My S2 coupe bit of a rebuild and repair thread.

[B5NUT]

So one of the only rust problems on the car was the passenger side wing, and it's completely shot near the bumper. Now I got a "good" wing with the car but in my opinion use of the word good is a bit of a stretch!

So issues with the "good" wing

Dent
1-dent.jpg
Stuck on nut/bolt, with damaged threads.
2-stuck.jpg
And finally rust, lots of rust.
3-rust.jpg
4-rust.jpg
5-rust.jpg
6-rust.jpg

Starting point was to grind off the nut/bolt, then grind away the rivet nuts as they were hiding a fair amount of rust and looked very old & shot!
10-nuts.jpg
After that a good wash & degrease.

So first up was to remove the dent. Think I got about 95% out. After sanding back there is only a small bit left which I should be able to remove with high build primer.
7-dent.jpg
Next up stripping the rust away, I use the nylon brushes as they don't damage the surface of the panel and remove paint & rust nicely. Down side is they are not cheap.
9-tools.jpg

I've removed about 20% of the rust so far and the rest will be sorted tomorrow

11-clean.jpg
12-clean.jpg
13-clean.jpg

It's no wonder when I ever I go and get a quote from a body shop the price always appears to be very high. So far I'm about 4 hours into a single panel. what with removing all the rusted nuts & rivets, trim pieces, clear plastic strips, wash & degrease, dent removal and I've no where near removed all the rust. which I think will be at least another 2 hours. Then the hole panel will need to be rubbed down which will be another 1-2 hours. So I would say it's going to take the best part of a day just to prep this one panel for paint!

[B5NUT]

So after almost 9 hours of prep work I got to this point.

All rust gone and some FE converter on the area rust has been removed.
1637082945216.jpg
Then 100ml of epoxy brushed & sprayed to the rear of the panel.
1637083049128.jpg

It's on nice and thick so hopefully that should stop the rust coming back and give it some protection.
1637083110733.jpg

Also My Koni's arrive today. If these don't fit I'm crushing the dam thing

[Rikki Kitto]

ace work bro wish I had the determination you have, l did when I first got the S2 but she has gradually worn me down and drained all my money

[Nuvo]

I enjoy tuning in to your thread for my fix of old Audi repairs. You've shared some great tips which I'll no doubt use myself some day.
Keep up the good work.

[B5NUT]

I know the feeling about being worn down, I'm only a few month into ownership and already this car has .... me off soo many times. I had no intension of spending £300 on front shocks, and I know fitting standard shocks to the rear is just not going to work with the uprated koni's on the front so have resigned myself to spending another £300 on the rear. I've also hit many snapped bolts, parts obsolescence's, hidden mods and people bodges over the years. I'm hoping all this work will pay off in the long term.

[B5NUT]

Well good news for me the Koni shocks have arrived and they fit.
Screenshot 2021-11-17 161152.jpg
Even got to use my new tool.
Screenshot 2021-11-17 161230.jpg

Started the painting on the wing. Applied the etch primer on the bare metal sections, before applying the high build primer. Just hope the primer colour is somewhere near the factory primer otherwise the colours going to be out and I'll have to start all over again. It's a light grey but the camera on my phone makes it look white.
Screenshot 2021-11-17 161314.jpg

Will be left overnight before being rubbed down in the morning before the base colour goes on, then a good few coats of clear which I will be able to cut back and polish.

[struikie]

Hats off to you. Awesome work!

JW

[Rikki Kitto]

I feel like setting my car on fire at least once a year but then I drive her when she's on form and all is forgiven, with it being RS2 SPEC it's great fun to thrash about

[steve briance]

Im loving the ear plug thread protectors! So obvious once you see it, i shall be buying a pack !

[B5NUT]

I'm happy with the tiny 230HP (If it's still even making that) Once it's done I'm getting it on the rolling road to see what the old girl is making.

So was working on the shocks at 7am this morning. First off a tool was make using an old spark plug socket yet again.
1-socket.jpg

I want to confirm I have everything in the correct order, so is below the correct steps, as I just want to make sure I have not missed anything.

So stop buffer first
2-buffer.jpg

Then the spring disc, on top of that goes the mounting cup.
3-cup.jpg
Then the thread bush is tighten (As best as I can)

4-bush.jpg
Next up would be to fit that to the car, then fit the stop and finally the self-locking nut. Is that correct or have I missed any washers etc. I could not see any in etka.

Is it easier to fit that lot into the car then fit the wheel bearing housing, or is it best to fit the wheel bearing housing while everything is off the car?

Also the so called "adjustability" of these shocks is crap. You have to push the shock shaft all the way down and turn it to make the adjustment. So you would have to take the shock off the car to adjust, it's completely point less if you ask me. So it's got 1/2 a turn from the softest setting.

[K Simmonds]

I'm pretty sure there should be a washer between the top of the shock and the spring plate... Let me have a look at the factory manual, it'll take me a while to find the right section, that said the top of those Koni's has a shoulder that the stock shock's don't have. I've taken B3/4 car's apart and found them both with and without washers in that location so I don't expect it really matters.

But I can see your a stickler for detail so I would imagine you'd like to be sure.

Yes, the manual does show a washer the same diameter as the shock between it and the upper spring plate, though with that shoulder on top of the shock I think I'd want it to fit within that.

And yes, having to totally disassemble the suspension make adjustments is crazy.

[B5NUT]

A washer is listed in etka but not for the ABY car. Just the AHH & ABC
Screenshot 2021-11-18 090321.jpg
These are the parts provided in the kit form Koni. I've fitted the sleeve shown on the left but I'm not 100% sure as the instructions that come from Koni are rubbish!.
Screenshot 2021-11-18 090630.jpg

The top of the shocks look the same

Koni
Screenshot 2021-11-18 090752.jpg

Factory installed shock.
Screenshot 2021-11-18 090909.jpg

Question is should the sleeve stay or go?

[K Simmonds]

Hmmm, well this a conundrum. The factory manual I have only cover's Coupe quattro's with the 7A engine, which is pretty much an S2 minus the turbo, as well as some other four pot B3 models as it was made for the US market and they never got S2's.

So that sleeve fit's inside the top of the bump stop, then on top of the shock by the looks of it?

[Mikes2]

When I removed Koni shocks from one of my cars and that plastic sleeve had been fitted on top.

[B5NUT]

Hmmm, well this a conundrum. The factory manual I have only cover's Coupe quattro's with the 7A engine, which is pretty much an S2 minus the turbo, as well as some other four pot B3 models as it was made for the US market and they never got S2's.

So that sleeve fit's inside the top of the bump stop, then on top of the shock by the looks of it?

Yes, a piece of paper with the shocks shows the fitment. However the instructions also tell you to add 50ml of antifreeze in the strut, but I'm not doing that!
Screenshot 2021-11-18 092746.jpg

No way am doing this step
Screenshot 2021-11-18 092823.jpg