Ash’s Clio 182 Trophy

[frayz]

I need a new fuse box housing due to the exact same issue. Beautiful job. 👌🏼

 

[MLB]

I was just thinking the same! Hmm I could do with a new one of those..

Great updates, looks so clean and tidy under the bonnet!

 

[Smiffyboy1990]

Fantastic stuff!

 

[cliocollins]

Looks great. The door badges are a really nice touch. Do you have a link for the replacement oil cap?

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[Ash J]

I need a new fuse box housing due to the exact same issue. Beautiful job. 👌🏼

Thanks mate. New fuse box and cover made a huge difference, more than the photos suggest.

Looks great. The door badges are a really nice touch. Do you have a link for the replacement oil cap?

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

Here you go... https://www.renaultpartsdirect.co.uk/parts/engine-parts/renault-oil-filler-cap-8200062947/

 

[Ash J]

Last couple of weekends have been spent cleaning wherever and whatever I can.

I sent both bumpers and the bonnet off for paint a while back, so the car has been sat without these parts fitted for a number of weeks now. Also bought a spare set of door handles and boot lock surround to have painted too. Just because all these parts and panels had started to fade (common with red on the Trophy) and there was a minor mark on the bonnet which was barely noticeable, but I wanted it sorted.

So I set to work with removing all arch liners, cleaning under the arches and anywhere I could.

Front arches first…

There was literally about an inch thick worth of crud behind the passenger side liner!

Set to work on cleaning, using Auto Finesse Verso.

Fished this out from just one side…

Results from cleaning…

 

[Ash J]

Please ignore that I didn’t clean up the dampers, got plans for these very soon so decided to leave them as they were!

Then I cleaned the arch liners up with some AF Verso. Once dried, I applied a couple of coats of Chemical Guys Barebones to give some protection.

No pictures of this process (was too in the zone!), just after pictures when the arch liners were back in…

Fitted everything back up with new plastic arch clips (tree things) and new stainless hardware.

Then it was onto the back of the car. Removed both liners and the rear lights.

Set about cleaning, same as the front, Auto Finesse Verso.

 

[Ash J]

Rear arch liners were looking pretty filthy. Fronts were basically just as bad!

Again, no pictures during cleaning, but same as the fronts. AF Verso, followed by couple of coats of Chemical Guys Barebones.

Left the arch liners off the car until the rear bumper was to be fitted back on.

Changed over my rear indicator bulbs whilst the light units were off the car, then fitted them back up.

Noticed one of the rear light securing screws was a bit mangled up (don’t ask me how!) so am waiting for a replacement to arrive so I can swap them over.

Then decided to remove the rear seats and seat belts completely, going to run like this for a while and see how I like it. It is a second car for me, so don’t mind it being loud/raw.

Ended up looking like this…

Boot mat arrived during the week to tidy up the back…

Yesterday I set about cleaning the scuttle area, and changing a few bolts in and around the engine bay.

No pictures during cleaning of scuttle area, just some pictures once the trims had been fitted back in place after being coated with Chemical Guys Barebones.

Changed the upper to lower inlet manifold bolts for some new stainless items.

And then changed the slam panel, headlight and wing bolts which all sit around the outside of the bay for black stainless items, I much prefer this to silver/chrome. Also gave the engine bay a general tidy and polish (top mounts areas etc).

 

[Ash J]

Onto today, where I decided to start building up my freshly painted bumpers to fit them back onto the car.

Back bumper first.

I bought some new stainless starlock washers to secure the rear polystyrene crash blocks.

Also bought a pair of new rear exhaust trims from K-Tec, as wasn’t completely happy with the condition of mine.

Cleaned up the rear trim insert, and then coated with Chemical Guys Barebones.

And finishing touch was a new number plate lens and LED bulb.

Everything ready to go…

Finished article…

Then set about fitting back onto the car.

All bumper and arch liners bolts and fasteners were replaced with stainless items at the same time.

Please ignore the rear exhaust, I know it is in desperate need of aligning!

 

[Ash J]

Then onto the front bumper.

Similar to the back, but I had a longer list of new parts I had bought to replace at the same time…

Brand new genuine fog lights
Brand new upper grille
Brand new front badge
¾ size front plate
Skoda Fabia splitter

Earlier in the week, I coated my new front grille in Chemical Guys Barebones, and fitted the new stickers/decals which I managed to source for each side.

I also coated the fog light surrounds, lower grille, and Fabia splitter with the same Chemical Guys Barebones. I find this stuff really good, mainly used as an undercarriage protectant (i.e. arch liners) but also good on exterior plastics. Spray on, agitate with brush if required, leave to dry and then wipe off excess. Hydrophobic properties seem good.

All the parts together to be fitted back up…

The finished article (paint finish is stunning by the way)…

Only thing not fitted is the front splitter. I’m not completely happy with the Fabia item if I am honest, and don’t want to pay £300 for a new genuine one which will likely break. The genuine one I removed had a minor split which I always knew about, and sure enough when I removed it to send bumper off for paint, it completely broke in half. It is possible I could still use this somehow, but am going to have a think about what I want to do in terms of the front splitter.

Haven’t got round to fitting the front bumper back on the car yet, that will be next weekend.

 

[Tim.]

Oooosh, that looks proper!!!!

 

[Ash J]

Then remembered that I had bought new front bumper insert stickers to fit, knew there was something missing!

It was onto the bonnet next.

I asked for it to be painted on the inside as well as outside, as I’ve decided to run without the bonnet sound proofing (similar reasons for removing rear seats).

That just meant fitting my new mist washer jets, and plumbing the washer lines back up.

Got my other half to give me a hand offer it back up to the car and hold it whilst I bolted it up, under strict instructions not to damage the paint! (No pics I’m afraid, sorry guys).

Once all bolted up…

Looks awesome along with the brand new headlights that were recently fitted. Can’t wait to get the bumper on, front end is going to look very fresh!

Pictures of the door handles and rear boot lock surround.

Removed the old boot lock surround, and here they are side by side. A little difficult to see the different shades in the photo, but trust me, the old one is pink in comparison!

Swapped over the diamond, and here is an after picture of it fitted. Also got round to removing the Clio badge and replacing for my RS one (personal preference).

Just leaves a couple of things for me to do at the back… fit my new plain number plate (hate that is has Bristol Honda at the bottom!) and remove the “Renault” & “Sport” badges from the back, but will get onto this another time.

Then I need to fit my newly painted door handles and front bumper next weekend, and that should be the exterior all sorted!

Apart from the fact it is in massive need of a damn good clean and detail; it’s filthy at the moment!

 

[Amos91]

Nice job! Looking minty fresh!

 

[Ash J]

Forgot to mention I finished off the engine bay tidying with a new genuine bonnet seal...

Also didn’t mention that the bonnet is not fully fitted yet, as I am just waiting on my new bonnet release to turn up! Hinges all bolted up, but it is just resting ajar as it stands.


And thought I would just put up some photos of the parts during painting at the body shop...

And

 

[Stay Puft]

Lovely mate. Who did the paint?

 

[STRBramley]

Looking very tidy. Great work. Where did you get the boot mat from?

 

[Stefan.]

Amazing work Ash.

 

[Mbeau]

Very nice.

 

[Ocsltd]

Just read this thread from start to finish. Wow! Love your attention to detail and everything you’ve done, fantastic work!!

 

[Clio_fool]

Having seen your other threads this level of detail shouldn't be a surprise, but it's still amazing to see. And yes the paint does look stunning on those bumpers👌.

 

[frayz]

Beautiful job Ash.
I’m trying to procure the grille stickers, can you let me know where from?
There was a guy on FB who had replicated one of them but he’s unavailable and has been for months.
PM if you prefer. 👌🏼

 

[Louis]

Wow, this is stunning! Hat's off to you for the work you've put in mate.

 

[Ash J]

Lovely mate. Who did the paint?

Extreme Finishing, Basingstoke.

Can’t recommend him enough. Not the cheapest, but I won’t go anywhere else for paint. Really nice chap and goes above and beyond.

Looking very tidy. Great work. Where did you get the boot mat from?

It is this one mate - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Racing-B...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Amazing work Ash.

Thanks Stef

Beautiful job Ash.
I’m trying to procure the grille stickers, can you let me know where from?
There was a guy on FB who had replicated one of them but he’s unavailable and has been for months.
PM if you prefer. 👌🏼

PM’d you Frayz

 

[andy_coops]

Loving the attention to detail 👌

Good to hear that Extreme are good - I’ll be going to see them when lockdown finishes to get some numbers for mine.

 

[Paul172sport]

As ever mate your attention to detail is epic.
Trophy looks stunning so keep on with what you do best.. Making a good car great.

Can you link me over the details for the slam panel stickers and also the various stainless fixings for bumpers.
Sunny is finally getting attention

Catch you soon cheers mate

 

[cliocollins]

As ever mate your attention to detail is epic.
Trophy looks stunning so keep on with what you do best.. Making a good car great.

Can you link me over the details for the slam panel stickers and also the various stainless fixings for bumpers.
Sunny is finally getting attention

Catch you soon cheers mate

I second this, great work indeed. Will be better than new when you've done. I'd also like to know where you got the grill stickers from as I didn't get a response from the guy on FB either.

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[Ash J]

Just a couple of small updates.

Replacement rear light securing screw arrived, so swapped that over.

New Osram LED interior bulbs arrived. The boot light was already fitted with one of these, so I bought 2 for the main light, and glove box light.

Before and after...

Then I had a go at trying to save my original splitter.

Always knew it had a crack in it when it was attached to the car. But when I removed it from the bumper which got sent off for paint, it was actually snapped and in two pieces, and in another place it was cracked and very almost split again into 3 pieces.

I bought a Fabia splitter to replace it with, but when I offered it up, I just was not happy with it, so I decided to see if I could save mine.

Laid it out on the old German beer table we have in the kitchen, and delicately applied some super strong gorilla glue. Held it in place for a short while, and left it set for a good 24 hours.

Come this evening, I inspected it, and whilst not perfect as you can still see where it has broken (will never get away from this), it had actually bonded quite well and seems pretty secure.

I set about fitting it to the bumper, along with brand new stainless hardware.

I have pointed out the two crack lines below and it is not that noticeable to be honest, by the time it is on the car I doubt most would even see it. It fits snuggly to the bumper on each end, but annoyingly it is not quite so snug in the centre, as I have tried to show in one of the photos. It was always like this though, and isn’t particularly bad, just my OCD.

Overall I have to be pretty happy with the outcome though, as I don’t have to run a Fabia splitter! Was not prepared to pay £300+ for a new genuine one. I might consider a carbon one in the future; got in touch with K-Tec the other day, and they said they hope the carbon ones will be available again towards the end of this year; apparently the factory burned down last year, and the mould was lost in the fire, so they are waiting for the factory to be rebuilt, and will send them an original splitter one that happens so they can make a mould again.

How it looks...

 

[MLB]

That fresh paint!

Don't think anyone except you would notice that to be honest, unless they went looking for it and knew where to look!

Out of interest, have you got an idea of price for the K-Tec splitter once they are available again?

 

[Ash J]

That fresh paint!

Don't think anyone except you would notice that to be honest, unless they went looking for it and knew where to look!

Out of interest, have you got an idea of price for the K-Tec splitter once they are available again?

Yep, I love fresh paint!

No idea on the price for K-Tec splitter mate, although I didn’t ask them, but I “think” I remember seeing them a few years ago for about £150ish so would assume they’ll be a similar price again.

 

[MLB]

Looks like an ace paint job that, very little orange peel!

Thanks, 150 quid doesn't sound too bad if it's a quality item. Good in between solution between the fabia and original unit.

 

[Krarl]

Proper!!!

 

[frayz]

Lovely Ash.
Could have your repaired part carbon skinned?

 

[Clio_fool]

Good save on the splitter. If I were you I'd leo that and not bother with a carbon one as I think it would look odd without other carbon parts.

 

[Ash J]

Got round to fitting the front bumper back onto the car today.

Built everything back up last weekend, and fixed the splitter during the week.

As with everything else, new stainless hardware throughout to compliment.

How it is looking...

The undertray got a good clean up before being fitted back up too...

Then set about changing my rear number plate for a cleaner one.

Took a while getting all the old sticky pads and tape off...

But eventually ended up with this...

I’m leaving the left hand “Renault Sport” badge on until I get round to detailing the car (which will be last after all mechanicals and modifications are done).

I know the exhaust looks bad. But I can’t be bothered to align it at the moment for two reasons. One, the car is not going anywhere, and two, I purchased a Pure Motorsport exhaust a few weeks ago, so am hoping to have that fitted in the not too distant future. A neighbour even commented today saying the one thing that would wind him up if it was his car, would be the exhaust sitting too high on one side 🙄

Also took delivery of a brand new set of front Eibach springs this week. My car doesn’t need them, but nice to have and stick up in the loft as parts like this are starting to become very hard to get hold of.

 

[mossyv6]

Very nice 👍

 

[Stay Puft]

Looking fresh mate. Did you do the washer blanks? I think colour coded may look cleaner

 

[Rojer]

Engine colour reminds me of the Alfa.

 

[Gaz_]

Looking fresh mate. Did you do the washer blanks? I think colour coded may look cleaner

No way

Oe is best 👍🏻

 

[Stay Puft]

No way

Oe is best 👍🏻

Agreed, I thought they were carbon for some reason.

 

[beddoe123]

Nicely done!

Do you have a link for captive nuts you bought?