Another Corrado saved...
Discussion
I've had a couple of Corrados in the past, the last of which was a 1993 K plate 16v in pearl green which my wife bought me as a 40th birthday present. It was very much a project....which I almost completed. With the interior immaculate and mechanicals A1 my attention turned to the bodywork. A respray beckoned then disaster....2 slipped discs in my neck meant i could no longer enter nor leave the car without attracting attention. She was sold, and I regretted that decision for everyone of the 13 years which followed.
So to the present, my dad and I were discussing our like for previously owned cars. His stand out was a 1966 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 manual. It was grey with beautiful red leather. And drop dead gorgeous...but a dog unfortunately. He bought it when he was 22. 4 tyres and an exhaust cost £450 in 1969. It had constant low oil pressure which ultimately led to its demise. Turns out it had been around the clock by the time he bought it ...... from Cardiff City Road's equivalent of Arthur Daley with apparent low mileage!
My long time favourite was, without hesitation, the Corrado. Now my dad is quite poorly with heart failure. He beckoned for me to move closer to him and whispered...so step mum couldn't hear.... "Go and buy one, there's £3k in a box in my wardrobe". I protested, but his insistence won the day. He's a wonderful person my dad.
My search began. For a VR6 auto, preferably blue, with leather, as original and as late as possible.
I tend only to use Autotrader, Pistonheads and Ebay when searching for a new car. Nothing doing in my price range though. Most examples were over priced or dogs or both. Let's try Gumtree I thought. Listed within the last hour was just what I was looking for and cheaper than my wildest dreams. I bought it on the spot and arranged to collect from Birmingham.
And here she is on the day it was purchased...
More pics to follow with an explanation of issues and work undertaken. Hope you enjoy.
So to the present, my dad and I were discussing our like for previously owned cars. His stand out was a 1966 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 manual. It was grey with beautiful red leather. And drop dead gorgeous...but a dog unfortunately. He bought it when he was 22. 4 tyres and an exhaust cost £450 in 1969. It had constant low oil pressure which ultimately led to its demise. Turns out it had been around the clock by the time he bought it ...... from Cardiff City Road's equivalent of Arthur Daley with apparent low mileage!
My long time favourite was, without hesitation, the Corrado. Now my dad is quite poorly with heart failure. He beckoned for me to move closer to him and whispered...so step mum couldn't hear.... "Go and buy one, there's £3k in a box in my wardrobe". I protested, but his insistence won the day. He's a wonderful person my dad.
My search began. For a VR6 auto, preferably blue, with leather, as original and as late as possible.
I tend only to use Autotrader, Pistonheads and Ebay when searching for a new car. Nothing doing in my price range though. Most examples were over priced or dogs or both. Let's try Gumtree I thought. Listed within the last hour was just what I was looking for and cheaper than my wildest dreams. I bought it on the spot and arranged to collect from Birmingham.
And here she is on the day it was purchased...
More pics to follow with an explanation of issues and work undertaken. Hope you enjoy.
Thanks for all the positive comments. My dad is a top dude. Incidentally, my step mum caught me returning the unspent 1500 Queen’s heads to my dad’s stash in his wardrobe. An awkward stand-off ensued but I managed to talk my way out of any strife.
The MOT history testifies to very little use over a number of years. The PO had probably not provided the car the care and attention needed to keep older cars such as this resplendent. But it was clear he had done what he could to maintain its originality which is a big tick for me. The only non original aspect was the Sony XR-M 500 ICE with boot mounted auto changer although he had kept the original Sony radio cassette and rear speakers which had been swapped out for some snazzy Alpines. The plan is to remove that non-standard ICE…and all its damn cabling. More of that later. Recently refurbished Speedlines and new tyres were a major positive, even if the wrong 195 width tyres had been fitted.
The PO was totally honest about the car's condition. There were rust scabs on the drivers door; passenger door had a crease; rear passenger wing had 2 mid-size dents; lots of minor scratches and dints (commensurate with age I'd argue); wing rubbers missing; sunroof tilts but slowly slides; ABS light erratic; both fog light lenses cracked; driver’s door card leather detached; headlining loose and other numerous blemishes and broken pieces of trim. Mechanically though I was assured she was in fine fettle. I'm quite handy with bodywork and interior but hate oily hands....So I was excited about taking this on. I paid the man and set off home (no test drive you’ll notice…too excited).
The drive back from Birmingham was uneventful. The engine sound intoxicating. I detected a lumpy idle when in standing traffic and the throttle cable was mightily stiff, probably through little use. I recalled the PO telling me a new ISV had been fitted which told me the lumpiness wasn’t a recent issue. But I averaged 38mpg which I was with delighted with. The temperature never rose above 90 . The stiff throttle was annoying but my driving style adapted. A few Italian tune ups cleared the cobwebs and she drove sweetly with no undue noises or rattles. In radio silence though as in my haste I hadn’t sought the PO’s advice about switching on the Sony head unit.
The car has been an immediate hit with the family. I was driving a silver, 1991, 16 valver when I met my wife. She drove that more than me once we got together. She adores them, as do my 3 kids. Makes justifying expenditure relatively straightforward with senior management on side.
Since getting her home…the car not the wife… I’ve worked on her more or less solid for 4 days and managed to make great progress. I bought 2 missing wing rubbing strips and fitted them, then found the original 2 strips in the boot! I treated the crusty bits with Kurust and repainted, polished out the scratches and blemishes, touched up what seemed like a zillion stone chips, rejuvenated the rubber trim and plastics, reattached the loose leather on the door card and fitted a gasket to the roof antenna. The driver side sill has been de-scabbed and a thick coat of stone chip added to protect the surface. This will be repainted when the weather breaks (if!!). I cleaned the interior and applied Autoglym leather balm to the seats and door cards which has returned suppleness to the leather. I'm thrilled with the condition of the seats. They are quite mint. Only the driver’s bolster showed slight wear but an application of leather dye has restored its appearance.
On the mechanical side of things, the lumpy idle was traced to a loose HT lead – nice easy fix that. I stuck my head in the engine bay and followed the sound of an an erratic tick....all the way to #2 cylinder.
The HT lead was hardly located on the spark plug. I’ve ordered a new throttle cable from VW Classic Parts via Heritage which I’ll entrust my friend to fix when he gives her a full service with the new filters, plugs and leads I’ve purchased. I’ve tracked down upper door card trims to replace the current damaged and missing items and have identified a headlining kit that is bang on OEM. All seems to be coming together nicely.
Over the weekend, I began the job of extracting the current head unit. I’m disassembling the console in which it is housed so I can plastic weld a couple of breaks. There's cables everywhere. I think there must have been a previous instal with its wiring lect in situ. It's all coming out! None of this compares to the ball breaker job I performed back in the day on my K plater. I had to replace a broken heater control panel. What a right royal pain in the ar$e. 10 plus years ago new heater controls were £200 when available from VW. Having done some research, I bought a brand new Toledo panel for £40 which fitted perfectly. But keft my fingers largely degloved.
I’ve taken a bucket load of pictures to catalogue the refurb which I’ll sort through and then upload. I hope you’re continuing to enjoy this journey. My motivation is getting her ready so I can take my dad out on a final road trip. I’ve asked him to list places he wants to go so I can draw up a schedule.
The MOT history testifies to very little use over a number of years. The PO had probably not provided the car the care and attention needed to keep older cars such as this resplendent. But it was clear he had done what he could to maintain its originality which is a big tick for me. The only non original aspect was the Sony XR-M 500 ICE with boot mounted auto changer although he had kept the original Sony radio cassette and rear speakers which had been swapped out for some snazzy Alpines. The plan is to remove that non-standard ICE…and all its damn cabling. More of that later. Recently refurbished Speedlines and new tyres were a major positive, even if the wrong 195 width tyres had been fitted.
The PO was totally honest about the car's condition. There were rust scabs on the drivers door; passenger door had a crease; rear passenger wing had 2 mid-size dents; lots of minor scratches and dints (commensurate with age I'd argue); wing rubbers missing; sunroof tilts but slowly slides; ABS light erratic; both fog light lenses cracked; driver’s door card leather detached; headlining loose and other numerous blemishes and broken pieces of trim. Mechanically though I was assured she was in fine fettle. I'm quite handy with bodywork and interior but hate oily hands....So I was excited about taking this on. I paid the man and set off home (no test drive you’ll notice…too excited).
The drive back from Birmingham was uneventful. The engine sound intoxicating. I detected a lumpy idle when in standing traffic and the throttle cable was mightily stiff, probably through little use. I recalled the PO telling me a new ISV had been fitted which told me the lumpiness wasn’t a recent issue. But I averaged 38mpg which I was with delighted with. The temperature never rose above 90 . The stiff throttle was annoying but my driving style adapted. A few Italian tune ups cleared the cobwebs and she drove sweetly with no undue noises or rattles. In radio silence though as in my haste I hadn’t sought the PO’s advice about switching on the Sony head unit.
The car has been an immediate hit with the family. I was driving a silver, 1991, 16 valver when I met my wife. She drove that more than me once we got together. She adores them, as do my 3 kids. Makes justifying expenditure relatively straightforward with senior management on side.
Since getting her home…the car not the wife… I’ve worked on her more or less solid for 4 days and managed to make great progress. I bought 2 missing wing rubbing strips and fitted them, then found the original 2 strips in the boot! I treated the crusty bits with Kurust and repainted, polished out the scratches and blemishes, touched up what seemed like a zillion stone chips, rejuvenated the rubber trim and plastics, reattached the loose leather on the door card and fitted a gasket to the roof antenna. The driver side sill has been de-scabbed and a thick coat of stone chip added to protect the surface. This will be repainted when the weather breaks (if!!). I cleaned the interior and applied Autoglym leather balm to the seats and door cards which has returned suppleness to the leather. I'm thrilled with the condition of the seats. They are quite mint. Only the driver’s bolster showed slight wear but an application of leather dye has restored its appearance.
On the mechanical side of things, the lumpy idle was traced to a loose HT lead – nice easy fix that. I stuck my head in the engine bay and followed the sound of an an erratic tick....all the way to #2 cylinder.
The HT lead was hardly located on the spark plug. I’ve ordered a new throttle cable from VW Classic Parts via Heritage which I’ll entrust my friend to fix when he gives her a full service with the new filters, plugs and leads I’ve purchased. I’ve tracked down upper door card trims to replace the current damaged and missing items and have identified a headlining kit that is bang on OEM. All seems to be coming together nicely.
Over the weekend, I began the job of extracting the current head unit. I’m disassembling the console in which it is housed so I can plastic weld a couple of breaks. There's cables everywhere. I think there must have been a previous instal with its wiring lect in situ. It's all coming out! None of this compares to the ball breaker job I performed back in the day on my K plater. I had to replace a broken heater control panel. What a right royal pain in the ar$e. 10 plus years ago new heater controls were £200 when available from VW. Having done some research, I bought a brand new Toledo panel for £40 which fitted perfectly. But keft my fingers largely degloved.
I’ve taken a bucket load of pictures to catalogue the refurb which I’ll sort through and then upload. I hope you’re continuing to enjoy this journey. My motivation is getting her ready so I can take my dad out on a final road trip. I’ve asked him to list places he wants to go so I can draw up a schedule.
Edited by MARLBOROLITES on Thursday 12th September 11:48
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