Eric's '90 80QT: rustic bits

[elaw]

3M Strip-Calk... used a ton of this stuff doing restorations.

http://www.tptools.com/p/3345,186_3M%E2 ... ealer.html

Looks perfect... I just ordered some. Thanks! :-)

[pkw]

you can get that tar cord stuff at a typical auto parts store like autozone. a roll goes for about $11

[mrmotorhead13]

3M Strip-Calk... used a ton of this stuff doing restorations.

http://www.tptools.com/p/3345,186_3M%E2 ... ealer.html

Looks perfect... I just ordered some. Thanks! :-)

Funny thing is after I looked up the link for you I thought to myself "hey I'm out of that" and ordered some too.

[mr_aj_johnson]

I'm waiting on shifter updates...

nice to sneak back on the geek and see cool shtuffs. New job is great... no time for the car.

[mr_aj_johnson]

Also... not a big fan of the wheels. Never liked em. Go grab a set of v8 bbs's. I've got a set on the wifes a4. Those wheels will never go out of style.

[elaw]

Well we're gonna have to agree to disagree on that one! :-)

IMHO those wheels would look perfect on a '50's or '60's Jaguar but not on a 1990 Audi. I guess I just don't like "busy" looking wheels - I know a lot of people love the speedlines but to me they look awful. Plus when it comes time to clean them... I'll take the wheels with 5 spokes instead of 30.

[elaw]

I'm waiting on shifter updates...

I don't understand - are you waiting for me?

If so, I can tell you unequivocally that it works. Why do I say that? Because I actually DROVE the car yesterday! :woowoo:

It's still got some issues... the damn "howling" noise apparently came along with the driveshaft from my 4K. I had hoped maybe it was the driveshaft CV joints but I took them both apart and cleaned and regreased them and the noise is still there. Ugh.

Handling ain't wonderful since the car still needs to go for an alignment. And specifically re the shifter, while it functions just fine, when I tried to reinstall the center console last night I discovered the shift linkage hits it when the lever is all the way forward. Two options I'm considering to fix that are spacing the shifter down a little with washers on the mounting bolts, or adjusting the linkage so the lever is back a little farther. I dread the idea of trying to adjust the linkage with the exhaust in place though.

It also seems my brake-bleeding skills aren't all I'd hoped they were. I've got a pressure bleeder and have bled the system twice, but the pedal is still low and spongy. I know a little of that is due to the master being too small, but the 4K had G60's on it too and it wasn't nearly this bad. Maybe I'll try pedal-bleeding it and see if that works any better.

[mr_aj_johnson]

I dunno... Dana's 90 with the v8 bbs's looks pretty sexy to me.

good to hear that the shifter functions fine, I assume you didn't do anything to change the length of throw? And by the way you worded your response it sounds like the exhaust isn't installed yet? How did it sound with the open downpipe.

[elaw]

Oh no, the exhaust is definitely installed! I like my neighbors. Although I did run it a few times in the driveway with just the downpipe, it's not quiet by any means but not insanely loud either.

The exhaust fits wonderfully with one exception: the muffler sits too far back. And because it also sits fairly high, the result is it hits the lip in the sheet metal on the underside of the car at the rear of the trunk. Surprisingly, it doesn't rattle or anything... I think I may just drive the car a bit and let the hangers stretch out a little and see if that resolves the problem. I could take it out and shorten things up a little, but I've got a ton of time into getting it to fit this well and I don't want to upset the balance of the universe by changing anything.

Re the shifter throw, I did not do anything to change it, with one exception. The little arm with the ball on it that attaches to the selector shaft on the tranny... I have several of those and noticed one was a little shorter than the others (a *little* shorter, like 2 or 3 millimeters). So I used that one as it would shorten the travel a little, but the effect is hardly noticeable.

[elaw]

Hey here's another answer maybe someone knows the answer to. I'm trying to reinstall the console and as mentioned above the shifter hits it... I'm working on that.

But there's another problem with the console (I'm talking the front half here, that goes around the shifter, not the rear that covers the e-brake mechanism). From what I can see, there are two very small metal clips on the underside of the vertical part of the dash, and one more on each side farther forward just above the transmission tunnel. It seems to me the console should just be able to be pushed forward until it engages those 4 clips, then put the bolt in the rear to hold it in place, and I'm set.

The problem is, the top of the panel with the gauges seems to be getting hung up on a little black "lip" on the bottom of the dash (just under the climate knobs) which is preventing the console from going all the way forward. Am I doing something wrong?

Just to be clear, this is the setup we're talking about... the 3 aux gauges and manual climate control:

[mrmotorhead13]

There are two screws at the top of the corners of the aux gauge panel... on my 20V with the Auto heater controls you just pry off the heater control fascia (it clips in place) and the screws are right there obvious. On the 20v with manual controls I'm not sure if the fascia comes off the same way, but might be worth a little prying/tugging to see.

[elaw]

Hey thanks... that was exactly it!

Here's a photo of it all together:

...not exactly the most exciting thing on MG but it's worlds better than it was!

As it turns out, clearance between the shifter and console isn't really an issue, as the console ended up going farther forward than I expected it to. But from the position of the lever, it does look like it could use a little tweaking toward the rear - sometime when I'm up for some punishment I'll jack the car up and attempt to adjust the linkage...

[mrmotorhead13]

It looks great Eric! Glad I could help

[elaw]

So after quite a bit of mental anguish, I figured out where & how to mount the Megasquirt ECU! The semi-obvious answer is underneath the heat/AC box in the passenger's footwell, but I was just too worried about someone kicking it.

After considering the alternatives, the best spot I could come up with was up inside the dash. It was tricky, but I pulled it off! So now, just like a real car company, I've managed to mount an ECU where it's completely inaccessible.

If you're not familiar with B3s, that photo was taken with a camera in the passenger's footwell facing directly upward. The opening through which the photo was taken is normally occupied by the glove compartment.

Here's a shot of the bracket I made:

In that photo, the bracket is upside-down. When installed, the two large screws go upward into the crossmember supporting the dash. And the hole in the L-shaped part shares the cruise-control ECU's mounting bolt. The reason the bracket is L-shaped is to clear the cruise ECU's own mounting bracket.

And if anyone here thinks I'm actually good at this stuff, look at the waviness in the edges of the bracket. Eric + sheet metal + saber saw = bad :tard:

[elaw]

So here are a couple more random questions...

1) Has anyone found a pod for a boost gauge that looks good sitting on the dash of one of these cars? I'm trying to figure out the best location for the gauge - I don't want to mount it in an air vent, and would rather not use a pillar mount.

2) Pin switches for the interior and trunk lights - is there any source for those other than the dealer? Most of the ones on this car have one problem or another, and I'd rather not spend $20.00 each at the dealer for the switch + boot.

[DE80q]

That bracket looks quite good. Unless you have a break, the edges will always be a little wavy, nice work.

On a separate note, let me know if you still need that work done.

[elaw]

On a separate note, let me know if you still need that work done.

I definitely do, I just need to find time to remove the wheel and get measurements. Hopefully this weekend...? It'll definitely happen eventually because probably about a month from now I'll be switching over to snow tires... 8)

[DE80q]

Nice, just let me know, take me about an hour to make, then on its way to you.

[savagerocco]

I have a pod on my car from south something engineering. I like it better than a vent mount gage. Ill snap a pic in a few
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[savagerocco]

Here ya go



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[DE80q]

Hmmm... column mount. I don't know.

[elaw]

Yeah, I thought about that but I really don't want to block my view of the instrument cluster.

I've got one that's just like this except it doesn't swivel:

...that I used in the 4K with it mounted on top of the dash just to the right of the cluster. I'm thinking what I might do is use it, but cut down the mounting tabs so it sits down as close as possible to the dash.

Funny story... when I got the 4K, it had 3 gauges installed in a pod like this:

The pod wasn't anchored to the dash, and every time you hit the gas hard it would fall over. So in a sense I had 4 gauges - the pod itself acted as an accelerometer.

[savagerocco]

Here is a picture of install newsouth performance and pretty sure it was for an a4 maybe b5 or b6. It fits well and looks nice but Im thinking of making a few carbon fiber units or just some abs molded one piece units


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[savagerocco]

Also it really doesn't block my view much at least not in the useable area

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[elaw]

Just a few random notes... been driving the car for several days now and it's very happy! For some strange reason, it seems to drive a lot better now that it's had an alignment. 8)

The electronic thingy that controls the rear diff - I know most people just cut the speed wire going to it so it never auto-unlocks, but you all know that I like to be different. So... I modified the box so it unlocks but at a higher speed. About 35 MPH to be exact, although I might tweak it a little higher. The mod is easy, you just solder another resistor across one that's already on the board. I forgot to take any pix, but if anyone wants to do this, post a pic of the inside of the box and I can show you which resistor it is.

And now for something completely different: floor mats! My poor car has none, and I'm guessing nice used ones might be pretty hard to come by. Can anyone recommend aftermarket ones that are good?