WITW - Macduff and the leather dashboard
 

Say hello to 'The Scottish Car', aka Macduff since it is going to eventually be victorious, but in the meantime is quite broken.

It is an FL1 in Ebony Pearl with leather pack 3 twist and soul interior, and alcantara headlining. When new it had a heated screen, which alas is long gone. Bodywork appears in good condition, although its covered in salt and moisture from the winter trip down from Glasgow on a tow truck and doesn't move so I haven't had a chance to get it outside and clean it yet.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

The party piece is my holy grail option - a black leather dash, console, and door tops. I messaged the seller on Facebook within a few minutes of this listing going up :ROFL:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

The alcantara is actually in good condition and quite clean

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

Original Nokia 7110 in a cullman holder. I was very fond of these phones back in the day

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

Alas, the door cards are completely ruined from moisture. This poor car was very neglected and I think left in some sort of peat bog for 5-6 years :(

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

The subframes have not fared well and will probably need replacement

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

Someone has had a go at the front suspension, and painted the uprights

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

This is not how you fix water ingress on the passenger side :mad:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672180466

When it arrived, it would start from a jump-pack, but has open downpipes because the tow-truck ripped the exhaust clamps off. It went on fine, but when the driver went to move it mid-journey, all four tyres were flat. Wheels are pretty good, but the tyres are dead. The gearbox is in limp because the TCU is drowned which is fairly normal for this level of neglect, and the rear brake calipers are seized so it was very difficult to move it.

Oh, and none of the doors open from the outside because the mechanisms are all seized, so the only way to get in the car is to use the key or remote to drop the windows, then lean in and open the door from the inside. That was a challenge when it arrived at -2 with all the windows frozen shut!

So, what is going to happen to it? Well the interior is coming out - I bought a leather dashboard which was delivered in an S8 so that was always going in my grey S8 with red leather. Having had a look at it now, it is definitely saveable but I won't be the one to do that. It will be getting a stock black interior instead, and I will fix the most serious issues so that it is a driveable project. It will get an MoT if possible, and then it will then be going to a new owner who will deal with the mechanical issues and drivetrain in their own time +++

First order of business is to make the doors work :rolleyes: Starting with the driver's door, everything is rusty and not moving properly

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672182219

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672182219

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672182219

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672182219

I didn't even bother trying to free this up and just replaced it - I have plenty of working spares. Half the sound deadening had vanished from the driver's door so I replaced that while it was easy to get to

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672182219

The rear driver's side door is just the same, but also the hinges are seized on this one so it won't even move properly. The hinges won't respond to WD40 so I'll replace them with used parts from Prestige.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672182219

Wow!
 

That looks like a lot of work, with loads of rust everywhere.

Can't wait to see it being transformed though, even though that might take a while, given the looks of it...

Roberto's comments about Scottish cars and rust holds some water it seems. Like that S8.

So which car is going to be completed first?
The pfl S8 or your dash swap S8? (I think I can guess the answer :D)

Our Audis are good at doing that. Was gobsmacked at the state of the shocks, ARB and subframes...and then I saw the handle internals. Did it go swimming in the sea?

Hopefully the PF will be finished first. The dash swap will probably happen after Spa, since I don't want to add any extra weight before that :D

Sat unloved, possibly on grass, in Scotland for six years. Surprisingly, the seats are still fine, as is the paint so it hasn't been covered in leaves or moss. It just hasn't moved or been used.

Didn't get much done today other than ordering a pair of hinges for the driver's rear door from Prestige, and sorting out the driver's side rear caliper.

The caliper appeared to be seized, but after a bit of poking it turned out the piston was a bit too extended because the pads were nearly gone and so had just got stuck.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672262819

Pushing it back in started it moving and then it freed up nicely so I stuck one of the old discs from my S8 on it, as they barely have a ten thousand miles on them, and a new pair of pads. I'll do the other side when I can move it.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1672262819

What a nice purchase/project.

That leather dash is lush :love:

That's a lot of rusty bits to tackle!

I'm intruiged by the dashboard and centre console. Is the core dash below it just a regular dash with a leather covering or is it modified to allow for the thickness of the leather?

I particularly like the centre console. It adds that little extra to an already well finished interior.

Brian

From the windscreen vent being slightly recessed it appears to be the regular dash with leather over the top. I was sort of expecting the original dash moulding without the vinyl to make up for the extra thickness, but that doesn't seem to be the case with it in the car. I'll find out more when it comes out.

Priority at the moment is to make the doors work and make it drive, then I'll get on to the interior and get a better look at it +++

I'm not doing anything with the drivetrain btw, other than making it drive. A full resto is more than I have time for and not economically viable so it'll get what is necessary for it to be a rolling project and then move on. It'll be very pretty on the top and a horror show underneath :ROFL:

Sounds like me :ROFL: