1975 Audi 50 GL

[ruittie]

That will make alot of diffrence with that isolation!��

[charleston]

Thanks for all the comments guys - I'm now starting to see progress so getting really excited about the rebuild!!!

Had a big parts order last week so now have;

VWII calipers (G40 / mk1 golf gti etc)
Discs
Pads
Shims
Steering rack gator (current one is ripped)
Hubs
Wheel bearings

This means that (after I find suitable carriers from a mk3 polo) I can build up the coilovers and get them fitted up. When that's done I can accurately measure up the wheels for machining / new lips!!!

Also, after a lot of over thinking I re-ordered my headliner!! Had to cancel it the first time round because Xmas bent me over. BUT i did it properly this time - full headliner inc A and B pillars and new sun visor covers. All in perforated grey to match in nicely with the greyscale interior. It's currently at the DHL depo waiting to be sent out to me. I'll post pics of it all as I get / fit it.

Also....

Nearly done with the engine;



Just need to clean the head a bit more, have the crank shaft pulley powdercoated and decide on the finish for the cam cover.

and also rebuilt the doors and got them fitted;



This was a massive milestone for me as it's starting to look like a car again! it's very dusty atm as our workshop doubles as a bodyshop. As soon as the headliner is in I will put all windows back in then fit the rest of the interior.

More updates shortly!

[fnwguy]

This is beautiful

[charleston]

Headliner turned up!



Bit of a DIY job on the a and b pillars, but the main piece is well put together. Anyway, got the majority of the work done on Thursday evening. Thought it would be easy but was badly mistaken - it's a right twat of a job!!

Loosely hung;



pinning it roughly in place;



then the majority done (excuse the bad lighting!);



the front isn't glued yet as I need to cut the A + B pillars, fit them then get the front screen in to really hold the edges firmly in place. HOWEVER, before the screen goes in I want the dash in place as it'll be a pain to fit. So it'll be a week or so before it gets finished!!!

In other news, got some bits ordered for the wheels. As the e30s don't take taper or radius bolts it's taken me ages to figure out how to safely run them without using little adapter washers etc. The solution is simply convert to studs and use 'mag style' nuts which have a shank and washer attached. Ordered some studs from Driftworks and some tester nuts (completely wrong as at this point I was style looking at adapter washers). But, they showed up within 24 hours with sweets inside! 100% using them again!!!



Now got a UK supplier for all parts needed so I'll order everything on Friday.

[charleston]

This is beautiful

Thanks mate - it's not everyone's cuppa but I love it!

[charleston]

Did more stuff on the 50 last week. Primarily out of excitement got the bumpers and grille on;



Took the rack back off as I have a new gator, and will give it a lick of paint.



And also, when we were putting the doors back together I completely forgot to re-attach the chrome trim!!! So dismantled the doors (again) and built them back up with the trim.



Finally, after a day working on the house yesterday (putting new sockets in and making a lot of mess!) I got an hour in the garage on the engine. The block is looking great and the head just needs a little more cleaning. The cam cover however, looks shit!



So...time to refinish it. Always liked brushed finish so out came the wire wheels and a trusty sanding block.



Still plenty left to do but a relatively straight forward process and should look good when done.

[charleston]

Slack with the updates as ever, but I've been busy painting in Feb!



The cam cover wasn't going as well as I wanted it to, so for the time being I painted it!



However, now it's all black it definitely needs a bit of detail adding. Highlighting the raised 'lines' was suggested so I'll sand them back to expose the metal underneath. Along with the polished oil cap and cleaned up retaining strips (?! pic below!) I think it'll look fine.



Steering rack came up well!



So everything is now ready to be bolted back up to the engine. Just got to paint up the brake servo then the bay is all painted.

In other news, found some NOS arch guards.



So obviously bought them. Still unsure if I'll like them on the car but I figured they'll never lose money!

Then, coilovers! What I assumed would be a 1 hour job turned into a bit of a pain. Forgot to buy topmounts, so took the old struts apart. It took forever as the spring is as long as the entire strut!!!!! Also the top nut is a horrible circular thing with two notches in it. So went to GSF and ordered new top mounts. Also realised that the lower arms were no good too so got them ordered too!

At this point I was pretty fed up, so to cheer myself up I thought Id play with wheels!! The struts have had bearings and new hubs pressed in and I had finally found some carriers for the VWII calipers that aren't from a g40, so give more clearance. So, mocked everything up



Then shoved a strut on the car roughly in place (no lower arms to tie it in properly)



Loads of clearance behind which means I can machine amount 20mm off the back of the wheels safely and run 3" lips all round!!!!! So happy about that.

Without any compression they sit about an inch out, so when theyre much closer to the arch and have some 'meat' taken off the back they'll be spot on.



More parts arriving this week and engine is going back together next week so I'll update again.

[charleston]

Got the cam cover done. Really happy with this, especially as it was my back up plan for it after a brushed finish.



I think it look 10 times better! Planning on following the satin black / polished detail on the air box too. That should all be finished tomorrow so will get more pics up.

Only got the alternator, steering arms, Starter motor and brake dust shields left to paint up so hoping to get the engine back in later this month. I need to buy a new distributor too as mine is in a crap state. but that can be bought next month.

[DUTCHswift]

Yea that looks great. Not too flashy and it'll be easier to keep up with if it starts to tarnish.

[charleston]

More done on the engine last night. Just got to add the alternator and starter motor which are in primer.

[TimbOMFG]

Remi!

[190Evan]

Good progress

[theseeker411]

Dude this thing is rad!

[charleston]

More updates!!

Fitted the rear coilovers and had to chuck a wheel on. There's currently no weight in the car and the front is still on a trolley so it didn't compress much!



Fitment is a little snug too!!!



Also, after chucking the front brakes on I realised you can't put standard wheels on VWII callipers!! so it's like this until i find some spacers.



Rack went back on;



Then I got back to cleaning parts. Next up - the radiator. It was so nearly clean enough to just be re-fitted. Nearly!



So part it came and it's all currently in primer

[charleston]

The rad just needed a scuff over with a scotch pad and quick buzz with a flap wheel to remove some light rust. Masked off the main section to avoid any build up of paint which could reduce air flow at all. I later took this off and gave this section a light dusting of paint.



Gave my caps a quick polish to tie in with the accents on the Cam cover;



And got it back together. I did consider painting the fan motor but quite like the original 'mottled metal finish' on it.





And then I realised the only parts left un touched in the bay were the ARB, ARB mounts and engine mounts. This sent my OCD into overdrive and I drove straight to the unit to strip the parts off and get them on their way. The ARB and mounts are now done. Just the rear bracket to do!



Yes, my garage is a monumental crap hole at the moment! That's on the to do list before the car comes back!