Overmind

This sort of thing disgusts me, people have no respect for other people's property these days.

Is there a regional owners club meet in Essex? If not, would anyone else be interested in attending one? Bryn.

Old thread resurrection. I haven't made much progress in the last few months due to saving up for a house. But things are finally on the move again now. The front suspension is all assembled and the final batch of powder coating is back. I've rebushed and trial fitted the front crossmember and solid front engine mount, refitted all of the brackets in the engine bay, rewrapped the wiring loom and generally tidied things up in preparation for the engine to go back in.

I'm afraid the most likely cause is a worn synchro, although poor adjustment and low/poor gear oil COULD be partially to blame. The second gear synchro in my gearbox was so worn it had actually cracked. In short, a change of gear oil might help, and wouldn't do any harm, but in the long run you may wish to look at getting the synchro replaced or finding another gearbox.

I have used 5/16" kunifer pipe on a few cars now and it's very good. It's highly corrosion resistant, doesn't work harden as easily as copper and can look really good if routed nicely along the floor pan.

This is something I've been trying to get my head around recently. In my experience, if you centralise the steering rack you should have equal travel left and right and an equal distance between the inner ball joint and outer rod end on both sides of the rack (which doesn't mean your toe is correct but it means the steering rack is central to the car.) Now if you we're only to adjust one side. (For instance the vehicle was toeing out a total of 1mm and you adjusted the RH track rod by 2 turns longer) then the distance between the RH ball joint and rod end is now greater than the left and the steering wheel would now sit slightly off to the right meaning you had to take the steering wheel off and move it round on the splines which means you now have more lock on the left hand side than the right and the rack is no longer central when in the straight ahead position. So the only way to maintain a central rack and equal steering locks is to adjust from both sides. Can someone confirm my theory? No matter how far out the front wheel alignment is it won't cause crabbing bud. The thrust line of the vehicle is denoted by the rear wheel alignment which is usually not adjusted on these cars.

The loose pipe you have found is the vacuum pipe for the brake servo, it should not be covered in fuel. I would think it likely that you have no sparks at the plugs. So fuel is just being pumped in and not burning. I would suggest removing all of the spark plugs and checking them, if they are wet and smell of fuel then you know you are at least getting some fuel into the cylinders. Then clean the plugs up, make sure the electrode gaps look roughly the same (unless you have a set of feeler gauges and then gap them appropriately.) You can remove a plug and fit it to a lead and earth it like previously mentioned. BUT **please be aware that if there is neat fuel in the cylinders then when you turn the engine over it will come out of the open hole you just removed the spark plug from, and if the plug you are holding does spark near enough to the fuel......** So if you are going to test it that way please be careful. You can buy cheap testers from euro car parts and halfords and the like which you plug into the ht lead and earth it and it lights up, this gives a better indication in my opinion and is safer. Is your car fitted with a distributor or coil pack? VAG-COM will always list a fault code for the crank position sensor on OBD1 engines if the engine isn't running. The usual symptoms of a faulty CPS are the engine will fire for a second and then cut out. Hope this helps. Bryn.

Hey guys. I've finished the rear arches now, and I'm pretty happy with the results. Here's a before pic. And finished. The other side is much the same so I didn't bother taking pics. I have also mocked in the subframe to get all the alignment worked out.

I would deffinetly buy it back and break it. You can keep any spares you can use for your new Corrado and eBay the rest.

I've been focussing on repairing the corrosion on the rear arches where they meet the sills for the last few evenings. They are starting to shape up nicely now, I'll get some decent pictures when they are finished. Next jobs: Build up the steering rack with new track rods and boots, then I can refit the front subframe up and start building up the front suspension. The priority is to get it back on all 4 wheels so I can move it around easier. Then I'll carry on with the gearbox rebuild and get the engine ready to go back in. I think it will come together quite quickly from this stage onwards. Updates coming soon. Bryn.

Gearbox casings now clean and vapour blasted, I'm very happy with the results :)

It is a 289cu small block Chevy. From a classic Ford Gt40 race car. Unfortunately it suffered oil starvation and seized at Lemans this year, but its a bit unusual so I thought I would share it. :) ---------- Post added at 8:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 8:26 PM ---------- This one to be precise.

Thanks guys. Mark, as soon as I know it works fully I'd be more than happy to knock one up for you. Otto, the plating was done by Halstead Plating services (HPS) in Halstead, Essex. I have never tried the DIY kits but I get it done at HPS for a very reasonable price. The gearbox was surprisingly easy to clean, the internals came up like new with very little effort considering they have been sitting in mucky old gear oil for the last 17 years.

10 points goes to anyone who can guess what this engine is, and another 10 points for what car it belongs in.

Hey guys. It's been a while since my last update because I've lost heart in the project and scrapped it.. Only joking! The engine bay has come together nicely, I've mocked up all the brake pipes and tidied up the paintwork and wiring. As you can see I've removed the old subframe and front suspension etc so the car is now on a dolly. Really naff pic of the arch and suspension, but I've cleaned the arches and removed any surface rust, treated the metal and schutzed them as per the rest of the underside. The coil overs have been cleaned and detailed, the top mounts were replaced recently so I've left them for now. I then started on stripping the gearbox to inspect the internals and decide wether it was worth a rebuild or not. After a quick clean Full strip, seals and bearings removed and ready for vapour blasting Not much going to be happening over the Christmas period due to funds (or lack of) but I will be doing a rust repair to the rear arches, so watch this space. Cheers Bryn.

Check the simple things, battery terminals, fuses etc. There should be a thick wire from the battery to the starter motor, make sure this has not become dislodged. Does the fuel pump prime when you turn the ignition on?

Quick update. I cut the original brake bias valve off of the rear beam because it was heavily seized in place and decided I was going to fit a manually adjustable valve in the engine bay. After searching high and low I only found one option that would adjust two lines simultaneously which is made by Tilton and costs £300! (and I wasn't keen on using two single line valves because they would be a pain to synchronise.) Not willing to pay such a ridiculous amount of money for the Tilton valve I decided to make my own. I modified an original VW load sensing valve and fabricated a bracket and an adjuster to mount it in the engine bay above the ABS pump. The bracket Test fit Temporary fit with adjuster. I've also bagged an aluminium vr6 rocker cover (cheers mark) which I'm going to vapour blast and partially polish. I've also started cleaning all the old wax and crap out of the engine bay, it's certainly not going to be a show bay, but it should tidy it up a bit. More pics of this later. Cheers Bryn.

Quick update, I've started removing the engine. I've got to send the slam panel away to get it painted as there's a few bits I'm not happy with. Front end off Rad and coolant hoses off as it got dark Since then I have disconnected everything except the engine mounts so it's ready to drop when I've got more time. Cheers. Bryn.

Small update, been super busy with work so I haven't had time to do very much recently. Brake lines, hand brake and abs wiring fixed to the rear beam with stainless P clips Couple of shots of rear suspension now finished Back on its wheels again Cheers. Bryn.

Please see pistonheads add. http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4098840.htm 1900 Ono or swaps, show me what you have got.

If you are confident with brake lines and changing discs and pads I don't think the rest will be a problem for you.

I think Corrado's would be more valuable and sought after if they had been rear wheel drive from day one of the design stage, then they would have been truly special and set apart from the golf.

I don't know if they will ever truly hit classic status, because I don't believe enough people have heard of them for that to happen. I often get asked what car I have and when I say a Corrado the response is generally "a what?" That said, good ones will always demand higher prices for someone who is looking for an exceptional example. Cars, like anything are only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. When I decided to buy a new car before I bought my corrado, one of my criteria was I don't want to waste money on a car that will depreciate in value year after year. I don't think I'd lose out if I sold it on in years to come, it might not rocket up in price every year, but I can't see it falling either.

Looking good :). I second the above by the way, I think the mounts at symmetrical and I would use a small bead of sealant.