corozin

In the days before Nigel bought his G60 Jet, the previous owner had "G60 GO" as the numberplate, which is my favorite VW-based plate of all time. The plate was sold seperately (as Nigel exported the car) and is now on the back of a MkII Golf. If you look out at the shows you'll possibly catch it as I saw it twice last year. John

Hi everyone, Just so this doesn’t descend into a situation where no-body wins: If you have any problems, thanks or suggestions for improvement regarding the Corrado Club, please ensure that (in the first instance) these are communicated to the Club directly either to me (mailto:[email protected]) or alternatively to the appropriate member of the committee if it’s regarding a specific issue like membership, events or merchandising. It’s important that you do it this way, because although we do have email, we simply do not have the time/resources to scour all the messageboards on all the forums looking for CCGB specific threads. If you can imagine undertaking that task from our perspective the enormity of doing it that way quickly becomes apparent so your help on this point is appreciated. For the record Leonard I don’t have specific knowledge of your contact with the Club but if there is something I can still help you with (or if you just want to let me know the details of what it was) then can you drop me a line direct and I’ll see if what I can do to help you. I am grateful that people have views which they want to debate on the forum, regarding future events, ideas for services, suggestions for improvements etc. That is one of the key ways the Club will move forward. After all, it’s your Club as much as it is mine and we should always be looking for ways to improve things. At the same time though it’s important that you guys make sure that we are aware otherwise something important might get missed and I don’t want that to happen. Thanks everyone, John CCGB Chairman

The Safer Roads Petition is offically go! There is an increasing view amongst motorists that speed enforcement, far from being about safer roads has become a self financing cottage industry driven by revenue targets. Whatever your views on this, please take time to read the material on the site below. http://www.saferroads.co.uk/ You may also wish to download and complete the petition. I know a postal petition is a drag to complete and post, but it is the only way to raise awareness among politicians, as online petitions or forum chat/bitching is unnoticed John

I have to admit I looked very hard at both the Impreza Turbo and the Integra Type-R before I test drove the VR6. Looking back on it now I'm pleased I discounted the Impreza as they are so common that even the old grannies in Bournemouth drive them now... I must admit I still have a curiosity over the Type-R though... if I were to get a second car that would probably be a candidate. John

Tom, Suggest you might want to add the following o Check that the ventilation control panel functions competely. The fan should work in all four positions and the "direction" dial should also work. For later (dial type panel) a replacement is over £200 and slider type panel used on early cars is no longer available from VW. o Check for seized rear brake calipers as this is a common fault (although easily rectified) The only other thing I'd clarify is the "Make sure it doesn't pull" statement. When I first read that I thought you meant "make sure it doesn't accelerate" doh! Excellent post & guide. John

The issue of a CCGB forum has been kicked around for many years and in all honesty I don't think it will ever happen. There are two reasons for this: 1) The possibility of legal action being brought against the Club as a result of something posted onto the forum - something which I know other Clubs have had trouble with in the past. 2) There are number decent forums available - why create more? I have asked Andi if he wants a link to the forum from the new CCGB site as it's only kind to ask permission for these things first . John

As someone who had a front (braided) brake line fail on my car at 135mph last March I can assure everyone that this is probably one of the most unfunny things that can happen to you on the road. In my case the "problem" occurred on the motorway and so was able to bring the car to a halt without hitting anything but it was certainly a big moment. I think the Germans have a word for it "shitzenselfen" or something. The problem was caused the the garage who fitted the braided hoses not doing the job right, allowing the hose to gently rub against the driveshaft. John

The D&W (front) brace can also be sourced from Eurotek (http://www.eurotek-online.com/home.html). They also sell the Stroeve rear strut brace too. That said I think the best rear braces are the Trimsport (http://www.trimsport.co.uk/) or Dubweiser ones as they clamp around the turrents instead of fixing on top like the Stroeve ones do. Believe me this makes a bit difference to the practicality of the things! I was interested to read about the lower front braces. Has anyone managed to fit one of these onto a VR6 and if so which brace did you use? The information I have at the moment is that the gearbox fouls some of the lower braces recommended by the tuning companies so I wanna find out if anyone has actually managed to fit one or not. Cheers John

I know a guy in Poole who has a 1.8 16v with LPG conversion. He bought the car already converted, so I don't think we'll ever find out who converted it. It's the only LPG Corrado I've ever come across. He gets about 35mpg but the fuel costs something like 36p a litre so it's dead cheap to run. Has a donut fuel cell in the boot for the LPG where the spare wheel used to sit. Realistically the cost of doing the conversion isn't really worth it on a car with the value of a Corrado.

Agree. If you are willing to wait for the shows you may get a better price. The normal price for Koni coilovers from TSR is around £700. Beware of prices which are substantially cheaper that this for Koni coilovers (unless they are second hand). Often you find suspension kits marketed as "Koni" and in fact what you get is x-brand springs with Koni shocks inserted. Believe me these kit's aren't as good as the full (genuine) Koni coilover kits. John

That is true, not all dealers are part of the scheme as they are franchises. I have been in touch with Volkswagen today and opened a dialogue with them on this and some other related subjects but it will probably be some time before I can report back. Watch this space as they say... John

The details are on the website http://www.corradoclub.co.uk including a downloadable membership application form. The (annual) renewals are due at the end of January. HTH John

You have no idea... BTW are you up for a meeting in Stirling this Christmas? I'm on my way up again for Hogmonay :D Also can you send me your personal email address Brian as (strangely) I don't have it. Send to mailto:[email protected] Cheers

Tom, You have to take my word that Dorset is a pretty nice place to own a Corrado... some very nice roads around here :D Indeed a couple of them found thier way onto the Autocar "Top drivers roads" article about a year ago John

Sorry Roddy, I missed your post further up. I will contact VW and see what kind of replacement deal I can broker. Based on my experiences down here I do not see how it will be a problem, as if all else fails my dealer will set us up an account. I will let you know the outcome in due course. John

Roddy, Can you email me all the details (Dealership etc) involved directly and I will get in touch with VW about this. A couple of things in the meantime though: 1) VW Dealers are franchised and are (unfortunately) under no obligation to provide Parts Club prices themselves 2) I can assure you that my Dealership (in Bournemouth) would disagree with your Dealer's viewpoint. In fact they offered me a "local" Parts Club arrangement earlier this summer when they found out I was a Regional Host. Of course the fact that German & Swedish is 200yd down the road from them may influence thier decisions 3) In any event the CCGB has access to parts club stock via the Online Internet account we have with them. Details of that were in the Sprinter last year but if you need the details I'm sure I have them somewhere. I am fairly sure you can order online and have the bits delivered to your local dealer for collection. Anyway mate, drop me a line. I'm curious to follow this up if I can... Cheers, John

That is a temperature I see from time to time when I take the car on trackdays :evil: and in all honesty I don't get too concerned until it goes over 140deg. In those situations, pulling over is in my view not the best thing to do provided the car (a) has oil in it (b) Is running ok otherwise. What you should do is just slow the car right down and drive it in a high gear using low revs until the temp drops back. With proper airflow going through the car it should only take a minute or two to drop perhaps 20deg and this would take a lot longer if you pull the car up. If you do stop though, do not switch the engine off to let it cool. Keep it running as that will circulate the oil around the engine and pop the bonnet to let as much heat out (and cool air in as possible). It will take at least 5 minutes to lose the 20deg mentioned above if you use this method. BTW the highest tempereture I've seen in my car is 152deg (which was accidental) at a Trackday at RAF Bentwaters. On a side issue, I'm sure you can get oil coolers from places like the Rally Design catalogue for something like £40 or less. I think even Demon Tweeks do them for less than the price that Stealth have quoted you guys. HTH John

Lemon, I'm sorry to hear about the problems you had. Unfortunately the Club has had some organisational problems this year, and while I don't know the specific circumstances involved in your case I can tell you that things have been reorganised so that problems such as your will hopefully not happen again in future. In as much as an apology is due to you (based on what you have said) then I will offer you that apology, and hope that you will possibly consider rejoining in the new year. Your point about "Customer Relations" is well made but in fairness I would say that the Club (as indeed is the case with nearly all owners clubs) is staffed completely by unpaid volunteers, and it is sometime inevitable that delays can occur with correspondance etc if the Club staff have busy periods in thier day jobs etc. If you want to discuss this offline then I am willing to see if I can help you. See - the new face of Customer Relations! :D If you wish to contact me then mail me direct at mailto:[email protected] Cheers John

There will be a full write up in the next Sprinter which will be out before Christmas. I have no idea where the rumour of a cover up came from, but the meeting was well attended and all the issues which needed to be dealt with were resolved & decided. If you want more information before the Sprinter comes out then please email me direct and I will answer your questions, but I do not intend to discuss the Club's private business on a public forum. John mailto:[email protected]

The last I heard Steve Denton still owns the car - it's his daily driver. The Porsche rims as 9" wide as opposed to the 10" ones on Sukh's blue car (in the photo above). PVS also have a satin silver Corrado VR6 show car, although that one is RHD and has a very different look to the Green one. John

We all try to, but it's not possible to please absolutely everybody. As anyone who has been to the shows & events this year will testify the CCGB is a supported now than it has ever been. Ask anyone who went to National Day or Edition38... John

Nice roads, and of course living on the IOM you have to endure the real bind that is the TT races every year. Must be a hard place to live! John

I suggested to Guy that one of the first mods he should consider for the R32 would be a chip upgrade... to the Sat-Nav. The lass's voice on it is pretty cute and slightly German but I think that a change to either a French or possibly Swedish bird would be an upgrade worth paying for. "At the next roundabout, turn left - you naughty boy!" LOL And for the benefit of the questioner who asked "why you say £27k", well if you fit the options list onto a new R32 then that's about what you've end up paying for it. John '95 Corrado VR6 trackday monster No other cars (don't need one)

I was lucky enough to drive one at the weekend and it's a lovely bit of kit. Goes well, grips the road forever (seemingly), has a superb interior & build quality, and a great stereo (for a standard car) In all honesty it's a little too refined for it's own good, because it just doesn't feel that quick but believe me it goes like stink and we were monstering everything we came across. Believe me - you want this car. All in all (as Guy Hartley said to me) it's probably the first really exciting car VW have made since the Corrado... all I need to do is try and find the £27k to buy one now :? John

The Corrado is a fairly safe car considering the age of car it is, as are most VW's from that period. It wouldn't get a 5-star in the Euro NCap tests against a brand new car, but then nothing from that time would. I don't think adding airbags now is really a starter because of the complexity of the work involved (lots of sensors etc) plus I don't think you would get it through the MOT unless it was original fitment to the car. If you are concerned about safety then bear in mind the car has good brakes and can get you out of a lot of trouble. At the end of the day though the best safety device in the car is you - the driver. John