Purple Tom

Just called up and paid for a set - good service from DG :D

Sounds good - i'll have a set of these please! When's the best time to call?

Erm, it looks like a Mk2 Go......dbloodyawful!!

Be interested in knowing how he's squeezed 16 valves into that 8V cylinder head too!!

I third (or fourth, or fifth!) what G-lad says - the TT arms and blades were amazing on my recent trip to the Nurburgring in my 8V, they clean the screen amazingly well! :D Well worth the £95 from Pat_McCrotch!

Spied an aqua blue G60 parked on the drive of a bungalow in the village of Chelmorton, near Buxton in Derbyshire yesterday (tuesday) morning. Looked really tidy on some A8 type wheels I think! Also spotted a really nice red VR6 parked outside a garage on Church Street, heading up towards Starkholmes in Matlock. I think it lives in the garage as I've only seen it a couple of times parked outside, whoever owns it also has a red Mk5 Golf GT TDi.

Saw a blackberry VR heading up the A52 between the Bardills and Bramcote roundabouts near Nottingham earlier today, about 1.30 ish...I was in my aqua blue VR but traffic was quite heavy and I don't think you saw - looked nice though!

Hey, For the past 5 years I've been going to the Nurburgring, as part of the BH2N Retro run over on www.theminiforum.co.uk. This year I had a problem with my Mini which meant I had to change plans literally at the last minute (4 hours before I was due to leave!) and go in my Corrado instead. In some ways this was a blessing in disguise as I wasn't looking forward to the long journey over to Germany in a fully race-prepped Vauxhall-engined Mini - its intense and very tiring! We had a great week, over 60 cars took part, and I thought I'd just put up a couple of pictures that some photographers got of my C on the 'Ring. I have actually sold this car now and am running a VR6 instead, but it was a standard 2.0 8V with uprated 280mm brakes and decent tyres. I've done around 50 laps of the track now and was able to concentrate on improving my lines, braking and turn-in points this year instead of trying to learn the track itself! I did 8 laps altogether and only timed one of them - I managed a 9.45 which I was pretty chuffed with given that I only had 115bhp to play with. I'm taking the VR next year :D Here's some snaps: Also, I'm usually completely crap at photography, but I was having a play with the settings on my camera and managed to take this picture of the car parked on a small access road just next to the Adenauer-Forst corner. The picture is uncropped and I think I just struck lucky, its currently my desktop picture :lol: If any of you get the chance to go to the 'Ring then do it! Its an amazing place, not just the track itself but the surrounding area, its so nice and the people are very friendly! Thanks for reading, I appreciate its a bit random but I just felt like showing that you can still have fun, even with an 8V :D

Few more pics of how it looks at the moment...just washed it after work so I thought I'd take the opportunity! :D

Just to add to this, I've had my VR6 on the road for a week now and one of the first thing I did was fit a mk4 tank, along with a general cooling system health check. Its as straightforward as Kev says, and all I used to alter the plumbing was an 8mm I.D inline connector and roughly 14" of 8mm silicone hose, only because I had it lying around after doing the Vauxhall conversion on my Mini. It really brightens up the engine bay and makes it much easier to keep an eye on the coolant level than with the original tank, and fitting the plug is a 5 minute job including removing the pins from the old one... Here's a couple of pictures, the fan control module doesn't get in the way at all: A very very worthwhile modification, and so cheap for a change :lol:

The aerial gasket was on eBay - here's a link to the item, £4.95 posted (I bought three so I've got some spares!) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Seat-Arosa-Ibiza-Leon-Altea-Roof-Aerial-Gasket-Seal_W0QQitemZ400049388630QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item5d24cd3c56&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_527wt_941 Fitting is very straightforward, there's actually a how-to in the Wiki section of the forum, but it takes around 20 minutes altogether and is very easy. Matt - unfortunately I put the 90mm splitter on the 8V before I sold it, so I don't actually have it anymore, sorry mate! It was good to see you though, we'll have to do a mini photoshoot of the Matlock Aqua Blue Corrado Club :lol: Tom

Well the 8V sold last saturday (12th September), so as I currently don't have another car it was time to get the VR6 on the road! The timing was unfortunate as it meant I entirely missed the Derbyshire Rolling Road day (2 miles from my house!) as I was busy running round getting the two cars sorted. I've had the VR6 on the road for just over a week now and I love it. I've done quite a few little bits and pieces on it already, more to make it 'my' car than anything else. Somehow a car never feels properly like my own until I've done some work on it. The list of work done and parts repaired/replaced/upgraded reads as follows: - Audi TT wiper conversion (aero wipers) - All badges made black rather than chrome - 50mm front splitter fitted (to aid clearance on my drive) - New headlamp bulbs - Aerial base rubber gasket replaced - Interior fully removed, valeted and refitted - 'daves16v' handbrake tunnel trim repair kit fitted - full wash, polish, wax and detail carried out - 4x Continental Premium Contact2 tyres fitted - New camshaft position sensor - New auxillary water pump - heater matrix coolant pipe - New thermostat - New thermostat housing - Coolant distribution block removed, cleaned and refitted to cure a small leak - Mk4 expansion tank and correct plug etc fitted Thats about it so far, but I've been using the car daily so its been mostly after work that I've been doing stuff to it. I haven't got any pictures yet other than a couple of the expansion tank, but for those of you with VR6's who want to do the conversion, here's what it looks like... Sorry about the poor quality, my camera battery died! As you can see, all I needed to convert the VR6 coolant pipes was an 8mm inline connector and a length of 8mm I.D hose. I had plenty of hose lying around from when I did the Vauxhall conversion on my Mini so it was a simple matter of finding a routing that didn't put any undue strain on the hose. Its nice to be able to see the coolant level now, as well as to be able to easily remove the expansion tank cap! I've got plenty more to do to the car over the winter, including: 288mm brake conversion mk4 rear calipers braided hoses all round ARB's timing chains clutch possible suspension upgrades... But so far in terms of the drive it is worlds apart from the 8V. The VR6 feels so much smoother and obviously much faster, and the soundtrack makes me not want to listen to the stereo quite as much! :D I'm also really impressed with the fuel economy. Now I've replaced the camshaft sensor I am regularly getting 35mpg on the MFA, which is about 34mpg in real world figures. Its much better than I thought it would be and as a result I think its a very viable daily driver! I'll update this again soon, but so far I'm pretty happy! Tom

35mpg is very possible if its running properly. I've had mine on the road for just under a week and I'm averaging 35mpg on my daily commute and roughly 34mpg per tank. If you give them stick the economy will suffer though!!

Well I thought been as though I'm off this week I'd put it for its MOT and see what happened. I was most concerned about the emissions as I don't know how clean VR6's tend to run....but it flew through! :clap: It got advisories on a worn ARB link and a split inner CV boot - nothing that I won't be sorting over the winter anyway :) You could say I'm pretty chuffed! The 8V has hopefully sold, just waiting for confirmation from the prospective buyer tonight....as soon as it goes I can get the VR on the road! :nuts:

I did start to make a wiki guide to it as I figured it'd be pretty useful, but it got to the point where I started to lose track of the pictures etc! I think I might do it to my new VR6 just for the hell of it anyway as I'm sure it'll need attention, so I'll get a guide together then! I appreciate thats not much help to you now - but it really isn't that difficult to be honest. Tom

The motor has a thermoswitch built into it. If it gets too hot then it automatically cuts off. The heat can be caused by mechanical resistance in the motor itself, or sticking cables etc... My spoiler had this same problem so I took the whole mechanism off, stripped the cables and cleaned/relubricated them, then stripped the motor, carefully cleaned the armature and brushes using electrical contact cleaner, removed all the bits of carbon and adjusted the end-float on the motor shaft using the screw that is there for that purpose. Once it was all back together I tested it off the car using a simple 12V feed to the motor itself and there were no sticking problems at all. Its not a very complicated job, it just took a bit of time to strip the mechanism apart, clean it and reassemble it in the car - probably about 4 hours in total. Well worth it though as the spoiler works with no problems at all now!

That would have been me :)

I am seriously tempted! But the problem with having 2 Corrados is that I'll look after them both too much! I want a daily to be a car that I don't care so much about and one I won't be so bothered about when it starts acquiring little car park dings or stonechips etc. I'm looking at getting a Mk1 Leon TDi as a daily, probably a 110 as I can get a nice one for less than £3k easily. The 8V will make someone a great first Corrado (like it was for me), or a great base for a 1.8T conversion or just a decent, economical Corrado for everyday use.

If you go onto the VOSA website its possible to find the MOT history of any car from when the computerisation was introduced (around 2005 depending on the garage). All you need is the registration number of the car and the latest MOT certificate number. If the car's had any advisories or an MOT fail then it will be listed on the site. Its free and instant too :) Tom

Hey everyone, On sunday I picked up my new VR! I haven't managed to get any pictures yet so here's some taken from the advert of pretty much how it looks at the moment: The car is pretty straight and honest, but by no means perfect. It has a few bodywork blemishes such as a couple of parking dents on the passenger door, scratches and scuffs in places and by the looks of it someone couldn't judge where the front was as the bumper has some stonewall rash! Nothing that can't be sorted though. Mechanically it seems pretty good. Its done 126k and has no evidence of the chains being done, so I'll get those sorted over the winter, along with doing the clutch for peace of mind. The gearbox has an issue where it crunches into first when engaging from stationary which is obviously a worn baulk ring or similar, so while I've got the 'box off to do the clutch I'll get the gearbox reconditioned too. The interior is full black heated leather and is in very good condition, and all the other electrics work which is great, so I've got no worries there. It has a Toad Ai606 alarm but I think I'm going to remove that and fit a Cobra unit as the Toad was fitted in 2001 and I'm not sure how much I want to trust an 8-year old alarm! Other than that it drives really nicely with no smoke, and pulls well in every gear. The car was advertised with a misfire from cold which I sorted by clearing a couple of very old faults from the ECU. It turns out this car used to live roughly 500 yards up the road from my house up until the end of last year! The previous owner spend £100's at my local stealers (Parkway in Derby) on small bits and pieces, and looking back at the history it hasn't really wanted for much in its life! I'm 25 at the end of August so the car is staying off the road until then, and I'm going to use the time to get it ready for its MOT which expires at the start of September. Leonard said thats a bit like having a supermodel girlfriend and not being able to take her clothes off, which is pretty accurate :lol: Last year it went through the MOT but had advisories on both front top mounts, all the rear flexi hoses and one of the front-rear brake pipes. I'm going to replace these as a matter of course, and I have a set of Mk4 rear calipers to go on to sort out a pretty poor handbrake. I'll also have a gander at the front suspension and see if it might be time for new ball joints etc, but as long as it gets through the MOT I'll worry about the rest of it as I come to it! Here's a couple of pictures of it in the background with my 8V - I'll update this thread as and when I can :) Thanks for reading! Tom

I would say almost certainly not. 14's will clear 256's but not 280's as fitted to the G60.

Hi, I just wanted to let people know that I've recently bought a VR6 so this will be for sale soon! It really has been the best first Corrado I could ever have asked for, and I'd keep it if I had the room, but I don't :( I'll get a proper for sale thread up in the next few weeks but just wanted to make people aware that it will be available! Tom

Yup, both speeds work fine when bridging, and I even tested the switch before fitting to ensure continuity when getting up to high temperatures...

Jim, I know its been a little while since you posted on this thread, but I just wanted to add my thoughts into the equation. I am having similar 'issues' with my 2.0 8V (ADY), in that the temperature gauge happily climbs up to 110ºc on the gauge before the fan comes on, and then it only comes on on the slower speed. The temperature falls quite nicely to about 100º on the gauge, the fan turns off, and then the same thing happens again. Oil temps vary between 98º and 112º after a hard drive. The car also sits at about 95º on the gauge when cruising at motorway speeds. So far I have replaced the fan switch, the coolant temperature sensor, expansion tank (mk4 item), a couple of metal pipes, the plastic housing on the head and the thermostat, all with genuine VW items over the last 8 months or so. The radiator is still the original, as is the water pump, oil cooler/heat exchanger and heater matrix. The coolant is new, stays clear and doesn't ever require filling up. Obviously the inidicated temperature is high, just like yours... However... I've been thinking a little bit of the layout of the coolant temperature sensors on my engine, and also from looking at Etka it would appear that the 16V is the same. Look at where the coolant temperature gauge takes its reading from - it is the plastic housing where the coolant exits the cylinder head before making its way along the top hose to the radiator. This is the hottest part of the engine and where the coolant its going to be at its hottest before returning to the rad.... Then look at where the fan switch is located - right at the bottom of the radiator where the coolant is pretty much going to be at its lowest possible temperature before going into back into the engine. The standard three speed fan switch is designed to switch the slower speed on at 95º and off at 84º, and the fast speed comes on at 102º and off at 91º. So, effectively, if your fan is coming on at the slower speed then it means that the coolant temperature in the radiator around the fan switch is something along the lines of 95º which is a whole 15º (ish) lower than the indicated gauge temperature! My thinking is that the indicated engine coolant temperature on the gauge IS accurate and the coolant temperature is approaching 110º when it exits the engine, but that doesn't mean that the coolant temperature through the whole system is at that temperature. In fact, the coolant entering the engine is likely to be at a temperature of around 85-90º, which is plenty cool enough! I know for a fact that my 2 speed fan works properly, I fitted it myself (for some reason my car had a single speed fan yet had all the wiring necessary for a 2-speed fan so it made sense to fit a 2-speed system!), yet even in the 30º+ heat that we had 2 weeks ago the faster speed didn't come on, the slow speed was plenty to bring the temperature down to reasonable levels on the gauge again. My car runs fine and there is no signs of any temperature related issues. Also remember that modern cars temperatures can vary by as much as 20-30º in normal use, but as long as the temperature is classed as 'within tolerance' by the ECU the gauge will sit bang in the middle! According to the Corrado owners manual the operating temperatures on the gauge can get pretty high when working hard too... Sorry if this has already been covered, and sorry if I'm preaching to the converted, but I thought I'd just add my findings into the mix for you :) I just think that maybe you've got nothing to worry about... Tom

I've got a set of standard 8V wheels which I'm going to use as my winters. I've been thinking that satin black would be a good way to go, and to be honest I don't think they look chavvy at all, as long as they suit the car its all good!