Corrado VR6 SLC

Here it is: a 1992 VR6 Corrado imported from the US to Finland in 1995. In fairly good condition apart from a few small things: broken fog lights, non-working air conditioning and cruise control, a slightly stiff sunroof and so on. Otherwise very sound: no rust or signs of accident repairs, and original paint.

The powerhouse. In the US, emissions requirements meant the Corrado was sold with a less powerful 2.8-litre engine. A previous owner had broken it, though, and the car had recently received a brand-new European engine: the 2.9-litre unit with 190 hp and 245 Nm. It had only covered a few thousand kilometres. The first VR6 Peksi has heard running without extra rattles :)

On the way home... judging by the trees, a strong tailwind helped us from Espoo to Kankaanpää :)

First stop was the garage lift to fit the Audi TT Parabol wheels left over from the mk2. Things got a little tense when a thunderstorm cut the power with the car on the lift and us itching to go cruising...

The SLC (Sport Lux Coupe) has a proper equipment list: beige leather, air conditioning, electric sunroof and windows, cruise control, tilt steering wheel, fog lights, very cool automatic seat belts, and an annoying buzzer that reminds you if a door is open with the key in the ignition... or if the key is in but your seat belt isn't fastened...

The air conditioning started working after a few vacuum-line repairs and a refrigerant recharge. The cruise control didn't work because its wires weren't connected(!).

A friend had some intact fog lights. We also got a sound grille; the one that came with the car was battered and almost fell off while driving.

Over the winter a grille spoiler was found for the Corrado, shown here painted. The shorter piece behind it is a shortened mk3 Golf tailgate trim.

The grille spoiler fitted. This photo is from EuroCar Show 2004, where the Corrado was displayed in late February.

For the show we polished the wheels (more words and photos on the next page) and bought dark In.Pro 'crystal' rear lights.

Audi TT Parabol wheels already have factory-polished faces. However, the protective clear coat over the aluminium dulls the shine considerably. There were also a few patches of corrosion under the clear coat, so that was reason enough to start polishing.

First the clear coat is removed with paint stripper.

The stripper is spread over the wheel with a paintbrush.

It makes the clear coat bubble, after which it is 'easy' to scrape or pressure-wash off. Underneath is a fairly well-polished surface, which saves some work.

Removing the clear coat is a messy business...

Then the actual polishing can begin. Tools include a cloth buffing wheel, polishing compound and drill-mounted sanding tools.

First the roughest areas in the recesses are sanded with a drill. The recesses were not polished at the factory.

This is what the sanded surface looks like...

The whole recess sanded.

Next it is worked through several grades of abrasive paper, from coarse to fine...

Finally the whole wheel is polished with a cloth buffing wheel.

The result after the first polish. Sanding marks are still clearly visible. The wheel will be finished with a finer compound.

The result is reasonable. Close up, a few sanding marks remain... it could do with a little more work. Pekka ran out of motivation, though, and they look perfectly presentable...