Scotts of Sloane Square "Carry on" Campaign

[1xshaunx1 27]

Oooo, you’re on a roll. 

[James. 9]

What with all the electrical issues the VR is having, (but feeling confident a remedy is around the corner) I thought I may start prepping it for a future potential MOT.

I’ve managed to get the brakes “operational”. But they’re softer than an otters pocket, so after a little advice from my local specialist, will attempt to bleed them for a fourth time. Remembering to open up the compensator first. Just as well I went out and bought more dot 4.

After mixing up the horn and fog light connectors, it now has a working horn.

There’s still some clicking from the relay panel, but we’ll keep chipping away and hopefully get a result sometime soon.

The car now has all its fluids present and topped up (eventually). Though after two leaks in the cooling system, (and what sounds like an airlock when the water pump runs), losing half the power steering fluid and me stupidly over pressurising the eezibleed and losing half of that I’m reluctant to fit the slam panel / front bumper yet. With the 8v the bumper would already be on, but space is already limited, and I’ve yet to be convinced the fans are operational. The air con wiring / routing is nothing short of complicated.

Excited by the small win with the horn, I attempted the next job, to replace and install the washer jets/pipes. They were stiff and beyond their best, so I called in at the local motor factors and bought 2m of clear 5mm hose and a couple of T connectors.

The down side is the wiper blades are 12 years old and a have had better days, so that’s a job for another day. Oh and the wipe pressure from the OE arms is shocking. But we all know that 🙂.

Edited October 9, 2022 by James.

[James. 9]

Following on from my last update, the handful of you that still frequent these corridors may have read my thread regarding the ECU issues I’ve been having (The fuel pump relay would click repeatedly when fog, demister, brake lights and interior lights were operated). So after losing sleep, raising my anxiety and eventually finding a company that was capable of repairing the ECU, it was today installed and is now free from clicks when the cabin switchgear is operated (oh the joy).The highlights (as it’s been covered in the other thread) were that it was sent to ECU technologies in Staffordshire to be repaired and tested after what turns out that I’d reversed the polarity from the battery to the ECU at some point repairing the loom and fried the earth track.

Four days, £250 and a two year warranty later, the VR now has a working ECU.

Had a go at the old trick of grinding down the nodes on the wipers and now they wipe rather than smear. Backed it out on to the drive waiting for rain to test, but got snow instead.

 

Hopefully not five months till the next update.

Edited March 14, 2023 by James.

[1xshaunx1 27]

Love a happy ending 

[fla 9]

James your dedication and supreme efforts have really paid off. Would love to see it in the flesh some time

[ger040 3]

Many would have given up long time ago - great to hear that you got it sorted

[James. 9]

8 hours ago, fla said:

James your dedication and supreme efforts have really paid off. Would love to see it in the flesh some time

Honestly, there’s been times when I never thought I’d get to this (albeit unfinished) position. It’s not complete yet by a long chalk, when are they ever ? (body touch ups/repairs, air con parts to source) but for the first time in twelve years, I think there’s a home straight to aim for. The first hurdle was to get it running, and yes other spanners have been thrown in my path, but once I’m confident it’s all running as intended we’ll be heading out to a few shows (not that I know what’s what in that world) Pulling out all the stops for the CCGB national day at RAF Cosford.

Oops, have I jinxed it ?

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2023 by James.

[_Matt_ 32]

Great win James and must be satisfying to get this far with all the challenges you've faced. 

[Cressa 44]

👍 well done in sorting that problem and finding someone capable of sorting the ECU. Result  

[James. 9]

On 3/15/2023 at 8:05 AM, _Matt_ said:

Great win James and must be satisfying to get this far with all the challenges you've faced. 

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a challenge. But after 12 years I’m ready for a drive out.

[James. 9]

On 3/15/2023 at 9:47 AM, Cressa said:

👍 well done in sorting that problem and finding someone capable of sorting the ECU. Result  

Thanks. Hopefully others can benefit from reading about the ECU fix. I seriously thought about throwing the keys in for a moment.

[James. 9]

So after a false start, this happened...

Very happy to say the least.

12 and a half years after I last drove it, It now has a full bill of health.

The wiring for the radio is the last of the mechanical jobs to be completed in the next couple of days (for this year at least). Then there's all those knocks and scratches that have accumulated over the last 12 years to be rectified, and I'll be collecting air con parts for replacement over winter.

 

But overall, it means I can head out and drive the damn thing. Which after all , is why we buy them in the first place 🙂.

 

 

[Dox 23]

1 minute ago, James. said:

So after a false start, this happened...

Very happy to say the least.

12 and a half years after I last drove it, It now has a full bill of health.

The wiring for the radio is the last of the mechanical jobs to be completed in the next couple of days (for this year at least). Then there's all those knocks and scratches that have accumulated over the last 12 years to be rectified, and I'll be collecting air con parts for replacement over winter.

 

But overall, it means I can head out and drive the damn thing. Which after all , is why we buy them in the first place 🙂.

 

 

Good news.

 

pop in for a coffee if you’re ever over this way with it

[_Matt_ 32]

Well done great news! 

 

[1xshaunx1 27]

Well done that man. I bet your like a kid with a fiver in a sweet shop

[James. 9]

41 minutes ago, Dox said:

Good news.

 

pop in for a coffee if you’re ever over this way with it

Certainly will

7 minutes ago, _Matt_ said:

Well done great news! 

 

Thanks. It's been a long road.

7 minutes ago, 1xshaunx1 said:

Well done that man. I bet your like a kid with a fiver in a sweet shop

Damn right. Checked the Gov MOT site this morning and got all giddy. Busy with work over the next few days, so will pick it up early next week (once the radio and wiring behind the dashboard is all reverted to OE spec).

[James. 9]

Having given the old girl around 8 weeks of running in, I thought I’d update the thread.

I must admit that I was very nervous at first. Fully expectant of a breakdown (or two).

I didn’t have to wait long before our first technical issue though. An all too obvious rumble emanating from the front corner meant that the wheel bearing was shot. I imagine that when I brushed the wing/wheel with the other car a while back, it opened up the bearing to the outside elements.

Ordered a new SKF unit and had it pressed in c/o John at JJs garage Wigan. Surprisingly a pleasurable (and straightforward) experience when all the bolts/nuts are new (ish).

Tightened up a few hoses to stop a few leaks, but continue to have issue with the gear selector. So far I’ve managed to get it in a position where I can get reverse and 5th, UNTIL the gearbox/engine gets warm and then I either lose reverse or release is difficult. I’ll persevere, either that or continue to push it out if parking spaces for the foreseeable.

The last couple of weeks have sashayed more confidence into my Sunday afternoon sojourns. The unusually warm weather has seen us beginning to re-establish enjoyment of the big old lump. I have a local loop that extends through the country roads via Southport and back and as such opening up “the taps” and the sunroof. I re-built the sunroof fully back in 2009 but had issue with the sunroof frame fouling the rubber strip that retains the headlining. Not a problem, I’ll remove the strip and reassess. Fast forward a week and after a brief run in the warm weather, the headlining detached and opened up like a black parachute above my head.

Hanging down like a sad old bin bag, I decided to take it all apart and make another go of improving the sunroof and its associated parts.

First job was to drop the headling. I thought I’d done with taking the car apart by now 🙄.

 

Peeled back (with relative ease) the old fabric. For the purpose of restoration rather than replacement I opted to clean it up.

Safely stored all the other components away.

 

Here’s what I‘d found the last time I repaired it. And whilst I made adjustments to allow it easier movement, the swage line in the frame seemed to be the offending element.

Deciding the best course of action would be to reduce the height of the outer lip, I set about doing just that. I used a gauge to obtain a uniform thickness, but the two small rivets toward the front edge became the deciding factor in how much to remove (3mm if anyone’s interested).

I used a microfibre cloth, moistened with a little white spirit to remove any sticky residue.

 

Left overnight, I returned to the outdoors and re-connected the cleaned fabric to its structural support.

 

The new profile once sanded, cleaned and re-upholstered.

 

All back in and looking presentable once more. Oh, and the best bit… it rolls back and forth with little resistance.

And that’s where we’re up to. Had a chat with the bodyshop to have the small paint issues corrected next month.

Fingers crossed that todays warm weather carries on and I can get a drive chalked up later in the week. Sunroof rolled back of course 😎.

Edited September 25, 2023 by James.
Terrible punctuation. VG+

[Cressa 44]

Loving the update James. The picture of your seat headrest and dashboard

is just a tease of something soo special. Congratulations on the MOT and running around in her. 

Is the issue of Corrado driving always niggling issues that we sort out. If it were a daily driver would we not have that problem, or we just accept them easier and ignore them.  My Passat daily has all sorts of knocks and noises but I ignore and keep driving. Yet a Corrado we enjoy fussing over them 🙄😂

Enjoy sorting the aircon. I stripped and replaced all of mine, with the evaporator being the nightmare. But it is cold  and works thankfully.  If I can help at anytime, shout up. Good luck 👍

 

[_Matt_ 32]

Great work on the headlining, tidy job 🙂 Nice to be running around in it. I'm about to take mine off road again to fit suspension and rear beam refurb.  

[ChrisL 20]

Another job well done 👌 can’t believe you now have this on the road. I’ve followed the thread for years and didn’t think it was going to happen.

looking forward to seeing it next year at some point 👍

[James. 9]

12 hours ago, Cressa said:

If I can help at anytime, shout up. Good luck 👍

 

Thanks. I’ve got the leaks under control, so I’m happy to have a go at the aircon over Winter. Listen out for the knock on your DM door 😉

[James. 9]

9 hours ago, _Matt_ said:

 🙂 Nice to be running around in it.  

Loving it 🙂

[James. 9]

4 hours ago, ChrisL said:

Another job well done 👌 can’t believe you now have this on the road. I’ve followed the thread for years and didn’t think it was going to happen.

looking forward to seeing it next year at some point 👍

You and me both. It’s not perfect, but like you say it’s back on the road. And that’s what counts and is making me smile right now 😁. 
 

Hopefully (if time allows) I’ll be able to get it to a couple of shows/meets in 2024.

[fla 9]

Wow James, this is just amazing. Congrats on the completion and hope you really get to enjoy it.

Would love to see this immaculate unicorn sometime 

[James. 9]

How time flies.

We wen't to a friends birthday/bbq/England party yesterday. and when leaving had a young chap taking it's picture and wanting to know all about it. He even filmed us as we drove off. A positive experience, buoyed enough to share on here.

Here's ten months of ups and downs with the car since the update last year.

 

ECU

After having the ECU repaired, we went away in October, only to be faced with a non start issue upon return. I'd been tightening up a loose power steering clamp and assumed the I'd disturbed a wire/connector as all was running tickets boo two weeks before.

No such luck. After doing all the basic checks, it transpires that the ECU had cooked itself again and burnt a hole through the earth track. And as seeing as it was less than 12 months since the repair I thought I'd send it back...

Again, no such luck. The company I used before had ceased trading.

 

Now what to do. I really was at allow ebb, especially after the trouble and pain I had with the last one.

 

Hopped on to ebay with a slim hope of finding a reasonable priced ECU, but alas, yes there was one for £150. Paid the money and received the unit a few days later.

Wiring checked and installed to an immediate start up. Hurrah !

 

Oil cap

When I built up and installed the engine, I'd used a NOS oil filter that I'd had since about 09. Thing is now, the oil filter cap had a crack in it and was getting bigger and literally pouring oil out of the side.

The original cap was no longer available, so ended up having to use the later cap (both the same part number as is the filter), but as it was a different internal design, had to change the filter for the later type as well. Something to observe should you ever be in the same situation (Later cap and filter now !).

 

Roof lining

The black parachute repair above my head didn't last long so will have to try again with stronger adhesive.

The sunroof mod/fix is still working a treat, so can recommend that though (see previous posts).

 

Leavers do

I've been using the car whenever and wherever I can, but the real important date was my sons high school leavers do last week. He'd been looking forward using the car for this purpose all year. And even though iIt needs some tidying of the bodywork (which is booked in for the end of September) We took it out for all to see and ask "What's that VW ?'

It doesn't feel like five minutes (actually about five years) since we were in a freezing cold garage, wire wheeling and painting the engine block 🙂.

 

Next:

MOT in a couple of weeks. Brakes could do with a re-bleed first as they're a little soft.

Gear linkage bush replacement. May go for the uprated set up if I can't find a replacement bush kit.

Middle section has a little blow (the connector has been "pinched" and has a small gap). Would like a full new system, but the current ones good and more importantly quiet (something that can't be said about the 8v).

But all that has to wait until the bodyshop have finished with it.

Jobs for the cold months then... just as before 😉

 

 

 

Edited July 1 by James.