Hi all,
Have been off radar for a while now… plenty Office waka etc. Thankfully it’s a bit quieter now and I have decided to spice up my life a bit by commencing on a Car restoration project.
The last time I travelled from Enugu to Uyo in April with my 2.0L Auto-trans 2003 Peugeot 307 hatchback, I was given a very hot chase by 4 hefty dudes in a 1996 Toyota Camry V6 sedan (I wouldn’t go ahead to speculate who they were, but the experience wasn’t a nice one-and I DID see the tip of a gun). My saving grace was that I did know the terrain quite better than they (and whenever we would approach other vehicles, they would draw back) and I had to turn into Umuahia at the Umuahia towers where they slowed down, glared at me menacingly and drove on towards Aba/PH. However there were quite a few moments with my throttle floored and my lion doing 170km/hr. that I did wish for more power whenever I saw the rate at which these dudes were catching up with me in my rearview mirror.
Anyways I decided to sell my Lion (I don’t have the space, or desire for 2 cars at the moment), and get me a more powerful car, since I undertake long distance journeys quite a number of times.

The top contenders were;
1. Facelift 1995 Mercedes w124 E320 (Love of my life-will still get one sometime this year hopefully).
2. 2002 Peugeot 406 V6 Manual Tranny
3. 2002 Nissan Pathfinder 3.5L 4WD (considering the bad roads)
4. 2003 Jeep Liberty 3.7L (Renegade edition)
5. 2006 Range Rover sports (shebi dem talk say Luxury vehicle dey lose plenty value over time-make the car price fall reach 1.5M nah, make I rush buy one… ;-) ) Otherwise for now it’s absolutely out of range (forgive the pun). However Dreaming is allowed nah…!

However, as luck would have it, a friend of mine who had a 2002 Audi A4 3.0L Quattro (B6/8E) wanted to sell it at a reasonable because he had gotten tired of its “issues”. I called up Siena immediately and sought his advice on the absolute no-nos for the car. After educating me on the virtues of the car I fell in love (with the car o).
For me, the top advantages were;
1. All-time 4WD in a Sedan; I never did like SUVs because of their relatively unstable handling characteristics when maneuvering at highway speeds-even with all the electronic thingys working-ESP, stability control, etc. , but their 4WD can come in handy in quite a number of sticky situations. However, with the Audi Quattro, I got a sedan (with the associated stability) and 4WD (albeit not as effective as that of an SUV) in the same package… Yipee…!
2. European marque: I have always loved European cars-back in the days I used to argue that Japmobiles were reliable but not fun to drive. Having grown up now “D”, I only say “to each his own”. European Cars are good, Japmobiles are also good-depends on what you’re looking out for and how much of a maintenance culture that you have, oh… and availability of the proper mechanics. I absolutely refuse to be drawn into Euromoblies vs. Japmobile argument these days.
After all some Japmobiles like Lexus, and even the lesser Toyota brand have good handling reviews-even on Topgear UK if you gather my drift.

So after discussing with Siena, I proceeded to inspect the car… the known faults according to the owner were;
1. AC not cooling properly
2. Fuel leak from the petrol pump (some stupid mechanic had spoilt the fuel sender unit under the backseat and you couldn’t get beyond ¾ tank when refilling without having fuel fumes escape into your car and fuel seep out from beneath the seats.. (Thank God the Guy wasn’t a smoker)
3. Faulty (squishy) brakes (Brake pedal gets to floor when braking, Brake indicator on dashboard flashing)
4. Leaky radiator ( had a problem at some point and was modified by our wonderful roadside Mechanics)-without much effect (otherwise it wouldn’t be leaking anymore)

However when I got there I also noticed;
1. CEL Illuminated, “Error” showing on the odometer
2. AC as good as not working at all
3. AC Control Console with washed out buttons (my 2002 Pug 307 AC control buttons still look like brandnew)-what plastic did these Germans use…? (I don dey fear german bulid quality o)
4. Not too good front shocks and some clunking noises from the front end.
5. Driver”s side seat control plastic housing all spoilt
6. Both the fuel pump and Fuel level sender unit covers were left open (there is a black roundish cover with 3 screws that is used to cover both
7. All so common Thermostat bypass, with a separate wire run from the battery terminal to the engine cooling fans that turned them on once you switch on the ignition ( with an embarrassing howl)
8. Engine otherwise seemed fair enough-considering it was Naija used… with that sweet V6 sound, and boy did she pick up speed on stomping the gas pedal… Auto tranny was also OK with smooth shifting and kickdown working when it should.

Pix... Ummm.. am having problems with uploading pix.... :-(

pix

Errm... Oga hope u no go stop dis thread halfway Oº°˚˚°. Bite a large chunk of coconut and sits on a blue plastic chair facing the road while rubbing my protuding tummy. Fully suscribing. #shouts# iya busayo! Iya bus... Wia is this lazy woman sef? :-)

Re-engineering of an Audi

Subscribing

Sorry Guys... Uploading pix is proving impossible... I have spoken with the mod... there seems to be a software glitch somewhere and he is also at loss.
Am trying to get the hang of photobucket so I ca use that... hope it works out.

My proposed overhauls;
1. Fixing the Engine cooling, Fuel Supply etc. systems and AC back to factory specs
2. Fixing the problems triggering the CEL
3. Timing belt + Water pump and tensioners change
4. Transmission fluid and filter change
5. Getting her on some 18 x 8.5” Alloy Rims and matching low profile tires
6. Getting rid of the boring stock Head, and taillights… getting some FK Angel eyes (abi na devil eyes) headlamps and LED taillight units
7. Fixing suspension problems
Importantly, all these need to be done without breaking the bank, or making it more worthwhile to get a Tokunboh Audi A4 with similar specs. Would be sourcing all my parts from Siena in the UK… all would be brand new… and surprisingly, some are even cheaper than the quotes I got for some new/used.
Boy do I love challenges… ;-). I have a lot of friends who are ready to say “I told you so, you should have gotten a direct tokunboh vehicle”-am so looking forward to proving them wrong

This should be interesting. Following.

Mehn... I've been trying for hours to upload pix, both from withing the Nairaland upload menu, and externally from Photobucket. Nothing seems to be working.
This thread won't make any sense without pictures detailing my progress. :-(
I don dey tire o...

Finally... whew... Sorry this pic is not too clear... It was taken with my wacky Bold 5 Camera at night... Beside is my other love... My 307 which has to leave soon once I find a buyer [Sobs}

subscribed

First impressions;
Apart from the faults I mentioned earlier; the first impression I got on entering the Audi was that it seemed to have a relatively small interior compared to my Pug 307-which seems to be a paradox when you consider that the 307 is a smaller car… Guess it has to do with the high roofline and bigger windshield of the Pug.

The steering wheel of the Audi Quattro also seems to seat relatively even at its highest setting, and with the Driver’s seat at its lowest… almost touching my knees. I had a similar problem with a friend’s W202 Mercedes C class. Hmmm… I never had such issues with my 307.

The doors of the Audi have this very satisfying way of closing with a soft thud that makes one feel so safe within… In comparison, my 307 doors sound rather too ‘jangly’

The sound insulation of the Audi is, to put it simply, wonderful... I had to strain to hear the horn when I sounded it... Initially I thought maybe the horn had a problem... Na JJC dey worry me o... lol

Problem Number one; Funny local construction from the coolant reservior... (According to the former owner-it was to slove the problem of a leak) Yet the radiator was STILL leaking...

The Dashboard with CEL Illumminated, Brake Light blinking and Error on the odometer

to be continued... [Yawns]...

Washed out plastic buttons for the AC controls, Hazard Lights, Traction Control and Car Stereo

Subscribed and following bumper to bumper..

chai...i hope you're replacing the plastic control buttons also. You could just buy complete dash that na if extra money dey o!

**subscribed**

Man proposes, Internet disposes... My internet connection tonight is just too slow to do any meaningful posts on this thread...
There have been plenty updates though, and plenty milestones achieved...

Fuel sender unit (Fuel pump) left uncovered (black disc is the cover)...: Also notice the rough reconnections/rewirings done by our dear rewires. [Need me a shotgun..]