£500 Budget

[SWJames]

This is how the car stands currently, it's a 1.5dci (65) 5 door in nautical blue.

unfortunately the car used to be a driving instructors car and therefor he put a protective sheet on the roof before putting the advertising box on and the moron used the wrong stuff and it had welded to the roof, have tried numerous things to get it off and the one that seemed to work best was putting a petrol soaked towel on it and putting a sheet of polythene over the top and leaving it for a few hours but it had f**ked the paint underneeth so the roof needs to be resprayed. Here is a photo of the s**t on he roof...

so basically I've got some money again, (around £500) an was wondering what you guys thought should be the next things to be done to the car! any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Will.]

Lower it on springs and get some standard 172 alloys.

 

[is1]

As Will. says really.
Put some away for a clutch if it was an instructor's car!

 

[SWJames]

and just leave the stuff on the roof?

 

[Sir_Dave]

Buy some standard 172 16" wheels.

Sell 'things' that are on there.

Admire efforts.

 

[Goodj]

spend the money on getting the roof sprayed and getting some renault wheels.

forget lowz etc. pointless. (IMO)

 

[couzens]

at a guess, a roof respray will take up a big chunk of that budget. get rid of the alloys and buy some used standerd wheels, 30-60mm springs too. probably all managable on your budget if you shop around

 

[SWJames]

was considering getting it colour coded as well as i can get the bump strips on the doors front and rear bumpers and wing mirrors done for £150. yes or no?

 

[Goodj]

ask SPrayShack on here, they'll let you know about the colour coding.

But, seriously, roof should be your priority. No sense in trying to make the look nicer until that's done.

It'd be like Adele wearing flashy shoes, it's just not tackling the root of the problem

 

[steviet]

If the stuffs on top of the paint surface, you might be able to get it off, have you tried heating it up (decent hairdryer) to see how it reacts??? Could be a case of heat and gently scrape, followed by a good polish to sort that...... Id punt the wheels to a daft looking youth for £5 less than they're worth new, claiming that they're 'barely used' and get some Ph2 172 or dynamique wheels and a set of decent springs (not the lowest ones you can find, you don't want your car to look broken and you'll want to use the rear doors for mates/birds...).

 

[SWJames]

haha, fair one, what springs would you guys recommend if i decide to go down that route?

 

[steviet]

From reports on here, Id avoid Apex, apparently they're a bit hard. Something from a decent manufacturer to lower it about 40mm should be reet......

 

[Goodj]

Hard to say, but the DCi would need firmer front springs anyway wouldn't it?

I'd honestly say to stick with OEM stuff, at least you know it'll definately be OK.

 

[Will.]

Put some sportlines on. The ones from a 1.4, 1.6 and 172/182 will fit.

 

[steviet]

40mm Eibach sportlines are on motorsportworld for £130 + postage, for the dci..

http://www.motorsportworld.co.uk/frame-detail.asp?PAGE=/eibach-springs.htm

 

[TonkaTruck]

Welcome, get yourself over to www.CliodCi.net as well!

 

[Rob]

I'd go down the 60mm apex route, they look great!

 

[Addicted]

What about wrapping the roof? Gotta be a bit cheaper than a spray!

 

[SWJames]

60mm is a bit much imo the roads around here are such bad quality! pot holes everywhere, I think it would be just a bit too much of a harsh ride.

 

[SWJames]

Instead of colour coding i was considering trying to get all the plastic a real deep black, shinny preferably, is the only way to do this sand, prime, paint & lacquer? in which case i might as well just get it all nautical blue!

 

[Rob]

Shiny black NEVER looks good on those parts, trust me, I've seen it tried and it fails.

60mm springs on a non sport really isn't that low, it's only two inches! You've got about 4 inches of archgap there!

 

[SWJames]

Will 60mm springs on standard shocks make the handling be worse though?

 

[Goodj]

YOu'll want to make sure your shocks are in good order, they'll get a lot more stress with the shorter travel of the springs.

but, (and I'm sure somebody will clear this up) the DCi's have to handle heavier noses so might have stronger dampers anyway?

Rob?

 

[Baggaley90]

Shiny black NEVER looks good on those parts, trust me, I've seen it tried and it fails.

60mm springs on a non sport really isn't that low, it's only two inches! You've got about 4 inches of archgap there!

I have 60mm on mine atm and it still looks like a standard car really. Non sports are tractors. Also it handles better with standard shocks than it did before. Well at least on mine anyway.

 

[edde]

As Will. says really.
Put some away for a clutch if it was an instructor's car!

Clutches are very good though might still be fine.

Will 60mm springs on standard shocks make the handling be worse though?

IMO yep I wouldn't bother chnaging springs but thats my opinions

 

[deanog123]

ask SPrayShack on here, they'll let you know about the colour coding.

But, seriously, roof should be your priority. No sense in trying to make the look nicer until that's done.

It'd be like Adele wearing flashy shoes, it's just not tackling the root of the problem

ahah harsh but true goodj, depending on how much it costs to get rid of that nasty roof sticky s**t and get it resprayed could take out a hefty chunk of your budget just do what you want to do haterz gun hate and all that its your car have fun!

 

[garlick988]

Carbon wrap on the roof, cheap on eBay, sell your wheels and some 172 wheels and some cheap second hand coilovers, and get some paint from halfords and colour code yourself.

 

[joshhicky]

Like someone said if its been a driving instructors car have some money for the clutch you never know, and get rid of the roof markings and then get rid of them wheels and get the original ones ill look much better.

 

[DannyR]

That roof will cost less than £200

 

[ekaJ]

Coilies and man up, worth it for the looks.

 

[roland rat]

I'd get the roof "wrapped" to save on cost,get some nice 172 alloys and some lowering springs.may even have enough for some colour coded bits too.

 

[Alastair.]

That s**t on the roof is a b*****d to get off, my mrs mk3 clio had it (ex learner) i used a heat gun and a plastic scraper, then got all the residue off with tar and glue remover. Looked perfect after a serious machine polish. I reckon i spent 3-4 hours doing that lol. Think the sun had just baked it on.

 

[SWJames]

Yeah i think it is the un that has one it too! It has and it's completely f****d the lacquer, but i can get the roof resrayed for 150 so no too bad i guess, any ideas how much it would be to get the roof wrapped and where to get it done?