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Jan 14, 2017 17:34:59 GMT
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In and enjoying the thread. Back when these were new I worked at an Alfa specialist. I was only 19 and got to hoon round in a 156 with this engine for several months. Loved it, great noise for a diesel. Probably what got me hooked on turbos too. We also regularly had a 3.0 v6 with the pearlescent paint that came in and had to be driven 20 miles to an Alfa dealer for work. I always made sure I got that job. Was a mixture of twisty roads and dual carriageways.. Loved it. Yours would've been pretty expensive when new, that body kit alone was a fair bit of I remember correctly. Actually.. The 166 I remember might even have been the 3.2 - either way. Was awesome fun. Does it really have some kind of body kit on? I know it has the foam front e-bay "splitter", which used to be blue, but that's it to be honest. I do know it has quite a few extras, like electrically folding mirrors, 6-cd changer, navigation, built-in phone, factory alarm, wooden steering wheel, wooden knob (also a wooden surround for the stereo and such, which has been painted), heated electric memory seats, rear curtain, rain sensor, and probably a lot more. But, no idea to be exact. But I also really like the sound of diesel engines, but not all of them. I guess it's due to the fact we have had at least one 5-pot diesel in the family since '97, in the form of a T4 Transporter. Now also a 5-pot T5 Multivan and a bit ago my parents also had a V10 Touareg. So, diesels have been in my life for a long time. But I only enjoy the sound of a proper 5-pot diesel. Anything under 5 cylinders are a bit harsh on the ears, compared to the smooth-running of the 5-pot and upwards. I'd actually would like to know, how much was the list-price of my car, when it was new. But the only brochures I've found are for the UK versions, but the UK didn't get the 5-pot, so it's a bit of a faff, but nothing major, all out of curiosity.
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Well, replaced most of the parts. So, new cambelt, new water pump, new aux belt, new air/oil/cabin/fuel filters, new oil, new sump plug, new lower wish bones and new inner boots for the driveshafts. At this time I'm grateful that I studied to be a mechanic, made everything a lot easier. Also, fixed some wires going into the bootlid, new case for the key and gave the car a good wash, including tar removal, engine bay wash and also, a good clean of the interior, coupled with a leather conditioning. And the results are here. And for show, some evidence of the bigger electrical extras working. The electric seats+memory works also, mirrors and whatnot. So, as said before, this car reminds you of the legendary "reliability" of the Alfa-Romeo, by being actually reliable..
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Well, got myself some parts. Now I just need to attach them myself. Although I work in a dealership, which deals with Opel/Kia/Saab/Cadillac/Corvettes, not a single person is interested in fixing up my Alfa. So, onwards and upwards.
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Well, that was short-lived. Sold the Omega on the 30-th of December. Which is a shame, but that could only mean one thing...
PARTS!
So I went shopping on the Internet, racked up a bill of 733€ and I'm now waiting. All that just to get the Alfa through a new MOT. Maybe. Might also need an extra 500, but that's not certain at the moment.
Well, found a result for the moment. There's a different seller of the key fobs who actually posts to Estonia, so that's a result. And with the logo included. it's a bit on the expensive side, but who cares, I need a working key..
So, that was a short-lived cry for help. Hopefully there won't be any issues with this seller.
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Last Edit: Jan 2, 2017 8:41:24 GMT by Tuunikala
History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Dec 25, 2016 11:15:03 GMT
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Well, it's been a long time without any updates. So first of all, Happy Holidays to everyone! At the moment the Alfa has been on the back burner, used for long-distance driving. At the moment I've been trying to save funds to finally start repairing the car. But, that will take time, due to another addition to my fleet. Which was by accident, I shall add. Anyway, I bought a cheap '98 Golf MkIV 1.9 SDI. Just as a quick flip. Images of it at the beginning. I should add, it's a bit of graphical content, it was used daily by a young family with a small baby.. Well, yeah.. Anyway, after two days of cleaning and sorting some bits out, the car turned out like this: But, since I already have a diesel as a daily and the Golf isn't something to be proud of, I listed it up for sale or trade. At that moment, I was about 440€ outof pocket. That includes the purchase price and everything. But not registration to my name, I had a deal with the previous owner. Anyway, I listed the car for sale, for 850€. Since the car had MOT and insurance, it was the cheapest MkIV for sale, which was ready to drive. So, waited a bit and after a few days, I was offered a Opel Omega, as trade. Thought for a while, and after getting some confirmation from a fellow Opel dealer, pulled the trigger and I was a proud owner of an 1998 Opel Omega 2.5 V6 CD. First I'll add a picture of the state of the car when I got it. Afterwards I'll add some pictures I took, since the car is listed for sale. So, it looked like this. After I washed it, of course After that I got some roof bars: And removed the LED-s. But here are the pictures I took for the sales advert: Anyway, some basic information and specs of the car. As mentioned before, it's a '98 Omega. 2.5 V6, manual, CD spec. It was imported from Germany in '06, and it was bought by an elderly gentleman. Who drove it until '13-'15 (not sure about the exact year, some of the invoices from '15 are still addressed to the old chap), when he unfortunately passed avay. When the car was in his hands, it only saw the Opel main dealers' workshop and only original parts were used. Anyway, the chap passed away and his son inherited the car. But since times are different, the car didn't see much use. So, he sold it to the next person. The next guy was, and still is, working in a Lexus dealership. So the Omega saw a caring owner, who washed and polished the car. It also passed it's MOT fairly easily. He also fitted a leather interior and a LSD differential. A new windscreen as well. And he traded it for a '99 Volvo V70 diesel. The guy who traded the Volvo for the Omega, drove it for a few days, then the insurance was ended and since he was cheap and didn't want to register the car to his name, he traded it for my Golf. So, here's the story of the car. It's basically full spec, just a few things missing. Hopefully I didn't overload the thread with pictures..
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Oct 27, 2016 10:00:48 GMT
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So, long time without an update. But that doesn't mean that the car has problems. Although, one time I had a problem with the battery. But that was fixed after the terminals were cleaned up. after that the battery gave out the power needed and the car started even better than before. But, I still have some problems I need to sort out. First of all, the service. A cambelt change is probably long overdue. also, there are two fault lights, that are on at the moment. There were three, but after installing and replacing some bulbs, the bulb warning light is now gone. The lights that are on, are the airbag warning and the preheating light. The airbag light is probably caused by a connector near the steering wheel, because after I was feeling around for the steering wheel adjuster, the light came on. But the preheating light is a different story. At first the fault was traced back to a faulty glow plug relay. And that was changed. But the light is on still. So, another problem is glow plug no. 1. Was going to replace just the faulty one, but after consulting with my dad, I ordered all five and am going to change them today. And after that is done. i just need to fix the oil leaks, driveshafts, do a cambelt change, replace front lower wishbones, replace all the bushing on the rear axle etc etc..
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Sept 19, 2016 8:02:59 GMT
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Well, at the moment I'm only having problems with a slipping aux. belt, going to check everything over after a cam belt change. But, yesterday gave the Alfa a nice deep clean. Tar removal, wax, cleaned the door jambs, the seats, fitted some original used floor mats. Also gave my other car a quick pressure wash. Funny to think that both of these cars were made in fairly small numbers, both give a warm, fuzzy feeling while driving them. Both of them are largely unknown to the public, both of them have cheap parts to service them, but no aftermarket body panels. The similarities go on and on. And to think I want to own cars which are money pits and I want to sink money in them..
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Sept 11, 2016 21:26:19 GMT
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Well, planned on doing some work on the car but that backfired. Anyway, turns out there is no wiring for the cruise control I wanted to fit. Bit of a bummer but will look into doing the retrofit. But so far I've done 1000 miles in two weeks and can't really complain, since I'm on my second tank of fuel and still going strong with that. And there is nothing that bugs me with this car, other than the faults. Really comfortable on long drives and it just wants you to drive it. And that's why it's hard to keep the speed under the speed limit. Even SWMBO has difficulties, doing 120 in a 90 zone, but that's due to the sixth gear, revs are so low that you can't assume it by ear.
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Sept 7, 2016 10:43:59 GMT
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Yea, it's the 10 valve engine, factory 103kW. But although they're rare, that doesn't mean that the parts are expensive. For example, and original used headlight with the electric motor set me back 7,50€. So, yeah, not bad at all. And they're rare here as well. But, about the mods I'm planning to do. Since the rear suspension needs work, I'm probably going to upgrade to Powerflex in the rear. Also I might be after a set of coilovers to further stiffen the suspension. Might looks into a sports exhaust. A respray will be in my mind as well. And when everything is done, going to get either some 18" or 19" wheels, maybe a set of BBS RS replicas. If someone could photoshop them on, that would be great. Also, any other wheel or mod ideas would be great. They don't seem to have room for a bigger cooler, so that would be a no. But if there's anything I could do to increase power and cornering and overall make the car into a more sporty luxury sedan, then feel free to suggest some ideas and whatnot. Also, since the car is going to be a daily, I'm looking into a set of roof racks, maybe even a ski box or snowboard holder to do some winter sports as well, so if anyone has a used but good set for one of these and is willing to deal with a eastern European, that would be great. Would also love to get a new key fob for it, but the only ebay dealer selling them won't ship to Estonia, so, yeah, bit of a bummer.
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Sept 6, 2016 12:14:12 GMT
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Thanks for the nice comments. and I was in doubt if the car suits this forum or not.. The seats are really, really nice. With the optional lumbar air cushion in the seat, it makes even longer trips not tiring at all. Not to mention the rear seats, where you'e in the lap of luxury. Also, non-traditionally for an Italian car, you have lots of rear legroom and also headroom. which means even taller chaps can sit in the back, enjoy the trip and even catch some sleep. The engine is really nice. For some reason I really like 5-cylinder diesels. They sound more refined compared to the 4-cylinder diesels. This specific one seems to have a bigger turbo, because when I went to the local wreckers and got myself a replacement turbo air inlet pipe, it didn't fit the turbo I have. It's a Garret turbo, with the cold air intake port size, if that's the correct name for it, of 52 millimeters. But then again, for some reason the older model engine cover didn't fit my 01 engine, so it might even be that the newer 103kW ones are a bit different than the 100kW counterparts. If anyone is thinking about buying a 166, I strongly recommend getting one. There is a lot of bang for your buck, not to mention the added comfort and whatnot. Also, need to refuel soon, at the moment I've done 840km on one tank according to the on-board computer, but to be sure I'm going with the calculated route, to see how much the computer is off. But still, since about 35-40% of that is in city traffic, I can't really complain.
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Sept 5, 2016 12:38:55 GMT
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I guess it isn't as retro as the other cars, but since there weren't many sold and most of them are either crushed into coke cans or turned into a new Prius, makes it in my eyes a future classic, so why not consider it weird and "retro". For some time I was in need of a diesel daily driver. So I searched far and wide, but nothing special came up in my price range. i even looked in different countries, to see if something comes up. But again, nothing special. So, another day came and I was looking at different cars. And this popped up. Never had I been in an Alfa, never have I thought about buying one. But when I looked past the off-putting sales advert, there was something in me that wanted to give the seller a ring. On that evening I went over and it was basically love at first sight. The car ran great, there were some niggling small faults, also the rear electric windows don't work and whatnot. But still, a deal was made and I was a proud owner of an Alfa. Here are some pictures of the car: So, I'm dealing with a 166 powered by a 2.4 10v Fiat turbo diesel. It has a 6-speed manual gearbox and many extras. The car isn't stock power wise. according to my butt-dyno, there should be around 130-140kW, which compared to the stock 103 is a bit more. It pulls like a train and corners like a dream, hence the DSS in the subject. There is some work that needs to be done, for example the inner cv-joints need replacing, most of the rear suspension needs to be looked after, there are some oil leaks and also, the cam belt and water pump should be changed. Anyway, let me know if the car suits this forum or not. Since the Alfa Owners forum didn't suit me and because I'm not a die-hard Alfa-male, I thought I'd rather share the car in a community, which, like me, appreciates all kinds of different cars which come in all shapes and sizes.
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Last Edit: Jan 2, 2017 8:39:45 GMT by Tuunikala
History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Aug 18, 2016 10:52:14 GMT
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Jun 12, 2016 18:00:00 GMT
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Well, there were three of us dismantling it, so that made a difference.. But yeah, I'll swap the VR6 from the Vento into the Corrado. Although it's a 2.8, I took it to the dyno last year and it pulled 145kW from the engine, at 389k kilometers. It's an ex-police car, so they must have done something to it. But nobody knows. At some point I'll refurbish the engine completely, then I'll have a better understanding of things. Hopefully.. And if needed, I could get some nice aftermarket camshafts for it. But, is anyone in the UK aware of a nice, leather interior for a Corrado? Would really like a full cream interior, with dash and everything, but how rare is it over there?
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Jun 12, 2016 17:18:52 GMT
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Welp, haven't written for a long time, so I'll continue the story where it left off. Anyway, the car was at my parents house. But, since I had difficulties being there to work on the car, I arranged for some transport and got the car to my school, where during some lessons, I could work on my car. Anyway, after I got my head back from the machine shop, I fitted it to the car. And then I fitted some other bits and bobs. After that I got myself a complete Climatronic system from a Passat B4, but at first I thought i'll fit it to my Vento. So, fast forward a bit. Since I had to do some apprenticeship, I went away from the Corrado. Drove my daily. Purchased some Audi TT wheels for it and drove it. Until.. The car was written off. Insurance offered me 1000 for the car, or 700 and I could keep the car. And because I have the Corrado, I opted for the 700, drove the daily to my other garage, also got some transport and had the Corrado towed there as well, and started work. This started going down in the beginning on June, so we're pretty up to date now. Anyways, some pictures. This was taken during the second hour of dismantling. And this was taken on the third: So, the plan is to swap everything I can use from the Vento to the Corrado. The axles, engine, exhaust etc. Also, to fit the Climatronic. During all that, I'll also look into cleaning the Corrado, maybe adding some sound deadening etc. But, we'll see. Anyway, on with the pictures. To fit the front subframe easier, we decided to remove the engine from it, resulting with this: And that was it for that day. We started at about one and ended at about 4 in the morning.. Then, on one day i removed the rear axle from the Corrado, and sold it. And on one day, me and my dad started with this: So, I made the coilovers usable again: This was needed in order to fit the Vento rear axle with new bushes. And we succeeded. Then we carried on with some work under the car: And here's the last picture of it. At the moment the interior is half-stripped. All 4 coilovers are on. Need to remove the engine bay wiring from the corrado, to see what I need from the Vento one, what I need with the climatronic wiring and also, what I need from the Corrado wiring. Also, decided to smarten up the wiring. Need some cloth tape to wrap everything in it. Because I'm sick with the wiring on the older VW-s, especially behind the fuse box. It's a right mess. So, need to make it better. Also planning to fit dual electric fans, a car phone I have lying around and some other bits and bobs. Will update when I've done an engine swap on a Polo..
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Actually, winter tires were 160€ for a set of four, including shipping. The size is 205/40/17, so I wouldn't say that they are expensive. Also, I have planned a full respray and restoration, to be honest. Going back to bare metal inside and outside, to be sure there is no rust anywhere. Also, I might even fit either a Syncro or a 4-Motion setup to it, so we'll see what's going to happen. But bare metal is the key.
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Last Edit: Mar 9, 2016 16:10:29 GMT by Tuunikala
History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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And now, time for Part II - Doing Something! After getting it home, it was time to start digging in, to see what I was dealing with. And so, found out. It's a 1994 car, imported from Germany. It has the 2.0 100kW 9A engine, with the famous KE-Jetronic. 5-speed manual, coilovers, rubbish tires. But, it's solid. Some surface rust and a dented sill, but that's it. No holes, no nothing. That was nice. It had 256k km on the clock, which I have decided is correct, due to the small amount of wear and tear. It also had hideous front headlights, really badly placed front license plate, weirdly used zip-ties, graffiti on the front wing, stupid holes in the front bumper, trashed rear bumper, nasty interior, strange oil leak, dead battery, no battery clamp, questionable mods inside and some other bits and bobs. So, without doing anything on the car, I took some pictures to show the general look of it. And that's just the outside.. Besides questionable items on the inside, the car also suffered from oil spills and a lot of dog hair. A lot. Husky, to be exact. And those are a b to get out.. Anyway, first order was placed for new winter tires. And during the wait, I started on working with the car to get it looking better. And after a few days, ended up with this. And on the inside: Much better! After that, started looking into some other bits. So, got a new steering wheel: New front grille: After that, got a pile of parts: Got some original headlights: And then got the MOT after sanding the red tint of the rear lights and welding a catalytic converter on. And since then it was smooth motoring! Until one day, when I noticed, that after shutting the car down, the coolant overflow tank started boiling over. Switched over the caps with my Vento and problem solved. Until, I started noticing a loss of coolant, but no drips. So, during a school lesson, we set the timing and I decided to remove the spark plugs. And discovered quite a bit of white residue on them. So, it was diagnosed with a blown head gasket.. Since the weather is as it is, I wanted to clean the garage in my parent's house, since my garage was filled with parts. So, armed with a few days off from school and my girlfriend, we started working. And went from this: To this: And yes, that's a carpet in the garage. Anyway, that done, I started working. And so, we have reached the state of the car at the moment. Since my parents place is 50 km away from where I live and study, work will be carried on during the weekends. At the moment I need to get the head to a machine shop, and then I can start putting it all back together. Until then, I'll happily answer any questions.
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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Hello everyone! I've been lurking around this forum for a while now, reading different threads and trying to motivate myself. But I didn't have a user, since I thought, that I would not make a thread about my car. But, since I'm just sitting at my local VW dealer, I reconsidered. Also, it's going to be a thread full of many pictures, bear that in mind. First of all, I'm from Estonia, so some modifications will be hard to do (for example, retrofitting a leather interior), since there aren't many Corrados here. And because at the moment there are moths flying around in my wallet and that will be for a while, I'll just see what I can do with things I have. For example, hands and my knowledge as a auto technician. Anyway. I've wanted to own a Corrado for a while, to be honest. Mostly because I like the styling and the idea of the car, but also because our local VW club is very nice, I've been associated with them from 2009, when I got my first Mk2 Golf. It was a failure, but then again, it was a great way to learn. So, fast-forward to autumn of 2015. I had a set of RH ZW1 wheels for sale, drove a W202 C230K from 1995 and had ha 97 VW Vento VR6 as a backup car. And one day, someone wanted to offer me a car as a trade offer for my wheels. The car was about 1200€ more expensive than the wheels, but nevertheless, I was interested. Who knows, maybe it's a BMW or a better Mercedes or who knows. But no, it was a Corrado! But since the price difference was something I couldn't afford, I made a deal that maybe we'll make something of it, but in December. I was sold to be honest, and started looking for ways to finance the purchase. I also did some digging and found out that it had been in the local VW club from 2009, so quite a bit of history. Also, it had been in a local car magazine also some time ago. So, some pictures of the car in it's former glory. But, since there had been an owner between my purchase of the car and the owner who had it from 2009 to spring of 2015, some changes had been made to the car.. The owner between me and the long-term owner was a chap in his mid 20-s. But his taste in car modifications was something I didn't fancy. So, something in me wanted to save the car from further humiliation. The fastest way of financing a purchase of one car is to sell some of the other ones. Since I didn't really have a need for the Vento, I thought I could let it go for a small amount of 1000€. But, my dreams were shattered. Not a single inquiry was made. Even though the car is an ex-police car, with a 145kW from the engine, instead of 128 from the factory. And that's with 385k km on the clock. So, no luck. Started looking for different ways, tried selling some parts, but nothing. Since I was on a vacation, I went to my friends house for a cup of coffee. He's a police officer, who needed to drive about 300 km to get to work and back. And that's almost every day. Since his old 190D wasn't up for the challenge in his mind, he was looking for a new car. He used my Vento for a while, but didn't like it enough to buy it. So, over a cup of coffee I jokingly offered my Mercedes to him. It was a 1995 C230K, black with a black leather interior, lowering springs and had done a bit of maintenance to it. Because he knew what I had done to it, he was interested and asked, how much I wanted for it. So, I thought a bit and said 2500€. And, he accepted. So we came to terms on payment and so, I was 500€ richer at that moment. As soon as I had the money, I also made a payment plan with the seller and started working on getting the car to me. Since the car was 150km away, I needed transport. At first I thought about a train, but since it's an old VW, problems will occur on the way. Luckily, my father was in Finland, and wasn't with his own car, so I made arrangements with the seller to go see and make a deal with the car on the 16th of December. But, since I said it was and old VW, at about 10 pm the day before collection, the seller messaged me that the car had died at a supermarket parking lot. It was something I really didn't want. But, after a bit of diagnosing, the fault was with the in-tank fuel pump. So, due to that small thing, I started my journey at 5 AM the following morning. At about 7 AM, I had arrived at my destination city. After a bit of wandering around, I managed to find the seller and got the keys to the car. And after a bit of wandering after that, I got to the car. And although it had a lot of things that were off-putting, it was still love at first sight. So, rolled up my sleeves and got the fuel pump out. Luckily, it was the type of pump which was easily replaceable. VW used two types of fuel pumps, one was a complete unit with the sender and such and at a price of 130€, it was something I really didn't want to deal with. The other one is the type where the pump is changeable. So, went to a local parts store and asked for the pump. At first i was bummed, they said that that type of pump for that car is no longer available. Luckily, one from an Audi fitted, so I was very happy with that. After a morning of dealing with things I didn't want to, I finally had fixed everything and so, it was time start and hear it for the first time. It was quite nerve-racking, to be honest, because if I discovered something I didn't like, then everything would've been for nothing. But it fired right up! And worked perfectly! I was quite chuffed. So, drove it to the nearest petrol station, filled it to the brim and took it for a test drive. Since I didn't discover anything, that I didn't like, I went to pick up my dad from the port, got to the Corrado, drove to the seller, gave him the wheels and half of the money and started my journey home! And the car drove perfectly. The exhaust was a bit loud and there was no stereo, but everything else worked a charm. Even the rear spoiler and sunroof. But, there was a small problem. The car was very eye-catching, which isn't a bad thing, but it is when you have summer tires on during winter. In Estonia, you aren't allowed to drive with summer tires on the winter period. And that was bad news, since something like that might land you a fine. But sure enough, 7 km from home, this happened: Luckily, the police officers were very nice. They actually gave tips on what should I do to the car, didn't say anything about the red tail lights and front tint, that weren't allowed. But pointed out the summer tires and a loose battery. They took away my MOT, but let me drive home. And didn't fine me, which was also nice. And so, here it is. These are the first pictures of it in the daylight, in front of my house. Anyway, now you get the part of the car being off-putting and attracting the law. I'll make another post to follow up, so this is the end of Part I - The Challenge Of Buying A Corrado!
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History of cars: '88 VW Golf Mk2, '93 VW Golf Mk3, '93 VW Golf Mk3 GTI, '90 Volvo 940, '99 Opel Vectra Caravan, '90 VW Golf Mk2, '97 VW Vento, '93 VW Vento, '95 VW Vento, '90 BMW 524TD, '00 Nissan Primera, '95 MB C230K, '01 Seat Leon, '94 VW Corrado, '97 VW Golf, '01 Alfa Romeo 166, '98 VW Golf Mk4, '98 Opel Omega, '00 Opel Omega Caravan.
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