Summer Road Trip and the North Coast 500

[Dan617]

Its been a while since I logged in here so thought I'd post a thread about recent events with the Coupe and the summer road trip that followed a fair bit of work to keep the car as it deserves to be kept.



Firstly, after a few weeks of work and some late nights, the following parts were replaced or upgraded. Only upgrades or original parts used.

Shock absorbers all round (Bilstein Sports)
Strut top mounts and bump stops
Discs and Pads all round (Pagid Parts)
Rear Calipers and brackets replaced
Full exhaust including Cat and Lambda sensor (what a difference that made to performance and economy)
Complete rear axle bushes

The front wishbone bushes and links were replaced last summer, however in prep for this years MOT in October, I am psyching myself up to re-bush the front subframe and wishbones... any advice on doing the subframe greatly appreciated...

Should have taken more photos of the work I've done but when I get going on a job I end up in a world of my own and forget such things!



As worn as the rear brake look above, they still worked fine!! However a thorough clean up, new calipers, and complete fluid change returned the brakes to how they should be performing.



The bushes were done at this point too. Really noticed a difference from the first drive!

The first part of the summer road trip was to head to RAF Fairford for the Royal International Air Tattoo via the Lake District. Some great roads and the Air Show made the drive down the M6 worthwhile. The Red Arrows were spectacular to say the least. Also took the time to pop into an old haunt, RAF Halton for a visit to the Trenchard Museum. After that it was over to Cambridge for the night and a visit to Duxford Air Museum, then Yang Sings in Manchester for Chinese(the best EVER) and a walk and lunch the following day in Kirkby Lonsdale on the journey north again.



Back to work for a while then, despite hearing warnings about it being too busy, headed over to the west coast, in particular, Dornie for the Eilean Donan, Skye and Applecross. I've not spent much time in this area of Scotland prior to this but its safe to say I'll be back. Awesome!



Skye near Uig.



The sunset at Applecross was just incredible. Luckily, my other half shares the same affection for the Coupe who she has named 'Bruce'!!



The last leg of our trip was to head to Smoo caves but we stopped for too many photos and missed the last tour. You can still get into some of it when its closed though.



This was made up for by being able to spend late afternoon on one of the most stunning beaches I have even seen (Durness) then heading up to Tongue for an overnight stop where the locals made us very welcome. A great night out!

Anyone thinking of doing the North Coast 500... I can heartily recommend it, especially in a classic Audi. We didn't do the full 500, opting to take the A836 from Tongue through Altnaharra and back to Inverness. Had to get back to work!



Between us, we took loads of photo's, probably over 2000 by now, there were just so many amazing sights along the way. All in all, this summer we covered 2086 miles in the Coupe and reached a height of 2054 feet on the road to Applecross, which is apparently the steepest climb in the UK.

Anyone who enjoys driving, please consider this:

http://www.northcoast500.com/

[mackenzie50]

Lovely photos, glad you enjoyed the Northwest..
Some of us have been up there in our Audis fairly recently, in a mix of S2 and Classic Audi forum members.
That wee road from where you took the pics of Uig bay on Skye- there's a graveyard a spit away from where your car is parked.
That's where all my family (me too eventually ) get planted!

[audi80fan]

Good times

[John.]

Nice looking coop that!

Can relate to your enthusiasm about the places visited.

[John.]

Originally Posted by mackenzie50

Some of us have been up there in our Audis fairly recently, in a mix of S2 and Classic Audi forum members.

A year ago almost!

[John.]

Originally Posted by Dan617

......I am psyching myself up to re-bush the front subframe and wishbones... any advice on doing the subframe greatly appreciated...

Don't put it off would be my advice, as they're prone to corrosion the longer you leave it the more chance there is of having to replace or repair it.
I put mine off for a while but the reality was that it wasn't as bad a job to do as I thought it would be..........I don't think I swore once?!
I fitted poly bushes to both subframe and wishbones but I'm going to re-do the wishbones with standard rubber type.

Your car looks very nice by the way, liking the before and after pics of the rear.

[vorsprung durch technik]

Originally Posted by Dan617

Anyone who enjoys driving, please consider this:

http://www.northcoast500.com/

Love the photos and have been on some of those roads and as you say they are fantastic and i too will be back.

I've been a member of that northcoast 500 what's your take on it?

[cjp0349]

An Audi Coupe called Bruce

What are the odds!

[vorsprung durch technik]

Originally Posted by cjp0349

An Audi Coupe called Bruce

What are the odds!

I thought that but didn't want to say.........

[missfire]

Originally Posted by mackenzie50

Lovely photos, glad you enjoyed the Northwest..
Some of us have been up there in our Audis fairly recently, in a mix of S2 and Classic Audi forum members.
That wee road from where you took the pics of Uig bay on Skye- there's a graveyard a spit away from where your car is parked.
That's where all my family (me too eventually ) get planted!

Ha, no way, we went up that road a couple of months ago, then found the crazy rock formations on the other side of the valley later, up the other road! Amazing geology up there.