Clio 182 Track Car & Daily Projects

[Mr Underhill]

Finally made a start on the RB. Off all next week so hoping to get the beam switched over and then give the back end a good clean, cavity wax and underseal.

It’s definitely the last one I’m doing though 🙈

 

[Mr Underhill]

A few hours today wrestling with the rear beam. Finally got it out and it’s not in bad shape.

Managed to get a good look around underneath and there’s not a massive amount to do, although the heat shields have seen better days.

I’ve now started the cleaning process which will be a few days solid work and also began adding some zinc primer to vulnerable areas.

Just debating whether to take the tank out or not. From what I can see there’s nothing of any concern, but I’m always curious to see what’s lurking underneath 🧐

 

[Mr Underhill]

2 solid days attacking underneath the rear. Not a lot of corrosion, which I noticed on inspection before I bought it, but it’s still a relief when you start to take things apart.

Apologies for the photos as there’s either light coming in from the east, or behind the house or from the west. Everything looks dark.

It’s not pretty but it’s nice and clean and ready to build back up. It’s horrible dirty work and I’ll say here and now this is my last Clio project 😂 Body repairers of the world, I salute you 🖖

I then turned my attention to the heat shields. Crikey 😂😂😂 what do I do with these. Sadly I can’t buy new or find any decent second hand ones, so will have to try and repair for now.

The weevils have definitely had a feast. Still, I’ll do what I can.

The really rusty one was so crusty I didn’t dare take it off as it would have completely crumbled. So I gave it a few good coats of hydrate-80 which put a nice sticky skin over it and also made it feel a bit more solid.

Got some heat tape and some penny washers to rebuild the ends.

Ended up looking like this, which will have to do for now.

Tomorrow I’ll start to build it all back up.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Another day of building everything back up and fixing a few issues along the way.

First job was to fill the cavities with Dynax-S50. Doddle to do but its messy stuff if you’re not careful.

Finished up by resealing with heat tape.

Next up was to repair the stud which holds the rear inner arch liner. It invariably snapped when trying to remove the nut.

Ground the remaining stump down and stuck a rivet nut in. Job done!

Whilst I had the rivet gun out I stuck a couple more where the rear bumper affixes as the old clip was shot.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Got the refurbished beam back on, exhaust hanger brackets, hubs and ABS sensors.

The springs and dampers are being replaced with Cup versions as I don’t like the ride. Just waiting on a decent set of front springs, then I’ll refurb those then put it back to OEM.

Just the discs, pads and new brake lines to fit then just needs bleeding up and that’s it for this year.

Big shout out to George at Road, Track and Race for sorting the pads, spacers and hub nuts in super quick time.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Almost there. Just the brakes to bleed and a few small details and that’s the backend complete.

The exhaust is in very good condition but I’ll be replacing this with a PMS system like all my other Clios.

 

[Mr Underhill]

With the rear end now sorted I thought I’d take a quick look at middle section and see what I’m up against.

Started on the drivers side first. Hmmm might need a new side skirt by the looks of things.

It also looks like somebody’s been here before as the panel and bracket were held on with self tappers. The other side has original pop rivets. 🧐

We’ll soon fix that.

I gave the inner sill a good blast of S50 before realising I hadn’t checked inside the rear quarter panel.

Too late 🥴

Oh well. The panel and lower sill didn’t look that bad anyway and everything looked solid when I had the beam out, so whoever had the skirts off before must have done a good job.

I gave the rest of the lower sill a good clean up and a lick of paint to tidy it up. And put some proper pop rivets back in.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Last job on Clio’s this weekend was to change the throttle body on the BG daily.

It’s a bit of a luxury purchase but KTEC Racing had £100 off the price so I took the plunge.

And it finishes the intake off nicely which got refurbished a few weeks back

Overall I’ve had a good week improving the cars and I’ve got a better idea of what I need to make the RB the car I know it can be. Thanks for reading 😊

 

[Mr Underhill]

After constantly being let down by so called "Renault Specialists" for parts, i've finally decided to sell the Black Gold Sport, although it's not going to be in it's current form.

The Black Gold has a lot of parts which i'm trying to get for my new Racing Blue version, but probably wouldn't appeal to most Clio Sport owners. So i'm going to take the parts off the RB which i don't like and swap those over from the BG.

In the end i'll have one car exactly how i like it and another very good car which will probably appeal to most buyers.

I think the transplant will take a few weekends, then i'll stick a proper advert up for the Black Gold.

 

[RustyMojo]

The BG is a minter. Someone is going to get a nice car. What parts are moving across to the new one?

 

[Mr Underhill]

The BG is a minter. Someone is going to get a nice car. What parts are moving across to the new one?

Thanks Russ.

I'm switching the following:

• Cup springs and dampers F&R. RB has brand new Eibach springs but i don't like the ride. Rear dampers on the RB are brand new but non CUP.
• PMS Exhaust - Again RB has a pretty nice shiny new Scorpion system, but i like the PMS
• RB has brand new tyres but 205/45/16. BG has 195/45/16 PS3's which i prefer
• Steering wheel on RB could do with a refurb to make it perfect, but it's not bad. Snappy did my BG one and it's still mint.
• Intake on the BG has been gas flowed and fully refurbed, plus i've just stuck a brand new throttle body on it, so that's getting swapped over. RB one is very clean and only done 82K. Just small detail really.
• Battery on the RB is Blue & White, the BG has a Black battery. I prefer Black hahaha

That's pretty much it.

Whoever gets the BG is getting a solid car with tons of new parts. Bodywork on the BG is far superior to the RB in everyway, so that's where i'm going to have to focus my attention really.

The complete braking system on the BG is new. Calipers, discs, pads, braided lines etc.......but i'm leaving those on as i've already done the rear one's on the RB and have some new front discs, calipers and pads for the RB anyway.

 

[RustyMojo]

I may know someone for it, I’ll hit him up

 

[RustyMojo]

I may know someone for it, I’ll hit him up no doubt he’ll ask for further details so when you get a chance send them across to me. Chaps in the trade as well, old mate of mine who has seen me having too much fun messing around in a 1*2

 

[Mr Underhill]

I may know someone for it, I’ll hit him up no doubt he’ll ask for further details so when you get a chance send them across to me. Chaps in the trade as well, old mate of mine who has seen me having too much fun messing around in a 1*2

Ok but it'll be 2 weeks before i can swap everything over. I've actually got a firm offer from a guy on the groups who's desperate to buy it. But i know he's going to track it, says he isn't but i know 100% that he is and there's no way i can let this car get wrecked.

Buying a car off me is like having a job interview

 

[Mr Underhill]

Booked the Black Gold daily in for an MOT on Friday and the bleeding thing failed on the rear Xenon level sensor 🤬 I thought I’d checked everything but failed to notice the small plastic clip on the end of the arm - the part that fixes to the rear beam - had snapped.

Of course they’re obsolete and there’s no aftermarket alternative.

As fortune would have it, I got my track car back today and that has no headlights. So took the sensor off that - although it was crusty as hell - and managed to refurb it to a decent standard.

Car should be ready Monday with a full ticket and ready for a parts transplant and eventual sale.

 

[Mr Underhill]

So after 71 days I finally got the track car back. What a bleedin carry on.

So the original diagnosis of valve failure turned out to be incorrect. All valves were perfect. Of course I’d already ordered some Supertech valves by then after finding out 197/200 valves were on back order.

The next diagnosis of Dephaser - honestly - also turned out to be incorrect as well. And again I’d already ordered one of those too.

Finally they figured out what it was after I’d asked them to fit some ARP rod bolts.

On removal of the sump they noticed the teeth and chain on the oil pump cogs were worn. It kind of explains how the noise was slightly out of sync with the engine revs.

Fortunately nothing else was damaged and the builder commented on how clean the bottom and top end of the engine was.

With the engine completely stripped I eventually just instructed them to fit a ton of new parts, although they still managed to forget to fit the new water pump 🤦🏻‍♂️.

Still, the workmanship appears to be of a high standard and I’ve never heard an F4R engine sound as sweet as this one. Got a Trackday at Croft on the 19th so we’ll see how it holds up.

 

[Mr Underhill]

I always vowed never to restore another rear axle beam yet here I am again 🤦🏻‍♂️

This one is particularly nice though with very little pitting around the spring area.

On this occasion though I’m going to get it shot blasted as I think it’ll come up beautifully.

The plan is to then strengthen it with a PMS stiffening kit and then fit spherical bearings. Perfect for the track car.

One tip I’d recommend when removing the bushes is to support the ends so it doesn’t warp the steel when pushing them out.

I use 9 x M12 steel washers wrapped in tape and I find it stops any bending.

 

[FrogJam Motorsport]

Still going to Croft next week?

 

[Mr Underhill]

Still going to Croft next week?

I am fella. Can't flippin wait!

 

[FrogJam Motorsport]

I am fella. Can't flippin wait!

Great. We managed to get a cancellation space yesterday so will be there too.

Just need to change the front wheel bearings beforehand.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Great. We managed to get a cancellation space yesterday so will be there too.

Just need to change the front wheel bearings beforehand.

Good stuff. Looking forward to it even more now. Couldn't get a garage though so i'll be bringing the Gazebo just in case.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Great. We managed to get a cancellation space yesterday so will be there too.

Just need to change the front wheel bearings beforehand.

If it's absolutely pissing it down i won't attend as i only have dry tyres and don't fancy dying 🤣 I did Cadwelll in the wet once and it's just no fun, plus my car doesn't have any heaters and no amount of Rain-X can clear the screen. Fingers crossed for a dry one

 

[FrogJam Motorsport]

If it's absolutely pissing it down i won't attend as i only have dry tyres and don't fancy dying 🤣 I did Cadwelll in the wet once and it's just no fun, plus my car doesn't have any heaters and no amount of Rain-X can clear the screen. Fingers crossed for a dry one

Yer the weather is looking a bit on the edge at the moment isn’t it. Hopefully it clears up. We haven’t tried our heated screen yet so perhaps it’s a day to try that out.

 

[Mr Underhill]

We haven’t tried our heated screen yet so perhaps it’s a day to try that out.

Very posh

 

[Mr Underhill]

Busy weekend getting the track car ready for Croft on Tuesday.

Needed to clean/bleed the brakes and sort a temporary battery out after those clowns working on my car dumped it outside for 2 months with no cover or care. 🤬 They’d also tried to jump start my lithium battery and fried it in the process. Completely ignored my instruction to disconnect it while waiting for parts.

On a happier note I uncovered Project RB to find the discs are rust free, thanks to Bilt Hamber’s awesome Atom-Mac.

It’s been sat outside the garage for almost a month now. Can’t recommend this stuff enough for preventing flash rust on discs or road salt biting into components over winter.

Notice rear beam in the background, coming along nicely 😀

 

[Mr Underhill]

Another great day at Croft in the old girl. Car’s not running perfectly as needs a remap. Sat out the morning session due poor visibility - as in I couldn’t see out of my windscreen 😂

Finally joined in just before lunch when things settled down a touch.

Met up with Fred and James and their stunning 182. Great to go around circuit with another race Clio. Really nice lads too although a lot younger than me 😂 Isn’t everybody!

I think that’s it for this year unless I can get a last minute cancellation at Cadwell or Croft and dry weather.

 

[dave120]

Really enjoying this thread. Thanks for the heads up on the Atom Mac. I'd never heard of it but will be ordering some before the winter starts!

 

[Mr Underhill]

Really enjoying this thread. Thanks for the heads up on the Atom Mac. I'd never heard of it but will be ordering some before the winter starts!

Thanks Dave, much appreciated

I couldn't bear to uncover the car after a few months only to find those horrible pad marks you get on brand new discs after lack of use. Certainly seems to be working.

 

[dave120]

Good luck with the sale of the BG. My opinion is you are selling too cheap but it should hopefully mean you sell it with minimal hassle.

Looks to be an extremely good car for someone 👍🏻

 

[Mr Underhill]

Good luck with the sale of the BG. My opinion is you are selling too cheap but it should hopefully mean you sell it with minimal hassle.

Looks to be an extremely good car for someone 👍🏻

Thanks Dave. The ads been worth the entertainment value alone 😂 I might just sell it for £800 and wait for the lowball 😂 Don’t really want to sell her tbh.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Last post from me tonight.

Croft was a blast and the @FPummell car is dreamy. Check out the build if you haven’t already.

 

[Twingo 1??]

Thanks Dave. The ads been worth the entertainment value alone 😂 I might just sell it for £800 and wait for the lowball 😂 Don’t really want to sell her tbh.

Sell it to me for £800 it would stay local and you could always buy it back lol

 

[Mr Underhill]

Sell it to me for £800 it would stay local and you could always buy it back lol

I did that the first time around to a friend. The conditions were he'd sell it back to me 6 months later and for the same money. He wrecked it. Never again 🤣

 

[Twingo 1??]

I did that the first time around to a friend. The conditions were he'd sell it back to me 6 months later and for the same money. He wrecked it. Never again 🤣

Don't blame you tbh. I rented a house to my Perents, I hadn't heard anything for a few months from them. Turns out the fucked off left the place a s**t hole. Not heard from them since. It's been 6 years now lol.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Don't blame you tbh. I rented a house to my Perents, I hadn't heard anything for a few months from them. Turns out the fucked off left the place a s**t hole. Not heard from them since. It's been 6 years now lol.

Crikey, your parents did that to you?

 

[Twingo 1??]

Crikey, your parents did that to you?

Yeah. We are better off without them!

 

[Mr Underhill]

Yeah. We are better off without them!

Certainly sounds like it fella. Conversely we've just sold our youngest son a property for half of what it's worth. They've just had a baby and he travels 300 miles each weekend from his work to see his new son and girlfriend. He needs his parents support right now.

 

[Mr Underhill]

The Clio Sport landscape has changed forever people. Put simply, the best Clio Sports are now in the hands of the best owners.

The time has come for you scruffy little b****s to move onto something else 🤣

 

[Mr Underhill]

Love this shot from Croft last Tuesday. Not a Javelin photo - they're average at best - but a shot by a chap called Andy Bennison.

Next trackday already booked for November 15th. Hope it stays dry this time.

 

[Twingo 1??]

Do you know when the croft dates will be released for next year Jon?