Adventures with bikes & "regular" cars - The 3.2 is finally in the Corrado :)

[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!

[Heidel_Kakao]

Did someone say rats nest? After far too much procrastinating I finally got started back on the Corrado today. I have to be in the right mood to deal with wiring but I am today so I am untangling this mess, labeling everything and then when I am ready I will put a battery in and make sure all the original things I need to keep are still working as they should.

Once the legacy wiring is sorted I shall rewrap it in loom tape and then any new wiring I add as part of the engine swap I will wrap in a different colour to make any future potential trouble shooting simpler.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Doing a few jobs on my mother's C30 today to tick off a few advisories from the last MOT so new rear brakes and a pair of shock absorbers. It's actually the first time I have had to use a piston wind back tool!

I wish they stayed this shiny for longer.

[Heidel_Kakao]

We have signs of life 😁 Well I put a battery on it and it didn't immediately burst into flames so I am calling that a win.

[Imhotep]

If you need an extra pair of hands I am about with enough advance notice!

[Verysleepyboy]

Loved my Corrado VR6 (96 reg on a P plate) - keep thinking I'll have another one day

[bezzabsa]

good to see you back on here

did you ever fix the cedric after its nose job???

[Heidel_Kakao]

First off I am kinda embarrassed to have something this nice and that I could only afford to buy it due to having the insurance payout from Cedric 😕 So that out of the way say hello to my Kawasaki Z900RS in candytone blue my first ever big bike.

I absolutely adore this machine, it's easily the fastest vehicle I have ever owned and it sounds amazing when you give it the beans and has a lovely burble on the overrun. I have had fellow owners say to me that it's a lazy bike and I guess if you are used to 200 bhp super bikes or higher revving sports bikes you could have that opinion but going from an 11 bhp 125 to this with 110 bhp it feels wild.

I have put an older plate on it as I did with the Suzuki, again with my initials and 900 as a nod to its name (although it's actually 948cc) but apart from the genuine dealer fit rear grab bar, centre stand and radiator protective grille it's bone stock and I don't have any plans to modify it currently as I am happy with it the way it is. Many people swap the front sprocket from 15 tooth to 16 as they complain about it being too low geared and also they get the ECU remapped to help with the snatchy throttle and I might try those mods when it's time for chain replacement.

As it's now my main bike I can look at it while sitting on my sofa as the Van Van is in the kitchen and I even got a branded pit mat for it to sit on.

[scdan4]

That's absolutely lovely. 😍

(Take care with that jump up in go.)

[Matty]

Probs all the bike anyone ever needs

[Heidel_Kakao]

Bit more progress made on the Corrado today, I got the MK4 Golf heater box installed. It's quite similar to the MK3 unit but some of the mounting holes were different and I obviously had to cut a hole in the bulkhead for the Aircon evaporator and I used the support bracket as a template for that.

Hole cut and unit mounted 🙂

How it looks inside. I only have a few more jobs to do before I can think about putting the engine back in and that will be a big motivation boost and after that it's just refitting the interior and new suspension etc.

[Heidel_Kakao]

The 3.2 uses a drive by wire throttle pedal so I removed the mounting bracket from the TT before I scrapped it and then I fitted it to the car today.

It sits a bit higher than the brake pedal but it will do for now.

[Heidel_Kakao]

Installed the 12 valve flywheel today with new ARP bolts. I had been putting off fitting the new timing chains as it was a bit daunting considering the most complicated timing setup I have done previously was on a Ford Pinto. However I watched a couple of good YouTube videos detailing the process and following those it wasn't too bad.

Also fitted a new uprated clutch today, it's supposed to be good for 385lb/ft so a stock 3.2 will be fine. I have been doing everything "properly" and tourqeing all bolts to spec and marking them with a paint pen when done so I don't miss any.

Gearbox should be on tomorrow when my sister gives me a hand lifting it on.