I absolutely love these cars, and My dad and I are thinking of getting one for a project, and I was wondering if anyone had experiences in what to look for, reliability, problem-prone areas, and such?


Jake

 

They are awesome cars but the G-Lader superchargers are prone to high mileage problems and can cost a fortune to repair. The VR6 is a better choice. Check out votex forums.

 

Hey everyone,

I loved Corrados also! They were really cool looking cars, but they are really known for their problems. As the prior poster said, the supercharger is known to die, and be really expensive. Parts probably arent easy to come by either.

Medic

 

I witnessed one lose engine mounts during an autocross, pushing the hood up. Yea, read the Vortex forums.

 

G60 wasn't meant for high miles but the VR6 the first generation now that was a good power when it came out.

 

my brother had 2, the g60 and the vr6. on the g60 his charger had to be rebuilt and it has some electrical problems, i think he was getting it close to being a decent car then someone hit him and he didn't want to fix it. then he got a vr6, he didn't have many issues with it, but i think he was considered lucky...

then he sold it to his gf (who is now his wife), and got an mr2 turbo.

and i had 2 other friends with them. i think they all had to replace water pumps and they had to do the timing belts which aren't fun.

 

Get a vr6, and then use a vortex supercharger down the road for mega hp/tq. These cars can be made to be very fast, and the body style isnt very common. Great choice in a project car.

Although when it comes to Vee-dubs nothing beats the air-cooled cars. As soon as i can afford 2 cars at once, im going to build me a VW beetle drag car or maybe a porsche killer super beetle.

 

My friend just bought a dual carb, karmann ghia with big time engine work, and I drive that screamer like hell!!! Him and I burned multiple full donuts, with more gas to be given. It was all at the designated area

 

People dont realize how fast you can make an old air-cooled VW. The cars are easy to find. working on them is super simple. Hell it only takes 4 bolts, gas line, and throttle cable to take out the engine.

The aftermarket parts/mods for the cars/engines is HUGH! and about Half the price for other cars. High performance heads for the engines run anywhere from $600+ you can get super super nice ones for about $800 Compair that price to other cars performance head and you will see the big price difference. Exhaust systems are like $250 at the most.

The engines can be bored/stroked from 1.6L to 2.3L. (A 2.3L 4 banger is BIG!)

Also a standard beetle only weighs 1600-1800lbs in stock form. When you start putting (CF/fiberglass) fenders, running boards, hood, deck lid, racing seats. the car becomes insanely light.

You could probably build a VW bug cheaper then a corrado and still have a better performing car.

But then again air-cooled VW's have always been my true love, so i am a little bias.

 

I owned a '73 Superbeetle for a while and that car was a blast. It was insanely simple to work on, and all the parts were cheap. Spark plugs are .50 cents. Even though it had power nothing, it reminded me of the old days. It did get really hot in the car though. That was the only problem.

Medic

 

yes heat is one factor, and thats one reason i bought my mini. I needed a daily driver with modern creature comforts that performed well and looked good doing it.

BUT!...i will say that once i can afford to have a second car (project car) i will be getting me a VW beetle and it will be turned into a beast.

BTW: a 73 super (1303 model with curved windsheild) makes for an awesome track car!! I was actually looking for one, not to long ago.

 

i like the red GTI!

 

Here is a 1303 "Super Beetle" 1973. It is also the 2003 drift world challange winner.

 

Awww, you guys should have told me! I sold it only a few months ago for way too cheap. I sold it for 2k. It had a perfect body and it had 23,000 original miles on it!

Medic

 

2k!??! omg...why!? was it rusty?

 

I want a corrado as a first car! a MINI is too expensive, and that would be my 1st choice. But ever since I saw the top gear episode where they talked about the corrado as a "VW ferrari" I was hooked. You can get a decent VR6 manual for like 6 grand now... me wanty

 

It wasn't rusty at all, it just sat for a while, and a "friend" of mine wanted it out. I put it in the paper and got like 5616813 calls.

Medic

 

you make my soul cry...

the potential of that car is crazy...but anyways i'll hush about air-cooled VW's and let these people talk about corrados.