Turbo Corrado time!

Of course I got tired of the stock boost in my Corrado and I figured it was turbo time. Sure I could have just got a smaller pulley but that just further shortens the life of the G60. I grabbed a cast manifold and an intercooler piping kit off ebay. I picked up a 50 trim .48 A/R Garrett T3 that wasn't in too bad of shape as well and a some ching chong meow hello kitty SQV blow off valve from a good friend that I helped with a previous turbo project. I yanked the G charger, made a new mount for the tensioner shock, plugged the diverter valve hose. I welded a tapped flange to the oil pan, T-ed off the oil pedestal for the turbo supply, welded up some SS weld-ells and fence post for a down pipe (thats right, my car has fents post exhaust. gotta be over 9000 grassroots points). I welded in an extra bung while I was at it for the wideband O2 sesnor. Really the hard part here was cramming everything between the head and the firewall. There isn't a ton of room and my exhaust manifold nuts were very rusted to the point I couldn't even get a socket on them. That's when the red tip wrench comes in handy... until some molten slag drips down my sleeve and sends me screaming. For now I am piping into the stock intercooler but I have a nice front mount that will be going in shortly along with some proper silicone couplings. Anyway, time to cut the chit chat and get to the pics. (picture credit goes to another VW nut Bill with a real camera and me with my camera phone)

stripping a blown turbo for parts

Snail power!

Sexual relations with my alternator

The 5-oclock shadow and grease make me look like a coal miner

The business

Crubs and fents exhaust

TIG tapered charge pipe

Yes that is plumbing hardware... I am upgrading all of the couplings asap

The thing runs like the dickens but the turbo was hitting the firewall when I launched hard. I figured the easiest way would be to make a slightly shorter front engine mount to rock the engine forward. I kinda just pulled stuff off the shelf to make this and it turned out huge, bulkey, and heavy. Lotus engineers would cry, CAT engineers would grin, and I figure what the hell it will last forever and works perfectly. Nothing hits and the drivetrain feels nice and firm as I launch or engine brake. The mount is all plate steel and some 4" square tube and has 2 large 5/8" thick reinforced rubber pads in it (dump truck mud flap for a few more grassroots points). The bottom plate bolts on so the whole thing is rebuildable if I feel like putting some stiffer or softer material in there.

the guts

I hate salt

top side

installed

Here are some shots of the totally ghetto install. It's all temporary 'till I can get my FMIC installed. Anybody know of a good source for 2.5" intercooler couplings?

I am not running an AC compressor or the G60 so the 6-rib serpentine belt is only turning the alternator now lol I had to make a new mount for the tensioner shock to get the right tension on the belt.

Fan-tastic, sir. I heartily approve.

To the people that thought taking a CTS-V to an autoX was grassroots....this is grassroots..

Alot of ppl seem to go to a turbo swap at somepoint. Looks Good! Can you tell how much the powerband has shifted? Heres a pit of my car and its unfortunately is an auto (for now). I've had my fill of the auto slushbox and as soon as i have the extra $ aside its gonna get a 5 or 6 speed and a new clutch. I love the Corrado, the Sexiest VW IMO.. You have any other pics? Heres is mine:

dansxr2, love your Corrado. it's so clean! I have an 02A trans with no reverse and a bad 2nd gear if you are looking for a core to rebuild. I also have a clutch kit to go with it (mine was fine when I went to swap transaxles) The power band is definetly different. It's noticably an 8:1 CR 1.8L before the boost comes on (9-for now). Luckily I can get full boost before 2500-rpm and it pulls pretty lineraly to redline. The G60 always seemed to taper off around 5000. The FMIC should really wake up the top end as well with out that nasty stock side mount. The lack of all the G60 parts up front leaves me a lot more space for "stuff" up front. Come spring time I should have a lot more real #s I have a G-tech pro RR that is pretty accurate and I think I still have some baseline runs from when I first got my Corrado. If nothing else the 15-psi I plan on throwing at it should move that curve up :D

Here she is on the tail of the dragon with a KTM in hot pursuit!

Daily driver, road trip machine, autocross whore, Corrado does it all. (on 3 wheels when necessary)

When these cars came out we did a program with VW, where we took them across the country and let people autocross them.

Where are you at? I remember talking to you before. Thanks for the comments on my car, i'm going to repaint it hopefully over the summer as it was wrecked sometime ago and the PO or whoever did horrible work on the repair work. Goodthing I'm going to a tech school for auto collision and refinishing ;-) I'm probably gonna just hold out and find a car thats either wrecked of has a blown charger and snatch it up for a complete swap, i do appreciate the offer though. I have a small box of parts if you need any little things like trim and the little domelight.

I'm up in the wonderfully icy Michigan... It was 40F today in the shop, the snow wouldn't even thaw out of my wheel wells. It's good to hear you are going to keep that ride shining. It's a battle in MI with the weather, salt, crappy roads, and even crappier drivers.

its been pretty warm here in NW FL. Xmas day was amost 80...

I'm electing to go the M62 route.

With a turbo down the road.

Thanks to Santa, there will be pics.

RXBeetle wrote: dansxr2, love your Corrado. it's so clean! I have an 02A trans with no reverse and a bad 2nd gear if you are looking for a core to rebuild. I also have a clutch kit to go with it (mine was fine when I went to swap transaxles) The power band is definetly different. It's noticably an 8:1 CR 1.8L before the boost comes on (9-for now). Luckily I can get full boost before 2500-rpm and it pulls pretty lineraly to redline. The G60 always seemed to taper off around 5000. The FMIC should really wake up the top end as well with out that nasty stock side mount. The lack of all the G60 parts up front leaves me a lot more space for "stuff" up front. Come spring time I should have a lot more real #s I have a G-tech pro RR that is pretty accurate and I think I still have some baseline runs from when I first got my Corrado. If nothing else the 15-psi I plan on throwing at it should move that curve up :D Here she is on the tail of the dragon with a KTM in hot pursuit!

When were you at the dragon? I SWEAR i saw this car when i was there last....

RXBeetle wrote: Daily driver, road trip machine, autocross whore, Corrado does it all. (on 3 wheels when necessary)

I was there that day... I remember the shelf paper lettering.

93celicaGT2 wrote: When were you at the dragon? I SWEAR i saw this car when i was there last....

That was over memorial day weekend '08. Little camping and mountain biking at Tsali. I went through a day before the BABE rally crew. Tons of fun! This year I might do the BABE rally instead, I picked up a running Rabbit pick-up for free a while back that is begging for a road trip.

John Brown wrote: I was there that day... I remember the shelf paper lettering.

Plaid numbers add10 more hp than yellow stickers and makes the Corrado almost as cool as a RWD mazda 929

The wife got me a custom German Front License Plate with the number: CO RRA DO. Looks good I'll post a pic as it just came today and I installed it and now ts dark. Spoilers Up

I have a Bahn Brenner RSR Outlet and I have trouble with the intercooler hose that keeps wanting to pop off. I may need to invest in T-Bolts clamps. The hose that goes over the fans gets squished, maybe i need to get the Eurosport pipes and be done with it. I try to keep the engine as clean as possible old pic before the RSR Outlet install.

Tim Suddard wrote: When these cars came out we did a program with VW, where we took them across the country and let people autocross them.

Tim, I vaguely recall reading about that series in the magazine (I didn't own one then, but was already a VW guy), but can't remember what it was called. Was that the one y'all tried to run for the Corrado Club of America?

http://www.corrado-club.com/motorsports/

"Crubs"?

You're on vwvortex too, ain't ya.

I'm "friedgreencorrado" over there.

Good luck, bro. Spoilers up...

+1 on the vortex I'm dansxr2 there too!

Haha! Yeah I lurk on the whoretex every once and a while. (RXBeetle on there as well) I also have a habit of getting ripped off buying stuff on their classifieds. :(

"crubs and fents" cliff notes

MichiganVW.org (MIVE) is a lot more friendly and a lot of good local people too.

Whoa, I think we need to do some body roll control up in there!

Nice car, probably the only VW I'd ever consider owning.

Daddy_Rocket wrote: Whoa, I think we need to do some body roll control up in there!

lol
Yeah, I had the car packed to the gills. Camping gear for 2 guys including water, tons of food, and you might notice a bike rack and 2 mountain bikes hangin off the back

I have since replaced the rear beam bushings and added urethane inserts back there. The car is lowered about an inch on Vogtland springs with urethane suspension bushings the whole way around. It reeealy is a fun car to toss around.

Very classy project, really nice welding.

On futher reflection, a turbo is probably a better idea than the Eaton.

Has anyone ever used the existing bypass in the throttle body as a recirculator valve for the turbo? It looks like it would work almost too well.

Daddy_Rocket wrote: Nice car, probably the only VW I'd ever consider owning.

Corrado's are great fun, but I had a friend who kept cracking heads from heat. Corrados are getting older and probably more affordable (read: "easier to convince yourself to make fence-post/plumbing-supply turbo setups" - well done by the way ). But from a performance standpoint, I would also concider a R32. I worked with a kid whos father was the manager of a VW dealership, and on seniors day at his High School, his dad threw on a pair of dealers tags, and let his sone drive it to school. He swung by work after school and did his best to try and make me puke up the burrito I had for lunch. Let me say I was thouroughly impressed. I swear the brake rotors on that R32 looked bigger than the wheels I had on my car at the time. It was the best VW comercial ever!

In reply to noisycricket: I thought about using the diverter valve in the throttle body too but there is one thing that bugs me about it, it really is a constant boost leak until you floor it. You can't build boost until really put your foot into it. The superchargers respond linearly and pretty much instantaneously which makes a throttle linked by-pass workable, but a turbo has some lag and is also not so linear as it comes on. I guess the best answer is what the hell it's worth a try.
A copper pipe cap plugs it perfectly

In reply to 4cylndrfury:
Thanks! Yes the prices are coming down, I bought mine about 2 years back off the $2008 classifides. It has not been the most reliable car but it hasn't left me stranded either. Typical weak VW reverse and 2nd gear synchro... $350 for a trans off vwvortex, swapped it one night after work.

Lost a piston... yank that injector plug and drove it home. $100 for a good long block, swapped it over a weekend. (forklift engine hoist, not so grassroots)

Power steering rack, head gasket, rod bearings (all the engine problems stemmed from the #1 cyl, it was a loosing battle). I would bet that the cylinder head overheating/cracking on your friends Corrado was due to a plugged coolant passageway. the lil 1.8PG is pretty bulletproof.
Granted all of this is over 2 years and about 50,000 miles. I'm still not paying anywhere near what a car payment would run and I'm probably retaining a better resale than a car off the lot :D I also have no second thoughts about pushing it hard and really having some fun with the car.
An R32 is still going to run from $12K on up. Can't really argue the performance, but for 12K I could have a great daily driver and have tons of money to sink into a project car. I can get away with doing all the wrenching myself, cost's aren't that bad considering most of the Corrado parts are shared on other platforms. A little help from the VW community and a close relationship with the local parts stores helps too haha.