Welcome to Corrado number 3...

[neuon2003 0]

Bought another VR today :cheers:

 

60,800 miles

Flash Red

Leather heated Recaros

Aircon

Headlamp washers

VW body kit

Wolfrace Raceline 15" Alloys

Period Sony CD player with Sony amp in the boot

Suspension has been upgraded but not sure to what as yet

 

I am owner 4. The 1st owner was the Proprietor of a VW dealership who had it less than a year and who fitted all the dealership bits. Owner 2 had it for 14 years (was his wife's car). Was sold after she had a hip replacement and could no longer get in it! Owner 3 had it for 2.5 years and did 10k miles in it. He sold it to fund a house purchase.

 

It is in fantastic condition having led a pampered, garaged life. I first drove this car just over 2.5 years ago when looking for my first Corrado, having come across it by accident as it was not advertised for sale. I had gone to look at a VR6 which turned out to to be the son's. I absolutely loved it then but did not buy it for the sake of a few hundred quid :bonk:

 

I learned an expensive lesson. I bought another pretty good VR6 (Dinkus's Silver one) and have spent well over a year doing an almost full nut and bolt rebuild of that one on the Concours trail. It is still in pieces (and yes I do need to update my owner's/rebuild thread). Still, I often thought about the red one that got away and how much time and effort I would have saved, for the sake of a few hundred pounds.

 

Then, last Thursday, I saw it back up for sale with only 10k more miles on the clock and still looking great. Picked it up today and am as happy as Larry. Shame my wife does not (yet) share my joy!

Edited September 25, 2013 by neuon2003
Wheels are 15" not 16" and confirmed the model as 'Racelines'

[Purple Tom 0]

Wow, very nice, what a spec too! :)

 

I have to say that personally I'm not a big fan of that small bodykit, but it looks like its been done properly, presumably when the car was very young. However its definitely a nice modification and its nice to find an example thats obviously had plenty of pampering - looking forward to seeing it at a meet soon!

 

Tom

[joebloggsVR69 0]

Very nice! :)

[dragon green 5]

Not a fan of bodykits,but that does look really good.

[KIPVW 0]

Awsome find Andrew! cant wait to see it :)

[Jim 2]

Sounds like a great example but I have to say that the bodykit needs to go! :)

[Yandards 0]

Ah good old dealer demo cars, best way to get a fully loaded car with all the toys - only downside being it will have been thraped for a year!

 

My valvers in the same boat, should really have keep fit windows, no sunroof and a grey interior but thanks to the dealer all the toys and electric recaros to boot :)

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

Wow amazing find :)

[robrado974 1]

very nice indeedy . nice spec too. i think the body kit looks ok , does not look to out of place does it?. regards rob

[Kempy 0]

I think the kit is alright. I would keep it, as it makes it more of a one off

[carter711 0]

This car is so similar to mine! Mine doesn't have aircon, bodykit or headlight washers but everything else is identical (yours looks in nicer condition than mine, I need to put some work into mine as its been sat in the garage most of the winter!

 

Even what you've shown of the number plate is almost identical to mine! My number plate starts M232!

 

They must have come off the line very close to one another?!

[-Neil- 0]

Wow andrew, very nice, is this to spark enhusiasm(sp) to finishing the other one?

[daleyboy 0]

Good colour...........

[Whitedog 0]

mmmm...headlight washers

[neuon2003 0]

Thanks for all the interest. Seems like the body kit is a bit of a marmite item. The plan is to keep the car it as it is a bit different and does seem to suit the car. I have also managed to locate another complete red body kit which, if suitable, can go into the 'spares' bin.

 

Bit of an update.

 

Have started work on the car in preparation for the Elsecar meet - pictures to follow. Have done a provisional check of obvious parts needed; not too many. The bad news is that the local dealership is now only offering 5% discount on retail prices. The good news is that the local TPS (Chesterfield) was very happy to give trade prices on cash sales. Hurrah!

 

Fitted four new 205/50 R15 tyres (Continental Premium Contact 2's) which are a huge improvement over the ageing P7000's it was wearing. Fixed a minuscule fuel weep last week, due to a badly fitting 'Clic' hose clip where the engine fuel pipes join the body fuel lies (in the little heat reflecting bag). The fuel dripped down the fuel lines and gathering in O/S floorpan tunnel. Over a pit, it gave me a chance to have a really good rummage underneath. Dirt aside, little evidence of any damage and rust. Minute leak on the sump, possible weep on the power steering pump. Original exhaust still going strong. Needs a full suspension update and refurb, as expected.

 

Have had the wheels off for a clean, though they will need a professional refurb job in time. Cleaned all the arches out and around the fuel filler locking cap. No rust anywhere. All now waxed up around the locking lever and fuel filler neck, with Dinitrol 4941 inside the arch lips and known corrosion prone areas (one of the benefits of stripping down the Silver VR6!) and Dinitrol 3125 cavity wax inside the sills/rear arches. The front mud flaps have completely protected the front end of the sills which still look factory fresh. Suspension is in good condition with the VW labels still on the front shocks.

 

Had the Recaro seats out and cleaned and fed the leather. One of the seat switches (driver's height) had just stopped working. It needed stripping down and the contacts cleaning. The driver's side outer bolster will need replacing eventually, especially with my big frame (6' 2" and 18+ stone), but the leather is in good shape.

 

The body shop where the Silver VR is being fettled have booked the car in to sort out the top edge of the body kit. The sealant has dried and cracked in places and needs replacing and tidying up. There is a supermarket ding in the driver's door to knock out and a few minor stone chips here and there which Chipex will sort out for now.

 

The mechanic I use is booked to replace the rear beam, bushes, bearings and refurbed brakes. The car needs a rear o/s bearing and bush and as I had a spare beam it seems sensible to change over the axle at the same time. Still debating whether to powdercoat the beam, or to use something like Zinga and sprayed with an Epoxy Mastic 121 paint. Hmmn!

 

Engine bay clean today. Along with replacing the roof aerial gasket. Shouldn't take long. Hopefully.

[big ben 10]

sounds good!

[neuon2003 0]

One day to go to the Elsecar meet and just about ready. Quick internal dust and a wash, polish and wax today.

 

Finished the engine bay clean. Removed the waxoil on the airbox/battery shelves and replaced with a clear heat-resitant wax (Dinitrol Corroheat). Aerial gasket sorted. A few stone chips given the Chipex treatment. Did a spot of preventative work with some butyl rubber tape, sealing the internal rear apron seam on the inside of the boot. Poor seam sealing here seems to be another Corrado feature and a potential location for long term rotting. Also sealed the rear badge grommets from the inside to prevent leaking (the Silver VR6 needed welding here due to leaking).

 

Refurbished the water deflector plastics at the front. Following some recommendations, used some G-Tekniq C4 permanent trim restorer and the results are outstanding. Have posted more in the car care forum here

[carter711 0]

Looking forward to seeing these now pics!

[neuon2003 0]

A few pictures of cleaning up the arches, the new aerial gasket, the results of the G-Techniq treatment on the water deflector and roof trim; plus today's cleaning session ready for Elsecar in the morning.

[dickie 0]

looks like a top car! great looking interior.

[voo51 0]

Absolutely beautifull, looks immaculate, I am so envious. I really like the bodykit, it is subtle enough.

[neuon2003 0]

Time for an update. Grab a brew...

 

Having had a long think about what to do with the two VR's, I have decided to keep the red one as a 'Collection/Concourse' car and use the Silver one for some contemporary updates I fancy. So, the red one will be put back to factory condition, put in long term storage/preservation and sold for a profit in 10-20 years as a classic. Time will tell if this is a smart idea.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]47779[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]47780[/ATTACH]

 

So, having decided the Red's fate, it was on with phase one of the work especially as the MOT was due on 25th June. The parts on the car are in great condition (e.g. wishbones, rear axle) and all are genuine VW. So the intention is to refurbish these which meant sourcing a second set of some items, so the car can still be used and wheeled in/out of the long-term storage location I have secured, whilst the refurbishment proceeds. This car cannot be left on axle stands in my garage for 18 months, like the Silver one. With long term overseas work commitments looming, there was a need to press on. The additional parts would also (in time) be used to complete the refurbishment of the Silver VR.

 

Preparation

Secured a rear axle, front assembly and wish bones. These were blasted and coated along with a load of other parts I already had, including items for the Silver VR. The initial list of items was: Rear axle; 2 x rear axle brackets; 2 x rear splash shields; front and rear bumper irons; front assembly; 2 x wishbones; front ARB; Carbon canister holder; tailgate spoiler brackets; 3 x sets fuel tank straps. All this cost just £120 and the work was done by Batchglow (as recommended by Bruny, KIPVW and Butterfly). Interestingly, they charged less to have the items nylon coated in matt black rather than powdercoated, as they had a big nylon coating run on the go. See here:http://www.batchglow.co.uk/nylon-powder-coating.html

[ATTACH=CONFIG]47782[/ATTACH]

 

Also bought a duplicate set of front/ rear calipers and carriers for refurbishing, along with some VW stub axles. These were all de-rusted. For de-rusting advice, see my post about using Citric Acid here: http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?56334-Cleaning-hubs&p=725354&viewfull=1#post725354. As the plan also involves the plating of various parts (e.g. brake calipers), following the success of others on here I also purchased a home zinc plating kit along with some black passivate: http://www.gaterosplating.co.uk/Zinc-Plating-kit.php.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]47781[/ATTACH]

 

I also secured a set of 288mm brakes, calipers and carriers for the Silver VR. This has 312mm brakes with 16" wheels. But my spare wheels are 15" so had to temporarily reduce the brake size while the wheels are refurbished. I am also thinking of going back to Speedlines on the Silver VR, so needed the smaller carriers.

 

Finally, bought a set of Speedlines for the Red. It currently has a set of 15" Wolfrace Racelines but came from the factory with Speedlines so will get those back on in due course.

 

Parts

Placed an order for a skip-load of genuine parts with VW, mainly to refurbish the drivetrain and suspension, which resulted in a monster bill. The shopping list included:

 

Rear Axle

Disks; bearings; bushes; pads; all new bolts, fastenings and clips; brake bias valve; ABS sensors and rings; flexi hoses; rear axle bush; brake line brackets; splash shields; handbrake cables

 

Front assembly

Discs; pads;wheel bearings; hubs with ABS rings; new wishbone bushes (Rear=TT donuts), ARB bushes and clamps; Steering rack bush and clamp; drop links; tie rod ends; ball joints; all new clips, bolts and fastenings; ABS sensors; flexi hoses and brackets/clips; new engine and gearbox mounts; splash shields

 

Front 288 brakes

Discs; pads; flexis; bolts etc

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]47785[/ATTACH]

 

Next: The Rear Beam

[neuon2003 0]

Have decided to give the Blog system a try to document the two projects I have on the go. I will post here when a new item is added. To start with, have just added an account of the rear axle refurbishment done last week.

 

http://the-corrado.net/entry.php?117-Rear-axle-refurb

[neuon2003 0]

On a bit of a roll with these write ups. Have updated my Blog to cover the front end work done at the end of last week.

 

http://the-corrado.net/entry.php?118-Front-sub-assembly-time

[neuon2003 0]

Have not posted for a long time, mainly due to an extended period overseas. The red VR6 is still in hibernation and the silver VR6 is still in bits awaiting a re-spray.

 

Anyway, back in UK for a while, so I decided to buy a run-around pending completion of the silver VR6 (getting painted soon) and ended up with a third Corrado, a one owner 1996 8v in Midnight Blue with full heated leather interior. A dealer demonstrator for 3 months, then the car was owned by a woman (airline cabin crew). She seems to have absolutely loved the car for the last 17 years and maintained it well, including: a £4800 bill (!) four years ago to replace the entire ABS system (pump, ECU, sensors, loom) to cure a fault; another £500 for a Jetex stainless exhaust in March 13; plus a full suspension change 10k miles ago costing £1200. The car has 152k on the clock, stacks of documented history and seems to be in pretty good condition overall with just a couple of parking dings on the swage line and a small indent in a rear arch.

 

The car was presented with a full service and MOT, and a full detail with corrected paintwork. A few dings and paint chips to sort out; a bit of preventative work to do; the odd fastener needed here and there where garage staff have been lazy; driver's bolster to sort out. Overall it is in pretty good condition. Should be a decent run around, hopefully, given the intention is to use this only until the silver VR6 is back on the road.

 

I enjoyed the 3 hr drive home, especially getting over 40 mpg.

 

Here are the photos taken for the agreed insurance valuation:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]75768[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]75769[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]75770[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]75771[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]75772[/ATTACH]

Edited September 25, 2013 by neuon2003
Typo corrected