Pat_McCrotch

So how did the brake pipes go in the end...? :lol: I'm going to occasionally lube up my nipples every few days for the next 3 weeks, then hopefully it should all come off in my hands :help:

I had the same feeling today when I put mine on ramp and saw how much of a problem it would be to do a 'simple' brake fluid and hoses change. I'm not used to the problems associated with older cars :( I ended up getting a little down about it. But thought of it another way; these aren't problems, they're just excuses for 'enhancements' :lol: Put me in a better mood for the day anyway :D

Unfortunately not a great deal done today, it all went bit Pete Tong as older cars do. We could only replace 1 out of 6 brake hoses as all were seized :( The Off Side Caliper Bleeders were also seized. We also found a few areas of the underseal which were bare from jacking etc so I'm sorting that tomorrow. I popped into Kev's in the afternoon and in the end we replaced the remaining engine covers (looks brand new engine wise now :D ) , tightened the handbrake cables, fitted new handbrake trim and leather grip. I also put lots of VAG rattle tape on the centre console area so it's now very solid and no common centre console rattle anymore :D Kev also deleted the rear wiper which makes the rear end look so much cleaner and puts less stress on the boot struts so it opens nice and easy now. I also found out why there was overspray on the drivers door sill, someone had just blown over the sill with paint without treating the rust spots underneath :nono: So I've removed plastic sill trims, rust treated the sills, primed then and i'll paint them tomorrow :salute: I've got the later 'corrado' adhesive sill trims to go on when done. The plan is to do a proper brake overhall in 3 weeks when I'm back from France. If necessary make new copper pipes for the seized brake hoses etc. I will also replace the rear axle bushes as these looked WAY past there best.

I had starting issues late last night after the Radio shorted itself and on the advice of previous topics ordered an ignition switch, fuel pump relay and an ECU temp sensor. Started on the ignition switch at 7pm and was finished at 8:30pm. The screw to get the switch out was a mare but otherwise a fairly easy job and it cured the starting issue too :clap: Bodywork wise the car is shiny and looks the part but on close inspection both door shuts and the rear boot show signs of blowing in and the Drivers side has pitted filler on the rear quater panel. It shows signs of someone looking after bodywork but obviously on the cheap, but it's a catch 22 situation as thats what's kept the rust away from the car I guess. She's having the tracking checked then a brake fluid change tomorrow. Then in the afternoon I'm off to Kev's for another mammoth repair session :D

It's great knowing someone like Kev. I popped round there on Tuesday just to show him the car and he ended up doing a Service and Coolant change for me! :lol: Happy days!

Right, seeing as this 'cheap' VR6 attracted allot of interest from the Corrado Crowd at Stoner Park I thought it was about time I started my thread on the car :) So, a little background history on myself and why I wanted a Corrado... My fascination with the Corrado goes back to around 1992 when my father used to own a VAG Approved bodyshop. During the school holidays I used to spend my time fascinated by the damaged (and brand new!) Volkswagens, Audi's and BMW's that were repaired there. I remember sitting in many Brand Spanking new Corrado's and BMW 840i etc :D But what really started the ball rolling was when he reshelled a Tornado Red G60. I just fell in love with the shape. Fast forward to around 2004; I'd been driving brand new VW Polo 1.2S for around two years and the idea of owning a Corrado seemed like a very attractive idea. Yes, the insurance was rediculous (I was getting quotes for £1500) but at the end of the day I was getting raped whether it was a Polo or a Corrado I was driving! I registered on here in 04 and quickly became friends with local Corrado owners pianowire and Supercharged. Working for Audi also meant I could keep them supplied with discounted Corrado Parts, usually in return for a lift to Corrado meets 8) In December 04 I started searching for an 8V, not an easy task but it was the only sensible one for insurance. That was until January 2005. I was driving our Parts Van to cover for our Drivers sick leave when I was caught doing 84mph on a Dual Carriageway. I should actually have been doing 60mph but I never knew this (and should never have needed to!) Anyway, this then put my insurance quotes up to £2200+. Not even a sane person could justify that on a car worth £3000. So I decided to go mad and buy a SEAT Ibiza Cupra TDi. Which whilst a hoot to drive broke down every 2000 miles. I eventually sold it after 8 months. Because I wanted to get out of the car as quick as possible I decided to up the ante big time. So I bought an A4 2.0TDi S-line Saloon in Dolphin Grey. To date I still feel it was the best all round car I ever owned. It never went wrong and was actually fun and at the same time easy to drive. Sadly due to an error of judgement I hit a tree and ended up in hospital for 3 days over Christmas 2006. But it looked after me well until the last because I wouldn't have lived had I been in the SEAT Ibiza. Next up, a red Audi A3 2.0TDi S-line 3dr in March 07. Again, did everything brilliantly like all Audi's do. But it was just lacking that little sparkle, so after 9 months I decided to take the new Golf R32 for a drive. A couple of words sum up the R32; suppressed insanity! I HAD to have one!! :grin: After 15 months of ownership it never takes the grin off my face and I will never sell it. Believe me that is saying something with my car history :wink: But despite all this, there was still a little bit of me that yearned for that 'Childhood Dream' Corrado, and something to take the miles off the R32 was always handy. So I was always keeping an eye out for 8v or 16v Corrado's. Sadly, over the four years it appeared much harder to find a decent condition one. Many were 'chaved' up or mechanically not maintained. After 2 months of searching and coming across nothing except scrap I (for a laugh) looked at some VR6's on the For Sale section and saw a 1995 Classic Green VR6 for £2300. But hang on, I was trying to save money. Was having two VR6's wasn't the right way to go about it...? :norty: The car looked too good to be true; chains done, 263 cams, koni's and a working Sunroof!! So in theory my only expenses would be a few trim bits and a bloody good service! The idea was to keep it as original as possible anyway. Within 48 hours I was in my R32 with Supercharged on board to view it. When we got there it turned out the sunroof wasn't working and the paintwork, although fairly fresh, looked like it had been done by a Stevie Wonder type character with Parkinsons desease. But the important thing to me was that it was rust free. Which meant I could leave the bodywork to a later date. In the end I paid £2050 for the car and collected the next week. It's said that a Corrado can determine when it's got a new owner, which is obviously true. Because within 300 yards of driving the car the Wiper Linkage packed up, followed by the 4 branch coolant hose exploding 100 miles later. Luckily me and Steve (supercharged) were heading to Tom's for the Stoner BBQ/Camp Site and were only six miles from Tom's. Within 20 minutes he was in his valver with Jim , a 4 branch hose from his VR6 and a bottle of G12++ Luckily, I had also made the (wise) choice to bring some coolant just in case so within 30 minutes of the hose exploding we were back on the road thanks to the efforts of Tom. So, in the end I was able to make it onto the Stoner Park stand the following day and sort out my CCGB membership :salute: So far, myself (and pianowire :salute: ) have already done allot to it after only 6 days. This is what I can remember; * Full Valet inside * Full Service inc plugs * Coolant change (now pure G12++ ;) ) * MK4 Coolant Bottle * OEM leads put back on * New engine covers ('VR6 DOHC' etc) * New Dash Bulbs * New Sunroof Seal * New number plates * New Seat guides * New Ariel Seal * New Leather Gearknob * New Rear plinth (and some rustproofing ;) ) * VW and Corrado badge Colour Coded. New VR6 badge. * Drivers door lock retumbled to ignition etc. And the question everyones been asking. "Was it a bargain?" - I'm my opinion, No. But it was priced just right :) So, the first picture it what she looked like when I got her. The other two are her as of today;

OK, on the plus side; The new Halfrauds tool kit meant I could finally do my seats :) and the badges I resprayed came out quite well considering I've never sprayed before. The radio is defiantely well and truly fooked I'm afraid. Both the car and radio fuse are intact :( It's a shame as it was a new radio with Bluetooth and aux-in etc.

1) Take a day off work 2) Find out all the Snap On tools have been removed from the House and into your Old Man's barn 20 miles away. 3) Attempt to tighten handbrake cables by removing centre console. Find that four bolts that hold the rear centre armrest on are so rediculously tight you can't get them off :mad2: Eventually tighten handbrake cables to find that they are shot anyway... 4) Try to take seats out to change sliders and find that you don't even have the right tools to do that anymore 5) Attempt to repaint new aero rear wiper arm with Hammerite Smooth Spray Can kindly donated by pianowire. 6) Drop Hammerite can on floor braking the aerosol can, meaning you can't carry out job. 7) Spend 10 minutes swearing the house down, jump in the C to Halfrauds for a bit of retail therapy. Walk out with a £100 toolkit. 8) Attempt to remove the heater controls to repair. Break obselete centre console trim in the process. 9) Remove Radio not realising the wires aren't insultated properly, shorting the radio and making it scrap. It's just not my day :(

I wondered what those white cellophane bags were in the spare wheel well when I picked up the VR6 :scratch: If it's any consolation. The MKV R32 is meant to be a drug dealers car and I own one of those too. I must have a good patch in Ipswich :lol:

OUt of interest, how did you get the handbrake handle off? Mine won't budge on my VR6 :(

I'll get that hose to you by the weekend :)

I know how you feel. My wiper linkage, sunroof and coolant hose gave up within 100 miles of picking mine up on Saturday :lol: As pianowire says; the cars must know when they've been sold as loads of things always go wrong after a new owner gets there hands on it :lol: In spite of all this, i'm loving my Corrado more and more every day :smug:

The C just gets better and better :D

I'd just like to give credit where it is due to Tom (Toad) and Jim (Jim) for saving a fellow Corrado owner yesterday :) It was a typical example of Corrado comradery in action :salute: Basically, me and Steve (supercharged) were heading to Tom's for the Stoner BBQ/Camp Site when my 4 branch coolant hose on the VR6 decided to blow itself a 3 inch gash at 80mph six miles from Tom's :censored: Bear in mind this was my first day of Corrado ownership; the wiper linkage also packed up 300 yards after leaving the sellers house :cry: Anyway, after a quick call to Tom at the Corrado base camp (we didn't have a clue where we were!) within 20 minutes he was in his valver with Jim , a 4 branch hose from his VR6 and a bottle of G12++ :notworthy: Luckily, I had also made the (wise) choice to bring some coolant just in case so within 30 minutes of the hose exploding we were back on the road thanks to the efforts of Tom. He even fitted it as well! (because I'm useless at mechanics ;) ) I cannot thank him enough for getting me back of the road and turning a potential nightmare of a day into something more pleasant. Especially after we had got back on the road and polished off some Lamb Burgers at the farm! :wink: So, thanks Tom and Jim :)

To be honest I think it would be cheaper for you to source an OEM suspension setup (new or otherwise) at the moment. You can then worry about upgraded suspension etc at a later date :)

Did you ever sort out your long pedal travel that you suffered a few posts back?

If you need help sourcing OEM parts let me know. I'm only down the road ;)

I'll find some examples tomorrow ;) swiftkid: £47.50 for one wiper and arm.

I thought I might just offer a little advice with regards to the supply of parts. Being owners of older VW's I'm sure we've all come across it before; you need part XYZ and think "Sod paying dealer prices, I'll look on eBay/Corrado forum". Let me give you two very good reasons why it pays to ring a Dealer. 1. You may think "VW may never match the price of a XYZ part" but in fact many parts tend to be allot cheaper than you think and in many cases you can end up worse off financially buying from eBay and the like. Working with VAG I'm shocked at the prices some used parts make, for the sake of £5 you can have a brand new part on your Corrado which will probably last much longer :brickwall: 2. This, to me, is the more important reason; obsolescence. If VW gets insufficient demand for a part over a two year period then the part gets made obselete. Anyone with a recent copy of ETKA will see how few trims parts are now actually available for the interior of our cars and the fact is; if VW were selling them then they wouldn't stop making them. Now, I'm not saying everyone should buy new as I know for some people thats financially impossible, nor am I trying to discredit the bargains that are on the site. What I'm saying is give your Dealer a chance because A) You may be suprised what you're quoted B) by not doing so you could be helping towards the demise of your own car and C) You'll be helping every Corrado owner in the long run :salute: Another thing people should ask for is discount. You'll be suprised how easy it is to get 10% discount on Parts just by asking the question. If you don't ask you don't get ;) The worst they can say is no or meet halfway. (Queue people ranting about how crap VW Dealers are :lol: )

Cheers all. Now I've just got the worlds longest wait until I pick it up next Saturday :( Many sleepless nights ahead!

Ahh I see ;)

Are the blue ignition leads OEM? (sorry if I've missed it in the thread)

No four wheel drive; I'm glad I got one of the last R32's :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZm-KWGDWC4 Nice mention on the VR6. But I never thought I'd see the day that Clarkson admitted to liking a Ford Probe :lol:

Thanks mate, I'll see what the trim specialist round my way can do and I'll let you know :)