fendervg

There's a web site or forum posting somewhere in the US where a guy compares three different sun roof mechanisms (Corrado, Passat and Golf) and breaks out the similarities and quirks on each one and shows how to combine parts from different mechs to make a working one - I'll see if I can find it in my history. The mechanisms are all more or less the same and work on the same operating principle - the differences are to do with the wind deflector at the front, and the sliding/lifting mech for the interior trim - the glass roofs don't lift this, it just slides back by hand. Sun rooves are just a PITA - I've never come across a 10+ year old car where they work properly because basically no-one ever does any maintenance and cleaning/lubrication on them.

These are the finished parcel shelf supports, with part of the speaker housing cut away to allow for the larger magnet: And with speaker in situ: One thing I noticed while working on these parcel shelf supports is how well made and put together they are compared to the Mk2 items (I've had both the standard plastic ones and the ones with carpet lining) - the shelf hooks are metal rather than the plastic that always breaks, there are four mounting points, there's lots of felt to reduce vibrations all over the place, the covering is well glued on and the speaker units themselves can be removed without taking out the whole shebang. So I guess is this one of those times where you can see that the Corrado was really built to a "premium" spec and the extra care the workers at Karmann put into it.

Makes sense. Thanks for sharing that info. If you think about it, manufacturers like Seiko make watched just for the Japanese market, the same for high end cameras. And having been to Tokyo a couple of times, they are very particular about their cars and product exclusivity.

One side shouldn’t lift when sliding closed - it means the cable end is not seated on the rails properly or one of the other catches is out of alignment. On a side note, all of these slide and tilt roofs, whether mk3, b3/b4, seat etc have more or less the same design made by Rockwell and will all break eventually in the same way if not looked after (usually a snapped left cable guide). It’s just that there are a lot more of the other types around than there are Corrados, and they might be slighter younger - but regular use and special VW lube are your best bet. Or don’t use it at all.

Same here - standard Halfords hook and threaded bar type - probably made by Laser. Worked fine on a Mk2 Golf which has the same front layout. Always just used two. You can cheat and compress just part of the spring to get the strut off - use a couple of small c-clamps like a carpenter uses for safety by looping them over the coils to stop them springing back.

Handle went on fine, so far so good. Was working on some rear speaker replacements yesterday - this is why things didn’t sound too good before: Had some JBL 6x4 I had bought for my old Golf Mk2 that I decided to use - they fit easily with a little modification to the screw holes and spacer. The parcel shelf supports will need to be modified slightly to fit the larger magnet - that’s today’s job. Incidentally, you can remove just the speakers and grille from above by removing two small Phillips screws at the side of the shelf. The VW speaker cable adapters were sourced on eBay - no need to mess with the original wiring.

That could be it - it’s so dirty there that it’s hard to tell. I’d say debadge it. More in keeping with the mods.

Ha ha. Fair enough - sounds like you might need a different badge entirely. To be honest, I’ve never seen a cover that says 2.9, although the engine was fitted to a few quite rare variations - the red paint though does not look standard - maybe an early distributor car?

Not sure - but think your are looking at #11 on this diagram: http://www.oemepc.com/vw/part_single/catalog/vw/markt/RDW/modell/COR/year/1993/drive_standart/76/hg_ug/133/subcategory/37025/part_id/3691392/lang/e#sec_11 That sites lets you view the cats for different regions as well. ......BUT, actually I'm wrong, as that part appears to be just for the seal around the oil filler cap hole.

Leave it as 2.8 and it will be a sleeper! [emoji41]

The blue/white (might be grey) wire is for GALA (speed dependent volume control) -- it is splices into the spoiler control module feed and comes from the gearbox speed sensor. If it's left bare and earths accidentally it can cause problems with the spoiler. The VW Gamma 4 and a few others had this functionality, it's actually very hande - to set, pull out the tone knob to second position and to off, then set the volume at standstill to what you want, then drive at a steady 60 and adjust until the volume is right - after that it adjusts automagically! The aerial amp wire is solid blue.

That part# is the genuine VW Polo one, so should be a stock part. You could always ask them before ordering. Stay away from the cheaper ones as people have had them fail very quickly after fitting.

I thought caps were about 25 each the last time I looked? 50 is pretty steep and not really worth it.

I had those BBS on the cover page on my Mk 2. Have never seen the Ronals in real life on a VW, apart from on the Audi Quattro variants.

Branston pickle anyone?

Vulcanised or gum rubber? [emoji41][emoji23][emoji28]

Careful now lads - talking about lube and rubber.........nearly like the old days on here.

Yeah, new ones seem to be 80-150 euro depending on where you look. Spotted a grey one as well, but with the VW grey you always need to be careful of exactly what shade you get as they sometimes don't match well, and anyway I reckon the black would probably look better.

Looks the part - from the looks of it this would replace the trim along the top, all the way to the tip of the handle, so doing away with the current handle in a one-piece kind of design. Interested to see how you get on with the test fit.

If in doubt, lube it! I picked up a litte bottle of VW lock spray a few years back - looks like a small trave deodorant or sanitiser - always make sure to do them before the Mr Frost arrives.

A nicely refurbished driver’s side handle ready to be fitted - hopefully everything works! In the past I've found that sometimes even a new striker won't actuate the tab inside the door to open the lock properly, because it can't reach - probably because the latch tab got bent over time. In this case you either need to bend it back slightly (very carefully as you need to go in through the hole for the handle in the door), or for those of us with kids, the little plunger dispensers that come with a Calpol or Nurofen bottle are perfect to cut to size, and fit nicely over the striker when you wrap a little fabric tape around it.

Hi and welcome - yes, my guess would be the ignition switch. They are still easily available from the dealer or through Heritage/Classic Parts, as they are used on lots of VWs, including newer 6N Polos. The barrel is unlikely to wear, it's much more likely the key, especially if it is a copy. If you still have the key code for your car you can get a new key made up from scratch to the original specifications. Iginition switch is good to replace as a precaution, and the only hard part is getting that little bugger of a screw out that holds it in place. Remove the steering wheel, upper and lower steering cowlings and you'll see what's what. A new switch is not expensive, so a quick tests would be to get a replacement, pull off the wiring connector from the back of yours and put it on the new switch and try to operate it with a screwdriver or key blank to see if this fixes the problem, before you actually go to the bother of changing the old one.

Don't tell them - let it be a Corrado Forum secret! They are scarce enough as it is.

I don't think they were meant to be a scaled up version of the factory wheel - just bespoke racing wheels made by Speedline (after all just a manufacturer, not a model name) for the Vento Cup. They look very nice though, and interesting to see them close up.

Ah ok - I thought they were all powered, at least from the early 90s onwards, as both my Mk2 and VR have them. it could also be that the original area was removed when an after-market stereo was fitted and replaced with an un-amplified one - the small pre-amps fitted on the head unit side are not standard for VWs and tend to come from Halfords or a motor factors. One of the reasons for this is that reception will often be pants if you fit an after-market unit with the original area and leave it unpowered.