Hardware changes
The upper shock supports work fine, but had a shape designed to accommodate the Audi cross support. We obtained the proper shock support from RCR so that they would look correct. The ones provided just happened to be nickel plated. Cool.
The coolant tubes needed minor modifications to compensate for the lowering and forward moving of the engine. The lower hose was cut an inch shorter and the two brackets that support the hoses were modified. Actually the stainless pipes and radiator hoses ended up more symmetrically aligned than before. The thermostat and top hose extended a bit forward of the fire wall opening, but since the insulation around the firewall set the fire wall forward about a quarter inch this was not a problem.
The bolts that hold the adjustable rear clip supports were flipped so the bolt head was down and the nut up. This assured that there would be not clearance problems with the half shafts.
With the engine lowered a bit fitting the AC compressor was a challenge. Fran suggested a different bottom hose for the water pump, NAPA part no. 8809, which helped with inward adjustment of the compressor. (It is a goofy looking hose. Just cut off the end that fits the water pump). But the compressor was still kissing the chassis. So we tried a smaller belt, NAPA part no 7390, 39 5/8”. It is a tight fit, but it did work.
The belt on the alternator was also replaced with a shorter one. NAPA part no. 7365, which is 37 1/8” long. It is amazing how just a half inch of belt length can make the different between not fitting and fitting. It is a cozy fit between the chassis and the alternator.
The remote oil filter bracket support fabricated for the Audi 016 would not work on the ZF, so a new one was fabricated from quarter inch thick aluminum. It is a simple piece, 7 ¼ inches long and 3 ½ inches wide, that holds the filter directly above the three mounting bolts on the transmission. There is plenty of clearance to remove the filter.
We opted for black -10 nylon covered hose (Summit SUM-240010) rather than the stainless covered hose. It was expensive stuff, ($7.00 per foot) but is more flexible than the stainless and flexes a bit easier. Right angle AN fittings were used on the filter to direct the lines down and under the half shafts.