172 Cup OEM+

bowen86 · May 5, 2024

Recently @Alastair. advertised his Clio 172 Cup and although I messaged within 10mins of it being advertised, I'd missed out. @*lee* beat me to it.

A week later I get a message on FB from Lee explaining he'd bought it on a whim and what he really wanted was an R26 Megane. He'd seen a Megane and now the Clio was back up for sale and did I want first refusal. It seemed like a scam at first, I even messaged Alastair to check and yeah, it all checked out.

A deposit left and the missus and I jumped on a train to Swindon to get it.

Lee met me at the train station and let me drive it to his.

It was exactly what I expected and what I wanted. Something, clean, fresh, OEM and usable on the road.

Money paid, paperwork done and off we went.

Took the scenic route home

The car drove great. I said to my missus "I could daily this", that's not the plan but it emphasised how nice it was on road.

Other than Cooksport springs and a Ktec exhaust it's unmolested.

My plans, keep it OEM with maybe a few small tweaks, that said it's so nice as is I may just leave it. It seems to have the sound aktor and the original cup splitter which goes to show how standard it is.

Further reading on this Cup and for my own history previous threads:

@Alastair. thread

Clio 172 Cup, keeping it fresh and original.

Another Clio for myself and @baysthebest Snapped this one up on ebay a couple of days ago, didnt bother viewing it, just had it recovered to my house. Its a great base for us being original with loads of recent work done including the cambelt, dephaser and water pump done at Beaniesport last...

cliosport.net

@cliocollins thread

172 Cup Restoration Progress

Hi, I thought I'd start a thread for the 172 Cup as momentum has gathered and the parts have started to arrive. The car itself belongs to my partner, she's been interested in picking up a clean one of these for a while now. After numerous days, weeks.. months. Searching on Ebay, Facebook...

cliosport.net

One last pic from Alastair's thread as I love it

More over on Instagram @its.bowz

Cheers

imprezaworks · May 5, 2024

That looks ace

Alastair. · May 5, 2024

So glad its staying within the CS community. ❤️

Poopensharten · May 5, 2024

Seen this on instagram and thought i recognised it, very well looked after thing.

gez 172 · May 5, 2024

Absolutely stunning - shame an owner was added for almost no reason.

Keep the pictures coming.

bowen86 · May 8, 2024

Took the Cup for a spin over local roads and it's great. Very compliant over the pothole'd roads of South Wales and it's just the right or 'raw' to feel special.

I did notice that the EML flashed very, very briefly.

Took a quick reading of the resistance at the Injectors.

x4 new genuine injectors from AETmotorsport.

Next. Rust.

I noticed that the previous owners hadn't mentioned rust and when I put this 172 Cup on Instagram I had some comments "How IS the rust?" which made me think "oh sh1t".

I peeped in the rear door cards and

I'll take that. Other side was much the same but no photo as I was filming it and took stills.

I also noticed the sideskirts had the original Renault rivets in. So out they came and off came the side skirts.

And whilst there I cleaned out the archliners

(sorry for the image sizes).

Overall I'm really happy and it's a huge credit to @Alastair. for its up keep to this point. I won't F it up.

Mr Underhill · May 8, 2024

bowen86 said:
Took the Cup for a spin over local roads and it's great. Very compliant over the pothole'd roads of South Wales and it's just the right or 'raw' to feel special.

I did notice that the EML flashed very, very briefly.

Took a quick reading of the resistance at the Injectors.
View attachment 1691763

x4 new genuine injectors from AETmotorsport.
View attachment 1691764

Next. Rust.

I noticed that the previous owners hadn't mentioned rust and when I put this 172 Cup on Instagram I had some comments "How IS the rust?" which made me think "oh sh1t".

I peeped in the rear door cards and

View attachment 1691765

I'll take that. Other side was much the same but no photo as I was filming it and took stills.

I also noticed the sideskirts had the original Renault rivets in. So out they came and off came the side skirts.

View attachment 1691767

View attachment 1691768

And whilst there I cleaned out the archliners View attachment 1691769

(sorry for the image sizes).

Overall I'm really happy and it's a huge credit to @Alastair. for its up keep to this point. I won't F it up.

View attachment 1691770

View attachment 1691771

Result. It’s a rare beast not to have rust in those places. Well done!

Alastair. · May 9, 2024

Nice, i think i did take some pics from behind the rear door cards in my thread.

Unlucky ref the eml light, never had that come on 😢 probably due a fresh set of injectors anyhow 👍

Brigsy · May 9, 2024

Looks spot on.

Get a load of cavity wax on the inner rear arches and inner sills, will stay rot free for years.

bowen86 · May 9, 2024

I think you may be right.

EML light. It's a 21 year old car. These things are to be expected.

Thankfully ClioSport.net came to the rescue and suggested it could be an injector.

All four replaced and it's running like French watch. 😂

bowen86 · May 9, 2024

Brigsy said:
Looks spot on.

Get a load of cavity wax on the inner rear arches and inner sills, will stay rot free for years.

On the cards.

How do you get cavity wax in the inner sills? Is there a trick to it?

Mr Underhill · May 9, 2024

bowen86 said:
On the cards.

How do you get cavity wax in the inner sills? Is there a trick to it?

Under the side skirts there’s a sticker, peel it back. If you buy BH S50 Dynax it comes with a lance.

Push the lance as far in as you can and slowly draw it back as you spray. Then turn the other way and repeat. It’ll usually hit those rear quarters without taking the inner cards off.

Brigsy · May 9, 2024

As

bowen86 said:
On the cards.

How do you get cavity wax in the inner sills? Is there a trick to it?

As @Mr Underhill said above get the lance in. Id whip rear doorcards and blast it in on the rear arch seams and sill.

Dont forget to put some cardboard or whatever underneath the sill as the cavity wax will run out of any small gap onto the floor.

Done my Trophy a couple of years ago.

ixell · May 11, 2024

I have a very similar condition cup and was wondering how much you paid please

*lee* · May 12, 2024

Looking good buddy, keep up the good work

bowen86 · May 12, 2024

*lee* said:
Looking good buddy, keep up the good work

Thanks mate. Appreciate you getting on touch with me first when you decided to sell! 🙏

bowen86 · May 15, 2024

Mr Underhill said:
Under the side skirts there’s a sticker, peel it back. If you buy BH S50 Dynax it comes with a lance.

View attachment 1691860

Push the lance as far in as you can and slowly draw it back as you spray. Then turn the other way and repeat. It’ll usually hit those rear quarters without taking the inner cards off.

Is this sticker on later cars as I can't see it on this Cup?

Mr Underhill · May 15, 2024

bowen86 said:
Is this sticker on later cars as I can't see it on this Cup?

Not sure fella. You’ve got the side skirt off?

bowen86 · May 15, 2024

Mr Underhill said:
Not sure fella. You’ve got the side skirt off?

Yeah, skirts off. Stood here now and no silver sticker.
Unless I am blind.

Skirts off and the black rectangular brackets twisted just to check it's not under one of them.

I remember all my previous 182s having a silver sticker under the sill and not knowing what it was for, but this is my first 172 (and the oldest clio I've had being an 03).

Mr Underhill · May 15, 2024

bowen86 said:
Yeah, skirts off. Stood here now and no silver sticker.
Unless I am blind.

Skirts off and the black rectangular brackets twisted just to check it's not under one of them.

I remember all my previous 182s having a silver sticker under the sill and not knowing what it was for, but this is my first 172 (and the oldest clio I've had being an 03).

Mr Underhill · May 15, 2024

bowen86 · May 15, 2024

I've gone in the traditional route via the rear door cards.

Mr Underhill · May 15, 2024

At least you can see how clean it is under there. Looks a minter 😍

bowen86 · Jun 24, 2024

Took the the Missus and my daughter out in the clio this weekend. Nice to have a (toy) car we can all jump in and Enjoy.

On returning I noticed a little puddle on the floor where the Clio was parked, but it wasn't where'd you'd expect at the front, it was towards the back?

Stuck my head under and could see brake fluid dripping from what I now know to be the rear brake compensator(?).

What's the best course of action? Are these compensators fixable? That nut didn't seem to budge when I stuck a spanner on it.

Repair or replace.

Thoughts please?

And a photo on the little trip out at the weekend.

bowen86 · Jul 5, 2024

Decided to replace the rear bias valve as it looked awful and didn't have any real movement.

The unions came out pretty easily after soaking them in WD40.

Old and new

As it was a job that involved brake fluid, it made for a messy and stressy job, trying not to get fluid everywhere.

In situ.

I'm not convinced with this new valve, yet.
I've a load of air in the system and need to bleed it over and over and over again as seems to be the norm with Clios.

I've noticed when tapping the brake pedal the arm of the valve moves freely. But it also seems to make a tapping noise as it's working?

Also fitted a pair of PMS 10mm stub axle spacers. Not fitted stub axle spacers before, simple job really. Done a 1000 times to clios but here's a pic anyway.

Got tired of jacking the car up on axle stands so ordered a set of Kwik Lifts. Best money I've ever spent.

Matt Cup · Jul 5, 2024

Where did you get your kwik lifts from?

Robbie Corbett · Jul 5, 2024

Matt Cup said:
Where did you get your kwik lifts from?

I want these, just need to figure out where I can have them as a gravel driveway/40's garage isn't cutting it.

Pardon our interruption...

@bowen86 car is looking great, many congratulations 👌

bowen86 · Jul 6, 2024

Touring_Rob said:
I want these, just need to figure out where I can have them as a gravel driveway/40's garage isn't cutting it.

Pardon our interruption...

@bowen86 car is looking great, many congratulations 👌

Yeah, gravel driveway would be living dangerously 😂

They are great and my back and knees are thanking me!

bowen86 · Aug 19, 2024

So I thought I'd solved the brake bias valve leaking, but in the slippery panic of brake fluid up to my elbows I managed to do something silly and cross threaded the brake line going in to the N/S rear caliper. Doh! Ordered a new one and all new braided lines for the bias valve and the calipers and of course a new caliper.

I must have bled the brakes a hundred times and eventually it was all sorted.

Now, I've owned a few Clios and I know with a few subtle mods they are a much more pleasant place to be/car to drive. That said, I won't be going the track car route, I still want rear seats etc.

First up I spotted a BMS shifter for sale. I've never had a BMS only PMS and as I wanted to keep this Clio 'user friendly' I knew that a PMS may not suit my needs. Yes it's a great shifter but it rattles, yes you can solve the rattle but I couldn't be arsed chasing those rattles. So I opted for the BMS.

Fitting was easy. I also sprayed the shaft black as the standard metal looked out of place.
It looks and feels like a PMS, ok it hasn't got that 'Lee Enfield bolt action rifle' feel of a PMS but it's silent and brings the knob much closer to the wheel, which was ideal.

Then a smaller steering wheel was purchased. I'm in the process of giving this a really good clean any tips on what to use or how to clean it let me know.

The six button panel came with the wheel and boss. On the look out for a two button panel.

Lastly, for now anyway, Seats.
The Cup seats are actually quite comfortable and more hugging that the normal part leather RS seats. However, they're just too high for me at 6ft 1. So I picked up a pair of seats, runners, sidemounts and bases up.

Now, I am tempted to leave the Cup passenger seat in place as the whole idea of this car was to make it 'family friendly' and this means access to the rear seats. However having one bucket in there is messing with my OCD slightly.
I know the answer is reclining buckets but I could find any I liked. There doesn't seem to be a method of having a tilting bucket seat, so this is it for now.

Next...

A clutch. The clutch isn't slipping, but moving off in first gear without stalling is impossible! I know Clios have a heavy clutch but the bite on this is right at the top. The cable looks original and a bit knackered so that's being replaced too.

Looking for someone or somewhere to do a rear end refresh i.e. drop the rear beam and fuel tank underseal etc.

Suspension. The struts and springs are looking a bit crusty so I'll replace them at some point this year. Coilovers, maybe Bilstein or BC's.

Colin-S · Aug 19, 2024

Looking good Chris, a few more mods and you'll soon have it as a full on track car again 🤣 just kidding!

Whats the deal with running aftermarket steering wheels on road going Clio's for mot time / insurance ?

bowen86 · Aug 21, 2024

I'm trying my hardest not to take this down the 'ruined for the road but great on track route'.

RE steering wheel, I've never had a problem come MOT time, could be the extra £20 I slip the tester. Joking. But no, never been brought up.

MrBlonde · Aug 21, 2024

bowen86 said:
I'm trying my hardest not to take this down the 'ruined for the road but great on track route'.

RE steering wheel, I've never had a problem come MOT time, could be the extra £20 I slip the tester. Joking. But no, never been brought up.

haha i think thats my prob with mine,ive gone to far with it and is more suited for track use.

bowen86 · Aug 21, 2024

MrBlonde said:
haha i think thats my prob with mine,ive gone to far with it and is more suited for track use.

When I bought this Clio, I drove it back home thinking to myself "I could daily this" and I want to keep that thought alive, well at least try.

Being a clean 'OEM' Cup, I don't want to stray to far.

bowen86 · Sep 20, 2024

When I test drove the Cup the clutch bite was really high and heavy. It was terrible when pulling away from a standstill, making it look like I'd just passed my test with terrible clutch control.

The heavy clutch, I'm used to as all the Clio's I've owned have had heavy pedals. The high bite was not doing it for me, it really made it a chore to drive away smoothly.

Pulled the trigger and put a new clutch and clutch cable in. I was expecting a difference but this was quite dramatic. Much, much lighter and smoother. Really pleased with the improvement.

Took it for a spin and took some photos.

Mr Underhill · Sep 20, 2024

Yeah, you often hear people say they have heavy clutches but they don’t. Everything is nice and light when the parts aren’t worn out.

bowen86 · Sep 30, 2024

After fitting the clutch I had an intermittent flashing stop light. Quick search on here and it was recommended I top up the brake fluid. So I did and the light went away, for a bit.

When I went on the drive pictured in the last post, the stop and handbrake light were on almost constantly. I could get both lights to go off by accelerating. Problem solved, accelerate everywhere, always.

I started digging around and followed the new clutch cable around the fire wall and spotted this....

Clearly the new clutch cable knocked these wires on to the manifold.

That'll explain the lights and why my 5 year old daughter asked "Daddy why does your car smell like a barbecue?"

I stripped back the conduit and soldered in some wires, routed the wires higher and for now just wrapped in electrical tape, until my amazon next day delivery conduit arrives.

Quick test drive and the lights are out and no more BBQ smell.

Clio and the BBQ sniffer.

Richyy182 · Oct 5, 2024

Lovely lovely cup!

bowen86 · Oct 11, 2024

Following on from the last post.

I soldered, heat shrunk and put fresh conduit around the cooked wire.

I placed the wires high up out of the way and refitted the remaining heat shield which is attached to the carpet. The heatsheild was hanging on for dear life so I ended up binning it and replacing it with a Clio 1.2 heatsheild which is OEM and a tidy upgrade.

The 21 year old tin foil.

Next to the 1.2 heatsheild.

Fitted.

Yes, I know not a groundbreaking update but this car is pretty well documented on here and it's just good to keep this as a document of its up keep etc.

Next plans are:
Engine mount looks a bit tatty, so I might freshen that up.
New coolant cap.
Rear beam refresh and underseal - any suggestions on who/what company could do this, South Wales.
Suspension - could do with a freshen up, nothing wrong with it but I'd like to 'upgrade it'.

bowen86 · Oct 20, 2024

Very minor updates but just keeping things fresh.

New Coolant cap.

Yes the brown clips are bothering me. Will spray them.

Manky old engine mount out.

New one in

Not bad for an hours work.

Colin-S · Oct 20, 2024

bowen86 said:
Very minor updates but just keeping things fresh.

New Coolant cap.
View attachment 1715603 View attachment 1715604
Yes the brown clips are bothering me. Will spray them.

Found this pic of mine from 2006 and the clips were the same crappy colour. What colour were they supposed to be from new?

172 Cup OEM+

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