20V CQ Tidy Up

[anton]

looking good mate! did you use a topcoat with that too or just the pre-15 on its own?

Ant

[Error404]

looking good mate! did you use a topcoat with that too or just the pre-15 on its own?

Ant

Its a silver top-coat mate

You have to coat POR-15 as it is UV sensitive - other than that it will withstand a direct nuclear blast

[mikeraz1]

Hi Error,

A couple of quick questions. I like to convert my CQ to 5 stud hubs.
Are the S2 hubs & S2 struts a straight swap? What else would need to be changed as well?
Obviously disks and wheels before some one points that out

[Error404]

Yup, S2 hubs and struts are a straight swap on the CQ20.
If you want to just fit the hubs you'll need to drill the bolt holes on the front struts out to 14mm

[mikeraz1]

Yup, S2 hubs and struts are a straight swap on the CQ20.
If you want to just fit the hubs you'll need to drill the bolt holes on the front struts out to 14mm

Thanks, now its time to go parts shopping

[Error404]

Fitted the new subframe and wishbones complete with polybushes and new ball joints and the new 034 engine mounts over the weekend and the difference is immense!
Car feels sooooooo much more planted and steering is heavier, taughter and with so much more feeling, it feels like a new car
It was very crashy for the first 15-20 miles, but has now calmed down a lot as it all bedded in.
The amount of grip available now is twice what it was, invoking perhaps a bit too much confidence!
Now can't wait to rebush the rear end, fit new 034 density topmounts all round, new track rod ends and a 22mm rear ARB mod :mischeif:



So anyway, I was feeling an all new level of enjoyment and pride today so I thought i'd treat it to a wash and wax before i fit the new front end and take it in to the body shop for matching up in a couple of weeks

[Acidburn]

Glad its all fitted and your enjoying it, how you finding the full system now?

[Error404]

yeah its nice mate, not too loud in cruise mode but a nice sound on WOT at 6.8k

Been driving it all day, can get over the difference with the new bushes and mounts

The best upgrades I've ever done in terms of smiles to the gallon for sure

[ShadowofBob]

Car has been in the body shop getting the sills repaired this week:
Not quite perfect as you can see the sill isn't quite straight but to be honest i'm not overly bothered, and for what I paid i can't complain - done in new stone chip and flashed over in satin black, also new lower mouldings on too - just waiting to fit my new wings beffore the front lower wing trims go on to match.
Starting to look like it should now

From this:


to this:

Did they hammer that out or weld in new material? Curious as to how they went about the repair. Looks great. I unfortunately and wasting all my money on go fast bits so can't fix my sill damage quite yet.

[Error404]

Sorry Bob, missed your post there.
They basically welded a new piece of sill over the top and blended it it. Looks ok, its not an amazing job, but TBH the car is being built to be driven not pored over by geeks with clip-boards so i'm happy with the outcome, especially for the price

Some more restoration been happening recently:

It was time to fit me new wings, new bonnet and S2 bumper. I got a very good deal on a set of 3B headlights and slam panels, so i've facelifted the coupe to later B4 style face:

Rusty one side:



dented the other side:

[Error404]

So basically the whole front end was stripped: I've only really got pics of the drivers side as i parked it too close to the bushes the other side which made pics difficult

So basically the whole front end was stripped:



look at the state of this arch off the drivers side:
is OEM as far as i can tell, the years have taken their toll:


then washed down with (highly recommended) Marine Clean


see the rust had begun to set in on the arch, mostly where there were gaps in the factory body seal.
Really just surface rust:

[Error404]

Then i set about getting rid of as much surface rust as i could with wire brushes on the drill:










Then the all important protection - POR15.
This stuff is amazing - 2 coats then 2 topcoats of chassis coat should last forever. I got plenty of hairs and stray dust and leaves in the paint, but who cares, noone will ever see it and all i wanted was to cure the rust that i'd found. As usual the bloody weather made my life difficult, dodging the rain
Finally i had 2 coats on, 3 coats around the worst areas of rust i'd found:










then the wings, B4 bonnet, 3B headlights and S2 bumper went on, but unfortunately my phone battery had already given up!

Car is now in the shop getting the front end sprayed, should get it back this week and more pics to follow once its back, cleaned and polished

[Error404]

After a long search, i found a V8 Auto torsen rear diff which will be joining the party when i replace the rear subframe, wishbones and ARB with freshly painted and poly bushed items.

It looks mint and with no play in it at all - WOOT!

[S2central.net]

AUTO V8 you say - that is the AFV code - does that have same final drive ratio as the manual rear diff from the V8 - the AXZ ?

[S2central.net]

OK - relax - they DO have same 37/9 setup (4.111 that matches S2) - found that in the family album just now... I do notice that the actual Torsen unit in the Auto version has a different number than the manual one - maybe slightly different gearing in them - ferktifino !