Photography by Mark J. McCourt; additional images courtesy Volkswagen.
When you mention “sporty Volkswagen” to your average car enthusiast, they’ll likely react, “GTI!” Some of the older respondents might bring up the Scirocco. The fact that those are the default answers isn’t surprising, as those models have enjoyed long runs and large production numbers. The truly keen VW enthusiasts, on the other hand, will bring up the most exciting and individualistic model of all, the little-remembered Corrado.
Readers of the September 2013 issue (#97) of Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car will find a celebration of the Corrado in this month’s Buyer’s Guide. We’ve illustrated the story with photographs of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, resident James Yemzow’s incredible 27,500-mile 1993 Corrado SLC. This car represents the second version of Corrado that was sold in the United States between 1992 and 1994; the first is the 1990-1992 Corrado G60.
The Corrado G60 was powered by a special supercharged version of Volkswagen’s corporate 1.8-liter, 8-valve inline-four; its SLC replacement was powered by the unique 2.8-liter, naturally aspirated VR6 engine.
“G-Lader” supercharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder Corrado G60 engine.
The Corrado SLC’s naturally aspirated 2.8-liter “VR6? V-6 engine.
While working on this buyer’s guide, we spoke with two enthusiasts who shared their many years of experience of living with both the G60 and SLC models; they offered more good information for our focus points than we had print space for, so we’d like to share their thoughts here.
Former Volkswagen of America PR employee and two-time Corrado G60 owner Patrick Hespen currently owns a Nugget Yellow G60, a pristine example that he’d long searched for. His full comments on buying a G60 are below.
Engine: Like all 1.8L 8v VW engines, it’s pretty stout. The only common problematic piece is the G-Lader supercharger itself. It’s highly unreliable, and is easily susceptible to disintegration if not properly maintained. Be on the lookout for smaller-than-stock pulleys used to squeeze more boost by turning the assembly at a faster speed. Know how many miles are on the blower, especially with a smaller pulley. Rebuilt blowers, or those with low miles on a smaller pulley, should be okay. I bought my car with a fully dealer-maintained 70,000 miles, and I immediately had the blower rebuilt. Prevention is the best cure.
Vacuum leaks are another trouble spot. Fortunately, most lines are easily seen from the top of the engine bay.
I recently had a VW technician tell me that the average life span for all three motor mounts is four years. It’s pretty obvious if they’re bad, as the interior buzzes and vibrates like a car with poly mount bushings. I replaced mine three years ago, and they were already bad by this spring. They’re expensive, but worth the price to eliminate the interior drone and buzzing.
Transmission: Aside from a weak 1st gear synchro, the transmission is stout, as well. If the owner has avoided spinning the inside tires in turns, or doing one-wheel burnouts, they hold up well. The cable shift linkage can be a little stiff. Also, the plastic at the base of the shift lever gets brittle. If it breaks, you can’t shift. Speed shifting should be avoided.
Brakes and suspension: The front strut bushings are known to wear quickly. Most owners upgrade to the stronger bushings used on the VR6 models. Aside from this, the brakes and suspension on Corrados don’t have any real issues. Just beware of a vehicle that has been slammed, or one that uses cheap aftermarket components.
Fortunately, the Corrado seems to avoid suffering from the ‘saggy butt’ syndrome that is common on old MKII generation-Golf platform vehicles.
Body: The biggest issue with the body is rust on the rear hatch around the rear windshield; it’s very common. Another place to watch for rust is in the bottom of the doors. The plastic front and rear bumpers can also warp slightly, causing the panel gaps to look a little wonky. It’s also common that the rear spoiler does not extend/retract.
Virtually every single Corrado out there has a busted hood release cable. Most people (including myself, and I have a working cable!!) attach wire hangers to the release mechanisms, and tuck them behind the grille. If the cable ever snaps (and it will), you simply pull the grille and yank the hangers to release the hood. It’s hard to replace, but don’t let this dissuade you from buying a car.
Interior: Beware of any hack-job wiring issues. Corrados already have enough electrical issues, so don’t buy a car that adds to the problem. Many MKII generation VWs have odometers that stopped working between 120,000 and 160,000 miles. The one in my car stopped at 71,000 miles. Make sure it’s working in the test drive.
Electricals: This section covers both G60 and VR6 Corrados. Here’s a list of the most common electrical issues with the Corrado:
- Inoperable radiator fan – Rear wing does not extend/retract – Automatic seatbelts don’t work – Wipers don’t work – Sunroof doesn’t work – Flickering headlamps
Most issues with the Corrado are electrical. A lot of times, a new fuse box will solve a lot of the issues. The last G60 I bought – the mint one – had an inoperable sunroof, wipers, seatbelts and a flickering right headlight. I installed a new $20 fuse box, and all was fixed. Everything on my G60, including the A/C, works. Anyone looking to buy a Corrado, regardless of its condition, should accept the fact they will be dealing with electrical issues during their ownership.
A huge red flag when looking at Corrados is if a car has been modified heavily. An aftermarket exhaust and quality suspension set up should be okay, but beware of engine modifications. The G60 is a finicky engine, and if not properly modified, it won’t last long. A stock engine is a much more comforting proposition.
Former VW Vortex staffer and four-time Corrado SLC owner Anthony Garbis has owned his current SLC for six years; he’s hung onto this one because he says – with a laugh - that most everything works. Read on for his thoughts on finding a good VR6-powered Corrado SLC.
With the VR6, one thing everyone always talks about is the timing chains. There is a myth that there is a 100,000-mile change interval for these; however, there is no official mileage-based repair. A lot of people panic and say that any Corrado with more than 100,000 on it, that still has its original chains, is a ticking time bomb. While the car may be a time bomb, it’s likely not the chains that are going to fail first. The issue is not that the chains go bad, but rather that the chain guides crack. On my second Corrado, I noticed a lot of rattling at start-up when the engine was cold (this will occur for about two or three seconds). When I dropped the oil pan to change the gasket (which will inevitably be leaking on any Corrado, as will be the oil cooler seals), I found pieces of the chain guides sitting in the bottom of the pan! Needless to say, that car needed chains right away.
I bought my current Corrado in 2007, from the original owner; it had 95,000 miles. The original owner was an older gentleman who had meticulously taken care of this car. He did synthetic oil changes every 5,000 miles from new. My engine’s chains are perfectly quiet, and when I removed the valve cover gasket during my Vortech V9 supercharger install, I inspected guides - none of them were cracked, and none were sitting in the bottom of the pan. As Patrick said, frequent oil changes are the key, and maintenance documents to back them up are needed. It’s currently at 112,000 miles and I don’t foresee needing to change the chains any time soon. It is risky business though, because if the chains break, you’re buying a new head. It’s a very involved job to change the chains, so many people put it off, but if you have to do this work, it’s a great time to also install a new clutch and slave cylinder and perform all sorts of other maintenance.
My Corrado is a 1992 VR6 with no sunroof, which is something you never see. I believe there are only a handful of VR6s in the country without a sunroof. Not having one is a good thing, because the sunroof’s rails always break, and if you’re a tall guy – I’m 6-foot-2 – you’ll have a hard time fitting in the Corrado. Without the sunroof, I gained another few inches of headroom, and I fit fine in the car. Many people swap out the original steel sunroof for one from a contemporary Passat, which is glass. That’s definitely a nice upgrade, and something to do if your sunroof rails are broken.
Regarding the rear spoiler, which is one of the coolest features on the Corrado, these often break, too. There is a power window motor that raises and lowers the spoiler, but in time, this motor gets dirty. If your spoiler stops working, most of the time you’ll find that its fuse has blown because the motor was working too hard and drew too much amperage; it needs a cleaning and lubrication. My spoiler works via the control switch, although it recently stopped raising at 45 MPH; my cruise control also stopped working. There is likely an issue with a loose wire or a speed sensor, although I’m leaning towards a loose wire, because if the speed sensor is bad, the tachometer usually stops working and you have other issues.
The VR6s had an official Volkswagen recall for a heater core repair. People were blowing their heater cores because the VR6 is crammed into a small engine bay and likes to run hot. The coolant would build up such pressure that the plastic end caps on the heater core would crack, and dump coolant and smoke into the cabin. As part of the recall, VW would replace the heater core if it had cracked - which required removing the entire dash – or if your core was intact, they’d install a pressure valve inside the upper coolant hose that runs to the heater core. A few years ago, my car’s hose sprung a leak, likely because the valve that reduced pressure on the heater core increased pressure on the hose. I replaced the hose, not realizing I needed to switch over the valve. I installed it, drove for 50 miles, and then was greeted by green coolant pouring into the footwells and smoke in the cabin. After bypassing the heater core with a 90-degree elbow (connecting the two heater core hoses), I ordered a new heater core, which has been sitting in the trunk ever since. Let’s be honest: if you take apart the dashboard on a 21-year-old car, it’s never going back in one piece. Given how frail some of the plastics are, I’m sure I’d end up with numerous rattles, so I decided against it. This is now an April/May and September/October vehicle.
The VR6 transmission is pretty strong. I’m on the original clutch, and it hasn’t skipped a beat; the VR6 got a really beefy clutch. I do recall some people having synchro issues, but I don’t have much knowledge in that area. I do know that I can launch the car numerous times, and feather the clutch with no problems. It’s even chirped the tires on a 2-to-3 shift. I’ve had the supercharger installed for 10,000 miles and have had no transmission or clutch issues; actually, none of my four VR6s have had any transmission or clutch issues.
Suspension wise, the VR6 can take MkIV (2004) Golf R32 control arm bushings; this is an upgrade that I did. I also replaced the ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearings, axles (mine had torn CV boots, and it was cheaper to replace the entire axle), struts and springs (Bilstein and H&R), and strut bushings. These parts aren’t very expensive.
Engine mounts are an area that will need updating, simply because the stock engine mounts get quite soft over time. There are lots of polyurethane upgrades with many different durometer ratings. I did a moderate poly engine mount upgrade, but if I hadn’t planned on adding a supercharger, I probably would have just replaced with the OEM mounts, so I wouldn’t get any vibration in the cabin. Another wear component that many people overlook is the front crossmember bushing; there are four bushings, two each side, that wear. When they do, they’ll make it seem like one of your engine mounts is broken, as the front mount sits on this crossmember, and it can allow engine movement. It’s an easy repair that just takes a bit of time and a press.
As for the electronics, the 1992 SLC was very much like the G60. Aside from having an on-board digital computer, there weren’t that many differences. I believe the G60s also used the AKTIV sound system, which isn’t the best: The door speakers had an amplifier mounted to them, and that amplifier powers all three speakers on that side of the car (dash, door, rear shelf). The problem is that these amplifiers usually go bad, and you can’t just pop in new speakers; you have to rip everything out and rewire it.
It’s important to note that the Corrado can’t operate both power windows at the same time.
Exhaust upgrades are great for the VR6, since it’s one of the best-sounding affordably priced engines. Lots of people replace the catalytic converter, as the stock one is a 600-cell monster. I installed a high-flow cat and a new O2 sensor, and it was a drastic improvement, also adding a nice, subtle sound. I like the sleeper look, so I kept the rest of the exhaust stock.
The ignition switch in my car went bad; this is a very common issue and is a very cheap fix. The only problem is that it takes a lot of patience to complete: You have to pull the steering wheel, the clamshell, and the lock cylinder, which is the hardest part to remove. Another interior issue is that the door handle pulls are going to break, as they are plastic, and when it gets cold, they snap. I replaced mine with metal versions after my passenger side’s broke.
An exterior trouble area is the windshield wipers. The wiper arms sometimes don’t have enough tension against the windshield, and when you use them, they’ll just smear the water all over. There are fixes online showing how to trim down the spring inside the arm to make it apply more tension.
Virtually every Corrado you’ll encounter will have cracked fog lights, because the glass that was used was not tempered. Replacing the lenses is futile, as they will just crack again. There are some aftermarket manufacturers that make lens replacements, but they are pricey. The headlights don’t produce very much light, because the 9004 bulb was not the best design.
Regarding the brakes, the ABS typically fails. It’s a very primitive design, and even when it was new, I doubt it was very functional. Lots of people have issues with their rear calipers seizing, as well as with the emergency brake cable getting stuck or breaking.
Patrick also mentioned the hood release cable snapping, which did happen on one of my Corrados. The cable itself is cheap, but you’re in for a bear of a time if you try to replace it. As he also mentioned, the vacuum lines under the hood may crack; all of the ones on the VR6 are easy to get to, and replacing them is cheap. You’ll know if these are cracked because your cruise control may not work, and your on-board computer will show a very low MPG.
Going back to engine temperatures, many people flush their cooling system and replace the G11 coolant with G12; they say this brings lower running temperatures. Regarding oil, 5w40 synthetic is what to use in the VR6. Many want to run 15w50, but that’s not a good oil for this engine as it’s too thick.
The later 1993-1994 VR6s switched from a distributor to coil pack, and these are more desirable.
I’ve posted lots of instructional threads with photos of most of my repairs/upgrades on VWVortex.com.
Many thanks to James for sharing his beautiful cars with us for photography, and we appreciate Patrick and Anthony’s expertise!
View the original article here
July 27, 2013 10:04 AM
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