The SA 2.6i Microbus thread

[silverbullet]

I want up to see Aidan on Saturday, collected the repaired transaxle for the Bullet and some old boat anchor



Came home via Gloucester (big up to the Brizzle fugee!) and then on to Swindon, where I met one of the S2 forum guys. He gave the 7A lump the once over, then proceeded to pile up all the missing parts by stripping them off another engine and off various shelves. I only went there for a PAS pump!

Do yo like bananas? I do :



Not bad for £30:



Instrument pack from an '85 Audi 90 quattro saloon (model 81) complete with switchgear:



Plenty to be going on with for now...

[Aidan]

nice haul mate, hope it all goes together ok,

thanks for your help with the wbx

[silverbullet]

To say I'm please would be an understatement! The Audi chap I met was a real "enthusiast's enthusiast" and by the sounds of things, the S2 scene has a really good vibe and lots of knowledge sharing but I'm there very much cap-in-hand. Lots to learn, hence the bunch'o'snakes which is worth it's weight in horsepower

No worries on the wbx tinkering, I was pretty surprised to see those figures on the gauge, that's for certain. What a corker! I wish I had some money left...

PS thanks for the loan of the bench fixtures, I'll get the clamp copied and back to you asarp

[Wychall]

That dash looks mighty impressive Ian. I'll be interested to see how you get on with that. I'd intended keeping mine pretty standard but you keep getting me excited!

[silverbullet]

I am my own worst enemy Brian! I was going to keep it as-built, what with it being "one of the few" here in the UK but having gone lpg for starters I realize that evolution is the key.
They are no slouch as you know, but since mine is a daily driver a bit of careful modernization from the VAG parts bin is no bad thing. It's all that VWSA did anyway!

[silverbullet]

More dash musings...if it really doesn't want to fit (even with a bit of remodelling) I have still got a GL steel dash that could be cut/welded/recovered for a whole new look *. I suspect that this pod will need a "riser" to get brake reservoir clearance anyway. We'll see, there's at least 25mm going spare over the back!

* That could be a possibility for anyone fancying the early A6 dash, as I think the padded top detaches from the rest of the fascia...even if it needs extending at the ends, trim the back edge, fresh vinyl covering

TPS just delivered a nice shiney new 1H0 973 103 plug body That was quick for a back order so no scrappy grovelling required this time! I now need a pin release tool to do the job properly

The PAS pump and brake assister "bomb" as removed from the Coupe:



Haven't got a clue about the plumbing just yet!

[..lee..]

think that dash will look the "Balls", that 7a willl sound awsome.

[silverbullet]

Might just have found a solution to the paininthearse T3 brake reservoir that gets in the way:



Beemer E30! I know that it's the servo that some use for decent stopping power, but I have been told (by someone who has fitted the whole thing inc. master cylinder) that it works really well with BIG front brakes. Stops his SVX/UN-1 equipped Carat on a sixpence...

Will probably need a seperate clutch res. on a little bracket but that will make future hydraulic servicing a little easier :wink

E D I T Or I can get one of these for £25 from Europa spares, it's even got a warning level switch. 115mm X 145mm X 45mm.

[toomanytoys]

Use a bike brak/clutch remote res for the clutch.. you dont need much vol...

Just one thought.. those Audi combined power and brake pumps run on a different oil to std power steering.. its a lot thinner and a different material.. they generate a lot of pressure too.. the brake booster res has something like 185bar gas pressure on the diapragm... so you might have to look at some way of dissabling/bypassing the brake booster output, rather than just blanking.. I seem to remember from my A100 days, the pump can generate in excess od 3000 psi....

[silverbullet]

'kin 'ell Si, 185 bar?!! Best left alone if the fluid may be a problem then...I think I'll be adapting the T3 pump onto the 7A bracketry. Thankfully I have made contact with someone who has previously put a 7A into a PAS equipped bus, he's doing a WR conversion after the last one got nicked

[silverbullet]

You were right Si, cars using the hydraulic servo have the system is filled with "Pentosyn" mineral oil, so not compatible with the T3 PAS rack seals. Definitely not using that then!

[silverbullet]

I was supposed to be taking some pics of the sycnro in the snow for it's classified today...

Driving home Friday night, had a spot of bother with getting out of second gear, like it was catching or snagging. Never done it before...then when I got home, it was very reluctant to release reverse, lever went all stiff but it did pop out in the end. OK, worry about it in the morning.
This morning, flipping cold after -## C temps overnight, I went out to swap the buses round and take the syncro somewhere picturesque...
Sh1tsh1tsh1t it's jammed in reverse!!! Oh crap, I can't have busted this one too! No no no no noooo!
Calm down, get underneath, to find that the rearmost "onion" was much more worn than I thought (brick in a bucket springs to mind) and the selector ball had almost climbed out of the cup (also worn), jamming the mechanism...
Take it all off, dash over to the works, bore and sleeve the cup, replace the onion, de-scale the rod (it was all bone dry, the rust had scurfed out the onion from 20 to 23mm a good whack of Silicone grease and re-fit before the sun goes down.



Gear selection returned to better than before (just goes to show how bad they can get before it all goes pear-shaped)

[toomanytoys]

You were right Si, cars using the hydraulic servo have the system is filled with "Pentosyn" mineral oil, so not compatible with the T3 PAS rack seals. Definitely not using that then!

Of course I am... I did run an A100 for 5 years with that pas/brake booset system and had a spot of bother with it..

A handy high pressure hydraulic pump system tho.. I'd be interested in the pump hose etc assy.. for my A100 that I still maintain for the friend that bought it...

[silverbullet]

All yours mate

[silverbullet]

A couple more of that magnificent exhaust manifold, before the next update (I think I can hear Lloydy quietly weeping somewhere





The downpipe is 60mm!