Project Hector

Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:52 am

Well Project Hector has been started about 6 months now about time I feel for a thread!

The car is a 1990 B3 fronted 20v Quattro coupe. I bought it to build in to my ultimate spec coupe with originally a plan to B4 front it. After spending a bit of time debating I realised I actually preferred the Bullnose front of the B3 and the early Speedlines so decided to keep the exterior more or less original.

The car was bought in a pretty sorry state to be honest, I have broken cars in far better condition, it was only the rarity factor that saved this one, that said it is a nice car and once the massive list of jobs is down to a bare few should be a real gem of an example!

The car is finished in Schwarz Black, originally came with charcoal velour but this has been removed in favour of Black leather. I was planning to cover the original and very unpleasant wood trim with a carbon film I have but having done one while it does look good it just isn't me, it's a bit bling tbh. So I have replaced it with Zebrano my favourite wood trim.

Of course the obligatory 3 spoke wheel has been fitted, also a decent stereo and speakers mounted in original positions is halfway through fitting.

On the engine front the cambelt has been replaced (a lot easier than expected) and the rads are new anyway so saves me fitting the new ones I had bought.

The car is a non sunroof model which is actually a problem for me as I love roofs, but having looked in to fitting a sunroof (the only way to do it is cut the entire roof section out of another car and graft it in!) it just isn't worth the work.

It also came with a rather nifty aircon system (dealer fit) that was complete but not working (no gas) so I have pulled 99% of that out now and the only bit remaining is the heater box which will be pulled out when I do the dash out later this year.

The wiring and bodywork are the biggest problems the car has, the wiring had been terribly cut about and is more or less there now, another few hours and it should be back to A1 condition, all the work has involved removing looms from other cars and carefully soldering them in place, no scotch blocks here please! The bodywork is a right state currently, aside from the fact several areas of paint look like they have been brillo pad washed (beyond polishing out, repaint only) the bonnet was rotten and there are dings a plenty, also the front bumper was broken.

So a new bonnet is currently in primer waiting for a bit of warmth to arrive in the day to get top coat on it! Ditto bumper. I should also be able to get around the localised problems on the bodywork and get them sprayed with a bit of luck too!

Jobs to do:

Finish off bodywork, painting, fitting up, polishing.

Finish off wiring, stereo, triple gauges etc.

Fit full lock set.

Get new screen fitted.

Fit washer bottle for non headlight wash car.

Refit engine bay.

Check over suspension/brakes for MOT. Find why handbrake is not working.

Spend a day or so finishing off little jobs.

Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:58 am

excellent, another cq20v getting some tlc! Very Happy

however... where are the pics????? Rolling Eyes

Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 8:12 am

Sounds good..

But come on Oliver...... PICS PICS PICS.

Very Happy

Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 8:40 am

Here are a few to whet your appetite!

Here is the car as I picked it up (I should point out that either the camera is lying or these were taken a hell of a long time before I actually collected the car lol!)

It then resided in my workshop for the best part of 6 months before being touched.

This is the trouble with pictures even there it doesn't look too bad. I cannot emphasise what a terrible looking car this is!!

This pic is today, tarp is obviously to keep engine dry while bonnet is in paint, if the coupe bonnet weren't so damned big I would have left the rotten original on till I was ready to fit the new one, but it wouldn't fit in a car so I had to fit it to the car to trailer it back!

Here you can see my shamefully messy garage and the panels in primer. I also have a front wing with sprinter vent to get painted, but that's going to have to wait a week or 2!

And here you can see the old interior versus the new.

Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 8:44 am

I'd just like to point out the white dog shaped thing in the window is in fact a real dog not a tacky ornament!

The plan with this car isn't to produce a showpiece of my work, it's meant to be a nice reliable daily driver for me, that looks tidy.

Consequently I won't be going over the top on the resto for example the seats while tidy aren't like new. One slightly sad point is however that this will most likely be my last Audi if everything goes to plan!