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Audi A4 B7 2.0TQ | Project Déjà-vu
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Bought some ramps for safer working in the garage.
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I wanted 4, but only 2 were in stock. We shall see when they have some available again. Had to modify them and chop the stopping points in order to fit under the car.
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
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Marked to chop here
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And now it fits under the sideskirts
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Test fitting one side
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Installed these, one on each car
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
And some pics of the ongoing process of the parts i am waiting for
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
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To match my interior
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And also the exterior parts , pillars and front audi emblem
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
I also have some ideas. Oh well . . .
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Cheers
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So many things have been happening, didnt have the time to write about them.
Rear door card trims in kevlar, installed to complete the front ones .
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Rear ashtray next to the factory one
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Reinstalled the spring
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Installed
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Took the car for a spin and met some relatives
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Then it was time to install the front Audi emblem
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Started like this - notice i am missing the center trim in the bumper it is out for making that in cf as well -
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Two emblems side by side
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Used the very strong adhesive glue from araldite that i used in the lower quattro cf badge just to be sure it wouldnt be stolen easily. Used zip ties to lock it in place with pieces of micofiber cloth to avoid scratches
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Left it to cure for 48hours
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
I love how it came out
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
More to come below
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Then some interior updates that give that extra better feeling when you are driving the car on a day to day basis.
I have been running this steering wheel for some time now.
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
I love its looks, and the ability for better and easier handling when the car is going sideways or under heavy cornering. However I have another steering wheel that i think will look better in the interior i have in mind and slowly building. The downside is that it is smaller, and thus less forgiving.
Here it is
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Again alcantara, from Sparco
Here they are in comparison.
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Installed in place
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
I think it is a keeper.
Then, a thing that is very common in these cars, a broken locking clip in the top cap of the armrest. I bought the car like this, as in my other A4 i hadnt broken it. But the interior colour was different so couldnt use that.
Luckily there is a fix which i didnt know about, but my friend that owns the B6 A4 pointed out the specific product which is this .
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Lost no time and removed tha top cap of the armrest
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Pry the lower plastic like this
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And removed what is left of the old locking plastic
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Old vs New
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INstall everything in reverse order and secure lower plastic
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Done and locking like it should from factory. Very happy with these little things, cause i was about to order an armrest. Good thing i didnt.
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Bought another set of ramps to have a total of 4 if need be.
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Then, we go to the issues of my factory clima unit, which was looking really tired, it was scratched in places and light would come out of places it shouldnt. I was on the lookout for a unit in good condition, not so much for its body but mostly the buttons to maybe swap them over. I dont like the look of the resto-sticker-kits, i think they look cheap at best.
So suddenly i came across one that was not only looking good but also had the heated seats buttons if a retrofit was to be done in the future. It was slightly more expensive than most of the units sold, but not by much, so i gave it a go.
Receiving the unit, it was looking like it hadnt ever been used, and the photos were not doing this thing justice.
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Compare that to my tired one
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Had to swap the aluminum trim
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Even in the sun this thing is like new
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Installed
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Very happy with that , ocd likes this as well.
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More to come below
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Then it was time for the b pillars to be installed.
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Installed some velcro at the back for protection and better fitting in the car's metal pillars
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Started removing parts
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Cleaned everything as I went
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Side by side
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Close ups
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Next, c pillars
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Cheers
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So before i start the story on the C-pillars , i just want to say the amount of things that need to be removed in order to removed these two little parts, is out of this world. However I was determined. And prepared
Started with this
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Door card removed
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Removed the window frame
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Removed
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Installed
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Passenger side
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All done
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I totally love how they came out.
Lastly I ordered some vinyl decals from France for the blue Audi
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I opted for blue ones we shall how they look in daylight
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Then fun fact though is that i thought I would try the red ones on the A1 to see how they would look
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It looked great, however the car is FWD and not a quattro. Let's fix that.
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Ah, now we are looking good.
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Cheers hope you like them too
Mike
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So another thing that was bothering me, that many people may not understand, including my past me, is the fact that the tint that came with the car was very dark. Ideally i prefer no tint, but sun is very strong in my country as you know, and also in most of the time of the year. So for a daily car, it is rather obligatory with temps over 40o Celsius during summer time.
However, this is not my daily car, and i could probably get away with a tint like my other cars have, which is the shade CS35 of 3M. This is one, sadly had a darker one from the previous owner, however the job done was very good. The good thing I had been informed about, is the fact that the tint job was rather recent so i thought the glue would not be so tired from many years. I have removed window tint again in the past, and the only way to see how it will go, is to just get on with it.
In my defense, i tried a lot, almost 5-6 months now to keep the tint job. however i didnt dig the look, and also, at nights ,especially when in rain, backing up was difficult and dangerous if u didnt take the front windows down to see your side mirrors.
So, let's get to pics of the process.
This is how it looked before
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Started on the rear driver's side window
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50:50 shot
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Driver's door was next
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Done
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Passenger side done
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Left the rear for the end, when i would have the most "experience" in removing it, because it is easy to damage the elctrical connections of the window defroster. I started with a small cut with a blade and then it was easy with heat
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before
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and after
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Bye bye
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End result
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Cheers
Mike
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A leftover part wrapped in faux carbon fiber, the 3M dinoc wrapping film, wasnt to my liking, plus it looked ugly next to a real cf part.
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Since I had the trim from the other car, I thought I'd give it a go with something different.
There was some pitting and stains
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They came off though nicely with some specific products
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Went for 3M piano black vinyl wrap
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I am clueless in wrapping things, but it came out decent I think
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Out with the old
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In with the "new"
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I like it a lot
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What is next on that theme, is the window surround, which I am debating if I should try myself . . .
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I then test fitted my old Defi gauges in the center console position, just to see how they looked compared to the kevlar
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Not a fan. Will try and source two of these, a boost one and egt one ( sadly I have sold mine in the past) in order to fit the rest above
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Cheers more to follow.
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Progress pics of the new incoming carbon fiber / Carbon kevlar parts.
Some of them are skinning while others are being made from molds, depends on each application.
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
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Cheers more to come
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An update regarding stopping power. The car was in need of front new rotors, and also, pads. I was about to order discs and pads online, however I thought wait a minute, there is an 8-pot Kit with 330x32 floating unused discs, and also, also almost unused Ferodo DS2500 pads for that matter. Why not install that kit instead and also save a lot of weight from the calipers.
What is more, there were braided brake lines, front and rear, so why not.
First I had to remove the parts from the other car.
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
First one removed
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Discs were hardly used when I had bought them in the previous car.
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Gave them some love
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A fresh coat of blue
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Car left with no front brakes
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New 12.9 bolts for the calipers
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Removed both sides and kit was ready for installation
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Time to steal those rear brake lines too
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Removed
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Cleaned them
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They turned out nicely
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Time for installation then, this time at the shop
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Rear lines installed as well
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Then bled the brakes, and boom, ready
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Very happy I installed them, whole new level, had forgotten how these things work.
Cheers
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So, next ton the list of things that I wanted to remove from the other blue A4, was the suspension. It was a custom PSS suspension made in Greece from executive dealer/manufacturer of Bilstein, Jamsport (c). This suspension was fabricated back in 2008 since the beginning of my journey with that car.
Here is a photo of when it was installed
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Since then it was rebuild once, and then, after 2013 that I stopped using that car, it was in the car, installed, sitting still.
Started removing it. But had to install something else on the car, so I sourced my oem suspension. Didnt have a spring compressor available, so thought I would just put the struts, the car is a rolling chassis nothing more, so it would be adequate I thought.
The oem suspension
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Mind you, this was something i never did on my own before even though I have done almost anything else so far. However I went for it and hoped for the best.
These came in handy
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And so did this amazing tool from wurth
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I started at the back, because I somehow thought it would be easier for a beginner like me.
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Removed.
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Both rears out
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Front assembly removed
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The whole suspension was out at last
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The aftermath
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Car was sitting like this without springs
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Here's how they came out, after hours of scrubbing. Sadly no major difference which was disappointing
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
Started the second day with this
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Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
My plan was to remove the subframe, cause it was a subframe with 034 Motorsport Solid aluminum bushings installed. And instead of removing them and reinstalling them on the other car, i though, why not remove the subframe, clean it, paint it, and swap subframes when time comes for the underbody overhaul.
These are the bushings i am speaking of.
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Removed the subframe on my own, again, a new for me. But I got there in the end.
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Time for cleaning and painting
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Came out like this
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On the plus side, it fits my THULE box, and i carry it around easily. Hehe.
Untitled by mgpdoc, on Flickr
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