Dune MK2 - A2Steve

A2Steve

A2Steve

A2OC Donor
Wales
Having put a lot of effort into my FSI A2 this year (see Black Beauty) I don’t really want to damage it on the flooded, muddy, branch ridden country lanes on my commute to work.

Enter my el-cheapo TDI from @PaulA2.

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Paul responded to my wanted advert for a cheap TDI. He’d recently picked up a cheap TDI that he wanted some spec form for his own car. Having removed this he did me a very generous deal at £400 for the car and it’s cost me £130 delivery. Does TDI A2 driving come cheaper ? It’s a 2005 TDI 75 Special Edition with 165k. No service history and a short MOT but the car looks to have been well maintained.

Some of you may remember the first attempt at a Dune A2 that I built in 2019 (I think).

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I plan to do a very similar thing with this car except the front end will also be raised by about 40mm too.

So the plans are:

- 40mm suspension lift using Fabia springs
- 205/55/16 mud and snow tyres on a set of 5 spokes I have here
- 20mm wheel spacers
- front and rear skid plates
- arches painted Matt black
- 2 x Thule bike carriers for the kids bikes
 
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First job up to address was a nasty knocking on lift-off of the clutch or accelerator. Prior to sale, Paul had kindly identified that the dogbone mount had a sheered bolt at the rear (probably overtightened by the person changing the clutch).

Unfortunately the snapped section was going to be able to be extracted with the subframe in situ. Now jobs like this are normally left to my mechanic friend as he does me very good mates rates, but seeing as he’s already busy sorting out Black Beauty it was time to get my hands (very) dirty for a change.

So this morning I dropped the subframe off my breaker and did the same with Dune2, refitting the breaker subframe into Dune2. Luckily I didn’t have any snapped bolts and managed to get the job done, albeit much slower than I had hoped.


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A quick test drive and knocking noise has gone and car feels pretty tight.

Tips for anyone else that needs to remove this in the future:

1. You only need to remove one wishbone you be able to get the subframe off.
2. Make sure you attach the steering rack to the subframe before re-attaching the wishbone bolts. That would have saved me about an hour.

Successful job.
 
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Steve, mega pleased the subframe swap has cleared the issue. After a very short test drive before getting the car it certainly felt good and should hopefully service you well. It most definitely has found the right home for some passionate TLC.
 
Looking forward to this one! ?
Loved the first dune, thought it looked really great.
Really suits the A2.
 
Did the wheel arch paint last night, but before it had chance to properly cure it rained so I have water spots ? Nevermind, will do the job again and it’s definately tidied up the otherwise scratched arches.

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Had the first opportunity to have a good go at driving the car today. It really does pull very very well, I’m not sure what remap it’s running but it’s Definately a good one and is a healthy little car.

The gearbox on the other hand is very notchy once warmed up. The brakes also have a definate judder under heavy braking. Am I going to complain like mad to the person I bought it off for weeks to come, no, it’s a 15 year old car and will therefore need work. I’m going to roll my sleeves up and get on with it. I’ll start with a good gearbox oil change (I’m guessing that like many it’s full of water) and then I’ll do a gearbox adjustment.

As it’s intended purpose it’s going to be great. I can throw it around the twisty roads on the way to work and not have to worry about whether there’s something around the corner that’s going to buckle an alloy or dent the front bumper.

20mm spacers going on in the next couple of days, then it’s MOT time.
 
Steve,

If I remember rightly it looks like the water catchment cup is missing / broken so likely it has water in. Sadly I only drove the car a few miles so not really had a direct assessment.

Looks good already! Bloody typical about the rain.
 
PaulA2 said:
Steve,

If I remember rightly it looks like the water catchment cup is missing / broken so likely it has water in. Sadly I only drove the car a few miles so not really had a direct assessment.

Looks good already! Bloody typical about the rain.
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Paul mate I’m really happy with the car and purchase. It’s an old car and they all need work ?
 
I’m toying with the idea of doing the black further up the bumpers as per the Renault Rx4

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It doesn’t make sense at the moment, but once I have the front and rear skid plates on, raised suspension, spacers and chunkier tyres it should all slot into place.
 
Steve,

I love your enthusiasm and creative ideas. Your visions really have no end!

Looking forward to the final pictures. Let’s hope your better half doesn’t call this one ‘that thing you created’

Kind regards,

Tom
 
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I’ll be using the tried and tested Dacia Sandero rear skid plate, but the Mitsubishi one I previously used for the front is no longer available.
 
I can’t really do much with it at the moment because I’m using it while my FSI is still with the garage for the turbo conversion. Once I get the FSI back I’ll be able to get the Dune look fully done within a couple of weeks.
 
For that extra touch, what about the interior rear view mirror with compass? I'm sure someone here has done the mod??
 
Maybe extend the line at the front horizontally to meet the number plate? Black beneath, colour above, number plate in the middle. Would match the back better.
 
Darpod14 said:
I’d try a reverse storm look on the bumpers also Steve, might be cool ?
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Imo i think if you're going the black off road look it needs to be satin or matt black not gloss and you need to paint the full front and rear bumpers not half as mocked up but agree with Darpod that the reverse colour storm look on the bumpers is worth a try and could look good ?
 
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