1992 Clio Mk1 Clio Resto/rebuild

[Sam16v]

Soooo not been in a Clio for years! Was a member here about 12-13 years ago when i had a 1.4 Rt mk1, then a Tungsten grey 1.8 16v, followed by a willy2. Have owned a good few cars since but the one i loved the most was the mk1 valver!
Decided to buy another before they are unaffordable or there are none left, Spoke to a few people and looked at a few cars, lots of polished up turds full of rust!
The one evening did a fresh search on Ebay and found a phase 1 car newly listed about 12 miles from home!

Car has been sat in the same spot for 10 years plus! and looking a bit sorry for itself, had a quick look around, did a deal, pulled off the wheels, freed up the brakes and dragged it onto the trailer

First job was to have a good look around and see if it was a viable project? Steam cleaned it top and bottom

Had a good poke around, , front subframe rotten, front bottom arms so rusted that they are about to snap, exhaust etchas a good covering of surface rust, engine turns over. doesnt start and looks like its been used as a boat anchor! But Unbelievably the body shell is pretty good, rust on rear arches and rear of outer sills other than that looks really clean just some seriously faded paint!
Best bit is i dont think it has ever been modified, and is fairly complete, even has original radio and handbook

 

[Sam16v]

Thought it was worth trying to get it running before i tore it apart, checked the oil, nice and clean, chucked a battery on, lights and starter! but no fuel pump, Popped open the fuel filler and had a sniff, some seriously old petrol fumes.
Dropped the fuel tank for a good flush

Hmmmmm lovely an impressive amount of shite in the tank!
new pump ordered and both tanks flushed and cleaned

 

[David Stuart]

Following this. Looks like a good project.


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[Sam16v]

If the fuel tank is that bad imagined that the injectors etc would also be pretty grim, and if the the injectors were coming out may aswell pull the whole crusty horrible engine! haha

nice hey!

 

[Sam16v]

Stripped the engine down only done 90 odd thousand miles, mechanically looked really good, oil was crystal clear,

Alli bits all looking very crusty!

 

[Sam16v]

Dropped All the Ali its down to west wales aqua blasting, damian did a great job in less than a week!

 

[Sam16v]

Whilst the bits were being blasted got to work on the bottom end, checked all bearings, clearances etc and all looking spot on, gave the block a coat of my favourite grey paint.

cleaned up all the hoses etc

 

[Sam16v]

And finally to get the thread up to date have spent th last week getting the engine back together
vlaves lapped in and head rebuilt

new gaskets. seals etc

 

[Sam16v]

And yesterdays efforts

Sorry for the picture heavy posts, just thought id get things upto date!

 

[Coops Mk1]

Looking great matey, cracking save!

 

[Sam16v]

Looking great matey, cracking save!

Cheers coops! you were on the forum 12 years ago!
My old 16v

Looking great matey, cracking save!

 

[massiveCoRbyn]

Excellent job, definitely worth following!

Are you keeping it all standard?

 

[Coops Mk1]

Yes chap I've been active in the mk1 scene since about 2002 @Sam16v

 

[White16valver]

Awesome

The fact another one is being saved makes me happy inside!

I am somewhat jealous of your skillz / garage... lol

 

[Captrollerpig]

Just awesome!!

 

[cat171]

Awesome!!! This one's a proper early one as it has the square badge on the doors.

 

[Sam16v]

Cheers fellas, nice to see there’s still some Interest in the earlier cars.
Yup it’s an early one for sure has a pop up sunroof, rather than tilt and slide, black metal speaker covers and the retro blue/yellow/black cloth trim. Even has the old style Renault badge.
Plans are to keep it pretty original, maybe slightly lowered but not much, And possibly a few little tweaks here and there.
I’m hoping it will end up looking as good as this French one.

 

[Sam16v]

Gobthr crusty old exhaust cleaned up today, can up really well, good few hours with a wire brush then some screwfix high temp black.

 

[cat171]

I used to see a red J reg one every morning when I went to school. This was back in about '92 so it must have been virtually new ?

 

[Cookson]

This is the kind of thread I love to see. Mk1 valvers have a little place in my heart after owning a naples red one many many moons ago.

Good luck with the resto, looks like you've got it all in hand.

 

[v15ben]

Good to see you restoring this Valver.
Love seeing them out and about, although it is rare these days.
Good luck with the project.

 

[DaveDreads]

Love pic heavy threads that get things moving along quickly, Mk1's are just the best shape Clio by far.

 

[White16valver]

Cheers fellas, nice to see there’s still some Interest in the earlier cars.
Yup it’s an early one for sure has a pop up sunroof, rather than tilt and slide, black metal speaker covers and the retro blue/yellow/black cloth trim. Even has the old style Renault badge.
Plans are to keep it pretty original, maybe slightly lowered but not much, And possibly a few little tweaks here and there.
I’m hoping it will end up looking as good as this French one.

IIRC you can run the 172 Cup springs on the front for a slight lowering but without going annoyingly hard - I ran them on Williams suspension and they were just fine.

 

[Sam16v]

Ahhh that’s good to know. Anybody know if they are Still available new or aftermarket?

 

[RichValver]

Hey sam

 

[Rubicon_]

Great project and good progress!

 

[White16valver]

Ahhh that’s good to know. Anybody know if they are Still available new or aftermarket?

I bought them when every fucker was swapping 172s onto coilovers, so they were about 30 quid secondhand lol

 

[Djw Dave]

Fantastic project. Loved my Mk1's back in the day. *Following*

 

[Coops Mk1]

This is the kind of thread I love to see. Mk1 valvers have a little place in my heart after owning a naples red one many many moons ago.

Good luck with the resto, looks like you've got it all in hand.

Sorry ?

 

[terryc101]

Great thread! Makes me want to actually sort mine out properly.

 

[Sam16v]

I bought them when every fucker was swapping 172s onto coilovers, so they were about 30 quid secondhand lol

Any pictures of yours on cup springs? Thanks

 

[Sam16v]

Started work on the box, fair to say I’m well out of my depth!

 

[lemonnobby]

That looks great

 

[rik220]

Watching this! What is the shell like in below? Sills etc?

 

[Sam16v]

Watching this! What is the shell like in below? Sills etc?

Shell is looking better than a lot I’ve seen! Rear chassis rails solid, floors, and jacking points are good. Rust at rear of sills and rear arches, yet to look at the front inner wings.

 

[Muzza1uk]

Hello Sam, really interested in this thread, I've got a 96 N 16v in my garage gathering dust that I've had from 6 months old.
It's been siting there since 07 when it's last MOT fail caused a new car direction however I couldn't bring myself to part with
it and had plans as a track car that never panned out. Now I'm thinking I'd like to get her back on the road in stock condition
as a fun 2nd car, she's too good to be a parts car or scrapped.

Unlike you I may have to get some help to get her back running as the closest I've got to maintenance is checking oil!

I just realised I'd posted a thread on here in 2011 looking to sell it at that time, guess time really does fly!

 

[rik220]

Hello Sam, really interested in this thread, I've got a 96 N 16v in my garage gathering dust that I've had from 6 months old.
It's been siting there since 07 when it's last MOT fail caused a new car direction however I couldn't bring myself to part with
it and had plans as a track car that never panned out. Now I'm thinking I'd like to get her back on the road in stock condition
as a fun 2nd car, she's too good to be a parts car or scrapped.

Unlike you I may have to get some help to get her back running as the closest I've got to maintenance is checking oil!

I just realised I'd posted a thread on here in 2011 looking to sell it at that time, guess time really does fly!

It’s only nuts and bolts mate! Get yourself a tool box and a lot of tools bought and have fun!


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[Mavez]

Great rescue mission! looks ace.

 

[Pricey98]

Following. Love a mk1 Clio. No photos of my old one unfortunately as no camera phone in 2002 ?

Edit - I'm sure I saw this one on ebay a few weeks ago. They rarely come up these days.

 

[rik220]

@Muzza1uk get a thread started and some photos up!


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