Ron's Blackberry VR6 - A11 VRX - Getting her back on the road

[Hofmiester 10]

So having bought my VR6 from another member (Mookie) back in October, I've decided to start my own gallery thread......leading on from his original below

 

http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?71045-My-First-Corrado-Bye-Bye-Mk2-Golfs!-Hello-VR6!

 

And the previous owner before Mookie http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?t=56925

 

First things first, needed to sort the cheap and nasty old golf gear knob and I also managed to source a good condition original steering wheel. I do like the momo but it I am more of a OEM+ man ;)

 

 

Horrible cheap knob

 

 

New "old" wheel

 

 

The wheel has since been treated to a coating of new dye to make perfect, looking good so far and will post pics when dry

 

Then I moved to the rear speakers and the car didn't have any. I didn't want to mess about with cutting the shelves and so I did some research and found a type of Pioneer speaker that is a straight fit

 

 

Tight fit but no cutting! Just need to get a head unit now which is my Christmas present from my wife.

 

Down side is that someone in the past decided to cut the old connectors out and tape in a Kenwood connector......thanks for that :(

 

 

Will fix this over Xmas. Also took out my clocks as the DDI dials are on the fritz and found these relays.....I suspect they are related to the immobiliser?

 

 

DDi dials and the root of the problem. Basically the connectors are just stuck to the electro luminescent dial with a thin plastic laminate and this has come loose over time. If I pinch the connector with my fingers, the dials stop flickering.

 

 

I suspect the reason the connectors have come loose is to the wiring not being secured properly in the dash, the inverter was literally just hanging from the clock pod

 

 

You can see these black marks on the connectors where they have been shorting out

 

Edited April 16, 2015 by Hofmiester

[emu 0]

One of my ddi dials stop working 2 days ago so worth checking what you talking about, thank

[Hofmiester 10]

So I have a fix for the broken DDI dial connection. I essentially peeled the connectors off and then used a conductive adhesive to restick them. Also instead of having the two connectors +\- very close together, I separated them with scissors and then isolated them each individually with tape. This is so that none of the adhesive that I painted on, bleeds to the other terminal and shorts them out.

 

 

The adhesive was £6 from eBay and is the same stuff used to repair electric window heater elements. I painted it on with a fine brush and then seal with tape.

 

 

I used some paper clips to hold the whole thing together until dry

 

 

Been working fine since although I managed to damage the speedo electroilluminecent when I peeled back the laminate coating, I think it is buggered but had I not done that, the repair would have been a success.

[Billzeebub 1]

Excellent work with restoring the original gear lever and steering wheel, likewise the speakers that fit in original housings. I am a fan of keeping things original with very subtle improvements, seems like you are approaching things from a similar angle. What head unit are you using? I have recently installed an Alpine Bluetooth job by that has selectable illumination with 4 colours, one of which is green. It was difficult finding a suitable stereo with green illumination. I have been very impressed with it

[Hofmiester 10]

Cheers, I think anything that can be returned to standard is ok but as these cars get older and rarer, butchery will be regretted big style.

 

I think the Corrado is probably at the cheapest point it will ever be, I've owned vw beetles back when they were 20 yrs old and mk1 golfs and look what happened with them, plus the Raddo is rarer to start with.

 

I have a new JVC head unit, nothing incredible but decent and has green illumination. I've also gone back to standard dials over the DDIs, partially as my DDI dials were on the fritz but I prefer the standard ones.

 

Next job is to sort out these horrible Orange indicators, I have no idea why the previous owner thought these looked good and they are just a painted job and so look nasty. I bought a pair of good condition clears to go on.

 

[Hofmiester 10]

Decided to get up early this morning to fit my new stereo that my wife bought me for Christmas.....I told her I would be an hour tops......7 hours later the dash of the car is still in pieces and all the trim is out :(

 

Basically I stared my removing the dash under trays as the stereo loom had been spliced and diced so many times that I just wanted to clear that all out and start again.

 

But when I removed the fuse box cover, I found this bundle of joy hanging down. Notice the are cut wires here, fuse holder and all sorts.

 

 

Having traced the wiring, it seems to be the remains of an old alarm system that is no longer functional. The downside is that the current alarm system has been grafted onto this old one, making it very hard to trace what is live.

 

Took me 3 hours of tracing wires to work out what is what :(

I also found a huge bundle of wires under the sill carpet, some of it is for the amp in the boot but the rest is just crazy.....I had to find out where it goes

 

 

At the end of the cables, I found this heavy steel box stashed in the rear drivers side quarter?

 

 

It isn't live as the is no fuse in the holder connected to it, but there are a shed load of cables coming from it. My thoughts are that this is either the original alam system control module or a tracker device?

 

I'm going to remove it at some point but for now, I tidied up the loom under the dash, fuse box and removed all the sliced dead wires.

 

 

I knew I spent a year as an electricians apprentice for a reason :)

[KIPVW 0]

Feeling your pain with all the hassle here chap, just bought a new 8v as a daily and i've never seen botches like it on the interior and door cards etc which are useless now as a consequence of bad fitting and riushing a fairly easy job in the first place.

 

Hope you get it sorted soon ready for the next little job :lol: as we do.

[Hofmiester 10]

Cheers mate,

I've sorted a lot of it now and the sensible side of me says just leave the box and wires there as they are not harming anything but it bugs me and I like things tidy ;)

 

Interior on mine has a few bodies too on the door cards, lots of clips missing and some fool has glued the door handle trims to the leather after they had broken the clips. I have new trims and will need to soak the leather in something to ease off the glue.

 

Also, pretty much half of the dash screws are missing for some reason, I'll be replacing those too.

 

Starting to think I paid too much for this car :( although I was very happy to see there is no rust what so ever in the rear quarters :)

 

---------- Post added at 10:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:15 PM ----------

 

Just did a search on the numbers stamped on the box and it is indeed an old tracker unit, so that wiring can all come out.

[GrahamU 6]

You have to love some of these so-called alarm installers

 

I found 2 alarms and an immobiliser in mine when I removed that panel, none of which worked

[__Andy__ 0]

feel your pain with the wiring dude, i had to completely re-wire everything behind the dash on my first corrrado, was a complete ball ache! love seeing threads like this where all bodges are rectified properly.

 

keep up the good work!

[Anton Sobriquet 0]

Hi Ron.

 

Good work there, mate. Glad you're happy with the wheel and gearknob.

 

I found the original scorpion alarm just sitting disconnected on top of the dash undertray the other day and a box similar to your tracking unit. Wondering now what else is lurking around in the car surplus to requirements.

[OSV 0]

I'm sure when Paul bought the car he was told it had a tracker but he never activated it or went in search of it

[Hofmiester 10]

Cheers guys, I got another 3 hour stint at it today and I've almost completely removed all the bizarre wiring now, anoying but satisfying ;)

 

Tracker is not a big issue now that I know what it is, baffled me to start as it has marking text as you would expect to see on a mobile phone device.

 

Will get a pic of everything nice and tidy before I'm done. I properly sorted out the JBL crossovers today and mounted them behind the dash, all wiring neat and tidy. Also added new wiring for the rear speakers as the original wiring has been chopped.

 

I spent a year as an electricians apprentice when I was 17 and my old gaffer would have never stood for untidy wiring like this!

 

I striped down the blower motor as it was starting to whine on start up, cleaned with electrical contact cleaner and re-greased. Absolutely silent now!

 

 

I also found out why my rear windscreen heater wasn't working, the fuse had blown and I've replaced it.....working fine now!

 

Just need to work out why the heater direction control is jammed before I out it all back together.

 

---------- Post added at 6:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 6:49 PM ----------

 

Hi Ron.

 

Good work there, mate. Glad you're happy with the wheel and gearknob.

 

I found the original scorpion alarm just sitting disconnected on top of the dash undertray the other day and a box similar to your tracking unit. Wondering now what else is lurking around in the car surplus to requirements.

 

Wheel and gear knob have hit the spot, the wheel looks even better after a good clean and a spruce up with some new dye. While the leather surface was spot on, the colour had started to fade a bit at the top where it gets direct sunlight. Will get some pics of that up soon.

[Anton Sobriquet 0]

Just need to work out why the heater direction control is jammed before I out it all back together.

 

Sounds like the usual Bowden cable issue and the flimsy, non-durable control. There's a post in the Wiki.

[A5 VRX 0]

I did look at this when it was up for sale but had a feeling things had been messed with, I too like things nice tidy and oem! Good work though and always nice to see one of these on the up.

 

Think I might have to return to the fold in the very near future

 

Adam

[Hofmiester 10]

I did look at this when it was up for sale but had a feeling things had been messed with, I too like things nice tidy and oem! Good work though and always nice to see one of these on the up.

 

I think there are 2 types of Corrado owners.

 

1) Understand that these cars may be cheap to buy but at the end of the day, they are not cheap to maintain properly and you need to be prepared to cough up to keep them mint.

2) Have owned MK2 Golfs or other VWs and presume you can run a Corrado in the same way by cutting corners to avoid paying for genuine parts.

 

Lucky for me, this car was babied by the owner that had it from 2004 up until 2010 and spent litterally thousands at dealerships and Stealth Racing.....after that though, it seems to have been maintained by it's owners who have made do with whatever second had parts they could get and their own mechanical skill.

 

Wiring is not bad at all now that I've spent a few hours on it and having been an elecrician (although domestic) I feel I've done a good job with it. The only issues have been with Alarms, the rest is spot on although someone cut the ends off the rear speaker cables and rather than splice a new bit on the end. I've added better cables and soldered them to the speakers etc

 

Other bodges were with cheap gear knob replacements, non original carpet mats, painted orange front indicators to cover the cracks, flickering DDI dials, lots of nasty chrome bit added.

But aside from that, it is a sound base to build on over the next 6 months......

 

I've just dropped £50 with ARZ in Germany for all new clips for the carpet, door pins, door card clips, door striker pins etc that are all obsololete here in the UK. I will be doing this properly!

Edited January 2, 2013 by Hofmiester

[Anton Sobriquet 0]

It's a matter of personal approach, but I'm with you all the way on doing it properly, Ron. I intend keeping my VR indefinitely and am not so bothered within reason how much it stands me in as whether it's how I want it, whether it's reliable and will last into the future, so if a job's to be done on the car it's got to be done as well as possible. I'm trying to restore mine to mint condition and want to keep it that way.

 

If the car's just a tool it's a different issue altogether, of course. Chacun a son gout.

[Hofmiester 10]

A ton of goodies arrived yesterday, all new thermostat housings, thermostat and crack pipe etc, thermostat on mine in intermittent but as recommended by Stonejag, I'm changing all the plastics too while changing the thermostat.

 

 

Ordered all new clips and screw for the interior from ARZ and they should be here next week.

 

Should be picking up a replacement bonnet tomorrow with no dents (I really hope it is as described as its a 240mile round trip!)

[fragsxr 10]

nice to see your going about this the right way mate. take it u didnt have a look at the breaker down v dubs for the bonnet, got my c on the road the other day so if u want to meet up next time your out for a drive giz a shout wouldnt mind a look, was also thinkin of buyin this car but decided on another.

[Hofmiester 10]

nice to see your going about this the right way mate. take it u didnt have a look at the breaker down v dubs for the bonnet, got my c on the road the other day so if u want to meet up next time your out for a drive giz a shout wouldnt mind a look, was also thinkin of buyin this car but decided on another.

 

I did try vdubs and they have some parts I need but the Corrado they have right now is Blue. Ideally I dont want to have to buy one that needs painting both sides as that is pricey on the prep, plus getting one in the right colour straight off is ideal.

I picked up the Blackberry one today and it is mint as was painted on 14 months back, only down side is colour is ever so slightly out but only being a perfectionist. It is very straight with zero stone chips!

 

 

Drive was excellent over to the lakes to pick it up though, worth the petrol alone and car runs sweet :)

 

Would be good to meet up, I was trying to get an NE meet going but lots of people have taken their cars off the road for winter :(

Edited January 6, 2013 by Hofmiester

[fragsxr 10]

worth the trip then, colour looks good on pic mate. was out myself today went over to penrith through alston and hartside. car ran great all day no issues at all just a few interior niggles to sort... is your 93 c the 2.8 mate? got a set of brand new samco hoses still in the box, was goin to put them on my last c but sold it and ive got 4mo engine in mine. dont think they'll fit... do you a good price if interested.

 

---------- Post added at 8:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 6:49 PM ----------

 

meant 2.9 not 2.8 mate...

[Hofmiester 10]

Hi,

That's mad, I was in Penrith too today as I picked the bonnet up from that neck of the woods. The paint on it is immaculate but just a slight colour difference at certain angles. Goos enough for now!

 

My car is a 2.9 but if those hoses will fit then I'd like to know how much you are after for them and what colour are they?

 

We should meet up for sure!

 

Did you by any chance buy the dust mauve r32 powered one that was for sale in Sunderland?

[fragsxr 10]

not into shiny bling so the hoses are black. there the uk rhd manual 9 hose and clip kit item number tcs153c. they cost about 300 quid but would take 200 bearing in mind they are as described unused brand new in the box. as for the car it was the ice grey violet from sunderland, was advertised as r32 but if you seen the ad on here you would have noticed it was actually fitted with 4mo engine? i think that might have put people off havin a look but its in mint condition so had to have it.

[Hofmiester 10]

not into shiny bling so the hoses are black. there the uk rhd manual 9 hose and clip kit item number tcs153c. they cost about 300 quid but would take 200 bearing in mind they are as described unused brand new in the box. as for the car it was the ice grey violet from sunderland, was advertised as r32 but if you seen the ad on here you would have noticed it was actually fitted with 4mo engine? i think that might have put people off havin a look but its in mint condition so had to have it.

 

Hi Mate,

I've PM'ed over hoses. So the car has the 5 cylinder 4Motion engine? that's an unsual one! Sounds good though, I saw it advertised and nearly went to see it but as it was up for a £1000 more than the one I bought I thought I'd hold off........false economy though as I've probably spent £500 on this one now!

 

Went to Vee Dubs this morning and managed to source the throttle stop so I now have all the parts I need :D just need to assemble it all now

[fragsxr 10]

always thought the 4 motion was 2.8 24v as thats whats fitted in mine. not to worry i stand corrected. whats it actually out of then? if you'd carried on a few hundred yards down to hebburn mate you could have seen the car today, was only round the corner.