Project 250 (2005 Dolphin Grey TDI BHC)

[2work]

Morning all,

Little update here in the way of future retrofits:

Some may have noticed on the Today I thread that I recently purchased an absolute bargain RNS-E PU from a TT, only possible with the exemplary assistance by Neil @Neilf:

Yes it has the curved fascia which needs to be changed before I get the Dremel out. This didn’t concern me as it had to be worth the gamble as it’s a first revision of the RNS-E PU (Mk2). Part number 8J0035193 with no revision letter which guarantees the presence of the internal hardware that it’s younger sibling 193B has.

I have already removed the offending fascia whilst retaining the chrome buttons then put the fascia back together:

Which is now on its way to Bart at VAG Retrofits for a swap for one from an A3. I’ll fit the chrome buttons to the replacement fascia when it arrives. This should work out as the cheapest Mk2 I’ve ever come across.

Before I got the precision screw drivers out for dismantling I temporarily fitted it into OEM for coding and upgrading to the latest custom firmware (290 v3 Beta):

Whilst reading through this thread you’ll notice the low budget that’s been attempted to stick to. This latest purchase is certainly in keeping with this theme. Along with the Double DIN Dashboard which I parted £40 cash for is also another incredible purchase. For under £200, this poverty specification A2 will have a Double DIN transplant and RNS-E PU. It’s just amazing what you can find if you’re willing to wait.

Just when things couldn’t be better I grabbed this last night for £0.99 and £4.50 P&P:

The 8P1 item is the final edition of the Audi BT Tel Module that was produced for the RNS-E. Another absolute bargain. Keep your eyes peeled people!

This still keeps the next set of retrofits under £200 but now has the addition of perfect clarity of hands free calling.

In addition to this I also have acquired another A1 MFSW with single stage airbag and early generation buttons for £180.

Bringing the total to £380 to have a Double DIN conversion, RNS-E PU, BT Tel Module and MFSW conversion (might even make it heated).

Installation will take a matter of hours (probably a whole day to be honest) when I have the time. Id like to have it all complete by the Yorkshire camping trip but starting to thing this will be a project I start when I’m next off work at Christmas.

Just need to find a bargain AMI and wireless charger and this brilliant A2 will be sporting similar tech as OEM. Might also upgrade to Bose one day.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[Darren C]

Great write up on this thread Tom, innovative stuff too, whilst watching the pennies - nice work Sir.

 

[2work]

Great write up on this thread Tom, innovative stuff too, whilst watching the pennies - nice work Sir.

Thank you Darren,

I do like to see what I can be achieved whilst being frugal. This A2 has had a lot of freebie assistance along the way which just shows how good a community we have here.

Although this cars project name has well and truly been exceeded, it is still on target to be of a very high specification with rock bottom priced additions.

As you know, a project is never complete but I’m quite excited to see where I can get this A2 to before I’m told to stop.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Hello again,

Thought I’d remind you of the figures involved here.

Below is a list of upgrade costs to sum up what has been spent so far to bring this poverty spec Special Edition A2 to a more than acceptable standard:

1. £FOC Replacement Soul door cards (thank you Ian @Proghound and mandy @RZX)
2. £FOC Leather Sport Gear Knob (again thank you Ian)
3. £15 Sport Handbrake Lever along with Aluminium Button (thank you Steve @A2Steve)
4. £80 Factory Rubber Floor Mats (mixture of what I had in the garage and donation from Darren (@Darpod14)
5. £75 Soul Auto Dimming Mirror with Compass from Texas
6. £200 Swing Leather Seats (thank you @sciroccorrado)
7. £40 Hard Touch single DIN Climate Unit
8. £40 Bespoke A2 Footrest and TT Pedals handed down from OEM
9. £40 Auto headlight Switch
10. £25 Headlight Switch fascia refurbished with Auto Icon added by James @jp.oog
11. £5 Fuse Box Cover (again thank you Steve @A2Steve)
12. FOC Soul False Floor (@Proghound)
13. Swap for some parts Soul Centre Console Tray (@Proghound)
14. £39 Cruise Control Stalk @Clackers
15. £80 Rear Electric Window kit @Fallan
16. £50 Swing passenger door card and spares (@mjsbrabus)
17. £40 bargain DD Dashboard (@Fallan)
18. £185 RNS-E PU with 2x32GB SD cards running navigation via SD Card (usually priced at around £450, yet another bargain)
19. £5.49 BT Tel Module (bargain of the whole project)
20. £FOC AMI (early iPod version) free with the BT Tel Module above, winner!
20. £300 A5 FBMFSW with airbag (absolute bargain)
21. £50 Audi QI Wireless Charger (not yet fitted)
22. £60 Headlamp Washer Bumper (@Bargepower) (not yet collected)
23. £220 Complete Bose kit (not yet fitted)
24. £25 Soul Leather A6 C5 Armrest (bracket supplied by @Erlingtheyounger)
25. £76 AMI and Bovee WMA3000a (utter bargain)
26. £100 Rear Cup Holder
27. £100 Headlamp Protectors
28. £60 Front Fog Lights
29. £280 Timmus services

Add the above figures to the cost of the car (£250) and its around £2000 all in which include the sundries for the retrofitting. Not bad for an A2 now with quite a reasonable specification. Its probably worth that and more, although it is not for sale. Its a keeper for sure as my better half loves it.

Perhaps I should change the project name but that would allow the other driver here to understand what’s been spent!

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[Darren C]

You could always covertly add an extra ‘0’ at the end to reflect its revised valuation. ?

 

[A2Steve]

Great effort Tom. Far better building something like this yourself than having a boring PCP euro box sat on the drive.

 

[2work]

You could always covertly add an extra ‘0’ at the end to reflect its revised valuation. ?

Haha great idea Darren,

I had thought of adding a 1 to the beginning but I’ve since passed that figure. Then considered waiting to place a 2 at the beginning but hope to not get anywhere near that figure.

Never once thought of the discreet 0 at the end to reflect possible value. I’ll steal this idea if I may and will probably use it in future write ups.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Great effort Tom. Far better building something like this yourself than having a boring PCP euro box sat on the drive.

Thanks Steve,

I totally agree Sir. Must say I’ve had my fair share of new vehicles (every 6-12 months) in a previous life whilst living in Europe. Not PCP though so they were owned at the end of the initial finance agreement.

Work are also offering the salary sacrifice scheme to purchase an EV, not read into it too much but understand it to be tax efficient; plenty of companies are offering this same scheme to their employees. Having a Tesla on the drive did appeal to me but but my annual mileage was a costly addition plus I couldn’t get my head around paying for something that I’ll never own.

Many colleagues have chosen to do this though and I remind them that after 4-5 months of payments, they have already paid more than I have did for OEM with its MYP conversion providing me 70-75 mpg on my daily commute. Some disagree with my hypothesis and that I’m way behind the times but I do like my little aluminium mile muncher friend.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Morning all,

Little update here in the way of future retrofits:

Some may have noticed on the Today I thread that I recently purchased an absolute bargain RNS-E PU from a TT, only possible with the exemplary assistance by Neil @Neilf:

View attachment 83800

Yes it has the curved fascia which needs to be changed before I get the Dremel out. This didn’t concern me as it had to be worth the gamble as it’s a first revision of the RNS-E PU (Mk2). Part number 8J0035193 with no revision letter which guarantees the presence of the internal hardware that it’s younger sibling 193B has.

I have already removed the offending fascia whilst retaining the chrome buttons then put the fascia back together:

View attachment 83799

Which is now on its way to Bart at VAG Retrofits for a swap for one from an A3. I’ll fit the chrome buttons to the replacement fascia when it arrives. This should work out as the cheapest Mk2 I’ve ever come across.

Before I got the precision screw drivers out for dismantling I temporarily fitted it into OEM for coding and upgrading to the latest custom firmware (290 v3 Beta):

View attachment 83801

Whilst reading through this thread you’ll notice the low budget that’s been attempted to stick to. This latest purchase is certainly in keeping with this theme. Along with the Double DIN Dashboard which I parted £40 cash for is also another incredible purchase. For under £200, this poverty specification A2 will have a Double DIN transplant and RNS-E PU. It’s just amazing what you can find if you’re willing to wait.

Just when things couldn’t be better I grabbed this last night for £0.99 and £4.50 P&P:

View attachment 83802

The 8P1 item is the final edition of the Audi BT Tel Module that was produced for the RNS-E. Another absolute bargain. Keep your eyes peeled people!

This still keeps the next set of retrofits under £200 but now has the addition of perfect clarity of hands free calling.

In addition to this I also have acquired another A1 MFSW with single stage airbag and early generation buttons for £180.

Bringing the total to £380 to have a Double DIN conversion, RNS-E PU, BT Tel Module and MFSW conversion (might even make it heated).

Installation will take a matter of hours (probably a whole day to be honest) when I have the time. Id like to have it all complete by the Yorkshire camping trip but starting to thing this will be a project I start when I’m next off work at Christmas.

Just need to find a bargain AMI and wireless charger and this brilliant A2 will be sporting similar tech as OEM. Might also upgrade to Bose one day.

Kind regards,

Tom

Afternoon,

Quick update on this extraordinarily cheap Bluetooth Module:

It has just arrived and been temporarily fitted into OEM, it works perfectly. Over the moon with the price (£5.49 delivered) as I know I paid quite a lot more for the earlier revision fitted in the OEM A2.

It also come with a freebie old style Audi iPod AMI item. It acts as a CD Changer and will test that another day. Hopefully it works with a new iPhone (with a 30 pin to Lightning adapter) as this will do just fine for an A2 upgraded on a very tight budget. The only downside is that it may not show track names within the DIS Display but time will tell.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Morning all,

Apologies if you’ve already seen my excitement of my recent purchase on the Today I.. thread.

I’ve tried not to make this thread geeky with tech like the OEM thread but it was inevitable that it did I suppose.

You’ll remember my bargain TT RNS-E PU that I was only able to secure with the assistance of Neil @Neilf:

Noting it required a fascia swap I immediately enquired about obtaining one. In the last year or so I have been in touch with Bart at VAG Retrofits who came to my rescue. We agreed in a straight swap of the curved TT fascia for a flatter type from an A3/4/6. The dismantling begun:

The fascia was quickly sent of to Bart in Coventry and this morning I received the replacement item and my TT RNS-E PU now looks like this:

As Ive said earlier, this is a very first generation of the PU (Mk2) which has the missing internal hardware on the later 193G units etcetera. It’s clearly shown by the B3 and C2 pin on the top of the unit:

I can also confirm that it does by means of testing in OEM.

Bart has also offered discounts to A2OC members for any of his services (simply mention my name). Just contact him using the contact details on the link above to deal with him direct and outside of any auction website. I can personally recommend him as have used him many times.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Evening all,

Another little update for this thread. After fitting a FBMFSW to the OEM+ A2 yesterday it left me with a spare beautiful condition A1 round MFSW.

So….. The steering wheel was removed:

Then had its next OEM hand me down fitted:

It’s not yet functional as I’ll be doing all the wiring when the dashboard is out for that OEM looking installation.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[Darren C]

One word… Fabulous.

 

[Mka306]

Love it Tom, those MFSW's are special.

 

[CrispyEdd]

How much for the lovely sport wheel you've taken off then? ? that's looks in great nick. ?

 

[2work]

Evening Ed,

If you have Market Forum access then you’ll be able to see it advertised here Sir.

Let me know your thoughts on the associated thread.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Evening all,

Just found an hour to have a play with the a Torx Bits and VCDS in this amazing A2.

Taking you back to an earlier post where I showed what can be grabbed for astonishing prices:

Yes the £0.99 8P1 BT Tel Module with harness.

Well the seller was upgrading to an aftermarket head unit so also included a free of charge old style iPod Module:

To get it connected up to the Concert 2 I had to purchase a lead from eBay:

The ‘1 sold’ was me a few weeks ago.

I’ve just plugged it all in for testing and can report that it works. Thereafter trim items removed and everything placed safely out of the way and trim items refitted. The soft coding of the Concert had to be tweaked to add the CD Changer (the iPod Module acts as an additional CD Changer much like a Xcarlink or Connects2 and similar) which was simple enough.

250 now has streaming ability from iTunes, Amazon Music and Virgin Radio. Other services do exist but these are what we use as a family. The added bonus is that it charges the iPhone also, this is brilliant as ‘her who shall remain nameless’ often leaves the USB charger in the 12v socket and wanders why the car has difficulty starting if left for a week or 2.

The only addition for this to work was adding the Apple 30 pin to Lightning Adapter that is no longer required in OEM since fitting the Bovee WMA1000 BT Adapter.

I’m sure my better half will be thrilled to finally have her iPhone better connected to the Concert 2.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Evening all,

Quite excited this evening as this glorious A2 received a parcel from Holland:

Some of you with Market Forum access might be able to guess what it might well be.

For those of you who don’t have such access then please do consider upgrading your account as deals like below come around every now and then as this was within the Spotted Forum.

So what is it?

Well here it is:

Yes it’s a Swing Rear Cup Holder which came with some part I’ve never seen before.

What it was missing though was the rectangular rubber insert for the storage area below the 2 doors, fortunately I just happen to find a spare set during my recent garage clear out:

It also came with a complete set of factory fittings. Even the 2 small torx screws for the front bracket.

Most importantly though it came with the correct metal clips to secure the rear bracket to the vehicle:

Really happy with this purchase which wouldn’t have be achievable without the assistance of Duncan @DuncanA2. Thank you so much for you time and effort obtaining this and forwarding it onto me here in the UK. Thanks again

This is the second item I’ve recently managed to secure with the help of members of this wonderful community.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Evening all,

Busy afternoon here with Project 250.

I was very fortunate enough to meet Erling @Erlingtheyounger at lunchtime who was collecting some items from me, he just happened to have a 'spare' FBMFSW in his workhorse and said it may not be used, I jumped at the chance to purchase another FBMFSW, the A1 round wheel is beautiful but really like the thicker feel on the flat bottomed variant. A deal was struck which included along with correct airbag... Thank you so much Erling.

You’ve seen earlier in this thread all the nice items I have to install, which will happen soon enough. But I wanted to test something else from an Audi TT, so the solder iron was quickly taken from the garage and set up on my workstation, other driver here not overly impressed as she calls it the kitchen island!:

Yes it’s a slip ring, same part number as the A2 but this is the M revision that has all 10 pins available. Zoom in and you’ll see the 2x rows of 5 at the top of the picture. This is of course for future connectivity and experiments. I’ll give you a close up of what was removed so you can compare the difference.

So this was removed:

Note it only has 2 pins available along the top row, this is fine if only adding a MFSW but to future proof experimentl I required further connections.

Followed by the M revision fitted and calibrated with VCDS:

It works perfectly and was very happy as it was yet another absolute bargain from eBay:

Here’s all the parts laid out ready for cleaning prior to installation:

As I said, the solder iron was employed and some 60 minutes later the new Slip Ring and new steering wheel was fully installed.

In just a matter of weeks this A2 has gone from this:

Temporarily transformed with this:

But now looks like this:

Very happy with the result.

Just having a break but will get the MFSW buttons functioning shortly, in the next hour I’ll have this FBMFSW controlling the Audi Concert. The RNS-E will be added later which is where these steering wheels are simply superb, especially if you have the BT Tel Module.

I must thank Duncan @DuncanA2 for highlighting the alternative slip ring along with Erling for his generosity, who also loaned me a tin of Soul Volico paint for something that requires a recolour, another post for another time

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Evening again,

Now have a fully functioning FBMFSW:

As I’m yet to transplant the Double DIN Dashboard, 250 hasn’t received its RNS-E PU upgrade

The buttons on the steering wheel only control the volume and changing station/track but it’s brilliant and I’m more than happy with this for now.

Thanks again to Erling for allowing me this lovely FBMFSW earlier today.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[H-M3]

Pure Autoporn! Love that wheel, is this from a TT or A1?
Thanks