Jim

Spammer 'pruned' - thanks for the reports chaps.

Sadly not.. disposable income and free time is set to vanish entirely for a fair while I think due to other priorities coming along very soon! That and Corrado's have just gone into that realm where they really need the kind of maintenance and TLC I've come to realise I just don't have the enthusiasm for any more. I don't mind a bit of mechanical tinkering here and there but deeper bodywork and such issues and folks going all in on full restorations seems to be the state of ownership these days and it's a bit more than I want.

I'm not completely gone.. I check back in from time to time. And indeed I'm still a moderator so I've been actioning a number of the ban / spam requests.. I think there may be a few outstanding actually so will go take a look at those later. As you say, Corrado long since sold but.. still have tremendous affection for them of course. Did finally step down from the CCGB though in the end after years of threatening to do so as I just didn't have the time and motivation to produce actual deliverables in the timeframe that paying club members deserved.

I do worry that £15 a year is simply going to be too tall an ask. We always struggled in the CCGB to make £15/year seem a fair price and as @bristolbaron says, there were at least tangible benefits such as dedicated event and merchandise managers, the magazine (which admittedly was sporadic at times!) - all of these cost money to produce. The magazine for example was many hours of time to put together but then around £700 of printing and postage costs per run. I do obviously hope more than anything, that the forum continues. I've been a part of it from, virtually, the very start and I'd like to hope have contributed in meaningful ways.. though probably used way more than my share of server time! But I think people, even more so today than ever before, thanks to the likes of Facebook basically expect all this stuff for free. I worry that things like forums will only ever continue to operate on little more than goodwill and the generosity of the owner (be that financially, or in time invested) and I think it's always going to be difficult to cover the costs. I also apologise in advance for saying this, I'd also say that I find the notion of monetising the work of others on things like the Wiki, which was provided (at the time) in the spirit of community and the open exchange of ideas and knowledge, a little bit unsavoury. There's a lot of folks who gave their time and knowledge, freely in the past who are no longer active. So for that to go behind a paywall now is.. well.. I'm not so keen on that. Again I appreciate you have bills to pay to keep this place operational but I'm really not sure if paid access to the forum itself is the best way forward.. and that the costs to keep the forum running should be approached in different ways. Be that a little sponsorship, merchandise, etc etc.

I'll try and upload some more pictures at some point. I've got random little galleries I kept from various rolling road days, and meets etc going back to the early 2000's.

It seems like some kind of merging of efforts is the only realistic way forward given that the numbers of Corrado’s are in steady decline and their usage broadly as daily drivers has changed very much to weekend / summer toys. It was something I always wanted to happen and of course was involved in the management of both this forum and the CCGB for many years.. and despite not being an owner any more I still have a desire to see the community succeed. There’s a very dedicated bunch and some new blood involved in the CCGB who are really keen to keep it going as a concern so maybe it’s an option that can be explored.. or at the very least some more joined up thinking between the two. I did always try and keep my interests as separate as possible and never tried to use the forum for the gain of the CCGB and vice versa but feel both clubs ultimately suffered as a result of never putting their heads together to form any kind of alliance.

I own an E61 now with the notorious N47 engine which is known for timing chain failure. So many horror stories. The blame apparently lays at BMW for making the timing chain about as thin as a bike chain (the 6 cylinder motors have one that is industrial thickness) and increasing the service interval to galactic mileage to appease fleet managers.. I am going to go with double frequency oil changes and just keep my ears open for any obvious changes in engine note.

How about this from the CCGB National Day back in August 2003.... Me, 2cc, CazzaVR, ?, Supercharged, banana_man, ?

Think that's me up in the top left, sat next to my old VR which I sold about three years ago now. Currently own a 1999 BMW 5 Series 523i Saloon and a 2008 BMW 5 Series 520d Touring.. Corrado is gone but not forgotten, same for a lot of the friends I made through this excellent forum and the CCGB. I managed to invite myself along to a closed event at Bruntingthorpe quite a few years ago now, for the old DubForce.Net forum back when I owned my slightly tuned G60. It'll be a forever memory, going flat out (foot firmly to the floor) down the runway with Darren from G-Werks in another Corrado alongside me, also flat out in a straight line race.. I remember glancing over 130MPH and just thinking how effing cool this was :) Some of the best memories and times of my life happened through this club, these cars, and the people I met through it. I've got pictures from old events still.. I'll look to upload some :)

Fantastic :) Thanks Toby!

Am aware of the issues but absolutely nothing I can do.. only t700bes has the necessary access behind the scenes to investigate what's happening :( Obviously hoping he manages to get it sorted.. I might not be around here much these days but I invested an actually pretty staggering amount of time into this place over the years, in one way or another.

It's purely a badge. But a badge that does indeed make it a bit rarer than a regular VR6. I think it helped that the MK1 and MK2 Scirocco's had both had Storm models too so the name had some heritage. Mystic Blue does look good on a Corrado too, as do Solitudes... :) But the real holy grail is, for me, the Campaign. I'd love to own one of those, even now.

If you have the space in the drive / garage, the 5 series is by far the superior car.. and engines etc are all the same anyway so there's no real difference in parts and maintenance costs. Happy to impart any knowledge I've got about the 5's if it's a route you decide to go down! I can't claim to be an expert but I've learned a few bits and pieces over a couple of years of ownership.

I can't claim to have known Bally very well but I got into the Corrado scene probably at around a similar time to him and our paths crossed at a number of meets over the years and I always thought he was a totally stand-up guy. His death hit me surprisingly hard, even though I didn't know him well - but I guess because of being similar ages, and because in terms of time known, it was well over 15 years.. I saw him at his Coventry meet probably about 6-12 months before I heard the awful news and he said he'd not been well (and indeed he didn't look well) but hoped he was over the worst of it. I guess that wasn't the case :(

The number plate on that Storm is extremely familiar to me. Was that Judith's (Butterfly) first Storm? I'm sure she's had two... and the first one was a non-sunroof one too... *edit* http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?19246-Do-All-Corrados-have-Sunroof Post #6 from me here, from 14 years (!!!!) ago saying as much. It must be her old car.