Audi UR Quattro Rally Build

[BRAIDusa]

TEAM ILLUMINATA MOTORSPORT 2023 FLEET REVIEW

83 QUATTRO RALLY BUILD: https://teamilluminata.com/blogs/quattro-rally-build

We are closing in on finishing the dry build phase of this project. Once we get the wiring done, we can disassemble the car and prep the shell for paint. Hi-lights this year include, power steering pump mount, hood pins, A-pillar gussets, handbrake lever delete, radiator ducting, cold air intake, spare tire, intercom, fire extinguishers, map light, dash cover, power wiring and the bumper and hood slot mesh.



84 911 RALLY CAR: https://teamilluminata.com/blogs/84-porsche-911

Not a lot of work on the 911 rally car this year but we got to drive it quite a bit. The year started out with some new wheels and tires as we upped our game with tire width. Then we replaced the front anti roll bar bushings and fixed an oil leak. We took the car to plenty of cars and coffee events but the standouts were our attendance at the Woodward Dream Show at M1 Concourse with around 15 other rally cars as part of the Woodward Rally Cars (WRC) Group. We were also invited back to the American Speed Festival at M1 where we demonstrated the car’s track capabilities and the Empire Hill climb again. Not a bad year for the little car that can.



85 QUATTRO: https://teamilluminata.com/blogs/85-ur-quattro

This year we got to drive and show the 85 Quattro a few times. We are still chasing some minor drivability issues and the passenger side window regulator is awaiting its third fix attempt but we can now enjoy the car. We got it fully detailed, paint corrected and ceramic coated at Auto Europe early in the year and it has never been cleaner. We really enjoyed showing the car at the DeutscheMarques show at the Gilmore Museum and a concours in Northville as well as numerous cars and coffee events.



89 944 TURBO: https://teamilluminata.com/blogs/89-944-turbo

Early in the year we got a new addition to the fleet. A 1989 Porsche 944 Turbo (951) fully built race car and all its spares. We are not sure what we’ll do with this one yet or how it will fit into our marketing plans but it does look good in the showroom. As it’s not even close to being street legal we haven’t driven it much but we did shake it down at a local autocross in the summer where, despite its wide Hoosier R7 tires, it performed very well and was very easy to drive. The only real mechanical work we have performed on the car is to give it some proper BRAID wheels and more autocross and track day friendly tires. Hopefully we’ll have some opportunities to get this beast out on a track during 2024 so we can see what it can really do in the environment it was built for.



2005 CAYENNE (TIMSYBERIA): https://teamilluminata.com/blogs/timsyberia

The Timsyberia Cayenne continues to fulfill its daily driver and TSD rally roles admirably while keeping us on our toes mechanically. No Cayenne nightmares have appeared and it has never let us down but we have had to fix a small oil leak, and replace the hatch struts during 2023. We gave it some 17” BRAID wheels and Blizzak winter tires recently and some rust protection from Krown as it’s just so clean. We took the car up the actual Sno*rift rally and also used the car to discover Northern Michigan’s trails on two separate occasions. We also participated in the Son of Sno*Drift TSD rally in what passes for winter these days. We were entered for the Press On Regardless TSD rally in the Fall but a back injury saw us withdraw a couple of days before. We’ll be back to conquer that one in 2024 however.



2015 SPRINTER (RALIVAN): https://teamilluminata.com/blogs/ralivan2

Of all our vehicles that actually drive this might me the one we’ve used the least this year. About the only proper road trip we’ve used it for was when we dragged our 911 up to the Empire Hill Climb again. Before we could do that, we had to address the cooling issues it had exhibited the last time we did this. To be sure we didn’t have any more issues about a month before the event we replaced the radiator and viscous cooling fan and give it some new coolant and a transmission service. Other work on the van involved wiring the heating elements of our amazingly comfortable Scheel-Mann seats and installing a bulkhead to separate the cargo area from the cabin. We also took the van to the Mercedes dealer in Novi for a recall and to have the 70mph governor deleted from the ECU. We now can rip at around 85 if we want to!

[BRAIDusa]

We are running out of things to do again so are picking away at bits an bobs before we send the car out for its wiring harness. Here’s a few little things we managed over the last few weeks:

The shape of the curve on one of the rear arches has always bothered us. We got the body filler out and fixed it.



We want a strut bar in this car so, of course, we are going to try to replicate the works version, as best we can anyway. We don’t have many images of it but it looks and mounts like this.



We’ll need to reinforce those mounting surfaces but otherwise it looks doable. After a bit of trial and error we came up with this.



The uprights are a bit long right now but we want to wait till the wiring harness is in as it comes into the engine bay at about the same height so we don’t want this to be in the way.

One thing we’ve been meaning to fix for a while is the inlet to the intercooler. The inlet hose has always impinged on the bumper bar brace so we needed to alter the angle of the inlet so it would clear. A good a time as any.





Fits. Just tacked for now.

The works cars had windshield retainers so our will. Especially as they were easy to make.



With no glass in the car yet we had to use our other Quattro as a model to get the angle correct.









Next time we’ll make the doors fit and prep the car for its wiring harness installation.

[BRAIDusa]

TEAM ILLUMINATA MOTORSPORT 2024 FLEET REVIEW

83 QUATTRO RALLY BUILD https://teamilluminata.com/blogs/quattro-rally-build
The Quattro rally build was away most of the year getting wired. Wouldn't we all want to do that! It should be back when you read this so, once again, we can say we're going to finish it this year!






84 911 RALLY CAR https://teamilluminata.com/blogs/84-porsche-911
Our little 911 rally car was quite popular this year. Lots of cars and coffee events, M1's Woodward Dream show and American Speed Festival, Northville Concours d'Elegance, and an impromptu hill climb because our 944 got shy at the last minute. The only repairs were a new fan belt and a replacement heater blower.










85 QUATTRO https://teamilluminata.com/blogs/85-ur-quattro
The 85 Quattro continued to keep us busy in the workshop this year. Although it was driving nearly perfectly it still had us fix its handbrake lever boot, window regulator (finally), and a loose dip stick before finally giving up completely in September. We have tried to getting running yet as it never goes out till May but we did send out the passenger seat to be partially re-covered.

[BRAIDusa]

89 944 TURBO https://teamilluminata.com/blogs/89-944-turbo
The 944 got a new suit and is now looking like the real race car it always has been. However, that didn't cure its shyness and it has fought us all year with what seemed like fuel starvation issues but clearly wasn't. We finally fixed it in time for the American Speed Festival but it missed the Empire Hill Climb. Towards the end of the year, it got called up for a photoshoot and video with Cruis'in Media. Look for that this spring. Statically speaking it showed well at quite a few events such as Woodward Dream Show, American Speed Festival and a few local cars and coffee events. Mechanically it got new engine mounts, new ECU and plates. Yes, it's now road legal!












2005 CAYENNE https://teamilluminata.com/blogs/timsyberia
Our Cayenne "AKA Timsyberia" has done sterling work as our daily drive and occasional parts hauler but it started 2024 off having fun in the snow. In January, we let it do the Son of Sno*Drift TSD rally then in February it helped feed the workers at the actual Sno*Drift rally disguised as an ice cream truck. Well, it had the chimes anyway. Service-wise it got a new starter (royal PITA) and an oil change (POC).









2015 SPRINTER (RALIVAN) https://teamilluminata.com/blogs/ralivan2
Nothing exciting to report. Just works and continues to drag cars around the mid-west with aplomb.

[Golten951]

Been out for a bit, was happy to see some more post from you on this. Really good progress that you have made! Congratulations on the work! Thanks for posting the extra pictures from the events as well. Lots of fun to see those.
the stainless mesh turned out really good for the bumper. Hope to see more when you can.

[BRAIDusa]

WIRING PREP

This feels like one of those Project Binky updates! Been quiet here as a few months ago we took the car over to Racing Tech (https://www.racing-tech.net/) in Grand Rapids, Michigan to get a full wiring harness designed, built and installed. Obviously, this required a bit of prep.

First off, in case Racing Tech wanted to turn the engine over on the key we needed to make sure it actually still turned. You see, we bought this engine so long ago now that we didn't know if it still did that. So, first thing we did was take the plugs out and squirt some lube down the cylinder bores. Then we took the valve cover off and coated the camshaft in assembly lube. Once that was done, we finally turned it over with a big wrench on the crankshaft bolt. Thankfully it turned quite nicely.





Next on the list was to find every bit of electrical equipment that wasn't yet installed on the car and also the old wiring harness in case any of the connectors were needed. Dumping the wiring harness out of the tote box it has been stored in for ten years reminded us why we are not using it.







When we'd finished bolting everything on, we realized the car was now the most complete it had been for probably 20 years. So, we weighed it.

[BRAIDusa]

Not bad. It's only really missing glass and wires in this state. Then we showed it the door, the trailer and, finally, the inside of the trailer.









The drive to Grand Rapids took about two hours. We can't tell you how the car drives but it we can report that it tows really well! Here it is in its new, temporary home.





Here are some action shots curtesy of Racing Tech:







The car should be home soon so we'll give you a full review then.

[BRAIDusa]

It's back! Yes, the car is finally back from @racingtech where it received a full racing spec wiring harness. It is technically alive!

It was a bit of a trial getting it home, what with the weather, van troubles and having to drag it into the shop with the 944. It might have brake lights now but it doesn't have brakes; nor does it run.









But now we can push the project towards finishing the dry build and getting the shell painted. That might even happen this year!

First on the agenda: finish mocking up the strut bar. We couldn't finalize the location before as it might have blocked access for the wiring harness but not anymore! It currently sits way too high and needs the mounting brackets fabricating and the existing structure reinforcing. Here's what ours currently looks like what it will look like.





We'll let you know how we did in the next update.

[Porkshop]

Just discovered this thread. enjoyed catching up. Keep the progress coming... Thanks....

[BRAIDusa]

So, we've been working on the strut bar and finally have it in a form that resembles that of the works cars. It's not fully welded in yet but we'll get to that when we start to strip the car for paint. Here are some shots of the process:

We lowered it a bit to check clearance:







Once we were certain it wouldn't interfere with anything we committed and chopped it down to size:





Then we fabbed up some top brackets and tacked them into place:





Once we get the car apart we'll weld them up and add some reinforcement to the mounts.

[BRAIDusa]

We're getting very close to finishing the dry build on our Quattro rally car and stripping the shell to paint it. Just a few final details need to be taken care of:

First, we decided now was the time to repair the cowl lip next to the right-side strut mount. At some time in the car’s life, it had got crushed and went a bit rusty. A bit rustier than we expected. We removed the crushed bits, cleaned up the rust and made a new part. We'll weld it in next time we're in the area with the welder.







Then we moved on to selecting and mounting the clutch fluid reservoir. We initially tried a third brake fluid reservoir but it seemed bigger than necessary and proved hard to find a spot for. So we set about using a small Honda unit and coming up with a suitable location for it. We weren't really happy with any of them until we settled on this, mostly because it allowed us to make a speed hole! More welding later.









Next on the list was adding some side vents to the HVAC system. Originally, we'd thought about just leaving the vent tubes open, assuming they would not be impeded by the impending wiring loom.

[BRAIDusa]

But once that was in, we realized we might just have some room to terminate them in the exact same vents we had used in the dash. After trying one, we knew what we had to do. I ordered some more and some better ducting.

[BRAIDusa]

Now the big one: getting the doors, hood and fenders to fit. We swear, when the car left the body shop eight years ago everything fit well but now it appeared that the car has morphed somewhat over time. The door gaps aft were tiny to non-existent and the fenders seemed now to be taller and at a funny angle. Most of the body lines didn't line up anymore either. First, we tackled the door gaps.





There is no adjustment in the hinge system that would allow them to be positioned further forward. All we could do was add shims behind them to move them further back but that, of course, would make the situation worse. At least shimming allowed us to get them to close, latch and be level.

We clearly had to move the hinges forward somehow. We tried hitting them with a BFH but they, and the a-pillar, were too sturdy. We thought about cutting them off and rewelding them on but thought we'd just bugger up the alignment of them doing that. Finally, we settled on cutting slots in them so they would more easily bend and, ultimately weld the slots up. It took a lot of chin rubbing and pacing back and forth but eventually we plucked up courage and were more than pleased when it seemed to work out better than expected.









We gained about 3mm of gap. We could have got more but we knew that opening the doors was going to be challenging even if we had 5-6mm of gap there, so were very happy with this. Next, fender fit!

[BRAIDusa]

Next, after shimming the doors level and getting most of the body lines lined up, we focused on the fenders. Oh boy! it seemed we may have BMW M3 fenders; they were that far out!











Firstly, we "adjusted" the fit as best we could by adjusting the mounting holes that were once in the right place. That improved things a bit but still left a lot of filling, cutting, grinding and sending left. And that was just to achieve a somewhat race car level of fit. If this was a concours build we would have had to start from scratch.



To lower the tops of the fenders where they meet the a-pillar we first cut a long, thin wedge out about a foot back, squished it down with lead weights and fixed it in place with some fiber glass matt and resin on the underside. We also had to extend both these surfaces to actually get close to the a-pillars. This was followed by fill, sand, fill sand, many times over.







We fixed the sides by adding lots of filler and sanding it down till the panels were in something approaching the same plane as the doors.



We fixed the bottom part that kicks out by cutting it off. Taking a wedge out of it and glassing it back in the right place. Of course, plenty of filling and sanding was also required.

[BRAIDusa]

We fixed the door gaps with the Dremel but had to remove so much material that we created holes. We added a lot of fiber glass matt inside this area to restore integrity. Then more filling and sanding, of course.





The lowest and smallest crease on the fenders was so low we had to rebuild it 1/2" higher!



This one made us laugh. We wanted to fix the droopy eye look over the headlights so added material to make them level. This only made them too deep and they no longer lined up with the bottom of the hood return. We decided, at least for now, to hide this issue with black electrical tape. It's quite effective and may become permanent!







Finally, we were happy with the fit and decided to stop. We could always improve it but at some point, you have to remind yourself that it's a rally car and not a show queen. That and the realization that we could tidy it up during paint prep if we really felt the need.

[Porkshop]

Nice work.....

[BRAIDusa]

We're really close to finishing the dry build phase and we’re starting to run out of things to do. The list of essentials is down to 3-4 and the "nice but not essential" is tempting us. Let's how disciplined we can be over the next few weeks.

We bought an original composite boot/trunk lid from a later Quattro, for obvious reasons, but it had one broken mounting stud. We were hoping three out of four would be enough but with that huge oil cooler, we thought we should at least attempt to fix it. It was easier than expected but with one minor oops. See if you can spot it.









We also modified the rear skid plate bar to make it look more authentic. We added what might be a reinforcing bar along its trailing edge:





Next, we added some mounting tabs on the strut bar for our igniters:

[BRAIDusa]

We always felt these cars lacked fender liners, even though the works cars didn't seem to have them. We started to make some but soon discovered that they would probably restrict suspension travel so settled instead on blocking off the area behind the headlights and horns with abs sheet as a compromise.







We also added these straps to the hood and trunk to make it easier to lift them. They aren't period works correct so we intended removing them once the build is finished but they are proving so useful we may keep them. What do you think?



We may have reached the end of the dry-build phase now! We'll let you know if that's true in the next update. Click, like and subscribe.