Volkswagen Corrado G60
Discussion
Tinkerton said:
. It was nearly enough to make me get an RSR or BBM outlet for it to make the job easier in the future!
The plastic silencer box is also known to crack and cause boost leaks. I've put an RSR outlet on mine but retained all the original parts just in case I ever swap back as It's the only obvious visual indication that my engine bay is non standard. 
After a round of car Tetris and with the temporary relocation of the Morris, there was finally room in the garage to get the Corrado in. As it's been off the road since August, this couldn't come soon enough, as I can finally get into the guts of the engine bay to finish off what I started (and start a lot more stuff).
Now I'm finally undercover, I can take the bumper off to give me better access to the difficult to get to heater hoses:
They're in here somewhere....
although it has to be said, that they might have actually built the contents of the engine bay around these two hoses.... I don't want to have to take the supercharger out, but I might have to.
If I ever get the hoses changed, then I will get round to sorting out the power steering arrangement (i.e. re-designing the way it goes through the front cross member) and sorting out the said cross member. This currently has more holes than a colander, and most of them aren't supposed to be there.....
Time to fire up the space heater and get stuck in!
Cheers,
Tom
Now I'm finally undercover, I can take the bumper off to give me better access to the difficult to get to heater hoses:
They're in here somewhere....
although it has to be said, that they might have actually built the contents of the engine bay around these two hoses.... I don't want to have to take the supercharger out, but I might have to.
If I ever get the hoses changed, then I will get round to sorting out the power steering arrangement (i.e. re-designing the way it goes through the front cross member) and sorting out the said cross member. This currently has more holes than a colander, and most of them aren't supposed to be there.....
Time to fire up the space heater and get stuck in!
Cheers,
Tom
Fell in love with these after going in one when I was about 14 and a friend had the g60, electric wing -how cool. Its my favorite VW to date, would have been cool if they'd syncro'd it.
Blackberry colour vr6 storm with ac would be one id hanker after but you cant beat a SC. Hats off to you OP !
Blackberry colour vr6 storm with ac would be one id hanker after but you cant beat a SC. Hats off to you OP !
PorkRind said:
Fell in love with these after going in one when I was about 14 and a friend had the g60, electric wing -how cool. Its my favorite VW to date, would have been cool if they'd syncro'd it.
Blackberry colour vr6 storm with ac would be one id hanker after but you cant beat a SC. Hats off to you OP !
Similar story here. Blackberry colour vr6 storm with ac would be one id hanker after but you cant beat a SC. Hats off to you OP !
I'm close to the ideal Corrado, I have a supercharger, air conditioning and a VR6, just spread over 2 Cars. The Syncro thing is interesting and I have toyed with the idea of chopping my VR6 up and making it AWD by sacrificing a Euro Mk3 Golf VR6 Syncro for all its running gear.
@tinkerton - I agreed, it's a daft design. The only reason for the power steering pipe to be routed through that section of the bulkhead is (as far as I can work out) for cooling purposes. I can see no other reason in terms of things it might interfere with, although a secondary reason might be to protect the metal pipe from damage.
That last reason is stretching the theory though, as it would be equally protected further back!
My plan is to cut out the rotten section of bulkhead and weld a new panel on (using scrap cut from the chassis of a 2CV....but that's another story). As part of this I'm going to replace the steel pipe that goes through the bulkhead with s copper one what will compensate for the lack of airflow by being able to shed the heat better.
Some very basic calculations show that 10mm ID copper pipe should take approximately 1100psi - if I drop to 8mm ID, then it will take 1400psi. Without knowing what the pressure rating or the internal diameters of the hoses and pipes are at present though, this is idle speculation!
Anyway, one job at a time - I managed to get the last of the old hoses off tonight with that best combination of mechanic tolls - mole grips and alcohol!
Went for a beer with a friend after work, then decided to get stuck in when I got home. The alcohol is an important factor in making you more relaxed about the sections of charger housing and engine mount that you're using as a pivot for the screwdriver to lever off the hoses! The mole grips are essential for holding open VW's original hose clamps and giving you both hands free for leverage! Made lots of notes so I don't forget what goes where too...
That doesn't stop access being a pain though... Had to take the oil cooler mountings out to get better wriggle room...
Glad I did though - look at the state of the old hose which appears to have been leaking.
Compared to this silicone delight which will go back on.
The most important lesson is that learned from the NC30 - don't be afraid of doing up the new hose clamps TIGHT!
Otherwise what seems tight will spit its coolant out while queuing in traffic as the pressure builds and the previously tested watertight connection starts to leave....but then leaves no trace once it's cooled!
Cheers,
Tom
That last reason is stretching the theory though, as it would be equally protected further back!
My plan is to cut out the rotten section of bulkhead and weld a new panel on (using scrap cut from the chassis of a 2CV....but that's another story). As part of this I'm going to replace the steel pipe that goes through the bulkhead with s copper one what will compensate for the lack of airflow by being able to shed the heat better.
Some very basic calculations show that 10mm ID copper pipe should take approximately 1100psi - if I drop to 8mm ID, then it will take 1400psi. Without knowing what the pressure rating or the internal diameters of the hoses and pipes are at present though, this is idle speculation!
Anyway, one job at a time - I managed to get the last of the old hoses off tonight with that best combination of mechanic tolls - mole grips and alcohol!
Went for a beer with a friend after work, then decided to get stuck in when I got home. The alcohol is an important factor in making you more relaxed about the sections of charger housing and engine mount that you're using as a pivot for the screwdriver to lever off the hoses! The mole grips are essential for holding open VW's original hose clamps and giving you both hands free for leverage! Made lots of notes so I don't forget what goes where too...
That doesn't stop access being a pain though... Had to take the oil cooler mountings out to get better wriggle room...
Glad I did though - look at the state of the old hose which appears to have been leaking.
Compared to this silicone delight which will go back on.
The most important lesson is that learned from the NC30 - don't be afraid of doing up the new hose clamps TIGHT!
Otherwise what seems tight will spit its coolant out while queuing in traffic as the pressure builds and the previously tested watertight connection starts to leave....but then leaves no trace once it's cooled!
Cheers,
Tom
Silicone a delight to put back on.... Not really if I'm honest. More like a total an utter pain in the backside. I thought getting them off was hard (it was), but putting them back on was no fun either.
A selection of tools was required (harsh language not shown)
Decent lighting is also important... This handy thing is actually from work, but is flawed as the lead acid battery no longer retains charge for more than about 1 minute. Not much use on track for an 8-hour shift, but less of a problem when you have a 240v supply to run it live. It was going to be disposed of, so I'm glad to make use of it!
2 hoses down, many more so go. However, before I get carried away, I think that I may do the other things that will benefit from the improved access (power steering, valance etc.). Just need some time to make it happen!
Cheers,
Tom
A selection of tools was required (harsh language not shown)
Decent lighting is also important... This handy thing is actually from work, but is flawed as the lead acid battery no longer retains charge for more than about 1 minute. Not much use on track for an 8-hour shift, but less of a problem when you have a 240v supply to run it live. It was going to be disposed of, so I'm glad to make use of it!
2 hoses down, many more so go. However, before I get carried away, I think that I may do the other things that will benefit from the improved access (power steering, valance etc.). Just need some time to make it happen!
Cheers,
Tom
Slow progress on the Corrado front, but progress nonetheless.
Having got the two most difficult hoses back on and secured, I wanted to turn my attention to sorting out the stripped bolt in the plastic housing, and a few other matters.
The bolt, ah yes, the bolt. 10mm head and spinning freely. I tried pliers, mole grips, pliers AND mole grips, a 10mm ratchet spanner with a punch pushing from the end, putting the punch on it and knocking it out of the hole. All of which failed. It was stripped enough to spin, but not so stripped you could punch it out.
I then did what I should have done in the first place, but was nervous of damaging the housing. I deployed a hacksaw between the slight gap in the two halves of the housing, and cut the blasted thing in half:
That revealed how it should all fit together, and the outlet for the supercharger:
The housing is two plastic halves attached to the end of the charger. The halves are held together by 4 no. 10mm headed bolts, which pass through sleeve inserts in the outermost parts, and into nuts, which were presumably put in as part of the injection moulding. If this clamping effect isn't enough, there's a rubber o-ring (which has seen better days in my case) between the two halves.
When one of the bolts fails to unscrew, and you have to take a hacksaw to it, the remnamts look like this:
You can then drill the remaining shank of the bolt out. It pays to be careful though, as you'll generate a lot of heat in the nut, and can melt the plastic surround slightly, causing the nut to then spin freely.... That will require some thought to fix.
Before I made this final error (and I'd been so careful up to that point to drill a little and then let the heat dissipate) , I took some time to tidy up minor wiring loom bits...while waiting for the heat to dissipate:
I also splashed a load of k-rust around the slightly crusty looking bits of the front cross member, let it work its magic, then slapped a coat of Hammerite straight to metal paint on it:
By this point, I'd also managed to remove the power steering cooling pipe that passes through the front valance, and measured it. It seems to be a 12mm internal diamter, 16mm external diameter steel tube. The wall thickness surprised me slightly, I have to say. Looking at the hoses, and doing a bit of reading online, I've concluded that this is subject to about 400psi max, rather than the high pressure output from the pump of over 1000psi. This should make sourcing a replacement piece of pipe or hose that little bit easier...
Once I get the bits for that (a trip to Pirtek or similar), I can then get the front valance welded up and start putting this part of it back together! Just need another day off.....
Having got the two most difficult hoses back on and secured, I wanted to turn my attention to sorting out the stripped bolt in the plastic housing, and a few other matters.
The bolt, ah yes, the bolt. 10mm head and spinning freely. I tried pliers, mole grips, pliers AND mole grips, a 10mm ratchet spanner with a punch pushing from the end, putting the punch on it and knocking it out of the hole. All of which failed. It was stripped enough to spin, but not so stripped you could punch it out.
I then did what I should have done in the first place, but was nervous of damaging the housing. I deployed a hacksaw between the slight gap in the two halves of the housing, and cut the blasted thing in half:
That revealed how it should all fit together, and the outlet for the supercharger:
The housing is two plastic halves attached to the end of the charger. The halves are held together by 4 no. 10mm headed bolts, which pass through sleeve inserts in the outermost parts, and into nuts, which were presumably put in as part of the injection moulding. If this clamping effect isn't enough, there's a rubber o-ring (which has seen better days in my case) between the two halves.
When one of the bolts fails to unscrew, and you have to take a hacksaw to it, the remnamts look like this:
You can then drill the remaining shank of the bolt out. It pays to be careful though, as you'll generate a lot of heat in the nut, and can melt the plastic surround slightly, causing the nut to then spin freely.... That will require some thought to fix.
Before I made this final error (and I'd been so careful up to that point to drill a little and then let the heat dissipate) , I took some time to tidy up minor wiring loom bits...while waiting for the heat to dissipate:
I also splashed a load of k-rust around the slightly crusty looking bits of the front cross member, let it work its magic, then slapped a coat of Hammerite straight to metal paint on it:
By this point, I'd also managed to remove the power steering cooling pipe that passes through the front valance, and measured it. It seems to be a 12mm internal diamter, 16mm external diameter steel tube. The wall thickness surprised me slightly, I have to say. Looking at the hoses, and doing a bit of reading online, I've concluded that this is subject to about 400psi max, rather than the high pressure output from the pump of over 1000psi. This should make sourcing a replacement piece of pipe or hose that little bit easier...
Once I get the bits for that (a trip to Pirtek or similar), I can then get the front valance welded up and start putting this part of it back together! Just need another day off.....
No days off, but a little progress this weekend nonetheless. Prompted by re-reading parts of this thread, I made the mistake of typing 'RSR G60' into a certain online auction site.
Well, I wasn't happy with the old silencer box, I've not stayed entirely OE as I've got an oil cooler, it will make taking the charger out easier in future....and it was shiny.
Not shiny enough though for a part that will never normally be seen of course (I just couldn't resist) and so it got a little Autosol. I don't normally do bling in an engine bay, I'll go a long way to avoid it normally....but hell:
Out came the old remains of the silencer box (I was nervous about shearing off this bolt in the charger, but it came out OK thankfully).
I'll keep this in the spares pile in case I want to return it to standard:
That's what the outlet of the charger looks like with no silencer:
For now, with a new stainless bolt, on it goes:
Mocked up (there's still more of the welding and the power steering to be done first):
I'd like to thank/blame the other contributors to the thread for making me aware of the bling
Well, I wasn't happy with the old silencer box, I've not stayed entirely OE as I've got an oil cooler, it will make taking the charger out easier in future....and it was shiny.
Not shiny enough though for a part that will never normally be seen of course (I just couldn't resist) and so it got a little Autosol. I don't normally do bling in an engine bay, I'll go a long way to avoid it normally....but hell:
Out came the old remains of the silencer box (I was nervous about shearing off this bolt in the charger, but it came out OK thankfully).
I'll keep this in the spares pile in case I want to return it to standard:
That's what the outlet of the charger looks like with no silencer:
For now, with a new stainless bolt, on it goes:
Mocked up (there's still more of the welding and the power steering to be done first):
I'd like to thank/blame the other contributors to the thread for making me aware of the bling
Excellent stuff, sounds like getting it was a positive thing then, glad to be able to justify it to myself still further!
It cost me £100 including postage which on the surface seems steep for a machined piece of alloy and some silicone hose. As with all of these things though, it's actually cheap once you factor in the design costs, the pretty specialist nature of what the thing actually is etc....
I was idly contemplating the advantages of tapering the square section that the air must flow over as it leaves the charger in order to offer a more streamlined profile. I'm not sure I want to invest that much time and effort though!
It cost me £100 including postage which on the surface seems steep for a machined piece of alloy and some silicone hose. As with all of these things though, it's actually cheap once you factor in the design costs, the pretty specialist nature of what the thing actually is etc....
I was idly contemplating the advantages of tapering the square section that the air must flow over as it leaves the charger in order to offer a more streamlined profile. I'm not sure I want to invest that much time and effort though!
ManOpener said:
And if you get bored of the original G-Lader and the increasing rebuild frequency as you go down pulley sizes, you could always drop in one of the BBM Lysholm chargers
I've seen other people take that route and fair play to them, but it's not for me. I've contemplated the smaller pulley, but I'm likely to keep it as standard for now at least. It will certainly always have a G-Lader - in my mind, that makes our what it is!There's not much point in throwing too much money at it in order to chase acceleration and speed. It will never be able to compete with that of 2 wheels no matter how much I spend....
Sympathetic mods to make it a more enjoyable drive is the way forward.
Cheers,
Tom
Spent most of today helping a mate with a 2CV engine rebuild, but did make a little bit of progress on the Corrado earlier.
With better access to the front valance, the grinder came out to remove the rusty bits.
Leaving an empty space:
The same mate's old 2CV chassis generously donated the metal for the replacement:
Which with some help from a vice was cut and bent into shape:
Next stop, welding and more cutting...
With better access to the front valance, the grinder came out to remove the rusty bits.
Leaving an empty space:
The same mate's old 2CV chassis generously donated the metal for the replacement:
Which with some help from a vice was cut and bent into shape:
Next stop, welding and more cutting...
darkyoung1000 said:
I've seen other people take that route and fair play to them, but it's not for me.
Sympathetic mods to make it a more enjoyable drive is the way forward.
Cheers,
Tom
Completely agree on both points, yes a BBM charger makes an obscene noise and certainly draws attention and given that g60 chargers have never really been plentiful it made sense for some people to swap but I'd never ditch a working G60 for one. Sympathetic mods to make it a more enjoyable drive is the way forward.
Cheers,
Tom
In my experience G60s can be perfectly reliable as a standard engine (based on 30 years an 84k standard 4k modified), with bolt on modifications like exhaust/intake/ECU chip and around 200hp no problems (I hope I haven't just jinxed mine)
Then as you push beyond 200hp the costswill escalate in order to maintain the reliability. Ideally a forged/low compression 1.9 block with a ported/polished head multi angle valves, >280* cam profiles & stage 4 charger should push 250+.
That said, I would love to have a go in a 16vG60 with around 300hp, that's the holy grail for me.
- CAVEAT*
However, I can bodge together non-structural stuff to replace rusty parts. With that being the case, I made a little more progress today.
Behold the bodge....
A little bit of grinding later though, it was...still as bad, but with shiny bits:
However, as it's purpose is to direct airflow into the radiator and align (but not support) the front chin spoiler, I can live without a seamless perfect weld.
Just as well really.
It passed the 'wiggle it about vigorously' test and all of the surrounding metal moves as well. That's enough for me to apply the Hammerite.
Everything looks better when hidden under a coat of Hammerite!
In all seriousness though, it will now fulfill its intended purpose, and is protected against the elements. Next step will be starting to bolt bits back together and getting the power steering diverted...
Spinakerr said:
Great progress, removing the cornflakes from your car is always satisfying! Hope the G60 will be back on the road shortly.
Any waxoil to cover over that hammerite or is space as a premium/hot rad pipes going to cause melti-smellness?
Mostly going with the Hammerite if I'm honest, I'm saving the Waxoyl for the underside....Any waxoil to cover over that hammerite or is space as a premium/hot rad pipes going to cause melti-smellness?
Made a little more progress and some decisions as to what to do with the power steering. It turns out that my working hours are incompatible with those of Pirtek.... Without taking a day off (which is tricky as we're busy at work at present) to do it, and also thinking that the existing hoses might make the re-routing tricky, I took a closer look and the metal pipe that should be protruding from the front of the valance, to see if we could work something out...
Taking a closer look, it turned out that the corrosion on the pipe wasn't as bad as I first thought, it was made to look worse by the surrounding valance and the bits of that which were still attached to the fastening arrangements on the pipe. This being the case, I abandoned the plan to divert the power steering, and set about measuring and drilling holes in the nice new bit of steelwork that I'd just welded in.
That should be a large enough drill bit.....
A few hours later, it was in - not fouling the front crossmember either! For an extra bonus, it also lined up with the power steering hoses. I also took the opportunity to sort out the broken attachment for the nearside front brake cooling duct.
Once in, a coat of....you guessed it, Hammerite on the newly drilled holes and the deed was done:
Now that is in, I can get the remainder of the cooling system plumbed in, and the both filled and bled. It really feels like a little bit of progress was made (although there are brake lines and a number of other things to do as well....)
Oh, and I touched up the fan surround too, just as well, you know, I was there.
More work stuff this week, and the small matter of my professional review that has been taking up the majority of my time over the last 6 months. Once that's out the way, the more more important matter of getting the Corrado back on the road can happen.
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