Portent

I found that removing the footwell trim by the bonnet release, and also slightly loosening (but no need to remove) the drivers left hand under-dash tray helped with removal and re-fitting of the fusebox.

If it's a Schrick rather than a VW VSR then yes it has to come off for a plug change.

Are the mk2 Golf recaro's similar? I appreciate they only have one movement switch but at a pinch you could modify it and cut another hole. Ok it won't be 100% original but it would be close. I'm sure Golf parts would be more plentiful although you'd probably need to look around for a really tatty but complete set of seats. Not ideal but may help.

Same as mine I think (they aren't mine - I found them on another forum): http://www.dubberssportsvws.co.uk/parts/391/bbs-16inch-split-rim-alloy-wheels-5-stud-very-rare

If I was selling then probably around £3k to £3.5k depending on the market at the time. But as I'm not selling then it would have to be around £4k to tempt me.

To find the right Corrado you have to be prepared to travel. There are only a few thousand left in the country. Many of those are in poor condition. Many won't be a VR6. So the chances of finding one on your doorstep in the right condition are slim. Even if you decide not to look at this one then the chances are that you would have to travel in the future for another. You'd be very lucky indeed to find something like this on your doorstep and the £150 cost for travel is more than offset by the fact it's way under market value for a Storm in this condition with cream recaros and those wheels. Whereabouts are you located? Could you look for cheaper travel methods such as megabus for example?

strangely I can't find the For Sale link either. But here's his build thread. I suggest pm'ing him if you're interested. http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?49025-C5-oem..£3250-owns-it/page65

Take a look at C5 OEM's in the for sale section and in his member gallery. The mileage is higher than the first car you mentioned but it is a fantastic car. I met the previous owner before he bought it and it was a great car then. Since C5 bought it he's refurbisbhed much of it and it includes some very rare cream leather recaros. It is often at shows and is a lovely, lovely car. At the price he's now asking (£3250) it is an absolute bargain.

Thanks that picture makes it clear. I see how the bolt pushes through and I guess causes it to move the bearing and slacken the belt. Other pics I've seen just show the bolt from above so you can't see the side view.

http://www.corrado-vr6.info/docs/topgear_august1994.pdf

I forgot to add. I'm only round the M25 from you (junction 10) so if you wanted to take a look at a semi-decent car to give an idea of what to look for then I'd be more than happy for you to drop by. It's not for sale and it's not perfect in the slightest. But is a reasonably good example. When I was looking I didn't really know what to expect of a 16 to 20 year old car so I passed up some good ones because I was being overly critical on small issues. It would give you a good idea of what's good about them, bad about them, what to avoid, what to look for, etc. Just drop me a pm if you want to. I'm no mechanic at all (quite the opposite) but I am quite passionate about these cars :) The other thing to keep in mind is that there aren't that many around any more. So be prepared to travel for the right car. It's unlikely the right one will turn up on your doorstep, unlike mass produced modern cars. EDIT: Two other things make the Corrado an absolute pleaure to own: (1) It's a small community and very friendly indeed. People will usually offer advice and assistance. (2) They get a lot of chufties. People quite often comment on them when you're out and about. That's less likely in a Corsa.

Thanks, much appreciated :)

Thanks. That's the bit I can't get my head around as I've not done anything like this before. But I'm sure it will make sense when I actually take a look at it.

Shame I hate curry :(

This is quite useful for me as mine has started making a chriping/sqeaking noise recently. I asked floppyman about it when he was doing my gearbox oil and he sprayed some wd40 on the belt and it quietened down for a while. He reckoned mine was the belt. It sounds very similar to this clip (not mine): [video=youtube_share;l3MD1RFkpFI]http://youtu.be/l3MD1RFkpFI Does that sound like yours? Although I've never done anything on a car before I'm going to give it a go when I have a spare weekend (don't have many of those!). It's about time I got my hands dirty with doing something myself rather than paying people. I will be pooing myself though :D ---------- Post added at 11:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:20 PM ---------- Would you be able to confirm that this is the right belt for a VR6 without air-con?

Welcome. A Corrado of any flavour will certainly be different to anything else your mates have and they can be great cars. But, at 21 I suspect the insurance on a G60 or VR6 especially will be very high. Also, both are likely to need money spending on them either immediately or over the next few years to keep them running right. I suspect you'd spend more on a Corrado than you do on the Corsa. Parts are also becoming difficult to get hold of. Opinions on here will differ but my view has always been that they make fantastic second cars if you understand they are now quite old and approaching classic status. But I wouldn't recommend running one as a daily drive, especially if funds are tight. I'd suggest spending around £3k with a further £1k set aside for repairs in the first year or two. If you spend a lot less on buying the car then the maintenance cost is likely to be higher anyway. But having said that, there are some good bargains around right now. Having said that I absolutely love mine. You asked for an opinion on why we bought? In my case it was because I nearly bought a Storm in 1995 but bought a Golf instead. Since then I'd always liked them but been put off buying one by my wife. One day a few years ago I saw a faded red one on the M25 and while it did look tatty it lodged in my mind and I kept looking at them on various sites and youtube. After around a year looking I finally bought the one I have. I didn't buy it as a daily driver but instead I appreciated that it's an older car which doesn't feel as modern as most other things in the same price range. I use it a lot but it is most definitely a second, fun, car. If it was modern then I probably wouldn't have bought it. I wouldn't want to put you off buying one but you should buy for the right reasons and understand that it will probably need money spending on it.

The one thing you'll never get on the BMW though is that feeling of driving some thing rare and different. You'll be driving an oldish, practical, very capable car. I really love htem. But I think the Corrado is just now getting to that age where it is special; people don't know what it is anymore and more importantly it's a different shape to everything else out there. But after 7 years I'd probably do the same if it was my only car.

Sorry to see you go. 1994 Storm Grey - one of my favourite colours too (but I'm biased obviously!). I'm seeing a lot of the old guard selling up and moving on which is a shame. I suppose it's innevitible with them getting old now. Are you sure you're not able to keep it as an occasional weekend car? I think they become a much more interesting and entertaining prospect when that is possible. My brother has an E46 M3 and that is a spectacular car. I'm sure the 330i is just as good in many areas and certainly "better" than a Corrado in most of them. It's a far more modern car so you'd expect that. All the best and I hope the BMW works out for you.

I can see this causing problems in the future. Not everyone will know about checking online so it just makes it simpler for unscrupulous sellers to print their own MOT and hide any advisories.

I'm having a bit of a tussle in mhy own mind over lights too. I'm very tempted by all reds but the ambers are growing on me in a retro kind of way. In your case with a white car I'd probably go with reds.

Looks superb.

Fantastic. I want one :)

Left a packet of Viagra in the boot?

Bump. Unfortunately the deal with VR6 wasn't possible at the time, mostly due to me having an unexpected hospital visit. So I'm still on the lookout.

Agree. I bought mine because I always wanted one. Although one factor was that they were getting scarce. I decided it was my last chance to get a decent condition one before they go too old. If it's worth more in the future then that's a bonus. Although I don't want to run it into the ground and one of the reasons I don't mind spending money on it is that it will keep it on the road for someone else in the future. I want these cars to survive and not waste away. What happened to mk2 values at the 20 year mark? I sold an extremely good condition (near mint for age) low mileage 16v in about 1999 for around £5k. It seemed a lot at the time for an old car.