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85 urQuattro restoration

30K views 165 replies 23 participants last post by  sepp 
#1 ·
This is a continuing project, that was on hold for the past 5 years.
I've owned the car since 2001, and did a very quick refresh on it back in 2002.
Originally, in Graphite Metallic I did a full re spray in Tornado red.




I drove it daily through all 4 seasons in the North East, which was hard on the car.
So, in 2008, I started doing a resto on the car, but the project ran into delays.
I got the car torn down pretty good prepping for bodywork and paint, and had to move across the country with very little notice.
So in 2 weeks I pieced the car back together, primed/painted it and put it into storage.




And, now I finally have it back out of storage!


So, stay tuned for updates, I just ordered a ton of parts and am currently scoping out a good body shop in the area to take care of some rust issues.

Much more to come!!!
 
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#3 ·
I was out of commission due to a back issue, but had the chance to work on the car this weekend.
I started sorting through the boxes of parts as well as started cleaning up/prepping the stripped out interior for paint.
Found a few small patches of surface rust, but no new surprises.
Still working on getting a body shop lined up to take care of a few holes in the floor area where the B pillar joins to the pan, and the A pillars where the front fender attaches.

I plan to POR15 the floors before I lay down sound deadening material.

 
#4 ·
Sealed up the rear section of the passenger side floor.
POR15, and then a coat of enamel over that should last another 30 years..
The back seat section has been done as well.



There is a bit of rust where the drivers side "B" pillar meets the floor pan.
It's a complex section of the car, (as the floor meets the rear seat meets the rear fender meets the door sill meets the rocker panel.

I cut out the rot, and may need to cut more, to gain access to make sure all of the rust is gone.



Over the years, water and dirt had built up (in the section where bottom side of where the drivers side rear fender attaches to the rocker section) had worked it's way into and below the seam sealer applied at the factory.
So, when I peeled up the seam sealer, rust was hiding....



 
#8 ·
Subscribed. and sadly I know exactly what the northeast life will do to a call.

Once owned an '86 4K that had been in VT all of its 226,000 miles... you could put a basketball through one of the holes in the trunk...

Anyway, how's your experience been with POR15... about to tear down a CQ that will need lots of love in various places and I'm looking for a proper primer/paint/sealant. Thanks! :cheers:

edit: POR15 would be for suspension, interior surfaces, not exterior body.
 
#9 ·
I love POR15, but unless they recently changed it, it cannot be used on its own in direct sunlight (need to use a topcoat)
There's sections of this car that I used it on back 14 years ago...and it is still holding up.
 
#10 ·
sepp said:
I love POR15, but unless they recently changed it, it cannot be used on its own in direct sunlight (need to use a topcoat)
There's sections of this car that I used it on back 14 years ago...and it is still holding up.
I've heard the same about UV issues, but thanks for the info!
 
#11 ·
Check this stuff out; it's the only product I will use for bare/rusty metal.
http://masterseriesct.com/
It was originally developed for railroad car paint to resist weather and graffiti. It will resist chem solvent or salt water spray like no other paint. It's been in industry use for 30+years, long before POR 15. I've used both products; this paint far exceeds POR 15. The primer is silver and is a 1 part moisture cured epoxy; it can be used as a top coat with 3 coats. Or use it with their line of 2 part epoxy paint as a finish coat; comes in different colors. The primer bonds directly to any corrosion not seen and seals it completely. It's great to work with; impossible BTW to remove from skin when cured.
 
#12 ·
oil_me said:
Check this stuff out; it's the only product I will use for bare/rusty metal.
http://masterseriesct.com/
It was originally developed for railroad car paint to resist weather and graffiti. It will resist chem solvent or salt water spray like no other paint. It's been in industry use for 30+years, long before POR 15. I've used both products; this paint far exceeds POR 15. The primer is silver and is a 1 part moisture cured epoxy; it can be used as a top coat with 3 coats. Or use it with their line of 2 part epoxy paint as a finish coat; comes in different colors. The primer bonds directly to any corrosion not seen and seals it completely. It's great to work with; impossible BTW to remove from skin when cured.
Interesting. Seems like there are plenty of good choices. Thanks for the tip!
 
#15 ·
Oh, man I'm feeling your auto body pain, not so much the rust!
 
#16 ·
Thanks for the kind words!
Yes...the rust....very unfortunate, but it can always be worse.
At least it will all be repaired, and I plan to ensure the car doesn't rust again.

I cant get much done during the week, so I try to make the best of the weekends...
Progress is going so very slow.

I laid down a coat of enamel on the front passenger side foot well.
The gas in the tank was 5 years old, so out it went...and into the F150. It'll run on anything.



I scored a perfect set of door pockets, and a NLA windshield gasket!



And due to a hand injury, I spent a few hours sorting through the boxes of parts. I remember where most of them go.

 
#17 ·
G60syncro said:
Definitely checking this out... I remember the thread from way back on Fourtitude... You were also in the audio gear/musician's section I believe... Good to see this thing is still alive!

Karl
Ohh heck yeah!
I love this car.
I love working on it every chance I get.
 
#18 ·
I had no idea you were here in Portland!!!

If you need help, parts or contacts let me know. Plus I would like to come over and hump the car at some point..... :slap:
 
#19 ·
Thanks Brother!
There's 6 Quattros I know of in the PDX area....but have only seen one being driven.
Seen a few 4k's and a few coupes as well.

I'l be doing the timing belt/water pump soonish....so I might be asking for helpful hints.
 
#20 ·
I have tools and have done many water pumps and belts..

I know of 3 urq's that are not being driven and hidden in pdx.. and only one other.. ive seen 3 leave here since i moved here in 2012. Hopefully Ill have one soon too
 
#23 ·
Driggs said:
Yup.. Well I havent seen it but i know where it resides. :)
I plan to go visit it again and give it a hug...and take some pics of it. :D

Meanwhile.
Getting the car prepped for a visit from a mobile automobile welding business.
Removed the front fenders so the A pillar sections below the hood line can be welded.



There was a little bit of rust in the cover section under the front passenger side fender.
The rust has been removed and will be welded back into place. (It's currently flipped up just above the tire)



And also repair a badly repaired (in the past) upper fender mount)



Even though both A pillar sections below the hood line had rust holes, only the drivers side had some additional rust holes in the area just behind that.
So, it's been cut out, and will get cleaned up and repaired.



While I was getting rid of the last pieces of carpet padding up under the footwell in the dashboard area, I noticed some hydraulic fluid on the actuator arm boot of the clutch master cylinder....on a positive note, it's a great time to change it out as everything is out of the way!!



Most of the floorpan and the transmission tunnel are nice and shiny black!! Can't paint anymore until some holes are patched.



I cut out a section of where the drivers side rear fender meets the rocker panel, meets the floor pan. The piece is upside down in the shot, but one can see the lip on the left is badly damaged by unfortunate jacking. The lip split away from the matched lip on the floor pan. The seam became vulnerable to water, snow, salt, etc and rusted from the inside the seam, up into the fender, rocker panel and the floor pan. All of this went on for decades unnoticed underneath carpet and paint.



With that piece cut out, I was able to see the horrific state of the rusty area from the backside. On the left of the photo is what's left of where the B pillar meets the floor pan and frame rail. lower right is the battery box.
One can see where the rust had crept upwards from the floor pan lip.
As bad as that looks, that is the worst spot on the car. And fixable. And will be out of site once completed.

 
#24 ·
Between the car being parked outside, it being wintertime with lots of rain and a busy schedule...the progress is glacial.

But, I was able to remove all of the rubberized coating in the drivers side wheel well to ensure that there was no rust hiding anywhere.
It was nice and clean underneath.
A shot of self etching primer and it's good to go for a little while.



I did the same for the inside area of the front fenders.





The welder is lined up to come next week and get the holes filled in!!
 
#26 ·
:drool:

:heart:
 
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