Redfox

I tried white spirit, and it did not remove anything. I tried various things, but same result. Finally I took a liter of 99 octane and a credit card as scraper, as suggested here. and brushed the gasoline on with a paint brush. A small area at a time. Worked perfectly, and did not remove or harm my paint in any way. Washed thoroghly after. I second that of the decorating plasticsheet. Abslolutely needed. Took about three hours in total incl. polishing and waxing afterwards. Looks very well now. As others said, remove foam first, I could peel mine off with fingers. Finally do it outside, and wear a mask and long secure gloves, as gasoline is extremely toxic, and contains many poisonous components that will end up either in your liver or in depots all over your body. Just a word about it as it is needed. Job is easy to do and will make a great result. New foam can then be stuck on. I didn't yet, but will after painting next spring. To me there's a difference in sound, listening from standing next to the car, bonnet closed. Cheers, Redfox.

Used to buy and read The Golf for many years, plus alot of different German VW mags plus the Danish Club Golf mag, now only the last, as I don't drive a Golf any more, and I threw the tons of mags out, when we moved 3 years ago. Since I now got a Corrado two months ago, maybe I should pop by a local magshop, and see if there's any Corrado featured? Cheers, Redfox.

Measure up the other door if that sits correctly, and then measure everything on the damaged side, door, doorframe etc. You may ease yourself a bit or find out what the problem is. I once trashed a door on my former Mk. II Golf, because the lft dropped on one side. Looked terribly and had to beat the door to make it come close enough to close to get home. Felt so bad that I imediately measured everything up and found only the door to be out of shape. 2½ hours later I had bought a second hand rustfree door, and next day I got it to my trusted painter, and next evening I had everything done and finished. You may even be lucky enough to just use a plank to correct the door's hinges, but it takes a skilled guy who has done it many times before to give it just the right press, to make it perfect. No windnoise and that. Cheer up, it'll be good to go again, and smile will return. Think of it this way maybe this just saved you from something worse. Good you didn't hurt yourself. Cheers, Redfox.

HI Wullie, Well, comfort to me at least is the very lack of comfort in exchange of handeling ;) But other that that, I agree with the description by Tony. Traveling with a credit card gives you more speed ;) Cheers, Redfox ;)

Some bits and bobs for the Corrado floating around awating installation: [ATTACH=CONFIG]49252[/ATTACH] I also managed to swap some more bolts and nuts for stainless ones. Getting there, but slowly. I think the radiatorneck in plastic is a not so great one, so will try to get a metal one. want to paint the whole car in fresh Flash Red and got a quote on 2300 GBP without taxed. Urgh! Here's a picture of the variating Powerflex eyebolt bushes: (strange as they need to be of same height, and they are all too high, save one) [ATTACH=CONFIG]49253[/ATTACH] Cheers, Redfox ;)

Hi Tony, That's exactly what I mean. A sportscar is meant for sportsuse, defined in this case as road use. The track car is a whole different ballgame. Almost no sportscar can be competitive on a track, without being seriously rebuilt. I think the word sport have different meanings here. And maybe many people today think of the word as the track car version, not the public road use. But that was not the original meaning of making a sportscar in this particular sense. A vague but still an analogy is the idea in running. Take a run of say 10 Km's every day as I do in the morning. To me, it's a sport that I practise, but still I am hopelessly slower than a pro runner on a track. I practise the sport, but am not a track user. And surely no matter who you are, there's allways someone who is faster than you. That is also why to me at least, the 24 hour LeMans is a real race, not the F1 ditto. Nice to be reading all of your comments on the theme. Finally, I agree very much with the idea described of it's intended use by Tony in the last post: a road use car that can be driven faster and more secure because of better roadholding, faster speed and better brakes, and focuses on making the fun in it, for two persons. Cheers, Redfox.

small update. put on some new steering rods, new trackarms and Powerflex bushings is waiting for better weather to be installed. Meanwhile I have been working a little on a leather handbrakegaiter, which is now a really tight fit, so soaked it in warm water a few times, and it helped a little bit, but not enough, so will have to invent something for pulling it the last 1 cm. Changed the brakefluid as I don't know when the previous owner did that last time. My Corrado have abs, so front brakes are easy, but the rear ones are a litle bit more tricky, as the brakespedal have to be pumped 20 times, ignition on, then let some fluid out, pump again until a buzz can be heard from the abs unit, then more fluiod out and so on. As the pump can become too hot, 2 minutes is max, then let it cool down for 10 minutes, as per Bentley manual. great to have that, really !! And my wife was helpfull to pump the pedal, while I was doing the valves. The Powerflexbushings for the eyebolts for the front antirollbar, are all different hights, so did ask Powerflex what to do. Awaiting answer from them. Pressed out the big ones from the new track arms, and the small ones I just took a 5 mm drillbit and made holes in it, then 7mm drillbit, and by then it had enough holes in it to relief pressure, and then it's really easy to knock them out with a small hammer. Dit the same with the eyebolts. Greased up the new Powerflex bushings and pressed them in place. Almost ready to install the lot. On my former Mk. II golf, I had done the same, and together with bigger antiroll bars, and struttowers front and rear and a coilover all around, it made for a very sharp drive, with perfect feedback of where the wheels were and what they did. Cheers, Redfox.

Hi all, I had the same thoughts, and decided that a crome badge is not in line with the sportslook I want. Lower, wider, faster. I also don't want it to be in crome because it looks like an extra light or whatever. Surely don't want that. I think the black is more discrete and makes the frontgrille look wider than it actually is. So I went black and the more muscular look;) Btw, the same thing about the rear badge - became black and looks much much better. And that is also why I keep the black trim on the sides. Makes it look longer and more sleek. Cheers, Redfox.

Hi Pat, Well, that good news, so maybe there will be a little hope after all ;) I asked a local VW dealership about all of these parts, and with the exection of the lower front grille (the one that includes the towing hooks, of which I got the last according to Etka), they cannot gey any of it, as they ask the VW importer in Denmark, SMC Biler, who is then forwarding the request to Classic Parts. And every single time I got a no back for an answer. I just asked last friday about a 50mm frontspoiler, and still got the nope. Concerning the VR6 engine, I really prefer the G60 or 16v or combined. no offence intended to all those VR6 engined people ;) I think I may have to write to Classic Parts myself then ;) Seems to be a lot more fruitfull. Unfortunately the local dealers are not connected to VW's sparepartsystem themselves, so they only see what is in stock in Germany North and by another request in South too. Strange. Well, I'll assemble a long list and write to Classic Parts. Many thanks! Redfox.

Hi all, New question, before I drill some holes and cut off the tabs that is in the way. It's still pouring down .... Hmmm. Can the big ones be screwed off or do they have to be cut as well? And when I place the strut bar on top of that (not cut off yet), there's not enough room to close the hood. Do I have to knock a dent in it or use a VR6 hood, or is it just a very tight fit, when installed? [ATTACH=CONFIG]49244[/ATTACH] Cheers, Redfox ;)

Thanks for correcting some things. I think as time passes by, the term sportscar changes, but that does no change the concept from which a car was built at it's time. In my view a sportscar does not have to be less than 104cm high, have more than 600 Hp, and be a copy of a formula 1 car. In more modern racing there's a sports cars class, and those bear resemblance to it's sisters on the streets. Likewise many racecars have had to be built in certain low production numbers to be accepted for race, because it was not allowed to be a one off. Think of the old Ford Escort Mk I RS2000. Is that a sportscar? Certainly it have a far better performance than it's streetcousins. And that is the purpose of the sportscar. To be slender, sleek, faster and better handeling and more exotic that the practical familycar or the lorry. An old Spitfire Mk. I or II is by many people deemed nice but ill-handeling and slow, but it's still a sportscar. To me at least there seems to be a constant moving of the sportscarperformance into the familycar segment. And I am not allways a fan of that. What on Earth does the ordinary family transportator do with 300 or 600 hp? Or tires so low and wide, that it cannot drive on an ordinary road and the max load on the wheels is far less that originaly planned? No, a sportscar is a compact, faster, better handeling, either two-seater or 2+2 car, that is built in a limited number, and have great design (arguable to everyones taste), and is not a family transporter with all it's practicality and lastly is not ordinary. I think, shoot me or not (preferably not), that the Corrado fullfills that idea ;) Cheers, Redfox.

Hi all, Finally got a handbrake gaitor in leather that may fit. Not, instead of being too big, the part that covers the handle itself, it really tight. So, my question is this: What can I do to make it a little bit more loose, only while fitting it? (so that it wil be real tight again after fitting). Cheers, Redfox.

Then I will look for Lotus next time - completely unreliable, parts can be bought, and a lot of fun can be had. Why chose something so boring and ordinary as VW (except the Corrado), when one can get real enthusiast car for little money (well, a lot in Denmark)? I am very satisfied with my Corrado, and I am not afraid of trying all kinds of ways to get a part made, remodeled or whatever, but it just amazes me, that VW's only sportscar ever made, and even a real expensive one, is not supported better by the largest car manufacturer on the planet. Look how it went for Saab, whose followers are quite enthusiastic about their car. The buy and throw away mentality is at large an error of the past, not real for todays modern view of using the Earth's resources, but still manufactures seem to have not taken this point into their production. The idea of eternal growth is a dinosaur. I drive not very much, and I take god care of everything I have. Therefore I am punished or forced let's say, to buy something new all the time, and so are many others. Sad day. Interesting to hear other peoples opinion. I'll stick with my Corrado as long as I can ;) Cheers, Redfox ;)

Very nice car, and really liek those black Recaro's. Would surely like to have similar in mine. Cheers, Redfox.

Hi all, was just thinking a little about the Corrado. Is that a real sportscar? What does it take to be a real sportscar? Let's have a quick look: -The British made quite small, at least very compact, often two-seaters, in the 1950's and 1960's which were, with some exceptions, quite slow, but were called real sportscars. I mean slow by modern standards. But because of that there must be more to it, than just outright speed. It must have a special feeling driving it, and the looks to go with it as well. Although arguable, the small British sportscars certainly have a feeling when driving one. Even the MGB which is quite slow, and were even produced in the 1970's, have a dramatic influence on the person driving it. And most people would say they have the looks too. The Frogeye, the Healey, the MGB, the TD and TF, the Morgan's, the Lotus Elan and many more. But Britain was not alone in this. Certainly other countries in Europe made their offerings available too, such as the Alpina's, the the Renault Alpine, the Alfa spider, and many more. Not all fast, but with a carisma, and generally better driving capabilities than the ordinary family car. So, a sportscar must be relatively fast, have good looks, a special feeling to the driving, and is often relatively compact, apart from some very old times cars, and the modern supercars. Does a Corrado fullfill that? Let's have a look at why it was made: Volkswagen once made the ghia, an oldfashioned and slow car, but with an unbeatable charm. Low, compact, and relatively okay driving. When VW gave up the 924 project, Porsche made the car, which indeed was driving very fine. Many said it was slow, but that particular bar is raised all the time. And as it's now been demonstrated, the sportscar is not all about speed, but also encompassed other characteristics. Porsche finished the project by making the 944, which became a great success, by sportscar standards. All in all 163.192 944's were produced, which seen in the light of it's production period is notmany cars, but many for being a sportscar. Think of the Golf. The worlds most produced car ever. That shoould set the perspective. The 944 being a success, and having made a car that caught on people's minds and also wallet, and remember that VW had stopped production of the sporty Scirocco, the flattened and faster Golf, also the Mk. II Scirocco which had all the spoilerkits on, and after having had really great success with bringing a compact family car with sports potential to the people, the Golf GTI, VW desperately needed to thrive on the interest in compact sportscars, and bring in some needed uplifting of their image as a huge carmaker. They needed a sportscar. A real sportscar. In history there have been a number of exotic cars, more or less, that have been made at a special factory, be that a small one. Think of Alpina, a registred independant carmaker, although made on the BMW, makes outright sportscars, or used to. Karmann - again that name is synonymous with exclusivity. And Volkswagen, meaning the peoples car, does not exactly shine sports car, wisely chose to have Karmann build the Corrado. Although it at forst had another name, hte Corrado was the final name made for production. Can the Corrado fullfil the critireas for a sportscar? Well, the Corrado is certainly light, by newer standards, where as bigger sports, with few exceptions, are heavy. The design is slender, sleek and still maintain a curve throughout it's length. It has hips, an agressive stand, looks mean and fast even when parked. Hence the Corrado name - the fast wind, loosely translated from Spanish. But that is not all. It must be compact, not a family saloon car. And that it certainly is, being a true 2+2 car. Only very small persons, or not too big vhilfren can travel in the Corrado. And because of the design, with the flat rearscreen and c-pillar design, the luggage compartment is surely worth mentioning. There's a little GT - Gran Turismo, to the theme, meaning a fast traveling car for two. Even more than that, the Corrado introduced the brilliant G-ladder, which gave the car a good punch from a small engine, by the standards in the 1980's. Rememner that most of the british sportscars of earlier date, had a small engine. As Porsche had a straight inline four on 2,5 Liter, Volkswagen had to do this to compensate. And they came out on top of the Porsche. The Corrado is faster, lighter, and as well handeling. Both topspeed and acceleration is a notch better than the standard 944. Of course Porsche had many reasons to revive their 944 into something even better, but still. VW had the triumphcard in the VR6. A masterpiece of an ebgive, being a V6, but still lighter and much more compact than the competition. Handeling wise the Corrado is a little mix of all things. It has the trackarms in front, and the funne mounting of them like the Golf MK. II, and the rearbeam is a simple and primitive thing. But the package as a whole is a brilliantly made car, that drives very sporty, and feels very sporty to drive. Also together with the 944. I personally feel the 944 drives better than a 911 of similar age, but that is of course debatable. The Corrado does it's job effectively as the 944. So, to sum it up: Is the Corrado a real sportscar? Yes, it certainly is. Why?: Because, it's compact, it's light, It have a great engine, advanced, and strong, It's a true 2+2, It's fast or faster than it's competitors, It bears strong design from the Scirocco, but still have classical sportslines, It's fun and very sporty to drive. It's exclusivity is assured by being made by Karmann, And finally it's rare, only two thirds of hte numbers compared to the Porsche 944. Oh, I forgot to mention that it was also extremely expensive. 20 years ago my Corrado G60 costed more than double of todays Scirocco III. The Corrado, in my humble view, is a true sportscar. The only one made by Volkswagen. What is your view on the subject? Cheer's, Redfox ;)

About running rich, I don't havee a clue, but read somewhere on this site, that some people put in another thermostat that opens earlier, and that could in some cases make the ecu think it needs to keep warming up, and go rich/burning a lot of fuel/bad economy/heavy CO2. Just a guess, and maybe the more experienced could confirm or erase this? John, what's your milage? (liter per 100 km)? Cheers, Redfox.

I changed the gearoil on my former Mk. II Golf religiously, and probably made it last longer in the end, plus better sounding and shifting. Fully synt. oil. Cheers, Redfox.

I may speak against better knowing, but I would suggest to take that tempsensor off, and sprayclean it with some brakecleaner, and make certain that theres no oil or other deposits on the sensor, as it would otherwise read temp wrong and send false data = less power. While you're at it, clean up the hard plastic tubes as well. What is sometimes done is spraying liberally with filteroil on the cotton gauze filter, to make sure it will filter dirt, but intead the G-ladder sucks oil in and further on, and this is as far as I understood not wishfull thinking. Clean it extremely well and an absolute minimum of filteroil on outside. From many years with Laverda motorcycles I have seen what a set of K&N pod filters can do to an expensive set of DellOrto carbs, and it's not a pleasant sight. So duly advised by others yesterday as well, I have now inserted a standard paperfilter into the standard box. More predictable and stable airflow, and no engine heat in there as well. On my former Mk II Golf, I also had a Sparco cone filter like yours, and I made up an isolating wall from stainless steel with some rubber sealing to protect it and the car. Worked nice, but does not make the filter better ;) Maybe someone can elaborate on this some more. Cheers, Redfox.

HI all, Did the headlight switch mod as per this forum today. Better safe than sorry, though I couldn't find anything wrong with the switch nor the wires. So all should be good now. Have dried up the foggy headlamp, and tested it tonight. Seemed okay. Will see next time out in the rain driving, and THAT may be very long from now. Did shave rust off my brothers mazda 626. It came up okay, but no more time today for Corrado. Stormy winds with heavy rain is coming in at this hour, so better go indoor and play with the computer, or better, listen to a good jazz-album ;) Cheers, Redfox.

Totally, thanks. ;) Cheers, Redfox.

Hmm, maybe most people have done so in the quest for more power (plus all the usual, like g-lader, pulley, chip, exhaust, banana manifold, ported head, cam, injectors, fuelpump, forged pistons, h-beam carillo's etc). Ffrom motorcycles I know some about the subject, but cars are usually built in a different way, and since every car is an individual design, it's good to hear other peoples experience on the subject. Cheers, Redfox.

Hmm, I uess it would depend of what the noise was like. I don't want noise for the sake of noise, but if there's a very positive outcome in traction, power or?, then it would be okay. I can allways put it back on. Will have to drive some more to be sure. Anyway it's not a pulsating noise in a certain area of the register. It's a constant deep "rrrooooooo", which is more noticable in town, that outside. Actually it sounded quite okay when stepping on the pedal in third passing through a tunnel. Made a busuki splat pull over ;) Cheers, Redfox.

Just put in a new second hand headlamp today. Will have to clean the area up, and while I was at it, took the snorkel off. Sounds a little too loud when driving in town, but when I drove on the freeway and highway, it was more subtle and not anoying. [ATTACH=CONFIG]49153[/ATTACH] It will probably de debatable as to whether it actually gives any positive change in performance, but hopefully so, as the snorkel is really long and narrow, being quite restrictive on the incoming air. The lack of the snorkel may also bring a little more calmness around the airbox's filter itself, which in turn may also contribute to better breathing. Also took the intake tube for the G-ladder off and carefully cleaned it on the inside. Thankfully no oil inside, let's hope it stays that way :) Unfortunately the freshly installed second hand headlight went totally foggy on the quick drive (dry and sunny), so I took it off and bulps out, and will let it to hopefully dry up untill tomorrow. Hope it's not leaking or not watertight. [ATTACH=CONFIG]49154[/ATTACH] Cheers, Redfox.

Hi all, I just put on a second hand headlight, as one was cracked in the glass. So all is good, and too a trip. When returning home, I noticed less light in the garage, looking at it, it was covered inside with water/steam/? What to do? Are they prone to let in water? The light I bought had been lying a few years in a wet barn, so this could just be a simple matter of bulps out and ventilate. Anyway I took the bulbs out and tried a little heatfun, and let them sit for a while. I will have a look later tonight. Still, I wonder if it can be made tight again, if there isa leak? Cheers, Redfox.

Had the same problem on my headlights, as the third screw that sits deep were really susty. I gave it som wd40, found a almost fitting philips screwdriver, a little dap with a hammer, and then a little larger screwdriver preddes somewhat hard from above. They came loose. Replaced with stainless philipsscrews. Cheers, Redfox.