Well I guess it is time for an update on Her Urq. The wife still hasn't warmed up to the idea of a him and her's, but I think I'm going to try to make it stick anyhow. I've never had the desire to do a vanity plate, but I'm considering the idea of "Her Urq" and "His Urq". I just hope I don't come home and find that she has sold it one day.
Oh and Darin if you still lurk around MG, this picture is for you. It was a few days ago in the TT going on a parts run for the Urq. It was one of the cooler days this week and the car is out on the gravel in the side yard, with no room in the garage to work on it there. Get out in the garage and get that Vr6t coupe running ...the suspense is killing me.
I decided the first thing after cleaning the injectors was to get a timing belt changed out on the car. I figured that since I had heard it run a few sputters that it was worth trying to make it a running engine and that I didn't need a bunch of bent valves in the mix. I guess I didn't realize how bad the stock Urq is to work on. I have had a bunch of experience with type 44s, but other than Hanks Urq and a little bit of 4k work I hadn't had the pleasure of changing a timing belt out in a small chassis turbo car. What a PITA!!! Just to be able to take the front timing cover off the aux radiator has to be removed, which really needs the head lights and grill removed first. You can't get a socket on the crank pulley bolt unless the bumper and lower valance is removed along with running lights and all that goes with that. I finely got it tore down far enough to see the old belt and water pump which looked to be new, but probably a 1991 version since that is the last time the car ran. There was no way they were going to be ran so out with the old and in with the new.
It was at this point that I realized I didn't have my old home made crank lock tool and that I wasn't going to be able to break the bolt loose without one. (Yes I've broke more than a few with a breaker bar and the starter, but not this time.) I decided I needed a new tool made before I could do much more.
First I slotted a piece of thick pipe that was just a bit small for the pulley hub, but fixed that by welding a piece of ~1/16th" strap around the end that sticks in the hub.
I then cut a hole a handle and welded it to the new socket and whaaaala. It worked great and was a lot tighter fit than my old one which I found after looking for a burr to clean up the hole in the handle. :tard: Oh well it does work better than the last tool which had been made for the type 44.
I pretty much took all the rusty, oxidized and dirty parts as I tore it down and cleaned, blasted, and painted as I took the best parts from both the car and my parts engine to put it back together. Once the timing belt was changed I tried to start it and it didn't want any part of running. I then replaced vacuume lines, and checked switches, solenoids, etc as I went. I ended up with the known good fuel distributor off of the spare engine, with best looking parts making up the remainder. I really think that the old distributor is fine, but the injector lines looked better on the spare so that is what got used. It looks way better with the valve cover, radiator, aux rad, pulleys, coil, brackets, covers, etc painted. The before, in between, and after.
That's nice you say, but does it run? Well I figured that before getting to carried away putting covers and stuff back together that I would try to start it in this mode.
It cranked over way longer than it should have to pressure up the lines and not even a hint of a start. I'm about toast it is so hot out and the sun is just beating down on me, so I decide I need a break in the cool house so that I can think about it a bit. I come back out and pull the return line to the tank after the relulator to see if I am pumping and actually building enough pressure to send some fuel back. Good I pull the #1 injector and stick it in a pepsi bottle to see if I am getting fuel to the injectors. No fuel. realize the warm up regulator didn't get plugged back in after clean up and the closed throttle switch wasn't made up so adjusted and plugged in the connector. No fuel I then popped the igloo, jumped the pump relay, and pulled the metering plate up until fuel was spraying into the bottle. I figured that now the lines were filled and the cylinders had to have probably to much fuel, but at least fuel in the cylinders. I put everything back together and went for a start. Nothing :frustrated: Not even one pop!! I decided I better pull the #1 plug and check that my timing was indeed timed to the compression stroke. Check The cam dot, flywheel O, and distributor line were all lined up . It acted like I wasn't getting any spark, but didn't have anyone around to turn the car over while I laid a plug on the ground. As I am thinking about no spark the thought came to me that the last thing that I had done was to pull the coil and bracket to blast and paint and wouldn't you know it .....Yea you guessed it, I hadn't put the high tension coil wire back on. I guess even these old Audis can't jump an 12" gap. Plugged it back in, put the spark plug back in and went for a start. Here is the result.
I moved it into the driveway and so wanted to take it for a spin, but it was just a target waiting for the Man to laugh as I went by, so I for once showed some restraint and settled for the driveway. The gears work, the clutch feels good, the diffs feel locked, the tires feel square, the exhaust sounds cracked without a muffler, but it runs and is on it's way. Maybe tomorrow the kid in me will get the best of me and I'll take it out for a drive. I really ought to at the very least get the aux radiator inside the hood and lights back in, but I really wanted to clean up and paint the radiator support first so we'll see. That's all.
I'm hoping that he got busy Saturday and took the holiday off today, but that tomorrow it will disappear.