Time for an update. Grab a brew...

 

Having had a long think about what to do with the two VR's, I have decided to keep the red one as a 'Collection/Concourse' car and use the Silver one for some contemporary updates I fancy. So, the red one will be put back to factory condition, put in long term storage/preservation and sold for a profit in 10-20 years as a classic. Time will tell if this is a smart idea.

 

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So, having decided the Red's fate, it was on with phase one of the work especially as the MOT was due on 25th June. The parts on the car are in great condition (e.g. wishbones, rear axle) and all are genuine VW. So the intention is to refurbish these which meant sourcing a second set of some items, so the car can still be used and wheeled in/out of the long-term storage location I have secured, whilst the refurbishment proceeds. This car cannot be left on axle stands in my garage for 18 months, like the Silver one. With long term overseas work commitments looming, there was a need to press on. The additional parts would also (in time) be used to complete the refurbishment of the Silver VR.

 

Preparation

Secured a rear axle, front assembly and wish bones. These were blasted and coated along with a load of other parts I already had, including items for the Silver VR. The initial list of items was: Rear axle; 2 x rear axle brackets; 2 x rear splash shields; front and rear bumper irons; front assembly; 2 x wishbones; front ARB; Carbon canister holder; tailgate spoiler brackets; 3 x sets fuel tank straps. All this cost just £120 and the work was done by Batchglow (as recommended by Bruny, KIPVW and Butterfly). Interestingly, they charged less to have the items nylon coated in matt black rather than powdercoated, as they had a big nylon coating run on the go. See here:http://www.batchglow.co.uk/nylon-powder-coating.html

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Also bought a duplicate set of front/ rear calipers and carriers for refurbishing, along with some VW stub axles. These were all de-rusted. For de-rusting advice, see my post about using Citric Acid here: http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?56334-Cleaning-hubs&p=725354&viewfull=1#post725354. As the plan also involves the plating of various parts (e.g. brake calipers), following the success of others on here I also purchased a home zinc plating kit along with some black passivate: http://www.gaterosplating.co.uk/Zinc-Plating-kit.php.

 

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I also secured a set of 288mm brakes, calipers and carriers for the Silver VR. This has 312mm brakes with 16" wheels. But my spare wheels are 15" so had to temporarily reduce the brake size while the wheels are refurbished. I am also thinking of going back to Speedlines on the Silver VR, so needed the smaller carriers.

 

Finally, bought a set of Speedlines for the Red. It currently has a set of 15" Wolfrace Racelines but came from the factory with Speedlines so will get those back on in due course.

 

Parts

Placed an order for a skip-load of genuine parts with VW, mainly to refurbish the drivetrain and suspension, which resulted in a monster bill. The shopping list included:

 

Rear Axle

Disks; bearings; bushes; pads; all new bolts, fastenings and clips; brake bias valve; ABS sensors and rings; flexi hoses; rear axle bush; brake line brackets; splash shields; handbrake cables

 

Front assembly

Discs; pads;wheel bearings; hubs with ABS rings; new wishbone bushes (Rear=TT donuts), ARB bushes and clamps; Steering rack bush and clamp; drop links; tie rod ends; ball joints; all new clips, bolts and fastenings; ABS sensors; flexi hoses and brackets/clips; new engine and gearbox mounts; splash shields

 

Front 288 brakes

Discs; pads; flexis; bolts etc

 

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Next: The Rear Beam