kerrly 0 Posted November 3, 2013 Hello, Some of you may know of my other Corrado, a nugget yellow US import which I've been slowly* rebuilding over the last couple of years. Well it's been so long that even though my brother (Mr Ginge on here) has a Corrado VR6 I was suffering from withdrawal symptoms. After suffering 16 months of driving a Citreon Xsara VTR which was a freebie from a relative I couldn't face life without a VW dub any longer. So, I went out to look for a VW that would be sensible to run, reliable and something I could steadily restore/modify. I found this: First off the obligatory photo stop at the petrol station on the way home. It's a 1994 VR6 is Dark Burgundy Pearl - although I must admit when I first bought it I wasn't 100% sure. Previous owner had the car 12 years and commuted over 150miles a day so it's up to 182k now. Good news is though it had a brand new engine fitted by VW which along with all the other parts replaced at the same time cost of £8k !! It's also had a new clutch and flywheel and plenty of other service items in the recent past. It's completely original with the exception of a custom stainless steel cat back exhaust, the owners justification was it was £100 less than what VW quoted ( yes the guy still had the car MOT'd etc at VW) Also and rather obvious are the wheels, the previous owner fitted those after cracking a Speedline and VW quoting £400+VAT for a new one! Overall condition is the bodywork needs some attention but the interior , all heated leather is wonderful, everything apart from the sunroof works. Still, there are plenty of things to do to bring this Corrado back to it's former glory and to help ensure it is a reliable daily. First things to were give it a more serious going over and make a list of items to replace, which ended up being a side of A4 - but nothing major. Then the spending spree at CarParts for less/Euro Car parts/AVS and good old Ebay began. The weather hasn't helped with the clean up at all but so far this week I have - removed the awful amp kit and refitted OE stereo connectors and reinstalled the headunit. - fixed the ashtray lid and release button - fitted a Fisher CD holder. - sorted out the sticky boot lock so it opens on the central locking again. - organised the jack/spare wheel kit so it doesn't rattle - booked it in for a extensive detailing session - picked up some original Speedlines , now trying to decide on what colour. A mate is trying to convince me to polish them.... - fitted new blue expansion bottle lid - purchased new coolant - screwed the 6x9s down, I wasn't happy about the 6x9s but until i sort a new parcel shelf I at least one them screwed in and not rattling. - cleaned the inner arches and fuel cap surround - literally scraping handfuls of mud and leaves out. - removed half forest worth of leaves from the scuttle tray - topped up the PAS fluid, brake fluid (although this will all be replaced soon) but some screen wash in. - Fitted Osram Night Breaker plus uprated bulbs EVERYWHERE - we all know Corrad headlights suck. - Whilst the headlights were out I began giving a few bits a clean before the rain came back to stop play Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brownsoda 10 Posted November 4, 2013 Love the LC3U, sorry you've got a sunroof to deal with. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GlosterOx 0 Posted November 4, 2013 Welcome to the South West DBP Club!! Ian. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robrado974 1 Posted November 4, 2013 Looking nice another dbp , best colour ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
20vtvw 0 Posted November 4, 2013 Looks really good ,best colour too but I would say that... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrly 0 Posted November 20, 2013 Cheers guys, looks like DBP owners stick together!! Done a bit more now, so far for a daily it's been off the road more than it has on :lol: Mostly because I'm being fussy and doing more jobs than I have to. So as of Sunday, I replaced the clutch slave, the old one was well and truly knackered Bled the clutch and checked the pedal - OOOOOOhhhh Yer it's beautiful, a nice weight and smooth action. Next job was get the coil pack off to inspect, annoyingly one of the allen key bolts had been abused in the past but it was no match for my spline kit. The offending article And the cracked corner, my suspicion is the coil pack has been done up too tight . After removing the coil pack I set about tracking down the coolant leak from around the secondary water pump. Well, it turns out the pump is cracked - BIN Not one to be disheartened I took the view that for £60 it's not the end of the world and it's another important component replaced prior to a complete failure. The negative is that the only genuine bosch item i could find was in Croatia so it's a few days before it arrives. The new coil pack turned up today, £130 of BERU OEM kit. Other more positive news is I have made a start refurbishing some Speedline alloys, already spent a few hours on them to get them to first primer coat. Still haven't decided on the colour yet... other jobs done: - fitted new back light to replace cracked one - fitted new grill and badge - fitted uprated bulbs all round - repaired boot lock so that central locking works properly everytime - new thermostat - new air filter - fixed ashtray Other new items yet to be fitted are: -HT leads -rocker cover gasket - number plates - boot hinge trim - inner front wheel arch lining - driver side window scraper - driver side rubbing strip - undamaged front indicators - expansion bottle Hopefully so more interesting upgrades can occur once I've sorted all the above. It's booked in to have the paintwork given a good seeing to!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
clumpy1 11 Posted November 20, 2013 Totally agree DBP is the best colour bar none :smug: Good work so far keep it up mate:thumbleft: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrly 0 Posted December 2, 2013 Did plenty this weekend. - fitted new ignition switch - fitted new coil pack - fitted new secondary water pump - fitted new expansion bottle + fresh coolant - repaired PCV filter box - the plastic box next to the ISV - mine had split and was leaking so bad the engine would barely run - fitted new air filter - cleaned ISV/Throttle body/intake pipe - cleaned ten tonnes of leafs out of the other side of the scuttle from around the ECU, cleaned ECU cage - cleaned every single earth, the battery terminals and repaired any damaged loom tape - washed and clay barred the car - jeez the clay was black and brown - paint now feels glass like Most importantly , I took it for it's first test drive since fitting the new slave cylinder, bleeding the brakes, topping the power steering fluid up - it was BRILLIANT. So so smoooth the power delivery and throttle response are significantly better than when I first acquired the car, the brakes have a more reassuring feel to them and the clutch is a delight. I'm so chuffed I'm giving it a probation period of a week before I think about more upgrades..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VAG-hag 0 Posted December 2, 2013 Hi, Good work you clearly aren't messing about! where did you get the coil pack from? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkFoster 0 Posted December 2, 2013 Good work, glad to see you're going with a painted finish to the speedlines rather than polished - not convinced that would look good at all! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrly 0 Posted December 2, 2013 Cheers guys, the coilpack was from AVS - http://www.vwspares.co.uk/ best price I could find a branded one with a warranty. It's only been on a day so can't really comment on it's longevity yet but it works. I read feedback on Amazon and a few other sites about non branded/remanufactured ones and there seamed to be far too many that failed after only a few months - not good for £80-100 when branded cost £130. The Speedlines are on hold now, one of mine is a bit buckled and a mate of mine has a set I can have in a few days so I'm going to wait until I have all 8 and pick 4 of the best. I'm also hunting for a set of Compomotive/Speedline motorsport inspired wheels that share a design with the OE speedline. Off out to give the paint some more work, claybar made a good start but there is more to come! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrly 0 Posted December 2, 2013 Did a bit of cleaning today as the previous owner was a smoker who used the entire interior as a ash tray. No need for before pictures as it easy to imagine 12 years of smoking means tobacco all over the floor and a ashtray bursting at the seams is rather manky. All the seats were out, carpet shampoo'd and vacuum'd , dash was wiped down. I need to organise some more leather cleaner in order to finish the job buts it's million times better. I've also finished stripping years of contaminants from the paint and cut it back by hand first to see what I can achieve short term prior to it being booked in with my preferred wax guru. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GlosterOx 0 Posted December 2, 2013 I've also finished stripping years of contaminants from the paint and cut it back by hand first to see what I can achieve short term prior to it being booked in with my preferred "wax guru". Who do you use Dave, someone local? Ian. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrly 0 Posted December 2, 2013 Hi Ian, Now that I'm mobile I'll have to pop up to glos and see you about the foglight. I have a friend near Monmouth who is a bit of a wizard when it comes to paint restoration plus he knows a few old timer panel beaters who can sort dings/dents. It's not his full time business (as far as I'm aware) but he does jobs for members of the mk2 Golf owners club and his portfolio of cars includes some rather serious high end motors so I'm happy to let him lose on £750 worth of Corrado!! Here is a link to some of his work - http://www.vwgolfmk2.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=4828&start=190 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VAG-hag 0 Posted December 2, 2013 Interior is looking great! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrly 0 Posted December 2, 2013 ^thanks. I had enough leather cleaner to do the back seats, centre armrest and rear door cards but not enough for the front so that's still to do. I still need to find a new leather gearknob , upgrade the stereo and decide if I'm going to put a Momo steering wheel in (none of this stupid 280mm lark mind) or see if I can get the original steering wheel retrimmed. Once that's done I'm pretty happy with the interior. Next job is decide what wheels to run, the wheels on the car at the moment are 17s and have good tyres which could allow me to simply buy some wheels as there is little point selling the wheels/tyres together as they are worth nothing... The only issue with looking at wheels means looking at suspension upgrades as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrly 0 Posted December 3, 2013 a few pictures of the outside now it has had a quick clean As you can see the drivers door rubbing strip needs to be stuck back on, the indicators swapping (got those already), the drivers headlight surround isn't clipper on properly and something needs to be done about the wheels/ride height. Oh and i must sort out the heaters which are practically non existent. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GlosterOx 0 Posted December 3, 2013 I've got a good condition gear knob Dave if you can unglue and swop over the centre plastic bit off your existing one? Ian. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrly 0 Posted December 3, 2013 Thank you for the offer, unfortunately it's the clear plastic bit and the part below with the numbers that is damaged on mine , which, thinking about it means I don't have to replace the entire knob and I doesn't have to come off a leather one - Think you have just saved me some pennies :-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrly 0 Posted February 16, 2014 Bit of an update, and certainly NOT the one I wanted to share. I was intending on fitting, new indicators, new AVO suspension kit, new front bushes and some different wheels but disaster struck. The lower timing chain snapped!!!!! Although when the engine first died it wasn't apparent that was what happened. There was a distinct lack of BANGS or knocking just 20mph>0 in a few yards after I switched the engine off. I tried to restart it once but the engine sounded a bit like Hammond's NOVA. The AA arrived (within 10minutes which is ASTONISHING) tried to turn it over again before dragging me home Once at home I tried checking the compression on cylinder number 1 and got ZERO not even a bit of movement from the needle. That confirmed that it was time to strip the engine and get to know a VR6 innards. Inlet & rocker cover off revealed, this, a slack looking chain. Then the next find... where has the lower timing chain gone... Umm this is meant to be in one piece upper guide. The plastic that is within the red ring has disappeared and must be somewhere! Off came it's head, that's 5 of the 12 valves wrecked After that it was time to see how many (if any) pistons survived, ALL OF THEM WOOOOOO HOOOOOOO my biggest concern was that the bottom end would be wrecked. Next task is to split the gearbox, get the block out for a thorough examination to find the remains of the timing chain and what it may have done. On the plus side (if there can ever be a plus to nearly wrecking an engine) this is an opportunity to future proof the engine with - new chains/tensioners - lighten/balance the flywheel, - replace the clutch - new rear crank seal - Port match/clean up the head with new valves/guides/stem seals - new headgasket/bolts and every seal - new crack pipe - new thermostat housing and thermostat - port match the manifold Looks like it will be off the road for a few weeks bit hopefully it will return a healthier 2.9 and not a 2.8 as a first feared. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim 1 Posted February 16, 2014 Can't believe thats the second VR6 in a week that's failed in the same way! Horrendous news. I hope you manage to get it back on the road without too much expense - good luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
clumpy1 11 Posted February 16, 2014 Not good mate but hopefully you have been lucky I certainly hope so especially being a DBP brother. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrly 0 Posted February 16, 2014 Cheers guys, it's been a worrying few days thinking about worst case scenarios and trying to guesstimate how much this little mishap is going to cost but Im confident that this won't be the death of the car. MOT is due in April so this is an opportunity to give the car a good going over, actually, thinking about it now might be a good time to get the battery tray welded up.... yet more jobs for the DAILY which reduce the time i can spend on the PROJECT. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrly 0 Posted March 8, 2014 update time. Got my head back from the machinist, 7 new valves , 4 new valve guides, 40thou skim and a proper clean. Cracked on and got the engine/box out and front end off after having few issues with a couple of the driveshaft bolts and continuing my bad luck with engine mounts - ANOTHER sheered bolt to deal with ..grrrrrrrrrrr Confirmation that the bottom chain snapped first then the chain wiped out all the tensioners. red circles highlight cracks and missing sections Also decided that whilst the front end is off I'm going to have a new battery tray welded in. Then the whole bay will be stripped/repainted where needed and covered in clear wax oil. Fortunately the chassis leg is spot on Also made a start at port matching the inlet manifold and giving it a clean. Finally my flywheel, off to be lightened a bit... it's stamped up Nov 2010 when the clutch was changed but the clutch is junk - very nearly on it's last legs. Just need the parts to arrive now.. --- head gasket kit and bolts --- timing chain and tensioner kit --- water pump --- auxiliary belt and tensioner --- sachs clutch kit --- crack pipe, thermostat housing and thermostat --- oil cooler seals --- oil filter --- sump seal --- rocker cover gasket That should** do it and hopefully this whole lot will be under £500.... not bad when a garage quotes £1300! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unclean 10 Posted March 12, 2014 Came over here from my thread on PH, sad to hear about the timing chain, but it looks like it won't have you off the road for long. DBP brothers unite (-: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
