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Martin's 1.2 16v Dynamique Time Warp!



Martin_172

ClioSport Club Member
Those who follow my various project threads know I'm always messing about with various MK2's and buying cheap stuff, tidying up then generally shifting them on once I'm done. I do it for the satisfaction and rarely actually make any money as I always like to chase perfection.

Recently its been getting harder and harder to find good condition used parts, supply in the scrappies is starting to dry up. There was once a time I could go to the scrappy and find 20+ mk2's sitting in various colours, specs, engines etc etc and I could hunt every one for the best condition part.

Like a lot of the long term members on here, I've been about the Clio scene for years, I started with a 1.2 16v at 17 when I passed my test then jumped over into RS ownership when I got my first years NCB! I bought my first 172 at 3 years old for £8k, and then I bought various over the years, eventually getting to the glory days at the bottom when I bought various for the £500 to £1000 mark over the years it lasted!

I pretty much decided when I sold my last 172 that the market was starting to take off with them and I wasn't really interested in having another given the costs involved. So recently I've been messing about with non RS cars as there is still cheap fun to be had, I had good fun with my 1.2 8v ph1 build that turned into a 1.6 16v conversion, some mods etc as seen here https://cliosport.net/threads/mk2-ph1-1-2-8v-clio-grande-tidy-up-project.838451/ - That project is still ongoing and has been cheap fun!
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I recently bought a rough 1.2 16v Extreme as seen here https://cliosport.net/threads/martins-1-2-16v-extreme-4.853251/ - And for all its flaws given it was a bit neglected I've managed to turn it into something that's properly useable for a bit of old school nostalgia
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I've got a modern daily so I've actually really enjoyed on days off just grabbing the keys to the 1.2 16v or RSI and using it for the school run or days out. Also super simple to work on and look after makes most jobs enjoyable! - So that got me thinking. What about buying something that's super low miles, original and can be used in the good weather?!

I have spent the last few months looking over the usual sites, Facebook groups etc but anything that low miles has generally sat outside for the last 25 years and is suffering with wear and tear or having not been looked after. - I had stopped looking but had eBay notifications set, my criteria was basically 1998 - 2006 and sub 40k miles. On Tuesday i got a notification from eBay that something had been listed that fell within that criteria. Fairly basic advert from a car dealer that was generally selling 3-10yr old cars in the £10-£20k range. most of the description was just the usual autofill car dealer stuff (alloy wheels, electric windows, power steering etc etc) but the following key points!
  • 2001 51 plate, 1.2 16v Dynamique
  • 2 owners since new (mother from new, transferred to son when she passed this year, who's now sold to dealer)
  • 15,300 miles
  • Garaged from new
The car didn't have any pics just the placeholder "coming soon" images, I straight away was onto the dealer asked for some pics and basically said if it was as good as it sounded, id put a deposit down, few days later the dealer got the pics over to me and i put a deposit down straight away. - Not the best pics but enough to see the car is an absolute time warp condition!
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Train booked and heading down tomorrow morning for collection - Better pics to follow!

Couple of wheel scuffs to sort out, even has its factory Continental tyres (cool but probably not great!!)

Simple things, this really makes me happy...
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Brigsy

ClioSport Club Member
  T.Turbo
Looks mega that mate! Be like driving a new car i bet.

We seen one with 9k on the clock a couple of years ago, almost bought it for same reasons but seller messed us about.

You are bang on with spares drying up. Seems to be more rs parts available than povo.
 

Martin_172

ClioSport Club Member
Collected yesterday, no decent pics yet but car is mint. Surprise of the day was that it's capsicum red, not the deep cherry red colour that I assumed it was!
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Started the trip up the road, I had let my daughter stay off school and come with me for an adventure, bad move as shes very observant and reads all the road signs....
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Years since I've been to Blackpool, oh my god it was never exactly last Vegas but Jesus Christ what a dump. Nostalgic dump none the less...


The car is mint, the switch gear all feels like it's never been used, proper tight clicks to the buttons, indicator stalks etc!

Engine even feels tight as if it's not run in!

25yr old factory tyres are like plastic and fairly terrifying!
 

NickReilly063

ClioSport Club Member
  182 Trophy -Z4 M40i
Looks fantasic and way too good to convert to a T -

I'll bet it feels brand new inside -

I was lucky to find a low mileage Campus (sunroof model unfortunately) in Cap Red for £100 to use as donor car, it's amazing what bits you can get from them.


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  Clio 3 1.2 Extreme
Excellent find! Having been garaged all its life, should have no issues with the dreaded water ingress. I'd keep it as standard myself.
 

Martin_172

ClioSport Club Member
Started cleaning up the arches, also sourced a nice condition set of factory mud flaps so took the time to remove all the arch liners, clean everything up behind them and fit the flaps in the process
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Suspension was all original, covered in surface rust but was nice to see its not even had a spring! Couldn't believe how good the factory springs looked - Anyway I decided it was worth pulling the shocks off and cleaning up in the suspension turrets!

And then I swiftly found a broken front spring :ROFLMAO:

I weighed up my options, Genuine springs are NLA, pattern part ones can be a hit or a miss but I didn't want to put lowering springs on it. I decided to compromise and go for a set of Eibach Proline so I can get a really good quality spring but hopefully not lower too much.

Both front shocks weren't returning back up when pressed down, might only have done 15k miles but they are 25 years old! so i ordered a set of TRW shocks all round as I've had good experience with these in the past
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These were not fun! having never been off.
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Luckily the bolts are still available from renault.
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If I'm being honest it sits just a tad lower than I had hoped for initially but as time has gone on, ive warmed to it and think it looks good.
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Recreated a photo from back when I was 17, Outside my old work :ROFLMAO:

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and lastly a quick snap while out a late night run, Wish i had a decent camera with me as it could have looked good!
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Next up, the rest of the suspension components look like they have come from the titanic despite being in great condition so im going to stick a set of lower arms, track rod and rod ends on it. I checked to see if a front ARB is still available but sadly not so ill probably have that powder coated.
 


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