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All this has happened before, and it will happen again. g60racer's new Corrado project begins!

92K views 376 replies 78 participants last post by  g60racer 
#1 · (Edited)
Hopefully 4th time is the charm!

After an exhaustive country-wide search, I finally found a Corrado that met my rather picky specifications to continue the Corrado tradition in my life.

My first and second experiences with Corrados were the G60 powered beasts that served as my daily drivers and track queens...
#1 - Dragon Green Pearl 90 G60 (I know, that color was not supposed to exist that year but there you go - thanks Karmann!). Had her only about a year, sold her to a Marine who made me an obscene offer after I ripped off a 13.7 at LACR in her.






#2 - Helios Pearl Blue G60. Pandora was the 15 year G60 veteran that rolled with me down the cliff in February. 226whp on the Dynojet, 304k miles... she will be missed.
When I first got her:



After a few years of hard driving:


After restoration:



And after the crash down a cliff in Malibu:



Corrado #3 - My wife had a Flash Red 92 VR6 automatic, Brigitte, who treated us very well, and we sold her with only 60k miles on the clock... still kicking myself for that move, she was immaculate.




Anyways, rather than jump back on the G60 wagon, I decided to go VR6 again for Corrado number four, and this time I jumped in with the 93+ interior. Before people boo, I did decide to go for the nice rare VR6 automatic again on purpose... this time out, the Corrado is not going to be a track star, but a daily driver cruiser with traffic in mind. My wife also misses driving hers, so this new one is a compromise that we can both enjoy :)

Found this one here on vortex, located in Minnesota and had her shipped out to San Diego over Easter. She's an early 93 with a distributor but the updated interior, cold weather package and factory CD changer. She arrived on Thursday night and I've just begun to give her the once-over, hitting up all the maintenance areas that need addressing before I begin modifications. Only thing that looks to have been played with is someone painted rasta colors on the engine cover... which shall soon be repainted to remedy that.

In honor of some of my favorite movie redheads, we've named her Scarlett Leeloo Dallas Multipass. Yes, the car has four names. :p

Here she is, bone stock before I've done any work to her, out with my kids who will hopefully get to drive her at some point!!
























 
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#370 ·
Happy to report that she successfully managed a 300 mile round trip yesterday, to show at Radwood SoCal!
No issues, just a smooth drive with some occasional, ahem, spirited sprints. Glad I installed the auxiliary coolers, as I got stuck in some traffic and the oil and water temps stayed very manageable.

Also worth noting, there were four Corrados at Radwood this year! Three red VR6's and a green G60 that made it all the way down from the Bay Area. We actually outnumbered the Deloreans this year. WOOT! Of course, the 944 posse was rolling deep. Must have been 30 of them there.
 
#371 ·
Happy to report that she successfully managed a 300 mile round trip yesterday, to show at Radwood SoCal!
No issues, just a smooth drive with some occasional, ahem, spirited sprints. Glad I installed the auxiliary coolers, as I got stuck in some traffic and the oil and water temps stayed very manageable.

Also worth noting, there were four Corrados at Radwood this year! Three red VR6's and a green G60 that made it all the way down from the Bay Area. We actually outnumbered the Deloreans this year. WOOT! Of course, the 944 posse was rolling deep. Must have been 30 of them there.
It was nice when I drove the Corrado from Washington to Minnesota. It was the most satisfying drive ever. All that hard work to see the fit and function of it. I'm very happy for you. I bet Radwood was awesome!!!
 
#343 ·
Updates:
It's been a series of rabbit trails & "while I'm in there" projects while I've been doing the supercharger install.
Along the way I replaced the driver side CV axle, diagnosed a coolant leak, adjusted the transmission valvebody, replaced the motormounts with BFI upgrades, repaired some stripped aluminum threads in the head, fabricated some charge pipes, installed an oil catch can, relocated the EGR control valve, extended the MAF harness, fabricated a ram air duct for the auxiliary cooler, and now finally I'm on the home stretch for getting the car back on the road.

The original hardware for the supercharger had been long lost and replaced with substitute pieces that didn't really do the job, so I just ordered some different studs, washers and nuts that will allow installation in the manner indicated by original instructions. Aiming to have it all together during this week and road test.
 
#359 ·
Just a few updates. Haven't been doing much with the Corrado other than driving and enjoying! Just over 4k miles on her with the supercharger now. Really enjoying the extra pull at WOT.

Planning for the eventuality of replacing the catalytic converter, as she barely passed smog last year, and was told that she may not squeak by this time around without a new cat. So that's fun.

Will be showing her at Radwood SoCal in a few weeks (RADwood SoCal Presented by Honda)
Hope to see some other Corrados there, besides mine & Carly's!!
 
#350 ·
Been following your progress on your YouTube channel. Lots of good info. Thanks for sharing.

Have the same supercharger since 2003.

Pro-tip: these chargers were known for not being the most reliable. I think this comes from over-tensioning the belts. Things I have done to prolong the life of my charger/engine:

1) Switched to a cogged belt/pulleys
2) Changed the charger oil every other engine oil change (Mobil Jet Oil II)
3) Replaced the drive pulley shaft and bearings every 5 years
4) Added water-meth injection

I've got about 100k mi on mine.

Cheers.

-Gus


Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
 
#352 ·
Been following your progress on your YouTube channel. Lots of good info. Thanks for sharing.

Have the same supercharger since 2003.

Pro-tip: these chargers were known for not being the most reliable. I think this comes from over-tensioning the belts. Things I have done to prolong the life of my charger/engine:

1) Switched to a cogged belt/pulleys
2) Changed the charger oil every other engine oil change (Mobil Jet Oil II)
3) Replaced the drive pulley shaft and bearings every 5 years
4) Added water-meth injection

I've got about 100k mi on mine.

Cheers.

-Gus


Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
a
That is great to know! I'm curious if it's possible to source the cogged pulleys these days. Looks like a good option.
I followed the installation instructions to the letter, making sure that the belt can be twisted 30* to make sure it's not over tightened. But the cogged setup definitely would allow less tension & more margin.
 
#363 ·
Thanks! Decided to raise her suspension up about 15mm today, wanted a hair more ground clearance for the front chin spoiler. Just enough to be able to manage most driveways without scraping :)

Looking forward to taking her to Radwood SoCal in a few weeks! Hope to see some other Corrados there.
 
#327 ·
Sorry to hear about the Covid battle Brendan. Hope you and the family recover fully and there are no lasting side effects.

Looking forward to more updates and j will check out the YouTube channel.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk
 
#329 ·
Thanks!! Feeling much better now.

Getting set to do the motormounts and a few other projects on the Corrado this week.
That’s awesome to hear. I ordered some mounts last week as well.
 
#338 ·
Been awhile since I posted an update. Had a few things going on, been filming & uploading progress to my YouTube channel...

Had the Recaro seats out for repairs & upgrades, & deep cleaned the carpets while we were at it:




And I'm in the process of installing an old VF Z-Engineering supercharger...



While I'm in there, I'm upgrading the original motormounts with BFI Stage 1 inserts. Filmed that but haven't uploaded it just yet.
 
#342 ·
Kinda... a local BMW 2002 enthusiast (Dave at Aardvark Racing) is who I went through... met him at an event, saw his newly retrimmed Recaro seats, and had him get me connected with his upholsterer. He was also kind enough to do some internal repairs to my seats, when there was some wear and tear discovered after opening them up.
 
#358 ·
I replaced all my mounts with the BFI stage one kit. Feels very similar to the Vibratechnics kit I had on my last Corrado. Solid, a little more vibration at idle, but not to the point where it's making more squeaks and rattles.
 
#367 ·
Agreed. Kept it slammed looking for show season this year, but much happier now that it's back to a nominal ride height for actual driving. Discovered my tie rods are worn out, and the lower control arm bushings are looking bad. Even though I just installed them about 8k miles ago, they're 7 years old, and drying out, so I'm going to have to do some suspension work this winter...
 
#368 ·
Only 8,000 miles in 7 years? You are never going to break 304,000 miles like that. It's tough putting miles down on a Corrado when you have kids. I am putting less than 5,000 a year on my car now. I guess it will fall down to the children to put those big miles on the odometer when they become adventurous drivers.

The car is looking good though. ✌
 
  • Haha
Reactions: izcorrado18
#369 ·
For four of the past five years, I lived on site where I worked, which meant I only drove any of our cars for pleasure or for groceries. Cut down our driving miles pretty significantly across the board. And we had to get battery tenders for our cars, because we drove them so infrequently, to make sure they'd actually start when we wanted to drive.

This past year we moved and I switched main jobs recently too, so starting in a week I'll once again have a commute in traffic. So... the Corrado will likely be seeing some miles put on her, as she still has the automatic, and my other cars are stick shifts and not that much fun for my left leg in traffic.
 
#2 ·
This weekend's work list included:
*remove front license plate
*install correct door lock pins
*install updated coolant reservoir cap
*install new fuel cap
*clean & condition leather & interior
*install Corrado floor mats
*change spark plugs
*charge battery & check electrolyte level
*top off power steering fluid
*install stubby sebring antenna

Tomorrow's work includes:
*change oil
*replace HVAC control unit
*replace one cubby cluster light bulb
*order replacement factory stereo
*find replacement foglight & rear defroster switches
*find replacement front turn signals and fog lights
*perform wiper arm mod & install aero blades
*polish & restore paint where possible
*repair headlight brackets & adjust headlights

Ongoing work list:
*install Spoonfed Tuning carbon fiber wing & 70mm front spoiler
*install Koni shocks & H+R springs
*install cold air intake
*install Kamei front grill spoiler
*repair Momo Corse muffler & install
*tint 30% all around
*tint tail lights
*e-code headlights
*install leather Recaro seats
*install Momo steering wheel
*replace shifter knob
*install pedal covers
*install B4 passat glass moonroof
*dye headliner black
*install CF sunroof motor cover
*install black sun visors
*a bit of body & paint
*install repaired HRE wheels
*install Girling G60 brake calipers, Mk4 rear calipers, ECS SS lines

... and of course, carbon fiber!! I have some left from Pandora that will make its way onto Leeloo after a bit of polish and repair, and I'm sure more Spoonfed Tuning parts will find their way onto this car. :thumbup:
 
#8 ·
your not going to have a weird opera techno beat going on in the background while you and Leeloo fight traffic are you? Or maybe a radio station playing where the DJ has a really high pitched annoying voice? Now if you had Bruce Willis driving you around with "Supreme Being" on a Euro plate... that would be cool.
 
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