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Purple Tom
05-03-2011, 11:55 AM
Hi,

My name's Tom from Derby. Found this forum while googling for a rare VW part that I'm after, decided it looked quite good so thought I'd join!

I've owned quite a few VAG motors over the years, but my current cars are a 1996 2.0 8V Corrado and a 1998 1.9 TDi Seat Ibiza.

The Corrado is undergoing a major engine conversion at the moment so I'm running about in the Ibiza for a couple of months while I carry the conversion out. I'll put up a project thread soon for what I'm doing, if people are interested. To give you an idea, it isn't a petrol engine that's going in ;)

Anyway, here's a couple of pics:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/minis84/N690%20XCT%20Corrado/IMG_0300.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/minis84/R916%20ALC%20Seat%20Ibiza/bdfd1694.jpg

Looking forward to posting more!

Cheers

Tom

SammoVWT
05-03-2011, 01:26 PM
Welcome!

Lovely corrado, what are you converting it to?

Purple Tom
05-03-2011, 11:35 PM
Thanks :)

Its going to receive a 1.9 TDi from a B4 Passat, along with some chassis modifications and some tweaks to the engine. Looking for 150bhp which should be good fun while still being fairly frugal :)

Crasher
06-03-2011, 12:06 AM
Why a Passat engine? You will have to mess around with the turbo, manifolds, sump and oil pump, fit a Golf TDI engine. Ohh and you will have fun getting the diesel nozzle in the tank at the filling station…

Purple Tom
06-03-2011, 12:13 AM
Please read that I have put B4 Passat. Not the B5 or later which are longitudinally mounted. The B4 is essentially a Corrado from a B-pillars forward in the places where it matters. So the engine is transverse, the gearbox is cable change, the wiring is CE2, the engine loom is seperate from the headlamp loom, even the pedal box for the DBW throttle is the same.

If I were to use a Golf TDi (I presume you mean a Mk3 because a Mk4 is *slightly* more complicated when it comes to wiring) the engine wiring loom would require extensive modification because the headlamp/engine loom is integrated. The pedal box is also totally different.

In fact, the only real advantage of using a Mk3 as a donor is that they had the 90bhp AHU engine fitted which is essentially an AFN without the VNT. The engine from my donor Passat is a 90bhp 1Z which is slightly inferior in some ways (minor differences internally) but still well capable of 150bhp +

Regarding the diesel pump - do you not think I have considered that? The Corrado tanks were originally designed for use with 4* fuel which if you recall has the same size nozzle as a diesel - it's unleaded pumps that have the smaller nozzle. As a result the Corrado filler neck is fitted with a simple reducer which can be removed allowing a diesel nozzle to fit straight in.

I really think you need to be slightly less condescending towards new members when you clearly don't know enough about the subject of TDi's into a Corrado to give the correct advice.

Thanks

Crasher
06-03-2011, 12:16 AM
Sorry, you are correct, I call them a 3A, I don't go for this B stuff. Personally I would have fitted a 150PD motor, the 1Z and AHU are hard work to make power from and lack a VNT turbo. You will still have to change the fuel tank.

Purple Tom
06-03-2011, 12:23 AM
No problem, just a misunderstanding.

A PD would be great but if I'm being brutally honest I've just bought my own place and I can't afford the cost of the conversion, even though I do everything that I can myself. The B4 donor cost me £400 and it is the perfect vehicle to use, even the clocks are a straight swap.

As for the VNT, all I need to do is get hold of a cheap AHU engine, a VNT15/17, PD130 intake, fit it and then remap and I'll have an engine that's the equivalent of a high power PD. It just won't be out of the box and to be honest I kind of like that.

To begin with though I'm just going to get it running. Sorry if I sounded grumpy in my message, I've just done a LOT of research and spent a LOT of time thinking about this project to the point that everything is totally clear in my head. Someone then comes along and says "oh you don't want to do that, you should do this that and the other" and it annoys me. No offence intended.

Tom

Crasher
06-03-2011, 12:26 AM
None taken, any help I can give I will, just don’t ask for a 3A AHU wiring diagram! Use a KR engine fuel tank.

Purple Tom
06-03-2011, 12:29 AM
I want to retain a 70L fuel capacity and the KR only has 50L so its an option I'd like to avoid.

I've also just broken a Corrado VR6 and done an OBD2 conversion on another one so I have a plethora of VR6 spares lying about, including a fuel tank which is the one I'm going to derestrict then fit the 8V lift pump to allow for future modifications to the engine.

Thanks

Tom

Crasher
06-03-2011, 12:37 AM
Don’t get me started on the OBDII conversion thing…

Purple Tom
06-03-2011, 12:41 AM
I personally think it's a lot of hassle for not a huge amount of gain! But it does give the VR that torque at lower RPM that it so desperately misses as standard. I did the conversion on an ABV so I'm not sure if the extra 80-odd cubic centimetres helped, but having said that I've never driven an OBD2 AAA so I wouldn't know. The car certainly felt much more pleasant at low revs and didn't seem any different at all at higher RPM. Would have liked to RR it (or even better bung the lump itself on a dyno!) to see if there was any measurable power loss at high rpm.

Crasher
06-03-2011, 02:15 PM
My admittedly contentious opinion is that the European Golf 3 with the AAA and ABV engine from 8/1995 featuring the electronic throttle body J338 are not OBDII. The way I prove this to anyone who owns one and has VCDS is to click on the Readiness tab and read the message. The way I understand it is that part of the OBDII specification must included a MIL and a post cat lambda sensor and the 96 year European AAA did not have these although the US spec AAA did.

Ben
06-03-2011, 02:35 PM
Welcome to the forum tom.

I know of a treasure trove of corrado bits.

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=424240&Y=314470&A=Y&Z=120

Little Liverpool you can see the cars on Google earth.

Purple Tom
06-03-2011, 06:21 PM
Ben - thanks for the welcome. Is that the property belonging to the guy who sells Corrado's under the name 'TCS' on eBay? He's near Swadlincote so could be the same person.

Crasher - I couldn't agree more. In fact I contemplated doing a 'proper' OBD2 conversion to my Corrado using the Mk4 Golf 2.8 12V inlet, t/b, Passat clocks with MIL etc, as the Mk3 euro-spec 'OBD2' conversion is more of a halfway house between OBD1 and OBD2. However for me the OBD2 conversion was more of an experiment as it was my first VR so I wanted to do it to see if it made much of a difference. It didn't, although I did appreciate that gain in low-down torque that I mentioned earlier in the thread.

I guess the conversion is known as 'OBD2' because it's easier to differentiate between the two, however its funny that the early VR6 Corrado's had a dizzy and standard 2-pin diagnostic socket, then the later VR's had a coilpack and OBD2-type ISO diagnostic socket. It's obvious that VW were gravitating toward the international standard even in 1994/95 but didn't make the necessary modifications to the Corrado's engine management, retaining it as proper 'OBD1' right the way until the end of production. Also, I presume the US-spec AAA got proper OBD2 due to emissions requirements - I'm not 100% confident on the spec of the US cars but as I understand it they had an air pump for emissions and all sorts of other little things.

Tom

Ben
08-03-2011, 10:01 PM
You won't believe it but I have to deliver there tomorrow, so i'll ask.

Ben
09-03-2011, 02:04 PM
Ben . Is that the property belonging to the guy who sells Corrado's under the name 'TCS' on eBay? He's near Swadlincote so could be the same person. .

Tom
Yes, I just delivered there and asked.

paul20v
09-03-2011, 09:00 PM
Hi welcome
i would love to see a project thread on this ,
not a great fan of diesels allthou my main car is one and ive also owned a VR6 corrado which was a great car just needed a bigger car for stuff so i replaced with an B6 A4 Avant Tdi Sport which does everything i want to be honest .
can i ask how are you going about sound deadening the corrado for the noisy diesel .

http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr207/paul20v/DSC00339.jpg

Purple Tom
07-05-2011, 02:48 AM
Guess I should update this - the Corrado TDi is now done :) The full build thread can be seen here:

http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?55023-Corrado-TDi-done!

Here's a couple of pictures in case the link doesn't work:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/minis84/TDi%20Conversion/file-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/minis84/TDi%20Conversion/file-26.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/minis84/TDi%20Conversion/file-41.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/minis84/TDi%20Conversion/file-43.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/minis84/TDi%20Conversion/file-48.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/minis84/TDi%20Conversion/file-53.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/minis84/TDi%20Conversion/file-72.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/minis84/TDi%20Conversion/file-84.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/minis84/TDi%20Conversion/file-91.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/minis84/TDi%20Conversion/file-104.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/minis84/TDi%20Conversion/file-103.jpg

I'll try to be a bit more active on this forum, just thought you'd like to see how it went :)

Cheers
Tom

Crasher
07-05-2011, 09:05 AM
Very neat factory looking installation, are you thinking of taking it beyond the original 90PS? I see you upgraded to the Teves Mk20 ABS system, a good choice. All this was made a lot easier I imagine due to the similarity between the Corrado and the Passat?

Purple Tom
07-05-2011, 09:22 AM
Thank you - yes I plan to substantially increase the power output as time goes by. It's not desperately slow by any means but more power would be nice, I think the first thing will be a set of uprated injectors, followed by learning how to chip tune the ECU, as unfortunately its not a case of a simple plug-in remap like the later TDi engines. A PD130 inlet manifold will follow, then a VNT turbo and perhaps an EGR delete and I should see quite reasonable power/torque figures - in the region of 160bhp/280lbft.

The upgrade to the Teves Mk20 was something I'd been wanting to do for a while. It wasn't a 'plug and play' conversion, I had to a bit of modification to the wiring to get it to work in the Corrado, as well as adapting the ABS light itself, but its well worth it as I've lost that annoying ABS ECU down in the passenger footwell.

The conversion wasn't quite as straightforward as I made out in my first post, which I fully expected, but it wasn't far off and I really enjoyed doing it. I'm just waiting for Eibach to deliver a set of rear springs to sort out the rear ride height (John (C&R) is sorting those) as it currently is very crashy at the back.

Cheers
Tom

Crasher
07-05-2011, 10:53 AM
(John (C&R) is sorting those)

Thank you for the order. :D

Purple Tom
07-05-2011, 05:33 PM
No worries, shame that the rear springs weren't right (and corroded!) but Eibach are sorting them - just looking forward to receiving the replacements so I can get on and enjoy the drive now :)

paul20v
07-05-2011, 06:41 PM
Nice
as said looks factory
i understand why you did it economy wise but i wouldnt have done it my self
it takes the spice of the corrado away for me
nice work thou .

Purple Tom
07-05-2011, 07:35 PM
Cheers Paul.

I know what you're saying, but don't forget that the car I converted was a Corrado 8V - not exactly inspiring to drive to begin with! Only 115bhp and 120-ish lb/ft so no rocket ship. I've owned a VR6 and I know what a Corrado can drive like which is why I fitted the TDi with full VR6 running gear, so I could take advantage of that excellent handling.

While the diesel isn't a nice smooth 6-pot, it is very torquey and for a daily driver allows me to make the most of the chassis without it costing me a fortune :)

Cheers
Tom