Stonejag

Just a lazy job by the refurb place, I reckon. Got my Ultraleggeras done a while back and they blasted them, powder-coated them black and then painted the entire wheel silver over the top of the powdercoat. They save money by only having one shade of silver (they powdercoat either white or black for dark grey or light grey) but it was only 40 quid a wheel... You're right, they should be the same colour all over. Stone

I bought these after Portent tipped me off: http://www.veedubmachine.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=101_102&products_id=957 £3.11 for the pair, and a nearly perfect fit - same length, just the eye at the top is slightly smaller so needs some gentle persuasion to fit. Can't argue with the price, though! Stone

Don't worry, I did the same thing :) The switch is extremely sensitive to being put together misaligned or in the wrong order. If you gave it a smear of grease then it's even worse as it insulates the tracks... also make sure you have all the dog-bones in correctly and you've fitted all the sprung contacts the right way round (and in the right places). Mine's still not 100% even after a lot of fiddling. If all else fails, find a Mk3 Golf in a scrapyard and pinch the switch - if you take it apart, turn the L and R buttons through 180 degrees and reassemble it's a drop-in replacement :) Stone

That's why I keep a can of tyre inflater / sealant in the boot as well as a space-saver 8) Didn't know there was a full-size wheel boot carpet, but the boot floor well's still too small to fit a 16" rim in so it doesn't really help me! I'm running 312s though so even the 16s are a fairly tight fit. Stops well though... Stone

Saw your PM and replied, ta. I'll definitely take them, but pics would be nice if you have a minute :)

Dibs on the bumpers pending pics and location. Stone

That was all about the rear quarter windows if that's what you meant. There's usually tons of glue on the left and right sides (the bonding area is wider and fitters tend to fill it up!) so there's really no way to do it without a proper wire glass-glue cutter. As VW_OwneR_85 said, try your utmost not to damage the seal or you've had it, I don't think they're available any more. If you do damage it maybe you can carefully trim it off the outside of the window? Door windows are dead easy - open door, drop window to bottom and carefully remove inside trim strip first - otherwise you can damage it refitting the window. Careful during removal as the plastic will be brittle with age, I snapped one of mine :( Then pop the door card off, raise the window to the top andundo the two (13mm head) bolts holding the window to the mech; they should be visible through two holes in the metalwork. Drop the window an inch or two, then push it from the inside so it's not lined up with the slot in the door any more, grab and pull. It has to come out fairly straight as there's a guide at the back which slots inside a metal piece bonded to the window, but at the top you can drop the front edge down slightly which makes it easier. Getting them back in is a huge pain, you have to get the back hooked onto the guide before it'll sit right. Putting the front edge in first and rotating it in seemed to make it a bit easier. Hope that helps :) Stone

I think in theory the seal around the rear windows is reusable if you take it out carefully. Unless someone's glued it on replacing the Windows before, that is...! Worth removing your own rear glass as it's a massive, tedious job that can't be rushed. Free the top of the glass first (I used a tool with a right-angled blade and pull handle) using lots of very shallow cuts into the adhesive only, then once the top's clear, pass your cheese wire through the gap and carefully saw it out. The top's done first because the glass is curved less than the body is, so it has to be literally bent into place on the shell as the glue goes off. If you start from one side you risk the glass's internal stress shattering it when you clear a corner; having the top totally free before you start on the sides lets some of the tension out. I got two spares off a scrap car in one piece, but it took me over 3 hours a side :( Using proper cutting wire and tool would help, I kept having to stop to rob throttle cables and untwist them... Stone

To be fair they always look good with fresh paint, seen them every colour from white to matte brown (really!) and they always come out well. Tempted to get the sunroof filled while I'm at it, it's been nothing but trouble. You planning any body mods to go with the new paint? Stone

I'm still chasing one at the back (driver's side) - it went away when I removed the parcel shelf so I looked closer and found one of the rubber 'tube' parts on its hinges was missing. 70p for a new one from VW and it all seemed very promising but it's now squeaking again! Hoping it's not something expensive and suspension-related...any ideas?

I have a complete adjustable steering column, including bottom spring and late-model (wide hazard light switch) top and bottom cover panels which I removed last week while swapping to a fixed column. All bits in excellent used condition and never crashed - as standard, when locked it has approx 5mm of vertical motion if you really shake it up and down but it's still perfectly usable. The cover panels are in perfect condition externally with all the clips intact, but both left and right screw pillars are snapped off on the inside. The central screw still holds it in place fine; I drove it for over a year before realising two of the screws were missing! £25 collected or add £8 for First-Class post within the UK. Stone

Oak green's been done on a Corrado - looks amazing IMO (pics below - username Pau1 on here) but would be a huge job to change colour completely, unless you went back to the shell you'd always be finding bits you'd missed. I'm still planning my respray (keep finding niggling mechanical bits that need doing...) but I'm going for blackberry metallic with matte clearcoat 8) Stone

Sorted it - the column came from a scrapped car and the outer tube must have telescoped during the accident that put it in the scrapyard! My clue was when the brand new spring I got from VW was the same length as the one that was fitted...Undid the four mounting bolts and gave it a gentle (!) heave and it straightened right out, compressing the spring as it should do. There followed a bit of to and fro getting the bolt holes to line up again but all seems well again now. Definitely a worthwhile mod if you can find the bits, it seems much more firmly planted now, and with less wobble at speed. Lovely! Cheers for putting so much effort into the writeup, it was really helpful :) Stone

Stick with 7mm ones, wider ones don't fit the wire guides and don't give you any performance benefits... I made my own with parts from Vehicle Wiring Products, cost

Got electric headlight adjusters? If not you could share the blank with the alarm LED that usually ends up there...

Quick question - the driver's side undertray on my car is marked 535 857 922, but it looks quite different to the other side, especially around the air vent. Are they different between early/late or is this just another Corrado oddity? Cheers Stone

I could be convinced, sounds like a good idea! I've done a transplant on my rear-windscreen switch so it has a second working switch besides it instead of the blank (anyone know what goes in the gap?)...was going to use it for fan speed override but a heated screen would be a nice alternative :) Stone

I might, depends if I can convince the gf...(she saw the Girls'n'Dubz bit on the website and was less than impressed!) Car's looking a bit sad though, some bellend keyed my bonnet a couple of weeks back :( Running nicely for a change though... Stone

Do the dash LCDs stay on or do you lose those too? Definitely sounds like loose wiring somewhere - if you lose the clocks then I'd start with the mid-sized wires off the battery, if they stay on it sounds more like an ignition switch issue. I had the main live feed from the battery burn through due to a nick in the insulation which corroded - right up at the crimp under the insulation so it was hard to spot! Killed everything, including hazards... Sounds fairly unsafe so fingers crossed you sort it soon...:) Stone

Got a very excited text from the gf earlier, she spotted a blue Corrado in Peckham around half-three this afternoon. Anyone here? Stone

So long as the quality's 'good enough' I'm sure it'll be fine, it's certainly going to flow more freely than the stock cast iron lump... Reason I'm asking is I think heat wrap looks terrible, but I wouldn't want to get an expensive manifold and then fork out another £200-300 to get it coated if the cheaper one would do. Should be getting some overtime pay soon so will have tu see at the end of the month :) Stone

Been offered a TA Technix 6-branch at a price that seems incredibly low - less that half the cost of a Dubpower or Raceland one. They also make budget coilovers. Any experiences, good or bad? Very tempted... Stone

I've got the wrong spring on, then :( What does it actually do? Seems to work fine without it...

So, you selling any auto bits? I could use some of the interior trim and maybe some spares... :) Stone

I got a full Ikea chest of drawers and a six-foot curtain pole in mine once; I did have to take the chest of drawers out of its carton though... On another occasion it took an amplifier and a boxed 40" telly! My girlfriend had to sit in the back but it did all go. The back seats only ever carried luggage, they were barely capable of seating adults for more than a few miles. What was the quote from the review? "Your short-legged, long-bodied friends will love you" :lol: Stone