David Sutton Christmas video - Page 5

stevebaz · 26-01-12, 08:54 PM

And while it may be a bit light hearted just remember these were the best rally mechanics of the 80s bar none and a honour to have been with them

john johnson · 26-01-12, 08:59 PM

I think it would have Hard but good fun , no doubting they were the best of the best , it's a privelidge these days to look at things like this and read about what went off behind the scenes

BIGGYIN · 26-01-12, 09:02 PM

BRILLIANT.

SteveT63 · 26-01-12, 09:30 PM

Monumental!!!!!...8 hours to do that at a dealer now.....when I had mine there was only technician that was allowed to work on it at my local dealer. Apparently he was one of only a handful of chaps that had been to the factory to be trained to work on the UR......wonder where these guys are now?

saladdodger · 26-01-12, 10:14 PM

That is awesome, really enjoyed that. Love to know what they are up to now.

And there's me struggling with rear calipers

Tim C · 26-01-12, 11:07 PM

Fantastic video

.

We could have done with them at Cornbury last year

.

It took us most of the day. We broke it just before 10 o'clock and had it running before teatime.
Although I did have to drive to Somerset to pick up another gearbox.

.

Nigel Conniford · 27-01-12, 12:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim C

We could have done with them at Cornbury last year

.

John Connor was wondering around at Cornbury, mind you he didnt have that beard

Groundhog · 27-01-12, 12:16 PM

Good to see that video again. I have a copy somewhere but where it is god only knows. As Stevebaz will confirm (mainly cos I cant remember) this would have been at the time Sutton moved from the Daventry headquarters to something smaller. I seem to recall watching that video for the first time at the Xmas get-together at Suttons farm at Stockton. At the time I wasn’t working for him full time just doing bits and bobs as and when while I decided which way to go.

That would be Saeed I’m guessing? If so here he is in action;

Saeed Al Hajri Dubai Rally Audi Quattro RothmansØ§Ø³ØªØ¹Ø±Ø§Ø¶ Ø³Ø¹ÙŠØ¯ Ø§Ù„Ù‡Ø§Ø¬Ø±ÙŠ - YouTube

As for the people on the video I can see Steve Black, Terry ??, do I see Paul Ridgeway? And of course John O’Connor, the head engineer at the time would have been John Bevan he’s the guy at the end in the Rothmans shirt and shorts lighting a fag with John and Terry, he only had limited use in one arm which is why he isn’t getting stuck in.

For those not in the know everything was designed on these cars for speed of service, for instance The top of the gearbox, where the top two bolts go through, was cut off so it would clear the rack – the reference sender was repositioned, the drive shafts were held on by three bolts – the other three were dowls, the exhaust was held on by springs, the gearbox was mounted through the tunnel – in that video there would have been someone inside the car undoing fixings there.
The car by the way ended up in Warwick – privately owned (probably not there now – unless someone knows different) I did loads of work on it over a period of time back in the nineties.

I’m still trying to place you Stevebaz? – I can only assume you worked for Sutton towards the end of the Daventry era when I was moving on.

Bugmaster · 27-01-12, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveT63

Monumental!!!!!...8 hours to do that at a dealer now.....when I had mine there was only technician that was allowed to work on it at my local dealer. Apparently he was one of only a handful of chaps that had been to the factory to be trained to work on the UR......wonder where these guys are now?

Great question, would be interestering to know if these guys still work for Audi or still alive!

At my local Audi garage in Devon, one of the sales managers was telling me that when he started out one of his first cars that he sold was a UR, he still talks passionalty about them today, its always good to catch up with him when I take my car in for its service.

Groundhog · 27-01-12, 01:28 PM

I’m still in touch with a lot of the guys who worked at Suttons – it would clearly be wrong of me to tell you where they are and what they are doing now on a public forum. As far as I am aware there is only one who is still associated with Audi and that would be Norman Gault.
The thing to bear in mind here is that you guys live in this period perhaps every day with your love of Audis, you enjoy recounting those days and perhaps to a lesser or greater extent live and breathe Audis and their history. As an example some of the guys on that video worked for Sutton and Audi for a couple of years only, they had ‘exciting times’ with other teams before and then after and undoubtedly achieved massive success elsewhere. Sutton always described rally mechanics as 'nomadic' and that summs it up quite well – I can’t stress enough it was just a job, a very enjoyable one but none-the-less just a job.
Speaking for myself I moved away from cars entirely in early 2000 – I am currently teaching and love it – I look back on those days with a passion but was it something I wanted to do all my life? – no way – young man’s work really and not something you can do with any conviction as you get older.

26-01-12, 08:59 PM	#42
john johnson Moderator of sausages Classic Audi Club Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: sheffield Posts: 13,331	I think it would have Hard but good fun , no doubting they were the best of the best , it's a privelidge these days to look at things like this and read about what went off behind the scenes __________________ Mr OCD http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t144/jsquatts/ Daily rs4 b7 with buckets that play havoc with my piles And if you are reading this as James may would say ' you're a cock '

26-01-12, 09:02 PM	#43
BIGGYIN 4 ring whore! Classic Audi Club Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Merseyside Posts: 7,976	BRILLIANT. __________________ q90 B2 Type 85 - q90 B2 Type 85-PROJECT-ABY 20vt KARL. Injection is nice but I'd rather be blown

26-01-12, 09:30 PM	#44
SteveT63 Senior Member Classic Audi Club Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 3,045	Monumental!!!!!...8 hours to do that at a dealer now.....when I had mine there was only technician that was allowed to work on it at my local dealer. Apparently he was one of only a handful of chaps that had been to the factory to be trained to work on the UR......wonder where these guys are now? __________________ Peace...........through superior acceleration! T85 1985 90quattro I5 20vT T81 1983 80 Sport Red T81 1983 80 Sport Silver

26-01-12, 11:07 PM	#46
Tim C Senior Member Classic Audi Club Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Poole, Dorset, England Posts: 1,729	Fantastic video . We could have done with them at Cornbury last year . It took us most of the day. We broke it just before 10 o'clock and had it running before teatime. Although I did have to drive to Somerset to pick up another gearbox. . __________________ quattro RR - crystal silver quattro WR - 1981 Lombard RAC rally recreation (50% share) Nissan Navara - tow car / service vehicle for above A4 2.0T quattro s-line special edition - wife's http://www.flickr.com/photos/37654549@N06/sets/

26-01-12, 08:54 PM	#41
stevebaz Grown up member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 33	And while it may be a bit light hearted just remember these were the best rally mechanics of the 80s bar none and a honour to have been with them

26-01-12, 10:14 PM	#45
saladdodger Senior Member Classic Audi Club Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 1,030	That is awesome, really enjoyed that. Love to know what they are up to now. And there's me struggling with rear calipers

27-01-12, 01:28 PM	#50
Groundhog Grown up member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 143	I’m still in touch with a lot of the guys who worked at Suttons – it would clearly be wrong of me to tell you where they are and what they are doing now on a public forum. As far as I am aware there is only one who is still associated with Audi and that would be Norman Gault. The thing to bear in mind here is that you guys live in this period perhaps every day with your love of Audis, you enjoy recounting those days and perhaps to a lesser or greater extent live and breathe Audis and their history. As an example some of the guys on that video worked for Sutton and Audi for a couple of years only, they had ‘exciting times’ with other teams before and then after and undoubtedly achieved massive success elsewhere. Sutton always described rally mechanics as 'nomadic' and that summs it up quite well – I can’t stress enough it was just a job, a very enjoyable one but none-the-less just a job. Speaking for myself I moved away from cars entirely in early 2000 – I am currently teaching and love it – I look back on those days with a passion but was it something I wanted to do all my life? – no way – young man’s work really and not something you can do with any conviction as you get older.