Black Metallic VR - SOLD!

[Purple Tom 0]

I'm really looking forward to hearing how you get on with the short shift Dave :) I think its a great modification! Hats off to you for the other work too, its definitely been a labour of love (and hate!) for you, but it was definitely worth it.

[daves16v 1]

..........bottom of the rear arch on both sides and I can get a finger in.

 

I've removed as much loose and rusty metal so what you see is about the extent of it but I need to get the back up, wheels off and cut out the little remaining rust.

 

Time to start cutting steel patches and welding up.

 

I did consider throwing the towel in when it started dropping to bits but no, I'm in it for the long haul.

[Laser Mark 0]

Stick at it mate, there is plenty of metal at work to patch the holes up ;)

[MK1Campaign 0]

I had to do that repair on mine.

[CazzaVR 0]

That's a bit gutting, Dave- pretty sortable though! :)

[davidwort 0]

Most corrados are like that there sadly, it rusts underneath the underseal and gets quite bad before it becomes noticeable, something everyone should check.

[daves16v 1]

Yeah was very well hidden, it did cross my mind that it's probably a common problem and if not caught soon it's gonna spread quite badly.

 

Will be cutting the bad out and making up new pieces immediately.

[aide 0]

i've just repaired that section also, only one side though, it wasn't noticeable until i went digging underneath either.

[KipVR 1]

Considering how old they are, I think Corrado's resist the rot remarkably well. How many other early 90's cars are still about and often used for a daily? Nice job on making a nice car even better.

[daves16v 1]

Very happy to say the arch repairs are all done.

 

So the process went -

 

1. Remove paint and underseal

2. Cut out all severe rust

3. Treat surface rust

4. Make cardboard templates

5. Make steel repair pieces against cardboard templates

6. Weld in-place

7. Smooth welds

8. Fill all remaining gaps

9. Smooth filler

10. Etch prime

11. Apply VAG original underseal to match existing

12. Smooth the above to match existing

13. Mask and paint using VAG paint

14. Apply VAG laquer

 

The result I'm very happy with and I've saved me a load of cash. I've constructed the steel repair pieces to match the original and I think I've achieved that rather well.

 

Only thing I haven't done yet is cavity wax inside which will be done today.

 

Pics are a little dark so you can't see the detail too well, I've brightened them as far as I can.

[daves16v 1]

Whilst I was in body repairing mode I noticed a few other bits at the back that needed minor attention so whipped the bumper off and got them sorted.

 

This revealed some rust on the bumper iron, there was no way that was going back on in that state. Blast and powder coat followed with Stainless bolts throughout and I had large washers very neatly Tig welded to the M10 bolts to match the originals.

 

Just need to bleed the brakes for the MOT tomorrow, then TAX and it's back on the road.

[8vMatt 1]

Very smart progress here mate, you have to be pleased with things.

[aust 0]

Just reading this thread and Great build. Had a look at my arches and mines gone in the same place. Oh well the joy's of having a corrado (cor-rot-o).

[OSV 0]

Great work, love the way you set about things.

[CazzaVR 0]

Brilliant work, Dave :salute: Looks perfect! Fancy doing mine? ;) Just discovered mine has some rot in exactly the same place- not sure how bad exactly, but doesn't look good :(

[daves16v 1]

Thanks for the comments.

 

Andy, it's not quite perfect but it's good enough for me and I like to think I'm quite particular. I could probably help with making up the repair pieces.

[Laser Mark 0]

'Quite Particular?'

 

Thats an understatement!

[daves16v 1]

I'm now the proud owner of a 12 month MOT certificate!

 

Only 2 advisories - both front wishbones bushes looking tired but I plan to change them for R32 items anyway. I'm more pleased this time as I've refurbed the rear beam, bushes, brakes, bearings etc and done most of the work myself so pretty chuffed.

 

Just Tax to pay for now.

[CazzaVR 0]

Nice one, Dave- always a relief! Got mine in the next couple of weeks.

 

Will keep you posted on the rust- thanks for your offer- hopefully it won't need welding though!

[Purple Tom 0]

Brilliant progress Dave, I'm well pleased for you :)

 

Looking forward to seeing it back on the road very soon!

[daves16v 1]

Fitted a moonroof at the weekend, had few small issues but nothing major. Interestingly it came off a Seat Ibiza and the curve of the glass panel is a perfect match for the Corrado, much better than a Passat roof. In the last week I've learned quite a bit about 'moonroof into a Corrado' and also had one in my old valver so I think I'll start a new thread to try to make things a little more definitive. Anyway here's some pics.

[robrado974 1]

Nice to see you got it sorted , personaly i dont think corrados and sunroofs mix lol, bleedin things are a pain in the arris . Me and a few other forum members had to reset mine after a respray , two sunroof cassettes later it worked . I pushed the closed position at the weekend and its getting stuck again even with grease on the sliders .Think i will just use the tilt !

[VW_OwneR_85 1]

nice work dave, you realy cant beat getting stuck in!!! i know what you mean about useing it as a daily as mine was also a daily but i didnt realy loose interest, it was just realy hard/stressful working on it and haveing to finish it the same day and now my daily is a mk3 golf vr6! :) so its time to sort out these little problems, brake lines is on the cards!. i agree rob, corrados and sunroofs dont mix! i realy wish i didnt have a sunroof! i realy cant stand them...

[daves16v 1]

Update time –

 

Last week the water pump decided to give up so whilst the coolant was out I decided I’ll do the Mk4 header tank upgrade. All went well until it was time to mount the header tank, now I know the header tank isn’t a straight swap so expected a little battle with the mounting points. Not happy with a ‘make it fit’ approach I decided it was time to do a complete custom bracket made from.......you guessed it – Polished Stainless.

 

It made sense as the extended hose would have crossed over the fan controller and would have started to wear over time.

 

So the mounting holes were adjusted, Mk4 header tank bottom mounting recreated, the bracket that holds the hose clip removed and the fan controller position dropped by 40mm. Apart from those changes the bracket remains as close as possible to the original item.

The small bracket at the front is there to mount the alarm siren which was originally mounted on the piece that holds the hose clip. If I ever remove/replace the alarm I can remove the siren bracket separately.

 

All mounting bolts, washers, nuts and screws replaced with Stainless items.

 

I’ve attached a photo showing the evolution from VAG bracket to Stainless bracket. Looking from left to right –

 

1) Original bracket

2) Cardboard template

3) Aluminium bracket

4) Stainless bracket

5) Finished Stainless bracket

 

At each stage the design was improved and refined until stage 5 when it finally came good.

 

The photos don’t do it justice, it looks so much better in the flesh.

 

I’ve got some other developments to come over the next few weeks.

 

Oh yeah I’ve swapped the ignition switch at the same time as I was getting some strange starts.

[fla 9]

your skills with creating items in SS are truly astounding and just seem to improve with each new item you decide to develop. Engine bay looks fantastic.