2015 Red Clio DCi MK4

[DaveL485]

Copart buy, my Mrs has always wanted a red car, so I had to oblige... and add a few extras

2015 1.5 DCi EDC with 69k on the odo, its the K9K diesel so will run forever and a day as long as its serviced.

CAT S front drivers side but the main chassis rail is straight, however its tweaked the leading edge of the inner wing, crash bar and then run down the side into the front door. Ripped the bottom balljoint out the hub, dislocated the shaft, bent steering arm. Broke the gearbox mount too (I think this is by design as they all seem to do it). For some reason, the passenger front door window is also smashed but no damage on the panel itself.

I also bought, around the same time, a flame red TCe 0.9 CAT B - basically had the rear wheel ripped off but all the front end was sound and the right colour. Cost me £936 landed, a day to strip it, I took all the parts I needed for the DCi and then anything else easily sellable. I made just under £1500 back selling the stuff I didnt need (the 0.9 engines fetch strong money), so that worked out lovely!

Ouchie.

Quite theraputic taking something apart when you know you dont need to put it back together. Just get stuck in!

 

[DaveL485]

The broken windows both sides were covered in plastic but water still got in, as it does, and glass - horrible - so I stripped the inside out and binned the carpet. Had the other one from the breaker, no glass, no wet.

Seats were manky, took them to a mate for a steam clean. I did keep the other seats but these were a much nicer seat and with arm rest, so decided to keep them.

I mean come on, tramps!

Much better

Stripped the knackered bit off the front end - the crash missed the rad pack but had bunted some trim sideways hard enough to just make a small crack in the radiator - gutted - so that went in the bin too.

 

[DaveL485]

Obviously by this point i'd changed the doors too, on the MK4 Clio this is piss easy. 3 nuts!

The knackered hub

New steering arms, spare wishbones from my parts stash with new balljoints, new discs and pads while I was there too

Then I treated and gravitex'd the replacement rad support to try and stave off the inevitable

 

[Martin_172]

Good project, I had one that colour from new looked brilliant in the sun!

Thise engines go forever too, while doing an easy 70mpg!

 

[Daz.]

It's hard to let ours go.

We've had it since it was 12 months old, it's an edc with a very rare grey pack which changes most of the chrome to grey.

It just pods on!

I just wish she'd look after it better, it'd be immaculate if it was mine but it just gets abused.

Looks so good still when it's clean.

Wheels are horrendous though and need a refurb.

 

[DaveL485]

Into the garage with it for the inner wing repair. The wheel was pushed back into the arch too, with some superficial damage so I sealed and gravitex'd that as well.

Picking apart the spot welds

And a clean cut on the panel behind the damage

I chopped the repair panel off the breaker so got that trimmed and lined up

Tacked on

Seamed and ground

Primed

Outer part welded and ground back

Primed, undersealed and reassembly in progress

 

[DaveL485]

Wheels are horrendous though and need a refurb.

£120 for 4 if you go to City powder coaters in Digbeth.

 

[DaveL485]

Front end going back on

And kicked outside

Next up, the bloody typical silver peel on the centre console trim. The silver bit separates out with some patience and a die grinder

A lot of the silver blew off with an airline, the rest was sanded off and then primed, then 2-stage flame red paint (rattle cans) then laquer.

Reassembled with a soldering iron and some gorilla epoxy

Did the heater control surround to match, and the heater vents

 

[DaveL485]

Red RS seatbelts, and a red PH1 RS gear shifter

Had the wheels refurbed in gloss black, and a new windscreen fitted this week.

Had a few dash lights when I road tested it, spend a while confused why all the errors till I realised i'd bought the wrong profile tyres for the front, and the wheel speeds were different front to back. Fat fingered the tyre search and bought the wrong ones, £80 up the chute. New tyres fixed that.

Then the back windows (electric) dont work, which was odd as I hadnt touched anything on the back doors. Finally twigged that when I changed the door as a whole unit I didnt click that the donor car was keep-fit windows in the back, and the window control panel on the drivers door is a 2-button not 4-button with window deactivation switch.

Of course, by the time I realised the windows didnt work and why, i'd thrown the old drivers door in the tip six days earlier so now I have to buy a good switch panel and door loom to resolve that. Fuming.

 

[DaveL485]

THEN once road tested it got a full belt service; cambelt and tensioner, aux belt and tensioner, oil, oil filter, air filter, cabin filter, glow plugs, fresh coolant and gearbox oil were already there from the rebuild.

Ive been driving it to make sure its reliable and somehow in a month I have clocked up a thousand miles in it lol. Great little motor and ridiculous MPG. Even with me driving it, and mostly around town i'm getting 51mpg, up to 70 on a run.

Handover to the Mrs soon once shes acclimitised to auto, she's not driven auto before so we are doing "lessons" 😊