85 UR quattro

12 minute(s) of a 211 minute read

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.

4-19-2012

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 raiins but it pours (or weeps) with these cars.

4-26-2012

Quick radiator removal. This should be easy right?

It has more hoses going to it than my heart has arteries.

Finally got it disconnected and out of the car.

Uh, oh! Where's the isolator mount? Is this replaceable?

Off to the radiator shop for a re-core. Hopefully they can use the end tanks and side brackets.

Finally found a replacement for that decomposing breather hose.

OE exhaust bolts. How concientious is that?

Can't wait to get the radiator back for the shop and start driving this thing.

4-28-2012

Recored UR Quattro radiator. I asked them not to paint it but now have to decide what to do to it. I was hoping to retain the original look with some of the black paint still on the top with the aged brass showing through but it rather got cleaned off in the process. Do I need to paint the core or can I leave the whole thing raw?

5-2-2012

So I decided not to paint anything, just threw it back into the car and drove it to the local track event by way of a shakedown. I hope everyone's cool with that.

Next on the list is to figure out why my washers don't work anymore. Low flow, just dribbles out. I also need to get the anti roll bar back on, detail it and rebalance the wheels. Then, hopefully, I can enjoy the car for a few months, so long as the clutch lasts. It feels awefully high on the pedal lately.

8-28-2012

Well, looks like I haven't updated this thread for a while. I'm going to use the excuse that I have been driving the car instead of working on it. Who'd have thought?

I did finally get the anti roll bar back on. Had to order parts from the UK. I couldn't find OE bushings so had to settle for upgraded poly versions. I'm sure they are better but are a bit blue.

I also had to buy a pair of anti roll bar endlinks with bushings from the UK to replace the one I broke during disassembly. The very fist nut I tried to remove during the suspension rebuild.

I did put the original wheels back on for the summer

so my friend Tim could put them on his as he was headed to Pike's Peak.

Not a bad bit of exposure for the brand.

I managed to snag a replacement clutch in case mine gives out on me soon. It does feel quite high on the pedal now but is not slipping.

So with the car pretty much back together I have enjoyed driving it around for a few uneventful months and parking it next to other interesting vehicles (apparantly).

I didn't park it next to these two beauties but I did get to see them in Europe, and about eight others just like them. Yes, they are real, unlike Tim's replica above. I even touched them!

So next on the agenda is to fix the washers as they are quite lame and this one leak.

OE gasket came in today. $3! must be the cheapest quattro fix ever.

Hopefully the car will stay together till winter when I think we may be putting a clutch in it. How hard could that be?

10-11-2012

I think my BRAID Serie 6 RC wheels look much better on my mate Tim's car than mine.

So i'm thinking of getting some Serie 4 RC instead.

What do you think?

10-23-2012

Here's another option. I could get BRAID to make some 9x15 RONAL replicas like these:

Of course they'd have to make more than one set. Anyone else interested?

10-25-2012

OK, it's a GO. I'm getting some 15x9 Ronals!

We have teamed up with HANSPORT  http://www.hansport.co.uk/index.php= in the UK and BRAID Wheels Braid Wheels in Barcelona to offer classic Audi replica rally wheels in the original specs starting with the 15x9 Ronal originally used on the Sport quattro.

These wheels will be heat treated cast aluminium, 15x9, ET12, 5x112 with a 57.1 center bore, white powder coat finish. Other colours will be available at extra cost.

These wheels will be sold exclusively through Hansport. Team Illuminata Motorsport, through our subsidiary BRAID USA will manage the project. Price is not yet set but expected to be around £500/$800/620€ each. Available as a minimum order of four wheels with no maximum. Delivered anywhere in the world. 50% deposit due with order, balance before delivery.

The main thread for this project will be Alloy wheel Manufacture could be back on the cards | quattroforum. Please post any questions and orders there or contact Hansport or myself direct.

BRAID have been making high quality, competition wheels in Europe since 1978. They offer a full range of competition wheels for all forms of motorsport and classic cars. BRAID wheels are specifically designed for competition but, of course, are equally at home on the street. Many of BRAID's are cast from lightweight aluminum and heat treated for maximum strength. Others use forged or flowcast technology. BRAID already produce many ultra-high quality replica wheels for customers including Porsche 911 Fuchs, Ferrari F40 and Lancia 037.

Hansport was founded by John Hanlon in 1996 to restore, prepare and provide on-event support for an ever increasing personal collection of historic competition cars. The HanSport Team combines the talents of engineers who insist upon excellence, have a true understanding and passion for motorsport, together with it's history. Over the years, HanSport have prepared cars which have subsequently been piloted by many World Championship Winning drivers, such as Hannu Mikkola, Michèle Mouton, Stig Blomqvist, Jimmy McRae and Harald Demuth; to name just a few. HanSport currently own the largest collection of factory Group B Audis in the world and are based in Manchester, England; my home town.