Another newbie.

[Mark-182-Trophy]

Just saying hello and a brief introduction. I've owned 70's and 80's BMW's for many years but had to sell my E30 M3 due to poor health about 3 years ago. I had a CS spec E46 M3 for a while but it just felt a bit too modern for me. It was also a bit too much to really enjoy on public roads safely and owning any M3 isn't cheap so I eventually sold it and resigned myself to being done with 'enthusiast cars'. I'd done a fair bit of hill climbing and sprint events and owned some wonderful cars though, so have lots to be grateful for. Fast forward to February this year though and recent poor health had me looking for something as a distraction. I was also missing having a car that I could drive just for the fun of it. I used to take my E30 M3 out at day break on some of Cornwall's coastal roads and loved the noise the s14/2.3 made at 8K rpm when there was no other noise around. It only made 250+ bhp but E30 don't weigh too much and the limit of the car meant you could still enjoy it without too much risk. Anyway, I knew that I wanted something else that could give me that enjoyment but had a pretty meagre budget to play with. Basically anything rear wheel drive was out of the question, except for MX5's. All the one's I could afford were pretty rough though, with either rusty sills, ripped and tatty hoods or both. I've had MX5's before and really like them and even drove them when they were new cars as I worked for Mazda UK, but if I blew my budget on a ropey one I wouldn't have the cash to restore it. Or the time possibly, as I'm certainly not getting any younger! I'd been searching track cars on eBay when I spotted a couple of 182's for sale and they reminded me of the Gordini Turbo's I'd owned in the 80's. They were cheap performance back then, as most people wanted R5GTT, so £400 got me an R5 Alpine (the european version of the Gordini turbo) and after that a pretty mint metallic blue UK car, which I had till I bought my first BMW. So, I figured that a 182 seemed about the best bang for buck and found my way to this forum researching what would be my next car.

Within a few days I had to potential purchases in mind. The first was a black car with a few mods (steering wheel etc and Recaros) and metallic blue example with just an exhaust. Both were bloody miles away though, but that's the price I pay for living in Cornwall. It's 90 miles before you even reach the first bit of motorway and train journeys aren't much quicker. With hindsight I should have bought the black car but I hesitated and someone else snapped it up. Hardly surprising given that the seats alone were worth almost half the purchase price. That left the blue car, which had reminded me of my old Gordini turbo, so I made an offer, paid a deposit and WG05MVV was mine.

Overall condition is really pretty good for an 18 year old car and the way it drives and handles has really lived up to my expectations. The steering wheel is a bit too big for my liking and the ride height needs a 50mm drop, but that's about it really. Oh and an induction kit to liberate a bit more sound would be good. Apart from that though, I plan to just enjoy it.

The only fly in the ointment though, are the belts and dephaser as although the previous owner assures me they're not due till September 2025 (assuming a 5 year schedule is correct?) I don't really want to risk destroying the engine. I've found a local indie to do the job next month so am trying not to be tempted to drive it till then.

My old E30...

If anyone knows WG05MVV it lived near Bristol till 2020/21 I believe. Any info relating to the car, its owners and servicing would be much appreciated.

Thanks guys. Mark

 

[Darren S]

Hi Mark,

Welcome aboard! Interesting background with your BMWs - how does switching back to FWD motion feel after all these years??

With regards to the belts - there are two to factor-in. The cambelt has a service schedule of five years or circa 70k and the auxiliary one (which is commonly abbreviated to 'aux belt' on here) is half that - 3 to 3.5 years typically. Given that the aux belt kit isn't expensive, it's common practice and recommended to have the aux belt replaced at the same as the cambelt.

The 1*2 engine is very sensitive to correct timings. The cambelt requires a specific cam-locking tool to be fitted and this is often ignored by garages who are new to these Clios. It's definitely worth travelling further afield to have the work done by a specialist who is familiar with them.

It's also worth checking behind the rear door cards to see if there's any rust working its way in from just in front of the rear wheels. These cars are getting on a bit now and although they aren't horrific for rust, the rear arches and rear end of the cills appears to be a common area for it to start from.

Here's a thread of mine being addressed, roughly six months ago.... https://cliosport.net/threads/182-rear-quarter-panel-replacement-part-1.844036/

 

[Sash]

Hi and welcome to the club!

 

[Clio_fool]

Welcome aboard. Your new clio looks tidy, for fast road use and some lows I'd highly recommend Bilstein B14's. The damping is on par with renaultsport's and the springs aren't as harsh as most lowering springs you can get for the 182. It's also perfectly capable on standard suspension though! Enjoy.

 

[Mark-182-Trophy]

Thanks for the welcome guys.

I've been enjoying the Clio for a couple of weeks now and have it booked in for the belts and dephaser on June 1st. Until then I will be trying not to use it for fear of the belt failing and destroying the engine.

I want to drop the ride height for the aesthetic and am adding spacers for the same reason. Mind you, I'm sure we all know it's a slippery slope when we start to modify our cars. I'm sure there's a steering wheel, Recaros and half cage in my future somewhere.