Jim

Could also be the resistor pack on the side of the blower motor. Mine wouldn't work on any speed either but upon removing the fan from the housing it would work. I found one of the wires has corroded and split slightly and simply moving it was enough to re-make the connection again!

When you have a receipts folder adding up comfortably into five figures not including the purchase price of the car in little over 6 years ownership and the car is not even worth what you paid for it. And you still can't really consider wanting to part with it. Either it's enthusiasm or insanity. Maybe a bit of both. Some days though you park it up and walk away and glance back (as I do every time I park the car and have done ever since I have owned Corrado's) and you think aside from seriously more expensive stuff, there isn't much else you would rather drive.

Totally agree.

Anyone want to place a bet on how long before we see it up for sale again then? And at what price?

Quite the collection! Do you know how your Storm ended up all the way out in Malaysia given that they were a UK only car? So cool!

Yep - all foam in tact. The fuse tray cover is currently not installed though - I'm wondering if that is letting through more sound than would be normal!?

That's what I would have thought too mate.. just desperately searching for answers I guess.

Is there any obvious way to identify a cracked exhaust manifold aside from visual inspection? It does seem interesting that it gets worse once warm which could suggest the heating up process causes any splits to become more apparent. Unfortunately today's trip didn't really yield any answers. The chaps at Stealth say it's just VR6 noises, and that there's not much can be done to improve it. At the end of the day they know more about the VR6 than I can or will ever hope to know, but I can't deny that I'm feeling pretty deflated inside. I just don't ever remember it being this obvious - and indeed I don't recall hearing many other VR's that sound this way but I just wonder if I'm going crazy now! I went and stuck about 80 miles on it last night and the ticking was so obtrusive it was quite audible in the cabin even over the radio when I was cruising at 70MPH. Either way they decided to drop the oil and make sure everything looked good (it was pristine). I have been militant about running in the engine according to their instructions though. It turns out the head was swapped during my rebuild as original head was so clapped out, it wasn't really going to be feasible to rebuild it! So that rules out the noise persisting across rebuilds as being related to the head, given that it's a replacement one! Took it for an MOT straight after as that was overdue and got through with only a couple of small advisories so that's something.

Utter *******s :( I hope it wasn't a lot of money they lost :(

Yep back on standard cams now.

It's been a recurring theme that those folks who've had Schimmel cams fitted, I think, seem to encounter this noise. I wonder if they somehow wear the valve springs in a certain way?

Exhaust manifold has never been touched so far as I know, apart from having been removed from the car several times!

Have always also wondered the same, Dox.

Interestingly, reading this page which advertises the INA's... http://www.mjmautohaus.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=2_4_19_241_3847&info=Ina_050109309H.12_Lifters_Set_of_12_OEM_Lightweight&products_id=906 They're listed as 'lightweight' compared to the OE ones. Wonder if the weight of the OE ones actually helps contribute to a reduction in noise...

I thought INA were basically OE?

I'm trying to come to terms with the fact I just need to accept it - and knowing that others have the same problem helps. I just wish I knew why some cars did it, and some cars didn't. That's the frustrating thing about it all.

But you know the noise I mean, right? You were on a quest to cure it with your engine overhaul. Mine is back at 2000/2500/3000RPM marks - I can only best describe it as mechanical purring which you can hear fairly clearly into the cabin too. Weirdly whilst it's pretty consistent at those RPM's, the volume of it does change variously depending on whether you've let off and are coasting, going down hill, or are cruising at part throttle. Someone suggested injectors which I guess I would have considered to be plausible but as I say the noise appears to eminate from the rear of the engine rather than the front.

It's not really about the money in the car, but more that to get it anywhere near the car I want I need to spend quite a bit more on it. Off on my hols next week so will give it some thought then I guess. Popping back to Stealth on Friday for them to have a listen - Vince said they may drop the oil if they think it sounds wrong.

Hehe - don't blame you there :)

Are you sticking with the OE bushes or upgrading to the R32 ones?

Yeah will see what Vince reckons when I'm there next. In hindsight I don't think getting it rebuilt was the best idea. Now I have it back I'm realising just how much other stuff needs sorting.. bodywork is pretty poor, suspension is clapped out, brakes need a total overhaul. Frankly I think despite the new engine I've lost the love.

Disappointingly some of the most irritating ticking and tapping has returned now I'm about 150 miles into running it in. Same location - from the back / left hand side of the head. I can only assume there was something worn in the head itself that rebuilding doesn't compensate for :( Going to keep going on the run-in and talk to Stealth at the 500 mile oil change and see if he has any thoughts. I'm pretty gutted as the engine was utterly turbine quiet and smooth for the first 50-60 miles - I can't understand why this damn noise has come back. Really wishing I'd picked up another head for rebuilding as I was always suspicious there was something worn somewhere in it causing this. I'd just love an answer / explanation about what causes it. Photo from the other night as I stood contemplating whether to just set fire to the damn thing:

The only way that could happen would be if the previous high bidder had set their highest bid to just under that amount, and the now current highest bidder assumed they could just increment the auction a bit but also entered their highest / max bid - and in doing so it jumped 4k.

Unfortunately I highly doubt that is a genuine bid. There doesn't seem to be any reserve either - despite what the seller is saying. If the car had finished at £2,000 they would be legally obliged to have sold it for that. If you want a reserve on an eBay auction, you need to actually do it in the auction - not just say it in the item description.

I guess this will be another one that we can expect to go for a reasonable amount, and then end up being sold by a 'specialist' at twice the price in a few weeks time.