My Twilight Violet 8v - Updated! More Pics

[V33DUB 0]

Hi all!

 

After putting a deposit down on an 8v Rado 4 weeks ago they have finally fixed the sunroof, fitted a new fog light and new bonnet release cable and I took ownership of her yesterday!

 

120k, standard apart from the exhaust and a toad alarm which is dead

 

Some aftermarket exhaust (not sure if its a full system (doubt it) or just back box, aint checked, but it's maybe a bit too loud for my liking). Quite a few chips in fairness (picture hide a multitude of sins) but rot free bar a couple of rust spots no bigger than screw heads. Bit of a ding in the front passenger wing but overall nothing that I cant live with (after all the majority of the time I spend with it I'll be inside and it is a 14 year old car!) Oh and the lack of rear badges is due to me removing them for cleaning behind and spraying the badges black... as you can see I managed to break/loose all but one of the blue plugs - genius! I searched and found a post from back in 97 saying VW still do them but anyone know if this is still the case? Would you advise covering the holes somehow until I get some sorted?

 

And here is the interior, pretty clean and tidy, usual bolster sag but not much wear at all. Some bits of trim were loose or missing screws but tidied most of them up today.

 

Was really pleased till I had some starting problems today. Posted some info in the engine bay section so hopefully have a starter point for the garage to have a look at!

 

The story so far...

 

EXTERIOR

Front End and Rear Bumper Respray

Bumper Iron Powder Coated

All New Clips, Bolts and Bits for Front End

Clear Side Repeaters

Crystal/Red Rear Clusters

Azev A 16's

Badgeless Grill

SWG Scuttle

New Front Wiper Motor & Linkage Replacement

Audi TT Wipers

New VW Foliage Seal

Satin Black Rear Badges

Satin Black Headlight Surrounds

New Arial Base Seal

 

 

INTERIOR

Daves16v Handbrake Tunnel Secure Fix

Leather Gear Knob & Gaiter

Leather Steering Wheel

New Headlight Switch

Momo Alloy Gear Knob with Top Centre Colour Coded

Window Rollers Replaced

Retrimmed Headlining in Anthracite Faux Suede

New VW Ignition Switch

 

 

ENGINE / DRIVETRAIN

Rear Brake Pads, Discs and Compensator

DG Autotech Headlight Loom

Vibratechnics Front Engine Mount

KW Springs and Shocks Refurbed in Por15 & PlastiDip Paint

New VW Top Mounts and Bearings

New VW Ignition Coil

New VW Drop Links

New VW Lambda Sensor

Various seals, sensors and what not to keep the f'in thing moving

 

In Progress/To Do

Audio System - Custom Door Baffles & Side Sub Enclosure, Alpine IDAX311 Ipod Headunit, Boston Acoustics 4 channel amp, PHD 5.25" Components, JBL 10" GT4 Sub.

Uprated 'plug n play' headlight loom

Refurb front beam, G60 brakes and rear MK4 calipers

Clean/Paint Rocker cover and generally tidy up engine bay

Fit brand new heater controls and cables

New Throttle Cable

Edited July 12, 2012 by V33DUB

[Jim 2]

Corrado and rear VW badges missing including the little blue fitting clips that hold them in?! You must get to VW and get some of those blue grommets ASAP - if it rains, water will go pi$$ing into your boot and you really don't want that! Even one missing lets in a sizeable amount of water!

[V33DUB 0]

I plan to get them ASAP. Will cover them up for now somehow as a temporary fix... was thinking some plastic sheeting I have... what tape will stick but not damage the paint?

[Jim 2]

Masking tape should be ok for a day or two! The grommets cost literally pennies from VW :)

 

Rear Corrado badge is now only available in primer unfortunately so you either need to buy one and paint it yourself, or get hunting for a 2nd hand one :(

[til2143 0]

Well wear on the 8v, looks a nice example, heres a link to them blue grommets

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GOLF-MK1-MK2-GTI- ... 286.c0.m14

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

The VW badge on the mack is now also obselete. Madness! :(

[V33DUB 0]

Got both the badges, as I said, took them off to clean behind as there was a fair amount of cack obvious behind the corrado badge... just the grommets were brittle and broke or were already broken. Covered the holes up for now, gonna ring my local VW dealer tomorra and order some.

[Jim 2]

Ah fine - sorry, missed that bit! I just saw the missing badges and the holes and thought ALERT! :)

[RATTA 0]

Looks like a clean 1 :D

 

Bit on the high side but arnt they all standard LOL. ATS cups on a rad you dont see that everyday should be very interesting :grin:

[V33DUB 0]

After having a look at what was about I decided on clear and red rears. Bought some second hand off unclemonty on here. Chrome was corroded quite a bit (knew this when I bought them I hasten to add). Gave them a good clean and pondered.... then I saw samthegram's Twilight rado and was really diggin his rears with the chrome sprayed black. A lot of advice later from Sam (appreciated mate!) and...

 

 

The edges aren't of the mastery of someone more experienced but you have to get pretty close to notice and it's all a learning curve. Very happy with the result!

 

Quick how to for someone of my low knowledge who may be looking to do them...

 

Sanded the exterior chrome off with wet and dry 600grit (used dry)

Masked up the lens that I didn't want to spray (i.e. the bit that isn't now black) with masking tape. Used a craft knife and the steadiest hand I had available to remove some tape and curve the corners.

Masked off the rear of the clusters with newspaper and more tape so no paint got into the inside

Sprayed with grey primer - one coat... thin as I could do. Left for a day to totally dry. It was quick drying primer anyway but hey ho

Sprayed with matt black paint - one coat, again thin as I could get it. Left for another day and quick touch up spray of bits that needed it. Left for a couple of days and carefully removed the masking tape and paper from rear. My masking wasn't brilliant and so there was some little bits where the paint had got under the tape. With an old blunt craft knife I lightly and very carefully scraped this off. The edged has also got some masking tape fibres in here and there which I removed with the craft knife as well. Maybe the very edge would be better masked off with some other kind of tape? Someone with better knowledge would know more than me there.

Job done!

[V33DUB 0]

After receiving my second hand wheels, knowing that the lacquer was in need of removing I posted on here for some advice Thread here. Thanks to all that replied, especially fla. I removed the lacquer with Nitromourse. One coat got most off with a second getting the stubborn remainder off.

 

 

There was quite a bit of corrosion underneath on the metal itself as you can see, and so, with advice noted, I set about them with 600grit wet & dry. After a fair few hours work, spread across more than one weekend I have these:

 

My plan is to now, finish a couple of spots off with wet & dry and then polish the lip and rim. As for the spokes, I quite like the 'brushed alloy' look of them as they are now, but dunno for sure yet. The black paint needs touching up in places also and was gonna look into maybe a different colour entirely? Need to search t'internet for some pics me thinks!

[samthegram 10]

looking good with the lights there, sorry i didn't get you any pics but you seem to have done a good job. I think it makes them look loads better and it stops the visibilty of the dreaded green mould! :gag: Keep up the good work , i will be interested to see the progress on another twilight violet modded rado. :clap:

[V33DUB 0]

Trip to DG Autotech last week resulted in a nice long list of jobs to be done but thankfully nothing to major....

 

Thermostat stuck open or missing

Dizzy Cap, Leads, rotor arm all worn

Coolant temp sender reading incorrectly

Front top mounts are worn

Major oil leak from rotor gasket

Oil cooler seal leaking

Rear disks & pads very worn

Rear bushes in front wishbones worn

Front engine mount worn

Rear brake compensator leaking

Rear axle bushes worn

Slight PAS fluid leak

Antifreeze needs changing

Bottom timing cover damaged

Wheel alignment off

Rear wheel bearings loose

[V33DUB 0]

[strike:3q2d0hu6]Front engine mount worn[/strike:3q2d0hu6] - Vibra Technics fitted. Thanks pressgang and DG for fitting

[strike:3q2d0hu6]Rear disks & pads very worn

Rear brake compensator leaking

Rear wheel bearings loose[/strike:3q2d0hu6] - Cheers DG again. Nice shiney new bits.

[strike:3q2d0hu6]TT Wipers[/strike:3q2d0hu6] - Ordered and received very quickly... thanks Neil (Pat_McCrotch). Fitted and oh my! Worth their weight in gold!!

 

New year Jobs...

Fit KW suspension along with all bushes, top mounts and worn parts along those lines

Fit the alloys

Bits and bobs in engine bay

Sort stereo out

Fix drivers side window

and as long as nothing else decides to break, jobs a good'un for a couple of months (fingers crossed)

[V33DUB 0]

These arrive today...

Not new but new to me and seem in good nic. Gonna wait for a month or so until I have my front G60 brake set up ready to put on... get it all done in one go.

 

Ordered wiper linkage bits although 3 are now on back order as well as the one part being obsolete, along with a foilage cover seal, wiper motor ans scuttle clip bits. Got an SWG scuttle off of here as well so a nice job to put that lot on when it all arrives too.

 

Alloys are lookin good too now the lips and dishes are polished. Not mirror perfect but then my car isn't a catwalk model and they'll fit in nicely I think. Plus I think the big dish would be a bit too 'bling' if it was mirror shiney shiney. Will get pics up sometime this week.

[James. 9]

Slight thread ressurect. What were your thoughts on the suspension ? Looking at these for mine in the future. Any pictures of the car with them bolted on ?

 

All the best, James

[V33DUB 0]

I find it firm but forgiving. You can deffinitely feel bumps a lot more than the standard set up but then again that was ageing when removed... If it hadn't been touched it'd done 120k! KW's have definitely improved handling as well. Will try get some pics up

[V33DUB 0]

So it's been a while!

 

After an accident in March screwing my passenger side wing, headlight, bumper, grille and slam panel, the car is currently residing in my local bodyshop. While it's there I opted to have the whole front end resprayed along with a couple of touch ups and the rear bumper and plinth sprayed. It's been 3 weeks as the paint man seems to keep pushing mine back to do trade cars... not exactly great for me but I was recommended by more than 1 person and he's promised me this week.

 

Other than that....

 

KW springs and shocks are on (pictured above). Stripped down and painted in POR15 which after a year or so seems to be rust free and protecting them nicely. Springs were covered with PlastiDip which again seems to be holding up nicely. Lowered the car to a nice level (can still get over speed bumps) and ride is firm but not boneshaking.

 

Was running on original alloys but have some new Azev A 16's to go on after the bodyshop work.

 

Trimmed the headlining in faux black suede after cleaning the original one and then watching it sag like Charlie Dimmocks lady sacks.

 

Rear humped bench to be fitted.

 

Sound system in the process of being installed... Alpine IDAX311 Ipod Headunit, Boston Acoustics 4 channel amp, PHD 5.25" Components, JBL 10" GT4 Sub. Built some mdf baffles to attach the speakers to the door rather than the door card. Going to build an enclosure in the side of the boot similar to the audioscape one for the sub.

 

Rest of the week in week out jobs are boring, keep-the-thing-running tasks.

 

Will get some pics up once I've got the car back and the Azev's on.

[V33DUB 0]

All fixed after my small bump. Replaced the front bumper, n/s wing and slam panel. Had the whole front end painted along with the rear bumper and plinth.

 

After refurbing and polishing the the deep dish wheels I bought I changed my mind and sold them as they just looked too small on the Corrado. Shoulda really tried them first but I learned how to metal polish etc so was all experience.

 

When I bought the replacement body panels from Yacobwood I also picked up some Azev A 16's. :)

 

Really happy with both the wheels and the paint. Colour match is good and the finish is almost factory.

Edited July 10, 2012 by V33DUB

[James. 9]

Looks like a new car !

 

Colour, ride height, condition, wheels. All looks good to me. Nice one for keeping the faith.

 

Any shows this year ?

[V33DUB 0]

No shows this year James... never really been my thing.

 

2 of my alloys are now shagged thanks to some bint deciding the middle of the road was theirs to own and do as they please with. I met the curb with a crash bang wallop. Rear is curbed, front is very kurbed and possibly a bit bent. Nice chunk out my sidewall too! Westwoods are back on for the time being.

 

Decided to clean the front arches while changing them over (did the back not long ago). Bit of oven cleaner and all is well. The KW shocks and springs I painted in POR15 and Plastidip about 2 years ago are holding up very nicely. No corrosion, chips etc.

 

As the sun was out at the weekend I decided it was a good time to clean my carpets. this quickly escalated to having most of my interior on the drive. The colour of the water coming out of the carpets was like coke... yuk!

 

Started to wire in my amp and speakers while everything is out. Made some MDF/Fibreglass Door pods a while ago. Both doors are now (creatively, not prettily... I like to think of it as abstract in aesthetic) dynamated. Got to wire up the left speakers. Rear sub and amp enclosures to follow. In the process of making pods for the tweeters to sit in the dash spaces. Checked the right side after all was hooked up and sounds nice.

 

Sound proofing pads on the drivers side had disintegrated so have been chucked and some new stuff ordered. There is some waxy stuff randomly poured in places on the drivers side floor. It's manky and started to crack in places but I'm guessing its the equivalent of waxoyl and so I'm reluctant to remove it. Cleaned all the insulation pad felt crap off. The bracket for the left foot rest was rusted like buggery. Cleaned it up and painted it but may well source a better one. The floor it bolts onto seems sound so not sure why this has happened!

 

More progress and possibly some pics (if I remember to do either) will follow.

[James. 9]

That's fair enough. I always gave shows a swerve, but found myself at them with the family anyway. Thought we might as well get good parking and miss the queues if the opportunity is there.

 

Cleaning the carpets really does give you a sense of achievement. Especially when you see the colour of the water when finished. Replacing the sound deadening is also a yes. It makes my stomach turn just thinking about the smelly horrible stuff that's chucked out.

 

Sorry to hear about the accident. Hope it all gets fixed up soon enough.

 

PS: Westwoods are a cool wheel anyway.

[V33DUB 0]

Rain, rain and more rain. Eventually got most of my interior back in with the help of some dryer weather!

 

I chucked away the old under carpet rubber and felt sound deadening pads as they were old, smelly, falling apart and generally minging! They virtually crawled themselves to the bin.

 

I bought some 2.5mm EPDM Rubber, some 20mm polyester padding stuff and some 3M Thinsulate 25mm acoustic deadening. Searched the net quite a bit and the thinsulate stuff seems to have got good reviews.

 

Hopefully these materials should get less manky than the felt padding. Probably got this all wrong but never done anything like this before so read a bit and took best guesses.

 

I used the old pads for templates and cut 1 layer of polyester and 2 of the rubber. Used 3M ultra strong spray adhesive to hold them all together. I cut a slightly larger bit of the thinsulate and put this on the floor first with the new pad on top. The thinsulate I got didn't have the black scrim (which I had got that one now!). The white bit is pretty fragile. Sure people walking past my drive thought I was cutting up a duvet like a crazy person! Reinstalled my carpet, made a note of clips, screws and stuff that were broken or missing. The new stuff I put in is thicker so carpets are more spongy but not weirdly so and everything still fits properly... feels kinda cosy (if that makes sense?).

 

Now I have drove the car for about 2 weeks with no carpet, no centre tunnel, no rear seats and no passenger seat so it could be the change since putting the carpet and some trim back in but I cant ever remember the cabin being so quiet! The engine and exhaust are definitely more of a deep muffled sound. Bought some Felt tape and stuck it on every bit of trim I could. Should help some squeaks die.

 

Before putting my carpets etc back in I ran my amp power cable, RCA lead and speaker cables through the car. Some info that might be of use to people doing it for the first time (sure this info is all on here somewhere but can't hurt and saves numerous trips to get stuff you find you need after starting!)...

 

Grommets for the holes the wires are going through. I used a 25mm blanking one for the amp wire through the bulkhead. I ran the wires through larger holes in the metal underneath the rear bench... need to get grommets for this but think they are 30mm (will confirm). Cut a cross in it, put the wire through and then, once everything was in its final resting place, a bit of extruded butyl rubber to hold (sure silicone will do but the rubber is less messy and removable/reusable).

 

Self adhesive cable clips - I used ones from halfords (medium size). Found them neater and easier than holding wire in by tape or whatever. I ran speaker cable down each door side using the loom path/clips that are already there but the RCA and Power wire ran either side of the centre tunnel and needed some form of holding in places.

 

Speaker cable - From my amps position on the drivers side of the boot, I used 5m each side. Seems impossible when you imagine 5m and look at the car but it's what went in!

 

I sound deadened both doors in my own unique fashion. A combination of Brownbread and Dynamat Extreme bought cheap off ebay auctions over a few months.

 

I saw a thread somewhere, at some point, on some forum about making door baffles for the Corrado for standard size speakers... I (half) followed and now have something vaguely similar. MDF, a bit of fibreglass filler and some sound deadening with a strip of closed cell foam on all edges to seal against the door nicely. The door card and plastic pocket/cover needed cutting but from the outside once back together looks completely standard (other than the positioning of my crossover in the door pocket). I wasn't thrilled about covering all the access holes in the door with dynamat and so opted to uses some perspex held in place by butyl rubber. Still seals the holes but is easily removable. Made a perspex panel covered with dynamat for the large access. Cleaned the inside of the doors, allowed to dry and waxoyled them.

 

After pondering the mirror triangle trim, the pillars and the door cards, I opted to keep the dash location for the tweeters. I reused the mounting clips from the standard units and made some mdf holders (check out the precise jigsaw skills there! they wont be seen though so nee bother to be). The dome of the tweeter grills didn't fit under the stock corrado grills so I whipped them off and replaced with some acoustic speaker material.

[britpop95 0]

Excellent work there matey ! I love my 8v its never missed a beat (touch wood) That is a stunning colour you got there nice to see another 8v getting some tlc.

[V33DUB 0]

So 'that' time has come. With what seems like less and less spare time in my life to maintain (what I'll say has been a bloody reliable old lass), the Corrado will be looking for a new home. Some modifications have been made since my last update to this thread, mainly some scumbags breaking in, wrecking my n/s door completely and taking various things. *******s. I'll detail in the FS thread I'll put up very soon.

 

On the plus side, I have a MK4 R32 sitting on my drive. Fun times!