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Restoring Little Bluey - my 182 FF ClioSport in Racing Blue



Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
I’ve been having some fun in old Bluey lately — blasting around the North Yorkshire moors and commuting back and forth to work (not for much longer).

FullSizeRender.jpeg


Last Tuesday, I was coming home on a properly windy evening - Storm Floris, if my memory serves me right - and noticed smoke swirling around more than usual.

I thought, “Crikey, my engine’s gone!” lol. I wasn’t even revving it that hard, so I went straight home. It’s been on the drive since Sunday, when I took her down to my storage and could hear all sorts of noises that weren’t really there, lol. Damn cars - got me paranoid now! 🤣

Anyway, she's going for a leak-down test on Thursday, which should tell me a bit more. 🤞
 
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Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
What amount of leakage did you get Jon?
Just waiting for the full report. I’ve got some video, but I don’t understand any of it - not mechanically minded, unfortunately.

Cylinder 3 is good 🤣

If you start the car, it’s perfect. If you drive it sensibly, it seems perfect. The only way you notice oil is if you take it to 4,500–5,500 rpm - then it reveals itself.

On the positive side, I’ve caught it at the right time and should, hopefully, be able to retain the original engine and have it rebuilt.

But I’m not the one building it, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
 

Mr Trailer Man

ClioSport Club Member
Just waiting for the full report. I’ve got some video, but I don’t understand any of it - not mechanically minded, unfortunately.

Cylinder 3 is good 🤣

If you start the car, it’s perfect. If you drive it sensibly, it seems perfect. The only way you notice oil is if you take it to 4,500–5,500 rpm - then it reveals itself.

On the positive side, I’ve caught it at the right time and should, hopefully, be able to retain the original engine and have it rebuilt.

But I’m not the one building it, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Could be the rings then.

A fresh set and a light honing should sort it.

Lap the valves and new stem seals while you're there.
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Could be the rings then.

A fresh set and a light honing should sort it.

Lap the valves and new stem seals while you're there.
I’ve only briefly chatted to the techie, so I’ll wait until I see the full report, but I think it’s a lot worse than that.

I'm keeping the car, so I'll get whatever it needs to future-proof it.

The upside is, I don't have to listen to “kick its head, it'll be right,” or “needs a piston soak, pal,” or “just needs an ItAliAn TUnE.” 🤣
 

bren172

ClioSport Club Member
  clio 172
Who are you going to get to rebuild it? Could you keep us posted on costs? I'm still scared of what my engine is going to be like after only doing 1000 miles in 13 years
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
From the leak-down reports:
  • Cylinder 1 – 45% (Major leak)
  • Cylinder 2 – 10% (Good)
  • Cylinder 3 – 15% (Good/Fair)
  • Cylinder 4 – 95% (Catastrophic)
Likely causes:
  • Ring/bore issues
  • Intake valve issues
I’ll just get the whole lot refreshed and future-proofed. There can't be many - if any - Racing Blue 182s out there in this kind of cosmetic condition, so with a refreshed engine, it should last me many more years to come.

The story continues..................................................

Thank you for reading.

IMG_4373.jpeg
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
95% makes me wonder if the piston was actually at TDC on compression stroke 😅

Did the car run ok?
The car runs fine when hot. I noticed the symptoms getting worse when starting from cold. If I let the car tick over for 5 minutes after the cold map has switched, you’d honestly never notice anything - unless you floored it and looked in the rear-view mirror.
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
The time has come to close the chapter on my Renault Clio ownership. My little blue Clio will go to its new owner on Sunday. I’ll let them share their identity if they choose.

I’ve loved restoring these little cars to their former glory. Every car I’ve owned has been cherished, and that will continue until I’m physically unable to carry on.

The club and its members have been amazing for supporting my threads on all four of my 182s over the past eight years. I’ve learned so much and forged some lasting friendships along the way. I never fully appreciated it before, but it’s a truly fantastic community!

This isn’t the end, of course. I have other projects waiting in the wings that’ll keep me out of trouble.

So, it’s au revoir for now and thank you for reading.

P.S. I’ll definitely be at CSF next year - unsure of what I’ll bring, but I’m eager to put more faces to names.

Last pic of little Bluey in my ownership.

IMG_5123.jpeg
 

Matt182!

ClioSport Club Member
  Clio 182 Inferno
Did not expect that, hope it is going to a great home!

Just want to say many thanks for the great and detailed project thread(s) and also always being happy to help. Has been a great help to me (and I'm sure many others) with processes, parts, products for certain things etc.

Best of luck with the new projects!
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
What's changed since your last post about getting it all repaired?

Didn't expect you to part ways, sad to see
Nothings changed really. It’ll be getting rebuilt and kept on the road, just under new ownership. It’s all I wanted for the car. I always put 100% into everything I do, but I never get too attached to anything. I change my mind like I change my socks.
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Did not expect that, hope it is going to a great home!

Just want to say many thanks for the great and detailed project thread(s) and also always being happy to help. Has been a great help to me (and I'm sure many others) with processes, parts, products for certain things etc.

Best of luck with the new projects!
You’re very welcome. 😊
 

Darryl_1983

ClioSport Club Member
  RB 182 Cup
Having been lucky enough to own your black 182 for a short time, and seeing all the work you've now put into this car, I'm gutted for you that it's ended this way. But at the same time I know the new owner will be getting an awesome car.

Looking forward to seeing a thread pop up in the future with Clio number 5 content, as I doubt you'll be able to stay away for to long. I've just let go number 11 for me. 😅
 

PerthRS

ClioSport Club Member
  Clio 182 CUP
Did not expect that, hope it is going to a great home!

Just want to say many thanks for the great and detailed project thread(s) and also always being happy to help. Has been a great help to me (and I'm sure many others) with processes, parts, products for certain things etc.

Best of luck with the new projects!
Ditto this.
Mainly with helping me out with the OEM AC Delete/CUP set up since we never got them in AUS.
I probably messaged him too much, so he treated the community with a guide 😂
Top bloke (y)
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Ditto this.
Mainly with helping me out with the OEM AC Delete/CUP set up since we never got them in AUS.
I probably messaged him too much, so he treated the community with a guide 😂
Top bloke (y)
Very kind of you. After I wrote that guide and fitted mine, the bloody custom radiator wouldn’t fit, so I had to take it all off. 🤦‍♂️
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Having been lucky enough to own your black 182 for a short time, and seeing all the work you've now put into this car, I'm gutted for you that it's ended this way. But at the same time I know the new owner will be getting an awesome car.

Looking forward to seeing a thread pop up in the future with Clio number 5 content, as I doubt you'll be able to stay away for to long. I've just let go number 11 for me. 😅
Cheers, Darryl, but honestly, I’m not that gutted - just trying to be sensible for once.

Owning a Clio Sport was always something I wanted, and I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy four of them on both road and track. This is what I do - move on and not get too attached.

I’m sure I’ll pop up with something interesting again at some point - that’s just the way I am. Outside of this forum, it’s just an old Mk2 Clio, but in a way I feel relieved not having to keep pouring time and money into it.

If anything, I’m actually quite excited to show the new owner around the car, as they’ve never seen it in the flesh. But at the end of the day, it’s just stuff - health and happiness have to be the priority. We move on to the next.
 

MLB

ClioSport Club Member
Any idea already what the next will be and will it get a similarly detailed write up on here?

Echo above comments, always thoroughly enjoyed your threads and appreciate your help and great parts knowledge!
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Any idea already what the next will be and will it get a similarly detailed write up on here?
I've already started a new project, but it's not a Renault, so I'll keep it off here since it's nothing special. I also have to work on my son's Scooby, but he's not too keen on me posting about it.
Echo above comments, always thoroughly enjoyed your threads and appreciate your help and great parts knowledge!
I appreciate that. I started out with zero knowledge, to be honest, and finding people who are willing to share what they know isn’t always easy. So I figured it might help other newbies like me if I work things out for myself and share as I go along. I’ll stay in the Club, though, as it’s a great little community, and knowing me, I’ll probably be back with something of interest to others on here.
 

hopgop1

ClioSport Club Member
I've already started a new project, but it's not a Renault, so I'll keep it off here since it's nothing special. I also have to work on my son's Scooby, but he's not too keen on me posting about it.

I appreciate that. I started out with zero knowledge, to be honest, and finding people who are willing to share what they know isn’t always easy. So I figured it might help other newbies like me if I work things out for myself and share as I go along. I’ll stay in the Club, though, as it’s a great little community, and knowing me, I’ll probably be back with something of interest to others on here.
Buy @MarcB 's Trophy, it looks gorgeous, and very close to your standard already. Safe money IMO.
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Buy @MarcB 's Trophy, it looks gorgeous, and very close to your standard already. Safe money IMO.
I love the Trophy, but no more 20-plus-year-old Renault Clio Sports for me, thank you very much. Once the engine is refreshed on the RB, it’ll be an amazing car for many years to come, because the bodywork is outstanding. There won’t be many, if any, like her on the road. I just don’t want to pile more money into it - I’ve had enough. Time to move on.

The new project has had all of the cosmetic work done to it at the expense of the previous owner, so all I need to do are the finishing touches. That feels like a nice place to be right now.
 


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