Audi A4 B7 2.0TQ | Project Déjà-vu

[mgpdoc]

I quickly decided i had to throw the new parts onto the more recent A4. The thing is, that this car, given its age, and mileage, would give me a hard time working on it, mostly due to the road grime and debris. All in all the car was in great shape, never seen and accident of any kind, that is why I bought it in the first place after looking for quite some time for the right one.

I will guide you through the process of the swap, which took about 12 hours, and did it all by myself. It needs patience, and some good quality beer and music. Other than that it is pretty straight forward if you have basic skills.

I started by removing the sideskirts first, then the front bumper, then wheels. front wheel arches, and front fenders, and then put everything back together - hopefully.

Driver Side sideskirt removal

First you remove this plastic to gain access to the bolts beneath it

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Many bolts that need to come off

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Here is what you are left with, once you remove the sideskirt.

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

After some degreaser and a lot of time

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Passenger side sideskirt before and after cleaning

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr


Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Passenger Sideskirt off

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

---------------------------------------------------------------

Then we lift the car on the air to work on front bumper and fenders

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Out came the bumper and the washer fluid

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

No going back now

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Passenger side was definitely the hardest one to work on, more things in there.

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Lower fender bolts gave me some trouble due to grime and corrosion not letting the torx bit sit in as it should. Then when it did, this happened.

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Nothing some angle grinder cant fix though

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Instead of this

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr


To the left, the stock A4 fender - sideskirt support and to the right the Rs4 one which is wider

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Installed in place

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

First fender was on

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

It was now time to see whether the fender line could at least be put in place although it is to be expected to be smaller than needed

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Yeap, and smaller it was. However it fit in place, and nothing rubbed so it will do until i get the RS4 fender liners - if hopefully they are still in production, fingers crossed.

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Headlight washer system was removed, I always found it useless and also it will interfere with the future IC setup.

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Clean bumper ready to be installed

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

However I had to do something about this here which led to washer fluid leaking if not plugged.

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

At first i thought of doing another route or something.

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

But then I remembered i have some silicone hose plugs, which is a big win especially when you have them in stock and can also choose colour lol.

There, super clean, and neat

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr


Bumper and Fenders were, on, time to put the remaining things back on

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

This is missing and is on order

Part 9 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Time for the sideskirts which at the rear part were wider due to the rear fenders not being on yet.

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Touching ground and as you can see the car got significantly wider

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

As for the rear bumper, I can install it in place, however, the side parts of the bumper stick out too much unless the fenders go in. Pics from my old test fit for reference

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Some random pics of the car, that day

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

9 years between these two photos, in the same location

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Hope you liked this as much as I did.

Cheers

Mike

[mgpdoc]

A nice addition to the man cave is this one

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Keeps the project moving for sure.

A subtle changeI use to do to my project cars, is all red tails. Here it is mostly red as you can see

Part 10 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

So added a strip of red tint film on the lower part. A subtle change but it is there nevertheless.

Part 8 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 10 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Also, for anyone looking to buy a car charger to match the Audi interior light, look no further, i am here for you

Part 9 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 10 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Great, because the blue one from Belkin was bugging me

Part 10 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Also, these arrived

Part 10 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 10 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 10 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 10 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 10 by mgpdoc, on Flickr


Cheers, more to come

Mike

[Nuts]

Always nice to read your treads and posts!! Awesome work as always!

[mgpdoc]

Thanks a lot

[hinrichs]

So satisfying to watch you swap everything over. Do you have the part number on that omp storage thing? I would love that for the vette to match my seats.

[mgpdoc]

So satisfying to watch you swap everything over. Do you have the part number on that omp storage thing? I would love that for the vette to match my seats.

First of all thanks a lot, it means a lot, especially coming from you mate. Much appreciated.

As for the OMP, surely, it is NA/1864/N. I love it, it is classy and does the work nicely.

[mgpdoc]

So, like i said I received these cf mirror caps

Part 10 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

First you remove the glass and then the mirror cap, it is relatively easy in this car

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Then you see a whole lot of dirt.

Before

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

After

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Before

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

After

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Then it is reinstalling time

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Some heavy coats of this wax

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Ready

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Cheers

Mike

[mgpdoc]

Two more things that were done to the car are about wheels.

One for the wheels of the car, which is spacers.
To at least temporarily make the car sit nicer.

The other, is steering wheel, because as much as I tried, the OEM steering wheel is ugly to say the least. One of the ugliest stock wheels I believe for this brand. Not sure if I will go 8V/TTS/R8 flat bottom steering wheel like my A1 for instance, because I do like the feeling of the one I installed very much. And it will match the future seats I have in stock for this project.

So let's see some pic of the process.

A/ Spacers.

Had some 20mm 5x100 spacers in the garage, and decided to make them also 5x112, and take them down to 15mm for square fitment. Although in the eye, it would need 25mm in the front and 10mm in the back. However do not want different sizes on axles of a 4wd car. That's just me.

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

This is how it was before

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

And after

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Before

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

After

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Installed 19mm plastic caps for cleaner look

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Also bought another of these Audi tools for the caps

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Washed the wheels

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Here they are

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

B/ Steering wheel swap

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

And some pics of the exterior of the how the car is sitting on the new setup

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 11 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Cheers

[mgpdoc]

Need to update this, to bring it up to the current status of the car as we speak.

So, firstly, the drivers door card handle was looking a bit tired from the past, and it had some stickers, plus one of the window switches was broken and those had to be addressed.

This is how it was

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Scratched switch

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Removed the door card

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

New trim from the dealership

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

New switch set

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Installed in place

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Removed and cleaned the door handle from the door card , which is help in place by like 10 billion bolts

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

50:50 shot of before and after

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Put everything back in place

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Much better

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Steering wheel collection going strong

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Looks ok for now, more on the interior later to follow

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Now, for the wheels. I wasnt feeling comfortable with the thread engagement of the studs and nuts after the spacers' installation, although it was surely safe, more than 2 thirds of the threads were secured. However I wish I had longer studs.

Which, as i found out that day, i did have but had forgotten about them, LoL

So, pics of before.

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

50:50 shot

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

The forgotten stud kit

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Marked them to check if they are spinning

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

All done

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

And plastic caps can also be installed for that cleaner look

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

So that is better and safer at least in my mind.

Cheers

Mike

[mgpdoc]

One day, I was like, f*ck it, let's try the rear bumper, although I know the rear fenders are not on, and nor will be anytime soon, considering the time delay in available appointments/bookings in the shop i am interested in taking this job.

Anyway, as I said, it was not something sensible to do, but I did it anyways.

Here is how it went.

Removed the tailights

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

the amount of dirt i was faced with, was to be expected, however it didnt make me less sad. I had to clean these, because they are potential rust spots if you leave them like that under the seals.

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Removed the Cobra parktronic that was installed and labelled the wiring and installed rubber grommets in place of the old ones

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

I then cleaned everything as you can guess and then went ahead with the installation of the RS4 bumper.

I however had to remove this crash bar as well, to paint it, cause it is visible through the bumper

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

And after

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Installed in place

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Fender to bumper mounts are different for the RS4.

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Removed the old ones, and cleaned underneath

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Installed the fixings for the bolts

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Then the mounts, 3 of the 4 bolts given, cause the 4th one, is only available in the RS4 rear fender

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Also fixed this, because someone had pulled the front part off, now allowing the gas cap door to lock like it should. All fixed now.

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Time to throw the bumper on

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Here's how the situation at the back is currently

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Car is fully driveable, and also in high speeds, zero problem of things breaking from air, etc, they are very solid there cause they are held in place with bolts in the mounts beneath them . However I have to decide what I am gonna do with fenders.

They are currently on the other car.

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 12 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Cheers,

Mike

[mgpdoc]

Honk for more updates

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

So, after the installation of the front RS4 fenders, the fender liners were fitted, although looking a bit sorry for themselves, making the car look like a scrap car or something.

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Ugly to say the least

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

This was something that couldnt stay like this, obviously even if noone saw it, I knew it was there.

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Ordered Front Fender RS4 Liners and also some other fixings and bolts, as well as the lower fender liner lip part which is also larger in the RS4. I didnt have these parts in the past cause I didnt intend running fender liners in the other car, at all.

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Material, surprisingly is carpet here, instead of plastic. Premium parts I guess

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Also bought a tow hook cover which is different in the Rs4 bumper - didnt know that

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part number for whoever is interested in it

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Out came the wheels

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

And then the regular A4 fenderliners

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

New ones on

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Proper

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Much better

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Also, ordered the rear ones, although rear fenders are not yet on, cause you never know when production will stop these days. Like I said in the previous post maybe, production on certain parts of this car, has stopped.

So yeah, gotta stock parts I guess

Cheers

Mike

[mgpdoc]

Cleaning and detailing wise, the only thing left untouched in the car, was the interior's carpet and lower surfaces.

The exterior hadnt been polished, but it was waxed and looking decent

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

All in all car was very well cared after, no smoking inside it etc, but still you gotta go the extra mile and deep clean those fibers when u buy a used car, in order to feel like home, and not in somebody else's car. It is what it is.

So, despite the 45oC [that is 110-115in F] in my country currently, out came the rear seat bench

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Front seats next

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

First we did the floormats

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Koch Polstar, agitate, scrub and pressure wash and then the extractor vacuum

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

We then did the same to the interior carpet. It was a big job, but so well worth it. Massive difference even in car that was cared for. The years of ownership are there, and so is the difference in smell and feeling when opening the door and getting in.

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Then that was out of the way, there was another thing on the list.

If you have noticed my cf parts, hood and trunk, they have Aerocatch Quick release pins and locks installed. In the front, I had initially installed them, cause there was a lot of air coming through and at high speeds the hood was instable and didnt wanna risk it breaking the hood latch and coming towards me. It is not rare that we have seen this happening in cars with cf / light hoods . At the back it was a different case, of removing weight of oem lock mechanism.

When I transferred the two parts, in this car, I opted for OEM locking mechanisms and latches, so didnt install the pins. However in the front, when I go above 60mph (100km/h) the hood starts bouncing, and makes me feel unhappy to say the least. So the pins had to be installed again it seems just to be on the safe side.

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Transferred the points to drill like this

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Some tape from the other car, and marking the hole, and then transferring the tape

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Drilling

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr


Installed the old pins from Aerocatch

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Worked great

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Wanted a less racing look, so opted for wrinkle black paint

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Came out clean

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Boom ready, and safe

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Now onto the next update.

Teaser

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

[mgpdoc]

So, here is a big update. At least for me.

As you might have seen, the rear of the car, was looking a bit weird after the rear RS4 bumper installation. The reason for that, are the stock exhaust tips.

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

It is time we do something for this.

So here is how the brainstorming procedure came for the design of the exhaust on this car.

In the past, I had two exhaust setups, one was with mufflers on both sides , which was the first setup and looked something like this

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

A420vt Exhaust by mgpdoc, on Flickr

And then came the single exit muffler which was more aggressive and I loved it, which was this

A420vt Exhaust by mgpdoc, on Flickr

A420vt Exhaust by mgpdoc, on Flickr

A420vt Exhaust by mgpdoc, on Flickr

A420vt Exhaust by mgpdoc, on Flickr

So this time, I was debating whether I would go dual exit, or single.
Let's see what I opted for, although I cannot promise I will not do both. LoL

Cat was sure, this was a small diameter and had to go.

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

The inspiration for the muffler fabrication was this custom muffler I found in a Celica GT4 from my country scene.

Part 13 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

It ticked all the boxes for me. So I gave my order for what we wanted to fabricate, and first thing I received was some photos of the mufflers.

Engine side

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Exit side

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

I tried on some tips that would look nice on an OEM+ car, powedercoated in black. Kind of like the RS4 ones but a bit more aggressive. Dont get me wrong I like these, however they dont match the theme with the cf trunk and the holes, currently.

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

So the plan about the catback was the following.
Starting from below the driver, 90mm pipe, going into two 70mm pipes, one v-band clamp in each side, and then going further back, to 2x 90mm
straight through mufflers, again with one v-band clamp on each side, before the muffler to be able to remove it for cleaning polishing etc. Also , I wanted the interior passing of the muffler, to be the same diameter a the pipe, and have no difference whatsoever.

90mm is 3,5inches for my non metric friends.

The shop normally polishes all the exhaust, however I asked them if they can leave the welds unpolished cause I like the tig colours.

So, the shop removed the OEM catback, and packed it for home

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Then started working from scratch.

The hard part was the first section, due to the massive diameter difference. However the shop made a really good job here, and it is only temporary as I will do the front section pretty soon.

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

The split starts here

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Welded

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Installed in place

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Despite being so big, the clearance was pretty good very happy with that

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Moving further towards the back

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Then , the turn

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Driver side

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Time for driver side muffle

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

In the back the v-band is visible

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Grinded some bolts for maximum space available, cause the muffler body was 180mm which I asked for .

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

First side done

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Moving on the passenger side

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Also welded a bracing in the turn of the two rear pipes for extra support in between them, not visible in the photos

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

As for the passenger side muffler, all I can say, is that we finished the exhaust fab at about 18.30 and were aligning tips for about 2 hours. Wasnt before 21.00 that i left the shop. Talk about ocd.

But as the owner said, "we will not leave the shop until it is what it should and you are happy". I appreciate that more than I can describe.

Some finished photos then

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

And some of the next day in daylight

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Came out exactly like i planned it, and I couldnt be happier with the looks, and the sound clip it brought in the car. More on that in a photo on the first start after the fab. It made a deep tone, that sounds very serious without drone. Love it.

Ofcourse , after the future downpipe fab, and decat status, it will be louder, but we shall see then, when time comes..

Hope you like the update, and uploading a sound clip in a minute.

[mgpdoc]

Sound clip, although not proper

[mgpdoc]

So before the next update, I would like to ask if anyone has tried these vinyl/decal kits for the a/c controls or any other interior buttons for tha matter.

These scratches here make me wanna change the whole Ac unit sadly

Part 14 by mgpdoc, on Flickr

I know that in the end i will do just that, was just hoping has any experience, since I sadly sold my perfectly great looking one from the previous car. Wish I hadnt.

In other news installed some caps on the OEM Audi wheels that were installed on the Golf for now, and they dont look so bad. Might even colour match them with the car, and see how they are

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Installed the quick release i had for the steering wheel

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

On

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Off

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Now, for some other changes in the center console.

Started with this

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Started pulling things apart

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Ashtray leaving the car

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Removed the assembly and will be keeping only the boot

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

This is going as well as the knob, in perfect condition after all these years

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

This can go back in for now.

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Boot needed some love

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

But came back like new with this product from Koch

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

So I was left with this

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Time to cut the upper part for two reasons. One, I wanted to shorten it, to reduce the throw a bit, second, you cannot make threads in the upper part due to the metal being like that. Well, you can, just not so easily.

So, let's start cutting after applying some protection for metal chunks

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Hand cutting took a bit too long

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

So I went to my pneumatic saw

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Boom, easy

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Took care of the sharp edges and started with this

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

There we go, M12 ready

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Not bad for some garage hand tools.

Test fitting the custom billet gear knob we made in the lathe some time ago

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

All was great, and will add blue thread locker in the final installation as well.

Time to put this in then

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Fits in OEM locations and sits perfectly

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Boot installation

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

And then, the whole thing - ignore the splatter of wd40 in the AC unit from when i was making the threads haha

Aug21 Knob by mgpdoc, on Flickr

I really like how it came out

Kevlar by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Boom ready for now

Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr

Till next time ,

cheers

Mike