Storm Warning

1 hour ago, Keyo said:

As you say there is a lot of joy in bringing something back to its dawning glory and will be a lifetime of enjoyment in that car as it ages like a mature bottle of fine wine. 

Totally agree, might need some fine wine to get through it too!

9 minutes ago, Keyo said:

Im not sure which way up or down and Im out but seen a fair few mk2 gti have 40 k restoration jobs now.  Its the reality of classic car restoration I suppose. . 

It will be north of 40k, how far I don't know. Depends on what spec I throw at it now.  A friend of mine laughed when I said it will come in under 60k, I think is likely he didn't (and has done a few full car restos to this level). The majority of paid labour is done now, mine is free.

I've a spreadsheet of every part and bill (I'll log my time too just for interest) maybe I'll add it up at the end 🤮. Ultimately, I'm enjoying the journey and I can't wait to drive her again 🥰

5 minutes ago, Keyo said:

Estimate is finished  chap/ I mean it makes sense to rebuild a car from top to bottom it costs the same as the car new with inflation 

A little scared to really think about it if I'm honest 🤣 I've already gone more to town than I planned.  At the moment I'd guess you are at least 50% out with that estimate.   

4 minutes ago, Keyo said:

This is probably th most comprehensive restoration I have seen - I imagine the drive train will follow. Must be a 30 to 40 k rebuild im guessing. 

30-40k so far or when finished? 

I honestly don't know how long it will take to rebuild, I'll do what I can, when I can and see.  Every component removed will be refreshed or replaced, pretty time consuming but can't wait!  Have a few options for power lined up and some decisions to make soon.

33 minutes ago, tonedef said:

Just wow!

The ultimate Corrado rebuild thread!

I think it will be or up there at least 👍

I've started to share my build on Instagram, the shell will be back with me soon and it's looking great. If you are interested in the build give me a follow 👍

 

 

No real progress made while waiting for some panels... Just one more still to come 🙂

Boot and rear sections were repairable, but as with other sections, just not worth the time/money vs a new panel.

Great first post! Welcome to the forum... Your C is looking great and I'm sure you'll find most the answers you need on here.

On the parts you mentioned... 

Side mirror glass - still available, as are the bolts 

The window scraper - is going to be an issue, many people including myself have tried to get back into production without success... I am sure it will happen as demand is high. There are some options from other cars which will work ok for now. 

Fuel tank straps (for 70L) - They are available - there are some chrome ones someone is making now (eBay/Facebook)

The sunroof isn't working cause of the wiring -  there are lot of threads on here about sunroofs!

Seat heating isn't working - elements in the seat bases can break - there are ways to fix/replace - maybe it is just a fuse?

Fog lights - Become very expensive now to get originals or other lenses.

I'm very interested in what you will do for the sound system... I'm going to be doing something myself.

Next pictures some viewers might find disturbing...

While there wasn't excessive rot, at the price of the panels I decided to just change them rather than have the repairs made on the arches, around the fuel filler and the join to the inner arch.  On both sides, the whole quarters are being replaced with VW panels: outer skin, inner skin and the arch.  Detailed measurements taken and bracing has added to ensure factory fit down to the last spot weld...

Sadly N90 147 001 is wrong for the bulk of the bungs, I thought it was that too and now have 6 of them... but they look like they might fit in place of N90363901 - they are the same size but without the profile... I'll get some other photos and explain which part numbers I believe they all are - but this has to be one of the rarest jobs ever on Corrado 🙂

2 hours ago, culshaw said:

Do you mean these? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Golf-MK3-32mm-Floor-Pan-Chassis-Bung-Plug-Grommet-8v-16v-GTI-VR6-Genuine-VW/151894194188?hash=item235d99780c:g:OacAAOSwXy1bxQMP

Those are the only ones I can see but the factory ones are were metal with a cross on them.  They also have metal clips.... Then they are covered in sealant!  Might have to clean the old ones up 😕

Took a chance on some of those eBay outer sills... These are the latvia sourced ones.. profile looks good but will need a little modification to get the slight difference for either side as these are symmetrical.

2 hours ago, culshaw said:

Definitely a blog, then cross post it here when you have updates. Then you don't at the whim of someone archiving all the images during a forum version migration and not migrating the content across 🙂

Yeah, that's been my concern... Will get one sorted.

More panels arrived today... Still more to come... 

I've 1000s of photos particularly of hard to see parts of the car if anyone ever needs a view of how the factory put something together.

I've been thinking about setting up a blog for the rebuild process... Or I'll just carry on here 🙂

I might have got carried away! It will be a long while (if ever) before sale prices will cover the costs.. or come close for that matter...but then I don't intend to sell it.

Progress picking up, not going to share all the pics but can see a the level of detail going on to repair every tiny pit of rust.

Awaiting on another batch of panels, just quicker and cheaper to replace than repair.

I've seen plenty of people redoing the underseal and certainly something worth doing. While no huge corrosion was found, it had started to go around the threaded fixings and around a few of the bungs.

Cleaned up and protected while cutting and welding is underway..

Has anyone ever tried to get floor pan bungs? They all seem to be rubber that I can see and not the metal that they left factory with. Have the ones I removed but will be a pain to clean up.

They came from VW Heritage, price was way better but did have to wait.  Wasn't in a hurry as that was 2 years ago.  They were boxed and strapped to a pallet so arrived unharmed.

Been to see shell today, better than expected and just a couple of holes have appeared in the floor... Looks like the corrosion was hidden between inner and outer rust prevention 🙂

Now they can see all the rust they will prime to protect the shell and then cut it all out and replace/fabricate as needed.

Had these panels a while... Time for them to be used. Both Doors, Rear Quarters, A pillar.

Just needs some lacquer eh?  Haha.. tempting

Largely it will be totally sympathetic towards factory spec using modern equivalents where suitable, underseal for one. I've 1000s of photos and templates to ensure everything down to the paint colour penned on the exhaust tunnel is replicated.  Its is unlikely to be a standard build in the end but nothing that can't be reversed easily.  My parts store has a strick mani, rotrex charger and wavetrak lsd in it 😕

Ultimately I'm building a better than new Corrado and one that I can enjoy for another 20+ years... Just hope it doesn't take 20+ years to do it!

Naked Corrado... I guess there is no turning back now...

I'll get more pictures tomorrow when it arrives to be united with its new panels.  To be honest, it is looking really solid!

Can't wait for the paint pics, seen plenty and indeed have had my own corrado resprayed but not like that, not seen many bare shell!

Had a glass out respray a few years back and refreshed a few bits...it looked great at first but didn't last long... Due to life events I neglected it for a few years but this time I'll do it better than factory.. that's the plan anyway!

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

1 hour ago, ben_wooduk said:

That is some dedication right there 😮

I often wonder wtf I have done!

Been a long time but finally a milestone reached and my shell was collected to be baked and dipped!  I've gone to ridiculous lengths to ensure that the final finish is as close to factory as possible.  From chemical peeling factory body stickers, making templates for sound deadening, tracing the factory writing on the shell and 1000's of detailed pictures and measurements for pretty much everything 🙂.  I don't intend to use the factory type underseal as I'll opt for one of the modern better performing products like Gator.  

The baking and stripping process takes about a month.  Then the welding through to final spray will be somewhere around the 4 month mark.  I have new rear quarters, new doors and new repair panels that run A pillar to sill.  There doesn't seem to be any horror rust at the moment but replacing the panels seemed to be most cost effective at the time (purchased with a black friday code would you believe - couple of years ago now!)

While the shell is away I'll be powder coating everything that needs it and get the loom tested, cleaned and re-wrapped.

Biggest decision I need to make is the engine, I've obtained a Stealth built engine from another Storm which has a Rotrex charger and ODB2 ECU.  I've also got a Schrick Manifold (Currently ODB1).  The current engine runs fine  but now is the time to rebuild it if using it.  Most likely route I'll take is to make the Rotrex'd engine look good and then at a later date rebuild the factory engine.  I've no issue modifying the car - but it all will be reversible. 

I expect this build will take years given how long it has taken me to get to this point.  I've been collecting parts for 15 years and have 1000's of new items and plenty of spares... I doubt I've got everything I need either.

Hopefully I'll be getting plenty of pictures up of the process...