Bowen's RB182

[bowen86]

Right then...

I bought my last 182 off a mate who was going through a bad patch and needed to make some sacrifices. I listed my silver 182 for sale (in a moment of madness) and the mate I bought it off was in a position to buy it back. He was quite emotional and I knew it was the right thing to do.

A few weeks or months went by and I had the Clio itch again. Checking FB groups and ebay and you see prices for examples vary, greatly.

One day on the train to work I was on one of the many Clio FB groups and came across an RB182 with a whole encyclopedia of history and belts being done 2years/5k miles ago.

The couple I bought it from (maybe on here?) had 4 Clios between them and were selling a few to free up some cash to buy a house.

Quick look around the Clio and the stack of service history and I was sold on it.

Test drive, this being my third clio in 2years, I've got to say it felt stronger and the breaks sharper than anyother.
It had a few weeks mot left but they had it MOT'd for me before collection.

So what have I bought.
Clio RB 182
Recent belts and dephaser by a reputable garage.
Cooksport springs.
Whiteline RARB
Braided brake lines
Snappy steering wheel
Powerflex buses rear beam

History included recent rear discs/pads and calipers as well as a gearbox rebuild too.

The car and barn it was stored in

And a pic from the advert (they threw these wheels in with the sale)

And then I got it home for a strip down and through check over.

I tend to update instagram frequently @its.bowz for anyone interested.

More to come...

 

[t90_lle]

Hopefully this one won’t be going anywhere anytime soon after the last one 😂

 

[bowen86]

Hopefully this one won’t be going anywhere anytime soon after the last one 😂

I know.
When people say "oh you'll regret it", selling a clio, yeah you really will.

 

[t90_lle]

I’m pretty sure I was one of those people who said it to you on instagram 🤣

 

[bowen86]

I’m pretty sure I was one of those people who said it to you on instagram 🤣

Forgive me?

So I got the Clio home and gave it a strip down Inc the sills, a check over and and oil change.

There is some bubbling coming through, something I'll deal with in the future.

This is the first clio I've owned with a standard wheel and seating position, jesus, felt like I was taking a coach full of passengers on a trip to the South of France "all aboard"... Something I had to fix and quick as it just ruined the experience of the little Clio.

 

[bowen86]

(aaaanndd...) Another thing all my previous Clios have suffered from is the engine block tearing through the inner driver CV boot spraying grease everywhere

See where the block has rubbed through the boot

Driveshaft out, block grinded back and replaced with a J&R driveshaft (Clio purists having mini heart attacks). There are mixed reviews about J&R shafts but in my, limited, experience this shaft was perfect.

In and you can see the clearance

Feel like I could offer this as a service I've done it so many times.

Then some more of those usual Clio things.

Removed this

And this

And that

And popped this in

If seems like progress is quick, well it was but this thread is retrospective, all the above was done in June (?)


More to come.

 

[Poopensharten]

You’ll have caught the rust early enough there anyway!

 

[bowen86]

You’ll have caught the rust early enough there anyway!

Hope so. I did cover this in one of the Bilethamber products to stop it progressing further. I'm thinking over winter drop it to my chosen body shop and have them sort it properly.

 

[Mr Underhill]

***Has mini heart attack watching J&R shaft being put in***

 

[MrBlonde]

Found it,i thought you may of been on here 👍🏻

 

[bowen86]

Following on from the drive shaft I did an oil change and some other maintenance bits.

Now most of the general maintenance bits were (are they ever done on a clio?), I decided to make it a bit more mine.

I sourced some wheels and tyres. The only issue, they were blue, very blue, almost racing blue...

So I had them refurbed a nice/safe silver

And on

On to the interior
A second hand wheel, which I now regret as no ammount of cleaning it has brought it back and its just not a nice touch point.

And a PMS shifter with carbon shaft.

More to come...

 

[bowen86]

It then looked like this

The shifter and wheel made a huge difference but the seat was just to high and there was quite abit of movement, when braking I was almost sat on the dashboard. So I needed seats...

Sourced with Jon Foz mounts.

Possibly the best thing a Clio owner can do is fit some bucket seats. Transformed the car and driver feel.

Then I fitted a KTEC induction kit

All was going well. Until I noticed an odd, damp smell in the cabin. Under the passenger seat it was soaking wet. Not the passenger foot well, but under the passenger seat. I siliconed up the rear bungs next to the rear lights and had a nose (and cleaned) under the washer bottle. Nothing obvious regarding the leak and it hasn't done it again since.

Lastly in this instalment of Bowen's Clio I took out the old exhaust hanger as they looked... exhausted (sorry).

Inserted some Powerflex bushes...

That's it for now.

 

[MrBlonde]

Have you drove through any deep puddles?.as could be water getting from the seat bolts underneath?.i had this recently and think thats the prob on mine.

 

[bowen86]

Have you drove through any deep puddles?.as could be water getting from the seat bolts underneath?.i had this recently and think thats the prob on mine.

No it was dry when I parked it up, it rained and then I had a fousty smell and it was wet under the passenger seat. Doesn't seem to have done it again since.

 

[bowen86]

After all of the above bits done I wanted to refresh the suspension components. I had BC coilovers in my previous clio and I rated them.

Corner weighted and set up for a mix between fast road and track.
It's much improved and more direct.

Sunstrip for added racecar.

 

[Filipe Dias]

The car looks lovely! What do you think of the intake? Any noticeable difference on the response? The sound i bet it´s amazing.

 

[bowen86]

The car looks lovely! What do you think of the intake? Any noticeable difference on the response? The sound i bet it´s amazing.

Sounds good. Cant' really comment on response though.

 

[bowen86]

Ever since I bought the second hand steering wheel I regretted it, no amount of cleaning it could bring it back so I bought a new one from Volantech. Some issues with Volantech, took a over a month to arrive but it got here in the end. Feels much nicer in hand.

I do have the horn panel but the horn wiring isn't working....job for another time.

 

[bowen86]

Last weekend I took the RB on a track day at Llandow. Noise test at 5250k rpm was 85dbs, that's a note for me more than anything.

Considering the work I've done to the Clio, it only dawned on me when I got there that I hadn't touched the brakes. They looked find and were sharp on the road but an unknown brand to me, they did well anyway as did the AD08Rs.

Only issues to report:

• PAS left through the reservoir cap, I may have over filled it for track work. It was fine the rest of the day.
• The rear of the car kept scraping. The rear tyres kept touching the rear bumper/archliners on hard cornering. I t did it on the front too but the front archliners are hanging on for dear life anyway so i could accept that, but the rears were annoying me. Running BC coilovers.
• As the day went on I could feel that the brakes were getting tired so they will need replacing.

Llandow doesn't have a dedicated photographer and I also didn't have my camera, so here are some of the Clio in the paddock taken on my phone.

To do:

• Monitor PAS fluid
• Investigate why the rear is so soft
• Front discs and pads
• Stud and nut kit
• Cup Alternator

 

[SharpyClio]

car looks mint. Really like them when they are set up for track!

 

[scash88]

Been following this & on IG - car looks great!
What spring rates you have on the BC's as I'm interested in some myself

 

[bowen86]

Been following this & on IG - car looks great!
What spring rates you have on the BC's as I'm interested in some myself

Thanks mate!

8kg front and 8kg rear.

 

[Brigsy]

Drop pas fluid down to the minimum marker for track use, stops it overflowing when hot.

 

[bowen86]

Long time no update.

Not much has really happened, well nothing big and no track days etc. I'm having an extension built on my house, which is sapping funds and also garage space as that's where the building materials are living. Highly annoying.

I've been ticking off some smaller jobs in preparation for the summer.

Lost an indicator lens at Llandow, replaced:

I noticed my coilpack was loose, I have no idea where the bolts went....*gulp* Sourced a lovely packet of bolts all labelled up from M.S Custom engineering

And bolted down:

I noticed the above whilst fitting the 172 Developments heat shield. Again and other nice little addition.

Moving on...

The brakes were an unknown brand and after Llandow, they were cooked.

They look proper grotty. Fortunately, everything was nicely copper greased and nothing fought me!

I opted for PBS Race and Brembo HC discs.

Comparison - Loads of life left in them....

Finally all done:

As you can imagine, much improved. Brake fluid change next.

More to come.

 

[bowen86]

The centre interior light was super bright and would ALWAYS bit lit. I took out this monstrosity

I had a parcel arrive a little while ago from @Coops Mk1 a lovely v6 spec spoiler in RB. Sadly it arrived like this:

Gutted was and still is an understatement. Credit to @Coops Mk1 for sorting me with a refund and dealing with Royal Mail.

Since I've had the Clio the horn has never worked, even with the OEM wheel. I bought a volantech horn panel a while ago and when I came to fit it, I found out why the horn didn't work:

Yep, that's a snapped horn wire with nothing but a little nib to solder it back on to. I managed it, god knows how.

Here's the wheel and panel. If you look carefully, you can see a new 3d printed cup holder from @04-182 which is a great bit of kit.

Since fitting the PMS shifter it never felt quite right, it wouldn't go over to the left (1st/2nd) nicely is the only way I can describe it. Whilst I was messing with something else, I could see that the PMS shaft was rubbing agains the bolt for the lower engine mount. I simply flipped the bolt around and now it no longer makes contact and I now have a nice smooth feel.
Crap photo but you can see there is a space between the linkage and the bolt head of the lower engine mount.

At some point I fitted a new TDC sensor and wiring too. Awkward AF to get at.

 

[bowen86]

Lastly for this instalment:

I have this issue....

I'm having a few quotes to repair this and looking to book in ASAP. Problem is the quotes I have received range from £400 - £1700.

Ending on a high, I received this message through instagram:

And some pics of when it was brand new:

That's it for now.

 

[bowen86]

This was the last photo I have before I spent the weekend doing all the above.

 

[RustyMojo]

Looks awesome buddy. Look forward to seeing it when the summer comes at some meets

 

[Simon1975]

Brilliant work so far car looks great

 

[bowen86]

Thanks both.

I am also parts gathering, so far I have bought
PMS AC delete v2
EPAS setup
Battery relocation to the boot

and need/to do:
Tyres for the 2118's as the Toyos on them are dead (I have GITI's on the Team Dynamics)
Rear discs and pads
Quite like the idea of a rear cage
Refurb rear beam and ARB
Refurb the calipers front and rear
Refurb the engine bay i.e lick of VHT paint.

 

[Coops Mk1]

Looking mega, catch that rust now before it looks like mine....

And yeah what a fucker on the Spoiler....sad face

 

[MrBlonde]

I had both sides done on my old cup with the rust & cost just over a grand.That was about 4 years ago now & im looking to do the same with my 182,hopefully wont be as much as only tiny amount on my titanium,where as the cuo they had to cut out and weald in.

 

[MrBlonde]

 

[bowen86]

I had both sides done on my old cup with the rust & cost just over a grand.That was about 4 years ago now & im looking to do the same with my 182,hopefully wont be as much as only tiny amount on my titanium,where as the cuo they had to cut out and weald in.

I chased a 3rd quote today, they're renound for their work in my part of the world. It's a busy place, which I know speaks volumes but chasing for 3 weeks (they replied once and were nice enough) is annoying.
Hopefully I'll have it booked it and I'll get this bit and the fuel filler done too.

I'd normally see some rust and freak out and ship it on, but this Clio has gotten under my skin and drives better than any of the others so I think it'll be 'worth' my time.

 

[MrBlonde]

Defo worth doing mate,as far and few now of any decent clios left.

 

[bowen86]

No real updates as I'm waiting for my slot at the bodyshop, my garage is full of building materials which is stopping me from getting stuck in and the weather is mehhhhh. I've also been busy with my daily.

I did find time to fit a stud&nut kit and some 18mm spacers to the front of the car.

.

There's not much thread left on the end of the stud but enough to torque up. I may drop the spacer down to a 10mm if any one has any for sale?

Booked in for a brake fluid change at my indie garage as I don't want to mess the ABS module up.

Also received my EPAS module, link pipe and rack blanks.

 

[MrBlonde]

I think it will handle better with smaller spacers mate,i have some spacers in the shed if interested.

 

[Louis]

Threads look fine on those studs, what length are they?

I've never believed the spacers make it handle worse theory. Mine still handles great with 20mms on

 

[bowen86]

Threads look fine on those studs, what length are they?

I've never believed the spacers make it handle worse theory. Mine still handles great with 20mms on

Studs are 82mm tip to tip.

I think it will handle better with smaller spacers mate,i have some spacers in the shed if interested.

On the spacer thing, it's a real mix of opinion. Some say no bigger than X and others say (like @Louis ) 20mm is fine. I've not driven it yet so can't comment.

@MrBlonde - Sliding into your dm's for spacers as I'd like the option to change it up etc.

 

[bowen86]

Update, worth a read kind of.

RS Tuner:
Since I've had my first clio, I always wanted to get my hands on an RS Tuner to see what the fuss was about and currently turn off the bloody airbag light.

@Don’t call me Dave dropped me a DM as he was selling and knew I wanted one.

What @Don’t call me Dave didn't realise is I am a complete drip. So not only did I buy an RS Tuner, I bought Russ to hold my hand through the process.

Firstly I plugged in the RS Tuner, had 2 codes. O2 sensor and something else, wasn't anything major. But for the life of me, I could not find the airbag module! I messaged Russ "I think I need a code from you", many and I mean MANY screenshots of the RS Tuner back and forth to Russ. We were both a bit stumped as the RST had the module but it wouldn't or more accurately couldn't connect because.......the airbag ecu wasn't plugged in. DOH! In my haste to source a footwell leak I'd managed to unplug it!

Reboot of the RST and there it was, the airbag module. Russ must have been relieved...until he realised that nope, I still needed help.

Fairplay he held my hand through FB messenger until the job was done'ish. I managed to turn off all the airbags, bar the passenger and alas the airbag light went out. Until I took it for a spin and over uneven surfaces or possibly related to turns of the steering wheel, the light comes back on!

Annnnnnway, made it this far? Well done.

Spacers:

Today I drove the Clio for the first time since fitting the spacers. Can't say I feel any difference in the way in drives. It is scrubbing on what's left of the archliners.

Brake fluid change:

The only fluid I've not changed in the Clio was the brake fluid, having recently done a track day and replaced the discs and pads I thought it best to do the brake fluid next.
I can and have done this multiple times but this time I left it to the pros. Combination of reasons, weather, time and I'm too old for this s**t.

I took it to Phil at the Grange Service station in Cardiff. The majority of the Clio's history is from the grange and Phil being a former Renault Tech (and having had many clio track cars) knows his way around them.

TLDR: RS Tuner kind of turned off my airbag light (thanks to Russ) - Spacers I can't feel a difference - Brake fluid changed.



Next - Rust repair/body work

Still to come - EPAS
- Rear stud and nut kit
- Battery relocation to boot
- Rear discs and pads
- Refurb rear beam and RARB
- Probably lots of other stuff...