Purple Tom

Me too, I've already got the 15" steelies ready to fit and the winter tyres on order, so bring on sub 7º temperatures!! It'll be useful if I can maintain traction on my country lane commute. I did find that my VR with 205/50R15 Conti PremiumContact2 tyres and standard suspension was absolutely fantastic in the snow last winter, the traction control helped too (which I didn't know it had until I was doing below 10 kph with the wheels spinning).

G60 steels - straight fit on a 16V, they'll fit over 280mm brakes too (valvers have 256mm as standard). No problems at all with fitting, they're 4x100 so no adaptors required, 57.1mm centrebore so no spigot rings and the correct offset so no problems at all. Here's a pic of my 8V with them fitted, I also had 280mm brakes on it:

Just to clarify a couple of things.... The alarm - does it operate the central locking remotely using a fob? You said the drivers door didn't lock - when you locked it manually with the key did the central locking pump make its usual noise or did nothing happen at all? Will the rest of the locks disengage when the drivers door is unlocked or is it a case of the drivers door does nothing? Tom

I've still got it at the moment, the new owner doesn't collect it until sometime next week. It just flew through the MOT too :) Still in love with it but another Corrado is on the cards soon ;)

Looking really good mate, I'm glad you've tackled the heater matrix, never a nice job but peace of mind once it's done!! Looks really nice on those wheels too :)

Gutted that you left the rear beam and front subframe on, I'd have had those, as would a lot of other people I'm sure!! Never mind...it obviously wasn't a good experience for you but hopefully the next one will be better.

Replace the coil (it's on the bulkhead at the back of the engine bay). That'll sort it. Any VW coil will do as long as it's 12V and the plug is the same, I've found that the same unit was fitted to cars like the Mk3 Polo (any flavour, even G40's), petrol Mk3 Golfs, Mk4 Polo's etc etc. HTH. Tom

You should try OBD2, gets rid of all of that 'laziness' at low rpm :D I agree though, people are very quick to comment on a car when they've never driven it, but I also feel people are quick to judge when the particular car isn't in their chosen 'scene'.

Does it make the rattle under load only or is it present when free-revving the engine? Tom

I know the VR6 has twin knock sensors but could it be pinking? I'm not sure whether it would run well (if at all) if the knock sensors were faulty, but if they were then it could possibly be pre-ignition, especially in the low rpm/high load conditions that you describe.

Basic things on the VR are to make sure it has decent spark plugs and good quality, good condition HT leads. You'll be surprised how much difference they make. As well as that see if you can find someone local who has VAG-COM as they can plug into the cars diagnostic socket and see if there are any fault codes stored on the ECU. I would say though that as standard the OBD1 VR6 is quite a 'peaky' engine. They don't really give decent power or torque until 3.5k rpm upwards, and below that tend to feel a bit flat. That's just my opinion though. HTH a bit. Tom

The piston needs to be turned because of the way the self-adjusting handbrake mechanism works. The piston fits on an internal thread and that's the reason for needing the tool to do it properly. I believe it is possible to do it by using a combination of g-clamps and water pump pliers but I've never tried it and I can imagine it being a right PITA to do. Is there anyone local who can help you out?

You'll need a piston wind-in tool, they're about £15 from Halfords. Other than that it's pretty straightforward, would be worth giving the slider pins a re-grease while you're at it. HTH Tom

I think I'd personally go for the Golf. It might only be 2 wheel drive, but as you say it looks better, will probably depreciate slower and is likely to be more fun to drive with 280bhp. Just my opinion!

For me it had to be the uprated headlight loom, closely followed by a 288mm front brake conversion! Being able to see whatever it was I was about to drive into was good, but then having the brakes to prevent me hitting it was even better :lol:

Nice looking project, and one I considered when I owned an 8V Corrado. When I looked into it I spoke to a mate who worked for JBS who said that they'd made a start on a Corrado 2.0 TFSI conversion but had run into difficulties with the clocks/loom etc. He since left JBS and I didn't hear anything more, so it'd be good to see one running :) I understand JBS also have plans for the custom engine mounts required to fit the engine into a Corrado - I'm not sure whether this is true or not but it might be worth a phone call... Will be watching this one closely! :salute:

Had a full cage in my Mini for 5 years now. I use it on a regular basis (the Mini, not the cage :lol:) and have never had a problem. It's a 6-point Safety Devices FIA-approved cage with a fixed diagonal. Really can't see it being a problem in any car, as long as it's declared to the insurance company.

You'll need to swap the entire set-up - carriers, calipers, pads and obviously fit new 280mm discs in the correct stud pattern. It is possible to retain the calipers but you need to use thinner pads as the 280mm disc is thicker than the 256mm discs (280 is 22mm thick, 256 is 20mm thick I think). Probably a good idea to fit new front flexi hoses while you've got the braking system apart too, and an ideal time to upgrade to braided hoses if you haven't already. HTH. Tom

Getting the servo out then figuring out which plugs go where while doing an OBD2 conversion was the hardest job I've found. I've done the heater matrix and ignition switch and they weren't easy but not as bad as the servo :lol: Try changing the cambelt and waterpump on a Vauxhall-converted Mini Clubman with the engine in place, then you'll know the meaning of the word difficult! (totally irrelevant I know but kind of along the same lines)

The bracket in the top picture mounts on to the back of the head, roughly above the water output flange for the heater. It'll fit one way only and should be fairly obvious when you get it in the right position. The bracket in the second picture bolts onto the top of the O/S/R engine mount and is the holder for the rear knock sensor and lambda sensor plugs. I'm not sure about the other two to be honest, it's been a couple of months since I put my engine back in. Nice project though, good luck getting it running! :)

I agree, I replaced the chains on my engine at roughly 134k but on removal and inspection they really didn't 'need' doing. However there was wear on both upper and lower tensioner pads and the lower guide rail was broken so I'm glad I did it anyway. I also replaced the components with the Mk4 upgrades where appropriate and I'm now confident that with the correct maintenance the engine will do another 100k without issue. I would have said that if you're going to do it, you might as well do it now, it will certainly eliminate any doubt for the future.

Aye, a proper brake pipe spanner (11mm), a decent amount of soaking in WD40 and a small amount of heat if appropriate is the right way to do it. An 11mm open-ender isn't really the right tool, but I guess if you're willing to sacrifice the brake pipe you could try some mole-grips on it. Really not recommended though as it's pretty bodgey, but it'd help you get the car back on the road if you're struggling for transport.

Before doing the OBD2 conversion my VR6 used to be spot-on, usually to within 0.1 mpg when calculating the mpg against a tankful. Since doing the OBD2 conversion the MFA usually reads about 1-2mpg higher than the calculated figure.

Looks really really good mate, I'm pleased you've finally been able to do something cosmetic rather than focusing all of your attention on the oily bits :D Wish I could make it to Stanford this weekend mate but work commitments don't allow, however we'll have to convoy to a show soon! Tom

Yeah, 16x7.5 ET35 so pretty much ideal for the Corrado. I'm really happy with how they fit tbh, 17's would be too big and result in an elastic band of a tyre given the drop on my car (40mm)