staffs_til_i_die

Thanks for the advice. My original 1995 C had some grumpy days in 2007 when it was 12 years old. By now it will no doubt have serious mental health issues. So as long as I buy a complete new tool box, a new jack and a shed full of Prozac to feed it, I should be fine...

A bit of competitive banter. I like it :-)

I take your point. Obviously I don't expect an older car to match a newer one. I just had such a love/hate relationship with my 1st Rado. It used to break down all the time. I did a road trip to Cornwall in it for a mate's stag do and it melted the distributor! But then I'd walk outside and see it on the drive and everything would be forgiven... I passed a slammed VR on the M6 the other day and thought "that car looks twice as good as mine at half the speed". I'm just debating which option to go for: 1. Standard VR with high mileage 2. High mileage VR with replacement engine 3. Valver 4. g60 Option 2 may be good, but maybe it's not a proper C. Can't decide.

Hi, I owned a 2.0 16v midnight blue Rado a few years ago. Before that I'd only owned a 1.8 Vauxhall Chavalier, and so I still remember the day I picked up the C very clearly :-) I used to post on here back in 2007/2008 as the car was quite tempremental and I constantly needed help in fixing the weekly niggles that used to arise. I've had a few cars since then, and am currently driving an 08 plate Honda Civic Type R. I appreciate I will not get much love for that on here, but as a daily driver it's a beast - 30-40mph if you drive it sensibly, but open up the VTEC and it's a monster. The Rado bug has bitten again however, and I've been looking at a few for sale. I'm just wondering which one to buy... My 1st Corrado must have been on the back of a pick-up truck about 15 times in 2 years. I was a bit of a regular with one driver. The Civic has never missed a beat. Although I don't expect reliability like that, I don't want to buy another money pit that constantly breaks down. My original Rado was also very poor in terms of fuel efficiency (20 - 25 mpg) - no where near the Type R. At the time, a lot of people said that the VR was actually better in terms of fuel, particularly if you spank it a lot. Can anyone shed some light on this? Most of the C's these days seem to have 150,000 on the clock which will make a difference to the official figures. What are people getting in terms of mpg? How reliable are VRs with 150,000+? This time it's for the weekends, rather than commuting. Cheers, Chris

Four Lions 8/10 Comedy gold. Chris Morris just does not give a fukc.

Sounds like quite a shopping list. Hope she drives better now after all that cash money you've lavished on her. Bras? You should only put one thing in bras:

Are you sure you don't want to sell? Would be interested in this one...

Sounds like you've got a bit of work to do! Carpentry in you door handles?!! Let's hope whoever did this didn't continue this style into your engine bay... Whoever had my C before me had done a lot of bad DIY electrics (the fuel pump was wired though the indicators), and it took ages to work out the problems and fix them. Very frustrating! Good luck with the project. Keep the pictures coming!

Just read this thread from the start. What a transformation! Keep up the good work, and keep posting pics. I'm looking to buy a VR, and this one has defo given me some inspiration...

Ditto most of what has been said. Thought is was interesting that Mr McLaren himself had a negative comment to make about the team. He has always been 100% in favour of everything they do, and has said he will always race for them. A few more mistakes like that and will that picture change?

Nice car, and easily the best colour. Keep the pictures coming!

I reckon with and a bit of wet n' dry that rust'll clear up in no time! :)

You could fit a roll cage. It's an expensive option. Or climate control. Also expensive. Or you could do this: http://www.shaunbrown.com/inventions/Fan.jpg As the designer says, "Why buy a fan when you can make your own out of tape, airplane parts, and part of a croquet game"?

Never much of a fan of white cars. They're a bit like white jeans... But your's does look good. Worth the drive!

Those wheels are the standard 2.0 16v ones I think. I had the same ones on my valver. They didn't stay on long :) They actually look very similar to the wheels off the old Freelander. I don't recommend off-roading in a C though (or a Freelander for that matter)...

Keep going with this one! Best to find all the bits of rust and sort them in one go, rather than have to do bits after the respray. Or even worse, be in a crash and find that you car is made of Swiss cheese and collapses around you. How much further are you going with the smoothing? Anything on the exterior as well the bay?

Looks good. Have you thought about a little red detailing on the outside to match up with the interior (as well as the rears)? Red brake callipers or a red VW badge? Keep the pic's coming...

Nice looking C. You must be proud! I've found this thread very interesting. I'm going to buy another C in the next 12 months, and I'm not sure whether to buy a wreck and do it up, or buy something that's in pretty good nick and do it up. VR prices are pretty low at the minute (£2000 - £2500 for something reasonable). How much was yours to begin with, and how much have you spent so far (if you don't mind me asking - PM me if you'd prefer). I don't want to buy a banger and then have to spend thousands just getting it through its MOT. Unusual situation this though - most girls I know don't think that having a phat ass is a compliment. Keep it up!

Once got 40 mpg out of my valver, driving at 50 for a very long time, slip-streaming a lorry. It was to prove to my Mrs that my C was in fact a very sensible, reliable family car which was good for the environment too. Don't think I convinved her though cos as soon as I got bored and put my foot down my mpg went back down to the usual 18mpg...

Have just been reading through this thread (it's taken a while!) Absolutely stunning car. Heard a few people in the past moaning about modding a Storm even slightly, but yours is sweet, and shows it can be done, and that it improves a classic. :salute: :salute: :salute:

Cheers. Very helpful. Zeal - your headlight mod looks good. It's always good to be different I reckon. :salute:

Funny story. I usually don't say what I should have said in situations like that, and you always think of killer lines later. Arse! In terms of the light mod, I say each to their own. I agree about chavvy lights (e.g. Lexus style rear lights on a C), but I think carefully modded to try and look OEM (maybe impossible I know) it could look good. It would need to be done as part of an updated look across the whole car. My question really though was about the legality of it all. Can you mod a headlight, and then get it approved so that it is road legal? It's not worth it otherwise, as if you hit something, the insurers would no doubt take your ass outside and rim you :eek:

Anyone?

Liking the look of this headlight mod. Or was thinking modding the new A5 lights as they would really suit a Corrado. The link Dinkus posted says that modding headlights is illegal though. Is there somewhere you can go to get these things approved legally though, maybe with a nice shiny certificate or something? http://www.flickr.com/photos/janandersen_dk/2425261462/

I had a Bora. Massive boot compared to a C. Mine rolled a lot when cornering, and made me miss the handling of my Rado. Don't think they have anti-roll bars on do they?