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Audi Quattro Rally quick resto 11 years 10 months ago #9209



I say "Quick" as the time I've actually spent on it amounts to only a few days, however, the time has been spread out over months, due to me being easily distracted...
Above is how it arrived for 60 quid (I think, long time ago now!) off Ebay. Someone out there might recognise it.


If all has gone to plan & my PC illiteracy hasn't made another fool of me, you should now be looking at another body shell & a busted/chewed bumper that I later bought, costing me nearly as much as the rest of the car!. The original blue shell had at least 3 coats of paint over it, inside & out, so I decided it would be too much of a chore to do anything with it. The bumper appeared to have been dog food at some stage in its life, but it was more complete than the one that came with the car & no other has since become available.







1st job, strip it to bits, ready for cleaning & to inspect to see what's broken & missing (Other than the obvious)
1st headache were the 2x M2 screws that hold the rear radius rods to the chassis - these were seized & rusty & immediately broke when I picked the screwdriver up! Stopped for thought, then grabbed a soldering iron, warmed them up & yanked them out. Cool trick, the molten plastic collapses on itself meaning the hole will still be small enough to hold the new screws. I say "Yank" them out, don't try to unscrew them as you'll either make the hole bigger/misshapen or the molten plastic will bind to the screw (Cos you're taking too long) & you'll end up breaking it off flush with the chassis & never get the rest out.
There was also an issue with the motor plate tappings being stripped by a previous ape, so another trick was called for here (Contemplated just remaking it, then decided I'd rather keep the original) - Using a tubular punch, just slightly bigger than the tapping, put the plate on a hard metal surface & centre the punch around the tapping & give it a thump with a small hammer - this shrinks the hole allowing it to be used again (Same method they use for assembling cheap rose joints).
Although not shown here, next job(s) were putting it all back together with new grease, paint, fasteners etc, where required. Nothing spectacular to speak of at this stage...

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Re: Audi Quattro Rally quick resto 11 years 10 months ago #9210

1st headache were the 2x M2 screws that hold the rear radius rods to the chassis - these were seized & rusty & immediately broke when I picked the screwdriver up! Stopped for thought, then grabbed a soldering iron, warmed them up & yanked them out. Cool trick, the molten plastic collapses on itself meaning the hole will still be small enough to hold the new screws. I say "Yank" them out, don't try to unscrew them as you'll either make the hole bigger/misshapen or the molten plastic will bind to the screw (Cos you're taking too long) & you'll end up breaking it off flush with the chassis & never get the rest out.

There was also an issue with the motor plate tappings being stripped by a previous ape, so another trick was called for here (Contemplated just remaking it, then decided I'd rather keep the original) - Using a tubular punch, just slightly bigger than the tapping, put the plate on a hard metal surface & centre the punch around the tapping & give it a thump with a small hammer - this shrinks the hole allowing it to be used again (Same method they use for assembling cheap rose joints).


that with the motorplate i have got to try. I got a wheeler and a M38 swb with the same problem. :y:
Dont understand why some people just keep screwing untill it gets loose again. :angry:

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Re: Audi Quattro Rally quick resto 11 years 10 months ago #9211




Right, now to attack the big missing/broken bits, starting with the radio box lid.
With a steel rule, the manual & some real-life pics in hand (& a huge amount of guesswork!) I made up a new lid from 1.5mm "Plasticard". Shortly after I'd finished it, Lars gathered me some dimensional info of the real thing (Cheers Lars!). I was gobsmacked to find mine was only 1 or 2mm different here & there! (No idea how I managed that, especially not with my luck!). Pics show it prior to some tweaks, addition of the driver bosses & paint.
Next big job, fix the front bumper (Ooooo noooo!!)



After several hours & tense buttcheeks, some more plasticard, Dremel & scalpel, this is the result. Scare myself sometimes....
Next job, need a driver & some spot lamps & brackets. More fabrication & a spot of moulding, methinks


Right, plan is to do an instructable about this at some point, but basically, grab some bits you want to reproduce, to use as patterns, then use them to take casts in silicone mould-making rubber. Once you have your moulds, cast the repro bits in a suitable resin, as many times as you like.
In the pic you'll see a driver base, a switch boot & a selection of different style lamps. The boot is pink as it was just a test & I didn't want to waste expensive pigment on it if it wasn't going to work. The mould was taken by pouring polyester resin into the boot that was fitted to my Hilux.
Once I had my selection of lamp bits, I did a bit of mixing & matching to get the most appropriate-looking set of fronts & backs for the Quattro.
Oh, fairly important tip when messing about with cast resin bits - if you intend to paint them, they need "Post-curing" (In an oven at 50degC for an hour or 3) to drive off any uncured resin, solvents, aromatics etc to prevent any paint reactions or pinholing.


Proper switch boot, just out of the mould & requiring some cleaning up.

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Re: Audi Quattro Rally quick resto 11 years 10 months ago #9212

Final jobs were to paint up the various bits, reposition some of the original decals (Looked like they were applied by a 3-year old, but would rather keep the originals than replace with repros if I can) & make up some new waterslide decals for the dude's helmet & the spotlamps.
I managed to score an old-type black speed controller & some "M series" 2ch Futaba radio for it, so that got installed. Also bought a repro resistor plate but didn't fancy laying out a small fortune for the resistors, so got some cheapy generic components & modified them to have "Faston" connectors so they look right.
Stick the rest of it back together, make a hump battery, charge it & thrash it around the living room for good measure! Nothing broke or exploded, so I'm happy in a job well done!
& TADA!





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Re: Audi Quattro Rally quick resto 11 years 10 months ago #9213

Waterbok, this method only works if the tappings aren't holding the screws, it won't work if the holes are much bigger or mis-shapen. The tubular punch needs its INSIDE edge sharpened, so that when you belt it with a hammer, it forces the metal around the hole inward. The plate want's to be supported on something hard & solid when you punch it, eg a steel block, back of a vice, anvil etc. Don't hit it too hard or you could end up actually punching a larger hole, which would be bad....
Another trick (Better for enlarged holes) is to use "Hank" bushes (Aka nutserts), which are a tapped metal bush that you kind of rivet in place through thin or soft sheet metal. No good for the Quattro/Wheeler though as there just isn't room to fit them. Similar story with "Helicoil" inserts

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Re: Audi Quattro Rally quick resto 11 years 10 months ago #9214

Oustanding work there, eddrick - especially on the front panel :y: :y: :y: :y: :y:

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Re: Audi Quattro Rally quick resto 11 years 10 months ago #9217

thanks Eddrick, great explanation.

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Re: Audi Quattro Rally quick resto 11 years 10 months ago #9219

Excellent resto and some high class part fabrication. B) :y:

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Re: Audi Quattro Rally quick resto 11 years 10 months ago #9231

Cheers guys!

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Re: Audi Quattro Rally quick resto 11 years 10 months ago #9252

Eddrick,
This resto and the parts fabrication in particular earned you the "TamyiaBase Builder Award in Gold".
Well done!

-Lars
Signature now gets correct formatting if you edit it in your Profile. Use normal BBcode if you want.
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