New KW V1 Inox Suspension Fitted and Powder Coated Manifold

[axcel01uk 0]

Well after 3 months in the paint shop the Corrado is nearly done. Just the door mirrors, door cards to put back on and one final buff and it will be ready to come home.

 

I have had the car since Sept 09 and have wanted to sort the paint work since I bought it. It didnt have any rust, but it had some car park dings and minor scratches. Now its done I couldnt be any happier with the results. Over the last 3 months I have been going down for regular checks on progress and to finally see it almost done and totally blemish free is amazing.

 

You always worry when you make the decision to have a full respray but fortunately for me, the guy who done it is a very close friend who owns a body shop and he has put his heart and soul into it, the results are amazing. Despite it nearly being nearly 18 years old, there was absolutely no rust apart from a tiny patch of surface rust (10p size) behind the rear number plate plinth. You always worry about what might be found when the car is stripped down, and what lurks behind wheel arch liners, bumpers etc when their removed but there was nothing, my friend who painted it couldnt believe what great shape it was in.

 

I have taken this opportunity to replace a lot of cosmetic parts as well, all new original badges, roof trim, outer door/window trim mouldings, number plate plinth, housing for rear number plate light etc. It has cost me a fortune to buy the parts but thank god I started getting bits 2 years ago when I bought the car, as some of it must be obselete by now. It seemed pointless to have a new paint job only to then stick back on old trim parts that would probably let it down.

 

I also got the engine manifold powder coated in silver. The engine bay is really good anyway as spent many a night spent out in the garage when the wife was at work cleaning parts. It was just the manifold letting it down so this will finish the engine bay off nicely

 

The Corrado is not my daily driver and only comes out of the garage on Sundays if the weather is good, so the car should look good for many a year to come. I know some people will probably think I am mad putting as much money as I have into the car, as I will never get this back if I sell it. I dont care about the money though, for me its a labour of love and the sheer enjoyment I get from driving it and the total buzz I will now get from seeing it all perfect more than makes up for the money i spend. I will be taking in some shows next year as well but only if the weather is nice lol.

 

If any forum members are living in Essex and are thinking about a paint job, your more than welcome to have a look at my car and if you are as impressed as fussy old me, then I can then put you in touch with my friend.

Edited February 27, 2012 by axcel01uk

[joebloggsVR69 0]

Beautiful :)

Can't beat a fresh paint job!

[robrado974 1]

Lookin fantastic , as usual with pics its hard to to see the colour . Dont think you said what it was ? dbp? . I remember when mine was done ,its a great feeling to get bit back and you just think wow !

[axcel01uk 0]

Yeah it is a great feeling to see it looking so good. The colour is actually Twilight Violet but like you say it is hard to pick up from pics.

[CazzaVR 0]

Wow! Looks stunning! 8)

[robo22sri 10]

nice car bud, where are you based in essex?

[axcel01uk 0]

nice car bud, where are you based in essex?

 

I live in Benfleet, thanks for the comments guys

[robo22sri 10]

I live in Benfleet, thanks for the comments guys

 

On my door step! I am in Basildon

 

Will have to meet up and see your mates hand work :)

[axcel01uk 0]

On my door step! I am in Basildon

 

Will have to meet up and see your mates hand work :)

 

The wifes from Basildon so over there quite a lot, should have the Corrado back early in the new year so more than welcome to take a look

[Stonejag 10]

Looking great! Missing pics of the coated manifold though ;)

 

Could you give us ballpark figure of how much it cost? I was quoted ~£2500 for mine (glass out, doors off, taken back to bare metal, dents knocked out, rust patched/welded up, rolled and pulled rear arches) but that looks like an excellent job.

 

Stone

[axcel01uk 0]

I went for a stock look for the manifold, again, please excuse the photo its not the greatest and doesn't do it justice really. Had the inlet done as well at the same time. Used a specialist powder coating and polishing firm in Rayleigh Essex called, http://promopolishing.co.uk, to do the manifold. Didnt want to overload my mate with to much work. I purchased this Manifold and the inlet from somebody on the forum both parts had already been sandblasted. Will get it fitted after the car comes back and this will hopefully finish off the bay nicely.

 

From a price perspective the 2.5k figure you were quoted Stone is pretty much spot on. Mine is going to be a bit cheaper because its mates rates, but my mate said the normal rate is between 2.5k-3k and this should see a cracking job.

[Jim 1]

Absolutely beautiful!

[Redfox 10]

MMMmmmm, certainly looks like a new car to me ;)

 

Cheers,

Redfox.

[Portent 0]

Lookng great. I wish people would stop getting resprays as it's giving me bad ideas of spending money :)

 

Group buy anyone :D

[axcel01uk 0]

Well the VR is finally back home, felt like an eternity it really did. Was great to drive her again on Sunday morning missed it big time, at first I was being a bit paraniod thinking " what if I get a chip " then thought dont be a plum just enjoy it, put your foot down and listen to that VR roar you have been missing so much. Got extra paint anyway in case I do chip it, so all prepared for future touch ups.

 

Anyhow posted up a few more pics so so happy, she looks new.

 

 

Prior to it going in for paint I had been cleaning up the engine bay while the wife was at work in the evenings. Not perfect and lot more still to do but getting there.

 

Here is the engine bay when I bought her

 

 

and after a bit of a clean, Just got the manifold to put on now that I had done (see earlier post) and should look sweet.

cant decide whether to stick the original air filter back on, love the sound of the bmc but the original housing looks so much neater. decisions decisions.

 

 

Also started cleaning up the wheel arches pig of a job and early stages. Also need to take a better pic .

 

 

 

Next step is to continue sorting the engine bay and get the leather sorted on my drivers seat. Will post again once manifold on.

[carter711 0]

Absolutely gorgeous. Regarding the airfilter, I've got the standard air box with a K&N panel filter but I've removed the snorkel. It sounds brilliant! (VR6 btw!)

[Kev_VR6 0]

Car looks stunning mate! Great work under the bonnet :smug:

 

Know what you mean about the nervous driving after you've just had paint. I was driving like a priest for the first couple of weeks after getting mine back!

[tentonhammer 10]

Wow, that is one cleeean example. Good job man.

 

Apart from the BMC A/F and manifold, was anything else replaced in the enigine bay to smarten it up or did you just go to town with the cleaning? Def want to smarten up my engine bay

 

Ten Ton

[axcel01uk 0]

Thanks for the comments Guys, is coming along nicely has taken two years to look this good but I am a happy man.

 

Just got an new battery cover that was about it, the rest was just cleaning the parts that were there. The plastics come up so well with Meguirs endurance tyre gel and another product called black wow. Auto Glym engine cleaner, hot soapy water and brush for all the oily bits.

[axcel01uk 0]

Finally got round to having my manifold fitted recently so thought I post up some pics. Another thing I got fitted on Saturday was new KW V1 Inox coilover Suspension had this supplied and fitted by AMD Essex. Also had the front top mounts and bearings replaced at the same time with genuine Lemforder ones. For anyone thinking about changing their suspension set up I cant recommend these enough.

 

I had standard shocks before with lowered H&R springs, these were on the car when I bought it and I was never really 100% happy with the set up. It was to crashy for me and the standard shocks just didnt combine well with the uprated H&R springs. Now I have had the KW's fitted the driving experience has improved 100%. I guess most people would have gone lower but I didnt want to compromise ride quality to much. For me it now really is the perfect balance of great handing without the crashy ride I had before.

 

Looking at some of my old pics you can see the drop is now slighty lower then my previous H&R spring set up but the ride quality is much improved. I was genuinely worried when I dropped the car off in case I wouldnt like the KW's or they would be to harsh but its so much better than I was expecting. I just cant believe how much a decent suspension set up improves the overall driving experience I am loving it.

 

Anyway posted some pics up of the manifold now in the bay and the car and how it sits with the new KW V1's.

 

 

 

[Patrick101 0]

Nice motor mate really like the colour and the stance on the K1's