Big Steve's RB Clio 182 Cup Restoration

[ajracer]

Just caught up. Stunning job mate!

 

[Gaz_]

Awesome

The Inlet always looks soooo much better with an oe silver finish - never a fan of them painted random colours

 

[DomP182]

I dont think they left Dieppe this tidy Steve!

 

[Rob_Willow]

Thought I would have a go at this V-logging malarky whilst we have all have all the time in the world.. and thanks to Cliosport, I followed this guide on HOW TO REMOVE YOUR DOOR PANEL and removed the drivers door panel as the drivers door lock doesn't seem to be working.

View attachment 1460426
When I whipped the door panel off I found the solenoid was unplugged so figured that was the only issue and plugged it in, unfortunately there does seem to be more of an issue with the lock, so I whipped it out. Whilst I was messing around with the door, I figured now was the right time to replace the window seal for a new one I came across, that hasn't got any rust or distortion. Hope you enjoy the video!











I then fitted a set of new rear axle bolts inside the car whilst I had access to the inside:
View attachment 1460431
Then I spent a bit of time figuring out where the coolant hoses go!
View attachment 1460432
She's coming along nicely now!!

Thanks for reading/watching!

Great work Steve! I’m currently refurbishing my Arctic blue 182, but the efforts you have gone to make mine look poor! Haha
Keep up the good work, and can I ask, is that Goonzquad’s YouTube music playing in the timeframe videos? 🤣

 

[MLB]

Wow, just wow! Fantastic!

Why didn't you clean and polish the wiper assembly?

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Keep up the good work, and can I ask, is that Goonzquad’s YouTube music playing in the timeframe videos?

Sure is sir!! As a fellow Goonzquad watcher, I thought the music fits the application 👍

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Wow, just wow! Fantastic!

Why didn't you clean and polish the wiper assembly?

Theres a challenge... 😉

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Buggering about with the door panel today:

From the factory there’s adhesive strip running round the bottom of the door panel, that’s always the first to disappear when the door panel is removed. You can see in the picture below, where some of it remains, and then some places it’s still present:

First job was to remove the remaining seal with a scraper:

Then I got hold of a rolls of 8mm butyl tape which is the closest I could find to the original stuff:

It was then just a case of applying it Inbetween the pre-determined “dots” that Renault put on the door panel to show you where it should go:

I then mounted the panel onto the door and gave it a little clean.
Final job was to fit the new speaker into the door panel:

and then finish it with the speaker grille:

Thanks for reading

 

[Mbeau]

I did this the other week as the Cup I purchased recently was leaking water into the interior from the bottom of the door card. Removed the old and fitted new. I had some tape left over from when I did the wifes seat Leon door cards years ago. I knew there was a reason I always keep stuff!!

I need to see this in the flesh once its finished. Looks amazing. Fantastic attention to detail 👍

 

[Big_Steve_T]

I did this the other week as the Cup...

So delighted it’s worth while!!! I was fitting it and wondering if I was going TOO far... but now you say it’s a potential leak path, I’m chuffed I did it!! 👍

Thanks for the comment @Mbeau

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Been working on bringing the exhaust heat shields back to life from a mix of brand new, and used parts. The final count was 2 new and 2 old.

Fair amount of work to bring the used ones back to life, as the old tin worm had given it a good nibble. But chuffed with the result.

Next job over the coming days, is to get the underbody of the car to match.

That’s going to be an equally grotty job...

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

[MLB]

Can't even tell which ones we're the new ones and which the old!

Good luck with the underbody..

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Been spending a crazy amount of time on my back under the Clio for the last 2 days... but I think the final results are worth it.

First step was to remove all of the underfloor fixtures & fittings - Brake/Fuel Lines, Clips etc.. I then had a good dig round under the car with a scraper to find as much grot & rot as I could. As you can see on the GIF below, the plastic clips under the body are responsible for a lot of the rust, as they hold onto the damp/dirt/debris that allows the rust to set in:

After I'd scraped as much of the old under-seal and rust off the bottom of the car, I then treated the rust with my chosen FE-123 Rust converter which goes on like milk, but then converts the existing rust into a hard black coating:

After that had dried, it was then covered with a coat of Zinc Primer:

I let this all then dry over-night before moving onto the next step of under-seal with Dinitrol 4941:

First step was to put the Dinitrol into a tub of warm water, to soften it up a little bit ready for spraying. Whilst the tin was warming, I then masked the car, to stop over-spray:

I'm so pleased I bought myself an Aldi compressor for my garage, it's come into use SOOO many times!! Bought myself a Schultz gun for my R11 Turbo Restoration:

Then it was on with the Under-Seal!

Chuffed to bits with the finished results:

Thanks for reading

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Now I'm becoming quite deft at spotting the small pieces of corrosion that turn into something bigger when you start to dig at them with a scraper, I'd seen a couple of small points in the front arches next to the brake line bracket that caught my eye:

After a quick dig around, I soon uncovered this:

And then after giving a few more points a scrape... this lot turned up!!

So again it was a quick overcoat with FE123 Rust Converter:

I'll give it a coat of Zinc Primer and then Dinitrol 4941 in coming days.

Thanks for reading

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Now the underneath of the car is coming together, I started to have a look at some of the brake-lines I got for the car, and noticed that on one of the Front to Back lines the fitting had rusted away, which mean the 11mm spanner wouldn't grip it enough to tighten... So I whipped out the brake line kit, and made a new replication.
Original Pipe:

New piece of pipe, cut to lengthL

Then a good fight with the pipe and the benders... resulted in:

That pipe is now laying in the garden, drying it's coat of Green paint - Can't have that Shiny Copper pipe showing under the car can I!? @YorkshireKyle wouldn't forgive me!!

Thanks for reading

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Thanks to @Ash J I got hold of a pair of OE Grey Insert Hella Headlights - Thank you sir!

I called on the support of my best man and detailing king Jez to see how good he can polish them up... I think he's done a great job!

Thanks for reading

 

[MLB]

Awesome read again, must be great to have a space to work and all those tools at hand!

Must be so satisfying to know its all pretty much corrosion free and sealed now!

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Must be so satisfying to know its all pretty much corrosion free and sealed now!

Yeah it’s a nice feeling to know it’s all done ✅

 

[frayz]

Beautiful underseal job Steve. How far did you go at the front of the car?
Where did you mask it to?

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Beautiful underseal job Steve. How far did you go at the front of the car?
Where did you mask it to?

Thank you @frayz

I stopped at the jacking points. The previous owner had under sealed the front arches, but as you saw from one of my posts, there was some rust that wasn’t treated properly so was lurking underneath.

The front subframe is all clear of underseal.

 

[frayz]

Thank you @frayz

I stopped at the jacking points. The previous owner had under sealed the front arches, but as you saw from one of my posts, there was some rust that wasn’t treated properly so was lurking underneath.

The front subframe is all clear of underseal.

Perfect.
Did you find one tin of Dinitrol was enough to do the whole underside?

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Perfect.
Did you find one tin of Dinitrol was enough to do the whole underside?

That 1L tin I had covered the main passenger compartment bit quite well and a couple of bits behind the fuel tank that I found as well. You’d need 2 to do the whole underfloor. I bought 2, so I’ve got enough to do the front arches as well now. 👍

 

[Crayola]

Nah copper pipe is the ONLY way to go mate😂

Having owned a Ford Ka I know only too much about bending up a copper line😑😑

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Bloody Renault's.... 😠

Was having a quick dig around the rear of the car for any rust I'd missed and found a couple of points that looked like they needed some attention. To help with access I removed the fuel filler neck and noticed that the area around the fuel filler door looked suspicious.. 😖

Tried to undo the bolts... but very quickly I realised they were NEVER going to come undone.. So I knew I had to drill the heads off the bolts. At times like these, I really recommend you have a set of Cobalt drill bits to hand, they're bloody fantastic!!

No surprise the bolts weren't going to become undone!

With the fuel door removed, the extent of the corrosion showed itself:

I removed the rest of the fuel filler neck assembly and had a quick scrape around:

The final extent of the damage was this:

More stuff to paint! 🙄

Thanks for reading

 

[Pegasaurus Rex]

Just finished that job on my 182, very satisfying finally putting it all back together. Also happy I caught it before it became an issue. Mine looked exactly the same level of rust as yours.

 

[Ricardos]

It's crazy how far you look into the areas how corrosion is setting in on these. Keep up the amazing monumental work 👌

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Just finished that job on my 182, very satisfying finally putting it all back together. Also happy I caught it before it became an issue. Mine looked exactly the same level of rust as yours.

Do you have any pictures of your work @RustyMojo ?

 

[Pegasaurus Rex]

Not many mate, I keep meaning to start a project thread. No time is a poor excuse at the moment. So I will start something over next few days. Attached what I took:

 

[Pegasaurus Rex]

As you can see the back of the fuel filler was full of s**t. I have since cleaned the arch, repaired any localised surface rust and covered in stone chip. Will be under sealing at some point as well. I didn’t take a picture of the paint removed. But basically mine had gone (you can just see) around the bottom of the filler cup as well. Once I started taking the paint off to get to bare metal I basically had to clean up around the whole opening. I used a drill with sanding wheel to get back to proper sound metal and then treated, primed and overcoated both sides.

 

[Big_Steve_T]

As you can see the back of the fuel filler was full of s**t. I have since cleaned the arch, repaired any localised surface rust and covered in stone chip. Will be under sealing at some point as well. I didn’t take a picture of the paint removed. But basically mine had gone (you can just see) around the bottom of the filler cup as well. Once I started taking the paint off to get to bare metal I basically had to clean up around the whole opening. I used a drill with sanding wheel to get back to proper sound metal and then treated, primed and overcoated both sides.

Great work sir!! Was it just a quick rattle can job for the paintwork, or did you get it done professionally??

 

[Amos91]

You can get a good enough job from rattle cans. It’s hidden away so not too much bother. I did mine a couple of months ago -

 

[Pegasaurus Rex]

Great work sir!! Was it just a quick rattle can job for the paintwork, or did you get it done professionally??

Rattle can, it’s relatively easy to get an edge with the fuel filler. So just ordered the correct paint online. Silver a b**ch to match but given it’s largely hidden by the filler next and flap mechanism I’m well happy with the result. My car is also nothing like as nice as others on here. I have bodyshops at work I can get staff rates on (we actually run Renault U.K. and RCI defleet as well as Renault Import centre) but it’s a hassle getting the car there. I’m going to get my front bumper painted there though. Balls to rattle canning silver on anything other than discreet panel work

 

[D4w5on]

This was mine on my old 172 which I did many years ago . Need to carry out the same on the 182

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Looks like it’s a running theme then chaps... just like it is on the 5GTT’s

Pleased I caught it now!!

 

[frayz]

I had mine done and bought a brand new fuel door for the hinge. As like you found the hardware needs cutting off in most cases.

The rear needs underselling I think to properly protect it in future.
Another job I did was add some PPF where the rear bumper meets the rear arch as this gets grit caught and abrades the paint back to bare metal and allows moisture in.
if you PPF it now it should never happen again. 🙂

 

[Pegasaurus Rex]

I actually removed the captive ‘element’ of the bolts that hold the flap on. Following them down then painting. I will be replacing the standard bolts with some stainless variants in the future. I think the fact the metal is quite a light gauge and isn’t shaped or strengthened for the flap attachment cutouts causes part of the issue. The hinge stiffens up (I greased mine now) so I think the metal flexes when opening slightly as such the paint/protection starts to fail. Not to mention the bits Frayz mentioned....


Still it was one of the more satisfying jobs I have done so far

 

[Coops Mk1]

Mines totally ruined there, easy fix though, that little plastic door you opened to find the issue? Yeah that shuts right up again 😋

 

[Big_Steve_T]

Made a start on the fuel filler neck today. The rust-converter seemed to have done it's job overnight:

So I gave it a little rub down with my mini sander:

Masked it up:

And then hit it with a couple of light coats of Zinc Primer:

More work to come when that all dries up properly.

Started work on the passenger door as-well. The window seal was all rusted and bent in several areas:

So It got replaced:

Thanks for reading

 

[Crayola]

I wanna know what you blurred👀👀👀👀👀

 

[MLB]

Especially the radio bit!