Big Steve's RB Clio 182 Cup Restoration

[Big_Steve_T]

I've been into my small fast Renault's for ages now but still can't really explain why...? ?

My first (and what started the love) was my first Renault 5 GT Turbo Raider 1990's:

That was my Mum's brand new Valver back in the day...! The Raider 5GTT Turbo model was the closest it could come to owning the Valver... well the same colour at least!!

I sold that car and went back to Vauxhall's for a while until 2003 when I bought another Renault 5 GT Turbo Raider which I still own now and I restored in 2006. This car has become a little infamous over the years being one of the first that was fully restored whilst others continued to be modified and abused (more on that later) I still own this car:

Couple of years later I bought Flan's Clio VAG and thrashed that round for a while (Great Fun that car!!). I sold that car some time ago back to Flan incidentally!!

I then bought a Renault 11 Turbo for a Restoration Project. I still own this car, and am also working on restoring this at the moment:

I then bought myself a R5GTT Coupe Cup Car I used for track days. Great fun but It was just too damn un-reliable for a trackday, and I was getting passed by standard looking Ciio's all the time. So I sold this car:

As I enjoy the odd trackday, I replaced the 5GTT Coupe with a Megane R26. (Still own this car at time of writing):

So I don't need any more Renault's do I...?

 

[Big_Steve_T]

So this summer during a bit of usual car parts eBay browsing, I stumbled across a Clio 182 that someone had spent a LOAD of money on getting resprayed... but just needed "a few bits" (my arse) to finish. The pictures of the car looked great and of course, being Blue, really caught my eye..

So I kept a watch over the auction and thought that the price of the car (considering the respray had already taken place) was fairly reasonable. At this point I didn't quite know how I was going to explain this to my little sausage @Millie_Bee as another car would be the last thing she would support.. so I just kept following the auction.

So on the final day of the auction (26th July 2018) I was sitting at Peterborough Rail Station waiting to pick Sarah up and thought I had nothing to lose by having a cheeky bid... I was sure it would be beaten..

s**t I WON IT!!
?​

 

[v15ben]

Some very nice cars you've owned, especially like the restored R5.

RB is the best colour and that one looks mint. Interested to read more...

 

[Big_Steve_T]

The car was near Southend On Sea, so that Weekend I came clean with my wife and we had a ride down to have a closer look at the car. Fortunately the reality was just like the pictures, so a deal was done and funds were exchanged:

I bought the car without the Engine fitted (I've got the Engine and Gearbox) so wasn't going to be driven back to my house under it's own steam, so after a little bit of Internet Wizardry, a driver was soon dispatched and the car soon appeared...

 

[Big_Steve_T]

So whats my plan?? Well I restored my R5GTT when parts were plentiful and cheap... so I'm now going to do the same with this Clio 182?? I'm not expecting the car will become as rare and exclusive as my 5GTT Raider (Perhaps I should have bought a Trophy... but I can't stand RED) but I think it will polish up well...?

Now the car was with me, I started to make a list of the bits I would need, and very soon, went to see a nice chap in Kidderminster who was breaking a Clio 182, and I have a load of bits off him:

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Given the engine was a total unknown entity, I'm going to get it totally rebuilt from the bottom up, and am lining @bloke to do the work for me as he's got a good history with these engines. In the mean time, I'm doing what I do best... the cleaning up and making it look nice!

 

[rik220]

Subscribed.

I remember seeing this car on eBay.


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[Captrollerpig]

Subscribed.

looking forward to seeing the updates!

 

[Clio_fool]

Looks like a good project and a nice addition to the fleet.

 

[ali-ham]

This looks a great project. Still tempted by a rb 182. Some nice renault history there.

 

[Gt Lad]

Lovely collection you’ve had! Thumbs up to another RB ??

 

[Coops Mk1]

awful, should of bought a phase 1 ;-)

 

[JamesBryan]

Don't know if it's me going mad but on the pics the oil breather on the rocker cover goes from a 172 breather to a 182 setup ?

 

[rik220]

Don't know if it's me going mad but on the pics the oil breather on the rocker cover goes from a 172 breather to a 182 setup [emoji23]

Your right. I think you can put a 172 breather plate onto a 182 engine but not the other way round. I could be wrong though.

Maybe OP can enlighten us to this continuity error [emoji23]

EDIT - 182 engine pic is from the car he got parts off

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[JamesBryan]

Your right. I think you can put a 172 breather plate onto a 182 engine but not the other way round. I could be wrong though.

Maybe OP can enlighten us to this continuity error [emoji23]

EDIT - 182 engine pic is from the car he got parts off

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It did confuse me for a minute.

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Thanks for all the interest guys, I really appreciate it!! Oh and it will be a real help for you all to help point out to me where all the stupid little brackets and clips go that I've either got in a box stuffed in the boot, or have already gone missing!! ?

 

[Big_Steve_T]

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I've also got a Renault 11 Turbo I'm currently restoring (Warning, slight thread detour) that's been at the bodyshop now for 18 bloody months (Don't get me started about bodyshop's) and I've been expecting it back for about 12 of those 18 months so have not been getting too involved in anything else as I was waiting for the 11 to return. Just before Christmas 2018, there was a flurry of activity at the Bodyshop, and I was sent these pictures of the progress in the last days of 2018..
Primered:

Final coats of colour and laquer:

Rough re-fit, ready to shoot the OE satin black accents present on a R11 turbo:

Funnily enough, this week (WK2 2019) the Satin Black is due to be sprayed onto the car, so hopefully I will have a new picture of the final painted body sometime soon to share with you...?

ANYWAY... Black to the Clio, this is Cliosport after all!! ?

Before I knew about this extra effort on the R11 Turbo, the Clio was parked outside under a nice fitted cover I had made for it, waiting for it's chance to get into the garage. I figured that I would not be seeing the R11 anytime soon, given it's nearly set root at the bodyshop, so decided to wheel it into the garage, so I could start to have a tentative prod around underneath and make a start on the work.

I wheeled it in and made a start on stripping down the subframe and brackets in the engine bay. Crazy how a car that was build in 2003 looked like it had been at the bottom of the bloody SEA with all the rust.. ?⚓

Makes me laugh how the arches are all nicely stonechipped and black, and the bloody suspension parts are rusty as sh1t!!

Needless to say, there was enough to sweep up afterwards:

I pulled the Subframe out (after a bit of a fight with a few rusty bolts):

And again, the anti-roll-bar was looking past it's best somewhat...

 

[Clio_fool]

I did think the engine looked like it had been attached to a boat for a while?. I guess with the body freshly painted the mechanicals will all be powder coated to keep up then?

 

[Big_Steve_T]

I also removed the ABS Pump bracket, and found that it was not removed as part of the re-spray, so there was again some tin-worm lurking behind it, that I wanted to sort out:

Following a LOT of work like this on my R11 turbo project, I'm well used to the procedure now... rub it all down to remove the flaky stuff. Then cover the rust with your preference of Rust Killer/Inhibitor. This is the stuff I use, but you take your choice:

The FE-123 Rust Converter attacks the rust, and turns it black to show you the bits it's working on:

As we're in the depths of winter at the moment, i was spraying the car in the cold weather, so thanks to a trusty Screwfix Heater, and a little cover to stop the heat escaping, things were soon hotting up!!

When everything was dry and warm, I then painted it with primer:

Basecoat:

Then laquer:

Leaving the finished result looking as good as new!!

 

[Big_Steve_T]

I did think the engine looked like it had been attached to a boat for a while?. I guess with the body freshly painted the mechanicals will all be powder coated to keep up then?

Sure will @OssPoop ?

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Now the area was nice and clean, I couldn't go fitting the ABS pump assembly back in in the same sorry state that was in...

So the bracket was sent off for powder coating with the rest of the black engine bay parts & brackets:

And again a few hours work with the elbow grease soon brought the ABS pump back to looking respectable:

Leaving the final assembly looking all spangly again:

 

[Clio_fool]

Sure will @OssPoop ?

Will it rival this beauty though? https://www.cliosport.net/threads/return-of-the-rb.815571/

 

[Big_Steve_T]

No surprises for guessing the Master Cylinder and Servo were also looking in a sh1t state... Usual service:

#

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Will it rival this beauty though? https://www.cliosport.net/threads/return-of-the-rb.815571/

I'll let you all judge me on that... ?

 

[Clio_fool]

I'll let you all judge me on that... ?

CS can be a harsh judge sometimes. And worse executioner ?

 

[Big_Steve_T]

awful, should of bought a phase 1 ;-)

If I hadn't bought this, I'd have been all over that Odyssey like a fat lass on chips....

 

[Big_Steve_T]

CS can be a harsh judge sometimes. And worse executioner ?

? Bring it on I say, I know the R5GTT inside out which was why it made my restoration of that easier that it will be on this Clio. I've not got the first clue of what goes where.. so I'll be asking you and the rest of the people here what I'm missing and where bits go!! That RB thread you linked up will be a gold mine for reference now!! ?

 

[Big_Steve_T]

In addition to the ABS Pump and the Master Cylinder and Servo, I thought it also wise to give the engine bay brake lines a little bit of loving to get rid of the start of some rust that had developed on them in places. Just a quick brush over this time:

Knowing what the elements will do to the standard Renault anti corrosion protection, I thought it wise to beef up the coatings on a new pair of wishbones I came across:

 

[Louis]

Will it rival this beauty though? https://www.cliosport.net/threads/return-of-the-rb.815571/

@cb10 needs to update his project thread

 

[rik220]

Whats the quality of the respray on the body like?

 

[Coops Mk1]

Awful, it's not odyssey

 

[Phil555]

Shaping up to be a great project.

I love the Raider........... what a great car. I would love to own one.

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Whats the quality of the respray on the body like?

Actually quite good. I’ll polish it like a diamond in a goats @ss (copyright Gas Monkey) when the car is back together.

Looks great when it’s all together, but as we both know, a picture can not quite represent the full truth..

Awful, it's not odyssey

Actually I’m learning to love it now, and like the fact I’m growin my Renault Blue collection... ?

The question will be if I fit the stripes on... ??‍♂️

Shaping up to be a great project.

I love the Raider........... what a great car. I would love to own one.

Thanks. The Raider is like a child to me now, will never part with it.

 

[Coops Mk1]

In all honesty @Big_Steve_T RB is a fantastic colour and really looking forward to seeing how this comes out. Car looks a great base despite the little Gremlins you keep finding along the way. At least you know its been done and done right now building it back up from scratch

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Got the brake servo and lines back into the car:

Engine bay is coming together now:

Also fitted the fuse box base after I figured out what fastening I needed to buy to fit it (It's an M5 Jack Nut if you're interested):

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Next step was to re-fit the subframe, but before I did that, I re-fitted the Anti Roll Bar (Anyone who has ever done that job would recommend it's fitted off the car!!! #arseache). As the main ARB to subframe fixings were seriously corroded, I managed to get hold of a new pair from Renault. You can see the difference! ?:

Again I want to try & protect the new ones from going the same way, so gave them a coat of primer and paint:

Then fitted the ARB to the freshly powdercoated subframe:

I gave the rubber bushes a few minutes in front of the garage heater to soften them up a little before I fitted them:

Then I re-fitted the wishbones and the rough looking hub and suspension (Don't worry, all that will be refurbished fully when I get the car back into the garage, i've got new shocks already):

It's starting to come together in the bay now:

 

[Big_Steve_T]

I couldn't possibly re-fit the power steering rack back into the car looking this bad:

I looked at if I could get it refurbished somewhere as it has done circa 70K miles, but came up with nothing (Would welcome feedback if these racks are prone to failing??) so I just decided to give it a quick lick of paint and re-fit to the car so I can make the car mobile again and move it out of the garage, ready for the return of my R11 Turbo:

Looking a lot better for itself now:

 

[Big_Steve_T]

As that large food shop says... every little helps. So decided to give the Bulkhead Heat Shield some attention:

I carefully picked off the aluminium heatshield foil that was torn in a couple of places:

Then I thoroughly vacummed the the board, and trimmed off the loose pieces of fuzz that were present from previous wear. Next step was onto the masking paper and a thorough shake of a can of:

Then a couple of coats were applied:

Ordered a sheet of adhesive backed 30 micron aluminium:

Then it was just a cast of cutting a sheet to the approximate size, and carefully applying it to the heatshield:

Chuffed with the result, and think it looks better than it did before:

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Easy day today, just a case of fitting the freshly painted bulkhead matting back into the car:

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang on a minute... what's this under the chassis rail in the engine bay...?? ?

OH BAAAAAALLLLS..... ? Had better treat that now before it (no doubt) gets worse in years to come.... you know the score by now. Thankfully my best man came round to give me a hand today.. so I soon had him roped in.. ?

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Whilst all that furious painting was going on, I took the chance to change the pollen filter, which I think was well overdue a change...

And gave the track rods a quick coat of paint for protection:

Thankfully my best man is a LOT slimmer than me... so I managed to fold him up into the footwell and get the clutch cable changed as well: