corozin

No disrespect Jim, but in one short post you have completely encapsulated the problem the Corrado Club currently faces IMHO. There are loads of people out there (and on here) willing to take a pop at the CCGB (and I know you aren't one of those, but bear with me) but nobody has the initiative / guts / time / interest / stamina / intelligence or balls to actually take the thing on and pick it back up. I tried to have a go, but despite being pretty well known on the scene found the overall lack of support (with one or two exceptions) pretty bloody demotivating after a while. That combined with the continuing antics of a few time consuming difficult members meant what free time I had to spend on it at the time simply disappeared. I have observed over the years on here that for every supporter of the CCGB, there are also plenty of "knockers" - many of whom have never been members, or if they were never active in the sense that they never tried to contribute anything to the Club. This is not a problem restricted to the CCGB, as Club GTi, Club Scirocco and Club Polo have all suffered similarly in recent years. Since 1998 I have watch the internet grab the UK's VW scene and simply transform it. On the positive side there are now active, realtime discussion forums between enthusiasts. Communication is rampant and active, new people find it easy and free to join in, and help is available. However (in my view) there have also been some unwelcome downsides; people now just expect everything to be provided free of charge and without any personal effort being required on thier part. Suddenly the world is full of armchair experts who armed with an anonymous internet ID slag off the "do-ers" without ever once having to take the responsibility of ever being put to the test of making it happen themselves. Suddenly how passionate you are about the VW scene or Corrado scene is measured not in terms of how much you actually travel and contribute to it, but instead is measured purely in terms of how much time you can waste at work racking up posts on a forum saying sh1te like "wow" and "kool innit" with a poncy graphic attached to every single one. In addition, I would have to say that the proliferation of forums (and I'm not singling out the Corrado forum specifically in this respect) has in my view fragmented, rather than strengthened the scene. Everywhere you look at shows now there are almost hundreds of little splinter groups, all forum based, consisting of 1 bloke and his 4 mates who have a "forum". However every time a group falls out, the splinters simply go and set up new forums. The result overall is fragmentation, with legions of disparate groups who often exist for no other reason than to arguing the toss with each other over who is 'better' or 'cooler', who has better cars, or how much they hate the wnakers in the other forum they just left last week. Personally I simply can't stand all that bollox and that is why for the large part I've said "fuggit" to the whole thing. Now set against those comments the Corrado Forum has actually been lucky enough to attain a critical mass of active members, and that is a significant achievement. However the challenge which even the forum will eventually face is the one of coming up with new ideas, innovations, keeping interest high and preventing it becoming a stale experience. A further challenge for both the Corrado Forum and the CCGB would be to see if perhaps both groups could be united into one group with better resources and with a higher profile than currently exists. The problem is - no bu99er seems to want to organise any of it. I still love my 'rado, will still occasionally organise odd meets & events, and will continue to publicise them through this place and the Yahoo! group, and will really enjoy doing those things with my Corrado loving friends. The time we all had at E38 and Stoner last year was simply fantastic. However I for one am completely disinterested in trying to satisfy the apathetic masses, the non-doers and the armchair critics who proliferate the internet, but fail to make the effort to even get off thier arses and drive more than 5 miles from home to a meet. If this all sounds bitter then it probably is. Anyone who knows me more than casually will tell you I am a pretty positive person, but 7 years of being ground down by some oft he stuff I've described above would take it's toll on anyone. There was a time a few years ago when the possibility existed that the Corrado forum and the CCGB could have combined forces. However neither group probably realised at the time what each could offer the other. I have to say for my part that I contributed in part to that opportunity being missed, but at the same time I think Andi was as against it as I was. Perhaps the right person can be found to see if a way forward can be found to unite it all over again? With the benefit of hindsight I would certainly support anyone who tried to make the Corrado scene even stronger, as the car is so great it's worth fighting for IMHO. So - the challenge is there for everyone... anyone... is there a single person on here willing to try and put themselves up for the challenge of reaching out to all the UK's Corrado owners (not just those on this forum) and taking it somewhere new? Or are you all just going to argue on the internet about it forever? Please feel free to continue the debate... John [dons flame retardent coat]

I'm been told that you can get seven children in the back of a Corrado if you cut them up small enough.... Yaaaaaaaaahhh ! :D

Count yourself lucky, I had a fairly similar accident last summer which ended up with the car being a write off (wheel drove back into the floorpan & n/s A-pillar and the chassis was bent as a result Sad picture attached of M100VRG's death at the roadside....

In order : 1) 57i cone filter 2) Koni coilovers 3) 328 Brembos

I know G60Renshaw used Erwin a few years ago to get some info on Audi wiring when he was installing his TT dash. If you thing Bentley covers what you are after then Erwin won't be much different. However if you are looking at something unfamiliar (say TT dash wiring) then you might find it invaluable. Hope this helps! John

Jon, It is possible to do this yourself, but it largely depends on how mechanically skilled you are, and how attached you are to the skin on your knuckles. The part can be obtained from German & Swedish, but getting to all the bolts around the back to remove the pump is a complete bu99er, and from recollection one of the bolts has to be removed by feel alone. Like the man said above, it's a 3/5 spanner job. I'd recommend you put the car into a local specialist, as it's less than an hours work. HTH, John (soon to be united with my third Corrado)

You are correct. All the trade guides have slashed valuations on Corrados in the past few months. The mainstream motor trade aren't interested in them any more as they're too old. However, that doesn't mean that the market value for even late 96N cars is now only £3k (top examples are still changing hands at £5k+). It just means that a main dealer or trader will give you sod-all in trade. John

Honda Owner : "My Honda's got 800bhp" Corrado Owner : "So farking what....?" I rest my case

Congratulations OSV - that is a great achievement. I bet you are well chuffed :D

Excuse my ignorance - what show has he won?

Make sure you raise the question of scrap value with your insurers from the outset, as that will make things easier for you to arrange. I've recently gone through this myself BTW. I don't believe most insurers have a particularly aggresive attitude to people buying the scrap back as part of the settlement. After all it means less work for them to dispose of it. My car (a 1995 VR6) was purchased back for the princely sum of just £400 - about 10% of the value. I would expect your G60 could be purchased for £200-£400 based on that. Remember, until you accept the claim settlement, the car is legally yours. You do not have to accept the claim settlement if the insurer starts playing up over either the value or your wanting to keep the salvage. There is no reason for them to really keep it, so if they argue, ask them to justify why they so deperately want to retain it. Assuming you get the salvage for (say) £250 you should be able to sell the engine on for more than that, and combined with removing and selling a few other bits from the car, you should at least be able to cover your excess costs too, if not more. HTH, John (replacement VR6 acquired today :D)

If you look at the V5 you will have the previous owner's details on there. You should also HPI check any car before you buy for outstanding finance/theft/insurance write off I don't think the CCGB will just give contact details of it's members away (Data Protection etc) but they night be able to get the owner to contact you if they are still in the club HTH, John

Buy a nice late model VR6 or Storm to run around in, and then use the remaining £3k-£4k to buy a Mk1/Mk2 Golf racing car for track days.

Ben what can I say - it looks farkin awesome mate. Can't wait to see it at E38... only 7 weeks to go now :D

Car has been confirmed as t/loss. I will hopefully have the discussions over valuation of both the t/loss value as well as the salvage completed by the weekend. Once I've got the car back here and stripped down I'll publish the available parts list. Please don't start hassling me for bits until I've done that, as I will be keeping some bits myself. Essentially though what we are looking at is a complete car aside from the farked n/s rear suspension & wing. More updates soon John (black armband donned)

Hi Olly, surprised to see my car has been spotted at Pynes Hill ! To satisfy curiousity I work for EDS and work does being me down to Exeter, although not as much this year as it did the previous two years. Will be down your way next Monday in my (amazing) hire car for business meetings. Send me a PM if you wanna meet up briefly while I'm there. I will be allowing an extra half hour each way for the trip from Bournemouth compared to what M100 VRG used to do ! Cheers John

It is with sadness that I have to inform you that one of the better known, most cherished, most thrashed-at-trackdays Corrados has probably seen it's last days on Britains roads. My own car, M100 VRG which has been a regular on Corrado Club stands at shows up and down the country for almost 5 years, was involved in an accident returning from the Goodwood Festival of Speed on June 25th (no - I wasn't speeding either, for a change!) A sad picture of the damage is attached, but essentially the story is that I was caught out by a roundabout I thought I needed to go straight across... half way around I found out that the exit I intended to take was nothing of the sort, being 1-way only and my "exit" blocked off with a nice big kerb, which I thumped hard whilst still on the brakes trying to avoid it, missed a lamp post by about 1mm (the scratches on the n/s bumper prove how close I got to it) and came to rest where the car was photographed. At this point I want to make a special mention to Glenn and Wendy who were following me at the time (although not into the kerb it seems). Both folks stayed with me until the car was recovered 1½ hours later. I owe a special debt to Glenn, as he drove 50 miles out of his way to drop me home in Bournemouth before returning to his home in Swindon. it's times like these that you appreciate your fellow Corrado owners, and although I've already thanked him, I want to do it again publicly on here as he's a top bloke. As you can see the n/s suspension and subframe is trashed, as is the n/s wing and the wheel. I've been told unofficially that the damage extends to the floorpan and that the A-pillar has moved, putting a ripple in the roof. It's starting to look as though the car will be uneconomic to repair. Needless to say I am completely gutted. I am intending to salvage the car to recover the modified bits for a replacement Corrado and am already on the lookout for a M/N reg car in good order, so if anyone has any leads on a really decent example then by all means send me a PM. If I can find a decent M-plater then my cherished (shurely tacky) registration plate will live again! Hopefully see you all at E38 with the new chariot, I will return!... you lot ain't rid of me yet :wink: John

I had a brake failure (broken pipe) hit me at 130mph on the M3 a few years ago... very sobering indeed...

As far as I know Lee's car is a daily driver. He's done most of the detail work single handed, and although there is a substantial amount of money tied up in it, that has been a result of scrimping & saving for the 5 or so years I've known him have the car. It's a little bit unfortunate that PVW have dubbed another "Best Corrado in the world" tag. Seems about every 3-4 months they award that moniker to a Golf too. I don't think Lee's is the best show car in the world (sorry mate) but nonetheless it is one of the best modified Corrados on the UK scene and has been for a few years now. If you look long and hard enough for details to pick on you will find them in almost any car. I certainly haven't seen a "perfect" car since the burgundy Premier MkII Golf (2003) and that was literally assembled ground and detailed up in the days leading up to GTI International. In the final analysis we all love our cars (except PhatVR6, who's fallen out with his at the moment by the looks of it!). My car ain't no show-queen, but I still love it to bits every time I see it and drive it. I don't have either the time, dedication or inclination to go to the lengths that Lee has, but I totally respect the effort and commitment that he's displayed in getting where he has. Anyway there can't be any argument over which is the best Corrado in the world. It was pointed out to me by it's owner at Inters in 2002.

Some of the pictures I took : Le Mans Pics

Also spotted around the circuit this weekend: Maclaren F1, DeTomaso Pantera, Ferrari 250GT, Ferrari F50, a 1930 Bentley 4½ litre race car, Ultima GTR, Jag D-type, Arial Atom 275 (that must have been a long & windy trip!), the Sagaris, and the EVO-owned Lamboghini Murcielago Also, more TVR's, Lotus, Astons, Cobras, Ferraris, Caterfields, Lambos, Nobles and 'exotic' Porsches (GT2/GT3/RSR/Speedsters) than you would ever believe were registered with English plates on them. That said, I'm not exaggerating in that the Corrado group, who were located in almost the centre of Houx Annexe got a lot of notice from the other owners out there. Seems 8 Corrados together in the same place was a bit unusual and interesting for them, as it's a "forgotton" car for a lot of people Great racing, great group of people, great party, great trip. John

If you want to adjust the sender just go into the boot, lift the carpet and then open the panel through to the top of the fuel pump. The float for the fuel sender is attached to the fuel pump; if you're feeling brave enough you can just mildly bend it a little so it meets your expectations. Would suggest this is a job best done when the fuel tank is almost empty, as petrol isn't too good for the skin (or even latex gloves) and you can set the sender so that you don't run out of fuel with it still showing ¼ full ! John

Hello! The M*** VRG was me! I was returning to Bournemouth from a morning trip out to Newport in Wales. Your green 'rocco looks really clean and really stands out on the road. You weren't hanging about there were ya? heh heh. I was going to slaughter that maxxed Honda Prelude "VR6 stylee" but the bugger turned off I will be up at Castle Combe circuit on June 26 for the VW Cup, and again on July 23rd for the VAG Track Day if you want to meet up. Cheers, John

I will stand up for JEremy (of Justmatz). He's a decent bloke. I think even he would admit looking back on it that he may have made a mistake, but y'know if you have a business and you have a punter standing in front of you with wedge in hand it's hard to say no. If you really can't wait to get one then would suggest you try calling either Lance at Trimsport (01460 242294) or Eurotek. If they don't do them, they probably can get them in or point you to someone who does do them. HTH, John

I'll stand up for Jeremy (of Justmatz). He's a decent bloke. I think he would probably admit he has probably made a mistake in letting someone else have it if the cover was "pledged" to you. If you can't wait for another one, give Lance at Trimsport a call, I think they may do them. John