Bio

The missus (though we aren't married we have been together for 10 years hence the Ms.) said I should start a project log for her 1992 2.0 16V Corrado. It's been lovingly nicknamed the "Corrodo" because I have an affinity for rusty cars and this is no exception due to its age. We've had the car about 4-5 years now and was originally bought as a bit of a project when she got her company car. We paid a little over the odds for it at the time (I have a bad habit of doing that) and it wasn't in great condition but it was As she used to have an old 80's XR2 in the same colour, she was suckered in by the similar shapes, the colour, everything. It was a purchase made with the heart and not with the head. Had we made it sensibly, we probably wouldn't have bought it. The first year or so was fine, we didn't drive it much, a couple of issues here and there as expected with old cars, but nothing major. We moved out of her parents place into our own and let it sit for about 6 months. Got it back on the road, the break callipers ceased on. Had them replaced, I drove it to work one day, then on the way back scraped the rear arch on the pillar of our drive way at the time. To my horror it was pretty much all filler or at least heavily covered in filler to smooth over previous damage. We subsequently MOT'd it anyway and received some corrosion warnings and a note of "filler in sill". So we decided to start work on it and get it back up to scratch. I decided to pull back the filler on the sil and see how bad the rust beneath was. Not too bad you think, OK it's received a scrape in the past so someone filled it. Not a problem! Buzz back more of the rusty area where it's peeling; BALLS! ---------- Post added at 9:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 9:20 PM ---------- What does one do in this situation? START ANOTHER PART OF THE CAR INSTEAD! Cleaned down and restored the door card. And when young and naive and owning a V-Dub? Spray the inside of the sill with Waxoyl, fill the hole with mesh and filler! (yeah I know). 1 month later we received notice we had to move house as the landlord was coming back. The project went on hold. ---------- Post added at 9:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 9:21 PM ---------- So here we are, 2 years later. The car has sat SORN and unmaintained the entire time. We ummed and ahhed over getting rid and about 2 weeks ago the missus says "I think we should see how much it will take to get it back on the road!" *sigh* Battery flat as a pancake which was totally unsurprising so we pop down to Europarts as you do, and picked up a new one for £45. Slung it in the car and attempted to start. Turned over first goddamn time! 2 years with the same horrid old fuel in it, the same skanky oil and plugs, and air filter and coolant, and it turns over. Sure a little clackety for a second or so while oil pressure got up but it damn well started. Shes a little lumpy but that's totally fine and expected after 2 years standing. So this is her in the current form: And the bad side that's had the bad paintwork since we bought it: You can see my handiwork on the sill at this point. It's actually well formed and pretty smooth. Engine bay ---------- Post added at 9:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 9:22 PM ---------- After starting it I decided to check that the rad pipes weren't bulging and that the thermostat was working. Everything felt OK but the pipes felt "crunchy", like there was piles of rust stuck in the corners sooooooooo.. Time to take the rad out! Took a bit of effort what with everything pretty much ceased (actually removed in the shot above) but we got it out in the end; Front cross member/subframe (if someone can tell me the proper name for the lower front that the engine mount connects to that'd be great!) is a bit.. corroded! Slam panel corrosion up and underneath where the rad mounts have been rubbing badly for years; More corrosion; And this evening I flushed the rad. What came out was pretty much just manky old coolant that's crystallized slightly due to age, the glycol seems to have settled out basically. I've also had a scrape around inside the coolant pipes and they don't seem too bad. Soon I'll get the thermostat out of the engine and flush the entire thing through to get her clean on the inside. Also whoever invented these hose clips is my nemesis; I'll replace these with stainless jubilee clips when its all put back together. More coming soon. ---------- Post added at 9:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 9:24 PM ---------- In relation to the front cross member / beam / bumper / whatever it's called, I think it'll probably need replacing. Does anyone happen to know how much of a challenge this job is and if I have to use a Corrado specific part? Google seems to indicate Passat parts might work but if anyone has done one themselves and can tell me that'd be cool. I also need some new rad mounts at the existing were rotten out, again a google indicates that VW don't actually make/sell these anymore, so if there is an alternative that I can use, awesome.

Thanks. We finally managed to get it out. Turns out it was more of a pain than first thought due to the years of corrosion on the bolts but I've flushed it through now which is nice :) Got a few more things to work on now though!

Hello chaps, So the Corrado has been sat on the drive for 2 years while we try and save for a house and get things in order (I also bought another car), so we decided to start her up and get it back on the road. I'm pretty sure the water system had had its day as the coolant hoses feel "crunchy" as if they are full of crystallised fluids or rust.. What I'd like to do is remove and replace the rad and hoses, and while there is plenty of info about VR's I'm struggling even with the search to find out how to remove the 2.0 Rad. Does the front HAVE to come off to do it or can I get away with lifting it up and out? Where is the best place to obtain a full set of hoses? Are there any tips for flushing the system that's potentially gunked up real bad? Could I for example put a high pressure hose in and rinse the system through? Any thoughts and tips appreciated. Sorry if this has been covered before, I really did try searching!

Ok, I'll have to take a look when I get home. She's off the road at the mo anyway due to epic MOT failure (Rear brake discs, Brake hoses, BJ's, Headlamps etc.) so thought it's best to get everything looked over while I'm at it :)

Hey all. I have a leak somewhere that is letting in water to just behind the drivers seat. It seems to pool up behind the seat runners itself which is probably not a good thing. Would it be the usual suspects of the door liner or should I probably be looking at the door seals on this? Is there anything else that could cause this one? Cheers.

Hey guys. Recently started driving the 'Rado a little more due to the BM being off the road for new bushings. I've been driving it to work and home again (about 25 miles total) and it seems to be getting more and more awkward getting 5th, instead it likes to hit 3rd which is not nice when going down a slip road! It's a K plate 2.0l 16v and not being overly mechanically minded I'm not sure where I really should start looking. It may be worth noting that it does this also when standing still and idling and with the engine off. If I push the clutch in and out several times it will eventually go however. Any thoughts?

Oh crikey, I hope that isn't anyone from here that's having to deal with that right now! Though having said that it'd suck no matter who you are.

For repairs I'm willing to throw a fair chunk at it, that doesn't fuss me so much as I understand that any older car will need work done and to get one that's near 100% perfect I will have to spend nearly double, its just the bits that I'm not sure if they are normal or not or even easily repairable as my mechanical knowledge is limited I can't really tell. I know I will be able to get the trader to MOT and tax it too. I may even be able to knock on the price a little.

I went for a test drive this morning and man does this car make me smile and its only the 2.0 16v! Just a few things though that concerned me (though this could just be because the car is cold, -1c outside!): The bad: Under full lock it makes a clunk sound upon reaching full lock. Driving at full lock is ok though. The clutch pedal feels, slow. The return is sluggish basically Accelerator, once again slow to depress almost like its too firm, hard to describe. Not sure if this is normal? ABS Light, here's the kicker, I didn't see any evidence of it coming on AT ALL! Very slight pull to the right under breaking though this could have been road camber, I didn't really pay much attention to that as I was listening for engine noises. Idle feels a little bit lumpy. There is also some rust where the paint has been chipped on the drivers side door sil, the paint plain isnt there, looks like I can clean it up and repair with a fresh coat of paint though. The good The spoiler works, the heater works (its the older slider type), central locking works, the sun roof works and the car pulls nice at about 3k. Gear changes are clean and feel nice and smooth. Interior isn't bad, few markings and little bits like the door pin on the drivers side being broken though I'm sure this can be easily replaced with something suitable. Could also do with a good detailing to bring the paintwork up nice as some parts are a little bit dull. A possible advantage here is that this is at a local VW specialist type dealer and they will MOT the car before sale, which would imply that as ABS light not working IS an MOT failure they should be able to fix this before I buy it? The asking is £1700. My heart says yes but my head says "how much will this cost to sort out and are these things really issues?" Thoughts?

Thanks for the replies, all very appreciated :) My main concern is that if I spend £1700 on it to just buy the car then I may end up spending the same again just to repair and replace stuff around MOT time. I guess the same is true of any second hand car though, I could spend £8k+ on a newer Audi or similar and still have something expensive explode in 30 seconds time. I'll go for a viewing though and take that Wiki buying guide as a check list, maybe see if I can view any other local ones at the same time and try and get some indicators of what I am likely to get for my money. Thanks for the re-assurances though. I guess viewing a car won't do any harm and until any cash if fronted I can still think it all over :)

Hey all, Been looking at Corrado's again (seems to happen at least twice a year over the last 4 years now!) and having finally convinced the missus we are looking at getting one. The question (and I ask here because of the masses of combined wealth) is, should I? We are looking at a local 2.0 16v which looks pretty tidy but what I am concerned about is of course, repair costs should it all go belly up and reliability. If it is anywhere near as good as my 1994 E36 has been to me I will be a happy bunny really (£400 or so over the last 3 years in repairs and replacement parts) and this will be a weekend car rather than a commuter. Any thoughts or suggestions? (sorry if things seem a little disjointed, its been a looooong day at work)