Rob's Project VR6 and 2.0 16v, VR6 head rebuild.

[dumptyboy 0]

Hi everyone. After a seven year gap since I owned my last corrado I finally decided to buy another one. I had to sell my previous Corrado so that i could afford to buy a van, my misses was pregnant and I decided to go self employed.But I never wanted to get rid of it as it was my dream car, a 2.0 16v Candy white in mint condition. I honestly think that I have never felt complete since I had to sell it, and I always told myself that one day I would get another one.

So roll on seven years ,2 kids, a mortgage and a couple of months looking at the forums and ebay for another one I came across my new corrado. I was trying to find something similar to my old car but candy white seems hard to find, so every night for months I was checking ebay at the cars for sale, and then one night I had a couple of beers and search ebay for 'Corrado' ending soonest! Up came a corrado for sale in the wrong catagory which i hadnt seen before and it had 30 mins to go before it ended. I put a bid on and went to bed.

I couldnt believe it when I looked in the morning and i'd won it, it has 84k on the clock aswell as full service history, etc.

 

But then I realised I hadnt actually seen the car and it was located 215 miles away! So not knowing what condition it really was in I decided in my head that I would collect it and if it was really bad then I would strip it for parts.

Anyway, I arranged with a friend to collect it and it arrived with me at 11pm in the pitch black so I had to wait till the morning to see what I had bought!

 

I woke up in the morning and it was a lovely sunrise to this:

 

I fell in love straight away :), I couldnt believe the bargain that I had just bought. Its been stored in a garage for 3 years without being moved from what I understand, and it started up first time once the battery was charged!

The interior was looking rather dirty though so that was the first job, pull the interior out to give it a damn good clean:

 

And loads of change under the carpet:

 

I put all the carpet in my conservatory ready to steam clean and shampoo them, the misses wasnt too happy:

 

 

From now on the car will be known as Lulu:

 

Its a bargain and still cant believe ive finally got another corrado on my drive.

 

Anyway, I have some plans for the car and will update this thread over the next couple of months.

If anyone on here owned this car previously then let me know if you ever worked as a coal miner as that might explain the state of the interior. :)

Edited March 26, 2013 by dumptyboy

[CazzaVR 0]

Welcome back to the fold! Bargain 8)

[dragon green 4]

Beer and e-bay !

A winning combination,

 

Looks well worth the money

[dumptyboy 0]

Welcome back to the fold! Bargain 8)

 

Cheers Cazza, yeah I recon it was a bargain, because of where I live in West Wales Corrados are few and far between! I travelled to Torrington in Devon to get my other Rado. I will be contacting you shortly aswell mate regarding those interior bits you have. Thanks bud.

 

Beer and e-bay !

A winning combination,

 

Looks well worth the money

 

Beer and ebay have been my downfall for many years,haha.But not this time!! The car needs abit of work but im hoping to get it in for MOT in the next couple of weeks and see how we go!

Thanks mate. :)

 

---------- Post added at 6:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 6:27 PM ----------

 

A few more pics with the interior back in after its deeeeep clean:

 

 

Sorry about the dodgy pictures, it was raining and I had rain on the cameraphone lens!! This was also the first time the car had been in the rain for 3 years so i thought i'd check for any leaks half way through the day! Unfortunatly the sunroof is leaking like a sieve!! And the water dripping on my newly cleaned interior. Noooooo!

But I know it will be an easy fix, so for now I have put a cover over the roof to prevent any more water getting in.

Im also missing the grey parcel shelf if anyone has a spare, and Could anyone tell me what this cable and connector are used for?

 

The connector was on the block but I removed it prior to the photo, it connects to one of the sensors on the right of the engine block, the cables were completely detached but the engine seems to run fine?

 

I will upload more pictures in the next few days. :)

[bmwcompact 10]

There are 2 knock sensors on the front of the block. The blue plug shown is connected to the knock sensor nearest the gearbox. The cable should have a male connector and connect into the blue plug. Youll have a similar arrangement for the other sensor on the front of the block, ie the other side of the distributor.

 

Car looks good-I really like the colour, mine is pearl grey not so pretty. I bought my 16v off ebay a couple of months ago and removed seats etc as you are doing. Since then I seem to have been doing non stop work to sort out all the mechanical issues. I'm not quite there yet. Anyway best of luck with yours.

[dumptyboy 0]

Right thank you for your comments so far. Ive been a busy boy the last day or so and decided to tackle the sunroof as it wasnt sliding back as it should. I was planning on taking the head lining out anyway for cleaning, so I thought it was the perfect time to get the sunroof out also:

 

 

And then i wrapped the roof in carpet protecting film the prevent rain water getting in,as I wasnt sure how long the sunroof would be out of the car:

 

 

A picture of the head lining half way through cleaning(big difference):

 

 

Also started cleaning the MK4 calipers ready for the conversion:

 

 

Ive also put on some nice new shiney number plates and managed to get a just as shiney pair of front and rear badges off a VW polo at the breakers yard for £1.65 total, bargain. I will add photos of these once it stops raining. Im still trying to source a few parts that im missing, but its starting to come together slowly.

I will be reinstalling the sunroof and headlining today and then the car will be getting put on axle stands, this is for two reasons, one is so it makes it easier to get the brakes done next week and the other is so I can refurbish the wheels.

[lucky13 10]

whooo what a difference ;)

[dumptyboy 0]

Another busy day, mainly concentrating on the brakes as a friend of mine is popping round during the week to bleed the whole system and sort the brakes out good and proper. :) Im still in the middle of fixing the sunroof, but still havent managed to obtain the replacement parts yet. Whilst the front wheels were off i decided to take off the plastic under the wheel arch off any check for any previous damage or rot, and was really happy to say that it is totally solid under there.

 

 

 

Brakes, mk4 calipers first:

 

 

Front calipers:

 

 

I stripped the sunroof rail ready for when I get the replacement part and also removed my old sunroof seal and replaced it with a brand new one:

 

 

Thats it for today. I will be hopefully getting pics up of the brakes fitted by wednesday, possibly get the sunroof and head lining back in, and fix the broken sensor cables in the engine.

Rob.

Edited April 15, 2012 by dumptyboy

[CazzaVR 0]

Excellent progress!

[dumptyboy 0]

Small update. I managed to find a MK3 golf with electric sunroof at my local breakers yard, I got the whole mechanism including motor, switches and glass roof, I also got some parcel shelf straps from a VW polo and a couple of other small items all for £12! :) I brought it home and swapped the glass for my metal sunroof panel and refitted everything, and it worked perfectly first time! The mechanism was like new, and once tested I refitted the roof lining and all the trims. The whole job to refit only took about 45 mins.

 

New mechanism and the old one(the new one has the glass panel):

 

 

Also got a couple of flashing LED door pin surrounds from a MK5 Golf, which I will be wiring up next weekend:

 

 

 

And final job for today was to fit the rear Aero wiper which im very impressed with:

 

 

Im getting the rear of the car up on axle stands tomorrow ready for the brakes to be done and so that the wheels can have the tyres removed ready for refurbishing them.

[job705 10]

bloody hell my friend you doing a lovely job on that car really good and the price and the work your dong top class m8

[dragon green 4]

Really like how this is going !

[dumptyboy 0]

A very small amount of progress this week:

 

Rear calipers back on:

 

 

Front calipers:

 

 

New Bosch Aero wiper blades up front:

 

 

And the progress on the alloys:

 

 

 

Tyres off:

 

 

Primer after rubbing down:

 

 

First coat of paint:

 

 

 

 

I also fitted a couple of new rubbers to the brake and clutch pedal, oh and I bought new front and rear seats which will hopefully arrive during the week. I will do a more detailed update this time next week!

[job705 10]

lookin very nice too, i will be painting my brake caliber on my car when i get a fine day if it ever stop bloody raining

[dumptyboy 0]

Slow progress recently, but I managed to tidy up a few bits that have been on the list for a while. Now that the better weather is here im going to make some good progress over the next few weeks.

 

I wanted to tidy up the engine bay as it was covered in oil and grease, and the airbox and some of the plastic trim had discoloured, so I removed some items to clean them, painted some of the plastic trim, and degreased the engine with 'Gunk'! Im really suprised at how tidy the engine looks now, and theres not a splatter of oil or grease anywhere to be seen.

 

 

Next job is to remove the sound insulation on the bonnet as its all crumbling:

 

And get together the other interior trims to swap the interior over, i still need the a,b,c pillars, black carpets etc. My attic is starting to look like a spare parts storeroom:

 

 

And oh I nearly forgot to mention I won another Corrado on ebay lastnight, it needs abit of work but overall I think its another bargain:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130700129496?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

:)

[job705 10]

you now got a 2 corrado with a bit of work and parts you could get the 2 on the road , just put 17in alloys on mine today handle better too still got to do a few thing to mine but overall kit did a fab job for me use it as my daily driver from home to work in hereford

[dumptyboy 0]

Another update:

 

My latest purchase, my Corrado VR6 arrived this morning on the back of a lorry. The weather was crap but I decided to start on sorting out the car as I couldnt resist seeing it on the drive without doing something with it! I knew when I bought the car that it had an electrical fault, so I thought the best plan of action was to remove the whole interior to see if there were any hidden surprises. I already knew some of the wiring had been cut behind the dash but it was slightly worse than I was expecting. I removed a bag full of stereo wiring from the boot, under the seats and inside the door cards!! The interior was very messy and as luck would have it, I bought exactly the same interior a couple of months ago in perfect condition, so out with the old, in with the new. Progress so far:

 

 

 

Wiring thats no longer needed, including the Clifford alarm:

 

 

Interior out:

 

 

And the mess in my conservatory(again):

 

 

 

I ended up putting the alloys off the 2.0 16v in for refurb and they will be ready to collect this week. So I will update this thread once I collect the wheels and get on with sorting the VR's wiring.

 

I have a list of parts that I need if anyone can help:

 

VR6 engine cover to replace my broken one,

VR6 wiring loom for the dash(complete),

A,B anc C pillar drivers side in Black,

A pillar passenger side,

Black boot floor carpet,

Corrado scrip badge,

Both Parcel shelf supports in black

and finally- an original gear knob

 

Any help is appreciated. Cheers. :)

[daves16v 1]

Congrats on the new purchase, is it Brilliant Black Metallic? Same as mine if it is.

 

I've got an engine cover that has a slight split at the back where you can't see it, all fixings intact though, £20 posted.

[job705 10]

hi m8 i got a few bits for the car if you need them

[dumptyboy 0]

Congrats on the new purchase, is it Brilliant Black Metallic? Same as mine if it is.

 

I've got an engine cover that has a slight split at the back where you can't see it, all fixings intact though, £20 posted.

 

I will get back to you tomorrow if thats alright, i might have already sourced one, but will let you know either way. Could you post up a picture of the one you have though, just to give me an idea of condition please? Thanks mate

 

---------- Post added at 9:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 9:37 PM ----------

 

hi m8 i got a few bits for the car if you need them

 

What have you got mate?

[daves16v 1]

Pics as requested.

[dumptyboy 0]

Pm sent daves16v. Cheers mate.

[daves16v 1]

Pm sent daves16v. Cheers mate.

 

Got it mate.

[dumptyboy 0]

Small progress as usual. I retumbled the locks on both the 16v and the VR6 last week which makes it so much easier to have just one key fit all the locks. I also picked up the wheels after the refurb and fitted them back on the 2.0 once the tyres were refitted and balanced. Im pretty happy with the finish of the wheels, and they only cost £30 a corner to powder coat them.

I recieved my new wiring loom for the VR6 on Thursday and have been busy fitting that and sorting out the central locking which wasnt working! I managed to fix the central locking after findind a break in the door cables and it works like new since fixed.:)

Ive just ordered a new sunroof seal for the VR and new center caps for the wheels on the 16v. Hopefully the next big hit is to get the interior refitted into the VR and tidy up the engine wiring.

 

 

 

 

Broken central locking cables:

 

 

Soldered back into place:

 

 

:)

[Crispy Squirrel 0]

Love the work on the valver- makes me want to do more to mine!