Volkswagen Corrado G60
Discussion
While it looks like the number of projects might be being forcibly reduced by moving house, the Corrado is hopefully one that's going to stay. Do PM me if you're interested in a Citroën AX though....
With that in mind, a couple of minor jobs this morning, notably changing the HT leads having discovered corrosion on one of them, and changing the wiper blades.
I'd previously fitted cheap ECP ones when I first got the car, just as part of the service. I figured that the Bosch distributor warranted posh HT leads though. A quick look at Matt Lewis racing later, and voila!
The old ones were by now quite inflexible and bent intoa permanent shape:
A little bit of swearing later, and bling bling!
Not quite finished the wiper blades yet, but I'm only changing the inserts, so nothing exciting.
I did spot that the power steering fluid level has dropped though, and I think that the crimped hoses from the factory have seen better days. Time to add that to the list then!
With that in mind, a couple of minor jobs this morning, notably changing the HT leads having discovered corrosion on one of them, and changing the wiper blades.
I'd previously fitted cheap ECP ones when I first got the car, just as part of the service. I figured that the Bosch distributor warranted posh HT leads though. A quick look at Matt Lewis racing later, and voila!
The old ones were by now quite inflexible and bent intoa permanent shape:
A little bit of swearing later, and bling bling!
Not quite finished the wiper blades yet, but I'm only changing the inserts, so nothing exciting.
I did spot that the power steering fluid level has dropped though, and I think that the crimped hoses from the factory have seen better days. Time to add that to the list then!
Went along to the Yorkshire meet up at Scalm Park near Selby on Sunday.
There were some splendid vehicles there, and it was a cracking drive along the B roads.
It served to highlight how much a) it's a hoot to drive and b) just how neglected is been in terms of tlc recently.
I was half an hour late as the rubber fuel line had perished which I was alerted to by the sharp smell of petrol in the cabin when I started it running.
I've replaced this one before, and I've no idea what possessed me to do it, but I used plain rubber hose, not reinforced fuel line.
The petrol has done for it and was dripping onto the exhaust manifold. Bad. Very bad.
This time I've used proper hose, although I've had to use jubilee clips as a temporary measure, as I didn't have the correct fuel line clips (now on order).
Hopefully, when the AX has gone, more time will be spent on the Corrado!
There were some splendid vehicles there, and it was a cracking drive along the B roads.
It served to highlight how much a) it's a hoot to drive and b) just how neglected is been in terms of tlc recently.
I was half an hour late as the rubber fuel line had perished which I was alerted to by the sharp smell of petrol in the cabin when I started it running.
I've replaced this one before, and I've no idea what possessed me to do it, but I used plain rubber hose, not reinforced fuel line.
The petrol has done for it and was dripping onto the exhaust manifold. Bad. Very bad.
This time I've used proper hose, although I've had to use jubilee clips as a temporary measure, as I didn't have the correct fuel line clips (now on order).
Hopefully, when the AX has gone, more time will be spent on the Corrado!
The AX has now gone, and while I didn't achieve much on the Corrado mechanically, I did spend some time making it look prettier 
I was mostly out to give it a wash...then the centre caps caught my eye...
Tatty... and the quick blow over a couple of years ago makes them look worse.
So out with the sandpaper, white spirit and spray paint that I'd picked out a couple of months ago.
Having done that, I confess I got a little carried away, and just a wash, turned into a polish and wax as well. Still, I won't have to wax it again for a while, and when I went to drive it this evening, it really made me smile!
Mechanical and electrical stuff next time!
I was mostly out to give it a wash...then the centre caps caught my eye...
Tatty... and the quick blow over a couple of years ago makes them look worse.
So out with the sandpaper, white spirit and spray paint that I'd picked out a couple of months ago.
Having done that, I confess I got a little carried away, and just a wash, turned into a polish and wax as well. Still, I won't have to wax it again for a while, and when I went to drive it this evening, it really made me smile!
Mechanical and electrical stuff next time!
MOT day today - I had 2 weeks left on the existing ticket and next week off in case it failed. It didn't let me down :
There wad an advisory last year that the OSR caliper was binding and between them and now, I'd managed to pick up a freshly refurbished set from a forum member.
Speaking to the MOT tester, it's that the lever arm on that caliper no longer moves when the handbrake is applied, so I'll just swap them over next week and refurbish this set.
I'll try and tackle a few niggling other things as well, but have work to do on the Morris and at least one motorbike too, so we'll see what happens!
There wad an advisory last year that the OSR caliper was binding and between them and now, I'd managed to pick up a freshly refurbished set from a forum member.
Speaking to the MOT tester, it's that the lever arm on that caliper no longer moves when the handbrake is applied, so I'll just swap them over next week and refurbish this set.
I'll try and tackle a few niggling other things as well, but have work to do on the Morris and at least one motorbike too, so we'll see what happens!
What happens when you take some time off to work on things with no Garag? The weather....
Between showers yesterday I managed to make a start though, having spent the morning picking up parts and consumables in the car.
That meant of course that the most sensible thing to do was to ignore the MOT fail and change the oil. Well the engine was warm and so it made sense to me
Having fitted the oil cooler, the oil filter that the database in most motor factors will match, doesn't fit. It has a welded nut on the end and doesn't clear the front cross member. A decent motor factors will be able to dig out the same filter without the welded nut on in a matter of moments... (Wix WL7070 for my own reference for next time).
I decided to replace the gearbox oil too while I was draining stuff. I've never done it since owning the car, and the shift doesn't feel brilliant. While this most likely means the linkages need greasing, I wanted to do the oil as a precaution. There's an excellent guide on the Corrado forum, which I won't replicate, but one 17mm hex and a braker bar later and I was in a position to refill.
Fluids successfully changed, I went cycling (well it is a week off). Brakes and other bits today.....
Between showers yesterday I managed to make a start though, having spent the morning picking up parts and consumables in the car.
That meant of course that the most sensible thing to do was to ignore the MOT fail and change the oil. Well the engine was warm and so it made sense to me
Having fitted the oil cooler, the oil filter that the database in most motor factors will match, doesn't fit. It has a welded nut on the end and doesn't clear the front cross member. A decent motor factors will be able to dig out the same filter without the welded nut on in a matter of moments... (Wix WL7070 for my own reference for next time).
I decided to replace the gearbox oil too while I was draining stuff. I've never done it since owning the car, and the shift doesn't feel brilliant. While this most likely means the linkages need greasing, I wanted to do the oil as a precaution. There's an excellent guide on the Corrado forum, which I won't replicate, but one 17mm hex and a braker bar later and I was in a position to refill.
Fluids successfully changed, I went cycling (well it is a week off). Brakes and other bits today.....
Edited by darkyoung1000 on Wednesday 29th May 07:54
Well that all took a lot longer than I had anticipated. Nothing is ever simple....
WARNING - CONTAINS INCOMPETENCE
It started well enough with the weather permitting me to unpack the replacement exhaust (the original is blowing slightly, and one of the hangers on the rear box has snapped leading to a temporary repair).
I also managed to swap the wheels front to back to put the more worn tyres on the rear.
The stainless one was twice the price of the mild one, and so I went with the mild. Although I told some steps to protect it from corrosion with a coating of VHT paint in certain places.
While that was drying, it was time to tackle the brakes. As I knew they might need replacing, I had got a set from a forum member a while back....
Slightly different to the ones on there, but the handbrake levers and carrier bolts were the same, best crack on then....
Heat gun for the hex bolts
Wind back the old ones to get them off, and put the new ones on...
Grease the slider pins and....we're done.
Wait a moment, the bleed nipple is in a different place on these. Blast, there's no way the existing hoses will fit.
Online research shows that there are indeed two different types of rear caliper for the G60, but my registration number only brings up the short hoses.
Double blast.
Out with the tape measure, right so I need 300+mm hoses with one male and one female end. Right, MK2 Golf front hoses fit, two of those please. Oh you have to order them? Tomorrow? Treble blast, still, that will have to do....
Not sure I like how tight the hose is, but it's not kinked, or stretched, so that will be OK.
On with the second caliper.
Hold on, the bleed nipple on this one is in a different place....wait a moment.... Oh balls, I'm an idiot.
The apertures on each caliper are identical dimensions and thread pitches, the nipple was just in the wrong place on the first one.
In my defence...? I was tired all week, and technically (and if this was a motorbike) the bleed nipple on my' improved design' was correct as it was at the highest point of the caliper. Hence my mistake. Honestly.
Nah, my bad. Doh!
Seems a shame to reuse the old hoses though, so now I need more hoses and while they're ordering stuff, I might as well replace the handbrake cable....
Calipers successfully connected, grease up the new cable and install.
Looks a little lower than the other side.... yup, the internal cable is longer and protrudes a lot further than the other one. Still, adjust it up and it grips the NS rear wheel ok. Time for the retest....
As I drove it across town, it was apparent that all was not well. The handbrake applied while driving made no discernable difference to speed, despite its ability to seemingly grip the wheel.
This was confirmed by the test, which showed that despite the new calipers and cable, the same issue was still there.
Apply logic, I can't cut the cable, so I just need to add spacers so the mechanism works...
Wait a moment... Oh great. Someone in repeated handbrake applications over the years has fatigued the section to which it is attached. It's pulling away from the floor pan....
Quadruple blast. That will need welding or bolting to fix it permanently. I always did think that it sat high and slightly lopsided, so I don't think this one is my fault.
However with spacers applied and fingers crossed, in for the retest.
Hurrah!
Good job all this took so much time that I didn't manage to fit the exhaust, as I need to drill through the floor plan to attach the handbrake mechanism!
Wish me luck (and a sharper brain) for next time....
WARNING - CONTAINS INCOMPETENCE
It started well enough with the weather permitting me to unpack the replacement exhaust (the original is blowing slightly, and one of the hangers on the rear box has snapped leading to a temporary repair).
I also managed to swap the wheels front to back to put the more worn tyres on the rear.
The stainless one was twice the price of the mild one, and so I went with the mild. Although I told some steps to protect it from corrosion with a coating of VHT paint in certain places.
While that was drying, it was time to tackle the brakes. As I knew they might need replacing, I had got a set from a forum member a while back....
Slightly different to the ones on there, but the handbrake levers and carrier bolts were the same, best crack on then....
Heat gun for the hex bolts
Wind back the old ones to get them off, and put the new ones on...
Grease the slider pins and....we're done.
Wait a moment, the bleed nipple is in a different place on these. Blast, there's no way the existing hoses will fit.
Online research shows that there are indeed two different types of rear caliper for the G60, but my registration number only brings up the short hoses.
Double blast.
Out with the tape measure, right so I need 300+mm hoses with one male and one female end. Right, MK2 Golf front hoses fit, two of those please. Oh you have to order them? Tomorrow? Treble blast, still, that will have to do....
Not sure I like how tight the hose is, but it's not kinked, or stretched, so that will be OK.
On with the second caliper.
Hold on, the bleed nipple on this one is in a different place....wait a moment.... Oh balls, I'm an idiot.
The apertures on each caliper are identical dimensions and thread pitches, the nipple was just in the wrong place on the first one.
In my defence...? I was tired all week, and technically (and if this was a motorbike) the bleed nipple on my' improved design' was correct as it was at the highest point of the caliper. Hence my mistake. Honestly.
Nah, my bad. Doh!
Seems a shame to reuse the old hoses though, so now I need more hoses and while they're ordering stuff, I might as well replace the handbrake cable....
Calipers successfully connected, grease up the new cable and install.
Looks a little lower than the other side.... yup, the internal cable is longer and protrudes a lot further than the other one. Still, adjust it up and it grips the NS rear wheel ok. Time for the retest....
As I drove it across town, it was apparent that all was not well. The handbrake applied while driving made no discernable difference to speed, despite its ability to seemingly grip the wheel.
This was confirmed by the test, which showed that despite the new calipers and cable, the same issue was still there.
Apply logic, I can't cut the cable, so I just need to add spacers so the mechanism works...
Wait a moment... Oh great. Someone in repeated handbrake applications over the years has fatigued the section to which it is attached. It's pulling away from the floor pan....
Quadruple blast. That will need welding or bolting to fix it permanently. I always did think that it sat high and slightly lopsided, so I don't think this one is my fault.
However with spacers applied and fingers crossed, in for the retest.
Hurrah!
Good job all this took so much time that I didn't manage to fit the exhaust, as I need to drill through the floor plan to attach the handbrake mechanism!
Wish me luck (and a sharper brain) for next time....
Thanks as always for the updates. I had to get the floor bracket welded on mine after abuse from some ape before my time. Why oh bloody why do people feel the need to heave the lever out through the sunroof just to set the brake? Drives me nuts.
I did the nuts as spacers trick on my old 16v Golf years ago. I was duly proud of myself.
Cheers
I did the nuts as spacers trick on my old 16v Golf years ago. I was duly proud of myself.
Cheers
It's been a busy time at work in the last month or so, and while there are jobs that need dealing with on this, the Morris and the bike, today was not the day for that. Instead I spent hours washing and polishing, which is most unlike me, but was an amazing mental restorative!
I even broke out a clay bar to tackle the paintwork, although the tree sap appears deeply ingrained!
I did tackle the vital jobs of tidying up the rear VW badge, and in polishing, the Corrado badge needed some attention too as the mountings weren't great.
Happy with the outcome though
I even broke out a clay bar to tackle the paintwork, although the tree sap appears deeply ingrained!
I did tackle the vital jobs of tidying up the rear VW badge, and in polishing, the Corrado badge needed some attention too as the mountings weren't great.
Happy with the outcome though
Edited by darkyoung1000 on Saturday 6th July 21:54
Looking good, such a great colour in the sunshine.
A number of 90s and 2000s cars seemed to suffer from stretched handbrake mechanisms or mounting points, as apposed to problems with cables or pads. My Rover 75 had deformed like a candle in the sun and members of the club were manufacturing upgraded arts - is it the same for the VW crowd?
Weather's looking good so no excuse for the exhaust fitting now...!
A number of 90s and 2000s cars seemed to suffer from stretched handbrake mechanisms or mounting points, as apposed to problems with cables or pads. My Rover 75 had deformed like a candle in the sun and members of the club were manufacturing upgraded arts - is it the same for the VW crowd?
Weather's looking good so no excuse for the exhaust fitting now...!
@Spinakerr, I can always find an excuse...
In this case, genuine, in that the Morris needs a spot of work before I can move the Corrado into the back yard to do the exhaust (as I don't fancy doing it on the street).
Also, the front brake calipers on the bike need attention, however, once that's done...!
Thanks for the compliments about the colour, the closer I get, the more scratches there are unfortunately.
There arent any upgraded handbrake mechanisms made by clubs that I'm aware of, the mostly focus on the trim stuff that is unobtainable anywhere else now.
In this case, genuine, in that the Morris needs a spot of work before I can move the Corrado into the back yard to do the exhaust (as I don't fancy doing it on the street).
Also, the front brake calipers on the bike need attention, however, once that's done...!
Thanks for the compliments about the colour, the closer I get, the more scratches there are unfortunately.
There arent any upgraded handbrake mechanisms made by clubs that I'm aware of, the mostly focus on the trim stuff that is unobtainable anywhere else now.
Remember doing all these jobs on my B3 passat
the new calipers you have are mk3 golf / B4 passat style with the internal spring, they tend to be slightly more reliable than the early type. By looking up the mk3 golf hose part number you should end up with the right hoses.
I had the same issue with handbrake cables- it seems that at some point they made the metal guide tubes shorter where the cables go through the floor pan, so the new cables end up being too long. but IIRC the part number is the same just with a different letter on the end so everyone assumes they will still work!
the new calipers you have are mk3 golf / B4 passat style with the internal spring, they tend to be slightly more reliable than the early type. By looking up the mk3 golf hose part number you should end up with the right hoses.
I had the same issue with handbrake cables- it seems that at some point they made the metal guide tubes shorter where the cables go through the floor pan, so the new cables end up being too long. but IIRC the part number is the same just with a different letter on the end so everyone assumes they will still work!
Finally I could procrastinate no longer, and set about doing the exhaust yesterday (on a Sunday, because you never need any additional parts of course....).
This is the original exhaust before I started, and I had my shiny new one all the way from Germany ready to go.
The old exhaust predictably enough put up a fight - both clamp bolts were seized solid, and I actually managed to break a 1/2" to 3/8" reducer before doing what I should have done in the first place, and breaking out the angle grinder....
A spot of hammering and twisting later, and both sections were off. Ah....
Can anyone else spot the problem here.... This photo was actually taken after I'd found the problem, hence the sharpie markings and the presence of the exhaust clamp in the photo. The supplier from Germany seems to have sent me the part for a G60 without a Catalytic converter (which also fits a 1.8 16v from the packaging. This was unfortunately some months ago, and I've already sprayed parts of it up with VHT paint to better protect it from the elements. No going back then, time yo get creative....
What I actually did yesterday was break out the calipers and measure the old and the new, to see what I could come up with.
Two options really - I could either cut a section out of the new exhaust and weld the flared section back on, or cut the end off and clamp it onto the existing section with the cat in it. I did contemplate removing the cat entirely (it legally doesn't need one as it just predates the change in law), but that seemed like a lot more work. Interesting to note that the new pipe is a larger diameter all the way back, presumably as it's designed for something without a cat
Given the fact that my welding isn't great; the welder was across town in a friend's garage and that the location of the weld would be subject to stress and likely to fatigue (especially given the quality of my welding), I went with the clamp option.
Measure, measure again, mark up, test fit, mark up some more and then prepare to cut a section out of £260 of new exhaust....
You wee beauty. A gap of only a few mm between the car section, and the new mid-section.
Before breaking out the exhaust paste and hanging it properly, it was time to see what I could do with the handbrake mechanism mounting. I originally had grand ideas of drilling through the floorplan into the exhaust tunnel so that I could prevent it from lifting again (see previous remarks about my welding skills). However, the bolt that holds the handbrake mechanism to the sheet metal mounting is captive - they must put it in then weld it in place. There's no easy way to drill an additional hole without disturbing the front bolt, so I'm afraid I settled for battering it back into place (the section size is a few mm) and hoping that I've not fatigued it too much. I suspect it will rise again, but for now I'll just go easy on the handbrake....
This newly reset handbrake (the first time it's ever been flat when down while in my ownership), meant I had to re-adjust the cables of course, before I could return to finish off the exhaust!
I reset a loose bit of heatshield over the mid-box and then put it all together:
I had to heat the rubbers a little bit as I was re-using the old ones (the new ones supplied with the exhaust were to hang it on a different mounting - presumably a Golf or Valver).
However, it's now all on (and yes, I know it looks a little skewed in the above photo - I did adjust it after taking that one, I couldn't live with it!), and it seems to have cured the paste OK. All clamps tightened a little further, and no obvious blowing from the system. I think my wife is taking it up to Newcastle tomorrow, so that will be a full test....
Oh yes, and while I had the rear wheels up off the ground, I checked my suspicion that the noise was the rear wheel bearings. It is....
That's been added to the list (and I picked up the bearings when I got the clamp) so I'll try and tack them next. Hopefully I've learned from when I did it on the Mk2 Golf many years ago, over-tightened them, and was overtaken by my own rear wheel about half a mile after setting off!
This is the original exhaust before I started, and I had my shiny new one all the way from Germany ready to go.
The old exhaust predictably enough put up a fight - both clamp bolts were seized solid, and I actually managed to break a 1/2" to 3/8" reducer before doing what I should have done in the first place, and breaking out the angle grinder....
A spot of hammering and twisting later, and both sections were off. Ah....
Can anyone else spot the problem here.... This photo was actually taken after I'd found the problem, hence the sharpie markings and the presence of the exhaust clamp in the photo. The supplier from Germany seems to have sent me the part for a G60 without a Catalytic converter (which also fits a 1.8 16v from the packaging. This was unfortunately some months ago, and I've already sprayed parts of it up with VHT paint to better protect it from the elements. No going back then, time yo get creative....
What I actually did yesterday was break out the calipers and measure the old and the new, to see what I could come up with.
Two options really - I could either cut a section out of the new exhaust and weld the flared section back on, or cut the end off and clamp it onto the existing section with the cat in it. I did contemplate removing the cat entirely (it legally doesn't need one as it just predates the change in law), but that seemed like a lot more work. Interesting to note that the new pipe is a larger diameter all the way back, presumably as it's designed for something without a cat
Given the fact that my welding isn't great; the welder was across town in a friend's garage and that the location of the weld would be subject to stress and likely to fatigue (especially given the quality of my welding), I went with the clamp option.
Measure, measure again, mark up, test fit, mark up some more and then prepare to cut a section out of £260 of new exhaust....
You wee beauty. A gap of only a few mm between the car section, and the new mid-section.
Before breaking out the exhaust paste and hanging it properly, it was time to see what I could do with the handbrake mechanism mounting. I originally had grand ideas of drilling through the floorplan into the exhaust tunnel so that I could prevent it from lifting again (see previous remarks about my welding skills). However, the bolt that holds the handbrake mechanism to the sheet metal mounting is captive - they must put it in then weld it in place. There's no easy way to drill an additional hole without disturbing the front bolt, so I'm afraid I settled for battering it back into place (the section size is a few mm) and hoping that I've not fatigued it too much. I suspect it will rise again, but for now I'll just go easy on the handbrake....
This newly reset handbrake (the first time it's ever been flat when down while in my ownership), meant I had to re-adjust the cables of course, before I could return to finish off the exhaust!
I reset a loose bit of heatshield over the mid-box and then put it all together:
I had to heat the rubbers a little bit as I was re-using the old ones (the new ones supplied with the exhaust were to hang it on a different mounting - presumably a Golf or Valver).
However, it's now all on (and yes, I know it looks a little skewed in the above photo - I did adjust it after taking that one, I couldn't live with it!), and it seems to have cured the paste OK. All clamps tightened a little further, and no obvious blowing from the system. I think my wife is taking it up to Newcastle tomorrow, so that will be a full test....
Oh yes, and while I had the rear wheels up off the ground, I checked my suspicion that the noise was the rear wheel bearings. It is....
That's been added to the list (and I picked up the bearings when I got the clamp) so I'll try and tack them next. Hopefully I've learned from when I did it on the Mk2 Golf many years ago, over-tightened them, and was overtaken by my own rear wheel about half a mile after setting off!
Hello Tom,
I came across this thread a few days ago and have been enjoying catching up with it. I can confirm that your mantra is, "installation, as they say, is the reverse of removal"
A couple of things that I'd like to ask. Firstly, what makes a G60 different to other Corrado models? Is it the supercharger and perhaps even rear wheel drive? Your thread appeals very much to the VW cognoscenti, despite being a very interesting 'project' inofitself, and my curiosity has hitherto remained unfulfilled.
Secondly, I was intrigued by the thermal imaging that you shared. You spotted that one of the cylinders seemed to be running hotter than the rest, but left it as an observation. However, a little later you discovered corrosion on one of the HT lead terminals (cheap items that you sourced from ECP at a bargain price and relaxed with high spec items). It occurred to me that perhaps this may have been the same cylinder that was running hotter than the rest?
Michael
I came across this thread a few days ago and have been enjoying catching up with it. I can confirm that your mantra is, "installation, as they say, is the reverse of removal"
A couple of things that I'd like to ask. Firstly, what makes a G60 different to other Corrado models? Is it the supercharger and perhaps even rear wheel drive? Your thread appeals very much to the VW cognoscenti, despite being a very interesting 'project' inofitself, and my curiosity has hitherto remained unfulfilled.
Secondly, I was intrigued by the thermal imaging that you shared. You spotted that one of the cylinders seemed to be running hotter than the rest, but left it as an observation. However, a little later you discovered corrosion on one of the HT lead terminals (cheap items that you sourced from ECP at a bargain price and relaxed with high spec items). It occurred to me that perhaps this may have been the same cylinder that was running hotter than the rest?
Michael
Edited by bolidemichael on Thursday 15th August 23:50
bolidemichael said:
Hello Tom,
I came across this thread a few days ago and have been enjoying catching up with it. I can confirm that your mantra is, "installation, as they say, is the reverse of removal"
A couple of things that I'd like to ask. Firstly, what makes a G60 different to other Corrado models? Is it the supercharger and perhaps even rear wheel drive? Your thread appeals very much to the VW cognoscenti, despite being a very interesting 'project' inofitself, and my curiosity has hitherto remained unfulfilled.
Secondly, I was intrigued by the thermal imaging that you shared. You spotted that one of the cylinders seemed to be running hotter than the rest, but left it as an observation. However, a little later you discovered corrosion on one of the HT lead terminals (cheap items that you sourced from ECP at a bargain price and relaxed with high spec items). It occurred to me that perhaps this may have been the same cylinder that was running hotter than the rest?
Michael
Evening Michael,I came across this thread a few days ago and have been enjoying catching up with it. I can confirm that your mantra is, "installation, as they say, is the reverse of removal"
A couple of things that I'd like to ask. Firstly, what makes a G60 different to other Corrado models? Is it the supercharger and perhaps even rear wheel drive? Your thread appeals very much to the VW cognoscenti, despite being a very interesting 'project' inofitself, and my curiosity has hitherto remained unfulfilled.
Secondly, I was intrigued by the thermal imaging that you shared. You spotted that one of the cylinders seemed to be running hotter than the rest, but left it as an observation. However, a little later you discovered corrosion on one of the HT lead terminals (cheap items that you sourced from ECP at a bargain price and relaxed with high spec items). It occurred to me that perhaps this may have been the same cylinder that was running hotter than the rest?
Michael
Edited by bolidemichael on Thursday 15th August 23:50
Apologies for the delayed response, before I knew it the weekend had arrived and rolled over me with the myriad of things I had on (none of them Corrado related unfortunately).
Thanks for your post - I hadn't noticed until you pointed it out, however, I'm sure that the FLIR image of the hotter plug, does tally with the HT lead that was more corroded than the others. As to its long term implications I can only speculate, but I'm hoping they're minor!
As to what makes the G60 different, the drive is perhaps regrettably still the front wheels, being based largely on a mixture of Mk2 Golf and Passat underpinnings. The main difference was in the power plant - where the 8v engine (again found in the Mk2 Golf) was given a scroll-type supercharger to boost the power from about 115bhp to 160bhp. This was a healthy dose more than the 16v Corrado/Mk2 Golf. The charger itself was designed in the early 20th century, but required more modern metallurgical advances to allow them to manufacture it! As the halo model of the early range, the charger was unfortunately marketed as requiring no maintenance, when actually they need regular servicing to inspect and replace the oil seals (and smaller pulleys will reduce the service interval). Subsequent failures really dented their reputation (which wasn't great to start with, being vastly more expensive than the Scirocco that it was sold along side of for the first 3 years).
The same engine was found in the Mk2 Golf and Passat, but I think it was only sold in LHD with a 4WD system. If you want completely bonkers, they also put a smaller output charger into the 1.3 Mk2 Polo (but didn't upgrade the brakes to match by all accounts)....
I like it because I like the principles of supercharging and the way the engine responds. I also love the looks, the relative rarity (it was a commercial failure that VW would rather forget), and the way it drives overall. There are faster, better handling cars out there for sure, but I'm smitten (or addicted).
Thanks,
Thom
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff