View Full Version : Widearch classic conversion


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StickyMicky
04 December 2007, 20:25
1st things 1st ;)
remove rear 1/4 panel Ariel so i can offer up the rear arch and check for fitment.
fits kinda close but will need blended.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1041.jpg
a few quick trims and the rear arch is fine
you can see how much wider the 22b is with this shot, the closed rear door is holding the arch on lol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1042.jpg
now, the rear door skin needs some prep work, the door handle recess is not cut out, so lets make a start on that with some holes and a hacksaw blade (forgot i had a cutoff tool?!?!)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1206.jpg
this is time consuming, but eventually you will be able to bolt the rear handle on like this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1255.jpg
view from the outside
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1256.jpg
right, whip the handle back off and lets offer up the rear doorskin to the car to check the pannel gaps, its pretty close, but its still a bit off at one part :(
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1433.jpg
give it a bit of a file down in places and see if we can improve things
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1434.jpg
better, but still not perfect, the curve of one of the parts is a little off, hopefully i can jiggle the rear door latch a little to even things out.
now the door handle was tried with the new skin taped onto the car and it interfered a little bit (at least i think it did)
this can only mean one thing, its cutting time :D right now, this is the point of no return, this bit was a bit of a head stamp, do i? dont i? do i? dont i ?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1604.jpg
lets cut the rear door to smithereens :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1605.jpg
what i was left with :shock:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1609.jpg
lets not waste any time, get the adhesive on the go, this stuff i bought from a plastic manufacturing company, they said it will work, we shall see!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1622.jpg

get the fettled skin and stick it on, refit the window seal to help clamp the top down and tape up the rest to help it cure in position
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1645.jpg
now i rushed the next part and forgot to take any pics, basically i worked out where i needed to cut and glue, and set myself away, the cutoff tool disc snapped :roll: so i couldn't cut the metal right off and weld up the gap, but i have enough room under the arch to sort this out tomorrow.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1709.jpg
bond it all on and tape it all up so it can set for the next 24 hours, will remove the rear wheel tomorrow, and finish off under the arch with the cutting and welding, then seal all the underside up.
will continue this later :D just ordered my new 18" wheels with et35 offset :D

beef-on-the-bone
04 December 2007, 20:40
don't think i've got the balls to do that!!!

good luck tho!!

i see you have wide arches on the front, what make are they, cost etc???
did the car look odd with just the front done???
it's easy to imagine what mine would look like as i have exactly the same!!

StickyMicky
04 December 2007, 20:58
dont get me wrong, this is the first time i have done this myself LOL

the fronts are "do-luck front blister fenders", pretty similar to 22b but not quite as wide and a slightly different shape. around £330 from the american ebay

it did look a bit odd at first. but i spaced the standard wheels out 5mm at the front and 6mm at the rear and it all looked lots better.


here is the car outside work all taped up on the 16" standard wheels (spaced 6mm at the rear)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1740.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/04-12-07_1740.jpg)

bioforger
04 December 2007, 21:18
u got big sticky balls mick.

Puff The Magic Wagon!
04 December 2007, 21:27
Gis your 16s :D

stevebt
04 December 2007, 21:59
Your definately getting good at this micky :D

StickyMicky
04 December 2007, 22:07
Gis your 16s :Dsomebody from this forum gave them to me for nothing:thumb:

sent me a PM saying he knew where i worked and do i want a set of standard wheels for free as they were corroded and he had sold his car.

rubbed them down and painted them "copper" :D


flogging the 17" legacy wheels if you fancy them>?

mickywrx
04 December 2007, 22:47
Micky, you're nuts, in a good way.

I wouldn't have the balls to fit that kit myself.

Looking good so far. :notworthy

Top work mate. :thumb:

Wonder Wagon
04 December 2007, 23:06
http://ccgi.rallytrader.plus.com/forum/images/smiles/a_scratchchin.gif So you didn't need any primer for the adhesive then?? http://ccgi.rallytrader.plus.com/forum/images/smiles/c_anxious.gif

StickyMicky
04 December 2007, 23:11
http://ccgi.rallytrader.plus.com/forum/images/smiles/a_scratchchin.gif (http://ccgi.rallytrader.plus.com/forum/images/smiles/a_scratchchin.gif) So you didn't need any primer for the adhesive then?? http://ccgi.rallytrader.plus.com/forum/images/smiles/c_anxious.gif (http://ccgi.rallytrader.plus.com/forum/images/smiles/c_anxious.gif)

nope!!!

just scuffed up the surfaces to be bonded with 80gritt paper ;)

bighead
05 December 2007, 01:16
Brave man :)

StickyMicky
05 December 2007, 17:32
Unfortunately i did not get much done today.

Went into work early, to take of the masking tape

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/05-12-07_0742.jpg

took a photo from the front to show how well the 22b rears match the do-luck fronts

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/05-12-07_0743.jpg

the rear doorskins are not getting blended in on my car, they are simply getting bonded over and then repainted, some of the join needed a little tidy up so i went over the join once again with sealer

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/05-12-07_0744.jpg

now the rear arch will need blended, inside the doorshut i`m not to bothered about and will just seal up/repaint the main points that require work are here

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/05-12-07_0745.jpg

it would have been nicer (and a lot less work!!) if the new arches came up to the actual bootshut instead of stopping short.

this is due to be cleaned up and some 2pack epoxy adhesive added to the join, i dont want to start blending stuff yet, as after i read the initial adhesive instructions again, its claimed that it takes 24hours per 1.5mm worth of product to dry fully, none of mine were anywhere near 1.5mm thick so it might take another few days for this to fully harden :shock:

better safe then sorry

i then took a trip to B&Q for some replacement 3" air cut off tool discs, and couldn't find any :(

i had ordered some from ebay on sunday (i was not supposed to start fitting the arches until after xmas, not sure what happened lol)

this means i couldn't finish off under the arch with the cutting and welding, hopefully they arrive tomorrow, i did however pick up some araldite rapid epoxy and a large tin of expanding foam :D

how its sitting at work at the moment, its a shame the white fibreglass gel coat does not match the white paint :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/05-12-07_0901.jpg

New wheels may arrive tomorrow with a bit of luck :D

bighead
05 December 2007, 17:36
which " make" of kits are you fitting mick

StickyMicky
05 December 2007, 17:40
rear arches and door skins came from ABW

the front ones came from advan in the usa ;)

Flo555
05 December 2007, 18:36
Hello i´m from Germany an my English is not the best but i´ve got some questions about the abw Widearch kit.

Do you have got some more pictures ? do you have a lot of work on the chassis to fit it?

StickyMicky
05 December 2007, 18:41
Hello i´m from Germany an my English is not the best but i´ve got some questions about the abw Widearch kit.

Do you have got some more pictures ? do you have a lot of work on the chassis to fit it?

every picture i have taken, i have posted :)

the chassis?

apart from cutting the old rear arches off and around the rear door handles (not fully sure i needed to do that to be honest)

the car pretty much stays the same, you will need wider wheels.

the rest of the chassis stays the same

Flo555
05 December 2007, 22:31
Thank you very mudch.

Chassis was the wrong word.

I mean the rear arches .

N1 project.:thumb:

StickyMicky
06 December 2007, 17:46
Struggled to do much today due to the crazy rain :(


actually i am lying, did LOADS today :D


lets start off

first things first, check out the other rear 1/4 panel and inspect the fuel flap area, some work needed

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_0809.jpg

time to get mr drill out and start punching some holes

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_0812.jpg

then i offered up the fuel flap to see where i should be drilling holes to mount it, i added some masking tape underneath the hinge

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_0820.jpg

a cunning plan :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_0821.jpg

i then took my cunning plan to the next extreme, level and marked out some tape so i knew how far apart the fuel flap hinge mountings holes are

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_0823.jpg

then stuck this down on the tape that shows the hinge point

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_0827.jpg

drill 2 quick holes :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_0832.jpg

"jobs a goodun" actually that was a lie, the holes were miles off :lol: had to re drill them, and punch out the large center hole, soon i was left with this

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_0847.jpg

open

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_0908.jpg

now lets take the rear 1/4 outside to check for fitment against the car

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_0909.jpg

all looks fine so far, at this point the postie arrived with my new 3" cut off tool discs, so i attacked the rear arch like this :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_1031.jpg

this is another cunning plan, grab a pair of grips and pull them outwards like this, making some cute little "tubs" for the new wheels to sit in :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_1033.jpg

at this point i added the expanding foam to the other side arch (the one i did a few days ago) and as i rolled the car outside and put it into a parking bay, a delivery driver arrived with my new wheels :D (awesome timing)

so lets what the new Audi RS4 wheels on and see what we have :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_1112.jpg

bling bling :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_1121.jpg

i then bonded the rear arch on and taped it up to set over night, door skin will be bonded on tomorrow

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_1351.jpg

how the car sits on the other side

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/22b%20rear%20arch%20kit/06-12-07_1352.jpg


:p

911
06 December 2007, 19:29
How wide a wheel have you actually got away with? (and size of tyre).

There are some spacers in the pics, what thickness are those??

Brave work, and great to see someone launch straight into it!

beef-on-the-bone
06 December 2007, 19:37
where you get your fog lights from???

mickywrx
06 December 2007, 20:25
Looking good. :thumb: A1 Plus bodyshop ;)

When did you fit the harnesses? How you finding them?

StickyMicky
06 December 2007, 21:17
How wide a wheel have you actually got away with? (and size of tyre).

There are some spacers in the pics, what thickness are those??

Brave work, and great to see someone launch straight into it!

the wheels are

5x100
et35
8j

225/4018 tyres *i think*

the spacers i have are 5mm and 6mm although they are not fitted with the new wheels at the moment, the front sits fine, maybe the rear could come out a little, stuff like this does not have to be sorted until much further in, at first i thought the car drove like a bag of hammers and had some tram lining but as the tyres got a few miles on them via the drive home it seamed to sort itself out.

it would be easy enough to fit wider rubber if required, the vw offset is pushing the wheels quite far out anyway.

what i did find, was that i could get far more threads into the wheel nots on these wheels compared with the stock subaru ones+spacers, much safer option :)

StickyMicky
06 December 2007, 21:21
Looking good. :thumb: A1 Plus bodyshop ;)

When did you fit the harnesses? How you finding them?

harness`s went in on monday, my drivers seatbelt is pretty much knackerd, i found them a bit of a pain at first but you do get into the "knack" of getting into the car and getting them on fast enough.

pulling out from blind junctions is a bit iffy IMO (need to loosen to lean forward)

still waiting for the flocked dashboard to come back lol

StickyMicky
06 December 2007, 21:25
where you get your fog lights from???


p1 replica covers

iirc the actual lamps are made by "Ring" they have gay angel lights built in but i never hooked them up :lol:

chocolate_o_brian
07 December 2007, 08:51
really enjoyed the read of this micky.

excellent:notworthy

keep it up.

StickyMicky
07 December 2007, 21:27
ok small update.

today i bonded on the other rear door skin and taped it up, i have a small list of things that need "sorted" sometime this weekend/early next week


1.drivers rear door handle rod needs a tweak, sometimes door will not open via handle = easy job, quick bend on the rod

2.both front door latches need moved outwards about 1mm to help the flow of air down the side of the car (panel in front should always overlap the panel at the rear) = going to parents house tomorrow to try and find my hammer drive screwdriver set to sort this out

3.both rear latches probably need a little tweak (not much to be honest) = probably tomorrow at parents house

4.both rear wheels are catching something under hard cornering, i suspect this is the part of the rear 1/4 panel where it meets the rear bumper (loads of room elsewhere) i have put some dabs of paint underneath so i can see which bits get rubbed away

5.fuel flap area needs tidied up and sealed so no water can enter behind the flap and get down the arch causing problems in the future = easy job once the bonding stuff has been set for 48 hours = probably monday while at work

6. fuel flap also needs modified so it still locks! at the moment you can open it by hand and steal my fuel :lol:

7. under the rear arches needs resealed back up = scheduled for next tuesday morning as i may need to do a bit more grinding yet.

SJJura
07 December 2007, 22:56
Looking good

E_M_B
08 December 2007, 10:37
ok small update.


2.both front door latches need moved outwards about 1mm to help the flow of air down the side of the car (panel in front should always overlap the panel at the rear) = going to parents house tomorrow to try and find my hammer drive screwdriver set to sort this out


4.both rear wheels are catching something under hard cornering, i suspect this is the part of the rear 1/4 panel where it meets the rear bumper (loads of room elsewhere) i have put some dabs of paint underneath so i can see which bits get rubbed away



Be careful when you 'try' and adjust the door catches m8..
The bolts are fitted with loctite at the factory, so can be a bit tricky some times..

Also, if you are trying to move the back edge of the front door out to match the new rear door skins, be careful of the door glass not sealing up against the rubber, or elso you will need aer plugs (for the wind noise) and an umberella ( for...well you know :D )

Good idea re; the paint for finding out where's catching at the back..

Good luck m8, and hats off to you for getting stuck in...

StickyMicky
08 December 2007, 11:13
Be careful when you 'try' and adjust the door catches m8..
The bolts are fitted with loctite at the factory, so can be a bit tricky some times..

Also, if you are trying to move the back edge of the front door out to match the new rear door skins, be careful of the door glass not sealing up against the rubber, or elso you will need aer plugs (for the wind noise) and an umberella ( for...well you know :D )

Good idea re; the paint for finding out where's catching at the back..

Good luck m8, and hats off to you for getting stuck in...

i already have my suspicions about the rear wheels catching, the part where the rear bumper meets the 1/4 and bolts up to the wheel arch, i left the standard metal work in at this point as the fibreglass arch also seams to meet up with this section, the rest has more then a good inch between the tyre and the inner arch all round the outside :) especially after i smacked it all about with a hammer :D

i agree with the wind noise, i had thought about it all ready, and had already thought of an even more cunning plan by the time i went to bed last night :D

move the rear door hinges so the door sits a bit further in at the front :)

should be a bit of adjustment on the mounting points somewhere along the line, usually is on cars to adjust them up to spec at the factory?

ps. if i get mine half as tidy as yours i will be happy ;) getting jiggy with the expanding foam is a messy job and a half LOL

E_M_B
08 December 2007, 12:38
You can't adjust the rear doors inwards on the hinges, as the bolts have a shoulder on them to locate them.


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