Adventures with a Van Van/ Corrado inches closer towards being back on the road!

[Heidel_Kakao]

I still have this little thing and in fact it's currently my only vehicle on the road as I have been working on getting the Corrado ready for an MOT. I have done over 3000 miles since I got it and the only changes I have made are putting a "personal" plate on it which is just my initials and makes it look older as I think retro styled bikes look a bit odd with modern plates on, and a pair of chrome mirrors rather than the original plastic ones.

Also note lack of L plates as I recently passed my bike test and now have a full licence 😁 

[ruffgeezer]

Hey James, it's really good to see you back.  It feels a long time ago that the Corrado was ploughing it's way out of shitefest.  

 

[Floatylight]

Welcome back James! Good to hear from you.

[Rustybullethole]

Nice. These do look pick of the bunch when it comes to 125's and despite what people may say a 125 is capable of doing anything you may wish to do in it. People have travelled the world with many less cc's.

Sit up riding position plus comfy seat and luggage space makes it a tourer in my book. Clearly game for some off road too. What a machine.

Make you right on the personal plate, it's something I've thought about on my Himalayan as it looks far older than it's 18 plate would suggest.

Can be a blessing and a curse having a minter. Slather it in acf50 and enjoy it whenever you want I say. 

And welcome back. 

[BorniteIdentity]

I learnt on one of these and think they’re brilliantly cool. 

Happy (and safe) wobbling! 

[Heidel_Kakao]

I might as well add the Corrado to this thread. It also has a new reg this time with my late brother's initials as a tribute to him, he purchased the car way back in 2003 so it's been in the family for over two decades now.

I have painted it badly with a roller and Rustoleum, I had to replace the passenger side door and front wing and just got the cheapest I could find in the wrong colour, the original paint had lacquer peel so this is just temporary so it's all the same colour and I will do a better job at some point.

Earlier in the year I pulled the original engine as it had a horrible death rattle.

Today I pulled it's replacement, a 3.2 with 24 valves and 250bhp to replace the original 2.9 12 valver with a comparatively paltry 190bhp. I got the cheapest MOT'd MK1 TT with the VR6 and six speed manual I could find and drove it for a few months to make sure the engine was good.

It's now in the garage on a stand as I am going to do the timing chains before it goes into the rado, another benefit of the new engine is the fact it has an aircon compressor so I will be able to have ice cold air

The TT will also be donating it's front seats which will match the beige interior nicely.

I am aiming to get it back on the road this side of Christmas, reassembly should be fairly quick as I have a ton of new parts to go on and any parts that are going back on have already been painted or refurbished as needed.

It should drive as well as it ever has as I am replacing every single bush with either OEM or Polybush and also have a set of KONI shocks and springs to replace the cheap coilovers, can't wait to use it again to be honest.

[Heidel_Kakao]

On 30/09/2024 at 07:39, Rustybullethole said:

 Sit up riding position plus comfy seat and luggage space makes it a tourer in my book. Clearly game for some off road too. What a machine.

Totally agree, naked bikes are where it's at for comfort as my knees don't really agree with sports bikes. The only thing the Van Van isn't is a motorway machine but it's perfect for round town and A and B roads where you can make leisurely progress.

[Christine]

That's a hefty lump...! 

[Heidel_Kakao]

2 minutes ago, Christine said:

That's a hefty lump...! 

Yeah it is a bit of a chonker but it does demonstrate very well the whole point of the VR6 which was to manage to get a six cylinder to fit where a four banger would normally reside.

[Heidel_Kakao]

This week I have mostly been getting the engine ready to go in.

First up I changed the water pump, the old one appeared fine but 20 year old plastic impeller versus brand new metal impeller seemed like an obvious bit of preventative maintenance.

Engine stripped to the point where I can change the timing chains. No nasty surprises and all the guides are still in one piece.

The intermediate sprocket looks a bit worn, it might well be fine but for peace of mind I will be changing it.

Lower timing chain cover not too filthy but the upper is much worse so will have to break out the elbow grease and get them nice and clean.

[Heidel_Kakao]

I promised my mother that I would get the TT shell gone by Christmas..... It's due to be collected on Monday and I was slightly regretting not stripping it more when the weather was better. Using impeccable logic I decided it would be easier to get the last few bits of value from the bottom of the car by tipping it on its side instead of crawling around underneath in the dirt hence the above photos.

My mom's C30 T5  manual is above as well, she was always complaining about her Aygo being too small and she used one of those 12V seat warmers that plug into the fag lighter socket in winter. Being a helpful son I showed her a picture of a C30 and explained it has heated seats and air conditioning, I didn't tell her that it also has a 230bhp five cylinder turbocharged lump.

[Rustybullethole]

Nice work. 

Wish my mum would take any of my car advice and let me bust motors on her drive. 

[High Jetter]

Interesting, how's it going?

[Heidel_Kakao]

21 hours ago, Rustybullethole said:

Wish my mum would take any of my car advice and let me bust motors on her drive. 

Yeah she is pretty cool to be fair but when my dad got me my first car which was a 1983 Suzuki SJ410 he also bought me a second one for £25 (wish SJ's were still so cheap) as a parts car and I stripped that on the same driveway so I have been messing around with cars there for about 20 odd years.

18 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Interesting, how's it going?

Not too bad, Corrado progress has been delayed by a triple combo of bad weather, waiting for parts and a slight dip in mojo but buying the ZT has refilled the mojo meter so the rado should hopefully be back on the road in the next few months.

[stuboy]

On 21/12/2024 at 17:54, Heidel_Kakao said:

I didn't tell her that it also has a 230bhp five cylinder turbocharged lump.

has she found out yet>?

[Heidel_Kakao]

7 minutes ago, stuboy said:

has she found out yet>?

Nope not yet, she drives like you would expect a 70 year old woman to so is unlikely to anytime soon, she did say she likes how it handles the motorway.

It tells you right inside the door shut though so you know not my fault she doesn't realise lol.

[grogee]

@Cluffy - TiMiNg ChAiNs

[Cluffy]

On 05/10/2024 at 18:05, Heidel_Kakao said:

I might as well add the Corrado to this thread. It also has a new reg this time with my late brother's initials as a tribute to him, he purchased the car way back in 2003 so it's been in the family for over two decades now.

I have painted it badly with a roller and Rustoleum, I had to replace the passenger side door and front wing and just got the cheapest I could find in the wrong colour, the original paint had lacquer peel so this is just temporary so it's all the same colour and I will do a better job at some point.

Earlier in the year I pulled the original engine as it had a horrible death rattle.

Today I pulled it's replacement, a 3.2 with 24 valves and 250bhp to replace the original 2.9 12 valver with a comparatively paltry 190bhp. I got the cheapest MOT'd MK1 TT with the VR6 and six speed manual I could find and drove it for a few months to make sure the engine was good.

It's now in the garage on a stand as I am going to do the timing chains before it goes into the rado, another benefit of the new engine is the fact it has an aircon compressor so I will be able to have ice cold air

The TT will also be donating it's front seats which will match the beige interior nicely.

I am aiming to get it back on the road this side of Christmas, reassembly should be fairly quick as I have a ton of new parts to go on and any parts that are going back on have already been painted or refurbished as needed.

It should drive as well as it ever has as I am replacing every single bush with either OEM or Polybush and also have a set of KONI shocks and springs to replace the cheap coilovers, can't wait to use it again to be honest.

Fabulous things, are Corrados. I had mine for nearly 8 years and only just sold it as wanted to experience something new. I look forward to following you getting this back on the road. I did a complete engine rebuild/chains etc on mine with help from @grogee. Mega learning experience. Super rare, yours having aircon!