Dan's Monaco 172

[MonacoDan]

I've been on here quite a while now and I'm now on my third Clio, ever since my first I've absolutely loved Clios they are such good fun to drive, so from the start..

I first started with a MK1 1.2 oasis

Then moved on to a MK2 PH3 1.2 Dynamique

And now my current 172, ive had it for 2 weeks now, it was completely standard when I picked it up and as soon as I got it home the 3/4 plate and new wipers were fitted.
I bought the car knowing it needed some work but with full service history and a colour to die for I had to have it.

4 days after picking it up I took It to BTM performance for a cambelt & dephaser change, while I was waiting for the car to be done I set about ordering some parts for other bits that needed doing, first up was new discs & pads all round so I spoke to G172 on here and bought what I needed, I also bought a PiperX panel filter to replace the manky paper one.

The following weekend I fitted the discs, pads and filter, the front discs were in a shocking state!
Old discs

New shiny ones fitted

After that I gave it a quick wash and removed the Renault Sport badge

Next I ordered 2 new bottom ball joints and I also managed to get 4 new 205/45/16 Michelin PS3's through work for a bargain price , fitted them this weekend and the car handles 100x better then before.
Due to the weather I haven't been able to do much more, I've got a skoda splitter waiting to go on and I've also got these sat in the bedroom, just waiting for payday so I can order some 172 cup shocks and new top mounts.

And I managed to get a slightly decent pic today

Plans so far are:
Various bodywork issues need sorting, looks as though a couple of panels have had a bad respray at some point
Cup spoiler
OZ ultra's in silver
Powerflex ARB bushes
Whiteline RARB
New rack bushes
Track rods & track rod ends
New plugs & magnecor leads
New exhaust of some sort
98Ron map

There's loads of other tiny bits too but they can be done whenever, once I've sorted most of the bits that I want to do I'll be looking at doing some trackdays as it's something I've been looking forward to a lot

Thanks for reading guys, will update once I get some more bits done.

Dan

 

[welshname]

Will keep an eye on this, looking to get one myself in the next few months.

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Looking good mate :approve:

Liking how you've gone about this with replacing the important bits with good quality parts like the brakes and tyres, makes me laugh when people stick ditch finders on these cars to save a few quid

Similar car history aswel, as I went from a mk1 1.2 Clio to a ph2 172

Keep up the good work!

 

[Loz H]

Epic! one of the better colours imo, jealous

 

[Chi]

So far so good mate.

 

[jackfm]

Excellent. Love seeing fellow clean Monacos.

 

[MonacoDan]

Cheers guys

Looking good mate :approve:

Liking how you've gone about this with replacing the important bits with good quality parts like the brakes and tyres, makes me laugh when people stick ditch finders on these cars to save a few quid

Similar car history aswel, as I went from a mk1 1.2 Clio to a ph2 172

Keep up the good work!

well styling is the last thing on my mind, I'd rather a car that is safe and handles like it just came out the factory, I know what you mean about ditch finders though one of the tyres I took off was a rockstone! I've never even heard of them.

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Ha me neither! When my PE2s need replacing ill probably go for the PS3 next

 

[MonacoDan]

Small update today, managed to do a coolant change and fit a new expansion tank, also found the o/s cv boot clip missing so promptly replaced that.

2014-02-15 13.05.09 by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

2014-02-15 12.57.21 by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

Hopefully the weather holds out tomorrow so I can whip the front bumper off to fix the xenon headlamp and fit the skoda splitter

 

[MonacoDan]

Another small update today, weather has been great so I have managed to fit my skoda splitter and give the engine bay a much needed clean, unfortunately I didn't have any tools with me today so I was unable to fix the headlight.

New splitter by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

172 Engine bay by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

At some point in the near future I intend on spraying the engine cover Monaco also the fuel rail cover and inlet manifold black with a few polished bits.

 

[Sam]

It's such a lovely colour. So much want!!

 

[MonacoDan]

Few bits turned up today.
Whiteline rarb
Powerflex arb bushes
Powerflex dogbone mount bushes


Whiteline rarb by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

Powerflex bushes by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

these probably won't be fitted for a few weeks as I have some tie rods & tie rod ends turning up tomorrow also hope to get some sparkplugs as well, I'm also helping a mate fix his clio this weekend so I'm a little short on time this week, really can't wait to get them fitted though

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Nice little mod the whiteline rarb, you'll like it I'm sure when fitted

 

[MonacoDan]

Right today I went about changing the spark plugs and fitting new side repeaters, its safe to say the plugs needed changing anyway!

engine bay by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

old v new by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

Also cleaned the throttle body while it was off

Clean throttle body by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

And I fitted my powerflex dogbone bushes last weekend, this has made such a difference to the gear change and stopped the knocking I was getting.

powerflex dogbone by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

no pics of clear side repeaters unfortunately, I was also going to fit my powerflex arb bushes but found that larkspeed had accidentally sent 2 sets of inner bushes so they will have to wait for now.

 

[MonacoDan]

Right been a while since my last update, over the past few weekends i've gone about tidying up the engine bay and fitting a few bits.
Firstly ive fitted the powerflex ARB bushes, these haven't made a huge difference although they have helped me find out what is causing the slight 'self steering' when going over bumps/whitelines, since fitting it has halved the amount it does it which I'm guessing means the lower arm bushes are on the way out so these will be replaced in the next couple of weeks.

Next up was the engine bay, I had some high temp matt black lying around so decided to spray the inlet & fuel rail cover then polish up the writing on the inlet, while waiting for the paint to dry so I could do another coat I took the upper grill off and sprayed It satin black.

After seeing a lot of K-TEC style induction kits and not being able afford a new exhaust system yet I decided to do the same and give it a go, I ordered a PiperX filter along with one silicone pipe and one alloy pipe, as It turns out the alloy pipe I had ordered was too short which set me back a few days.

only a small list of bits left to do now:
finish polishing the inlet writing
spray the engine cover Monaco
new battery and fit a custom battery cover which extends over the air filter.

 

[welshname]

I'm jealous of how tidy your paint is. Mine has seen some pretty poor panel repair in its life

Looking good and keep the updates coming.

 

[Jules172]

Wish mine looked as neat and tidy as this, been some real un caring owners before me, but work on it starts soon as Easter gets here hopefully, great looking car DannyDanny

 

[MonacoDan]

I'm jealous of how tidy your paint is. Mine has seen some pretty poor panel repair in its life

Looking good and keep the updates coming.

cheers, in all fairness the paint isn't as good as it looks, the front bumper has a bit of lacquer peel around one of the fogs and the drivers side rear quarter has had a really bad spray job at some point as the paint has a few runs in it and you can see where it was masked off around the window :dapprove:

 

[welshname]

Ouch. Mine is sanding marks. The paint was done and blended well, just not sanded well. My bonnet is a state but my front bumper isn't too bad surprisingly.

 

[Jules172]

Not sure what the previous owner did to my rear bumper but looks like he spilt something and wiped it across like paint stripper or tcut, it needs a respray! Got my k&n panel filter and rear discs today so I'm happier keep the great work guys

 

[MonacoDan]

Not sure what the previous owner did to my rear bumper but looks like he spilt something and wiped it across like paint stripper or tcut, it needs a respray! Got my k&n panel filter and rear discs today so I'm happier keep the great work guys

Sounds like the previous owner was very caring
With these car being so cheap now people just don't look after them which is a shame.

 

[Jules172]

Not really and tbh I've got to spend about a grand on it to replace, bushes, brakes, cambelt change and suspension to get it back to a decent decent car, it's ok as it is but needs plenty of work! Got to decide if I really want to keep it or I'm flogging a dead horse!

 

[MonacoDan]

Right got a fair bit done since my last update,
fitted a new pollen filter the other day as the old one was disgusting!

pollen filter by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

After work today I set about fitting my cup shocks, cooksport springs and whiteline rarb, I knew the old suspension was a bit worn but it was a lot worse then I thought. I found one of the front shocks had a bad leak, both front springs were different sizes and the rear shocks were mis matched. The car handles 100x better now, I've only got before pics as I was too busy trying to get it finished so I could do the wheel alignment and get home but hopefully the weather will stay nice this weekend and I'll get the car cleaned for some decent shots.

front height by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

rear height by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

Whiteline RARB by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

 

[welshname]

Looks great. I'm going for the exact same suspension setup in the coming months. Would be great to see how the car looks on the ground once they've settled. Although I'll be looking to run spacers too.

Good work.

 

[MonacoDan]

Looks great. I'm going for the exact same suspension setup in the coming months. Would be great to see how the car looks on the ground once they've settled. Although I'll be looking to run spacers too.

Good work.

I'm off to pick up some alloys for my mate tomorrow so I'll take the slr and get some decent shots, defiantly need spacers though the wheels look lost in the arches.

 

[MonacoDan]

Few pics with the cooksports on, this is with no spacers & 205 tyres.

Clio 172 by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

Clio 172 #4 by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

Clio 172 #3 by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

Clio 172 #2 by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

 

[MonacoDan]

Today I did a gearbox oil change using some Fuchs sintofluid, also I won some alloys on eBay with the intention of using them as track wheels, after researching they appear to be ATS dtc superlights 15x7, not bad for £26

ats by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

 

[harry289]

Fack. £26?!

 

[whelan24]

Looking good mate, subbed

 

[MonacoDan]

Fack. £26?!

I couldn't believe it myself! I put a £50 max bid in before work this morning checked eBay after work to find I'd won them.
The center caps aren't to my liking but I can hardly complain.

 

[Loz H]

Looks ace on the cooksports mate, and good job on getting them for £26!

 

[welshname]

Great buy. Look like GT3 RS wheels lol.

Need some better side on pictures of the ride height with the wheels straight lol.

 

[MonacoDan]

Looks ace on the cooksports mate, and good job on getting them for £26!

Cheers mate

Great buy. Look like GT3 RS wheels lol.

Need some better side on pictures of the ride height with the wheels straight lol.

Geez you Monaco owners are so picky
I'll see what I can do next time the weathers nice.

 

[welshname]

Cheers. The pictures you've done are making me more undecided as it's not quite low enough for me so I might have to go down the coilovers route. I want the top of the tyre on the front to be almost flush with the arch, and then a little more gap on the rear.

 

[MonacoDan]

Cheers. The pictures you've done are making me more undecided as it's not quite low enough for me so I might have to go down the coilovers route. I want the top of the tyre on the front to be almost flush with the arch, and then a little more gap on the rear.

ah in that case then cooksports might not be for you, I'd say there's at least an inch gap on the front and slightly less on the rear.
I only went for springs to keep the comfort side of things but with the added benefit of better handling, I'll grab a side on for you and you can see for yourself.

 

[MonacoDan]

Only a small update, last weekend I stripped the old tyres off the alloys and bought some spigot rings for them, just got to get some tyres sorted then they can go on until I decide to refurb them, also the A/C wasn't as cold as I thought it should be so I've done a regas for now but I imagine there's probably a leak somewhere but I'll sort that later on.

alloys by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

a/c by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

 

[MonacoDan]

Right ive done a fair bit since my last update, unfortunately not many pictures.
So I set about doing a few little bits that needed sorting but been putting off, i've fitted a new rear number plate lamp with led bulb which now looks much neater, next up was a new headlight washer motor as they didn't work but typically since fitting the new motor the washers now leak :dapprove: so ill have to fit a non return valve at some point.
Now for a while I've suspected the clutch was on its way out, so I booked a week off work to fit a new clutch and my rack bushes. Turns out I was right about the clutch as the friction plate had loads of cracks in it!

clutch change by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

Last up ive decided to finally get on and sort out my other set of alloys, as they only cost me £26 I decided to diy refurb them.
So far I have sanded back, filled in the curbing and primered one wheel, the final colour will be Ford Moondust silver

alloy wheel by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

alloy wheel primer by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

 

[MonacoDan]

Small update on the alloys. I've pretty much finished one alloy, it looks a little blue in the photo but when in the sun its a very bright silver with a strong flake in it.

old v new by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

 

[MonacoDan]

Quick update, I got bored of sanding the alloys down so I made a start on my engine cover as it was looking quite dull, ive gone for Monaco & Silver with a new 2.0 16v sticker lacquered on.

engine bay by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

After seeing a link posted to a cheap cup spoiler I had to have it, luckily there is a bodyshop within walking distance of work so I will popping by sometime this week to get it sprayed

cup spoiler by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

 

[MonacoDan]

So I picked up the cup spoiler from the bodyshop today, the quality of the workmanship is impeccable!

Before:

standard spoiler by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

After:

cup spoiler by Dan Haynes | Automotive Photography, on Flickr

Improves the rear end so much.