Nollywood

Hi ladies and gents,

I just thought I'd introduce my B5 projects.

My original aim was to build a V8-powered B5 Quattro, with 6-speed 01E and a D2 S8 32V motor. I originally purchased an early B5 2.6 Quattro 5MT (1995) as the basis of my project. I installed the S8 motor and 6-speed 01E, then proceeded to completely gut the interior.

I got the car running, then began looking at B5 RS4 goodies. By this time, I traded in my DD 2001 D2 S8 for a 2005 D3 A8 4.2 QS.

Fast forward 2 years, I decided to move on from D3 ownership, and opted to part her out. Sold a ton of parts, netting me more than I'd originally paid for the car. With space being tight for myself, wife and 3 kids, we decided to move, and I had a decision to make.

My D3 was buy now pretty stripped, though still running, the front air suspension had been sold, so had the entire front end, interior, MMI control panel, headlamps, brakes and a whole heap of control units. I would have to transport this car, together with my B5 approx. 205 miles to our new home.

With B5 facelift cars circa 2000 having dropped in price a great deal, I decided to transport just the D3 A8, and pull the D2 S8 motor and 6-speed 01E out of the early B5, then look out for a facelift car.

I bagged a 2000 B5 A4 2.5 TDI Quattro. At this point, I was still thinking along the lines of a stripped-out B5, with RS4 bodywork and of course the D2 S8 motor. I traded my 2002 Toyota Truck for this car. The B5 was picked up, I drove her 237 miles home. Santorin Blue, black leather, aftermarket HID kit, and some nasty aftermarket 18" alloys. I'm talking real NASTY here. I actually prefer stock 16" steel wheels with plastic hub caps.

Nollywood

Then an unforeseen dilemma...

...I have ended up with 2 V8 motors, and 2 6-speed 01E trannys.

So the hunt was on for another B5. I bagged one closer to home, a 2000 B5 A4 2.8 30V Quattro in Pelican Blue.

The eBay pictures were vague, and obviously taken with a camera phone, the car was parked out on the road, and hadn't been washed prior to taking the pictures. I got hold of the seller, and agreed on a price, £400 ($630).

When I did see the car in the metal, my opinion changed a bit - I still felt it was an average B5, and would build a stripped-out RS4'd and V8-powered car. However, when I got behind the wheel and began the journey home, my opinion changed. This car drove great, felt right, felt tight. It handled great too!

By the time I got her washed the next day, my plans changed. They had to! This car was way too clean to strip out the interior.

My plans are thus:

Pull the 4.2 V8 40V motor from my D3 A8, and install it in the Pelican Blue car, mated to my spare 01E (pulled from my old Europa Blue B5). As I have an entire parts D3 A8, I intend to use as much of the goodies in my Pelican Blue B5 - auto dim interior mirror, electric rear blind, front brakes, rain sending wiper / automatic headlamp module (top of the screen).

Exterior will be OEM B5 RS4, though the colour will remain the same.

The Santorin Blue car will be gutted, and the D2 S8 engine mated to the existing 01E 6-speed manual. This car is unlikely to get the B5 RS4 exterior, but we'll see. The colour will certainly be changed.

Right now, I am purchasing B5 RS4 parts. I have been in touch with my bodyshop, and they are looking at late June / early July to commence work on Pelican.

Nollywood

The Pelican Blue car:

Nollywood

I spent the afternoon pulling the D3 A8's rear parcel shelf with the electric rear blind, and LED high level brake lamp. I may trim it down to fit the Pelican B5, or remove the actual blind cartridge, and install it in the B5's parcel shelf.

Tomorrow I'll remove the A8's auto dimming rear view mirror.

The D3 A8's rear parcel shelf, with integrated electric rear blind:

Nollywood

The big brute currently holding the V8 hostage:

Nollywood

To bring this project up to date, it is essential I back-track 3 years, to when this project originally began. And to the original concept, which is very different to what it has evolved into today.

Nollywood

January 2012.

Hi ladies and gents!

I have decided to start a second project. Keen Motorsport fans will remember how Audi dominated the BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) back in the '90's. Audi kicked off with the B4 Audi 80 Quattro. The rules of the BTCC were simple - maximum engine capacity, and no turbochargers or superchargers. So all the cars were 2,0 I4 engines.

Power output of the cars were in the 270 bhp range. The Audi A4 Quattro replaced the Audi 80 in 1996 in the BTCC, with similar engine spec. The 2,0 16V engine used in the A4 was unlike no other in terms of the regular road cars. There were no 16V engines in production A4's, indeed there were no 2,0 versions. With AWD, the Audi A4 was the heaviest car in the series.

The manufacturer entrants were as followed:

01) Vauxhall Vectra 2,0 16V
02) Renault Laguna 2,0 16V
03) Volvo 850 2,0 20V
04) Peugeot 406 2,0 16V
05) Ford Mondeo 2,0 16V
06) Honda Accord 2,0 16V
07) Nissan Primera 2,0 16V
08) Toyota Carina 2,0 16V
09) Vauxhall Cavalier 2,0 16V
10) BMW 320i
11) Audi A4 2,0 16V.

Nollywood

Audi performed remarkably well, too well in fact, that a weight penalty was imposed on the A4 Quattro in a bid to slow them down. It didn't work, as Audi remained dominant, and came first with 289 points, with the Renault Laguna runner up with 197 points.

My project car will be based upon an Audi A4 Quattro B5, will have the Touring Car theme, in terms of colour, spoilers, suspension and interior, but as I'm not govered by BTCC rules, I'm not limited to a 2,0 I4 engine. I have taken delivery of a complete 1998 Audi S8 4,2 V8 32V engine, complete with wiring harness, ECU, manifolds, airbox and most importantly, the ignition key with the transponder components (decoder box).

This engine is different from the one in my 2002 Audi S8. Being a 32V engine, at 340 bhp, it's 20 bhp less than my daily driver. The lower power output won't be an issue, as the A4 Quattro is a lot lighter than the S8. My spec will be as follows:

Nollywood

Base car: Audi A4 B5 2.6 V6 Quattro, completely stripped out:

01) Rear seat removed.
02) Passenger seat removed.
03) Driver's seat removed, replaced with lightweight bucket seat.
04) All electric windows mechanisms removed.
05) All side glass removed, replaced with plastic (Lexan).
06) Aircon / heater removed.
07) ABS removed.
08) Carpet removed.
09) Head lining removed.
10) Audio / stereo removed.
11) Dasboard removed, cut down, leaving just driver's side to hold instrument cluster.
12) Airbags removed.
13) Central locking removed.
14) Inner door cards removed.
15) All wiring not essential to vehicle operation (electric windows, central locking, ABS, aircon, heater and airbags) removed.
16) All sound proofing removed.
17) Both catalysts removed.

All the above saves a lot of weight, I want to end up with a car that weighs about 1,000 kgs or at least close.

Nollywood

Engine spec is as follows:

Donor car: '98 Audi S8.
Capacity: 4,172cc.
Configuration: V8 2 x DOHC 32V.
Power: 340 bhp.
Torque: 420 Nm.

Transmission spec is as follows:

Donor car: '00 Audi S4.
Ratios: 6.
Type: Manual.
Clutch: Audi RS4 B5.
Drive: Quattro AWD.
Final drive ratio: 4,11:1.
Rear differential final drive ratio: 4,11:1.

The rest (suspension, brakes, wheels etc) is to be confirmed, I'll post pictures as the project progresses.