B3 Audi 80 16V Sport (1.8 Turbo) - loads of pics

[1781cc]

(Also running this thread on Classic Audi FYI)

OK, as some of you may know from my newbie thread, I am planning on taking this Audi 80 16V Sport that I happened to stumble upon after selling my B6 S4 V8 and making it into a car that is a real sleeper.

The main plan is to get the existing engine ripped out and a 1.8T engine from a VW passat dropped into its place, whilst retaining the original appearance of the car, but with a few select tweaks. Obviously there will be an evolution of power once the conversion is done, but for now I want to get a sharp, reliable motor as it will be my daily driver.

Facts:
£450 purchase price
7 month's MOT
got it taxed
full service history
generally good bodywork
spotless, refurbed alloys with Avon Z1's




Plan & Implementation:
VW Passat Sourced
Aiden at Bahnstorm is going to do the conversion
one of my friends at AD Panelcraft will be doing any bodywork
I will be doing everything else

I know that people like pictures, and being as its pissing down with rain today, I dived outside at the first moment it stopped to start assessing what it is I am dealing with. I didnt get it all done, but its a start...

[1781cc]

Assessment - Part 1

Popped the boot, quite surprised at the homemade spare wheel cover, so will need to get one of the proper ones in black I think







With the lining out you can see there is some rust under where the wheel is, disappointing but I guess to be expected



Bootlid is nice and rust free - anyone know if this ever had a piece of trim on it?



There was a receipt from Pristine Alloys in the folder I got with the car, which explains the condition of the ones on the car, but the spare has seen better days - being as they did the last batch, and its raining, I took the wheel and dropped it off to them again, they say it will take 3 days and set me back £60 - nice!




The stereo setup is a mess, clearly butchered at some point, so will be looking at getting replacement speakers for this and the front dash, I already have a Sony headunit ready to go in, so will be looking at making the replacements look original but sound superb. Not an ICE install per se, just crisp with some punch.




Wiring was a mess, found a 35W amp under the seat and the rear speakers are well out of place - how on earth did the previous owner ever be allowed to handle sharp objects?





Any rust under the seat?



Thankfully no...




No rust in the shuts, just grime...




Considering it drips petrol near the filler and not in the car if you fill her all the way up, I am surprised to see no leaks this side, but under the flap is something else and I am guessing its a fuel line problem or pump related?




No rust here either, and this is the dirtiest of the hinges!



This wheel is huge and has to go, will get an S2 one I think...



new bulb needed on the right, all gauges work tho



85K on the clock, all verified by history, temp gauge doesnt work



green...



You cant see it here, but the roof will need respraying, it has marks and laquer peeling



deep gouge on the bonnet in a few places where something has obviously fallen on it, will get the under body rust done as well when I get the spraying done post engine conversion






no rust on the suspension struts, but as you can see there is rust in deeper recesses...






Engine runs better than it looks, but it has an oil leak from the head gasket, have checked and water and oil are totally separate, I am guessing its a small leak but has been left for a while and there is quite a buildup on the undertray.






If anyone wants first dips on the engine and ecu when its out let me know

With nothing else to do as the rain started again, I set off to halfrauds to buy a few things to start some of the cleanup process. Will start tomorrow by taking all the seats and carpet out, see if I can discover any more rust or hidden surprises, work my way through cleaning the seats, door shuts, petrol cap surround, rubber seals and so on...



So far though, the car looks to be a really good, sound base to build on :tup:

[Val]

Are you going to use custom made engine mounts for 1.8T?

[sidrick]

I'll be following this!

It took me a month of owning my 8v coupe until I realised the water temp gauge did actually work. They don't seem to move a lot unless you're in traffic.

[djh]

under the fuel cap should be a small hole/drain plug, check its clear.
Nice looking base for a project, you will probably find the rust in the boot is nothing serious and just dirt etc, and will wash off.

[bikerjim]

I'll be following this!

It took me a month of owning my 8v coupe until I realised the water temp gauge did actually work. They don't seem to move a lot unless you're in traffic.

Sounds like the thermostat might be goosed. All the audi/vw's i have known sit bang on 90deg if everything is ok.

[bikerjim]

Nice project dude, another 1.8t, mega!!

[andy10v]

Looks nice!

You can get a bootlid trim piece, its stiff black plastic/cloth, clips into plastic inserts in some of the holes in the bootlid IIRC, one of my 90s had one.

I would look at resealing the tailights to the body going by the apparent water collection in the spare wheel well. You can buy a roll of black sealant relatively cheaply. Check by pouring water over the tops of the lights/boot and see if it runs inside.

[sam80quattro]

looks lovely that i take it no-one has told you they were galvanised from the factory so shouldn't be any rust aslong as its not had any repair work in the past. keep the pictures coming

[1781cc]

Are you going to use custom made engine mounts for 1.8T?

I am not sure what Aiden (from Bahnstorm) is planning for mounts, but I think we will be shamelessly referencing BikerJims install for guidance

With regards to temperatures, I checked the gauge and that appears to be fine, must be thermostat, doesnt budge at any amount of heat, moot point, this engine is coming out anyway.

Andy & Sam: thanks for the tips about the water/rust - I knew they were galvanised because I had a 1989 red B3 quattro back in 1995, I remembered they had a 10 year guarantee, but still, 20 years is double what Audi were willing to put their name to so thought it best to check.

will speak to audi to get a part number for the boot trim, thanks for the heads up

[1781cc]

small update

may not seem like a lot of progress in the pics, but took me all morning, carefully undoing bolts and screws, bagging things up as I went...

Took the seats and trims out to gain access under the carpets to check for rust, holes, etc... all clear thankfully. Had to remove the remains of three separate ice installations from under the carpet (!) one on the left, one on the right, and one down the transmission tunnel and under the carpet to the back seats - the mind boggles!

so, major carpet clean and spruce, used autoglym interior shampoo to get them looking and smelling nice, seats are in the living room waiting to be done tomorrow (the missus isnt home from work yet but she wont be happy)

I guess that I wont be putting all the trim back in place until after the install, this means that Aiden can get access to under the dash for any loom/ecu/wiring work, but it does mean that I can use the opportunity to fully strip, clean and sanitise things like the air vents, seals, tidy front to rear cabling, lean all the shuts, sills, rubbers, gromets and go around eliminating squeaks and rattles.

Might even look at getting a little dynamat type sound deadening stuff to insulate against noise in the car. Especially as its FWD the weight increase will be minor, if I was hulking a quattro drivetrain around I would probably think twice about it.

anyway, enough words, you want pics right?





May seem odd, but has anyone successfully managed to change the colour of the switch/ambient lighting from Red to White or Blue before? is it just a case of bulbs and perspex?

[bikerjim]

It is possible, i did this but went back to red in the end. I have a thread somewhere, try find it later. All the switches are the hardest bit. Dash can be done with leds.

[Val]

I am not sure what Aiden (from Bahnstorm) is planning for mounts, but I think we will be shamelessly referencing BikerJims install for guidance

Then you will need to weld brackets to chassis if you want to follow BikerJim's project 'cause your engine mounts to subframe -> B3 4cyl and B4 4cyl engine mounts are not the same.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?1774571

[1781cc]

OK, I looked into the change of dash colours and decided against it, it was only cause of the stereo I have being blue, sod it, easier to change the stereo, besides, the red dash is uniquely VAG imo.

So, got the donor car yesterday, thanks again to Pete (Acidburn) for earmarking a good 'un. I popped up to VRS in Northampton hoping to get some bits on his recommendation and called by Bahnstorm on the way to sort out timescales for this to move forward, looks like were going to be rolling in the 80 and out before xmas (assuming no problems)

VRS, what can I say? which I had of known about it when I had my B6 S4... absolute teasure trove and Will really knows his stuff. Sorted me out with a mint S2 steering wheel, will just pop it into a box with all the other stockpile stuff so I can crack on post conversion before the new year. Still loads of stuff to find, but not having much luck with bits from the breakers yard.

anyway, more pics... Including one of my trusty assistant!

[sidrick]

Excellent! You're really cracking on with this.