FRS6 - An Audi RS6 hidden under a 1950 F1 truck

[scrubby2009]

As clever as driving on a street might sound whilst elbow deep in rust repairs... the fantasy fueling me might well involve just a tiny bit of braking at the apex of a corner, just enough to plant the nose and let the rear rotate so you can nail the throttle down, all the while giggling like a schoolgirl. At least that's how I drove the A4 Avant my wife had, when I was alone. Seems infinitely cooler, going at it in a vintage Ford cab! Carry on, watching closely!

[Max Power]

Thanks, Scrubby! An Avant in any Audi looks great I think. And even better when the wife has one that you can push the limits in when you "borrow" it. haha

I've been working on the pedals and under dash bits. The pedal box is a large cast alloy piece that mounts the fly-by-wire accelerator, brake pedal and booster. It uses one bolt location on the under dash frame which worked out great as it puts it where it needs to be in relation to the steering wheel. Thankfully I have all that space between the cab and the steering rack as it's to get used up now pushing the firewall forward to house it all.

While under there I was looking at the Audi heat/cooling assembly. It too mounts off the under dash frame. It doesn't fit it completely but thankfully the housing splits where the fan section mounts. I can have a go at reworking it. I need to add water heated air flow to the windscreen for demisting, this is needed for engineering. But of course I want A/C as well. By using what I have, I know it works and it wont cost me anything other than time and some minor materials.







There will still be mountains of room in front of the middle seat. The block of timber is just supporting the left side while I was eyeing it.



This is the assembly





And all this is just the dash wiring. I'm stoked that it unplugs at the firewall to the engine compartment as well as left and right side A-pillars to the body harnesses. The previous Audi I worked on did not do this and it was a major headache swapping a wiring harness that was one piece from headlights to tail lights.

[MrBlonde]

Yeah!

[Max Power]

I'm still at it, despite the slow progress. Lots of head scratching going on lately working out the firewall, the wipers (they need to be converted to RHD), wiring and pedal box. I've got to manage to fit everything in a much smaller space.

I cut what I could of the Audi firewall out, mainly around the pedal box and booster.





and then cut it down to s shape that will work. I sanded it back and have attempted to get it to rust but not a lot of joy in that aspect yet.





I've since been shaping a new firewall out of some surface rusted cold rolled sheet steel that I had. It matches the cab quite well.



The booster in place along with the plastic housing for the ECU. The engine wiring harness goes into that opening on the front and the dash wiring plugs into the under side through another opening.



My aim from here is to tack this section of the firewall in place and then build the rest around it. The left side of the firewall will be a different shape as it is the area where the fan for the under dash A/C is.

I am waiting on new wiper parts from Midfifty to arrive so that I can work out the wiper motor assembly. I am planning to use the 52-53 wiper supports onto the Audi wiper frame and motor.

[jlcustomz]

Like when building a house the main structure goes up pretty quick, then detail work slows it back down.
Progress is looking good though. Keep at it.

[FormTA]

A quick wipe off any acidic drain opener and then water should speed up the rusting on clean parts.

[Max Power]

Am definitely working on fitting out the new house build now. Electrical and plumbing work and the contractors aren't agreeing with each other where what should go where....haha

I tried covering it in lemon juice and leaving it out over a couple of nights. It's started but not what I expected. How come when you don't want it to rust, it does?
I'll try that too, something more caustic.

[jlcustomz]

Want rust, wipe with battery acid.

[Wraith]

Grab some etching wheel cleaner or mag cleaner. You want something with Ammonium Biflouride or Hydroflouric Acid, let it sit, rinse off and rust will start, add water to increase rust.

[Michaels 69]

Interesting build, I like it.

[Max Power]

Cheers guys. I'm getting close to tacking that piece in so will do that over the next few days before I do. I'm not fussed if it doesn't match the sheet metal, but a bit of surface rust would be nice.

I got that top access point for the wiring done along with the mount for the ECU casing. After that I angled the side in and folded the edges.

[blade]

if you do anything with Hydroflouric Acid or any acid for that matter be careful. A little info off of the web for you.

Hydrofluoric acid burns are a unique clinical entity. Dilute solutions deeply penetrate before dissociating, thus causing delayed injury and symptoms. Burns to the fingers and nail beds may leave the overlying nails intact, and pain may be severe with little surface abnormality.Aqueous hydrofluoric acid is a contact-poison with the potential for deep, initially painless burns and ensuing tissue death.

You can get a burn and not even know you have it.

[Max Power]

Thanks, Eddie. I don't have any acid to use anyway. I'm typically over cautious when it comes to protecting my hands. Too many years of cutting them up has taught me that. I need them to make a living so I need to look after them.

[Bob in St. Louis]

A heavy saline solution would be least caustic thing I can think of to make it rust.
Just a thought.

[Styx1967]

Try using the solution at the sit below. It's vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and salt. I have used this to test corrosion resistance at work. It works fast and should do what you are looking for.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Prod...nd-Steel-Safe/

[FormTA]

Any update?

[Max Power]

Unfortunately, not much. Just looked at the dates and damn, 3 months has gone in the blink of an eye. I've been working 3 jobs, 2 of which started about 3 months ago, so there's the reason right there. During that time my car hoist/lift also crapped itself and have only just picked up a new one last week.

I did buy this not long ago. Am going to use the air suspension system from it into the truck. I knew I'd need to swap out the RS6 suspension due to the DRC as well as it being too heavily sprung for the trucks weight. I'm hoping to use all of the original Audi air control parts and management. The physical suspension parts will be a straight swap but I wont know about the management components until I start pulling the Allroad apart.

I wish I had more to report. I've done a little here and there in the evenings but it really isn't much to show. If I have had some spare days, I've been getting out on my dirtbike as often as I can.





For reference, here is the Allroad air suspension system

[jlcustomz]

Well mate, sounds like you're in the same club as most of us. Got this stuff called surface rust on my widebody project sheetmetal, last I even peeked at it.
Sometimes I call a good day getting supper ate before falling asleep.
Progress will happen for us later though. And it will be badass when it does.

[Max Power]

Life definitely gets in the way at times. One of the jobs was only meant to be one day a week but quite often it is two or three. There's that bloody thing called money though that is an evil necessity and it's been a bit scarce this year so earning a bit more is helping.

There is a truck, that is much like the look I was going for, for sale at the moment. Have a look if you're interested.

https://www.facebook.com/OPMFab/posts/2152720465003783

[FormTA]

Would like to see how this is coming along.