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JustinC
Corrado 2.9 VR6
Manufacture Date: 1993Owner: Tim from Netherlands, Overijssel
Colorcode: LK4Z (Bramble metallic was delivered from 1994 till 1995)
Information / Adjustments : Bought the Corrado from Riiichard, as my very first own car. I¡¦ve always liked the design of the Corrado, and it just had to be a VR6, because my mother drives a Golf Mk3 VR6, wich drives absolutely perfect. I stumbled across this beauty on a website. The owner sold it because it had a total engine failure. (Valve in the 6th cylinder snapped. Damage to the piston, and head. The cylinders were ok tough, so I still have the bottom half of that motor lying around in the garage. First thing I did was to search for an engine to put into this car. So I bought a ¡¦92 Mk3 VR6, with a good engine. (chain had been replaced.) Once finished, I used this car on a daily basis for over a year. After 6 months I stumbled across a Volkswagen Motorsport VSR intake manifold. For a VR6 engine with Coilpack! So without hesitating, I bought it. And loved it eversince. ƒº Then, after about 13 months of using the car, disaster struck. ƒ¼ A connecting rod bearing completely disintegrated. I was doing 100kp/h on a motorway at that point. Heard a feint knocking sound. Checked if it was rev. dependant. (it was). Figured I could make it to the next parking space (wich was only 200m away.) but about 5 seconds after that decision, the knocking started to become very loud al of sudden, and I turned the engine completely off. After being towed back home, I removed the oil pan. Just to find a lot of metal dust in the oil, and being able to move the connecting rod from cylinder 5 quite a lot in relation to the crankshaft. Then I went looking at the top of the engine. You can guess I suppose. Bits of bearing everywhere. Grooves in the camshafts and head. Basically, the 2nd engine that was totalled in this car. Had to look for a replacement engine quickly at that point. So I bought another ¡¦92 AAA engine for 200 euro¡¦s. Put that in. And apart from the oil smell, it actually ran great. I replaced the valve seals. And the oil consumption went down to about 1l per 3000km. (considering almost none of the valve seals made contact with the valves at all, the oil consumption was not too bad. ƒº the head was in perfect condition apart from the seals. No play on the valves at all! While using that engine, I kept looking for a replacement. This time, I told myself, I wanted an engine that hadn¡¦t been maintained by monkeys. I just wanted a good one! After looking for quite some time, I found one that looked pretty promising. A ¡¦96 Golf Mk3 Syncro engine. (ABV) with only 2000km driven km¡¦s according to the seller. The original car wrecked in ¡¦96, and the whole drivetrain was put into a project car. That project was never finished, and just stood in a garage for ~15 years. A bit sceptical, I went to take a look. It was a OBD2 VR6 alright (was built into a Golf 2 Rallye) The engine did sound a bit rought when fired up, but what¡¦d you excpect? After leaving it running for a short time, I knew that it wasn¡¦t sounding bad. So I removed a couple of spark plugs to check the cylinders themselves. Looking for honing scratches. Those were really very visible! So the engine couldn¡¦t have done many kilometres for sure. Bought that engine, and the first thing I did after getting it home, was to take the plastic cam cover off to take a look at the chain. Which also looked perfect. So, with me being as happy as I possibly could be, continued on my little project to convert a R32 gearbox to something I could use. (2wd conversion, and a tdi final ratio to get a nice long 6th gear.) When I got almost all parts together, I came across an advert of a company in east Germany, which converts stock 02A gearbox¡¦s to 6 speed. Seeing as I wouldn¡¦t have to build my own driveshafts etc, unlike when using a R32 gearbox. And with the R32 box being a bit heavier. I went for one of their gearbox¡¦s instead. Got the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th gear exactly the same as the original gearbox, and the 6th speed is a bit longer. (at 120kp/h is 400 revs lower than 5th speed.) When I got the gearbox and a new clutch. All I had to do was convert the OBD2 engine to OBD1 coilpack, so I could keep using my VSR, and then put the thing in there. Turns out that the conversion was really easy. (just the different cable harness on there, and the throttle body. All the sensors are the same. ) So now I¡¦ve got a Corrado which is from a technical view getting pretty close to perfect now. ƒº (even tough she¡¦s not the prettiest girl anymore. But I¡¦ll be fixing that too, hopefully. ) Appart from the engine, I¡¦ve done some upgrades to it. -I¡¦ve put in a Passat 35i facelift instrument board. Because it uses servo actuators for the needles (unlike the VDO one.) This one responds faster, and the fuel indicator jumps to the right level straight away when you start the car. (like any modern car does! ƒº ) The speedo goed from 0-260kp/h now. And works like a charm. I also modified the oil pressure/voltage indicator lighting and needles, to match the Passat instruments. -Powerflex bushings (purple) for the rear axle and the front wishbones. Really made a difference in handling. Without actually sacrificing comfort. I can only recommend these. -Chrome in-pro¡¦s. I tried original headlights. But it made the car look quite dull. The chrome in-pro¡¦s from a distance look pretty stock tough. Really fits the colour. -Kamei grille (to close the gap above the headlights.) -Stainles steel exhaust. (the tip of the exhaust looks great. Am looking for a more silent middle muffler tough. -Removed the fisheprice coilover set, and replaced it with yellow koni¡¦s and 30mm H&R springs. (know these are a bit harder than the Eibach version. But i¡¦ve also got flatter spring dishes in thr front, lowering it a little bit more. Giving the car a very nice stance, and good rideheight. (havn¡¦t had a problem with the new 90mm spoiler so far. ƒº I think this is a pretty perfect height for the car. (looks about the same height as a stock mk4 R32) -Evolution 7.5J ET35 rims with 215/40/17 tyres. (ContiSportContact2 at the front, Toyo proxes T1R at the rear. Will be buying Conti¡¦s again when these are worn out. Love ¡¥em. ƒº Thinking about switching to 16¡¨ 7J ET35 wheels tough. With 205/45/16 tyres. To get a bit more sidewall in the tyres, and, well, to go a little faster. But i¡¦d need to find some really pretty 16¡¨ rims before i¡¦m going to do that. -Put a brace between the front shock¡¦s to get a bit more stiffness in the chassis. Difference was really noticeable. Steering is much sharper now. Thinking of getting Powerflex bushings for the steering rack as well to improve this a bit more. -Had my car chipped with the new 2.9 engine. Went all the way up to 39 degrees pre ignition. ƒº Not sure what kind of power i¡¦ve got now. But for me its plenty. 1 thing is for sure, this engine isn¡¦t going to be messed with! -Installed a original detachable towing hook. (i know what everyone thinks, but this actually works pretty well. ;-) ) so now I can finally go on the move with our little sailing boat in the Corrado! -Installed a Cruise control from a ¡¦89 Corrado G60. (the only thing thats different is the lever left of the steering wheel. Obviously got a facelift interior one of those. ƒº ) works like a dream. Plans for the future: -this Saturday I¡¦ll be picking up a adjustable steering column (facelift) so finally i¡¦ll be able to get the steering wheel up to the right height. ƒº -Going to change the brake hoses for Stahlflex hoses (got the set already.) -get a set of Powerflex bushings for the steering rack. And other than that, just keep it in good condition. I don¡¦t mind my Corrado not being 100% original. As it is now, it¡¦s better. :D |
Wishlist :
-Getting the Airco working again. (was leaking, fixed that. still got to refil it.)
-Instal height adjustable steering collumn.
-find a 100% good airfilter box. (the one I have is slightly modified to give more noiese. don't really need that. ;)
-Get a middle muffler for the exhaust to quiet it down a bit more.
other than that, just try to keep is look good (enough). doen't have to be a showcar, but it should look alright.
Totalscore: 59, average:9.83
