WagonWorks - Aussie Avant: '06 Audi B7 A4 Build

[FunfGang]

So refreshing to see things done so properly, even if some of it may be because of the strict inspections. You definitely have keen sense of the correct way to do things.

Looking forward to more progress!

[HuH]

I took the new wheels over to a mate's place yesterday afternoon. We spent a couple of hours cleaning them up.



The master at work. This is his wheel paradise and seemed like the appropriate place to do it.



All four wheels had kerb rash, but only one had a gouge that needed filling. These OEM wheels (made by Ronal) have really thick paint, and most of the damage is in the paint itself rather than the alloy. Oh and we weighed them at roughly 13kg per wheel which isn't too bad.



We used two different types of paint/varnish removal pads, a more abrasive one on the grinder and a soft one on the drill.



It only took about 15mins per wheel to get the them looking perfectly smooth everywhere.



I cut the old valves out of them so they could go straight to the powdercoater today.



This metal putty is remarkable stuff. It's one tube with two parts inside, an inner and an outer. You slice a couple of millimetres off the end and knead it together to start the process. Then press it into the areas that need filling and wait for it to go off. Just 45 minutes later it's cured enough to sand back.



You can see the small area we filled being smoothed out.



The wheels were dropped at the paint shop today. They're being powdercoated 'Bright Silver' and then clear coated to give them that OEM gloss. After that a set of 225/40/18s are being fitted and I should have them on the car by the weekend.



In my lunch break today I picked up a set of OEM ball seat/radius taper bolts that the A5 wheels need. They were a bargain from an Audi wrecker in the same suburb as my work.



While I was there I also grabbed a new front ashtray. The little chrome bits on mine are peeling off and look horrible.

So refreshing to see things done so properly, even if some of it may be because of the strict inspections. You definitely have keen sense of the correct way to do things.

Looking forward to more progress!

Thanks so much mate. That means a lot!

[FunfGang]

Today is my birthday.

Tell your friend to pick out a set of 4x100 wheels and send them my way



He better have some good locks with a wheel collection like that, and all the assholes in this world.

[HuH]

Got the wheels back from the powder coater yesterday. Bit of a mixed result.

A friend hooked me up with a near new set of tyres in the perfect size for a great price. Big win. The surface of the powder coat is beautifully smooth everywhere we fixed up the damage so that's also a win. Unfortunately the colour and the finish aren't the best.



There are noticeable streaks around the outer edges where the powder goes from bare alloy underneath to paint. Seems we should've sprayed a coat of primer. The 'Bright Silver' powder colour isn't too bad but it's grey compared to the OEM look I really want. I'm nitpicking but I'd like to get them spot on.



You might also notice that at least one of the tyres is mounted the wrong way. So since I've got to take them back to get that switched around my plan is to paint the wheels with an alloy wheel paint then remount the tyres. I'm using a colour that is supposed to be a match for BBS silver. Watch this space.

[P78]

rial daytona race

just saying

http://www.mattstevens.co.uk/car/19-02-2012/VorsprungCollective_01_1920x1080.jpg

[HuH]

Here I am at work using Monday to recuperate after a brutal weekend in the garage. I had Friday off work and spent that afternoon, plus Saturday and Sunday afternoons working on the Audi. Before I get to that I'll go back to last weekend when and painting the wheels.



Looking through the pics now I realise I don't have a decent before shot of the grey colour. Basically it was a solid grey with no metallic at all. In photos they don't look so different painted, but it's obvious to the naked eye.



We took them back with 400 grit sandpaper for better paint adhesion, then masked them up.



This is the paint I used. The colour is called 'Chevy Rally Silver'.



It's an alloy colour with a really nice metallic look.



Easy, smooth application out of the can too.



The finished product. I think these ended up with about four coats on them. We used a little more than two cans in total.



Hub rings arrived from the UK. The later Audi wheels have a 66.6mm centrebore whereas the B7 has 57.1mm hubs.



Now we move on to the work I did this last weekend. I absolutely ***** the flaky red/orange paint on the calipers. The plan was to get rid of it with a wire wheel and re-grease the pads at the same time since they've been clicking lately. I also took ground-to-guard measurements before jacking the car up so that I could adjust the coilovers to get it levelled out.



I used a drill and a couple of different wire brushes to strip them back. This was an arduous, filthy and slow process.



But in the end I think it was worth it. You can see a bit of the fresh copper grease on the back of the pad.



Back right done. Adjusting the height of the back left was a humongous PITA. I was too frustrated to take any photos.



Part way through the front right.



And finished. I didn't want to bleed the brakes so I did all this with the calipers still on the car. This was a bad move. It took so much longer doing it this way. I could've removed them, stripped them in the bench vice and bled the brakes in the same time I spent struggling to strip them back in the car. I didn't have the right size flare nut spanner at home to take them out, otherwise I would've.



I pulled the rear arch liners out to trim them in the area directly above the front face of the wheels. They have a step in them and the tyres would've rubbed on them. In this photo top is factory, bottom is trimmed.



All done! Please excuse the filthy car. This was before the wash.



I'm fairly happy with the ride height and the offset. I like the OEM+ look for now. It looks a bit wonky in these pics. I will snap some better ones.

rial daytona race

just saying

http://www.mattstevens.co.uk/car/19-..._1920x1080.jpg

Corrrr. I like it. These wheels won't stay forever. I'll be looking for something more special soon.

[reiernumans]

The wheels look pretty decent!

[adolfitovr6]

nice work,

[HuH]

Last weekend I took some photos of the Audi in order to sell it. It's advertised for sale as of yesterday. Over the last few months not a great deal has been happening with it and I've been thinking about trying something else. Truth be told I miss having a manual car!

Now that it's actually advertised I'm not sure about it. I sat down and looked at the pics, then I wrote the ad and listed all the strong points. In a lot of ways I still love the car, especially the way it looks and the comfortable commute in it. With that in mind I put a relatively premium price on the ad, so if I get it I'll be able to buy something I really want and I'll be happy with my choice to sell. We'll see what happens.