Looks great, I love a bit of detailing.Since purchasing the S3 we known the paint required some proper loving as it was swirltastic everywhere, especially so in bright sunshine. I’m good at keeping my vehicles clean and tidy but don’t have the expertise for pro detailing so arranged for a friend to sort it. The car was dropped off at 9am on Saturday and for the first time ever someone else washed a vehicle wifey and I owned. Heavy detergent wash then rinse before the good stuff started.
As there was nothing I could do and I love walking I headed the 10 miles home on foot. During this time I was send some alarming pictures before the first pass using the cutting compound. You really don’t realise just how bad it is unless you use an ultra-bright torch up close and personal.
Some parts were that bad the wet ‘n’ dry came out!
As my mate does this as a hobby at home he cracked on with it late into Saturday night and with both cutting passes done the ceramic coat was applied and left to cure overnight.
On Sunday morning the top sealer was applied, tires dressed and some minor interior leather cleaning was completed before I was collected early afternoon.
Here’s some of the products used to help turn a swirly mess into a lush finish. A sponge pad was initially used on the machine polisher, but it was swapped for a microfibre pad for a better finish. I'm sure all you detailing peeps will know what this lot is but all I know is how to keep my vehicles clean and running sweet.
I popped the car round to my parents after collecting it and had a good look round. The finish is amazing and I’m over the moon now all the darn swirls have been banished. As I said I’m no detailer but hopefully now I can keep it clean without any swirls shouting “HELLO” every time the sun pops its head out. Huge thanks to Alex for his skills and determination…keeeeeep polishing.
What difference has it made to what it was like before?I’m all about leaving the daily drivers standard but something sparked my interest so after the necessary research I cracked on yesterday after work.
First job was to remove what is referred to as the snow gate within the lower section of the airbox. Some gentle tugging (no giggling people) and out it popped.
Surprisingly clean in there as I usually find leaves and the odd small creature on the dirty side in airboxes.
I might also have added a Ramair panel filter as they are so cheap, last a lifetime and I’ve used them on previous vehicles so know the quality is there. Part no.RPF-3129
Next up was to remove the air guide which is as simple as removing 4 screws, giving it a wiggle and off it pops. It was dirty under there so I couldn’t just leave it.
That’s better.
On to the job in-hand to get some more fresh air into the engine. The air guide already has the relevant air feeds cast into the plastic but for whatever reason VAG decided to leave them blanked off.
My trusty Dremel came in handy and I decided to leave the virtual supports in place to keep the strength.
All done and looking tidy, just how I like things.
I know there is talk about removing the top grill blanking plate but checking this out there is no need as it helps stop direct road spray & dirt getting in and there is plenty of available air through the rest of the grill with nothing to gain removing the blanking bar so I decided to leave it in place as I'm not chasing power.
Extra holes for some fresh goodness.
All done and looking standard, just how I like it for my dailies.
Some awesome looking cars there, I’m very jealous. Bet you had a fab day mateThe wife and I popped to Race Retro on Saturday as a friend who was displaying had spare tickets going free so we couldn’t say no could we. Some lovely machinery there…
This is my friends ultra rare Astra 4S with details here if you want to know more about the car.
The live action rally demo was great with some amazing sounding machinery whizzing past.
This Alfa sounded pure evil.
The Opel Manta GTE brought back memories of when I met my better half. Hers was a lovely red one..Great car to drive. Can't be that many on the road now I'm guessing?The wife and I popped to Race Retro on Saturday as a friend who was displaying had spare tickets going free so we couldn’t say no could we. Some lovely machinery there…
This is my friends ultra rare Astra 4S with details here if you want to know more about the car.
The live action rally demo was great with some amazing sounding machinery whizzing past.
This Alfa sounded pure evil.
The Opel Manta GTE brought back memories of when I met my better half. Can't be that many on the road now I'm guessing?
'Proper Job' Might be worth buying an aftermarket service booklet so you will have something to show any potential buyer in the future.I’ve started gathering bits and pieces for servicing as I intend completing them myself from here on.
Grabbed a few sump plugs as they were really cheap and not worth taking chances reusing them as it is recommended to change at each service.
Also bought the proper tool for removal to save any messing with flat blade screwdrivers, note the shape.
It’s designed to fit snuggly in here and works perfectly.
Also grabbed new old stock oil filters at a bargain price as I’ll be changing the oil every 6 months. The OE is a Mann branded part no.HU6013 same as Comline EOF264. I’ve used Comline branded filters for years so know their quality is excellent.
'Might be worth buying an aftermarket service booklet so you will have something to show any potential buyer in the future.
Job well doneWith a bit of time currently on my side I decided to change the timing belt on my garage weight, namely my 1997 Vauxhall Vectra ST200 you would have seen pics of in my first post in this thread. It doesn't come out very often having last seen the road in 2016. Back then I fitted a full Contitech timing kit (belt & rollers) but on cold start you could hear the belt squeaking. The squeak cleared after a few minutes but annoyed the hell out of me having never had this issue previously. A friend in the know suggested I try a Gates belt so that's what I decided to buy and fit.
Started stripping it down and removing the Contitech timing belt.
Fortunately, I’ve got a pucka Sykes-Pickavant timing tool so this makes things so much easier.
New Gates belt installed, with timing quadruple checked after finding it a pain to balance the front and rear banks but my determination won the day. Bit less here and a bit more there and I’ve got the cam timing marks bang in the centre of where they should be, it just required a little finesse with the lower and top center eccentric idlers.
All buttoned back together to test another day as I need to remove the old fuel and get some fresh in there.
Something really satisfying getting the spanners out, I think I might have to get myself a project. No spanners on my current car, just a laptop required.My track car required some TLC finding the front caliper weather seals had seen better days after 12 years of hard work.
I cracked on and stripped both calipers for an inspection. I’m pleased to say all eight pistons are fit and well and have no score damage.
With HiSpec wanting silly money for seals a spot of research was required. I measured the pistons at 38mm diameter and found the Billet 4 uses Girling seals from a Volvo 204 or 260 1974-1993. A Bigg Red BRK203801 seal kit was ordered and this is what turned up.
I cracked on with thorough caliper cleaning.
Assemble was straight forward once I’d figured out you had to have the retaining spring on the weather seal prior to pressing it into the caliper.
All seals replaced and calipers like new.
Disc faces sanded, pad faces sanded and calipers fitted with brakes bled.
Did you polish your tips (ahem) with a cloth, or a machine?
Once again some classy work mate. You have to love the old GTE LCD and like you say, way ahead of its time. I remember when Audi announced the new VC, I did chuckle, like you I had "VC" in my GTE (positive it was D reg) 29yrs ago.I've been working on my wife’s Astra mk3 and thought you lot might be interested. The Astra mk2 GTE from 1984-1991 was fitted with an LCD dash which was way ahead of its time, a bit like the virtual cockpit but released 35 years ago. I have one in my mk2 GTE track car as standard and happen to have some spares. The Astra mk3 uses a completely different shaped dash so I formulated a plan to retro fit the LCD panels while keeping the original looks and feel to keep a factory standish mk3 dash.
I started with adapting the odometer so it could have the trip reset in the centre as the mk2 is offset. A longer bar was added from a donor mk3 dash with plunger moved accordingly.
I then stripped both dashes to be left with this.
The dash fronts were cut to give maximum visibility of the full LCD panels and glued together to make a single unit.
Test assembled after the rear covers were cut to make sure it all fitted together.
Sorting wiring so I could use the correct colours. Donated from a '97 Vectra V6 main harness loom.
Next was to cut the rear warning light circuits & solder the mk2 loom plug connector part to the lower mk3 warning light section.
I made an adaptor loom so it was plug'n'play with no cutting on the car side loom.
The LCD dash comes with a tinted front (left) so I used grey tinted polycarbonate sheet & made my own cover (centre) as the mk3 only come with clear fronts (right).
This is the lower warning light circuit finished & taped for protection. I’ve made the whole dash so it can be fully disassembled should there be any issues.
The original dash looks like this, dull, boring & standard…yawn.
The new hybrid creation pictured with & without flash for better clarity. I know it won’t be to everyone’s taste but the wife & I love it as it’s added that little extra uniqueness. All the LCD feeds are working correctly speedo/rpm etc as are all the lower warning lights which aren't shown in the pictures.
Hiya,As Summer is knocking on the door and the weather has picked up I thought it only right the rubber Winter floor mats get banished into storage and the posh cloth gets laid.
I managed to wangle a full set of four genuine Audi cloth mats when we purchased the car. They don’t seem very hardwearing but fit perfectly, probably cost a fortune, nearly match the existing flooring colour and I like the red stitching and funky piping around them.
Hiya,
Could you tell me where you got your rubber mats from please?
Khurrum is a top man. I will be supporting him remotely during your sessionWifey and I (read that as mainly me) have been toying with the idea of a few retrofits as the S3 is slightly under spec and missing a few must haves. I contacted Alex at VAG Car Coding but I’m based in the Midlands so he kindly put me onto his Leicester based counterpart VagPro who has been nothing but helpful. After asking a few questions and sending a full VCDS scan of my car the decision was made and the car is booked in later this month.
The retrofits going on the car are as follows:
• Rear-view camera high
• Front parking sensors
• Folding mirrors
• Hill-hold assist
The car already has rear parking sensors so it’s being upgraded to the all singing all dancing Audi Parking System Plus. Why Audi don’t supply folding mirrors as standard is bonkers, just a money maker. The HHA is just a nice feature to have and means you don’t need to be holding the brake pedal on every time you stop, plus it’s a cheap retrofit and adds another option the car wouldn’t of otherwise had.
I could have sourced everything myself and spent ages painstakingly and very carefully installing and then scratching my head trying to figure out VCDS. However, as the S3 is our daily driver and I have other vehicle toys to keep my entertained it was simpler to hand it over to the professionals.
VagPro has now sourced all the parts and kept me in the loop sending the pictures below earlier this week.