Automobiles Forum banner

85 URQ Joins

95K views 417 replies 51 participants last post by  team illuminata 
#1 ·
This is my new to me 85 URQ I recently purchased from a friend. He was very kind to store the car over the winter at his facility till the weather was more conducive for driving it the 90 minutes to my shop. Great guy, thanks again for a great car.

[Edit] SORRY some of the early pictures have been moved so the links are broken but go to the latest pages for current pictures and activity.











So here is what I know about the car according to the previous owner:

"One of the best examples of the classic ur quattro available. Very rare Canadian car. Original Tornado Red paint with black leather interior. 1 of only 17 quattros imported to Canada in 1985! Desirable and rare non-sunroof version. 167,000 KM. Clear Michigan title. Retains original metric instruments - I did not convert anything when I imported this car to the USA.

Over the course of the past 3 years, this car has been totally sorted out by Phil at Auto Europe in Birmingham. Phil was an Audi mechanic back when these cars were brand new. I basically gave him permission to check and correct anything that needed attention. The car was great when I bought it, but it's even better now! New hard fuel lines, clutch and slave cylinders, hydraulic bomb, alternator, starter, water pump, timing belt. tires, battery, master cylinder, rear differential bushing, center driveshaft bearing, etc., etc. The car has a modified head and a modified ECU to allow use of the Euro wastegate spring. A joy to drive. This must be what it was like to drive one of these cars brand new. No rattles or squeaks. Strong performer."


Certainly couldn't take issue with any of that and I've known the PO for a few years as a customer at my shop and when I worked at Auto Europe. I was just starting to think about buying a classic when this showed up. I thought I might import an Opel Manta from Europe. That's the car I had when I moved to the US around 20 years ago. I thought it was time to get one back. But then I saw this and it was obvious this was the car I should have. I grew up watching Group B rally in the forests in England and the quattro has always been my favorite Group B monster. Just the noise alone is enough to get my heart racing. Indeed, as I like to tell people, this car is why I now own a motorsports business and race RallyCross, autocross etc. Plus, it would be good that the car stay in Michigan where Curt could keep an eye on it.

I've had the car here for a couple of months now and driven it a number of times. My goals for the car are to keep it in its original condition while fixing some of its issues and not-quite-original features. My list is already long but does not reflect the condition of the car but my mental condition of list making and nit-picking. Here are the highlights of what needs attention IMHO:

Oil change DONE
Passenger door lock inoperative FIXED
Driver's window seal loose
Handbrake boot fits poorly
Fuel leak smell FIXED
Passenger window sticks at 2" drop FIXED
Pass seat adjuster loose
Vent broken center dash REPLACED
Passenger door pocket coming away FIXED
Rear diff damp-reseal
Right rear wheel creaks
Wipers slow
Gearbox play, mounts?
Rust spots, leading edge of hood, and fender in engine bay TREATED
Wrong headlights
A/C removed, engine bay, replace
Trunk carpet screws missing
Engine under tray missing right side REPLACED
Radio too new and blingy
Upper front strut mounts loose
Rear brake lines rusty
Front ball joints
Lower control arm bushings iffy
Left front cv boot getting brittle REPLACED
Volts-volt and oil temp meters behave oddly
Door carpet coming away FIXED
Non-original steering wheel REPLACED
Trunk strut inoperative. REPLACED
Key fob light
Exhaust crooked
Jack missing
Speaker cover loose FIXED
Non-original speakers

EDIT-keep reading for details of these fixes and others.

I might need help with some of these. Prepare yourselves for many questions. Obviously some of these are urgent and necessary, others trivial nit-picking but you can't beat having a list. I'm sure it will grow rather than shrink even if I do check some off.

I still find it immensely ironic that, considering that I'm so into rally, have a rally related business and love to drive sideways that I bought a car that I can neither drive in the snow or on the dirt. I guess I'll have to limit my fun to wet roundabouts, the three or four that exist in SE Michigan. I may do the odd autocross in it or maybe a track day. Do they have track days for classics? I already took it round Waterford Hills track at the recent track day but only during the parade laps at lunchtime. Twas quite fun. Probably, this is what I'll do most with the car. Just take it to local motorsport events and shows so people can enjoy seeing it. I am going to slap some BRAID wheels on it and a discreet windshield banner in white "BRAIDUSA.com" though as it has to earn it's keep somehow.

These are the wheels that are on the boat right now. What do you think?



I chose them because they are very reminiscent of the works wheels used on the S1, at least in my opinion. I ordered them in the same specs as the originals. I'll use the Kumho 225/50-15 tires that came on the OE Ronals. Curt also gave me a set of BFG 215/50-15 which was the OE size but I'm not sure what to do with those yet.

Hopefully I'll remember to update this page with news of the cars development and outings. Meanwhile, if you have any questions or suggestions let me know. I'm all ears.
 
See less See more
7
#402 ·
Well, the diff project is done, not without with some casualties. Read on……….

Our friend Carlos, a venerated old car genius, made a jig for the press to keep everything aligned while pressing in the notorious pair of small sub frame bushings. The large pair went in like you'd hope a bushing went in: easily.



Well that didn't work and we destroyed one $50, only available from Germany bushing. Apparently there is always a 50% failure rate when pressing these in which is why we had a spare!



So we gave up with the jig and just used a bolt down the middle and lots and lots of patience. This took several attempts with each bushing as we eye-balled them intensely looking for any sign of them starting to twist.



Once they are happy they go in nicely, like you'd expect but the slightest mis-alignment causes them to rotate and if you persist, distort. It was a bit stressful as ruining one more would set us back a month. Once in we soon had the diff mounted in the sub-frame again.



Before we could reinstall the assembly in the car we still had one more bit of housekeeping to perform. One rather rough inner CV joint. Fortnately you can still get these from an OE supplier and we were able to work on it still attached to the car, though it was a little dark under there. Once cleaned the old CV joint came off with some elbow grease and a puller.



We assembled the new joint on the bench and packed it full of grease.



Then drove it home with a drift. They are surprisingly tight on the axle splines.



Then we were finally ready to throw this thing back in the car and tighten everything back up





Except for the lower control arm bushings off course, which have to be tightened with the car on the ground. Unless you have some BRAID wheels lying around that is. Don't try this without proper wheels!



And of course, don't forget to put some nice diff lube in it.



By then it was 1am so we waited till the next day to take it for a test drive



Before returning it to the stable with its friends.



Now the car needs an alignment and a tune. Still have some hesitation under load.
 
#403 ·
HELP ME CHOOSE SOME TIRES.

The Kumho all seasons (no seasons) that are on the car are done so it's time for some new rubber. The stock size of 215/50-15 is NLA in anything affordable and streetable so it's going to be 225/50-15 again. The car does not see winter so summer tires are a must. I don't track it but want the most grip I can afford in case I have to stop or swerve in a hurry. They should look cool or period or both. Treadwear is a non-issue as these will age out before they wear out.

I've narrowed it down to 4 but can't quite decide:

P ZERO TROFEO R $169



PROXES R888 $138



PROXES R888R $140



PROXES RA1 $189

 
#404 ·
The car is running but not perfectly (more later) so I have been taking every opportunity to drive it and pose around in it. Took it to the post office:





A cars and coffee or two:







Parked in in the driveway:



and at the showroom:





I even parked it outside the local Audi dealer:



This really is the key to happiness.

 
#405 ·
Took the car to AutoEurope in Birmingham for:

new tires
alignment
detailing
dent removal

Now so clean. Hadn't been cleaned for three years!







They did a great job. Shame it's parked back in the showroom and not in my drive.



Next on the agenda is to address the hesitation under load at around 3-4000rpm. Any ideas?
 
#406 ·
MORE CONCOURS PREP FOR THE QUATTRO

With only a few weeks to go before the Concours of America we thought we better get in stuck and fix some issues with the car so we got it into surgery:



Where we removed the TIM and BRAID stickers we have had on the car since we got it:



Put the stock steering wheel back on:



Put the stock wheels back on:



And found the right screws for the trunk carpet that covers the fuel tank:



Although it's not really concours related we did want to replace the valve lifters in the head as one or two sound as if they are sticking lately.





Maybe this was the culprit. It was in about the right position considering where the noise was coming from.



Then off to Auto Europe to get it detailed, with a month to spare!

 
#407 ·
Well, what a day we had at the Concours d'Elegance of America last Sunday. This is the first time the car has been accepted to a concours event and our first too so we had no idea what to expect. It's scertainly not like RallyCross! With 11 year old tyres and a nice shiny car we decided the sensible option was to tow the car to the event, even though it was only an hour away. The "Rig Lot" was a bit of a zoo but we found a spot and unloaded without any issues, though the rather expensive looking Daimler being unloaded from a box truck next to us made us a bit more than nervous.



The show was held at the Inn of St. John's in Plymouth, Michigan and was only a couple of miles away from the rig lot. It was also a beautiful sunny morning so was a nice drive, though rather short. As soon as we got to the entrance the attention started. We were somewhat taken aback as we have never really exposed the car to the wider car loving audience. All the way down onto the field people were stopping in their tracks and taking pictures. Two gentleman, one of whom later turned out to be judging our class, practically jumped up and down waving their arms about!

We were quickly escorted to our "ring" and with help from the two "ring masters" positioned our car in its allotted slot. We were in MD class which apparently stand for "Modern Collectables". We were parked with BMW Z1, Daimler Double Six, Vector M12, Toyota Supra Turbo, Nissan 300ZX, de Tomaso Pantera, Lotus Esprit, Ferrari 308GT4 and a Qvale Mangusta.



Even before the show opened to the public there was a crowd gathered around the car. Then all day long we just stood next to it and fielded question after question. We were amazed by the reception the car received and the number of people who were very aware of them but had never seen one. We were also delighted to see old friends who, of course, were quite familiar with the car.



Upon returning from lunch were we thrilled to see a ribbon on the windshield. This seemed to mean the car had won something but were weren't sure what.



At first we thought it might be for "Best In Shoe".



But a little investigation revealed that the Vortex had been awarded Best In Class and that our Quattro and the Pantera had won what was described as "Lion Awards". We are going to call it 2nd and 3rd place as indicated by the order we were to drive onto the awards field later but we are still not quite sure. If anyone asks we were 2nd in class as far as we are concerned. If only Quattros had gullwing doors!





So despite being completely out of our bubble we had a great day. We wouldn't do it every week but it was fun and great to let so many people enjoy the car. Now back to the Quattro rally build.
 
#408 ·
This is awesome! Glad to see it did well at the show!

Now, where can I get a pair of those shoes? :p
 
#409 ·
Before we dropped the car off at Auto Europe for detailing we had been trying to diagnose some running issues. Basically the car would hesitate when transitioning onto boost but otherwise ran pretty good. There are no real diagnostics on these cars and the CIS injection we find baffling but thought we could troubleshoot it. We went ahead and bought a CIS fuel pressure tester kit to check the various fuel pressures in the system.



These fell a little short of optimal so we replaced the fuel pump and fuel filter That did not help much but did make a marginal difference.





We also tested fuel delivery. We had plenty. So, with Auto Europe also being the home of famed Audi guru Phil we suggested they take a look while they had it in for detailing. Well that escalated fast. Phil quickly diagnosed that the frequency valve was not pulsating. He fixed a dodgy previous owner splice in the wiring but unfortunately that didn't bring it back to life. He then attacked the wires at the ECU end and discovered some disturbing previous owner hacks. Firstly there were a bunch of wire nut splice adjacent to the ECU. Then he realised the vacuum input had been tee'd and there were now two inputs! It didn't get any better once he got into the ECU either. There was a second, aftermarket vacuum switch piggy backed onto the original and various pins on the chip were soldered together! Clearly a new ECU was needed to make this car run as intended by the factory.









They managed to find a un-touched and supposedly working ecu from the same year car and threw it in just hours before we picked up the car to take it over to the concours. The car did indeed run and idle much more smoothly than before but exhibited a big backfire the moment it went from vacuum to boost. It also now will not run pat 4000rpm, an issue normally associated with a bad intake air sensor. That was all tested and the wiring repaired during the engine reseal project so it's probably ECU end related. The backfiring stopped when we disconnected the cold start valve. It appears the ecu is using the that to add fuel on boost; way too much fuel. So that is where we are now: the car idles and runs great up to 4000rpm but then the ecu cuts fuel. We may just drive it like this till the season ends and then let Phil have at it as this car has been off the road far too much these past few years. Let's see how that goes.
 
#410 ·
team illuminata said:
They managed to find a un-touched and supposedly working ecu from the same year car and threw it in just hours before we picked up the car to take it over to the concours. The car did indeed run and idle much more smoothly than before but exhibited a big backfire the moment it went from vacuum to boost. It also now will not run pat 4000rpm, an issue normally associated with a bad intake air sensor. That was all tested and the wiring repaired during the engine reseal project so it's probably ECU end related. The backfiring stopped when we disconnected the cold start valve. It appears the ecu is using the that to add fuel on boost; way too much fuel. So that is where we are now: the car idles and runs great up to 4000rpm but then the ecu cuts fuel. We may just drive it like this till the season ends and then let Phil have at it as this car has been off the road far too much these past few years. Let's see how that goes.
The MAC 02 has no control over the cold start valve, none whatsoever.
Cold start is triggered by the large sensor on the back of the head via power from starter solenoid.
There might be even more hacking than you thought.

As for 4k rpm cutout, there are 2 things that cause this condition

- Intake temp sensor
- Idle switch.

Hope this helps
 
#411 ·
One of the backfire's we mentioned in a previous post must have been so severe it blew a hole in the exhaust system! This was already hacked up by a previous owner who removed the silence and clad the baffled inner pipe but left the rear box end on as a pipe hanger. Temporary fix.





The original floor mats started to dissolve! Apparantly this happens after 35 years. New replacements were sourced from Germany.





We were visited by the Dirtfish tractor trailer on their way back from the east coast. Photo op!



Could resist this.



DIY Auto invited us to the Woodward Drean Cruise press launch







We just had to try our BRAID SERIE 4 wheels off the rally Quattro. 15x10 et0 with 265 Michelin TB5 tires. I think we understand why the Group B cars had wide bodies.





Of course the obvious nex thing to do was try the gravel rally setup from the rally car. They fit better but are still quite a bit taller than stock.





Our 034 Motorsport shift link bushing are so accurate a replic of the factory units that they too dislove after 5 years. The day before a car show of course. Fortunately we had another on the rally Quattro that wasn'y exactly need right now. We'll have to come up with a better solution for that car, and this one in five years time.





RADWOOD came to Detroit in September so we dragged three cars there and the dog and pony show.





The last outing of 2019 was a cars and coffee at AUDI ROCHESTER. Man it was cold.





After the cars and coffee took thae car to our Quattro guru Phil to get it running right. Unfortunately a leak down test suggested cylinder 4 had some issues. Engine out for a bottom end rebuild!













 
#412 ·
It's Back!

Sorry it’s been so long since we updated this project but, thanks mostly to COVID, there was nothing much to update.

Last time we talked was back in June of 2020 when we’d just decided to rebuild the bottom end of the engine. Phil, our URQ guru stripped it down while we shopped around for an engine shop that could and would do the work. The first place we took it did not give me the warm and fuzzies so, after a couple of weeks of unreturned phone calls we scurried back there and retrieved the block and crank.

Then the search was on for another shop and we were referred to Automotive Machine in Fraser, Michigan. When we deposited the block on their counter the owner said “Is that out of a Quattro? I love those things” and we knew we had come to the right place.

Unfortunately COVID slowed engine work right down and finding parts took forever too. We had closed down our building and moved everything into storage so spent a lot of time working from home. We busied ourselves recreating pictures in 1:18 scale models and the continuous search for elusive Quattro engine parts.





We needed to search for second oversize pistons and rings and 2nd undersized crank bearings. We finally found a set of pistons in Germany but when we opened the box were surprised to find that the rings had “Made in Hastings, Michigan” on the box”!

Meanwhile the months were ticking by and come November we had a new building. We dragged the car, sans engine, back from Phil’s and gave it pride of place in the new showroom.





Yes folks; that’s carpet! Posh us now.

As the car would soon be back to fully running condition (yeah, right) we took the opportunity to replace the tires. It had 3 year old Toyo RA1s on it but we were never quite happy with the size of 225/50-15 and thought they would be much happier on the rear of the 911. Plus, Pirelli had just reintroduced their period correct P7000 tires in the correct 215/50-15 size so it was a no brainer. They just had to come from England, that’s all. Worth it though.







Now the race was on the get the car done before they aged out. Yes, we thought we were joking too!

Slowly, bit by bit, parts started showing up









Until, finally, in June 2021 we picked up the finished block and crank!



We hurried them over to Phil’s so he could start the reassembly process.





However, it wasn’t till next April that we got the call that the engine was fully assembled and Phil needed the car. We couldn’t get it over there quick enough.

 
#413 ·
Over the next few weeks we got a few tantalizing pictures from Phil of the engine nestling back into the engine bay until in mid-May we got the call we’d been waiting for for nearly two years: “your Quattro is ready to pick up”! With the aid of a friend who was dropping his 911 off for some "Philtention" we ran out there to drive back a running Quattro for the first time in almost two years. It didn’t disappoint.











So what do you do with a running Audi Quattro in the summer? Take it to as many cars and coffee events as you can and forget to take pictures of it off course. Here’s a few. Must try harder LOL







More to come………….
 
#414 ·
We’ve had fun sharing our Quattro, with its newly rebuilt engine with people all summer and fall but it’s not been all plain sailing. Read on…

One duty we didn’t expect to put the car through was as a grocery getter but, as needs must sometimes we loaded it up with supplies for a function at our showroom and even sent it to FedEx Store to pickup some printing. We don’t think it minded too much.





Of course we continued to take it to local car meets where it is always popular. We seem to like parking it next to it’s younger siblings, or are they more like offspring?







We even took an opportunity to photograph it outside our local Audi dealership when they weren’t looking.





Perhaps the highlight of the year for it was The Woodward Dream Cruise week and its involvement with the associated Woodward Rally Cars club events.



 
#415 ·
As a final fling we got brave enough to dirive the car two hours north to the NOWO car show in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Where it received a lot of attention.







That trip was enough to prompt its first oil change so up on the hoist it went.





Also, as we had it trapped, we decided to address its somewhat poor running characteristics. It was struggling to run smoothly on boost and was definitely running rich at idle. The problem was that without a wide band o2 sensor on the car we didn’t know how rich or when. We had to address that in a subtle and reversible manner of course. We borrowed the AEM wide band sensor and gauge destined for our Quattro rally car, if we ever finish it, and ordered up a clamp-on bung for the sensor. We put the sensor after a spare, gutted CAT we had and in a part of the exhaust that will likely get replaced soon, so no harm done.



Then we temporarily rigged up the gauge and a power supply and fired it up.







Indeed it was running very rich at startup and once warm and on the road. We spent a few days test driving and fiddling with the idle screw and mixture screw and eventually got it to behave somewhat. It still isn’t quite perfect on boost but at least it’s not too rich or worse, too lean. Still, we were quite surprised how much we had to back off the mixture screw to get it in the zone so maybe there is something else going on but, If you didn’t know what we did to get it where it is now you’d say it was behaving pretty nicely. We would have continued to refine the “tune” but someone dumped a million pounds of salt on our roads so now it’s quarantined till April. Not to worry; there’s a long list of other projects we can tackle. We’ll fill you in as we get stuck into those.

Before it got stranded in the workshop we did get chance to grab a picture with almost all the fleet together outside. Just need to finish that damned rally Quattro.

 
#416 ·
OUT OF HIBERNATION

When we left you back in January, we’d put the car away for the winter in pretty good shape with it running quite well. Before we got it out again, we thought we’d fix the horrible grinding noise coming from the passenger window regulator so we pulled the door card off and wrestled it out of the door.





Once we got into the mechanism, we found that the cable had stretched and jumped the spiral tracks on the pulley. We realized we had to replace the cable.



In order to get the cable out we had to disassemble the glass holder from the slider track. This meant drilling out the rivet from the bottom pulley wheel. Disconnecting the cable from the drive pulley and glass holder, making a new cable then reassembling it all. It was a lot of work but we managed it, with some help.





Assembly was the reverse of disassembly, after a lot of cleaning.



After popping it back in we decided the car deserved a new vapor barrier.



We celebrated by showing off our power window at some local car events.



 
#417 ·
DETAILING, PAINT CORRECTION & CERAMIC COATING

We entered the car for the DeutscheMarques car show at the Gilmore Car Museum. DeutscheMarques is the largest German car show in America and the Gilmore Car Museum is an automobile museum located in Hickory Corners, Michigan, about a two-hour drive from us. The museum exhibits over 400 vintage and collector vehicles and motorcycles from all eras in several vintage buildings located on a 90-acre campus. The museum claims to be the largest automobile museum in North America. So just a little bit a very prestigious event!

Therefore, we thought we should probably get the car detailed as it has been touched by anyone armed with more than a bucket of warm water for a good few years. We entrusted the car to our friends (yes, literally) at Auto Europe in Birmingham and actually scheduled it for a full detail, paint correction and ceramic coating. We were amazed by the results. The only down side is that we are now too nervous to touch the car, it looks so good.





Besides the Quattro we also entered our 911 rally car, the Cayenne Timsyberia and the 85 911. It was still dark when we set off; or, should we say tried to set off.



Because it was so early it was a little chilly so we decided to put the windows up. The driver’s side went up but the passenger side, the one we’d just fixed, made al the noises but didn’t budge. We’d gone literally 10yds. We drove back inside and took the door car off to diagnose the problem. Hopefully we could still go though it had started to drizzle outside. We definitely needed the window up even if it didn’t go down again.

Once inside we discovered the motor was spinning but the cable seemed to have detached from the regulator. We eased the window into the up position and clamped it there with some vice grips; slapped the door card back on and set off, an hour late.



Although we arrived an hour later than intended the show hadn’t yet started so it wasn’t a problem. We still found a great spot to park, next to a couple of other Tornado Red icons as it turned out.









As it happened they were no match for our “Best of the 1980s AUDI”.



It was good that we fixed the passenger window in the up position rather than down as it poured down all the way back to hour showroom which took 2 hours. When we got back, we took everything apart again and discovered the crimps on the drive wires had failed so now we need to rebuild it again only better this time.

NORTHVILLE

The last outing of 2023 for the car was a small concours event held in Northville, Michigan. This was fairly unique in that it was judged by high school students. Needless to say, they were younger than almost all the cars there. We didn’t win but we had fun anyway and, unusually, weren’t the only Quattro in attendance.









 
#418 ·
TEAM ILLUMINATA MOTORSPORT 2023 FLEET REVIEW

85 QUATTRO: 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.



84 911 RALLY CAR: 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.



83 QUATTRO RALLY BUILD: 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.



89 944 TURBO: 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): 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): 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!

 
Top