Purple Tom

Quick update - took it apart tonight and its definitely the bulb thats gone! Looks a very simple fix with just a dab of solder on each of the connections to the bulb :) Its the same if your heated rear screen/foglight button doesn't illuminate when switched on too - again a very simple fix! Tom

Just to resurrect this old thread - the car is still there and really needs a new home! Would anyone be interested if I went to make enquiries? I reckon he'd let it go for much less than £3.5k now - if someone wants a Storm and also fancies a bit of a restoration project then it'd be a good buy :)

Yeah I'm reasonably confident, it seems fairly simple in its construction - hopefully I'll be able to sort it :)

Thanks for the replies - i'll have a look and see if I can get it working - if not then I'll be in touch JMC! :)

Hi, I've got a late-spec heated seat switch (the twin thumbwheel type) on my C, and it doesn't illuminate - should it? I've taken it out of the dash and it has the usual VW grey/blue wire going to it which to me indicates that it should be illuminated, but I just wanted to know before I take it apart whether it does actually have illumination or not? Thanks! (I have done a search but can't find a definitive answer!) Tom

Never mind - was being stupid and forgot to look at the technical specs in the knowledge base. It appears they do have the same braking system so all sorted!

Hi, I've done a search and have got almost all the information that I need, but I just need to confirm one more thing! My car is 1996 2.0 8V (ADY lump), fitted with the 256mm Lucas 54 front calipers and the standard rear calipers. I want to fit braided hoses all round as part of a complete overhaul of the braking system, but I just want to confirm that 2.0 16V Corrado's are fitted with the same brakes as standard. If that's the case then I can go ahead and order the hoses, but as no-one lists much in the way of upgrade parts for the 8V I wanted to be sure. Thanks in advance! Tom

Couldn't resist making this one after taking a pic of my MFA the other night :lol:

Do you mean a sprinter type vent cut into the front wing in front of the wheel arch?

Wow, an update to this 3 month old thread, I've finally bought one! Its a 1996 'N' registered 2.0 8V. Full black leather interior, heated seats with everything working apart from the illumination on the cigarette lighter :D It's Indian Red in colour, has just had a full respray (no accident damage, it had been keyed) and I managed to get it as a straight swap for my Audi A3 so I'm well chuffed :) I pick it up on either wednesday or thursday and I can't wait to get driving it :luvlove: Anyway, just thought I'd let you know, I'll try to get some pictures up soon of it. Tom

I agree, MPG is about how you drive the car. Where I live isn't the most conducive to good MPG so my reasoning is that an 8V will be the best bet. If I get annoyed with the slowness then I'm sure I can do things at a later date to improve it. Anyway, today I went to look at another 8V, this one listed on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1994-VOLKSWAGEN-CORRADO-2-0-8V-COUPE_W0QQitemZ250265907771QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250265907771&_trkparms=39%3A1%7C65%3A7&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 The advert doesn't give a good idea as to the condition of the car, so I spoke to guy who said 'the photos make it look better than it actually is, its got a few knocks and scratches'. This didn't put me off, and as it was only about an hour up the M1, the missus and I drove up this morning. When we got there I found his house but the car wasn't to be seen. I called him and he told me that he'd had trouble starting the car at the unit where its kept. He'd got it going and was going to drive it to his house to show me. Fair enough I thought, if its been stood a while then the battery could have lost some charge. He arrived and I had a look around the car while he went inside to get the documents. To say it was in poor condition was an understatement!! The roof literally felt like 1200 grit sandpaper, with the lacquer peeling off all the way round and down both the A and C pillars. Both rear wheel arches had big knocks at their front edges which had been poorly repaired with rattle cans. The N/S sill and door had huge dints all the way down, again repaired with rattle cans. The front bumper wasn't on properly, and on the O/S corner of the front bumper there was a really bad repair to a scuff, with massive paint runs all the way down to the splitter. At first I wasn't toooo put off as the interior was very tidy and the engine bay looked clean. I asked for a test drive, so off we went. Immediately apparent was the steering wheel inclined about 30 degrees to the left, and a pronounced pull in the same direction. The engine misfired quite badly under load (which in fairness could have been stale fuel if its been sat) and the brakes didn't feel too great. The spoiler worked though :clap: We got back and I had another look around. Both front tyres were badly feathered, indicating quite bad toe-in, the rears weren't particularly evenly worn either. The car did have full history, and a fair amount of receipts. The guy who owns it is a dealer who said he bought it for himself but has decided its too small for his family - he then went on to tell me he was getting a Porsche 944 instead - go figure! I think the true story is that he's bought it blindly, discovered its a bit of a lemon and is trying to shift it on. I explained all of the faults to him and said it probably needed at least £2k spending on it to get it into decent condition, if you included at the least some time in a bodyshop, proper alignment, four new tyres, a decent service etc. I asked him if he was prepared to move on the price of £1699 at all. He said he'd been offered £1250 for it and had told them to get lost. I said I probably wouldn't have given more than £1100 for it in its current condition - he said that wasn't enough and he had someone coming to look tonight.... I told him I'd think about it and get back to him. I'm a bit disappointed really, but I'm glad I walked away. Its a shame to see it in such a poor condition, but maybe someone with more money and a willingness to give it a new lease of life will rescue it!

I appreciate the power side of things, hence why I'd do an engine conversion at some point in the future, but at this present moment in time its best if I get the most economical C. That silver one was removed from eBay this morning anyway, I guess someone has offered a higher amount for it - I was told that the owner was looking for £1500 to settle early. I was happy to bid up to £1250 but wasn't prepared to go any higher than that. Oh well, the search continues!

Hey, I've been a lurker on this forum for a while, reading and absorbing while trying to learn as much as possible about Corrado's without actually owning one :lol: Anyway, some of you might remember my thread about an abandoned Storm that I found - http://the-corrado.net/.archive/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=66636. The car is still in the same position and the owner won't budge on the price so it looks as if that's out of the question. In some ways though I'm not too bothered as I didn't really want a VR6, the fuel consumption is what bothers me more than anything else! The same applies to the G60, 1.8 16V and 2.0 16V, which really leaves me with only one choice for my first Corrado - a 2.0 8V. I know its not the fastest, and not the most luxurious, but I feel that for me a 2.0 8V would be perfect. My current daily is a mk3 Polo GT into which I've fitted a Golf ABD engine and a few other bits to make it handle. While one of the more powerful C's would be nice, I've got a quick car in my weekend toy (Vauxhall-engined Mini), so I decided that if I wanted to own a Corrado and use it daily, a 2.0 8V would be a good choice. Plus, if I could get a good one it would make a nice base for a PD conversion later, or possibly an ABF depending on how much diesel prices go up! :grin: Anyway, I've been scouring Autotrader and eBay and my local classifieds daily, and have found a few 2.0 8V's that I'm interested in. I went to see the first one tonight, its a silver one up near Leeds, advertised on eBay - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1995-VOLKSWAGEN-CORRADO-SILVER_W0QQitemZ190233111292QQihZ009QQcategoryZ9873QQcmdZViewItem. It looks really good in the pictures, apart from the scuff on the rear bumper which is apparently going to be sorted out. When we arrived I went through the checklist handily provided in the knowledge base and after much examination (including a fairly long test drive), I ended up with the following list of faults: - Both front foglights cracked and condensated - 1 rear number plate light not working - 1 rear fog light not working - Starter motor not disengaging correctly - Power steering pump groaning and noisy - Rear engine mounting worn - Steering judder above 60mph - Drivers door handle sitting proud of the door skin with a noticeable gap all around the handle - Electric window switch in drivers door loose in its mounting - MFA showing only 27.0mpg - ABS warning light non functional even with ignition on engine off. On the plus side the spoiler was fully functional, it has brand new discs and pads all round and the tyres all have good tread. The engine and gearbox all feel nice and tight and it pulls very well considering it only has 115bhp/130lbft. The MFA reading might just be because it only ever does town driving, but even so I think a 2.0 8V should manage more than that! Anyway, on the way back I was discussing it with the missus and I've decided that even though the car was in good condition I'm not going to bid any higher for it. Its the ABS that bothers me more than anything else. The judder is probably just wheel balance and the engine mount would be a piece of cake to replace. The door handle probably just needs re-fitting and I'm sure I could sort everything else, but that ABS is a worry. Do you think I've made the right choice? Hopefully I have.... The search continues!!

Didn't notice all of these replies! First things first - the DVLA thing. Not a chance of working because having your name on the V5 doesn't actually mean anything! It doesn't prove you're the legal OWNER of the car, just that you're the registered keeper. For it to be legally binding there would need to be a receipt for the vehicle signed by both myself and the owner at the very least! I'm going to leave it a bit for him to stew. I'm still very interested in the car, but not for anywhere near £3.5k! Oh, and its not got A/C either, just the normal Storm sunroof. I think I'm going to wait about a month and get back in touch to see if I can go view the car. There's no reason why he shouldn't let me wash it, as has been said it will give me a good idea of what its really like. I don't know this ended up in members gallery either, I didn't put it there :? Will let you all know how I get on. Tom

Thanks for all the advice and help so far! I agree it is a huge shame to see it sitting there completely unloved and with so much potential. From the very quick look round it I had when I saw it the bodywork didn't seem too bad, but its hard to say until its given a proper wash really. I'm actually contemplating selling my Mini to fund this car, which for me is a big thing. I've had the Mini since 2003 and spent god knows how much time and money on it. But its not a Corrado..... :D Anyway, I think the next step is to get back in touch with the owner. I'm going to leave it a couple of weeks because its not going anywhere (don't want to appear too interested!), then I'll call back and arrange a visit with someone who's going to have the relevant information. Thanks again :) Tom

Bit of an update, I got a phone call from the house this morning! Apparently, the story is that the car belongs to his son. He was using it every day and then a baby came along and he was struggling to get the baby seat in the back. He asked his dad if he could keep the car on his drive for a while, and then other things came along and its been sat ever since. "Apparently" its only been sat since last year, but judging by the condition of it, the amount of surface rust on the discs and the fact the last tax disc says 2004, I would say its been a little bit longer than a year. I could be wrong though and he could be telling the truth... Anyway, he "knows what its worth" and is asking £3500 to take it away... Heres a few pictures (sorry for the poor quality, taken on my phone): Now I think £3500 is FAR too much money for the car in that condition. He couldn't tell me the mileage or whether it had any history. What do you guys think?? Thanks! Tom

Thats brilliant advice, thank you! Roughly based on your formula of working out the value, I think a reasonable price would be around £1000-£1500, especially if you factor in a possible problem with the immobiliser (did all 'Raddos have them built into the ECU?) I haven't heard from the seller yet so I'm still crossing my fingers, but we'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks. Its such a shame to see it just sat there doing nothing. Thanks again for the help, will keep this updated as and when any news occurs! Tom

Thanks for the replies so far. I've pretty much read the whole site and I'm pretty aware of the Corrado and its mechanicals. Buying one that requires work doesn't frighten me at all, and to be honest I prefer to buy a car that needs a bit of work as I can get to know the vehicle and it makes it easier to troubleshoot problems in the future. If I was to buy this vehicle then I would trailer it away, and I can anticipate it needing: Discs and pads all round Full service All the suspension bushes replacing New tyres Wheel bearings Brake pipes and flexi hoses CV boots Possibly a new clutch (it doesn't look like the pedal has been held down so its entirely possible the clutch is siezed on). Plus god knows what else (thats all just off the top of my head!). I wasn't quite aware of the value of the interior - surprisingly it doesn't seem to have suffered with damp from what I can see, although there is a leather steering wheel on the back seat (the original is still on though) which appears to have 'bleached' some of its black colouring onto the seat material itself. Its probably wishful thinking that I could get the car for £500, but it would be nice!

Hey guys, This is my first post on this forum, so first of all hello! I'm from the UK, and I'm a big VW fan, I currently drive a Polo GT (yes, I know!), heavily modified, including a Mk3 Golf ABD engine, G40 running gear, subframe conversion and some other parts, basically all geared towards making the little car go faster both in a straight line and round corners! I also have a Mini Clubman (the proper Mini), into which I've fitted a Vauxhall C16SE engine, which is my weekend toy. So thats my car credentials :) Anyway, the reason for my post is thus: I've loved Corrado's for as long as I can remember, I think they're awesome cars but I've never been able to justify buying one, not having the room or spare cash to invest in one. Part of my job involves local driving, and it was when on hire to another company I noticed a rather forlorn looking Corrado poking its nose out from under some trees in the front garden of a house opposite. I literally had seconds to look at it before I had to go, and all I noticed was that it was covered in green mildewy type stuff, had a 'VR6' badge and was a dark metallic green colour, and was 'M' registered (1995). I went to Ultimate Dubs at the weekend and it reminded me about the car, so I took a drive over to look at it. The owner wasn't in, so I had a quick look around the car. It was last taxed in 2004, meaning its been stood there for 4 years. Its metallic green, and closer inspection revealed that its a Corrado Storm. It has a beige leather interior, sunroof, all the usual Storm equipment. The bonnet was on the latch, so I opened it up, and it still has a VR6 in there. There's no mayo under the cap, and oil in the sump, but it looks like it hasn't run for quite a while. It still has a battery (flat), and all the tyres are flat, so it looks like its literally been driven in, parked up, and left. I had a good look around the bodywork and it all seems pretty straight, the only bit of rust is on the front wing right next to the headlight, its a patch down to oxidised bare metal about the size of a 50p. The owner looks like he's having a clearout of car/engineering parts, as next to the car are two large wooden crates full of things like compressor parts, tubular wishbones, drop links, shackles, and next to the crates are two heavily used dunlop slick racing tyres. My guess is that he's a car enthusiast who's just lost interest. Anyway, I wrote a note explaining that I'd seen the car, and asked if he'd be interested in selling it to me, I gave my details etc. The guy I do work for says the owner is on holiday, so hopefully he'll see the note when he returns. What I want to ask is how much do you think its worth? I know my description is pretty crap, but I don't know the mileage, whether it has any history or even if its a runner or not. For all I know it could have a blown engine and just be sat there because it can't be used.... If he's asking silly money for it like £500 do you think it would be a worthwhile motor to buy? I've no intention of selling it on, I want to bring it back to life and give it some TLC - especially as only 250 of the metallic green Storms were made. Thanks for reading, sorry about the essay, but any help would be great. Thanks Tom