My Heirloom VR6

[Acecross 10]

Hi All.

 

I thought I would post a little background and a few pics of my newly acquired Alpine White Corrado VR6. I say newly acquired but she has actually been in the family since 1999 when my Dad purchased her from Listers VW in Birmingham. At the time my brother and I were living with my Mum in Plymouth and had traveled to stay with my Dad in Birmingham. He had owned a White 16v Mk2 Golf for a couple of years that my bother and I, both in our teens, had idolised - at the time I was driving a 1043cc Polo "Bread Van" that I had acquired as a first car, so the 'Valver was somewhat of a beast in comparison..

 

Anyway, I remember being sat in the back garden having arrived and noticed through the crack of the door to the garage a slightly unexpected shape where the familiar Golf would normally be. On closer inspection the black grill was emblazoned with three red letters, but not the 16V I was expecting...these read VR6!

 

I'm still impressed he managed to keep it a secret and from that point on I was hooked and we enjoyed many journeys out in the Corrado. I quickly moved on from the Polo to my own Helios Blue Golf GTI, but the Corrado always had that little extra something over the Golf...I think even then I knew one day she would be mine!

 

Fast forward 17 years and several car changes for me including a Mk5 R32 and my now daily Mk7 R and the Corrado was still in my Dad's possession, although now a third car behind a Diesel Mk6 Golf and an old E Class Mercedes 124 Estate which was taking up his attention (dont ask! :bonk:). Having only covered around 2k miles in 8 or 9 years and 84k in total she was still looking beautiful and had been well looked after due to my Dad's skills as an engineer and his generally obsessive nature with regards cleaning and maintenance.

 

At the beginning of this year, having flirted with the idea of letting her go for a while but never having bitten the bullet I broached the idea of him letting me take her on, which was surprisingly met with little resistance and with one of my current Mk2s needing a little work done we agreed that the Golf would take a holiday at Dad's for a new heater matrix and some other bits and bobs and the Corrado would come to live at mine! We did agree on a price although to date no money has changed hands - I was quick to get the V5 updated!

 

As you can probably tell I'm pretty happy to have this car - obviously nostalgia plays a big part but she's also pretty tidy. She has a couple of tiny dents accumulated in car parks over the years that need fixing and needed a set of tires (the ones on the car had not been changed in the time he had it but still had a good amount of tread!).

 

Other than that she is standard and retains pretty much all the bits and pieces that normally go amiss over the years - tool kit and unused spare, first aid kit, all the original stickers etc.

 

I plan to sort the dents and refurb the wheels and a sort few other little bits then generally just keep her as is to enjoy - I have booked her in for a new SS exhaust as the original is on it's last legs - I have been told the new one "doesn't need to be as loud as the Golf!!"

 

Anyway that's enough of a trip down memory lane - here are the pics -

 

 

 

As she was on the day I collected her from my Dads - in the wet typically

 

 

Back home with my R

 

 

After a wash

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sure I'll have some more questions over the coming months and look forward to reading about others cars and maybe catching up with a few of you in the future.

 

Cheers

 

Tim

Edited March 15, 2017 by Acecross

[Cressa 44]

Looks great. Enjoy her

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[graham1971 10]

She looks in great condition! Have fun!

[seanl82 23]

Looks great! Are you still in Plymouth Tim? Be nice to add another to the local area if so!

[GazzaG6001 10]

Very nice Corrado, and great family history :-) i also have a white R but its a 3 door. Awesome motor

 

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[Acecross 10]

Looks great! Are you still in Plymouth Tim? Be nice to add another to the local area if so!

 

I'm living in Kent now Sean but I still own a business in Plymouth so I'm down regularly. Would be great to make a meet at some point!

[robrado974 1]

Lovely looking car . Red VR badges , that's unusual for an l reg .

[Acecross 10]

Lovely looking car . Red VR badges , that's unusual for an l reg .

 

They have always been that way to my knowledge - I assume they weren't changed prior. I know most have silver badges but my "Corrado" badging is white and the VR6 red, which works on a white car.

[Graphite 0]

Love the picture of the C and the Golf R together, you can definitely see the brand progression through the years. Good to see a car staying in a family, I'm sure you'll look after the car well.

 

Troy.

[Lamersjp 10]

Wow, nice car!!!

[mic_VR 3]

What a deal. And good on your Dad for having it this long.

 

Think I'd take the golf though! :lol:

[Acecross 10]

What a deal. And good on your Dad for having it this long.

 

Think I'd take the golf though! :lol:

 

I'm sure some funds will change hands at some point! The R is a lovely car but it doesn't have the character of an older car. I keep trying to change the volume on the steering wheel in the Corrado when I'm cruising along thinking it's the R which is testament to how well it drives. I'd love to drop the ride height a little but I think it should probably be left standard where possible, much as it pains me. The Mk2 I have is on KW V1s which would probably be my choice for the C.

[Tonyt123 10]

:thumbleft:

[Wendy 0]

She is looking in great condition.

Nice story of background. Did your Dad buy her new ?

 

Many of us have dropped the ride height, just 30mm makes a mass of difference.

 

Come along to some of the Shows. Stamford Hall and Harewood House are usually popular with Corrado's Attending and Showing.

[Acecross 10]

She is looking in great condition.

Nice story of background. Did your Dad buy her new ?

 

Many of us have dropped the ride height, just 30mm makes a mass of difference.

 

Come along to some of the Shows. Stamford Hall and Harewood House are usually popular with Corrado's Attending and Showing.

 

Dad bought her in early 1999 so he was the second owner. I've still got all the original sales docs and every receipt right down to nuts and bolts!

 

I'll definitely be attending a few shows, if only to see some of the other cars I've been reading about over the last few months.

[MarkR 11]

Welcome to Corrado ownership. Good to see another owner in Kent.

[delfinis38 1]

Rado looks tidy. Always amazed how white modern cars are these days.

[graham1971 10]

She is looking in great condition.

Nice story of background. Did your Dad buy her new ?

 

Many of us have dropped the ride height, just 30mm makes a mass of difference.

 

Come along to some of the Shows. Stamford Hall and Harewood House are usually popular with Corrado's Attending and Showing.

Are there any shows well attended by Corrado's that are a bit closer to Wales? I've never taken ours to a show.

[Wendy 0]

I don't know about shows in Wales or nearer. I think there are some Bristol way.

 

You could have a look on the Corrado Club website calendar.

 

Would be a good drive out mind to join the ones I mentioned.

 

I know there are more folk who might be able to point you in the right direction for more local shows though.

[SteveM 10]

Stanford Hall always a good show, been going to it since 1982, although in the last 4 years I've worked there as the company that I work for has a trade stand.

The trade stands are mainly of an air cooled VW nature but there's plenty to see with the club stands and concours. Worth the drive out...