NH Spring Clinic

[Huw Powell <human@nh.ultranet.com>]

here follows my clumsy report of what turned out to be a really great
car day at Chris Miller's house...

By the time I arrived at the crack of noon there were Audis everywhere,
many of them sporting piles of tools, removed parts, and greasy handed
owners staring at them.  For just a moment I thought I was in junk yard
heaven, then I realised these cars were going to be reassembled.  Three
timing belt/water pump jobs were about half done, and various other cars
had brake parts lying around in the sun.

I spent a few hours goofing off, yacking with old acquaintances and new,
and admiring various members of the mechanical contingent.  We even got
a visit from a random drive by Quantum owner who had left his 4kq at
home, now he knows about this little list... I got to play cameraman for
a brief moment during part of Chris' timing belt installation process.

At about 5 or 6 there was room to pull my car in.  I tore into the front
of the engine, and once it was all apart off came the old orange cam
cover and in went the 5kt cam (ulp!).  After slowly reassembling the
stuff on the front under the patient and attentive tutelage of Mike
Sullivan, it looked like a good time to see if the engine would run. 
Well, not right away, but after much cranking and checking for spark and
fuel, a few wild twists of the distributor yeilded something resembling
an idle.  With the timing advanced 55 degrees...

I spent a while putting the accessory belts 'n' stuff back on, refilling
with coolant and checking for oil leaks.  The car appeared to have
enough power to leave the driveway if required, and I helped the other
guys zip their machines up tightly.  There had been a couple of oil
leaks, which were all solved by replacing crank seals again (thanks
Stott for running to get more of them, eh?)

Finally at about 2 AM with three red 4kqs (one a T) around me for peace
of mind we all rasped and warbled our way out into the night.  What a
pretty little convoy we made on I-93!  My car did manage to get home
under it's own power (whew!) but could use a little tuning I think...

Sorry not to be able to name all attendees, but special thanks must be
offered to our gracious host Chris Miller for a wonderful job of making
this all happen, making sure the right tools were there, and taking care
of the tea and sympathy department!

-- 
Huw Powell

http://www.thebook.com/human-speakers

82 Audi Coupe; 85 Coupe GT
http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~human