Clio 182 Cup Racing Blue

[RacingBeaut]

Hello, first time posting as a new member.

Recently I decided that I wanted to return to something cheaper to own. Having driven my brother's Clio 172, the decision was made.

I purchased the car in November, from a gentleman near Gainsborough. The car was being sold on behalf of his son, who had owned the car for six years. There is a good amount of paperwork and practically full history with the car, including the original bill of sale. The odometer readout was 140k miles.

The spec of the car as I purchased it was: Eibach Sportline springs; Whiteline rear anti-roll bar; cat-back Scorpion RS 192 exhaust; Powerflex dog bone mount; Team Heko wind deflectors; braided front brake lines; upgraded front brake pads; driver's Sparco bucket seat; a Pioneer stereo; front Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08R tyres and rear Continental Sport Contact 3 tyres.

It had been serviced recently, however there was no receipt or invoice for the timing belt present though the owner assured me it had been replaced during his son's ownership. So, being happy with the car I purchased it and drove it to my parents' home. That week, the OSF wheel bearing and ABS sensor were replaced, and wind deflectors removed.

This week, I returned to my parents' home having received my delivery from Renault Parts Direct and the following was replaced: timing belt; water pump; aux belt; dephaser; oil; oil filter; air filter; pollen filter; spark plugs and coolant. Then we refitted the factory stereo and aligned the rear plate. In addition, we cleared the driver's side sill drains, then removed the OSF inner arch liner and removed said build up:

Having already checked beneath the scuttle panel which was clear, this should remedy my footwell being damp. We also applied sealant around the grommets adjacent to the rear lights, as the boot mat was damp (I've removed this to allow it to dry and make it easier to see if water returns).

The car was then given its first clean in my ownership:

Here it is with my brother's Clio 172:

Mechanically the car is sorted for now.

There are a few jobs I'd like to do in the future:

• Replace the steering wheel (Volantech with cruise panel)
• Replace the wheels (Speedline Turinis or 2118s in 15 inch)
• Fit a reduced front registration plate
• Fit a Fabia vRs splitter (missing the original)
• Remove the stripes (unsure as they are original)
• Fit a new OS exhaust bush (currently perished)
• Change the gearbox oil
• Replace the Sparco seat with a standard item
• Have marks and minor dents touched in

This forum has been very useful so far, hence I thought I'd sign up and contribute.

 

[Pistachio]

Looks like a good purchase! My boot had water coming in too. It was from these plastic bungs. Might be worth checking yours. I replaced them with nylon bolts.

Pistachio's Racing Blue 182 Project Thread

Installed this today. Had to file it a lot to fit. Quite happy with how it turned out though

cliosport.net

 

[RacingBeaut]

Looks like a good purchase! My boot had water coming in too. It was from these plastic bungs. Might be worth checking yours. I replaced them with nylon bolts.

Pistachio's Racing Blue 182 Project Thread

Installed this today. Had to file it a lot to fit. Quite happy with how it turned out though

cliosport.net

Hi, yes those are the bungs I applied silicone sealant to. Hopefully it’s stopped the leak, otherwise I’ll try your method

 

[Jekyll]

Nice work so far mate.

Welcome btw. Plenty of useful information and helpful members on here. Plus theres plenty of banter flowing around to make you smile.

 

[RacingBeaut]

Nice work so far mate.

Welcome btw. Plenty of useful information and helpful members on here. Plus theres plenty of banter flowing around to make you smile.

Thanks, its been very useful so far. Lots of build threads to binge read as well which I enjoy

 

[Simon1975]

Great cars. Plenty of helpful advise on here. Bought mine standard 14*months ago done a few bits and love it. Main thing is to enjoy it

 

[RacingBeaut]

Great cars. Plenty of helpful advise on here. Bought mine standard 14*months ago done a few bits and love it. Main thing is to enjoy it

Hi, enjoying it so far it’s good to be back in something more of a drivers car than my previous car. Track days are definitely something I want to get into next year.

 

[Simon1975]

They are so much fun on track, esp the shorter tighter ones. That's main reason I stick to brands indy and the fact it's just to local. Need to venture further afield next year Bedford is def happening

 

[RacingBeaut]

They are so much fun on track, esp the shorter tighter ones. That's main reason I stick to brands indy and the fact it's just to local. Need to venture further afield next year Bedford is def happening

Yeah they really come alive on twisty bits of road. I’m lucky that Teesside Autodrome is local to my parents home, so I’ll probably have my first track experience there with my brother.

 

[RacingBeaut]

Update time.

Purchased and fitted an aluminium footrest:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Replaced the key battery as well.

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Then made the trip to collect some new wheels courtesy of @mossyv6 . These were recently refurbed and came with 2 Nankangs and 2 Goodyears fitted.

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

As much as I liked them, I wasn't happy with the condition of the stripes:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

So, booked in at Total Valeting in Thornaby to have them removed, as well as the cup decals on the side skirts and the Renault badge from the bottled. Very happy with the outcome.

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Much happier with how it looks now, I know some will mourn the loss of the stripes but they were passed their best. Next post will be detailing attacking the small amount of surface rust inside the rear sills.

 

[Djw John]

Lovely, I really miss my old RB, pics like that don't help

 

[Darren61]

Looking good and getting through that to do list nicely!

 

[RacingBeaut]

Looking good and getting through that to do list nicely!

Thanks! List has increased since I first posted mind but it’s all part of the fun, and it is my daily

 

[Stuflac]

Looks good without the stripes. Is there much difference between the paint where the stripes were?

 

[RacingBeaut]

Looks good without the stripes. Is there much difference between the paint where the stripes were?

I expected the paint beneath the stripes to be quite different, and it was so I’m glad I booked it in. They had to go further than simply machining and actually wet sanded to get it to blend in. There’s still a slight difference but it’s very subtle.

The bonnet has some rust on the leading edge, so whenever I get round to having that repaired I’ll likely get the rest painted too.

 

[RacingBeaut]

So after reading and seeing that some Clios suffer from rust in the inner arches, I had a look at mine. My brother recently did his which kind of spurred me on to inspect my own, seeing as my car has done twice the mileage.

Drivers side:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Passenger side:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Nothing major really and not as bad as some I'd seen. Made a start wire brushing what was there, then vacuuming the loose debris before applying some Bilt Hamber goodness:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Left this to dry before adding a second coat, then finished with a few coats of the following:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Overall not too bad of a job and I'm glad I've done it now for the peace of mind. Gave the rear of the interior a quick clean up whilst it was all out as well

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Well worth having a look at your inner arches if you haven't, took about 20 minutes to remove the rear bench and door cards, most annoying part being the stupid torx where the threads are exposed to the bottom of the car.

 

[Coops Mk1]

Looks really good in sills, ideal

 

[DomP182]

I really fancy an RB damn it! Anyone fancy a flamer as a swap?

 

[RacingBeaut]

Radio reception began cutting out and being generally crap, so following advice on here I replaced the aerial base and took the opportunity to fit a new smaller aerial as the old one was silver, and seized on as well This was an alright job, the main thing was to not rush pulling the rear headlining down to unscrew the base, as it would have creased it.

New base and aerial

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Also did everyones favourite mod

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

 

[RacingBeaut]

Small update again

Purchased a boot net and got it in, stops my tools flying all over! Notice the boot mat is still absent from when I removed it due to being wet from water getting in via grommets after I bought the car. Not bothered refitting as they just hold moisture, and anyway lets more noise from the scorp in

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Also took advantage of euro car parts code and ordered and fitted the correct size battery, 063 by Lion. Old one was larger which made removing harder than it needed to be, and probably wanted replacing as it was fitted 2017 according to my receipts. Fitted a new positive terminal cover at the same time.

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Have gathered type D coolant, genuine temp sensor and thermostat as well ready to be done as my temp gauge never gets to half way. In addition, purchased a replacement heater matrix, as my passenger carpet is damp and occasionally you can faintly smell coolant. Also have a Fabia splitter which I'll fit when I do those bits.

 

[Jekyll]

Coming along nicely mate. Good idea with the inner seals and the bilt hamber stuff is decent.

 

[Ricardos]

A very tidy example, nice updates

 

[RacingBeaut]

Coming along nicely mate. Good idea with the inner seals and the bilt hamber stuff is decent.

A very tidy example, nice updates

Thanks, progress is slower than I’d like due to being in the process of a first house purchase. Hoping to eventually have a daily so I can tinker with this more easily, have a long list of parts and things to do

 

[RacingBeaut]

Few bits done:

Oil and filter and sump plug washer changed:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Gearbox oil changed with new sump plug and washer:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Homemade filler pipe made it easy to access front wing nut once air box removed:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Fitted my Fabia splitter using self tappers with my brother's help:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Next up, changed knackered exhaust mounts, including centre mount with updated red one. Had to use a blow torch to free the old bolts. Old mounts were in a sorry state:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

New rear ones in place (forgot to take pic of new centre one on):

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Lastly, coolant temp sensor and thermostat replaced and coolant topped up with proper stuff:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Almost forgot, centre clamp from cat to cat back was goosed ... crumbled in my hand so good job we spotted that!

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

And finally, 3 bonus pics with some stuff to fit in future

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

 

[Crybert]

Looks so clean man! Love a racing blue

 

[RacingBeaut]

Looks so clean man! Love a racing blue

Thanks, scrubs up alright for 147k

 

[BaileyWolves]

Looks great mate, was considering anthracite turinis on my cup but seeing how clean the silver makes a car look I am like 🤷‍♀️

 

[Jekyll]

Yeah, can only echo above. Looks clean and nice to see maintenance things done to keep on top of it.

Good work mate.

Also, the splitter makes such a difference 👍

 

[RacingBeaut]

Looks great mate, was considering anthracite turinis on my cup but seeing how clean the silver makes a car look I am like 🤷‍♀️

I used to be big on darker wheels but I just think bright silver looks much cleaner and neater nowadays

 

[RacingBeaut]

Yeah, can only echo above. Looks clean and nice to see maintenance things done to keep on top of it.

Good work mate.

Also, the splitter makes such a difference 👍

Thanks Always think preventative maintenance is a good idea

 

[Jekyll]

Absolutely! Some people get these cars and just add mods, but it still needs to work also! Thats with all cars I guess.

 

[Amos91]

Bottom of that gearbox looks remarkably oil free!

 

[RacingBeaut]

Bottom of that gearbox looks remarkably oil free!

Yeah it’s not in bad nick really! Yellow chalk underneath is where my Dad marked for me to Jack the car and put axle stands, as I didn’t want to damage the sills

 

[RacingBeaut]

Quick update to the blue machine. I've just bought my first house with my girlfriend; moved out from my friend's place where I've lived for the past two years since I moved to Southampton. Finally have myself some proper off road parking, and a garage as well, feels like real luxury . We were lucky to get in with all of the Covid 19 goings on, but due to the property being vacant for some time and there being no chain we managed. The house will take priority now but progress will still carry on.

Fitted the new boot struts I received from eBay, fitment was easy and for £12 I think I paid it was worthwhile.

Next up, gave the door and boot seals some treatment with this stuff:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Stopped them sticking occasionally and they look much better now, and are more supple.

A member on here was looking for a cup interior for his 182. So, wanting rid of my drivers bucket we agreed to do a swap. So, had to remove my Cup interior which wasn't bad. Whilst under the car, noticed this small exhaust hole:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Not major but will need repairing at some point, I can't hear a blow whilst driving either. Anyway, seats out at least allowed me to clean up this mess beneath them:

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

This is the wiring I discovered under the passenger seat, which I had to cut to get the seat out. Has obviously been done before, so I'll just solder it back up eventually. Of course this means there's an airbag light for the time being.

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Anyway, once it was all removed, I cleaned al the interiorl up. Then swapped it for the interior from the bloke who came to collect mine.

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Decided to leave the rear bench out as its in great condition, so I've stored that with my parcel shelf for now. Also you'll notice the boot mat, which is great quality for only £35 I think I paid. The lower drivers seat has transformed the car for me, the bucket was alright but it was just mounted way too high, even for me. The fact that I'm saying a standard 182 seat is low compared to the old bucket should tell you how high it felt!

Two other small bits I've done, are to replace the bonnet latch as the original was hanging, and to change the airbag bolts as they looked scabby as well.

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

That brings us up to date. Now that my commute is so short, I've been thinking about getting something else I'll admit. There are only a few jobs left on my list, mainly being the steering wheel, phase 1 shifter to fit, rear 'lutecia' badge to change, giving the paint some attention and I've yet to fit the heater matrix I've had laying around for ages. I'll get those last few jobs done and then have another think

 

[Jekyll]

Congratulations on the house mate. Always great getting on the property ladder.

The boot nets are great. Really handy. Although, they always used to be £20 so they've gone up in price, but it doesn't matter as you have one now.

Buy dont get rid if it owes you no money. These cars are as good as a daily as well as motorway munchers, and of course fast road/track.

 

[RacingBeaut]

Thanks, has been a long time coming . Yep its certainly nothing to do with the car, its been faultless and I don't regret the money I've spent on it. I often look at other cars though, think it's normal to want to try something new.

 

[cliocollins]

Great progress mate. I've done the same smaller details on my cup. Makes all the difference when you compare the old vs new.

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[RacingBeaut]

Smallish update.

Have almost a full arsenal of detailing gear now, after a delivery today. Just waiting on a clay bar to arrive before I give the Clio a proper once over.

Today, I removed the front plate and fitted a reduced plate from Fancy Plates. The quality is great. I used Velcro coins to stick the plate on, after cleaning the recess using tar remover from CarPro.

Old plate

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Recess cleaned, a lot of sticky pads were on here prior even though the old plate was screwed on?

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

New plate fitted

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Next, removed the front wheels and cleaned the inner arches. Plan was to remove the arch liners as well, but the Torx screws weren't playing ball so that's a job for another day. Used Bilt Hamber Surfex diluted in a spray bottle then agitated it with a brush before pressure washing off.

Passenger side

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Drivers side

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Afters

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

It's just about visible that the front arch liners have been cut/torn? Guessing this was due to previous owner fitting brake ducts maybe?

Took the opportunity to clean the wheels as well using an iron fallout remover and again then an APC from Bilt Hamber

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

At this point however after snapping my saw trying to get rid of the Torx screws (I had new ones to change them anyway), I decided to just leave the rear wheels and arches for now.

Lastly, I changed the rear wiper for a Valeo item (no pics), then made a complete hash of changing the rear badge

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

Untitled by Joshua Tarnai, on Flickr

As you can see, its not positioned together ... I wasn't paying attention, simply covered the left hand hole left by the previous badge and then realised my mistake d'oh! It doesn't look terrible, but yeah anyone who knows what it should look like will notice Can only laugh I suppose! Certainly not wanting to spend another £40 for another badge, which I'm guessing I'd have to as removing that would be impossible now and the adhesive would be dead.

Car will be treated to a full wash next week, and that'll be it for a while as I've made a start on my house. Thought I'd put my remaining to-do list in here, for anyone wondering:

• Injectors to replace (have these ready)
• Phase 1 shifter to fit
• Heater fascia panel to replace (watching some on eBay)
• Dash trims to tidy up
• Snapped ECU bracket to sort
• New bonnet seal needed as is past its best
• Bleed brakes using new fluid
• Get inner arch liners off and cleaned, replace using new Torx screws
• Paint callipers silver
• Fit replacement heater matrix
• Straighten sills where bent
• Have pointless dent removal carried out
• Remove side skirts, clean behind and refit using new rivets
• Weld small exhaust hole
• Solder wires beneath passenger seat to remove airbag light
• Have roof, bonnet and other scuffs resprayed (may need new bonnet due to rust on leading edge)

 

[Stefan.]

I'd change the rear plate too for clean/non drilled to match imo.

Awesome work so far, nice car.

 

[RacingBeaut]

I'd change the rear plate too for clean/non drilled to match imo.

Awesome work so far, nice car.

Thanks! Yeah not sure why I didn’t order one with the front plate, no brainer really.

Also forgot to mention I have a Renaultsport Sabelt wheel on the way, with boss and cruise panel.