Group buy is up and running…
We’ve got most of the group buy sets laid with fiber and some resin applied. More resin will be going down over the next few days.
B6/B7 Front Ashtray Removal Guide
Lately I’ve had some customers have some trouble removing the front ashtray covers on their B6/B7 Audis, so I figured I would write up a little guide. I think people tend to over complicate this step of the trim removal when it is actually quite simple. Before we start, let me stress that you do not need to remove the whole ashtray from the car to remove the ashtray cover. I have just done that for this guide because it will make it much easier to photograph.
B6/B7 Front Ashtray Cover Removal
Tools needed:
- Strong thumbs
Time required: 60 seconds
Difficulty: Super easy
First we will start with the rear ashtray because it works on the same principle as the front ashtray, but you can actually see the bottom of it.
Both ashtray covers have these pegs in them (the front ashtray has 3 of them, the rear ashtray has 2 of them). Both lids have teeth that grasp the pegs and hold them in place.
On the rear ashtray you have to slide the cover forward while lifting up the tab. This will unhook the teeth from the pegs and set the cover free.
Here you see the rear ashtray off of the lid. The front ashtray bottom looks almost identical.
On to the front ashtray. With the ashtray open, you can see the separation of the lid and the cover. The goal is to use your thumbs on the lid to push it inward and use your fingers on the ashtray cover to slide it forward in the opposite direction.
So grip the ashtray like this (use both hands, I could only use one because I needed the other to take the picture) and move your thumbs in and pull your fingers towards you.
If you’ve done it correctly, you’ll free the pegs on the ashtray cover from the teeth on the lid.
Close the ashtray, and you should be able to just pull it straight up and out.
With the ashtray cover off, you can see the pegs and the teeth.
One last picture for reference: a lot of people assume they are removing the whole top of the ashtray, but as you can see from this image, that isn’t the case. The lid that opens and closes remains connected to the ashtray assembly, you are just removing the decorative cover.
A3 Trim Removal Guide
A3 Trim Removal Guide
Tools needed:
- Flathead screwdriver or interior trim tools
- Torx screw driver set
Time required: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
To remove the 4 door pieces use a flat head screw driver (or interior trim tools) to get under the trim at the end of each piece and slowly pry it out. Each of these pieces has 3 push tabs on the back, so once you pull out the tab closest to the rear of the piece, slip your fingers in behind it and carefully pull out each of the remaining tabs working towards the front of the piece. Be careful not to bend the piece. Pull back towards the back of the car to unhook the last large tab.
To remove the shifter piece, start by pulling up on the shift boot. This will pop up the chrome ring.
Pull up the ring and the boot.
Work your fingers under the shifter trim at the base of the piece and carefully pull up. Work your way around the shifter until all the tabs are out.
Twist the shifter trim and work it around the shift knob until it is free.
The ashtray is held in with two torx screws. Remove the screws, lift up your shifter and the tray will slide forward, up, and out.
That is all there is to it. Now you’re ready to swap in your new trim.
Almost 10 days later and we FINALLY have the power back on…
It only took 216 hours, 4 guys, 2 cranes, and a bunch of dirt but we are back up and running. I’ll be spending the next few days updating customers on their orders and trying to get caught up. I’ll be working overtime for the next week or two trying to get all outstanding orders up to speed, so feel free to email me (matt@ocarbon.com) if you have any questions or concerns about the status of your order.
Once again a big thanks goes out to all my customers that have been very supportive and understanding through this difficulty. It is appreciated more than you know.
I came to the shop this morning after being told everything would be up and running by noon. I arrived to find the hole filled up, but no one working on restoring power.
After a few phone calls and several hours, a crew finally showed up.
It would take two cranes to lift the concrete block and get the transformer back in place.
After four hours of steady work in 110F degree heat, they finally had everything back in place and the power back on.
I would learn from the crew afterwards that the plumbers responsible for the water main break had done a spotty job on repairing the pipes. It had taken several attempts which is why the hole was not filled up until yesterday. Had the pipes been fixed properly the first time, I would have had service resorted in 2 days. Having the break happen right before a major holiday weekend didn’t help speed anything up either, but at least it is finally fixed.
Total estimated repair bill: $18,000 (thankfully I don’t have to pay for it).
A few setbacks at the shop recently…
Just wanted to make a quick blog post to give everyone a heads up on why I’ve been so hard to get a hold of this week.
I went out to lunch a few days ago and when I returned, the street was completely flooded with muddy water. After a little investigation, I found the source of the problem. It seemed as if there as a broken pipe at the rear of the shop.
I called the property manager and he sent some plumbers out to take a look. As you can see from the photo, the break is right underneath the power transformer for the building. None of the plumbers wanted to shut off the water until the power company came to shut off the power to make sure no one would get shocked. Unfortunately the power company didn’t make it out to the site for several hours, so the water just flowed and flowed.
With the water finally shut off, it was determined that the water main from the fire sprinkler system was the culprit. It is located directly inside of the corner of the building where the break had occurred.
From there once the water had settled, a sinkhole started to form. You can see that the transformer is already leaning into the hole a bit. At this point, I was told the hole would be filled and the transformer would be propped up and everything would be good to go in a day or so.
I returned to the shop this morning hoping everything would be back up and running, only to find that the sinkhole is now HUGE, the transformer has been removed, and I still don’t have any water or power in the shop.
I have no idea when this will be fixed, but until it is I will still be tough to get a hold of. I hope this will get fixed quickly, however at it’s current pace I suspect it will be at least another day or two.
If you’re waiting on an order or need a status update, I’ll do my best to keep you up to date but I legally I’m not allowed to be at the shop until the fire system is back up and running because of the flammable nature of the materials we work with. So I can’t ship finished orders or complete nearly finished orders until I get the okay from the fire department.
Feel free to email me at matt@ocarbon.com if you have any questions.
