember as a kid there was a guy in my road with a 5 cylinder one of these (Audi 90?) was brown and low on OE multi spoke wheels. It sounded awesome and in my mind looked just as good!
Will be interested to see how this evolves.
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Sierra - here we go again! He has an illness, it's not his fault.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,784
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Jul 11, 2012 19:48:35 GMT
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the grille is staying, as dan says, the badge removes anyway. I quite like it as it is though, its not the kind of car that gains anything from debaging.
mike- I never noticed at the time either, it wasnt til the final check over the next day I did!
robin, yeah I think they're pretty cool. very much a 'thinking mans VAG' in that they're quite obscure/unusual which makes em cooler than a golf/etc. in my eyes, but then they share just enough with the more common models to make em live-able. the engine is nigh on identical to a mk1 golf one, so all service parts are available off the shelf. more than anything though, you get a LOT more for your money!
ive got a list of jobs to do, I jetwashed all the moss/curse word off it yesterday as like mike says, its been languishing on his small driveway for a while so needed a good clean. it seems to be running well enough though, although the lack of choke can be tedious when starting from cold. from hot its absolutely fine, so I don't know ether to try to get a new one for the pierburg, or just cut out the middle man and get a weber.
the brakes arent massively effective, they work, but not as well as id expect them to. I recon they need a fluid change more than anything, although ive not been in there and had a look at the condition fo the discs/pads yet. ive found a couple of small bits of welding thatll need doing for the test in around a months time, and the other major thing itll need is the front springs in the bin cos theres no way my tester will pass em. I could weld some retainer strips to the cups and wire em in but it seems pretty pointless, when I can improve the ride quality, ake it mot passable, and make the front the 2" lower it needs to be by adapting some coilovers on there. so yeah, ile be doing that very soon !
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Last Edit: Jul 11, 2012 19:50:00 GMT by Dez
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FOAD
Scotland
Posts: 1,335
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Jul 12, 2012 16:03:35 GMT
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I was more just after an Audi grill for my polo saloon, Can't find one anywhere.
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1981 Vauxhall Chevette 1984 Mercedes S123 230TE 1988 Peugeot 305 GR 1988 Hyundai Stellar 1992 Subaru MV BRAT 1992 Peugeot 205 D-turbo 2004 Ford Ranger retroshite.wordpress.com/
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,256
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Jul 12, 2012 23:21:30 GMT
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Are you drawn to an unusual choice of cars that happen to be quite cool? No doubt after you have thrown your magic at this car, it should make for a lovely car to roll in .
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,784
Club RR Member Number: 34
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yeah, i think cos ive had so many cars over the years, i tend to gravitate to the more unusal choices these days. a golf would just be too mainstream for me!
i also like that fact pretty much nobody has 'done' one of these, so its easy to make one stand out.
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Jul 13, 2012 12:35:35 GMT
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Spotted your car in Manningtree High Street last night - looked really good even in the rain!!
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,784
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Jul 15, 2012 13:47:46 GMT
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my workshop is only a mile or so up the road, so youll spot me in manningtree quite often!
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Jul 16, 2012 12:44:23 GMT
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Excellent a fellow Retro Rider in town! I will give you a friendly wave when I see you next time! Cheers Julian
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skinnylew
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 5,617
Club RR Member Number: 11
Member is Online
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Jul 16, 2012 12:55:24 GMT
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Nice always had a soft spot for the B1/2 Audi 80's but I ended up with a mk1 Polo instead lol. Loving the Fuchs i mean P6 hubcaps
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,784
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Jul 16, 2012 15:33:11 GMT
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will keep an eye out for you julian, what will you be in? lew, the fuchcaps will be for sale shortly. cos of this-
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Jul 16, 2012 19:10:25 GMT
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love this car and the hub caps, could be tempted for them wish i'd had the brass for this!
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