coolrado

its usually the handbrake mech that siezes, so if you disconnect the handbrake cable from the crank and work it back and forth with the penetrating oil it should free up, you could dismantle the complete caliper and clean it all out but that doesnt allways solve the problem for long.

yeah either the handbrake mech on the caliper or maybe a sticky handbrake cable, sometimes the little rubber belows on the ends on the handbrake cables fall apart and crud starts to build up inside the cable sleeving, mine starting sticking due to the plastic coating on the cable flaking off and jamming the cable, a new pair of cables are pretty cheap and easy to fit though. if your calipers have started seizing up you could try working the handbrake crank back and forth while giving it a good coating of penetrating oil but they may not last long before they do it again, it might be worth upgrading to mk4 golf calipers instead.

1 rusty brown one :)

I know you said the thermostat has been replaced but are you sure it is actually working, i have heard a few stories now of new OEM stats that are stuck closed, one person even went through 6 new ones before they found one that actually worked. I had one faulty stat from VW so I decided to use a non OEM stat instead, i now allways check new stats with the old boiling water in a pint glass test before I fit them.

They are recessed a little to allow for the curve in the dash, but I might add another 2-3mm. Undecided. i just think it would look a bit more oem with them recessed at an angle facing you, it might make them easier to read in bright light aswell, either way im sure the finished article will be well worth the wait.

looks like this is going to be another superb dash, are the centre guages going to be recessed at all?

how about SPARCO, OMP or RAID

not just the corrado either most earlier vw's have pretty pants lights, its not even as if they have degraded over time according to a few people i know they where pretty poor when they where new. if i had the time to make up a load of looms and post them all out i would.

i made it myself, there arent any looms availiable to the same spec as far as i am aware. my job is fitting electrical kit to vehicles so i had all the parts lying around.

seems a bit too basic to me, my kit has 4x30Amp relays, and 5 fuse's although i am running 130w high beams. i also dont like non sealed crimps under the bonnet, they let water in, corrode and then break, same with the relay, soldered joints with self amalgamating tape or adhesive lined heatshrink are the best solution imo.

shouldnt cost anything in parts, even if it is power steering fluid the seals in the brake system shouldn't be effected by it should they?

what colour is the contaminant in the brake fluid? if it isnt a strange colour it could just be moisture as that will cause spongey brakes. unless some of the seals are leaking there is no reason you cant just flush the old crap out of the system, just get a 5 litre trade tub of cheap brake fluid and run equal amounts through each caliper, then get a decent quality fluid, and flush a small amount of that through and it should be fine, DOT 5 seems to be the more popular choice as its not meant to absorb moisture as much as DOT 4. Oh and like he said^^^^ i would steer clear of kwikfit, they will use any excuse to rob you blind for unrequired work, i took the company van to them for two new tires and they told me it needed new front brake disks and pads and they could supply and fit them for £200, which i thought was quite odd considering they had been replaced 3 days earlier during its service. :?

the spoiler mech should be very easy to move assuming the handle is pulled out, on mine the spoiler will actually drop down under its own weight with the handle out.

i think what davidwort is trying to get at is a brass t-piece that you can screw into the oil filter housing and then screw both switches into it rather than an electrical connection.

If you just want to remove the paint off the outside of it, just use some nitromorse paint stripper, or some coarse wire wool, it usually comes off pretty quickly and easily, i have seen chargers that have been powder coated, but when i asked my local powder coaters they said they would rather not attempt it as they didnt want to risk damaging the casing, i plan to bead blast mine and get it sprayed in 2k, as with the boost return removed it never gets any more than luke warm, before it was removed the charger would be too hot to hold your hand on after a thrashing.

i really wouldnt get the charger acid dipped, or any aluminiun/magnesium parts for that matter, it will either dissolve it completely or cause serious surface pitting, you would be much better off using engine degreaser or even brake cleaner to clean it out, even a mild acid will damage the internal surfaces and the displacer.

i did have one of the original on-digital Munkeh's with the "sidekick" T-shirt on, but i left in the shed for about a fortnight and a mouse had chewed holes in both its feet, the weighted bits are actually small plastic granules in plasic bags.

how do you rate the megs NXT tech wax? i received one of those megs NXT detailing kits in a cool bag as a present, so should i bother with that or just get the AG stuff?

the mirrors and the spoiler seem to fade much quicker than the rest of the car, must be something to do with the additives they used for painting on plastic, although it doesnt happen to the bumpers :?

i used to use it all the time, and its probably the easiest polish i have used, it does give a brilliant shine on red paint but the shine just doesnt seem to last for very long, although i have never used the AG sealants so i might give it another try.

as my paint is still reasonably fresh a clay bar did'nt really take anything noticeable off, the megs stage 1-3 did work really well but i usually only use stage 2 & 3 now as the paint seems to stay nice and clean, the first time i used some megs tech wax the air was quite damp and it streaked like hell and was an absolute sod to buff off, i will give it another try this weekend if the weather is nice and dry. it was funny when next doors cat jumped off the fence onto my bonnet just after i waxed it and ended up sliding straight off (cats dont allways land on their feet appearently :lol: ) it didnt leave a mark on the paint either. if i do leave it overnight it will be in a garage and i can give it a quick blast over with an airline to get rid of any dust that might have settled on it, i was just unsure if the wax may actually do any damage if left on too long.

I have noticed at a few shows that some people turn up with their cars allready covered in polish/wax, and from speaking to some of them they actually applied the polish the night before, is there any problem with doing this or does it just make it a bit more difficult to remove the polish? Are certain polishes more suited to this than others?

I thought the corrado came with an internal smoke screen system from the factory......they called it the heater matrix :lol:

Although i have thought about doing the same many times, the thing that usually stops me is that you would probably end going to prison if someone was injured by it, if someone with a pace maker was to touch the vehicle even a small shock could be fatal, also the rest of the electrics in the car would most likely start playing up. An ignition coil and a bit of circuitry to make and break a supply to it connected to a couple of small press studs just beneath the fabric in the drivers seat would probably work quite well :lol: you would just need to remember to shut it off first :shock:

I agree there are some nice mk3's about, but in standard form i just think they are the most dull out of the lot, and after having taken a few apart i dont think they are very well built either, i have seen a few that where the front subframe bolts to the chassis the mounting points have completely rotted away, yet there are plenty of mk2's and corrado's that still look near perfect underneath. did'nt one of the major car magazines have a giant lemon with a vw badge on its front cover after having the mk3 vr6 on long term test with the headline something along the lines of "thank got everything isnt as unreliable as the new golf vr6" :lol: