Pat_McCrotchs' Classic Green VR6

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

Right, about time I gave this a half decent update. Not many pictures really as most of the work has been under the skin :) Needless to say this is something that has turned from a hobby/daily driver into a near enough full blown restoration!

 

Since the last update;

 

- New Cobra Alarm

 

- Eibach Roll Bars front and rear

 

- New Track Control Arms, ball joints, ARB links etc

 

- Battery Bag ;)

 

- New Front Grille & new headlamp glasses.

 

- 80% of the trims inside 'recliped' with new clips and any missing ones replaced. No rattles!! :clap:

 

- New black Cloth Interior, new bolsters etc on the drivers seat. I've had some stick for doing this from people on here for doing this. But screw em, it's my car :nono: Big thanks for Mr kevwayhard for his help in the swapover with herisites :salute:

 

- T4 Transporter exhaust rubbers for the centre box. Exhaust now feels amazingly rigid and gearchange seemed to feel a little better after doing it as well. Probably because of less movement maybe? But not back for a fiver!

 

* MOMO Steering wheel. The VR wheel, although nice to hold, had suffered from the usual leather wear and I was getting quotes of £200+ to get it retrimmed and a brand new one was coming in at over £450 :eek:

 

* New door card upper trims. Someone had mashed them up previously in the cars life and finally managed to source a new pair :)

 

* New tool kit and holder. Bits were missing so replaced as neccesary.

 

* Car completely hammerite waxoiled underneath and any broken underseal rust treated and replaced.

 

She's amazingly planted on the road now and drives as tight as my R32, if anything I prefer the steering on my Corrado to the R32 and I love the feedback it gives me. Just how a Corrado should be :hitler:

 

Unfortunately, I got a bit indulgent and bought a lovely set of 17" wheels for her but forgetting my own rule; Alloys always come second to bodywork :nono: I was a bit foolish to order them really and it was a moment when I let my guard down. Anyway, the respray has currently been put back to December due to my Dad restoring his 57 Ford Fairlane.

 

p.s. Just a quick thanks to Mr Haywire for all his help over the last 6 months. Without him and his expertise I probably would've given up long ago, sold it and not realised how great these cars can be when they have a little love put into them :salute:

[Critical_Mass 10]

Looking good mate. Looks like you've been putting the work in :D

 

Can you explain the link between feel of the gear change and the better exhaust rubbers?

 

Cheers :D

[Danny B 0]

Looking good mate, wheels look lovely.....unsure how they will look on the C though :shrug:

 

I was thinking the same as critical_mass about the gear change :confused4:

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

It's bizzare really. I wouldn't say it's a revelation in any sense of the word and my centre rubbers were about 3 inches long they were so stretched and old :lol: so maybe just the lack of 'movement'. It always did feel like something was loose underneath but I could never quite put my finger on it, perhaps the extra exhaust movement put a little more strain on the rear engine mount which gave that effect, lol!. But when I put the T4 ones on they barely stretched 5mil. Thats how much better they are than standard.

[Danny B 0]

It's bizzare really. I wouldn't say it's a revelation in any sense of the word and my centre rubbers were about 3 inches long they were so stretched and old :lol: so maybe just the lack of 'movement'. It always did feel like something was loose underneath but I could never quite put my finger on it, perhaps the extra exhaust movement put a little more strain on the rear engine mount which gave that effect, lol!. But when I put the T4 ones on they barely stretched 5mil. Thats how much better they are than standard.

 

.....wierd, would buggered exhuast rubbers have that much of a knock on effect :shrug: .....I suppose all you care about is that its better :)

[Supercharged 2]

R

- T4 Transporter exhaust rubbers for the centre box. Exhaust now feels amazingly rigid and gearchange seemed to feel a little better after doing it as well. Probably because of less movement maybe? But not back for a fiver!

 

Cool - you found the right part then, was going to dig the number out for you tonight if not!

 

So they fitted ok as a straight swap or did you use 2 for every one standard one (as they are half width I think?)

 

Could you add a set to my order please mate and I will pick up the week after next (In London this next week)

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

Nah couldn't find the part number for the orange ones. The ones I ordered were the same width as OEM but had a rubber membrane built into them. They also only came with metal hangers, which I had to break off to fit,

[KADVR6 0]

i dont blame you for going from leather to cloth as the cloth seats do feel more supportive, but i'm surprised you just swapped them over with no money going your way :cuckoo:

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

i dont blame you for going from leather to cloth as the cloth seats do feel more supportive, but i'm surprised you just swapped them over with no money going your way :cuckoo:

 

I got (or am getting) £150 out of the swapover :)

[vornwend 0]

Good progress there - these cars do have a way of getting ya hooked don't they :wink:

 

I think I last saw it on your first day with it at Stonor earlier this year? Anyway may be along to the rolling road day at Stealth so will look forward to seeing it all in the flesh.

 

Did the Eibachs make much difference? Did you put them both on at the same time?

[Supercharged 2]

Yeah sorry mate - the orange rubber may not have been from a T4 after all :oops:

 

The PN is 1J0 253 147D - same profile as Corrado but half width. There are always the Ford ones C&R sell with the built in chains but to be honest, the original Corrado ones will last a good 10-12 years as long as the exhaust is a good fit.

 

Could you also get me a pair TT rear wishbone bushes in (you only had one on the shelf when I was there the other day)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

p.s. Just a quick thanks to Mr Haywire for all his help over the last 6 months. Without him and his expertise I probably would've given up long ago, sold it and not realised how great these cars can be when they have a little love put into them :salute:

 

No worries mate, any time. You scratch my back and I rub your crotch, it's all good 8)

 

Now where's that air filter :bad-words: :lol:

[John-M 0]

No worries mate, any time. You scratch my back and I rub your crotch, it's all good 8)

Kev, I never suspected, lol.

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

p.s. Just a quick thanks to Mr Haywire for all his help over the last 6 months. Without him and his expertise I probably would've given up long ago, sold it and not realised how great these cars can be when they have a little love put into them :salute:

 

No worries mate, any time. You scratch my back and I rub your crotch, it's all good 8)

 

:lol:

 

Just ordered some classic green paint and took two weeks off work in December for the painting 8)

 

Looking forward to getting it done but not the hard graft :lol:

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

Paint is here :)

 

Part number for the uprated exhaust rubbers should anyone wish to try them out is 7H0253144E and they are about £3.40 each :)

[Jim Bowen 1]

are you painting it yourself? mazin' 8)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Paint is here :)

 

Part number for the uprated exhaust rubbers should anyone wish to try them out is 7H0253144E and they are about £3.40 each :)

 

Cool, gimme a shout when you start on it as I want to see what's involved :D

[Supercharged 2]

Cool - are you using water based stuff Neil or does VW still supply the proper stuff if it's older paint?

 

How much was the paint if it's from VAG out of interest? My 2 Ltrs of DBP was about £80 from Movac in Ipswich.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Was talking to M G Kerry about mine and he said the paint isn't expensive (unless it's a complicated metallic blend), it's the laquer that's the pricey. The stuff they use costs £100 / litre.

[davidwort 0]

very interested in this too, planning on having a stab at spraying in the new year myself, probably 2 pack with no laquer as that's what my early car has on it AFAIK.

seems you can still buy pretty much any type of paint mail order despite what was said a couple of years back about legislation effectively banning cellulose and 2 pack.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Be careful with mail order paint. I've recently discovered that their colour swatches may match your existing paint exactly, but what comes out of the tin may not :?

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

Right. as my wheels have gained a few chips over the last few months I have decided I'm going to give them a lick of paint at the same time :) I've ordered some Audi Dolphin Grey Metallic from Standox as I wanted dark, but not too dark wheels. I feel green tends to be a hit and miss colour with darker wheels.

 

It's also a homage to my one of my previous cars. My Dolphin Grey A4 S-line (rest in pieces :( )

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

Sigh :(

 

Well, after reviewing my financial situation I've decided to sell my beloved Corrado to Jim and put the wonga towards a deposit on a new house. As I'm not getting any younger (25 this year!) I've decided it's the right thing to do despite it being the hardest decision I've ever made! I haven't really updated this thread since last year but I can assure you ALLOT of additional work went into her over the winter. So much so that the only thing Jim needs to worry about is paintwork, not many Corrado Owners can boast about that :grin:

 

I drove my R32 for the first time in a month last week and realised that although it's allot faster around bends than the Corrado it's nowhere near as fun. So I will need to maybe look into some suspension improvements to at least recapture some of the glory!

 

I've have however made the concious decision never to buy another one, unless by a small miracle Jim decides to sell again. I just know I will never be as satisfied as I was with this one and wouldn't want to ruin the memories. I'm just glad that he's got hold of it and I can easily track it's progress further.

 

Bye Bye Corrado, I shall miss you :salute:

 

For anyone who wants to follow this cars story further can visit here;

 

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