Okay here's my story and I'm sticking to it;
This Corrado has some history. My son Brian bought this car in 1999 and began to modify it. By the time my son got it the car had been run pretty hard by its previous owners. Originally, it had an automatic but that was swapped for a 5 speed manual from an early Passat when the tranny fluid cooler sprung a leak and filled the transmission with antifreeze. Nearly all of the light mechanical work was done by him. When Brian had the car the engine was rebuilt to stage 4 specs...1.9 litre, 268/260 cam and an Upsolute chip. It was one of the first in the Pacific Northwest to have the Lysholm twin screw supercharger. However, due to noise and drivability issues the Lysholm was swapped for a BBM GT-70 spec modified G-Lader. Professionally massaged by John Betz at BahnBrenner Motorsports in Bend, Oregon. It has the full-monty GT-70 porting job and RSR outlet.
In May of 2003, Brian needed a family car and I needed a mid-life crisis, so I traded vehicles with him...my '92 Explorer for his Corrado. When I got the Corrado I began making it a more reliable daily driver. In February '04, I imported a 1/2 black leather and cloth Recaro interior from Niko Van Os on VW Vortex. The electric seats were only available on European Corrados and are quite rare in the US. Some Canadian cars have the full cloth Recaros. I also installed the European seat belts and correct black pillar trim and got rid of the US spec motorized automatic belts. The G-lader bearings, wide cog belt, apex strips, and seals were replaced in August '03. On the inlet is a BBM Howitzer with a K&N cone filter. The throttle body has been ported as well. Exhaust is a stock down pipe, TT High flow Cat and Borla stainless cat back system. The coolant and boost hoses are by Samco and the intercooler inlet and outlets tubes are by Eurosport. It rides on Bilstein struts, H&R Sport springs, and 17 X 7.5 OZ Racing Competition Wheels. I recently installed poly rear shock mounts and new rubber bump stops.
In April 2004, I removed the engine to replace the crank, cam, and intermediate shaft oil seals to stop the annoying oil drips in the driveway. But while the car was at the shop for tuning the mechanic started the car through the driver side window. Since it was in reverse gear the car dragged him by the arm across the parking lot backing into the shop owners motorhome. A fair amount of damage was done to the right rear quarter and the hatch. Their insurance paid for a total respray and some other work. While the car was being repaired, I had a new red/black weave carbon fiber Fiber Images VR6 hood installed. I also bought a new front bumper skin, side skirts, and aluminum Corrado logo door sills. They are from (Zarman) Dub Designs Industries in Toronto.
The fuel rail has been replaced with a BBM machined aluminum rail and the fuel injectors have been rebuilt and blueprinted by Marren Motorsports.
The tires are brand new Hankook Ventus HRII 205/40HR17's.
Future Mods yet to come and as the budget allows...
Scirocco mono wiper
VR6 5 lug hubs
VR6 Coilovers
Quaife or Peloquin LSD
Six Speed Gearbox
Silenced Lysholm Twin Screw Supercharger
Techtonics Tuning Header
Audi A6 door handles
Improved sound system
I drive this car daily and year 'round back and forth to work. I can honestly say that I am enjoying the hell out of it and I absolutely love to drive and work on the car. My wife, bless her heart, indulges my passion for this automobile.
