Time for an update!
Progress was stifled for a bit between traveling for work and working on fixing my wife's A4 (which decided it really didn't like having straight valves one day). Ended up getting a "new" engine w/ 13k miles on it for a few hundred dollars more than it would have cost for just a new head and the parts to swap it out. One evening after work to get the old one out, and another evening to get the new one in. With that done, the garage and my time are once again free to work on the lifted Coupe.
First off, I needed to deal with my axle length issue. I popped the passenger side front axle out of the outer CV while pulling out of my driveway, which made it quite clear I needed to either chop and lengthen the axle shafts or make some axle spacers. I like being able to bolt on replacement parts as much as possible, so I opted for spacers.
I'm going to start posting pics of the drawings for the custom parts I make. I've already had a few questions about dimensions I didn't keep/take pictures of the sketches of, so maybe this will be useful to somebody someday.
I ended up making mine 3/4" thick.
Started w/ 1" slices of 4.25" round 6061 aluminum bar stock
Machined
Drilled
Installed
While I was in there I fixed the axle that pulled out of the CV, and took the opportunity to pull the front strut assemblies back out for some modification: Trimming the bottoms for axle clearance, and installing shock boots + bump stops (the parts hadn't arrived by the time I wanted to put it all together last time so they have been sitting on the bench waiting).
Strut housing modification:
Hopefully this is enough.
Welded it back up
Then paint, boots + bump stops, and back in the car for hopefully the last time
Next up is fabricating the rear tie rods. With using the offset control arm + ball joints to center the rear wheels in the arches, I found I needed shorter rear tie rods to get the correct alignment. Unfortunately the rear control arms for these things are cast, which means chopping and welding them shorter is not a good option. Alternatively I could do the super fancy billet aluminum + spherical thing, but those are expensive AND I'm trying to keep rubber bushing in the suspension so it stays relatively comfortable to drive.
Instead, I came up with a cunning plan to modify a couple of front tie rod assemblies for use in the rear. At $21 each on Rock Auto it's by far the cheapest option too.
The measurement for the new ones worked out to removing 12" from the front tie rod to make it work in the rear.
When I went to test fit the pieces before welding them up, I discovered a snag in my plan: different tie rod end attachment sizes front and rear. I had assumed they were the same. Luckily they are the same taper angle, just a different diameter so they can be adapted with a machined steel bushing.
Welded, painted, and assembled:
Adapter bushings
Installed - they work great!
