Jim

Emailed you a couple of pictures!

Hi mate - will get some sorted in the next couple of days of the car as she sits today but I have various recent'ish photos which I'll try and email over to you later this evening?

Haha - I don't have that kind of money unfortunately. I spent it all on the Corrado :(

Sterling work as ever Jim - impressive results can be achieved with rattle cans it seems. How long does it take you to fully re-do a wing for example?

Body work honestly is the weak spot as detailed in the advert. It's had paint in the past in a few places, and you can see where it wasn't done properly. Bonnet has gone spotty and stone chipped, front bumper has lots of chips and marks, rust on one wing, rust on passenger side sill at the rear, marks / chips / rust spots at the bottom of the doors. Rust coming up in places on the tailgate. I've always been about sorting the mechanical stuff and always put the bodywork in second place. I think it's pretty solid underneath though as it treated by the previous owner some years back! Certainly never seen any major spots of alarm when I've seen it on the ramps over the years.

Keeping the ST for now (which honestly I love.. two years in almost and it's just been sheer joy) but also had a hankering to get my motorbike license for quite a while so may go down that route... not sure yet. Or maybe BMW of some sort. Just know I need a change.

Thanks for your comments - they're much appreciated. I think I've been a part of this scene for so long I'll never be far from it. I think I do intend to step down from the CCGB as I have been trying to do for a long time - I want to be able to help out Corrado enthusiasts still by arranging events, helping with merchandise and bits like I've done in the past.. but want it to be on my terms - I'm just burned out from the expectation to deliver stuff just because of my position in the club. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's taken a massive toll on me in the last couple of years and I just need to step away from it. In terms of the price, I've never been about extracting maximum money for the car - I just want it to go to someone who has enthusiasm for these cars and wants to roll his/her sleeves up and fix the stuff I've just ran out of movtivation to tackle. I'd rather sell for a reasonable price and make an easy sale than hang on for every last penny and struggle to find a buyer.

200,000+ miles and tatty bodywork - I think I'm trying to be realistic, but really hard to tell!

Time to take a run at this. For sale is my 1995 Corrado VR6 in Classic Green. I've owned this car now for about 7 years, and honestly didn't think I'd ever sell having finally worked my way to a VR6.. but having owned 4 of these cars now over the last 15 years I'm starting to yearn to move on to something else, and unfortunately there's only room for one car in the garage so my Corrado has to go. It's got approx. 201,500 miles on the clock and an *extremely* comprehensive service history, and a pile of reciepts an inch thick - with literally thousands and thousands of pounds spent in the time I've owned it. Factor in my original purchase price and the work I've had done over the years and I think my total outlay is something insane like £15,000. In the last two years years, work undertaken includes: * Complete engine rebuild undertaken by Stealth Racing - full top and bottom end rebuild, replacement of timing chains & tensioners, mildly overbored bottom end with new Mahle pistons, all gaskets and seals replaced. New fuel pump fitted. (£4000). New VAG engine wiring loom installed. Head gasket replaced. New 'crack pipe' installed. New oil pump, new water pump. * Full 'Roose Motorsport' silicone hose set in black (trying to retain a bit more of an OE look!) installed. * Refurbished injectors. * AP coilover suspension installed, including new top mounts & bearings front and rear (£400) * Heater matrix replaced with new OE replacement * Refurbished original Speedline alloy wheels and new tyres. * New radiator and auxiliary water pump. * Front Wheel bearings replaced with genuine VW parts. * New bonnet cable installed. Additional highlights include Eibach Antiroll Bars, 288mm brakes, a good condition leak free genuine VW exhaust system (now obsolete), powdercoated / refurbished subframe and crossmembers. Engine pulls nice and smooth and despite the mileage the gearbox is also very smooth / quiet and crunch free. Audi TT windscreen wipers replace the well known abysmal standard Corrado items. Car benefits from a high quality CAT1 alarm and immobiliser system - installation certificate for this is provided. Interior is in very good overall condition - comes with first aid kit and original tool kit / jack / spare wheel in the boot. There are countless other jobs I've undertaken. Electrically everything works - heaters, spoiler, mirrors, sunroof, stereo, etc. Weak spot and the reason for the low price is the body work which is probably below average. Passenger front wing is bubbling up with rust, front end is stonechipped, most panels have some marks / scuffs on them, and rust is needing attention on the sill on the passenger rear wheel arch. Think there is a bit of rust lurking around the filler cap flap area too. It still polishes up and looks beautiful from a small distance, but doesn't stand up to scrutiny up close! Spend a 1-2 thousand on bodywork and this car would be as good as any other Corrado out there. Additionally since the replacement fuel pump, the fuel level sender is reading lower than it actually is. This simply needs adjusting (I guess the new fuel pump housing is a different size to the old one). I just undertook a 170 mile round trip this weekend and the car returned up to 37MPG according to the trip computer! It's extremely hard to know where to price the car but I think given the mountain of work that's been done and the value of some parts fitted, £2500 is where I want to be. MOT is until June 2017. I also have a random assortment of spares and bits I've accumulated over the years of Corrado ownership for various models I'd throw in if the asking price is met. Value of those must easily be a £200+ (refurbished BBS solitude wheel with nearly new tyre, black parcel shelf, etc etc). Gallery of pictures now available here: http://imgur.com/a/bPT7Y

I know Paul Kippax has been considering selling his multiple concours winning VR6 for some years - basically bone stock, black magic paint, with black leather interior. It's absolutely pristine. It was a regular competitor against Chris Gaskells car for many years. I don't know his exact price, but I'm quite he isn't looking for anything like what that dealer is looking for. Might be worth sending him a PM - his username is KIPVW.

Bear in mind that Chris Gaskells car came up for sale after his death, and it struggled to sell amongst enthusiasts on this very forum for the asking price of around £7,000. And that came with a wealth of stuff such as a full set of VW technical manuals, etc. So don't waste your time with those dealers who've just turned up, done nothing, and are trying to profit on the back of the hard work and love of a man who was one of the most respected and knowledgeable Corrado enthusiasts in the history of the club / forum and just find another car - they don't deserve to take that kind of money for that car, having done nothing to it other than buy it. The whole situation makes me sick to my stomach.

Haha - love the number plate on your TDI. Very smart :)

Can buy the brackets themselves from VW :) Be careful as they're sided so there is a part number per side. There's also a bolt you need to buy to secure them to the damper. I know because I just bought a pair from Volkswagen last month when when I fitted new coilovers :) On the plus side they're relatively inexpensive. In my case the bolt holding them to the strut sheared off on each side when I went to remove them to swap them over. At that point I figured just buy new ones :(

Great work :) Nice to see a car that was starting to teeter on the edge of getting scrapped, is getting saved. Keep the updates coming.. always love to read a build / rebuild thread!

I work in I.T. and a few years ago whilst working in one of our datacenters I was extremely surprised to see that the clips we used to affix blanking space panels into the racks where servers live, were almost identical plastic clips just like the ones used on the fusebox cover. I always meant to take away a pair and try them out and see if they fit as I know they'd be highly in demand by Corrado owners. I'll have to try and hunt them out.

Dropped you a PM - found the Corrado badge and it's in good shape :)

Yeah I think this may be the best way to go.

Hm... pretty sure Unit.15 (the eBay seller) is VW Spares and they normally do good stuff.... tough call!

That looks superb :)

Appreciate your efforts, Ron. I'm not much of a motorsport guy and I don't like all nighters - so Le Mans isn't something that's ever really floated my boat, hence not sticking my name down. Shame you didn't get more (any) takers though!

Never bumpstart a VR. Not sure if it's just urban legend but have regularly heard / been told over the years that you risk stretching / damaging the timing chain and other horrible things.

For a standard VR6 engine rebuild you're looking about £3700'ish though that will depend on what actually needs doing! My rebuild price included new pistons, as the block needed a mild overbore.

Good to hear that some progress has been made with the motor :)

Sorry chaps - it was a VR6OC user who won them. Thanks for taking part and hopefully we can set up some more competitions in the future!

Competition is now closed. Winner to be announced shortly :)