90 20v quattro sport - revival

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 12:03 pm

As some of you may or may not know i have been hunting, albeit casually, for a 90 quattro sport, like rocking horse poo as it is. So after numerous references i settled on one in Yorkshire, it had appeared on pistonheads a number of times, eventually agreeing on £700 which includes 6 months tax and an MOT till June.

Picked it up 2 weeks ago now, and have been running it to start to establish where i need to start.

The reason? Loved the B4 2.8 coupe quattro i had. But i like to try and change the goalposts all the time. so wanted something NA, fun and last and hte important bit that i could take to a track day or two. With the end goal of having something that i could take round the fabled nurburgring.

The car:
It has 136k on the clock, 3 owners including me from new, and a rock solid service history. only done 30k in the last 10 years.

Body:
The body work is just OK, a few dings to be expected but the front wings were replaced (with i think non OEM) as they are badly bubbled in 2002 at the cost of £450. above the waistline its near spotless. i am going to leave this abating issues until this is mechanically sound. Then i will tend to the body. plus it seems a little more stealth! Its white which wasnt my inital choice but it is growing on me.

I do need a roof rack, and very soon so i may carry the bike ON the car rather than in it, dont want to wreck the interior. i have racks to fit aerobars. Thule still make sets but if anyone has or wants to sell me OEM let me know! its first on the list.

Wheels:
original speedlines are tatty, not in good shape, laquer peeling. and to be honest i am not a big fan of these as such. i couldnt face restoring them so they will go, i want a suitable era replacement or similar. for track i am aiming for 16/17's. and keeping the diameter right. I toyed back and forth with 5stud conversion. but i think for the immediate term i will stay 4 stud. reasonable amount left on the tyres but there are 3 different types of tyre evenly worn same size but not my choice. plan is for new alloys and tyres all at once, then laser align and track.

Brakes:
Going to go for some green stuff pads on nogins recommendation. correct me here, these have the girling G60's? It had new discs and pads earlier in the year and new calipers last year and the brakes are in good shape.

Suspension:
the ride is actually very good, i reckon better than the coupe, sits as low but doesnt roll as much as the coupe did. polybushes i do fancy as they are ratted by all who have sailed in her! I have been offered S2 suspension for very little, is that any different/ worth it? i have never lowered or played with suspension ever but the car does seem to slam the deck if you hit a dip at more than say 50, damping?

Interior:
Best bit of the car, never smoked in black quattro stitched jacquard wit the black fasiacas, it is really in very good condition, arguably mint. been valeted annually. and it shows. Has the four spoke steering wheel which i am not a fan, keep hitting it getting in and out of the car. all the gauges/ lights work, nothing that doesnt. Only flaw as such is the panel below the glove box is hanging down on one corner, will establish how to hook that up again, or if its broken. Has the duo sound system in the back? A ski hatch with a boot thing around it. sunroof which tilts and slides just fine. leccy windows all fine. Oh drivers door lock doesn't work they key just turns, advised its dropped a rod will tend to that when if i ever get a minute. so that's initial fix things.

Engine:
its in OK, runs goes, doesn't leak oil but does have a few issues. The major one is the stammer/ stuttery acceleration on full load from 3500-5000 ish, and i say ish as it varies. then an almost turbo like thud as it takes off to the redline. asked the question in another thread specifically but i will get that solved first. This weekend once the garage has been re-arranged i will be going for the drivers door fix, then flipping the bonnet to get hands dirty. I am a novice here, so will need help! Haynes support definitely required. So first port of call is the usual check the leads, plugs and throttle body. a good clean will not do any hard. then look at the air intake look for splits or burst breathers.

Exhaust:
It had a whole new system in 2004 at the cost of £637 from Audi. The back box spat out some dampening material, very like glass wool on my drive home, i grabbed some of it out with a placcy bag, but as its a 90° return i cant see how i could/would remove the rest. i half think this still might be some of my issues.

Plans:
Buying a tubular manifold from spink on here, for some more go go juice. Very reasonable price and very easy to converse with. He also has a front wing, interested but as before want the mechanicals sorted first so that further away.

immediate::
solve engine stutter
Clean out of air intake system
Roof rack

Soon:
New Cone filter? not sure, may just go for a K&N panel.
New back box and a de-cat.
New bulbs, dull lights drive me nuts. But these are better than the B4. Are they H4's?
New clear side repeaters (fried eggs look a bit keech)

Near future::
New wheels and tyres (F1 eagles or equivalent)
New uprated pads and perhaps discs.
New Polybushes where possible
New suspension, koni's seem to be the popular chocie but the OEM spec is actually not bad.

distant future::
three spoke steering wheel
Stereo with CD/MP3
New front wings
Dents removed
front bumper, still a dilema, screaming out to be deeper/ splitter to me.
respray?

I have limited photos as i haven't been in daylight at home since i bought the car. so will give her a clean and get some up for you all.

I don't intend to offer the best advice on restoring this, but this is a voyage of discovery for me for all the things i never did with my coupe. this car will get! but i will update this as i go. expect it to be a LONG thread!

Site Moderator Joined: Jan 31, 2003 Posts: 9144

this is worthless without pics

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:56 pm

You tell him Mike Very Happy

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 12:20 pm

here you go, never cleaned her, just taken as is. the interior doesnt do it justice, is very clean.

better?

can someone explain the air intake to me, the airbox has a branch which has a very crumbly hose which goes in towards the heat shield buy the cat manifold, the branch has what seems to be a flapper, and a a sheilded duct running up behind the light. No air filter at all!

There is a 3 bolt bracket to the side of the air box, no idea what thats for. fiddly to get the airbox out. the MAF has a few blades of grass/ pine needles, cleaned those, then got the hose to the throttle body off eventually, its actually fairly clean so i left it as is.

My acceleration issue is still there and now a rattle is appearing, sounds lke a loose heat shield or similar but sounds as if its coming from between the engine and the bulkhead. not sure what it is... suggestions?

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Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:27 pm

Looks nice Cool

I will be following this thread with interest. Nice to see an older Audi in white as so many of the new ones seem to be too. Also looking forward to seeing the new wheel choice.

The Nurburgring eh? - Pick me up on your way past Wink

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:22 pm

the solid white is really growing on me... the black and white of the car in some odd way adds to the purity.. jesus listen to me!

wheels narrowed it down to about 4 dozen so far!

the Nurburgring, is a bit of an ambition... actually dates back to Mikes2's videos... Spa is just a sotnes throw away and by all accounts better fun. My enthusiasm has worn of on my mate, as he has just bought this bought an E30 318is to come and join me! Get to Hull and your welcome!

Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:30 am

No air filter?

Air filter should sit right at the join of the airbox wher it is held together by silver wire clips. Flat panel filter. Would explain why you have pine needles on the maf mesh.

Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 1:01 am

yep thought the same... can it cause any possible damage? see if i can get an OEM filter tomorrow.

update:
Went to take door card off today to solve the drivers door lock which just turns and does nothing. almost no friction. Card off fairly easy thanks to andy's video. Then managed to feel the rod from the back of the metal panel, so the panel had to come off as i couldnt get to it at all. means taking off the window motor and support, unbolting either end, and an annoying clip which you have to push the centreout to get it to collapse which had the drive for the window. took a bit of head scratching but got it off. eventually got the whole door apart and found the loose rod. sadly the oval shaped cam at the end of the lock barrel itself has sheared, could have made/bodged a piece of metal for the ned if i tried but is was 1500 by now and light fading. so i have reassembled. taken a picture which i will upload... anyone else replaced the lock itself? Or does that present problems.. guessing a like for like replacement of the cam type piece itself... my guess is it was forced when cold/ icy and sheared off... must have taken a fair bit of force to do that.

Def no air filter in there . And need to get a suitable resistor for the blink code reader, will do that mid week. but from reading suspect this is quite likely the case.

Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 4:37 pm

We ran an 80 Sport in this colour mid 1990-mid 1996 and I happen to think they look quite nice in white Smile

White appears to be the new silver !!

Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 5:19 pm

The white is different and slightly rarer than the red as mentioned, makes a nice change to see another one on the road and not being broken.

Been quite tempted by the pearl white saloon for sale in the for sale section Wink

Did you sort out in the end with spink for his tubular manifold?

That will make a difference if you can afford to buy it at this time of the year, I found it makes it so much more free flowing. Then you just need a stainless to release the sound Very Happy

Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 10:43 pm

Just thought Istoo- I've got a K&N panel filter here.....

Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 11:03 pm

That looks really nice Cool

you are a lucky guy, well worth the trip

I like the all black interior, it just needs a 3 spoke wheel to be perfect, have a look about I got a mint one from a breakers for £10.

Once you have the mechanicals sorted and your changing to front corners to clear you should get a set of red rear corners to finish the car off, looks really smooth.

The 3 bolt holes on the side of the airbox held the isv unit on the earlier 7a.

The tube to the headlight is the normal air intake and the flap to to the pipe that runs to the exhaust manifold is some kind of bi metalic strip that bends with temperature ( i think) and allows warm air in when the engine is cold.

Nice to see another one going to a good home.

Good luck with the gremlins Very Happy

Site Moderator Joined: Jan 31, 2003 Posts: 9144

I replaced the locks on mine so that they matched the ignition.

There is a pic in my 90 gallery of what the lock should look like. you really need circlip pliers and 3 hands would make it easy.

http://www.audifans.net/modules.php?set_albumName=album109&id=DSCN0646&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 2:44 pm

update:

two weddings and a funeral later... the later i knew was coming but its still a bit of a body blow. anyway move on and keep the happy memories. That finished on the 22nd then i have been bed ridden for 3 days with severe man flu.. still awful, i replaced the bulbs with philips extremes this morning.. coughed heaps, eyes nearly fell out, will have to leave it a few days yet...

got a reasonable set of Teng tools from my folks/ brother and a torque wrench. sadly i am delighted!

mike, see the pear shaped section in your photo

that the part which has snapped on the drivers side only. everything else works ok. i have noticed (rather forgotten) how much of a pita it is opening the door in sub zero temperatures. will some grease help that?

Site Moderator Joined: Jan 31, 2003 Posts: 9144

The pear shaped section is still available from dealers. The circlip holds it in place.

Might have a spare one knocking around.

if if it's difficult to open, that will likely be the handle. mine's the same

Needs to get out more Joined: Sep 11, 2007 Posts: 114

Yur stuttering will prolly be a duff/intermittent knock sensor...same symptoms i had.

Bit of a pain to get at though.

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:54 pm

getting round to more on the 90 again, Mike if you have a spare i will buy it off you!

getting the car looked at by my friendly Audi indy... front left wishbones shot, heat shields all loose, new filters, oil flush and change handbrake cables which are buggered also. oh and the accelerator pedal fell off.. bugger.

Site Moderator Joined: Jan 31, 2003 Posts: 9144

I'll check to see which side I have spare. What side do you need ?

Accelerator pedal clips into a bracket. try pushing it back in until it clicks into place

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 2:31 pm

Drivers side is shot, so one of those would be appreciated. what do you want for it?

The accelerator pedal appears to have snapped, its a hinged variety. and the plastic has the classic white shear marks along it. i screwed it back on with some countersunk screws

Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 2:15 pm

Drivers side is shot, so one of those would be appreciated. what do you want for it?

The accelerator pedal appears to have snapped, its a hinged variety. and the plastic has the classic white shear marks along it. i screwed it back on with some countersunk screws

Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 2:39 pm

'Remove the whole pedal assembly Shocked

'

Blimey, if its like the one in an S6 - best of luck Crying or Very sad

Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 2:47 pm

Think its a bit easier on these cars. both my s2 and avant are missing the cover so will most likely just screw on a new one.

Could always just get a set of aftermarket pedals Laughing

Audi Nut Joined: Jul 30, 2005 Posts: 54 Location: Glasgow

I managed to swap mine to from my old 90 ng to my 90 20V. Gashed my finger in the process, but easy if I can do it. It was £50 when I bought a new pedal from Lomond Audi way back in 2002. Shocked

Leigh

Site Moderator Joined: Jan 31, 2003 Posts: 9144

Eh ?

It takes 2 mins to pop the plastic bracket and unhook the cable.

Istoo, are you still after the door lock parts ?

Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 5:40 pm

yes please mike.

The a4 sold on Wednesday. So i collected the got the 90 back yesterday, not rattles or squeaks feels better, engine and underside got a full service . I have a fault code reader built ready to install, new phillips power bulbs, a tubular manifold (holding off until i get the engine running tickety boo first) i suspect the fault code reader to pull up knock sensor (s).

intermitant rear screen heater switch. doesnt always light up, do these access the same way as the coupe, ie strip back the dash from the rear forward then get to the switches that way?

Site Moderator Joined: Jan 31, 2003 Posts: 9144

From the door interior pic earlier in the post, which bits do you actually need ?

Remember that the fault codes need to be read after going for a run. Keep the ignition on and trigger the codes. A non tubular car can be read with VAG Com easily.

You can prise the front of the switch and use needle nose pliers to extract the bulbs. There are 2. One for the yellow triangle and one for the symbol at the top

Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 6:08 pm

i didnt know that! but i dont have a cable Sad

however i have soldered up an old LED switch and a resistor for the code flasher.

cant upload to the gallery but...

the keyhole shaped piece from the end of the barrel connecting to the rod is sheared right at the barrel. Its that small piece, looks like i just have to pop the circlip, i thought about araldite or fudging a bit of metal, but knowing my luck it would break again.

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:32 pm

UPDATE

The clutch went on the 7th of March. Got it back at my pals indy garage, 99% sure its the clutch. So ordered a new one today from GSF. The ingnition barrel switch also managed to stop working when the clutch went as well so a new switch for that too.

fourcircles also selling a three spoke steering wheel, i couldn't resist so i have bought one of those too! The four spoke i know is more suited to the car, but it really isnt suited to me, as i continuously catch the horn at low speeds, just the way i drive. So i will change it for the old 3 spoke sports wheel.

Under recommendation of audioc, i took a trip to Phils. A farm north of Worksop with about a dozen 90's for spares! It was great, was only there for a small radiator £20 so not a bad purchase but got to be better than the screwed one i have right now. Managed to resist the urge to buy more, well nearly. He had a trip computer for one which I am hoping will retrofit straight into the 90. Can anyone confirm this?

Nogin has directed me towards some polybushes which i will purchase sooner rather than later. Also keep losing pressure from the back rear as the rim is knackered. So i bought a set of 17in alloys from a local chap with nearly new tyres for £80 which although not ideal they will do in the interim till I get a set I like. Having seen so many at Phils and one car with nearly perfect speedlines i was tempted to get them there and then but the opposite side had them really peeling, shame as they do look right when they are new and shiny.

So, its getting a new clutch in this week, ignition fixed, underside suspension wishbones checked (forged or cast lets see) then polybushes purchased. Will run the blink code reader on it then as well, not been near it long enough to do this! And if as we suspect its got a screwed knock sensor, it will be replaced. Hopefully get a lock piece from Mike so i can fix the door as the single most annoying feature on the car right now.

Also can anyone suggest any good methods to stop the locks freezing? Is it ok to fill the barrel with lithium grease or similar. as i spent 5-10 minutes usually on any frosty day trying to open the bloody thing!

Wife thinks its tatty, which in fairness the front wings have got a lot worse, esp when i let the kids jetwash rinse it, just peeled off a big slab of paint... so i will be looking for front wings soon also. White..

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 10:22 pm

no longer ignition barrel switch. now ignition barrel...
Another call to Farmer Phil i think!

Does anyone know if i will need the key to go with a new barrel?

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 10:24 pm

its not the bulbs Sad

its the switch itself. can these be pulled from the front or do i need to strip the dash.