1995 Sherry Pearl 8V

[Keyo 47]

1 minute ago, Nmdsec said:

What a great video “it’s red so obviously means it’s faster “😂

I liked his definition of what makes a good wife. 

[seanl82 23]

The vid puts it into perspective quite well.

Weighing up options (very rough estimate on cost), to fix including paint -£2000. 

Break the Corrado for parts +£1000

Buying another Corrado for £3000, possible for a 16v but even then for that price, it'll likely not be far behind yours currently.

Buying something else for £3000 - probably nothing worthwhile.

Fixing yours and knowing it is in great shape structurally, knowing it'll last for many years to come and maintaining or even improving that emotional attachment (cos fixing it up will make you happy once it's done 😉) - priceless! 👍

 

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by seanl82

[Keyo 47]

For me and I know this might be a bit uneducated because I have never owned an 8V but I have always avoided these engine blocks because of lack luster reviews , always gone with a 1.8T- 16V or 6 cylinder in the classic vag range. I would probably take a few of the rare parts off it and sell it to someone like Reeves , Amos, etc and get them to collect it on a trailer . Then put the money towards a new Rado and enjoy looking for one knowing you know what to look out for, in a couple of months will be a buyers market for sure. Maybe buy a G60 as I have hunch one day they will demand even more money than a VR6. 

Edited May 17, 2020 by Keyo

[Dox 22]

You know James has been restoring a Campaign for over 10 years? This has been his daily

 

 

[1xshaunx1 27]

15 minutes ago, Dox said:

You know James has been restoring a Campaign for over 10 years? This has been his daily

 

 

This is why I sold my other Corrado a couple of years ago, looking after 2 is nearly impossible and one gets neglected. 

[Keyo 47]

20 minutes ago, Dox said:

You know James has been restoring a Campaign for over 10 years? This has been his daily

 

 

Sure Dox I knew that , like Shaun has mentioned I suppose it comes down to the maintenance of x 2 Corrado .  

[ger040 2]

that is a very good video - surprised the car has not gone pink as all vw red cars from that era,

With regards to the corrado letting it go or not - tough decision as these cars have a habit of becoming part of you

Edited May 17, 2020 by ger040

[Keyo 47]

1 hour ago, ger040 said:

that is a very good video - surprised the car has not gone pink as all vw red cars from that era,

With regards to the corrado letting it go or not - tough decision as these cars have a habit of becoming part of you

Sure is but the campaign is good compensation- red is definitely up there in my top 3 , also moonlight blue and saturn silver thereabouts. MK2 golf and a Corrado is a nice duo ( i would say that ) ha !

Edited May 17, 2020 by Keyo

[ger040 2]

1 hour ago, Keyo said:

Sure is but the campaign is good compensation- red is definitely up there in my top 3 , also moonlight blue and saturn silver thereabouts. MK2 golf and a Corrado is a nice duo ( i would say that ) ha !

i suppose so but the campaign will be for good weather use only i would assume - totally agree with mk2 golf and corrado as a nice duo ,

[Jamie 1]

16 hours ago, Nmdsec said:

What a great video “it’s red so obviously means it’s faster “😂

This is actually factually correct - red paint doesn’t contain as much lead as other colours so it is actually lighter and therefore faster. 

[James. 7]

Cheers for the advice all.

What it boils down to is that I don’t want to break a car that is mechanically running very well and I thoroughly enjoy driving.

So I spent a few hours peeling away the loose underseal and using the pick to find the trouble spots (and there’s many).

Both the front sills are rotted out so they’ll have to be replaced (left side has rusted through the inner floor). Bumper guide supports are rotten and rear section around the tow eye is non existent.

 

The way I look at it, the car owes me nothing. I planned to paint the car myself (learning and all that jazz), so I’ll see what the welding works out at and take it from there.

 

 

[James. 7]

As title suggests.

I’ve stripped out the 8v in advance of all the welding work and found the insulation/felt in the front footwells to be damp and rotten.

Turns out the door has dropped on the drivers side. Causing water ingress along the lower part of the seal. Put my thumb through the floor where it’s been leaking in for some time.

That’s the least of my concerns though. Passenger footwell had half an inch of water there as well.

Must be the foliage seal. Replaced and felt pretty chuffed. 

Until I got up this morning and found the water had returned. Stripped out the glovebox and air vent to investigate. All the felt on the bulkhead was damp and rotten. Removed the A pillar trim to see the  metal frame/sealant split and beading water.

After pulling the window bead, there’s rust a hole on either side. So that explains the terrible rot in the sills then. 

The water is running down the window, onto the bulkhead, down behind the ABS ecu and into the footwell.

So it looks like the windscreen is coming out as well.

God damn car’s rustier than a fishermans bucket.

I’ve got cover on the insurance but will do it myself if it’s straight forward.

So has anyone done this ?

[Dox 22]

I bought a tool for cutting them out. Failed miserably, the tool had a knurled handle and a second handle attached by wire cord, you’d need the strength of Titan to use it

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171736273010

 

Edited June 19, 2020 by Dox

[Keyo 47]

Chap I understand your attachment to the car but is it time to reflect?  - there was a lovely 16V red as discussed earlier today on here with  low mileage and popping paint . I had a leak through the lower door seal but it was actually the door card had come away near the corner towards the front of the door. 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/birmingham/search/?callsite=commerce_mktplace_www_hoisted_pdp&hoisted_item=743780093115780&query=corrado

Edited June 19, 2020 by Keyo

[Cressa 43]

1 hour ago, Dox said:

I bought a tool for cutting them out. Failed miserably, the tool had a knurled handle and a second handle attached by wire cord, you’d need the strength of Titan to use it

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171736273010

 

Kent tool. We use them in the fire service for cutting windows out. They need the blade to be really sharp. Brilliant for cutting the rubbers, but as Dox says, super hard for bonded areas. 

If you want to try it i will happily send you the one I have.

I got a windscreen guy to come out and he cut it using the cheese wire rope wrapped all the way around the windscreen .

Good luck with getting it out

[James. 7]

Thanks Cressa, Dox, and Keyo.

I’ve seen them cutters before, so would have been weighing one up, but I also heard the screens are a pain to remove. So may review my plan. So thanks for the honest heads up. It’s destroying the (NLA) trim around the edge that bothers me.

Cheers Cressa. Hold that thought, as I may take you up on it yet.

Keyo. Yep I think at any other time you’re right. Thing is the car owes me nothing. It has more than paid back the initial outlay from nearly 10 years ago. It’s going to cost about £800 to have all he welding done properly. And I (me and the boy) plan to paint it myself (ourself) learning along the way. At the very earliest I’ll only be back in work in September, so I have the time.

Mechanically the car runs sweet as a nut. I tidied up all the cabin wiring this week after a poorly installed alarm led to a dashboard fire a few years ago.

So it comes down to either:

1. Sell the car as is.

2. Break it.

3. Cut out the rot, paint it and use it for the forseeable future.

The only value I can see in the car is the interior (which needs work), switches and moon roof.

I don’t want to break it as I’m not prepared to invest my time/effort into breaking a car that doesn’t have much value. Have it sat on the drive for the next 6 months looking terrible and still be left with a shell to dispose of.

Which leaves me with repairing. After welding, paint and new floor insulation, I reckon I’ll be into it for somewhere around £1500.

I know it’s much lorded as the least desirable model, but unless they are preserved, there won’t be any left for the next wave of enthusiasts ( this is where I start off about us being custodians rather than owners).

If I can run it for another 5 years then at least there will be some value in it further down the line. Although Oscar has expressed an interest about having it when he’s old enough to drive (and I’d already promised him the Campaign).

At least that’s how I look at it. Or have I gone completely nuts.

Answers on the back of a postcard to the usual address please ...

Edited June 20, 2020 by James.

[seanl82 23]

Great decision James, always a bonus when people take the option of investing time in restoring them rather than the easy way out. Absolutely agree about the custodian bit too! 😁👍

[Keyo 47]

I Know Robin for Stealth did this job recently to one of his Corrado and he had to cut get a cut from the front of the A pillars back to the sunroof from a donor card- was a very big job - fabricating needs to be absolute spot on otherwise the window won't quite house correctly and water ingress will continue -  need to get the window out and have full inspection so will interesting if you could report beack what is lurking unserneath. I would say the glass has been changed out at some point and the window fitter damaged the frame whilst cutting out the old glass. 

[Cressa 43]

I got my rear window out using a snap off blade long Stanley knife. Running the blade inside along the bonding. Continually snapping the blades off to keep it sharp and slightly bendy so I could get my hand to it. After watching the guy make a mess taking my windscreen out, I wondered why I hadn't just done it along time ago!!

Just go for it mate, you need it out to assess what is in front of you. And it's a project. They all need saving 😊

[James. 7]

On 6/20/2020 at 11:09 AM, Cressa said:

Just go for it mate, you need it out to assess what is in front of you. And it's a project. They all need saving 😊

Cheers. Strange day today though.

After finding the source of the leak on Saturday, I decided to jump in the old thing and let the welder know there’s more work in the pipeline, so leave the rest of the week free.

I get 50 meters down the lane and realise the damn screen has an A6 sized crack in the corner. Without any assistance from me as well. Hadn’t pocked, prodded or been near it to cause any damage.

It’s not terrible news as the insurance will cover it. But blow me down if this car isn’t psychic.

 

[James. 7]

So fast forward half a dozen weeks and after finding half the car is rotten, this happened:

 

[_Matt_ 26]

Brilliant. Just been catching up on your thread and was disheartened to see the rust - why do some corrados rust so much more than others.

Pleased to see you got the work done. If it was the 800 quid you mentioned then that is not a bad deal.

Painting is expensive and if you get to the point where you don't feel you can do it at least you have stripped the car saving you a great deal of labour at a bodyshop.





Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

[seanl82 23]

Top man James, great to see you're cracking on with it and (hopefully) the worst has been dealt with. A long and manotonous road for the bodywork, at least it's the school holidays and you can rope the kids in! Best of luck mate, glad it's in your capable hands. 👍

Edited August 17, 2020 by seanl82

[Keyo 47]

Might be worth cutting in from bottom of Scuttle  to the sunroof if you can get a good  cut from somewhere . 

[Simeon 0]

Great work 🙂 Good to see someone rescuing one rather than scrapping when faced with that rust