Storm grey VR6 - A little update

[Portent 0]

Purchased today... Rado2's storm grey VR6. It's a superb car and the drive home was faultless, arriving home at 00:30. Mark has done a great job of looking after the car for the last two years and I hope I can carry on in the same vein. More detail to follow but one quick picture taken on the way home:

 

http://the-corrado.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=47141&d=1307147781

 

I absolutely love the colour. I've loved grey since my mk2 16v :)

 

Recent work on the car includes (mostly stolen from his advert):

 

1. Refurbished wheels - BBS

2. Four brand new tyres - Pirelli P Zeros

3. Brand new AP coilovers

4. Brand new top mounts

5. Brand new axle bushes

6. Brand new wish bones and bottom ball joints

7. Brand new discs and pads

8. Brand new wheel bearings

9. Brand new Miltek exhaust

10. Brand new heater matrix

11. Brand new blower

12. Brand new fan resistor

13. Brand new heater controls- last ones ever made by VW apparently as now discontinued!

14. Right-click keyless entry

15. New clips throughout interior

16. New radiator

17. New water pump

18. Timing chains, cams and remap done at D&G a few hundred miles ago

19. New auxiliary water pump

20. New clutch

21. New fly wheel

22. New plastic piping and thermostat housing

23. Front end of car blown over to tidy up the paintwork

24. New brake pedal position sensor

25. ABS ecu

26. ABS pump

27. Pioneer DEH P88RS head unit, speakers, amp and sub

27. New brake lines all round

28. New MOT a few days ago with no advisories \o/

 

Apart from a few minor issues to tidy up (mostly cosmetic such as plastic roof trims), there are only a few small niggles... the indicator doesn't always turn off and the passenger mirror movement is intermittent. I also think it needs a new engine mount. So nothing major at all and all just minor issues that should be easy to address. But apart from that it really is a great example (and I've looked at quite a few).

 

I was also lucky enough to talk to the garage that has worked on it for the last couple of years and got a good feeling from them on the condition of the car and how it has been maintained (all good vibes). A few things I appreciated on the drive home: they really are lovely to drive and make you feel special, the heater is hot enough to burn your face off even on low, the lights and wipers truely are bad, always work out how to use the head unit before you start driving home... you can't wait to get to the next roundabout.......... and tunnels are addictive.

 

Credit to Mark for keeping her in such good condition. He has now moved on to Golf mk5 territory and I wish him all the best with finding what he's now looking for in his cars.

 

The baton has now passed to me and I shall do my best to look after her :)

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~ CHANGES SINCE MY OWNERSHIP ~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

EDIT: I'm keeping track below of significant changes and maintenance since I've owned the car, so any future owners, or myself, will know what has been done and when:

 

2011

May - Brake lines replaced (brake fluid obviously changed at this point too).

June - [1] New cat 1 alarm and immobiliser, with total closure, installed by Trim Wizard. Remnants of old immobiliser fully removed. [2] Brand new roof trim fitted.

July - Passenger mirror mechanism repaired.

August - Black cloth recaro's bought to replace the standard interior.

September - Gearbox oil changed. Mirror switch replaced.

October - Oil cooler seal and crank sensor seal replaced.

December - Oil and filter service (139,500 miles approx)

 

2012

 

February - [1] Air filter replaced. [2] Mats replaced with new OEM mats. [3] New gas boot stuts from Veedubmachine.

March - [1] Noisy aux/serpentine belt replaced with Continental belt. [2] Lubricated the spoiler mechanism.

April - Audioscape doorpods fitted.

May - All three engine/gearbox mounts replaced with new VAG items.

 

2013

 

February - [1] Oil and filter service (142,188 miles). [2] New door speakers fitted. [3] Replaced front splitter with used but very good condition item.

March - Plastic door handle inserts replaced with original leather inserts.

May - [1] Brake fluid replaced, [2] Power steering fluid replaced.

 

2014

 

August​​ - Oil and filter service (145,524 miles).

 

2015

 

January - New battery.

Edited January 3, 2015 by Portent

[dragon green 4]

Looks like you have a keeper there,

Keep us updated with everything you do

[KADVR6 0]

well done Adrian, like i said to you its a very nice example.

 

congratulations

 

karl

[James. 7]

Good to see a car looked after and maintained to a high standard.

 

Mirrors will probably be dirty switch internals. I notice from the for sale ad that it has a Momo steering wheel. A fiver says that the boss hasn't been fitted quite right, hence the reason for the indicators not cancelling correctly (had the same issue once myself).

 

Best of luck with the new purchase. Looks great from here.

Edited June 4, 2011 by James.

[Mike2006 0]

Very nice. Timeless colour.

 

It's great when you pick up a tidy motor as it makes any further improvements worth while.

[MK1Campaign 0]

Good work. I looked at this last month and its definately one of the nicer ones out there.

[G60MAT 0]

Love the colour the only colour I wanted apart from satin silver! Enjoy! :)

[Portent 0]

Having washed and polished it I've been enjoying driving all weekend. It has been years since I enjoyed just driving for the sake of it. The kids absolutely love it and want to go everywhere in it. The wife, however, hates it and won't go in it. She's never liked them and she's the reason I didn't buy a brand new Storm in 1995 after test driving one.

 

But despite it definitely feeling older and much less refined that my 4Motion it makes you realise how distant and vague modern cars feel. Obviously as you wash it for the first time you notice little marks that weren't at first obvious. But that's part of the character of the car and will get addressed over time, and at least that means I won't be worried about driving it :) I can see why they are addictive; I'd much rather take the Corrado than the Golf now, even thought the Golf has heated leather, air-con, cruise control, a more comfortable ride, etc, etc.

 

As for plans, at the moment it's to enjoy the car and make sure I look after it. I don't have the time to bring it up to concourse condition like some on this forum, but the point of the car for me is to enjoy it while still taking good care of it. And buying below my budget means I do have a little put aside for essentials.

 

A few more pictures (sorry about the quality but I only have my phone camera at the moment):

 

First shopping trip... there was simply nothing in the car park remotely as interesting in my view.

 

 

 

Resting at home... 5.7 litres of german goodness. I need to clear the garage out to get them in there:

 

I'm not sure what to do with the interior. I had my heart set on leather and this car was too good to pass up. But now I've driven it a while I honestly don't know if I still want leather. It does make the cabin feel more special but the standard cloth is superbly comfortable and suits the car perfectly.

Edited May 18, 2012 by Portent

[BILLCOR 1]

Love the Storm Grey, was a bit of a bargain with all the work thats been done, nice purchase

[OSV 0]

Looks spot on, cloth Recaros are the answer! there was a nice set in the classifieds. (you could keep your stock interior and resell Recaros at any point making the whole excercise cost neutral if you have the spare cash/space)

[Portent 0]

Yes I thought about that and if its cost neutral then the price isn't too significant. But I'm not sure I feel comfortable paying the asking price for them as it just pushes the price up for everyone. It also ties up a lot of money that could be used elsewhere.

 

I really love them. I'm just not sure they are worth the asking price (to me).

[KADVR6 0]

Hi Adrian,

 

glad you bought the car and took my advice about buying it, i'm sure it will serve you well for many years, and what a bonus that the missus wont go in it, that way she will not be able to tell what you have been doing to it lol

 

and those recaros are nice but personally not worth £995, give me a week or two and you may be getting a pm about another set i think will be getting sold for less that that.

 

karl

[Portent 0]

Oooh, interesting :)

 

And yes, thanks for the advice.

[poll250 0]

I saw my first Storm grey VR last week, and must say they look stunning in the flesh!

 

Looks like all that research and waiting has paid off :)

[rado2 0]

Glad your loving the car will sort all the spares i have as soon as i get a spare min. Looks like she has gone to a good home cheers mate love that car and always will. off to get the gti revo chipped today help ease those corrado blues . Will change my avatar in due course but its all i have left right now lol.

[wy906 0]

Like!

 

All the major works have been done as well; good purchase! The ride height suits the BBS/car very well!

[G60MAT 0]

Looks spot on, cloth Recaros are the answer! there was a nice set in the classifieds. (you could keep your stock interior and resell Recaros at any point making the whole excercise cost neutral if you have the spare cash/space)

 

What he said! I have the same and they are fantastic! ;)

[poll250 0]

Apart from Exclusivity and Electric adjustment, what exactly do Cloth Recaros offer over a good condition set of Standard seats? I thought Recaros were meant to be less supportive?

[Abdul 0]

I thought Recaros were meant to be less supportive?

 

They are, absolutely nasty to sit in imo. Look nice though. Mk3 recaro's would be a great alternative as they have the looks and the support but i'd imagine they'd sit too high in the rado.

 

Congrats Portent, you took your sweet time finding the right car eh!

[Portent 0]

Looks like all that research and waiting has paid off :)

 

Congrats Portent, you took your sweet time finding the right car eh!

 

Yes it took me a while. In the middle of looking I had one possible move to Singapore (didn't happen), a job change (had to keep an eye on money until settled again) and also nearly bought a TT instead (glad I didn't). So I had a few false starts. But I'm very happy with the car I waited for.

 

Glad your loving the car will sort all the spares i have as soon as i get a spare min. Looks like she has gone to a good home cheers mate love that car and always will. off to get the gti revo chipped today help ease those corrado blues . Will change my avatar in due course but its all i have left right now lol.

 

Thanks. I'll look after her. I hope your GTI Revo plans are everything you hoped for.

 

Mirrors will probably be dirty switch internals. I notice from the for sale ad that it has a Momo steering wheel. A fiver says that the boss hasn't been fitted quite right, hence the reason for the indicators not cancelling correctly (had the same issue once myself).

 

I missed this before. Thanks for the heads up. I'm probably going to put a standard leather VR wheel back on so I'll see what happens when I do. If anyone has a good condition leather VR wheel for sale then please let me know.

 

 

 

Ok... I've booked in a cat 1 alarm install and also ordered some new roof trims from VW as the current ones are showing their age. There are apparently only a few sets left and they don't know whether they will be getting any more. So if anyone needs some then I'd suggest getting in there quickly:

 

Prices from VW (excludes VAT):

Mouldings are £53.71 for each side (8 nearside, 3 offside available)

Plastic end caps are £3.18 for ech side (1 nearside, 27 offside available)

 

I think I just got the last nearside cap, assuming they do manage to get it (special order).

Edited June 8, 2011 by Portent

[Portent 0]

The new roof trim has arrived at the dealers but I was at work for 27 hours on Friday (!) so they were closed by the time I woke up on Saturday. I'll have to collect them next weekend. Instead I contented myself with shampooing the seats and door cards.

 

I'm really pleased how well they have come up. They were clean before but there were a few small stains and the doorcards had become discoloured a little over the years. Well the marks have come out and the discolouring on the doorcards has gone completely. The cloth looks great now.

 

Unfortunately someone in the past has spilled a little paint in the boot and there is still a little paint on the back of the seats. It's not visible in the cabin and can only be seen in the boot or when then the seats are lowered. It's also hidden by the amp and sub so I can't see it unless I lower them. But I know it's there so I'm looking at options to clean them (I believe Isopropyl alcohol can break it down and lift it). That's a job for another day.

 

But the cloth seats and doorcards have come up superbly. It looks and feels so fresh inside now :D

[Portent 0]

New cat 1 alarm and immobiliser fitted by Andy from Trim Wizard. Superb service and highly recommended. I can't fault him at all. He even traced an unrelated short for me and fixed it (nothing to do with the alarm). we had a good chat about cars too and as a previous Corrado owner he obviously knows his way around the car and its electronics.

 

I had to chuckle though when he turned up. After a brief comment about it being an unusual colour (is grey unusual?) he opened the door, leaned in, took a deep breath and said "smells just like a Corrado" :D

 

 

Edited June 14, 2011 by Portent

[Portent 0]

I finally had time to collect my new roof trim from the dealer and fit it this weekend. It really makes such a difference as the old trim was letting the car down.

 

The old trim had become very brittle and had started to break up:

 

Shiny new trim arrived:

 

And fitted it makes such a difference. I also replaced the rear caps which cover the hatch hinges which had faded to a dull grey:

 

 

Later I gave the car a thorough clean and polish and tried the get the rest of the trim back to black but time will tell whether I stay happy with the results. But I did also clean the sunroof trim with interior fabric shampoo and it's also come up much better. It's the little things that make so much difference :)

[Portent 0]

Minor update... I had a spare 5 mins tonight so I fixed the broken rear shelf strap using the soldering iron trick to 'weld' the break together. At some point I'll probably replace them but it does the job, looks fine and was free :)

 

Sorry for the relatively small updates... I'm using this thread as a kind of history of work so I (or any future owner) can look back and see what's been done. I think that's quite important as they gradually move to a classic status :)

Edited June 22, 2011 by Portent

[Portent 0]

Parked on the CCGB stand at GTI International:

 

 

 

Also I picked up this steering wheel at a bit of a bargain price at the show. I was really after an original wheel but got this at a couldn't refuse price and kind of liked the old skool GTI Engineering reference. It had quite a bit of paint over it but it has cleaned up very nicely. I'll probably fit it and if I decide it doesn't suit the car then I can always re-sell it. Still looking for a good condition original leather wheel too.