Page 1 of 34

Derracuda's Project Alpine 4kq *Comatose*

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 7:43 pm
by derracuda
well, i don't have a project thread for my car! so i decided to start one.

a little history for people who don't know is i started with a plain jane 86 4kq, bone stock, needing a wheel bearing real bad like and a turbo motor even worse. at the time of the purchase i had aquired an 85 KH motor and was contemplating putting it in, but i was so excited about how clean the car was and thought "pfftt, i don't need a turbo motor, i'll just spruce up the suspension and make a header for it, cold air intake, throw some high compression VW pistons in and put a cam in it" weeeeeell the only thing i ever did to the stock engine was stick a 272 blau cam in which gave the car a noticeable bump in mid range torque, but it was still no screamer. i came across a steal of an 89' 200 fwd which was begging to have the engine plucked since it was useless wheel drive anyhow, and my car was lacking in power. i should note now that i traded the 272 cam out for an MC2 cam that has been proven to be a better selection for the turbo engine due to less overlap.

this was at a time when i spent a little time on the internet because it was painfully slow having dial up and i still had more interest in riding my bike and doing things outdoors like riding my quad every chance i got.

about six months before i acquired my current white 86'(oct. of 2002), i had bought this car...

Image
Image
Image

it was a good starter 4kq. i'd previously never really had any super clean cars so this was nothing new, i looked at it as a project car like i did everything else. but i learned i don't really like doing body work, and the blue one needed a lot, so i put it up for sale and started looking for another one. i didn't need another car, but i wanted one, and we all know what happens when we want another car..... not a single paper or ad goes unread :D i lucked out and found a 1986 4000 quattro in the paper in sacramento and called the lady up and lucky me, she lived only a few minutes away and was willing to drive it over to the shop. i checked it out and within 10 minutes i knew it was exactly the car i wanted. it was a oxidized pretty good and had a singing wheel bearing, but was otherwise very clean and really straight. a deal was struck and the car was mine! (i'll find a pic at home and put it up here for reference sake of what it looked like stock, but most of you have a pretty good idea :wink: )

Update 12-28-2009
YES! i found my ORIGINAL Alpine 4kq pics WOOOTT!!
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image



not long after i got it on my birthday, i had ordered my H&R springs and new KYB struts. then i found a set of konig imagine rims and was like "wow, those are haawt" so it looked like this about two months after i bought the car..
Image
Image
Image
Image


Intercooler
Image
Image
Image


Intake
Image
Image

rally lights!
Image

i still have a few pictures lost(found and just posted!) from when i first got the car and it was 100% original. maybe they will pop up one day :(

:Update concluded:

so about a month after i got my car i was scouring the internet for things for my car and ran across Javads original 80tq website and his ecu's and the cool stuff he was doing with his little quattro....who knew it would be the monster it is today. i was really interested in it and was thinking of down the line when i wanted more power and i wanted to avoid the whole mess associated with CIS in the install, so when i sold the blue 4kq, it catapulted me into a several month long turbo conversion. lemme tell ya, there were some bleak times, so you guys who are in the middle of swaps, keep at it. it's VERY rewarding when you finally get your car together and dialed in.

i finally got my engine in and all the bugs worked out to make the car run decent. it had no intercooler and a tired k26. i thought it ran good, and i guess compared to the cars i had previously in life, it was. as time progressed i got an intercooler installed and dialed the fueling in better. it was always a little sketchy with the narrow band 02. it ran rich for sure, but that wasn't terrible and didn't seem to foul plugs, so it was ok. i was more afraid of running lean and burning it up :P


Update: 12-27-2009

I found out that pretty much every picture i had taken of my alpine car during the 20vt swap, was still in a folder on our old external HD and i hadn't known where it went since, back then we had one shared computer and when it crashed, someone had just emptied the old HD and i never found my pics... so! that was exciting 8) I learned that i didn't take enough pics of the original swap, but meh... take what i can get, right? so, here's a few... i can't believe i can still see the original 20v JT in my alpine car... that was so long ago.

these are all the best
Image

CIS :o
Image

battery tray removed
Image

my OG frame rail mod
Image

Image
Image


Core support mod
Image
Image
Image

Port work
Image
Image

Image
Image




the last thing i changed on my car was wheels. i needed room for bigger brakes and this was the first thing in line to be able to do that. i went with ronal R-38's that i got from our now broken in MG member audilard, darin, (see darin, this place is great isn't it!) so it looks like this..

Image

since i've now come across a few v8's, i've decided on putting an NA 3.6 v8 in it like nate has done while i work out some details with the turbo set up and i'm looking into getting the SQ replica body pieces to give more room up front for the radiator and intercooler package. i kind of want to avoid putting it in the trunk because of where i'd have to run the cooling lines.

my next project on hand before i get to the v8 swap (and finish my suburban) is brakes and ext. adj. konis at all four corners. i think it's pretty retarded how koni has their internally adj. struts and don't want to drop the strut to adjust it every time :wtf: . i'm also switching to ground control adjustable coilovers and some of dem fancy mance mounts. i managed to still have a small load of cuda parts to sell off, so i'm trading 8) . i'm also installing my prototype poly subframe bushings and prototype delrin rear tie rod inner bushings, along with my long overdue brake upgrade....billzcat1 style :-)

this was just a test fit so you don't have to ask why the rotor is on backward....
Image

i had to grind the strut caps down to fit the GC sleeves over them, i hear that the bilstein caps are thinner and don't require this...
Image

since the sleeve is a tight fit and i can't grab the outside of it very easily, i'm making a tool to get the caps unthreaded
two axle nuts,to be welded together, both ground out to fit over the strut shaft, and one ground down a little to fit the inner hex of the strut cap.
Image
Image
Image
finished product is this..
Image

some info i've found about putting front struts in the rear is that the front strut body is a little shorter than the rears, so a spacer is needed to bring it up to the top and be able to tighten the cap. the other thing is that with the GC coilovers, the upper spring perch is designed for a 25mm strut shaft which is the normal rear strut....the fronts are 22mm, so if you order a kit from GC, make sure to specify that you need all the upper spring caps to have the 22mm hole :wink:

well, that's all i got for now, i figure this is a good start.

my ultimate goal is to have a the SQ wide body kit on it and a twin turbo v8. i want to make it look like a factory widebody, kind of like the E30 M3's. i'm shooting for 500hp on pump gas, whether that's at the wheels or not is yet to be determined, but based off of what 4v combustion chambered 5cyl engines can do on pump gas, i think it's certainly possible. i will also put a roll cage in to stiffen the body up, add a little safety and hopefully it will warrant 10 second quartermile times...that's my goal. my dad had a 10 second car when he was my age, and i'd love to do the same thing.

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 12:59 am
by Hank
copy cat...

Just kiddin Derek..

Hey what rates did you end up doing for the springs? I went 385 all round... Got em in the box in the garage.. Girlfriend is in Hawaii all next week, and i have taken three days off, should allow me some time to get that taken car of...

Also, i bought some Camber plates from GC that look wayyyyy sweet. They are nice.. A sweet spherical up top, up to 5 degree's camber adjustment, and a little bit of caster adjustment as well.. How much did the mance mounts cost ya in the end?

Projects lookin good hommie

Hank

Re: Derracuda's project 4kq

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 7:34 am
by Audilard
derracuda wrote: (see darin, this place is great isn't it!)


Meh...it's alright. :wink:

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 8:38 am
by derracuda
Hank, i got 400#er's all the way around, and half of mine are still in the box..in my room :P . the mance mounts cost sooooooooooooo much, but oh well. i shouldn't have to buy another set of mounts EVAR, and they'll get rid of the rubber factor, and the clunk, and should overall make it nicer. if they don't i'll deliver them to mance and punch him in the arm :P (hey mance, i'm just kiddin, i'm sure they'll be great!)

darin...LIAR!!!

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 10:32 am
by Lt. Sarge
derracuda wrote:, and half of mine are still in the box..in my room :P .


Poor guy, his room is about the size of a large refridgerator box. I guess that shows his commitment to his car.

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 10:43 am
by mdg3369
ShavedQuattro wrote:Also, i bought some Camber plates from GC that look wayyyyy sweet. They are nice.. A sweet spherical up top, up to 5 degree's camber adjustment, and a little bit of caster adjustment as well.. How much did the mance mounts cost ya in the end?


So GC has camber plates for the small chassis cars? How much did they cost? I could go for a set right about now.... I was thinking about making my own, but if the price was right, I'd buy 'em.

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 11:33 am
by TurboCGT
shine racing has camber plates for our cars as well... like 225 i think for the adjustable ones.


edit..... nice looking car too btw

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 11:41 am
by theenico
mdg3369 wrote:
ShavedQuattro wrote:Also, i bought some Camber plates from GC that look wayyyyy sweet. They are nice.. A sweet spherical up top, up to 5 degree's camber adjustment, and a little bit of caster adjustment as well.. How much did the mance mounts cost ya in the end?


So GC has camber plates for the small chassis cars? How much did they cost? I could go for a set right about now.... I was thinking about making my own, but if the price was right, I'd buy 'em.


Pretty much every good camber plate, with a decent amount of adjustment, requires modification to the top of the strut towers of the B2, B3, and B4 chassis cars.

My favorite part of the GC plates is the cool Torrington bearing they use. It helps take some of the load off of the spherical bearing.

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 12:19 pm
by mdg3369
Okay, so you guys are saying Shine and GC are selling flat plates? I'm assuming this is the case. Anybody have some pictures? Putting flat Rabbit style camber plates on our rounded strut towers just seems strange.....

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 12:30 pm
by theenico
I can't seem to find a decent picture on their site, but I'll try to describe it as accurately as possible.

A Torrington bearing is basically a giant washer with rollers in it. It is the equivalent of having a needle bearing thrust washer.

GC machines a recess into the aluminum upper spring perch. In the recess goes a thin hardened steel washer, the Torrington bearing, and then a thicker washer. The thick washer is flat on the bearing side and concave on the side that contacts the bottom of the slider for the camber plate. The bottom of the slider, in turn, is convex. This rounded mating surface allows the spring perch to self center through the camber plates range of adjustment without binding up. Another neat thing is that the Torrington bearing helps keep the springs from making that disconcerting popping noise you sometimes hear with after market coilover kits.

The way this works is that all weight of the car, since it is supported by the springs, is carried by the slider and not the sperical bearing.

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 12:37 pm
by theenico
mdg3369 wrote:Okay, so you guys are saying Shine and GC are selling flat plates? I'm assuming this is the case. Anybody have some pictures? Putting flat Rabbit style camber plates on our rounded strut towers just seems strange.....


Yes. The only way to truly correct the quattros lack of caster is to bust out the plasma torch and go to town. :D

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 5:06 pm
by Wizard-of-OD
Derek before you install the coilover's,do a picture of all 4 corners together for marketing purposes :wink:

p.s. If this is the FRONT LEFT then the disc is on correctly.
Image

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 5:07 pm
by Hank
theenico said it perfectly... its nice to get all the weight off of the spherical... good explaination...

anywho, here are some pictures...

Image

Image

damn, my fingernails are way dirty...

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 5:44 pm
by derracuda
how's those gonna work hank? the strut pivots in two ways. you have to have a dual axis pivoting ball for the upper mount in order for things to work properly.

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 5:52 pm
by derracuda
looks like the spring will pivot on two axis, but the strut shaft will not and bind the front end. oh well, put it together and see how she works :P

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 5:55 pm
by TurboCGT
looks to like its gonna move all around pretty smoothly........

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 5:56 pm
by Hank
yes nate gets the cookie Derek.

The sherical takes car of all the "horizontal" pivoting, and the washer surface handles all the "vertical" movement.... Kindof worded shatty, but it is really trick how they do it...

nate they are 350 a set... kindof steep, but cheaper then Mances, and Caster is achieveable to 1.5 degree's..

http://www.ground-control.com/?D=38cc79 ... 8c67625482

read up brotha...

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 6:01 pm
by derracuda
ok, well, the strut shaft is attached tightly to the upper bearing( which is a standard ballbearing type correct?) which is attached to the plate tightly which is attached to the shock tower tightly (ok, welded) it looks to me that the upper spring perch is beveled inside to ride on the matching beveled surface on the underside of the camber plate, which is all fine and dandy, but it's the part where the strut attaches to the camber plate and allows the two axis movement that i see a potential problem. [cosmo kramer]am i crazy? or am i just sooooooooooo sane that i BLEW your guys minds!! [/cosmo kramer]

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 6:05 pm
by JShadzi
Nice, I've used those on race cars in the past, I'll try to dig up some pictures, but basically I cut the top of the strut tower off, welded a 3/16" thick steel plate and made the mounting points.

I've also build an assy. to "raise" the strut bearing mounting plate to allow more suspension travel, you definitely don't want to make the strut tower any lower than you have to, raising it slightly can offset the negative results of lowering, etc.

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 6:15 pm
by Hank
yes Nate, i don't know which price list i was looking at, but righto you are...

Derek, just trust us... it works :P

And Javad, i would love to see your fab on them..

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 6:17 pm
by Josh

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 6:35 pm
by derracuda
heh, i was just testing you guys... good work, you passed. ok, onto other neat things.

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 9:09 pm
by theenico
Josh wrote:http://www.k-mac.com.au/makes/audi.htm

:-D


The ones for the 80 are just reduced shank "crash" bolts for the 2 piece struts. We've been using those on the autocross VW's in the stock classes for a while. H&R makes some also.

Edited because I didn't realize we were on page 2 now :bashtard:

Lesson over. You can have your thread back now. :wink:

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 9:39 pm
by derracuda
sokay man, my turn to have a thread get derailed, besides, everybody else has at least 4-5 pages, how else am i gonna catch up :-D

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 9:53 pm
by Josh
everyone was kung-fu fighting......... :D