Project Domes shonky autos - ***Manta Porn Klaxon***

[blackboilersuit]

That's awesome news. I think your current fleet must have the highest average BHP on the entire forum now! 

[aldo135]

Good news dome  

[aldo135]

46 minutes ago, blackboilersuit said:

That's awesome news. I think your current fleet must have the highest average BHP on the entire forum now! 

That’s a good shout. I’m 189bhp across 3, but reckon that will come down soon ?

[cort1977]

7 hours ago, Jim Bell said:

It's boxy, but it's fast. 

Great news man. 

Liked for the film reference.

[cort16]

Great news. You could set up some kind of high speed courier services.

[Asimo]

Some admin to do?

 

[dome]

23 minutes ago, Asimo said:

Some admin to do?

 

Yep, DVLA to be informed. Insurance is sorted for what it is. I'll tax it as it is then send off the V5 with the new details.

[big_al_granvia]

Was that you on the trackscotland day at knockhill yesterday??? White kangoo spotted on various fb pages

[Tickman]

His is blue Al, it also seems to be able to use all 4 wheels unlike the white one at knockhill

[dome]

47 minutes ago, Tickman said:

His is blue Al, it also seems to be able to use all 4 wheels unlike the white one at knockhill

I don't know, with the 10 year old Nexens it has fitted the tyres might as well not be in contact with the road!

[dome]

Ok, so this is now road legal so I got the chance to shake it down a bit. In true small fast Clio fashion its had a throttle body, throttle pedal and today coil pack replaced. No surprises there. 

As mentioned above the tyres have no grip so they're for the bin. I was going to go down the steel wheels route but I like it on these alloys so they can stay. Thinking is Rainsports unless anyone can recommend a better alternative for the money?

It'll also need the inner tie rod changed asap and tracked, it's a bit wayward at the front end. 

It's very loud just now but it'll do until I can be arsed to fit a back box. 

The suspension on the front is a bit shit and crashy. New struts may happen and standard clio sport springs but the rear is torsion bar so raising it will be a pain.

Oh, did I mention it

Goes

Like

Fuck?

?

Have some pics after a wash and polish. Not bad for a van with 155k on the clock before it was converted!

 

[Crackers]

Can we have a video of all the beans being applied please? I imagine this can only sound absolutely fantastic at full bore.

[loserone]

I'd like to see it cocking a rear wheel ?

[320touring]

Hopefully this is now chasing DHL vans down the back roads as you head to work..

 

Just driven the burds 172 to the station. The engines are superb:)

[dome]

So, in true small fast Clio style I have been dealing with an initially intermittent misfire which has become more permanent. No codes have been present apart from one for a general misfire but I've been working my way through changing things. I've built up a stash of spares so did the following

Coil pack: seemed to make a difference but it came back the next day.
4 injectors-no difference.
lambda sensor no difference.
Last thing was to check the plugs. I pulled off the upper inlet manifold and sure enough 1 of the plug leads was in about an inch of rusty water. Replacement leads fitted and plugs ordered up and it's running a lot better. Hopefully new plugs will cure it.

The joys of resurrecting something that's been off the road for 5 years I guess! Part of my plan for building one was to fit new common failure parts (all of the above!) but when my mate gave me a pile of used stuff before i went to collect and I found a 182 in the local scrappy which liberated injectors and other bits so I might as well use them. At least I know all the spares are working as they weren't the issue. Hopefully. 

A set of Rainsports have arrived which I'm off to fit tonight. Next up is new inner track rod and tracking as it's a bit wayward at the front end. 
 

[SRi05]

On 2/29/2020 at 7:40 AM, Asimo said:

Some admin to do?

 

Nobody likes a grass 

[juular]

I do like vans. But fast vans, I absolutely love. This is amazing.

[dome]

1 hour ago, SRi05 said:

Nobody likes a grass 

Just to clarify in case anyone has any doubts, this is insured as what it is through a specialist broker and the DVLA WILL be informed of the engine change. 
There's none of this "still 1.5 on the logbook M9 so cheap tax" as tax is bloody expensive anyway (£230).

[Dick Cheeseburger]

4 hours ago, dome said:

Just to clarify in case anyone has any doubts, this is insured as what it is through a specialist broker and the DVLA WILL be informed of the engine change. 
There's none of this "still 1.5 on the logbook M9 so cheap tax" as tax is bloody expensive anyway (£230).

I wouldn't worry. You don't have to justify yourself on here.

 Does this mean the MR2 2ZZ is pushed to one side? Always enjoy updates with the little J beast as well!

[dome]

1 hour ago, Dick Longbridge said:

I wouldn't worry. You don't have to justify yourself on here.

 Does this mean the MR2 2ZZ is pushed to one side? Always enjoy updates with the little J beast as well!

Nah, she's still earning her keep. It got a shock replaced under warranty by KYB as it shat all its oil out, other than that it'll be getting a fettle for some more track days this season. Duncan has it as his daily so it gets some use. He's on holiday this week so I might take it a spin at some point though?

[dome]

Some more progress on this (sorry @Tickman!!)

However, this is to be my daily so i need it in order. Also I hit a pothole with the S4 and am struggling to get anyone to repair the wheel and resore all 4 for under £300. I'm therefore not too keen on driving it too much just now. The tyre looks OK but I don't trust it. 

Last week i went to my mates unit where we (OK, mostly his mate) fitted 4 new Rainsport 5s  in place of the 10 year old Nexens. I have grip again!

The trip computer seems to work, here's what it reported on a steady 10 mile commute

Exactly what I want to see! (I know, it needs a clean inside...)

On Saturday morning I fitted the new inner tie rod. A chopped down 32mm water pump spanner made this easy to do and it drives a lot better now the steering gear has no free play...

Here's what I have beneath the arches

New standard Renault dampers
Random lowering springs-I'd like to find some slightly longer ones but it'll be a bit of a lottery and raising the rear torsion beam to match will be a pain in the ass.
New discs and pads
New H&R spacers(required for the 15" wheels to clear the rear and it does look pretty good on them and doesn't seem to rub. 
And generally decent condition for 16 years old and 155k miles on the shell. 

A new set of plugs arrived so they got fitted, here's the state of the old ones...

On Sunday I went to B&Q and bought some MDF, several hours later i had a bulkhead fitted.

Plan is to carpet the cabin side-can anyone advise on a suitable (cheap) covering?

It's made it a good bit quieter, it's still fooking loud though so i think completing the exhaust is the next mission. Then i can look at the EPAS conversion and timing belt change. They'll need to be done at the same time ideally as the whole aux belt setup changes when you convert to EPAS.

[Crackers]

I love this van. 

That is all. 

[dome]

Well, as we're all going stir crazy at home what better time to update this thread?

So, in February i went on holiday to Budapest. Remember when we could do things like that?

We took the Audi to the airport and on the way I remember feeling a particularly nasty pothole. It seemed to drive fine so i never thought any more of it. However about a week after we got back i went to give it a wash and noticed this.

Arses.

I got some quotes to get it repaired and them all refurbed at the same time. Bugger me it's expensive? I also looked around at alloys for sale but couldn't find anything I liked. i eventually found a place in Glenrothes who gave a decent quote. The S4 got advisories on it's 2 rear tires at its MOT and obviously the front needed replaced after the impact so a full set of Rainsport 5s were ordered up. I've fitted these to the Kangoo too and first impressions are good. 
Side note- since I've bought Rainsports for both my fleet the rainfall in Scotland has dropped. You're welcome. 

Of course after i dropped the wheels and tires off at the place we're now in lockdown so i can't collect them as they are shut. It's not an issue just now as I can't drive it anywhere anyway, i also decided to start doing some more work at the same time.

It's getting:

2 new wings- i got a set from a local bodyshop painted for a good price.
Rocker cover gaskets replaced
Oil check valves replaced-these stop oil from draining back out of the heads when you switch it off. 
Oil change at the same time
Some of my underseal from 18 months ago needs redone.
New aux belt

It currently looks like this, an absence of a T45 Torx bit to complete the removal of the front end has slowed things down.

Once it's in service position (the front end can be moved forward a few inches to allow access to the front of the engine, or removed completely by draining the coolant and AC lines) I can get access to carry on stripping it down.   

Kangoo

I finally got round to fitting the rest of the exhaust yesterday. As the Kangoo system exits on the opposite side to the Clio 172 system i bought some modification was necessary-i had to chop the pipe going into the back box and modify this to get the over axle angle right.  I've got it mounted up now and ready, I haven't driven it yet to see if it's going to need modified but it seems a lot better noise wise and looks well hung, Fnarr.

I also, courtesy of Mr Tickman, acquired an EPAS steering column from a base model Clio which will be used for the conversion. A separate controller has also been ordered to fool the EPAS ECU into working, this also gives me a wee knob I can use to vary the level of assistance. I'll get the timing belt kit ordered up and that can be another lockdown task-I'll be removing the aircon pump and p/s pump when I do this. 

[hairnet]

do they do copies of that s4 wheel?

8 minutes ago, dome said:

Well, as we're all going stir crazy at home

 and looks well hung, Fnarr.

 this also gives me a wee knob I can use #

snortle

[dome]

28 minutes ago, hairnet said:

do they do copies of that s4 wheel?

snortle

They do but I'm not a fan of aftermarket/replica alloys. These aren't the original alloys for mine but are the same as the facelifted S4. They suit the car though so I'll keep them on it. 

[hairnet]

a8 monoblocks

[dome]

Aaaaand not much has happened. Works been stressful so mojo for fettling as been low.

I needed to get the last 2 bolts out to get the front end off so had to wait for new torx sockets to arrive as mine were looking  a bit ropey. I eventually ended up having to grind one off. That gave me the access I needed to get the inlet manifold off

Eep.

Ah, well. Best crack on then

Manifold off and you can see the oil filter housing at the back of the engine. This was one of the sources of leaks. I'd partly cleaned it up before i took this but it was pretty manky. 

The valley gasket lies under the alloy section in the middle of the V.

Cover off and yeah, the gasket was fucked.

Bonus shot of the fucked snub mount from the front of the engine, a new one of these was ordered up too.

There's 2 valves under the rocker which stop oil from draining back out of the heads,  this was the other reason I was in here. s4s are known for rattles from the timing chain on startup. Mine wasn't bad at all but it seemed sensible to change them at the same time.

In true tight Scotsman fashion I'd googled the part numbers and found the cheapest option.

Behold, cheaper than genuine Audi parts...

 

I got these fitted and the new gasket and had to stop there as I was missing the gasket for the oil filter housing. I was sure I had this ready to go on but it's disappeared.  

This still hasn't arrived so that helped* with my motivation.

 

 

[Tickman]

Thanks for the loan of your mojo, I'm sure it will leave me soon and head back to you.

[dome]

Some other things needed attention while it was in bits.

Firstly, aux belt. This was hanging together somehow.

Euro took over 3 weeks to deliver a new one helpfully.

Snub mount which locates the front end fitted along with the aux belt.

There's 2 new wings painted and ready to go on,  I sprayed the insides of them with some Dynax. These will be the last things to go on, knowing me I'd drop a spanner and scratch them...

They're pattern ones but fit seems good and the paint job and price were both decent. 

First coat of wax, a couple more and they were looking good and ready to go on. Later...

 

Not sure about this but the coat of high temp black paint I'd put on the calipers a year and a bit ago looked shit. I can always paint them black again though. Pretty sure red paint on calipers gives 10% across the rev range though.

 

Slightly more sensibly after seeing the state of the valley gasket I decided to drop the sump to clean it out. Also there seemed to be a leak from the gasket, although the leaks from the rocker covers and valley gasket had put oil everywhere so it was hard to tell.

 

This was easy*-only had to drop the coolant to remove a pipe running along the front of the sump, drop the anti roll bar for the rear and then undo the 20 odd bolts holding it on.

 

Nice and shiny thankfully and the sump was debris free.

 

 

Sumps back on and hopefully oil tight. I'm going to stick some cheap oil in it and run it for a short while before flushing it out and replacing with the expensive oil it normally lives on. Hopefully it'll be able to keep it inside in future...

Oh, and the rocker cover gaskets. I fucked these up by not cleaning the crap out of the torx heads before trying to undo them, this resulted in me rounding off 2 on the LHS bank. Fucksticks.

Yeah, these were fun. Dremel was employed and I had to undo the LPG vapouriser and ABS pump to get access. Fun times

Here's under the drivers side rocker. All pretty clean

I gave the covers a lick of paint when they were off. They're now back on but I need to wait for a couple of new bolts before I torque the last one up.

And that's us pretty much up to speed. Once the oil filter housing gasket comes back i can get it back on and then the inlet manifold. Just need the wheels back...

 

 

[dome]

Just realised I haven't updated this!

Finally the parts arrived so i could put it back together. Over a month to get the gasket for the oil filter housing, which sits under the inlet manifold meaning i can't put it back together until it arrived. 

Oil filter housing back on.

 

Before I put the inlet manifold on I used the hoover to clean all the crap that had built up from around it

Inlet manifold back on

Once back together I turned it over on the starter to build up oil pressure then fired it up 

Yas! Always a good feeling. 

I ran it up to temp with just water in the cooling system and the cheap oil and then dropped both. I'm glad I did as there was some crap in the filter which had obviously got into the engine when it was in bits. I'll do another change fairly soon to be on the safe side.. 

With this done I could fit the new wings. I was pleasantly surprised with the fit-they are pattern wings and were cheap. i supplied the paint code and the bodyshop painted them and delivered them for under £200!

 

In process-the door is open, the panel gap is actually OK

And back together

The newly refurbished wheels arrived back out of lockdown at the same time as the gasket so I could crack on and get it back looking like a car for the first time in over 2 months!

 

 

The fit isn't perfect at the bottom of the front of this wing, a little tweak is needed. Other than that it's pretty good

And with it's stablemate on the fleet-currently in my lockup while Locost work goes on but I need to get it out soon as I miss driving it  

 

The Audi is going well, 100 miles in and no signs of oil leaks. I'm calling that a result!