corrado wannabe

HI mate, good luck with the little one, I dont use my Corrado at the moment (although that may change soon) but hopefully I can give you a little info. We had a baby girl (our first) 4 weeks ago and I can only reitterate what was said earlier about not having time for ICE or other stuff like that! Its great though. We currently have an A5 coupe and an A4 Avant, we made the mistake of buying a car seat we liked the look of (Recaro) but unfortunately the base system that is permanent in the car slides back and forward to put the car seat in place. This means that in the A5 the base has to go on the front passenger seat as there is simply not enough room to get the car seat in between the B pillar and the back of the front seat. In the Avant it means that I have to put the front seat as upright as possible. The maxi cosi systems are simply plug straight on, so I think are far more practical and less hasstle for your partner to use. If like us you go for one of those "travel systems" (prams and cot and pushchair in one) (iCandy) they really are quite bulky and to be honest both the avant and the A5 are pretty well loaded up with the stuff, so I am not sure how the C would cope. There is also the issue of loading a car seat into a two door car, it is definately much easier to load into the Avant than try to get it in behind the seats of the A5. Sorry for the long winded post, but I hope it helps. Dougie

Think it would just be general recommisioning work, fluids mainly. Giving it a really good visual inspection underneath for corrosion to brake lines etc. Checking condition of tyres (cracking etc) . I am assuming you wont be driving it in anger until it is MOT'd so the majority of those defects will be picked up on at the testing station. So really you want to be looking at the braking system too, pad /disc condition, pedal feel/fluid level. Flushing/draining the engine oil system and filter out to get rid of any nasties, then getting it turned over a few times to get the oil to the top of the engine before starting it up in earnest. Probably replacing the coolant fluid as well, but this can bring on problems of its own, but I think as has been said before if a head gasket goes after doing this it was probably on its way out already. Not an exhaustive list, but I guess slow and steady and all this is on the assumption that its not been run at all for the two years, Dougie

Mask it with perfume...that will throw her off the car trail. Disclaimer; This may not be sound advice being given

Offside and nearside are relative to the pavement/kerb apparently. Its the only piece of "old school" motoring terms I have remembered from the mountains of info my old man heaps on me!

Hi mate, Good to meet you the other day. The cuppa and biscuit were very much appreciated. Top bloke Dougie

Ok guys, thought I would update this a little. Have really just been pottering away slowly with this in the garage. Just need to free off the back brakes then it should be ready for its retest. Got busy with the clay bar and polish: [ATTACH=CONFIG]57993[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]57997[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]58001[/ATTACH] Replaced the wishbones and bushes as well as ARB bushes. Old: [ATTACH=CONFIG]58005[/ATTACH] New: [ATTACH=CONFIG]58009[/ATTACH] Have also been removing screws in and around the engine bay area and immersing them in rust converter overnight, dont have pics yet but it is working well. Also replaced the number plate light casing with a newly painted replacement. Dougie

Ahh cool, the 1.9 is pretty bullet proof. I have the 170bhp model, its not that great on fuel (about 40 mpg) but it does pull very well. It wont be a problem getting a set of wheels for the car, like I said, dont think I would consider anything less than 18's if your going to the bother of changing them. Dougie

Hi Walesy, Afraid I dont, they went onto the old one when I traded it in at Audi. Im assuming yours is a diesel? You have probably found it already but this is a good forum for info: http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/forum.php There is a lot of stuff on there. If yours is the 2.0litre lump Audi are doing a recall on all to replace the injectors FOC. I have had a few issues with mine so Im actually glad I bought it from a main dealer as I would have been a few squid out of pocket by now. Its a pretty solid car for the most part though. You will enjoy it. Dougie

Cheers, They are 18" OZ Michaelangelo 10's. Had them on my previous Audi and just swopped them over. It had 18" Sline wheels on it. To be honest I wouldnt really go any less than 18's as they will all look lost in the arches. Mine is an S-line so its a tad lower than the SE spec etc but there is still a fair gap at the wheel arches. Apart from debadging the rear and putting the RS4 Black optics grill on its a standard S-line body spec. Dougie

Looks nice Walesy though Im biased ;-) Heres mine: [ATTACH=CONFIG]54357[/ATTACH] I need to get the armrest fitted, it really annoying me not having it! Dougie

That is unbelievable! So sorry to see that, but very glad that, at the end of the day,the most important point is your wife is ok after this. Still gutting nonetheless. Dougie

Nice to see someone passionate about their car and not dissing other models while they are extoling its vitues. It seems to have been the eternal debate with VW's. I had a 1.6 GTi Mk1 Golf and the purists always bang on about it compared to the 1.8 variant. That seemed to continue into the Mk2 Gti debate of whether 8v or 16v was best. Good to see it also crosses over to the C. Nice looking car you have there too. Enjoy Dougie

Welcome, I used to own a montana green J plate Mk3 Gti also, with (I think) morrette headlight conversion back in the day. Unusual colour to see now. Enjoy your new car. Dougie

Have to say, although I have owned my Corrado for a few months now, I havent actually driven it! So I cant really comment on comparisons with other cars. I have owned a Mk1 and Mk2 Golf Gti so I am assuming the C is very like the Mk1 in the point and squirt stakes. I have a B7 A4 AVant 170 Tdi as my daily and I think that if you have the space and can/want to afford running two cars, the C as a second car really makes sense. Have you considered a brand new supermini, C2 yaris etc?? No tax cheap deposit and monthly payments and keep the C? Running costs for fast cars as a daily must be a nightmare these days. About 14 years ago, I had a 310bhp Subaru which did about 18mpg on superunleaded, I would hate to think what that would cost me a month now. I would assume it would be the same sort of costs for Evo's and big engined BM's. Dougie PS Cheap Boxster???

Glad to see your getting it sorted. That Viagra might make it interesting for getting underneath the car! Better push on and get it finished before that starts.

Thats a lovely wheel. Nice purchase.

Have sent you a private message dochy Cheers

Lol Steve, think you are having a conversation with Dochy! Dochy Im in Stirling, so not too much bother for Oban. As Steve will tell you, I really am looking for one that has no rust on it, especially behind the number plate lights as my other option is to get the bodyshop to cut out the rust and weld in some new metal. Dougie

Hi Dochy, no I didnt bud. Send me a PM if you want to discuss it offline. Cheers Dougie

Brake pads or caliper maybe?

Hi Ollie, yes I noticed both sets, just got the 5 piece base set from my local screwfix, it was a couple of pounds more expensive than I would have paid online, but I got it there and then to take away. Like you say its a bit restrictive in sizes, but Im hoping that the 16mm will hammer onto the 18mm bolts as they are very soft and corroded, fingers crossed!! Will deffo be a purchase when I get paid as the wife will go spare when she sees all the shiny new bits for the car and the shiny new tools too!! Dougie

Thats rotten mate, best of luck getting it sorted out. Dougie

Ahhhh Corrado ownership, its taking me back to my early years with my Mk1 GTi, every bolt rusted to a crust, rounded off, jammed on! Made a start at the weekend, put the penetrating oil on overnight, out next day and every bolt rounded! So had to invest in a set of Irwins bolt removers, think these will be a godsend over the next few months. Anyone got any experiences, good or bad with them? Also ordered a new set of bolts from VW for both sides, 15 quid for 6 bolts and two nuts! Oh well classic car ownership I s'pose! Dougie

Your a star sir, thankyou. Dougie

Thanks guys, Will try and take some pictures as I do it, and no doubt there will be a few skint knuckles!! David, any recommendations on wax protection spray? where from etc Dougie