Daily Driver, work in progress!

[kano]

Bought my Clio 172 cup in May as a quick, cheap replacement for the car i had, that a drunk joyrider, being chased by the cops managed to run into writing it off as it sat parked outside my friends house.
Initially I went to see a sensible low mileage 09 1.2 clio and arranged to view the 172 as it was 2 miles down the road and thought why not.
The guy selling the 1.2 had told a few porkies over the phone about the condition of the car and had said that it had a full service history when in fact it had NONE!
leaving him i felt a little annoyed but went along to view the 172 and although it was a little rough in some areas it seemed quite sound and it pulled like a train! After a little bit of haggling I think we were both reasonably happy.
The car has been used it was at 114,000 miles when i got it but there is a reasonable amount of history with it and its had the belts done 3 times already.
Not totally stock it has the following mods.
Apex lowering springs,
short throw gear shifter,
phase 1 half leather/alcantara interior,
stainless steel stealth exhaust, (not the ktec one claimed however)
cone filter,
carbon fibre look dash moldings,
after market stereo.
It became apparent after a couple of days that all was not right as it was just too loud and accelerating hard caused a lot of movement of the engine getting it up on a ramp we discovered the worn engine mounts had caused the bolt from the down pipe to sheer .
so had all the engine mounts replaced, the exhaust mended and have been slowly falling for this wee car ever since even though it was supposed to be a stop gap car.
So now I have big plans to set this car to rights and get it back to peak condition again.
First order of business is the biggy a belt service! Holy moly I nearly passed out when i checked that out and to be honest its part of the reason I am gonna keep the car for a while because I'm not about to pour that amount of money into a motor just to move it on for at a loss!
So the parts are now sitting in the parcel depot awaiting collection tomorrow and some time in the next week or two its going to Renault to get them fitted which will include-
Full cambelt kit, water pump, dephaser, aux belt, spark plugs, fuel filter, oil filter inc oil(elf fully synthetic), gear box oil and coolant.
also having 2 new tyres and a new catalytic convertor fitted on wednesday as the one in place has had the insides ripped out and is basically just a resonator.
Once all that's done and i get it through mot I will think about getting the paint and the turinis refurbed and then a suspension and brake refresh.

I will get some photos up soon

 

[McGherkin]

Who are you taking it to to get the belts done?

I'd have misgivings about even taking them to main dealers, as even the dealers have cocked them up since they're used to working on 1.2s and diesels.

Otherwise it looks like a good little daily :up:

 

[kano]

Loads of gear going into the motor tomorrow at Renault.

 

[Mar172]

Kano that's the first mistake taken the car to Renaut
Why not a specialist on here and also you supplied the parts which if anything happens to the car lwhat warranty will you get it bet none

 

[botfch]

Looks a tidy motor. :up:

As Mcdriftin mentioned, most reccomend you avoid renault dealerships for the belt changes, they also tend to charge too much.
At very least when you take it in ask them what locking tool they have and see what there response is.

 

[kano]

Well the service manager runs a Renaultsport owners club over here and seems a lot of people use his dealership. As far as other specialists not exactly thick on the ground over here.
Buying the parts myself saved me over 150 on what they were charging.
Guess we will see what happens. Apparently they know the car too.

 

[kano]

Well picked the car up and all good.
Got a full service and fluid refresh along with the belts, they also fitted a new pulley, to replace one that had a flat spot probably from a previous belt change, and a new map sensor.
The mechanic said the car is in great shape which is nice to hear.
Regarding concerns over warranty service manager said I have a full year on the parts as they were genuine Renault and if there are any issues bring it back and they will sort it.
Price wise I'm as happy as I can be considering, all in just shy of £700.
Now just had a new cat fitted and am off to put 2 new tyres on.
This week has been very expensive!!!!

 

[dynodan]

Well the service manager runs a Renaultsport owners club over here and seems a lot of people use his dealership. As far as other specialists not exactly thick on the ground over here.
Buying the parts myself saved me over 150 on what they were charging.
Guess we will see what happens. Apparently they know the car too.

Where abouts are you located? It sounds like you're abroad somewhere with the use of "over here".
Looks like a nice car, it's quite rewarding getting a slightly tired car back into great shape - I'm doing the same at the minute with mine and loving every minute.

 

[kano]

I'm in Northern Ireland.
Yeah, can feel like madness sometimes, pouring such a high percentage of car value into it but, as you say, when you are enjoying the results it feels a wee bit sweeter, especially as so many are being broken up for parts, rather than put right, for exactly that reason.

I've had Mx5's before and keeping the tinworm at bay can be a labour of love.

Checked on "how many left" earlier, there are fewer than 1000, 172 cups left on the road now!

Not much left to do mechanically(fingers crossed ), hopefully get started on the ascetic side of things soon.

Is your project on here?

 

[kano]

had a night mare with the old airbag serv light problem, it had been intermittent since i bought the car and for a while fiddling with the connections under the passenger seat sorted it out until the seat was moved again/ About 2 months ago that stopped working so i thoughr i would try what i hoped would be a permanent solution followed all the guides no joy, went to one mechanic his computer couldn't touch it he sent me to a "Renault specialist" I told him the issue he had me book the car in for the next day, I organised a lift to and from this place (15 miles from where i live) and waited 4 hours later he calls "I can't fix this it needs to go on a Renault clip, I don't have one!" seething at this waste of a day as i had explained this to him when i first went to see him i found a mechanic that did have a CLiP and he sorted it then and there 50 quid.
today I had the Apex lowering springs replaced with some new Cooksports and a wheel alignment, rear brake pads replaced and offside rear caliper for new as it was ceased and replaced the brake line going to it, 2 more uniroyal rainsport 3.
Apparently the top mounts are well worn out so looks like they are next to be replaced get it through MOT on friday and see when that will take place.
Not really had much chance to drive it with the new springs other than coming to work this evening its definitely more comfortable and not as rock hard also feels like it may be sharper.

 

[Iain C]

Belts arnt that expensive on a 172 cup. think mine was about 500 with dephaser and everything, pump both belts and an oil change. Thought that was good.
Looks like a nice car

 

[kano]

MOT failed! Offside lower front ball joint and offside rear bearing pfff!
so having both front ball joints done, the other wasn't a fail but was on its way, and a new bearing then back in this evening for the retest.
500 is a very good price!! I will say that I did get new plugs, filters, brake fluid, gear box oil and coolant at the same time.

 

[kano]

Quick question I have looked about and can't seem to get it straight in my head from any of the answers i have read.(duh)
The car came with a cone filter which i have replaced with one that i had new lying about the garage however everyone has told me to get a standard box back in. So i managed to get one at a reasonable price however it seems to be missing a hose, he one underneath towards the cabin.
There is a hose on the car that runs down behind the light(see pic) that fits the port on the front right of the box but my confusion is which hose is that? is it the cold air intake or the resonator?
I have read that the resonator isn't necessary, so if this is the case can i just seal up the port and install the box?
Do I have the wrong hose is that the resonator fitted to the car and i need the cold air feed hose?
If that's the case where does the cold air hose go once fitted?