Clio 182 Turbo

[Yarp]

Hi, I thought I’d start myself a bit of a project thread for my 182 turbo conversion. It’s been done a million times so is probably quite boring so feel free not to read 😊.

Anyway, many years ago I purchased a 182 that looked like this:

Then around 3 or 4 years ago it went into hibernation in the garage and spent a long time looking like this. Sometimes it had more sawdust on it, sometimes it had less. Sometimes it had more things stacked on its roof, sometimes it had less. Anyway, you get the idea

Then at some point I started collecting turbo bits. Last week I ended up with this:

So at some point the above turbo and related turbo’y bits will be strapped to said 182. Not going for anything wild so around 230bhp will be just nice. Then once it’s all done it’ll probably go back in the garage and repeat the cycle of being covered in sawdust and children’s toys 👍

 

[Yarp]

I pulled the car out of its little house. Quick rinse and it looks great, all be it a bit wonky

A
Whipped the wheel off, problem is pretty obvious

a
Front spring is totally snapped. Suppose that makes perfect sense on a car that hasn’t moved for years 🤦‍♂️. Back 2 are also gone. It’s an easy fix though, fitted a new set of eibach lowering springs and jobs a gud’n.
Or at least it was until I started on the drivers side and snapped my 21mm spanner. Did the sensible thing and threw it over the back fence into the forest behind the house and went inside in the huff for a beer. Cocked up a bit though, was a Halfords one with lifetime guarantee which turns out doesn’t apply if you’ve lobbed it over the fence 🤷‍♂️. Anyway, that’s a job for next week

 

[d19wood]

😂 and so it begins, wish you well 👍

 

[davo172]

All the luck mate you will need it!
You could always get a few grand and pile that up in the garden set fire to it and put car back in garage same long term result🤣
Oh and write you for sale thread ready for when you decide to sell it after its "finished"
😉

 

[Radugns]

Nice project. Wait for new posts here.

 

[Yarp]

All the luck mate you will need it!
You could always get a few grand and pile that up in the garden set fire to it and put car back in garage same long term result🤣
Oh and write you for sale thread ready for when you decide to sell it after its "finished"
😉

haha cheers. Fortunately cash isn’t an issue, only time and interest so as long as I find the time to work on it and don’t get bored it’ll be fine. If it blows up I’ll just buy a new engine and try again 😂

it’s been sat there for that long if I was going to sell it then it would have been long gone by now. The only threat to the project is if the Mrs decides she wants to extend her gym into my half of the garage. If that happens it’s game over lol

 

[Usr117063]

haha cheers. Fortunately cash isn’t an issue, only time and interest so as long as I find the time to work on it and don’t get bored it’ll be fine. If it blows up I’ll just buy a new engine and try again 😂

it’s been sat there for that long if I was going to sell it then it would have been long gone by now. The only threat to the project is if the Mrs decides she wants to extend her gym into my half of the garage. If that happens it’s game over lol

You'll kick her out and cry, eat ice cream and watch rom coms all day, not having any time to work on the car?

 

[Yarp]

No Clio progress today but I did go and pick my decking up. For reference, 4.8m deck boards fit perfectly in a 5 series estate 😂😂😂

 

[JimF]

Looking forward to seeing the progress on this! I keep toying with the idea of forced induction on mine.

 

[ixell]

Keep chipping away and one sorted Clio will be great fun I hope you enjoy 😊

 

[Yarp]

Not much of an update and certainly not very exciting. After my little huff last week with my snapped spanner I finished getting the new springs fitted.

Please excuse the shambles that is my front lawn. My gardener is scared of germs so hasn’t been seen for months. It sits really well now, much better than standard. It’ll be interesting to see how it settles out after a good drive.

Also the postman brought me an intercooler and oil feed kit. Downpipe and boost pipes are due this week at some point so I’ve almost got all I need! First plan is to get it through a MOT, get the belts done because I’m fairly sure the timing is out and then get cracking!

 

[K_McL29]

Good luck with this one, going to be following with keen interest as I'm just about to start out on the same journey. Any tips and tricks you learn along the way will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Yarp]

Good luck with this one, going to be following with keen interest as I'm just about to start out on the same journey. Any tips and tricks you learn along the way will be greatly appreciated.

cheers. I’ll go pic heavy with the build once it gets going if there’s a chance it’ll help out. All I’m waiting for now is the down pipe and boost pipes then I’m good to go.

 

[Martin.]

Downpipes and boost pipe kit from ED?

 

[Yarp]

Downpipes and boost pipe kit from ED?

the boost pipes are but found a set 2nd hand so just waiting for them to arrive. Worked out massively cheaper than new Which works out well because at some point I’ll redo them in some sort of pretty colour anyway once everything is settled in and running as it should be. Downpipe is from a company called TRW in portugal. It came recommended by someone local who uses it and didn’t like the ED one so we will see how it goes!

 

[Radugns]

the boost pipes are but found a set 2nd hand so just waiting for them to arrive. Worked out massively cheaper than new Which works out well because at some point I’ll redo them in some sort of pretty colour anyway once everything is settled in and running as it should be. Downpipe is from a company called TRW in portugal. It came recommended by someone local who uses it and didn’t like the ED one so we will see how it goes!

Why don't you like the ED one? I see some that uses it without issues.

 

[Frasers Cup]

I like the idea of a turboed 182. Are you getting a diff to put the power down or is it not too bad in a low boost application?

 

[Yarp]

Not a great deal of Clio work gone on. Been busy gardening for the last few weeks. Below is the before and after:

In more interesting turbo related news... I now have intercooler pipe work. Managed to get a 2nd hand ED kit for pennies. The pipes don’t fit the intecooler so need a couple of increasers but no issues there. Got literally no ideas what goes where and how it all links together so that should be a fun day to fit it 🤦‍♂️.

Also decided to bin off the ph1 fuel setup and just pay EFI some more money to make the 182 setup work. Don’t have time for the negativity of finding a ph1 setup in my life haha!

Downpipe is still in the post 🤔....

 

[Louis]

Any updates?

 

[Yarp]

Any updates?

nothing exciting. I’ve now got all the oil feeds etc. I’ve bought a new sump and tapped the return in so it’s pretty much good to go. Still missing the downpipe which is nowhere to be seen and starting to piss me off.

However, I got fed up of the UK so me the wife and little one have gone to Cyprus for just over 3 weeks. Should be progress end of the month when we’ee back

 

[Yarp]

Bit of an update. Decided to get cracking a bit and the mess of intercooler pipes seemed like a good place to start. All the bumper screws were a total mess so just ripped it off. Some of the arch liners might not be very well any more 🤦‍♂️

pulled the old air box out and I think I’ve had a mouse living in there at some point when it’s been parked up haha! That can only spell good news for French electrics 🤔

Some world class cable tie engineering to get things mocked up. So pleased I bought a proper kit cos there’s no way I would have ever figured that out!

Bumper kinda fits but needs trimmed a bit

Downpipe has also finally arrived but my turbo is backwards so the next job is to flip it 180 so the downpipe doesn’t go straight into where the boost pipe lives

More to come!

 

[Yarp]

Boring update so no pics. Stripped off the inlet manifold and all it’s associated crap, pulled off the old heat shield and spongy stuff and took the head bolts and studs off on the exhaust manifold. Handily whoever fitted the manifold only put 5 nuts on and only did the easy to access ones so saved me some work! Plan for the rest of the week is to get the oil return drilled onto my new sump then at the weekend drop the subframe, remove the old exhaust manifold and fit the new sump with the oil return. If I get time the turbo might get it’s first fit.

I’m in need of an alternator. The engine bay mice have totally bollocksed my current one which smells a lot like fire when it’s running. I still also need to source an oil feed that fits my turbo and the efi parts boost control kit. I’ve given up hope of sourcing a ph1 fuel setup and failed miserably at my attempts of making one from a ph2 rail so I’m going to use the current setup and pay them to custom map to suit.

In other news my 5 series dad wagon v2 went in to have its map tweaked last weekend (the dpd also dropped off somehow 🤷‍♂️) and came out with a much improved 334bhp and 712 torques. Makes me wonder why I’m wasting my time on this 😂

 

[Yarp]

Bit more progress today. All the subframe bolts decided to be arseholes and spin so decided to chop the manifold off instead. Wasn’t the easiest of jobs and went through a million blades but it’s done

With that off I could trial fit the turbo. Jesus it’s tight back there!! The actuator is mega close so I’ll edit that bit of metal behind it with a hammer and it’ll be fine. Downpipe links up perfectly and heads away to the tunnel but looks like it might catch on some bit of the PAS. Couldn’t see what it was from above but it needs be I’ll live with it. It’ll all be heat wrapped so won’t be that bad down there.

Even the boost pipes all line up kind of

Next up is to sort the oil feed. I’m still trying to find the right fitting for the turbo but think I’ve finally got one coming this week. Coolant lines need done which will be a 5 min job teeing into the coolant lines and then the oil return which will be going into the top of the sump. I’ve also got a big sheet of heat shield to try and shape round all that important stuff behind the engine then after that it’s almost there.

 

[leeds2592]

Nice one. I shall be watching this with interest.

What turbo you running? Just a cheap chinky spooly boy?

 

[Yarp]

Nice one. I shall be watching this with interest.

What turbo you running? Just a cheap chinky spooly boy?

yep, COVID isn’t China’s only export to Steve’s house this year. Ran one on my Astra for a bit after I went through 2 VXR turbos in the space of weeks and it was spot on. As long as you’re not aiming for 600bhp and loads of boost they work fine.

Also, the car hasn’t moved for 3 years. Don’t want to bring it back out and hate it having ploughed £900 into a Garrett turbo

 

[Louis]

Will you be mounting the intercooler under the crash bar? Should give you plenty of room for the bumper then.

 

[Yarp]

Will you be mounting the intercooler under the crash bar? Should give you plenty of room for the bumper then.

Yeah, I’ve dropped it back since the pic earlier when it was just cable tied on. The bumper goes on no bother now. It’s slightly off centre to make it work with the clamps etc but it’s about 15mm out so unless you measure it you’d never tell

 

[incy-spider]

That actuator is not ideal there, I’d modify the bracket or order something else.

Also did you manage to get the subframe bolts tightened back up?


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[Yarp]

That actuator is not ideal there, I’d modify the bracket or order something else.

Also did you manage to get the subframe bolts tightened back up?


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It’ll be fine. I’ll just hammer the bulkhead back a bit and all will be well. The actuator can’t really move from there, the next notch takes it right over the middle of where the boost pipe goes. They never actually loosened, they just span so all seem tight still

 

[Yarp]

Postie dropped a new(ish) working alternator off today so hopefully that’ll get rid of the issues the current one is causing where it’s drawing a voltage all the time, smells of fire and makes the car cut out when its connected. I’ll get that on this week at some point with a new belt. Also been looking at my 225 injectors and they appear to be non-genuine. They have no deka logo and matching serial numbers. They are brand new so I’ll fit them anyway and check egts when it’s running to see if they are doing what they should. If not I’ll source a genuine set

 

[incy-spider]

I have a very good set of Genuine 225 injectors, had them checked by Chris at efi, with the check sheet if you need some..?


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[leeds2592]

I have a very good set of Genuine 225 injectors, had them checked by Chris at efi, with the check sheet if you need some..?


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If OP doesn't want them, give me a shout, I may take them off your hands.

 

[Yarp]

No pic update today. Started to get the sump off. Removed the top engine mount, dog bone and box mount and jacked the engine up as far as it would go. Got all the accessible bolts out bar one which drilled out pretty easily. I need a E8 on a 1/4 drive as my 3/8 was too fat for the holes on the box side so that stopped play. In the meantime I’ve clocked the turbo again slightly to get a bit more space for the coolant lines and the actuator now sits slightly further away from the bulkhead. The downpipe is still very very close to the pas setup but there’s not really anything else I can do about that given the hot side is fixed in place in relation to the manifold. Just gonna have to heat wrap it to death and hope for the best. Last bit was a lick of paint on the rocker cover and some paint on the inlet manifold. Was going to go the Rover grey that pretty much matches the wheels but the wife liked the colour of the yellowish filler primer so may end up going something along those lines instead. I’d half hoped to make it look almost factory in the bay but given she’s not complaining I’ll probably go yellow 😂. More on Wednesday when I’ve got a half day

 

[Yarp]

Bit more done today. My 1/4” drive eTorx rocked up so got the sump off. Jacked the engine up and chocked it. May have improvised a bit with a couple of the wife’s parasol weights 👌

Sump came off fairly easily once it was up and the last of the bolts were out. Minging job, got s**t everywhere but needs must. Got the new sump tapped with a 1/2” thread for the return so I’ll get that back on at the weekend. Also
New injectors arrived. Massive thanks to @incy-spider on the front 👍

 

[Yarp]

Finally managed to find an oil feed for the china special corona turbo. Bought basically 1 of everything I could find in a 1/4” thread and one of the 6 in the packet worked. Handily as they weren’t labelled I’ve got no idea which one it was. T is m14 in/out for the oil sensor with a 1/8”npt to 4an for the oil hose. That then goes to a 4an to some random 1/4” thing at the turbo end. The hose length actually makes for quite a neat routing and fitment

I’d also painted the inlet over the weekend so plonked that on the top to see what It looked like. Have to say I’m pretty happy. Gonna do the letters black and spray the boost pipes the the same colour with black bends

 

[Jekyll]

I've enjoyed this thread so far mate. Keep us updated 👍

 

[Yarp]

I've enjoyed this thread so far mate. Keep us updated 👍

Thanks, I must admit I’m having fun just picking away at it bit by bit.

I forgot to share the oil return the other day. I’ve tapped it into the sump. I know a lot of people say to use that flat bit on the block but given the engine is in situ that wasn’t a feasible option. Tapping a sump on a bench is a much easier job. You can see the oily tide mark on the old sump where the oil level sits so the rerun sits miles above that. I’ve also finally sourced the illusive phase 1 fuel rail and regulator. It’s coming with fuel lines too but I don’t really like them running behind the turbo so will probably stick with my original plan and make my own running down the box side and under

 

[Yarp]

Today I’ve whipped the ecu out and sent it off on its holiday to EFI Parts. It’ll come back mapped and with their boost control kit sometime soon

also started painting boost pipes. Can’t decide whether to go gloss black or grey as per inlet so done one of each. Always end up having to get a bit imaginative when drying them haha!

 

[incy-spider]

Nice! Im thinking about doing a bay spruce up soon..


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[Yarp]

Nice! Im thinking about doing a bay spruce up soon..


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it’s never going to be 100% perfect without lifting the engine but most of it has come up pretty well. I’ve cleaned and painted all the rusty bits, given the slam panel a lick of paint and then with these done too it should look ok. I’ve had an oil leak from the sump at some point though so most of the back of the block and box is filthy. Job for a different day that one though! I’m half tempted to move the battery to the boot too. The whole setup with the ecu and fuse box all sat there is so ugly. The joy that is french wiring is the only thing putting me off