Crusty's Ph2 172 - 225 engine/gearbox project

[Crusty]

Hi, I'm Adrian (Ace on OZRS) from Sydney Australia. I posted the below info in another thread and was encouraged to create a project thread so here it is. This first section is a repost but will paint the picture.

A mate of mine in Oz is doing a similar project and is well advance but his build involves a lot of engine and turbo modifications which I am trying to avoid, I am playing a bit of catch up here but steaming ahead at the moment, my aim is to keep the motor build as stock as possible and maybe do some improvements down the track.

I have a Clio 172 2003 model which I blew the engine in last year, I also just bought a Megane 225 from the salvage auction with a 100k engine and gearbox. A quaife has been ordered to go with the gearbox.

There will be a large number of challenges to overcome though.
1. No Hydraulic power steering with the Megane engine
2. Chassis modifications and custom engine mount need to be made
3. Dump pipe from the turbo will hit the brake lines and boil the fluid on the brake lines on the firewall and in the reservoir
4. The Megane uses a hydraulic clutch with the master cylinder mounted onto the back of the clutch pedal and hooked up to the brake reservoir and the gearbox.
5. I don't want to use a small intercooler
6. There may be issues closing the bonnet as it looks like it may hit the Megane inlet manifold
7. Custom drive shafts need to be manufactured
8. Custom alternator bracket needs to be manufactured

There are some solutions to the above issues:
1. I want to try and retain the Clio brake booster and master cylinder
2. I want to try to retain the stock 225 turbo, turbo manifold and inlet manifold
3. I want to use a large stage 2 intercooler
4. I want to retain 100% of the stock 225 motor
5. I want to retain the stock 225 ECU, wiring, ignition key and instrument cluster
6. I want Henk to tune it with an RS Tuner

My mission is to retain as much as possible from a stock 225 as possible.

So, let me outline some of my thoughts.

1. No Hydraulic power steering with the Megane engine
The 172 has Hydraulic power steering, but the Megane uses electric power steering ePAS. There is a CS thread and guide with details on this mod. Essentially I need to install ePAS from a standard Clio II. This involves buying the steering rack, steering column complete with ePAS motor and steering ECU, and a ebay controller for the assistance level. There are others who reused the 172 steering rack by blocking off the hydraulic lines but I decided to go with replacing the rack. Note that the stock Clio rack is also slightly less turns from lock to lock, and can be removed in the future without removing/lowering the subframe. If using the non sport rack you will need to fit the inner tie rods from the 172 as they are longer than the stock Clio ones.

I hunted down the rack and the column with ePAS motor and ECU at the wreckers for $250!!

Old column (172)

New column from 1.4L Clio - note ePAS motor on the column. If you think you're going to reduce weight with this mod think again, the ePAS column is easily as heavy as the Hydraulic system

New ePAS rack from Clio 1.4L mounted to the subframe

The Clio 1.4L steering column installed, the only thing missing now is to install the steering ECU and the ebay controller

2. Chassis modifications and custom engine mount need to be made

My mate has already built a mount for the front and rear of the engine which I am getting copied this week. The top engine mount is done by taking one off of the Clio engine and replacing the Megane one with it, plug and play.

The gearbox mount uses the lower half from the Megane and the top half (battery tray) from the Clio using the Clio 172 Vibra technics mount. A spacer shim is required to compensate for a slight height difference of around 6-8mm. I don't have the shim made yet, but it does bolt into place so I'd say that's right. Note that its currently a little bit out because it is hitting the chassis which requires modification.

This pic is looking up at the end of the gearbox to show where it hits the underside lf the chassis rail. This prevents the gearbox mount from raising the gearbox any higher and required the Chassis rail to be checked out.

You can see here that the gearbox is currently sitting on the subframe. This won't be a problem when the chassis is modified, but the tolerances will be close hence why an extra engine mount will be used to tie the front of the gearbox to the front of the subframe.

3. Dump pipe from the turbo will hit the brake lines and boil the fluid on the brake lines on the firewall and in the reservoir

The engine will tilt forward from this position once the chassis mods and mounts are done, but it is clear to see that the dump pipe will hit the brake lines. The options at this stage are (1) relocate the brake reservoir and reroute the brake lines, (2) change the manifold to one like used in the Ktec turbo conversion kit (like on my Ph1), or (3) go for the whole new brake setup with the wilwood pedal box and individual masters with the reservoirs moved onto the black plate on the firewall.

My current thinking is to remove the Clio reservoir and install the Megane reservoir as a remote reservoir housed in the plenum between the firewall and the dash and run pipes to the master cylinder, this is not an uncommon approach in many cars. I will remove the tar crap one day too.

I was then thinking to reroute the brake lines with a sharper 90 degree bend (maybe sharper) coming out of the master and run them up through the plate on the firewall, along the plenum to the other side, then back through the firewall and down to the ABS unit. The only other thing in this space will be the washer bottle, wipers and mini demister hoses.

4. The Megane uses a hydraulic clutch with the master cylinder mounted onto the back of the clutch pedal and hooked up to the brake reservoir and the gearbox.

My thinking on this challenge is to remove the clutch pedal from the Clio pedal box and bolt in the Megane pedal with master cylinder in its place. Looks like it will require a bolt or 2 through the firewall so I will put a plate on the engine side. The pedal will also end up a little close to the brake pedal due to a dog leg in the pedal arm. I reckon that can be straightened and create enough clearance. I would then look at running a clutch line up into the plenum where I intend to relocate the megane brake reservoir to which has a feed from the reservoir for the clutch. There would be a T piece which would then run though the plenum with the relocated brakes lines back through the firewall on the passenger side and connect to the megane hydraulic clutch line on top of the gearbox.

Pedal box from the Clio, the existing clutch pedal is closest and would be removed to make way for the megane pedal.

This is the megane clutch pedal with the clutch master cylinder attached. Some modifications to the pedal mounting will need to be made.

Megane clutch line on top of the gearbox

5. I don't want to use a small intercooler

C'mon, when I have an intercooler like this why not try and use it? The pipes can be routed to fit and the top lip removed from the front chassis rail will need to be removed. The honeycomb from inside the front bumper goes and a big rectangle will need to be cut into the bumper to allow airflow which I will cover with a mesh to provide some protection to the IC. I reckon its do-able.

When I trial fitted the bumper it was about 100mm off fitting on one side, with the other side fitted properly.

6. There may be issues closing the bonnet as it looks like it may hit the Megane inlet manifold

I will have to wait until the mounts are done and trial fit the bonnet, more to come. I don't think this will be a problem.


7. Custom drive shafts need to be manufactured

This likely to be one of the most difficult challenges. Essentially what is required is to have megane inner drive shafts with Clio outer drive shafts. More to follow on this one.


8. Custom alternator bracket needs to be manufactured

My mate came up with a solution here which includes deleting the AC compressor and using the Clio alternator with a custom bracket, delete the tensioner and use a shorter belt.

 

[Chi]

Great stuff @w33brl

 

[Crusty]

The Quaife LSD arrived from the UK on Tuesday morning, so once Jonesway is finished with his work I'll take the engine out so Renotech can start on the diff install, this will give me a chance to get the engine bay and interior spray painted, the brake and clutch lines run, then install the engine do the electrics, tune it and hit the track on 1st of June.

Some pics
Notch cut into the chassis to provide clearance for the gearbox

Front engine mount. Steve decided to weld a plate over the subframe to provide more strength and then weld the mount onto the plate. I thought this was a good idea as the subframe is made from pretty flimsy galvanised steel.

The front mount is made of thick steel plate with a Clio control arm bush as the mounting pivot which is welded onto the steel plate over the subframe

The new Quaife, in case you haven't actually seen one before installation, remember 15% off at Demon Tweeks at the moment

I brought the Mistress (That's what I call her) back from Jonesway's today, all the work which needed the engine in place has been completed

Work completed:
* Front engine mount completed
* Rear engine mount completed
* Decat pipe modified to clear brake master cylinder
* New SS exhaust section to span from decat all the way back to the silencer
* Megane gear shifter installed
* Top half of gearbox mount modified so gear selector doesn't hit anymore
* Peugeot 406 master cylinder installed to swap brake lines to side opposing the decat pipe
* Driveshafts measured up, basically I inserted the inner 225 shafts and measured from the edge of the CV housing to the flange in the hub. Distance was 395mm on the driver side and 365mm on the passenger side. I will give these measurements and both the Clio and Megane shafts to the driveshaft guys and get new shafts made to suit.
* Concept for alternator bracket

Renotech are coming on Monday to remove the gearbox and take it away to install the new Quaife diff. I still need to do some mods to the Intercooler to mount it on the front, but have worked out what to do. I have worked out how to attach the Megane Clutch pedal onto the Clio pedal box, just waiting for it to be welded up.

Firstly the rear engine mount

The modified decat pipe, plenty of clearance now. I will probably ceramic wrap the pipe and install some nimbus on the firewall and between the pipe and the master cylinder, should be fine now. Also note the new Peugeot 406 master cylinder with the brake lines on the other side away from the decat pipe.

Here's a pick of the stock Clio 172 master cylinder. Bore size of 20.6mm, Clio 197 is 23mm and Peugeot 406 is 23.8mm. Its pretty clear why its a good idea to upgrade the master cylinder, at least to 197 master cylinder if you are installing 4 pot brake calipers. I'm going to hunt down some brackets for the Brembos and include them in my build.

The decat pipe was shortened at the top to move it further away from the master cylinder. Redrilled the hole for the lambda and everything rewelded. Its quite amazing as the downstream flange (replaced with a 2 1/2" flange to match the new exhaust) now sits perfectly in the centre of the tunnel with plenty of clearance - schweeet.

Here's the new exhaust section made from stainless steel. We cut the existing exhaust just forward of the exhaust mount and put a new flange on it. I will replace the rest of the exhaust from that point back at a later stage.

Megane 225 shifter installed. This is also amazing. You need to drill out the bolts and then the 225 shifter housing just slots in like it was meant to be there and can then be bolted in from above.

The intercooler pipes sit nicely after a few mods to the brackets on the top pipe so it will sit lower and allow the bonnet to close. The passenger side also sits nicely after reducing the length of the silicone hose attached to the throttle body. Just need a couple of pieces of silicone hose to span the gaps and all should be fine.

I decided on a new approach with the alternator and will use the 225 alternator and mounting plate. I just need to play with some spacers and different bolts and I reckon this will work fine. I will retain the existing idler wheel to help with tension, there was a lug near the idler wheel which I ground off to allow clearance for the belt. Just need to find new 7PK belt around 890mm, still a work in progress.

I took the engine out tonight ready for the gearbox removal so the new quaife can be fitted.

I must say I'm quite exhausted after this, but I can relax for a little while waiting for the driveshafts and diff install to be completed, then its on to wiring in the 225 ECU and loom, sounds like fun

 

[Crusty]

Great stuff @w33brl

+1 @w33brl - the tip on the Master cylinder was a gem

 

[Deejuk]

Subscribed!! I'm also going for the full meg setup but have a GT28rs to bolt on instead and the dci pedalbox to deal with the hydro clutch. Out of interest, how are you going about fitting the 225 uch, is that a direct replacement or are you mounting elsewhere? Just curious as I'm opting for standalone management at the mo.

 

[-J-]

This looks great! Looking forward to updates.

 

[Crusty]

Subscribed!! I'm also going for the full meg setup but have a GT28rs to bolt on instead and the dci pedalbox to deal with the hydro clutch. Out of interest, how are you going about fitting the 225 uch, is that a direct replacement or are you mounting elsewhere? Just curious as I'm opting for standalone management at the mo.

DCI pedal box sounds interesting, but at this stage I intend to weld on the Megane clutch pedal and master cylinder to the Clio pedal box. I will need to do a bit of cutting to make it fit but at this stage it looks like it will work fine. The ethos of my project is to retain as much as possible from either the Clio 172 or the Megane 225. I bought a whole Megane 225 from the salvage auction which had been in a roll over so I have everything possible I need including the ECU and UCH. I intend to rewire everything to the Megane looms and wiring. Obviously as a track car I don't need power windows (Lexan), central locking, or such things. Not sure how well I can wire up the Clio lights to the Megane UCH, will have to see how it goes.

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Great work so far mate :approve:

 

[Crusty]

The gearbox came off this week to get the quaife fitted. There is a lightweight flywheel and a Renault clutch which is also pretty new. The inside of the flywheel is totally hollow and you can fit you hand inside it.

I also took a look at how the Megane dial cluster would look inside the Clio dashboard. I was surprised to find that its a pretty nice fit, there are a few gaps than can be hidden , looks like a workable solution. Renotech ordered in a replacement key to suit my VIN/ECU. I will mount the keycard slot in the centre console and have a push button start. By retaining the OEM starting system we should avoid any issues with the immobiliser and can concentrate on any bigger problems.

 

[Crusty]

I visited Bosnjak Engineering in Wetherill Park yesterday about the driveshafts. They come highly recommended and were very pleasant to deal with. After discussing my intentions to use the Megane inner shafts with the Clio outer CV and making a custom shaft to span the gap they suggested that the Clio Hub/CV would be the weak point and I should really look at changing to another hub.


Given I haven't heard any reports on CS about blowing the outer CV on the higher powered Clio Turbo builds I decided to stick with the OEM hubs and just get the shafts made.


Pricing was pretty reasonable at $1100 for the set of 2 shafts. I'm sure I can find somewhere cheaper than that, but I doubt they will have the same reputation for high quality that Bosnjak's does.


See pics of what is being made, measurements were taken on the Mistress:

 

[Crusty]

Its been a while since my last update. I guess I've been pretty busy, but I did document most of the build process on ozrenaultsport.com and have created a summary of my OZRS posts from the past 6 weeks to give you an idea of how the project progressed. Basically its finished, just need to tidy up a few things and install a brake bias valve and tweek the suspension a bit.... Cheers Adrian

May 1st 2014
Some progress pics from the spray painter, just the interior shots at this stage. I'm going for a satin black interior with about 35% matt.

May 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] 2014
Moving along, I picked up the Mistress from the Paint shop today, looks great, now time to start reinstalling everything opcorn:

The interior. Black door cards will be added soon.

A pic of the internal vent from the new roof scoop :headbang:

Engine bay

Subframe in satin black

Outside showing the roof scoop

I also got the new belt which I trial fitted last night. This is a 7PK0920 (920mm) belt. Seems to fit perfectly, but will need a shorter turnbuckle in order to apply enough tension which I have now ordered. Once I get the new turnbuckle I'll make some spacers and it should mount nicely.

May 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] 2014
I made a start on the Lexan windows today. I was concerned because the lexan windows for the rear quarters don't have a black strip around the edge to hide the frame underneath the glass/lexan. The OEM windows have black strip about 30mm wide all the way round to nicely hide the frame underneath.

After having a bit of a think I decided the best thing to do was to paint a black border on the inside of the window before installing it, the tricky bit was how best to do it. I decided to get a scribing tool which would allow me to set a fixed distance and then score the plastic film (Lexan windows come with a protective plastic film on both sides) 300mm in from the edge all way round. This worked really well with just the odd clean up here and there which I used a scalpel for. Once the film was scored I peeled off the plastic film from around the edge.

I then painted them with some satin black spray paint and then once dry peeled off the remaining plastic film to reveal a really nice black trim all the way round. The side which has been painted will go on the inside and looks fantastic from the outside.

I will have to wait to fit them as I couldn't find the bolts I wanted at Bunnings. I will get some bolts next week and fit the windows.

Tools

After scoring the inside 30mm strip of the protective plastic film (edge removed)

Painted around the edge with satin black

Once dry then peel off the remaining protective coating to leave a lovely black edge - very OEM

May 4[SUP]th[/SUP] 2014
Another busy day at the workshop today. The boys from Renotech came out to attack the wiring so I made myself useful and fitted the Lexan windows.

I ended up deciding to go heavy duty and used Galvanised Tek screws to secure the windows. Besides making the job easier by being self drilling I was also concerned that in the front, top, and bottom corners, I couldn't get a nut on the inside of a bolt without coming in a fair way from the edge so ended up using Tek screws all the way round. I used spacings of around 145/148/150mm on the top/bottom and back, but closer spacings of 110mm on the front in order to get a nice seal on the leading edge. After taking off the protective coatings I was very happy with the result. I know they will haze over after a while being Lexan, but I think the tint will help to minimise that. I also installed the front windows but will leave the coating on until everything else is finished.

I also ended up deciding I would use the OE door cards and door trim, weight difference is negligible and it is one less thing to worry about at the moment, besides, I like the idea of having an arm rest.

The wiring seemed to progress very nicely with Julian and Miles making a lot of progress today. The interior loom is all in place and all necessary connections identified, the Megane fuse box was modified to fit in the same spot as the Clio. All of the wiring for the headlights and ABS was run, and the wipers and washer bottle were installed.

Plans for this week:
1. Install the intercooler and modify the front bumper to suit
2. Have the brake and clutch lines run from the Pug master through the plenum and back out near the washer bottle to the ABS unit/clutch.
3. Finish the pedal box with Megane hydraulic clutch welded on
4. Pick up the ceramic coated down pipe and manifold

Lexan windows

The tint on the Lexan windows seems to blend quite nicely with the tint on the rear window which is what I was hoping for

A sneak peek of the internal wiring, great progress today on the electricals - 95% of all the wiring which is going to be used is from the Megane with the exception of ABS, Headlights, Tailights and Windscreen wipers.

May 9[SUP]th[/SUP] 2014
Quick update today. I picked up the decat pipe and manifold from the ceramic coaters today. Looks so sweet, very nice job and very happy with the result. This means that the engine and gearbox can now be fitted, once I get the car back that is. Specialised Brake and clutch have now had the car for 2 days and rang this afternoon to say they hadn't finished yet, hopefully this means they are going to get the Brembo brackets done as well so the wait should be worth it.

Unfortunately bad news on the driveshafts, when I rang Bosnjaks tody they said at least another 2 weeks, something about having to do some shafts for Sydney ferries or something. When someone says another 2 weeks that usually means another 3-4 weeks. Hopefully I'm wrong and will be pleasantly surprised :news:

I also popped over to Nepean Boltmaster and picked up 2 new 12.9 Hi-Tensile bolts for the ball joint pins. Now that I have proven the concept with 8.8 Structural grade bolts I think it is wise to go to maximum strength given the abuse the Mistress is going to receive once its up and running. I have also ordered some more spacers to weld on, so I expect to have the new ball joint pins done within the next couple of weeks. That will leave me with 2 x 8.8 grade ball joint pins as spares which I hope I'll never need.

A pic of the ceramic coated decat and manifold.

May 17[SUP]th[/SUP] 2014
The brake lines are finally finished :hyper: Brembo brackets are still a work in progress but shouldn't be too far away.

Julian from Renotech is coming over this weekend to continue on with the electrics and we'll hopefully refit the engine now that the ceramic coated manifold and down pipe are now ready. But there are so many other things to be done I thought I'd crack on with some of those jobs tonight.

Mistress in tow

The brake lines look fantastic, very happy with the work. Here's the Peugeot master cylinder which has the lines coming out of the side opposite to the turbo down pipe

A remote reservoir was installed in the plenum where the air con stuff lived previously. the idea is to keep it away from the turbo pipe also. It also makes it easier to run the fluid line down to the clutch from that location. I reused the Megane reservoir since it also had the feed outlet for the clutch on it. It looks a bit grubby, but I will clean it up tomorrow to resolve my OCD issues. You'll also note the new brake lines running through the plenum. With this setup I will have no brake lines running along the firewall behind the location of the turbo.

This is where they come out at the ABS unit, looks nice and tidy. The braided hose is for the Megane hydraulic clutch.

I picked up the Pure Motorsport top mount and strut brace kit a while back so decided to fit it tonight, was pretty easy task, just had to be careful drilling the holes in the strut tower in the right place. Since my new XYZ tarmac rally coilovers arrived yesterday (Same custom spring rate as my other set, 10mm/kg front and 7mm/kg rear) I thought I'd best get my new Pure Motorsport top mounts and strut brace done now as well. I was very impressed with the PMS kit.

Pic of new ball joint pin installed.

I also got Jonesway to weld on some aluminium plates to the IC which I can then drill allowing for it to be fitted to the front cross member.

May 22[SUP]nd[/SUP] 2014
Epic progress tonight :hyper: :hyper:

The Renotech boys brought back the gearbox so we fitted the engine, intercooler and some of the trim.

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Lots of things still to do but it feels like we are getting much closer. I'm going to spray the intercooler black and make a mesh grill to cover the new much larger hole in the bumper, should look mint when done.

Hopefully driveshafts, brembo brackets and pedal box will be finished in the next couple of days. If all goes well we should be able to fire her up this weekend....

May 23[SUP]rd[/SUP] 2014
I picked up the driveshafts today, they look amazing, the quality of the spline work is awesome. They'll be getting fitted tomorrow - will be nice to see that they fit correctly.

I also picked up the pedal box this afternoon. At this stage I'm going to do a trial fit tonight and get Jonesway to make any final adjustments to the pedal locations tomorrow morning.

The only thing which didn't come yet is the Brembo brackets so I guess I'll be using the Wilwoods in the short term until I get that sorted out. Whilst it would have been nice its not a show stopper so lucky that everything else got finished in time. :nod:

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May 25[SUP]th[/SUP] 2014
A lot of progress made this weekend, not quite running yet, but getting very close.

Work completed:
- Radiator/heating pipes completed, this took quite a long time as there were a fair few differences with the Megane radiator/heating system to make it work with a Clio Radiator, Overflow tank and heater. Many connectors, t-pieces, shortening pipes and new clips.
- Turbo downpipe and exhaust fitted, I had some captive nuts welded on to the exhaust which caused some problems because of a little bit of weld inside one of the nuts. We removed the exhaust and cut off the captive nuts, then used new nuts and bolts, problem solved.
- Pedal box completed, we did a trial fit on Saturday and Jonesway then adjusted the pedals and completed the final welds.
- Heat shielding fitted to the firewall. I bought some adhesive heatshield material from Motorsport connections, worked really nicely.
- Driveshafts and hubs fitted. The Drivers side shaft was quite tight but seemed o.k. after winding out more Camber on the control arms. We're also going to loosen the engine mounts and give the motor a bit of a shove to add a little more clearance.
- Roll cage padding fitted, didn't quite have enough to do the passenger side but was able to complete the drivers side. I'll pick up some more tomorrow from Sparco and finish the job.
- Bumper modified with grill installed for the intercooler
- headlights tinted (very dark) with Night shades and satin clear coat to add to the whole industrial look.

A quick plug for Renotech, Julian and Miles are working their butts off to get this project finished. It doesn't seem to matter what problem we come across; every time they always seem to have the solution

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I put the wheels on tonight for a bit of inspiration, it did the trick.

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Looking pretty tough. The mesh grille wasn't an easy job since the bumper was off the car so not perfectly square, but overall very happy with the result. The headlights have come up very dark which I quite like as they look like they're black but I'm certain I'll still get plenty of light through the tinting, not that I'm really going to need it. The Renotech boys suggested some red LED parkers to give it a fully evil possessed by the devil look, still thinking about that one.

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Sikaflexed in a mount for some flexible ducting in the fog light hole. The ducting will run up into the engine bay where the intake is. Not sure how much airflow it will pick up but it can't hurt

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The finished pedal box. Note the Megane hydraulic clutch pedal on the left and the Megane accelerator pedal on the right. I sat the accelerator higher to make it easier to heel and toe.

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Pedal box fitted in the car

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A line was run from the reservoir through a hole I drilled behind the firewall with the pipe run down through the top of the pedal box to feed the slave cylinder on the clutch pedal.

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The turbo downpipe fitted, plenty of clearance from the master cylinder now, but I'll still look at some heat shielding.

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The modified bracket setup for the alternator. This whole area is really tidy and encouraged me to add a Mocal oil cooler. Its not fitted yet but it seems like a good idea to add it attached to the underside of the front crossbar between the intercooler and the radiator.

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Some of the pipe work completed today by Renotech, looks beautiful.

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At this stage I'm still optimistic we'll get it finished this week ready for next Sunday opcorn:

May 27[SUP]th[/SUP] 2014
225 is alive !!!!!!!!!!

WTF, the Renotech guys are f#cking geniuses, the main electricals got hooked up tonight and Julian said lets see if it will start and this is what happened.

[youtube]QvW47jt_qbI[/youtube]

I guess we have a fix for the old classic Clio two time start issue, just drop a Megane engine in :headbang:

Now just a matter of tidying up the loose ends, still a few challenges with things like the ABS, but given how this is going so far I'm sure it'll be fine.

We tested, wipers, hazards, horn, lights, everything just worked. Totally blown away with the work from Renotech, how can you just take the entire guts of a Megane, strip it of everything that's not necessary, drop it into a Clio and everything works first time, absolutely amazing, I'm speechless (and tired).

May 30[SUP]th[/SUP] 2014
Just hit 4.00am, do I care? No I don't, it'll take a while to wipe the grin off my face.

Firstly, it is no longer fitting for the Clio 225 to be called the Mistress any more may she rest in peace. Today 31st May 2014, on schedule, the Monstrous was born :drool:

Weighing in at 982kg with a full tank, he (its a boy) is a feisty little thing with locks of silver hair.

Delivered by Doctors Julian and Miles from Renotech hospital, the best renostetricians in the land. :hail: :hail: :hail: :hail:

Pics and the video of the first test drive will be online today at 12pm.

All I can say is its f#cking amazing, there is no other description, absolutely Monstrous - "inhumanly or outrageously evil or wrong" according to google.

May 31[SUP]st[/SUP] 2014
Crap I had to be back at the workshop by 8am for some builders doing some work.... I got a breath of fresh air opening the door this morning and see the Monstrous sitting there saying drive me, drive me :headbang:

Here's the vid from last night (this morning LOL). Thankfully Julian let me have the first drive before taking the reins for the video shoot.

The video doesn't do it justice, it is just so much faster when you're seeing it with your own eyes....

[youtube]yavfAC3DlMI[/youtube]

I'm in the process of cleaning and finishing off, hope to have some photos tonight.

May 31[SUP]st[/SUP] 2014 (night)
Completed final preparations today, washed and cleaned (probably raining tomorrow anyway lol).

Given the engine came from a roll over vehicle we ran it with some cheap oil initially and had another drive today to flush through the system. Renotech performed a service today with new Elf Oil, Plugs and oil filter ready for race day.

General raceday preparation, put numbers on, fit the harness and tow hook and loaded the Monstrous onto the trailer ready to roll in the morning. I did discover though that the left front bearing is on the way out so will have to see how it holds up tomorrow and arrange a replacement next week.

For amusement value, shows the level of the Megane with immobiliser still functioning.
[youtube]5OJsvq_PPrg[/youtube]

A couple of happy car builders last night after the inaugural test drive

WP_20140531_03_21_07_Pro by crustybread1, on Flickr

Engine bay, looking very tidy and OEM, I'll look at making a cover for the battery at some stage

WP_20140531_03_22_14_Pro by crustybread1, on Flickr

Back from the test drive last night

WP_20140531_03_22_45_Pro by crustybread1, on Flickr

Prepped ready for the track tomorrow

WP_20140531_17_02_56_Pro by crustybread1, on Flickr

Looking sweet, some Renotech signage for good measure, goes well with the vent

WP_20140531_17_06_19_Pro by crustybread1, on Flickr

You can work out which parts are Megane and which are Clio?

WP_20140531_17_04_22_Pro by crustybread1, on Flickr

Centre console still needs a bit of work, but we have managed to integrate part of the Megane dash for the keycard slot, start button and hazards.

WP_20140531_17_03_51_Pro by crustybread1, on Flickr

June 1[SUP]st[/SUP] 2014
We had a great day at the track, the Monstrous felt fantastic for its first outing. I had a few issues which were to be expected and not really anything major, so over all a great result. The number of things that could have gone wrong with the car actually under load were enormous.

It started to rain just as I went out for my first session and it was very greasy out on track. I took the first session very easy given the conditions and wanting to get a feel for the new setup. I started to feel more confident after that session despite a car going into the wall with required a helicopter to be flown in - at least 3 cars hit the wall today to give you an idea of the conditions. I had a Lotus out in front of me who was also taking it pretty easy through the back of the track so it was a good pace car for me. I chased him down the straight and ended up having to back off the throttle to maintain some distance. I spoke to him later and he said he was full throttle the whole way which was comforting to know I still had plenty in reserve.

In the 2nd session I decided to wind it up a bit but lost power coming onto the straight and pulled into the pits. We went over the car at first suspecting an alternator, but in the 3rd session I lost power again, basically the throttle pedal stopped working so had to idle in through the back gate.

The Renotech guys connected up the Clip and found potentiometer faults with the accelerator pedal as the likely cause, good job I have a spare one At this stage I suspect that the electronics in the pedal may have become damaged during the process of welding pedals on the pedal box. Anyway, we'll swap the pedal over ready for the next event and see how it goes. Thankfully the custom work to integrate the Megane pedal into the Clio pedal box is all based around a bracket which was made and the changes to the actual pedal, we should just be able to swap it over without any hassles or rewelding, etc.

I was also having some problems with the new control arms with some vibrations during cornering, there seems to be some movement in the outer rose joint which holds the ball joint pin. Probably something which can be fixed with replacing the rose joint and refitting it correctly, but given the other quality issues with the control arm pins and general poor design of the rose joint fittings at this stage I'm inclined to just put in a set of late Ph2 arms until my new roll centre correction kit arrives which should happen in the next months or so I guess.

The overall assessment of the day was really positive, the balance of the car was much better than before, due mainly to having the corner weighting done I suspect. The power was awesome, the sound was awesome and the diff was awesome.

I'm looking forward to the next round on 14th June with the accelerator and control arms fixed and having some fun at the South Circuit.

Here's the video from the first session, if it looks like I'm taking it easy its because I was, the moment I had in turn 2 will explain why.
[youtube]Amlfni6gW3o[/youtube]

June 5[SUP]th[/SUP] 2014
O.K. back to business.

After having a huge workshop clean up which I'm only half finished (but a big improvement on the mess left over from all the recent work) I followed up my theory on the accelerator faults tonight.

I took a look at the spare Megane accelerator pedal and noticed that the pedal travels for a distance and then there is a kick down followed by the pedal hitting a stop (pedal arm hits a metal plate). When I tested my pedal in the Monstrous there is the travel, then the kick down and then it keeps going for a bit more (much more that the Megane pedal) following the kick down.

So I figured my theory was correct and had a test drive, the pedal worked perfectly throughout its travel and into the kick down, but when I pushed it past the point that the pedal is normally hitting the stop (on the Megane) that's when I lose power. By lose power I mean the accelerator pedal ceases to function. Once I turn off the car and on again (one push start by the way Quadrastu) the pedal functions normally again, that is until I press it beyond the kick down point.

Therefore I think its pretty clear where the problem is and will be a (relatively) easy fix. I wanted to take the pedal box out anyway to make a better stop for the clutch pedal as it was also hitting the hydraulic line so we bolted a stop to the back of the pedal as an interim fix. With the pedal box off I'll be able to get both pedal stops fixed now I understand where they need to be. I guess this is part of the fine tuning required when you make your own pedal box from the parts of 2 different cars, confident it will be 100% when I refit it.

I also put the suspension back in the Phase 1 and pushed it off the hoist so I can work a little more easily on the Monstrous to get it prepped for the next round at SMP South on the 14th of June.

I've decided I'll remove the Alachi57 control arms and put back on some new late Phase 2 arms with the new Powerflex Camber/Caster adjustable bushes. Roll centres aren't a huge issue with the height I'm currently running so no big stress and I expect to receive the roll centre correction kit hubs probably next month and will settle on that configuration.

June 5[SUP]th[/SUP] 2014
Accelerator problem fixed

I went to Bunnings and bought a door stop, it slips straight over the screw in the floor that the OE Clio stop attached to (OE Clio stop was not tall enough).I had to make a couple of mods to get it to the right height but the pedal now stops just after the kick down like the OE Megane 225 pedal does. I haven't tested it yet as I need to wait for the sikaflex to dry first, but I'm very confident.

Random pics

Some of the wire removed from the Megane loom

Renotech going over the car after the first session at SMP North on Sunday

The underbelly of the Monstrous

June 9[SUP]th[/SUP] 2014
Spent a bit of time in the workshop yesterday with some help from wade. I decided to paint the mesh grille on the bumper black, removed the rear quarter windows and roof vent and resealed with sikaflex to make them watertight.

I also found out what was causing the scraping sound from the front end when doing hard right turns. We removed the Alachi control arms I discovered that the outside of the control arm was scraping on the inside of the rotor. Not sure whether it has anything to do with the longer ball joint pins or not. I am also using rotors which are 28mm thick and obviously the tolerance is just too fine. I guess they would be fine with thinner rotors (Scenic or stock for example). The metal section on the end of the control arm could also be ground back to give a bit more clearance, but its all a little too fine for my liking and I removed the control arms.

I have a set of new late Ph2 arms with the increased caster I'm going to fit along with the new Powerflex camber adjustable bushes. We tried to fit the bushes but really need a press to get them in so will wait until tomorrow to get the bushes pushed in and fitted back to the car.

Marks on the end of the control arms where they were rubbing against the rotors

See the marks the control arms made on the inside of the rotors, passenger side was worse than the driver side

Front bumper masked up and painted

Bumper fitted

Passenger seat and harness fitted. Decided I want to be able to have passengers (hot laps)

One of the rear windows removed. We decided to tape off the area around the outside of the seal to prevent any sikaflex oozing out and going where it shouldn't, spread a line of sikaflex around and then refitted the window, I'll test how watertight it is during the next wash.

June 11[SUP]th[/SUP] 2014
LOL, I buckled to popular demand on the grille. It does look better though, thanks for the input guys.

I tried to fit the standard control arms last night but found the that the driver's side wouldn't reach the ball joint, short by about 10mm. This confirms earlier suspicion that the driver's side drive shaft was too long, so I got out the tape measure and sure enough the distance between the 2 inner faces of the hub and CV was 345mm. When I measured it up for getting the shafts made I specified 335mm, this should have allowed plenty of play either side of 335mm, but clearly that is not the case.

I then pulled out the specs I provided Bosnjaks and noticed that on my drawing which states 335mm that he has written 355mm in pen, I guess he has made a mistake

Anyway, I had to put back on the Alachi arms as I have no choice at this stage (They can be lengthened by winding out the ends of the arms). I'll give them a call today and have a chat, clearly my plans are right, the 355mm is in his handwriting so I'll send him the picture and see whether the shaft can be trimmed down 20mm or whether a new shaft will need to be made.....

June 12[SUP]th[/SUP] 2014
In the midst of all the blood (dropped an exhaust on my head), sweat and tears I'm actually enjoying this and having fun.

I got a call from Bosnjak's this morning to say the shafts were ready

I went and picked them up and reinstalled them today, much better now. Refitted the Alachi arms, replaced the silicone elbow from the intercooler which had a gash in it, and fitted some new Red LED park lights :nod:

Some pics

The end of the control arm after grinding off the leading edges which were catching on the rotors.

June 14[SUP]th[/SUP] 2014
Sydney Motorsport Park (Eastern Creek) South Circuit CSCA Superspint
The accelerator pedal gave me some problems in the first few rounds sticking and holding revs. Thankfully Renotech were on hand and removed the pedal for a closer inspection and found some burn marks around the housing of the pedal confirming my earlier thought that some of the welding was done while the pedal was attached to the accelerator housing and may have caused damage. Thankfully I have a spare fresh pedal and I can easily swap the custom pedal into the new housing and it'll be good as gold. Renotech fitted a spring as a temporary measure to help the pedal return properly which worked a treat really allowing me to start to give it a bit of curry.

As the day dried out and times started to tumble I notice I was getting lock ups in the rear tyres when hard under brakes so had to back off on 3 of the heavy braking corners so as to not trash my tyres. I guess this is a result of the larger 406 master cylinder so sounds like time to get a bias valve fitted so I can ease the pressure of the rear brakes a bit. Hopefully the Brembo brackets are done shortly and I'll get it all fixed before Wakefield with the bias valve and really be able to go hard.

Otherwise I was very happy with the Monstrous, still taking a little while to get used to it and slowly becoming more confident in the handling. I might make a few tweaks to the control arms, build some new ball joint pins and replace the rose joints in the ball joint as there seems to be a bit of movement. I think that some more front camber is also called for.

Looks like I'm going to be busy over the next 2 weeks. opcorn:

Video of the action at SMP South today. I was at the back of the Lotus pack which worked out nice, they weren't quick enough to catch me and I wasn't quick enough to catch them, basically had the track to myself.....

[youtube]Ex95brrNI3s[/youtube]

 

[George182]

This is a seriously cool car - nice work

 

[JamesWilson]

Had a skim through and wow! Serious car there.
The head lights look really well, as does all the engineering gone into it.

 

[Crusty]

Thanks guys, there's plenty of talk about the 225 conversions but very little detail. I found that most of the threads I found ended up being only 225 head/turbo conversions and not the full Monty, or there was just no detail provided on how to achieve a project like this. I know I haven't put in much detail about the integration of the wiring and the Megane ECUs, but needless to say somebody who is handy with auto electricals and has access to the Renault wiring diagrams could make a go of it.

There's still some more work to do with the exhaust, brakes and some odds and ends, but my mission was to get it track ready, I can work on those things (and others) at a more steady pace now I'm back on the track. I haven't even started to look at tuning the engine yet, its still bog standard without a remap of any kind, but I thought I'd enjoy it for a while first and then look at squeezing some more horses out of it when it starts to feel slow. I'm actually very surprised at just how drivable the car is, it could easily handle more power and still be very drivable, just need to learn some throttle control in the first 3 gears

 

[DjSpidey]

Awesome project!!!

 

[Crusty]

Four months since I got the Monstrous onto the track and its absolutely epic. I've since had it tuned by Paul as RS Tuning and putting out 158kw ATW. Not a huge number, but in a car of this weight more than enough at the moment. Comfortably blowing away a lot of competition. The only Renault so far which has beat me is a Clio Cup Racer and I reckon I'd have had him if it wasn't for some braking issues I'm still having. At the Brabham circuit in Sydney I finished in 10th out of a mixed field of 115 only really getting beaten by super charged lotus' or Evo IXs, once I get the brakes sorted it'll be neck and neck with the Evos. I was 7 1/2 seconds faster that the fastest na Clio 172 on track. Still a few issues to resolve such as brakes (too much rear brake force still so need to get AABS back online) and intake temps a bit high so will be relocating the intake to the front and installing some ducting. Next major upgrade will be an E85 conversion.