Clio RS
how did you do that with the seats? I have the same issue with my doorcard
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Dan's Ph1 172 Daily Driver
- Thread starter DerbyDan
- Start date
Clio RS
how did you do that with the seats? I have the same issue with my doorcard
I used a 'Debobbling' machine, like this one (there's loads similar if you do a search on eBay)
Another minor update - but these little jobs really are quite satisfying & addictive!
Yesterday (when for just 5mins it wasn't raining) I had a go at making the cracked leather on the driver's seat bolster look a little better... with some navy blue shoe polish that I found in my parent's shoe cleaning kit!
Before;
Sainsbury's shoe polish!
After;
Quite pleased with the results... I did go over the area with some more 'Wonder Wheels' leather cleaner/feed which dulled down the shine that was a result of buffing off the shoe polish!
The seats do look quite plush now
Yesterday (when for just 5mins it wasn't raining) I had a go at making the cracked leather on the driver's seat bolster look a little better... with some navy blue shoe polish that I found in my parent's shoe cleaning kit!
Before;
Sainsbury's shoe polish!
After;
Quite pleased with the results... I did go over the area with some more 'Wonder Wheels' leather cleaner/feed which dulled down the shine that was a result of buffing off the shoe polish!
The seats do look quite plush now
chris blue
ClioSport Area Rep
172 Ph1 2001
^ Looks great, the problem will be if any of it rubs off on clothes- especially a white shirt
imprezaworks
ClioSport Club Member
Mk5 Golf GTI :)
Could allways let it dry first?
chris blue
ClioSport Area Rep
172 Ph1 2001
Doesnt work. However much shoe polish you rub off, guaranteed if you wear light clothing somethings is always left on the clothing
Dye is best, as it dries permanent
Quite happy to be proven wrong- and hope I am:blush:
So last weekend whilst sorting my paperwork I thought I'd better check when the MOT was due for my Clio... I'd had it in the back of my mind that it due April or March..... except when I checked it, it was due to expire on the 4th of this month... Saturday just gone!
So I managed to book it in at my mate's garage for the 6th Feb (today) - Except that I knew that one thing it will definitely fail on is the illuminated airbag/serv light, so luckily the weather over the weekend was kind to me & I was able to get out & solve the issue once & for all..... I'd already snipped off the old plugs & re-soldered on some new ones - but noticed that it had looked like the cables were snagging on the Autochanger under the driver's seat - so wondered if the wires had broken down there?
Driver's seat out & new cables/plugs soldered in from where the loom exist from under the carpet...
.....& this frosty morning, dropped off at the garage ready for its inspection!
I've just had a phone call from the garage to say that its al ready to pick up..... so I'm presuming that its passed!!:up:
So I managed to book it in at my mate's garage for the 6th Feb (today) - Except that I knew that one thing it will definitely fail on is the illuminated airbag/serv light, so luckily the weather over the weekend was kind to me & I was able to get out & solve the issue once & for all..... I'd already snipped off the old plugs & re-soldered on some new ones - but noticed that it had looked like the cables were snagging on the Autochanger under the driver's seat - so wondered if the wires had broken down there?
Driver's seat out & new cables/plugs soldered in from where the loom exist from under the carpet...
.....& this frosty morning, dropped off at the garage ready for its inspection!
I've just had a phone call from the garage to say that its al ready to pick up..... so I'm presuming that its passed!!:up:
Thanks! I must admit I had all my fingers & toes crossed! No major plans again really.... just keep it maintained & running, my mate (the MOT tester) is notoriously thorough when it comes to MOTs & he did spot that there was a small amount coolant leaking from somewhere around the bottom of the radiator - I had noticed that the water level had dropped in the expansion tank & was a little worried that perhaps the head gasket was blowing... so I'm kind of glad that it might be 'just' the radiator - but i'll have to do that before it gets too bad!
So sorry to hear about your Phase1 mintno1.... strange how some Clio MK2s have suffered more from rust than others of a similar age? But its never nice to hear of one being broken
Not wishing to jump on your car's grave but did your Alpine autochanger work?.... mine never did (so have removed it) - I'm not sure if its the changer itself or maybe the cable connection - but if yours is available I would be interested in buying it from you to try? My drivers side door card also has a crack in it, which is a shame because otherwise its in good condition....just wondered condition the one in your car is in?
mintno1
ClioSport Club Member
Ph1 172 / Mk1 Valver
Thanks! I must admit I had all my fingers & toes crossed! No major plans again really.... just keep it maintained & running, my mate (the MOT tester) is notoriously thorough when it comes to MOTs & he did spot that there was a small amount coolant leaking from somewhere around the bottom of the radiator - I had noticed that the water level had dropped in the expansion tank & was a little worried that perhaps the head gasket was blowing... so I'm kind of glad that it might be 'just' the radiator - but i'll have to do that before it gets too bad! So sorry to hear about your Phase1 mintno1.... strange how some Clio MK2s have suffered more from rust than others of a similar age? But its never nice to hear of one being broken
That's good that you had a thorough MOT tester hopefully means no surprises crop up without you knowing about them and that the coolant is hopefully the radiator rather than anything else. I think mine has had a new radiator at some point so must have had some issues with the original at some point. It's had a metal repair already behind the drivers skirt but has gone on the other side now as well, one of those things unfortunately, if it had made it through this MOT I probably would have saved it next time as I would have been more attached in a year :smile:
It worked when I picked the car up as he checked if he had left any CD's in it and he said it hadn't been working and he had got another one that did so as far as I am aware it works. As far as the driver's side door card it's good, I know the interior door handles are cracked and the door pulls need cleaning/painting but the card itself I think is good, I could get pics for you but won't be until weekend now.
Cool, if you could take a photo/s of the door card when you can that would be great.... tbh I'm probably being a little too fussy with the crack that's in mine! Maybe we can discuss the Autochanger & door card Ref; prices etc via pm.... must admit I'm in no rush for either at the moment, with most of my time/thoughts & money currently being ploughed into my VW at the moment, which is almost ready to come back from the bodyshop
Out of interest perhaps you could take a photo (when you get the chance) of the area on your Clio that has been responsible for the MOT failure - just so we know what & where to look out for...... I think the excessive oil leak on mine is perhaps helping preserve the u/side at the moment :smile:
Out of interest perhaps you could take a photo (when you get the chance) of the area on your Clio that has been responsible for the MOT failure - just so we know what & where to look out for...... I think the excessive oil leak on mine is perhaps helping preserve the u/side at the moment :smile:
mintno1
ClioSport Club Member
Ph1 172 / Mk1 Valver
Will send you a PM regarding the autochanger and the door card and will get pics at the weekend for you of that and of where it's gone underneath. Oil leaks are wonderful things some times :smile: the VW is looking great is that the original colour? Bet you can't wait to get it back together and finished just in time for the summer!!
Jekyll
ClioSport Club Member
Glad the car passed!
Looks great on that last pic, parked outside the garage.
Looks great on that last pic, parked outside the garage.
So after the success of my Clio passing its MOT a couple of weeks ago, two things happened that have taught me valuable lessons about cars.....
Whilst my car was in for its MOT - the tester (& good mate) said that there seemed to be a bit of a coolant leak - this was something I had spotted myself from a slight & very gradual reduction of the coolant level in the header tank, I had kept an eye on it over the last few weeks knowing that I needed to make a long journey from Northamptonshire down to Poole in Dorset to deliver the seats from the VW Derby to the trimmers for re-upholstery.... but instead of getting the leak fixed before travelling down... I thought I'd risk it & set off last Friday morning on my trip. I went prepared with some water in a bottle & made sure I stopped regularly on the way down... at first the coolant level seemed to remain constant - but by the time I arrived in Bournemouth/Poole at the trimmers the header tank was below the min line. To cut a long story short I ended up travelling home with a very nice AA man with the Clio on the back of his truck. Luckily at no point did I let the coolant level (which by the end was a constant trickle out from the radiator) get too low. So No.1 lesson learn't - don't set off on a long journey with a car with a known fault!
I didn't get back home to nearly midnight on the Friday... but was up early on the Saturday morning to set about stripping it down in readiness for fitting a new Radiator. Looking through various guides & discussons, it seems that the real only way to get the Radiator out is to take off the front bumper/grille & slam panel, so to do this I though it would be best if I jacked the car up & set it up axle stands. Now I would like to think I'm reasonably competent when it comes to working on cars (& mechanical stuff in general) - Indeed the Clio, since I've had it has been up & down on a jack more times than a Whores draws! But this is when the 2nd 'thing' happened - I jacked up & set the passenger side up on the axle stand, then went to jack up the drivers side. I use a wooden block that sits in the 'vee' on top of each of my stands to protect the underbody/cill lip of the car - but I'd set the Pass-side stand up in the wrong orientation (so the cill lip was across the 'vee' not in it) So as I jacked up the other side it allowed the car to slide on the wood block until the axle stand fell out - with the car dropping down back down onto the stand but now resting on the side skirt - crushing it in the process :fearscream:.... as you can imagine much swearing ensued!! But I must say - it could have been worse... the car could have dropped onto the floor... or worse still, onto me, with me under the car!!
So after that I decided to stop & have a break - I waited until the afternoon & proceeded to carry on with the task in hand, now with a calmer frame of mind! That's not to say that the bumper (etc) removal was completely trouble free with a couple of seized bolts & a broken headlamp bracket. But now I've done it once - it will be a lot easier if I ever have to take it off again!
This is as far as I got - everything removed ready to receive the new radiator - which I purchased during this week, along with a new Thermostat & some Type D Coolant from Renault.
On other car related news, The Honda Integra that I sold back to Honda for their heritage fleet has started to make a few appearances on various twitter feeds & featured within an article over on Pistonheads. The photos below are from the Honda Europe website;
...& from the Pistonheads article;
These shots are nice to see... but it does feel like its rather rubbing it in a bit, especially when I'm having troubles with the Clio!🙈
Whilst my car was in for its MOT - the tester (& good mate) said that there seemed to be a bit of a coolant leak - this was something I had spotted myself from a slight & very gradual reduction of the coolant level in the header tank, I had kept an eye on it over the last few weeks knowing that I needed to make a long journey from Northamptonshire down to Poole in Dorset to deliver the seats from the VW Derby to the trimmers for re-upholstery.... but instead of getting the leak fixed before travelling down... I thought I'd risk it & set off last Friday morning on my trip. I went prepared with some water in a bottle & made sure I stopped regularly on the way down... at first the coolant level seemed to remain constant - but by the time I arrived in Bournemouth/Poole at the trimmers the header tank was below the min line. To cut a long story short I ended up travelling home with a very nice AA man with the Clio on the back of his truck. Luckily at no point did I let the coolant level (which by the end was a constant trickle out from the radiator) get too low. So No.1 lesson learn't - don't set off on a long journey with a car with a known fault!
I didn't get back home to nearly midnight on the Friday... but was up early on the Saturday morning to set about stripping it down in readiness for fitting a new Radiator. Looking through various guides & discussons, it seems that the real only way to get the Radiator out is to take off the front bumper/grille & slam panel, so to do this I though it would be best if I jacked the car up & set it up axle stands. Now I would like to think I'm reasonably competent when it comes to working on cars (& mechanical stuff in general) - Indeed the Clio, since I've had it has been up & down on a jack more times than a Whores draws! But this is when the 2nd 'thing' happened - I jacked up & set the passenger side up on the axle stand, then went to jack up the drivers side. I use a wooden block that sits in the 'vee' on top of each of my stands to protect the underbody/cill lip of the car - but I'd set the Pass-side stand up in the wrong orientation (so the cill lip was across the 'vee' not in it) So as I jacked up the other side it allowed the car to slide on the wood block until the axle stand fell out - with the car dropping down back down onto the stand but now resting on the side skirt - crushing it in the process :fearscream:.... as you can imagine much swearing ensued!! But I must say - it could have been worse... the car could have dropped onto the floor... or worse still, onto me, with me under the car!!
So after that I decided to stop & have a break - I waited until the afternoon & proceeded to carry on with the task in hand, now with a calmer frame of mind! That's not to say that the bumper (etc) removal was completely trouble free with a couple of seized bolts & a broken headlamp bracket. But now I've done it once - it will be a lot easier if I ever have to take it off again!
This is as far as I got - everything removed ready to receive the new radiator - which I purchased during this week, along with a new Thermostat & some Type D Coolant from Renault.
On other car related news, The Honda Integra that I sold back to Honda for their heritage fleet has started to make a few appearances on various twitter feeds & featured within an article over on Pistonheads. The photos below are from the Honda Europe website;
...& from the Pistonheads article;
These shots are nice to see... but it does feel like its rather rubbing it in a bit, especially when I'm having troubles with the Clio!🙈
KitsonRis
ClioSport Club Member
Lucky escape with dropping the car, I'm always paranoid about lifting a car into axle stands.
I don't tend to jack onto the sills if I have to. I use a trolley jack under the front wishbone joint and then place an axle stand on a bolt on a chassis plate strengthening thing just behind the ARB or the subframe bolt. Then just for piece of mind keep the jack in place too so there is a few things holding the car up.
There is a Ph1 being broken in the sale section if you are after a new side skirt.
I don't tend to jack onto the sills if I have to. I use a trolley jack under the front wishbone joint and then place an axle stand on a bolt on a chassis plate strengthening thing just behind the ARB or the subframe bolt. Then just for piece of mind keep the jack in place too so there is a few things holding the car up.
There is a Ph1 being broken in the sale section if you are after a new side skirt.
Good tips for jacking up these cars, I must admit that lip on the Cill section looks very vulnerable & mines already a bit misshapen so doesn't give me a lot of confidence. I'm actually very annoyed with myself, as I know I'm normally far more careful when jacking up & working underneath a car!
PS; I'm already in contact with mintno1 regarding a replacement side skirt + some other parts
cliocollins
ClioSport Club Member
ITB's RB & F56 jCW
The DC2 Looks super clean! Very nice, as for the PH1 is certainly coming on well. Oh its nice to see another local CS member, I am Rushden myself, Not far from you!
@ ClioCollins, must admit RB Clios are quite uncommon so it's a surprise that I haven't seen you/your car about, I'll have to keep my eyes open!
How about this for a 'two for one' photo?
Managed to fit my new Radiatior in-between the rain showers yesterday, all seems OK so far, touching wood & fingers crossed lol!
Was looking at my old rad - it's obvious where it has been leaking from..... & it took me a short while to realise that the regular wear mark that pierces the radiator actually co-insides with where the rad fan housing sits, the fan housing/shroud on that side was warped causing it to rub & thus eventually piercing through the radiator itself.
.....so before I bolted the fan to the new radiator, I shaved a bit off of the offending plastic - so now there's a gap, so hopefull there'll be no rubbing (well until the fan shroud warps further still!)
Was looking at my old rad - it's obvious where it has been leaking from..... & it took me a short while to realise that the regular wear mark that pierces the radiator actually co-insides with where the rad fan housing sits, the fan housing/shroud on that side was warped causing it to rub & thus eventually piercing through the radiator itself.
.....so before I bolted the fan to the new radiator, I shaved a bit off of the offending plastic - so now there's a gap, so hopefull there'll be no rubbing (well until the fan shroud warps further still!)
Exactly what happened to mine with the radiator, also had to trim some off before re-fitting.
dann2707
ClioSport Club Member
Mate it's coincides
Good work dude, where did you get the new rad from and how much please? After a new one myself
Good work dude, where did you get the new rad from and how much please? After a new one myself
Sorry - I've only just read your reply :blush:
I got the Rad from my local auto factors - its made by Nissens, was about £85 I think. I did ring up my local Renault dealership but said that Renault no-longer make the OEM genuine part but were offering to sell me a pattern part that would be ordered from France & take about a week to arrive, it was actually competitively priced, but I needed it to arrive sooner!
I definetly recognise the plate, did it used to live in Scotland or is it someone else in the clubs old car?
I don't believe the car has ever lived in Scotland.... but I could be wrong - the first owner was apparently an Army Officer, the car was purchased through a German dealership where he was based at the time - so I have duplicates of the owners manuals - in English & German! Not sure if that makes the car a German Import as such.... but it took a bit longer for my local Renault dealer to find the car on record when ordering parts. Then back in the UK - judging from the service records, its lived in a few different places including Poole in Dorset (which ironically is where I was driving back from when it broke down!) The previous (2nd) owner Matt, brought the car back in 2013 on 50k miles & lives in Aylesbury - he may have been a member on here, I'm not sure? But he was a big Renault fan & overall nice bloke - the car replacing the Phase1 was a new RS Megane & he had previously owned a Clio V6 - & regaled stories of engine transplants between various Renault cars including R5Ts
Couple of shots from the weekend after giving the car a wash.
Thanks guys I still haven't had a chance to fit the side skirt yet Gareth, but I did drill out one of the fixing rivets so I know what size to order (or come up with an alternative?) - it's a shame really as your one does show the scars of your old car's higher mileage... but at least it won't have a big crack in it :astonished: ..... I'm actually quite anxious as to what I'm going to find when I remove the skirt - both further damage from when the axle stand slipped & any potential rust that might be revealed
Good to see that you've gone & got yourself another RSClio - they are weirdly addictive things aren't they?
mintno1
ClioSport Club Member
Ph1 172 / Mk1 Valver
Do you think you could fix yours once it's off? Might be worth it and just use the other one as a stop gap, although no crack in it is always a good thing :smile: It looked really clean when I saw it, a lot cleaner than mine, I know that doesn't mean anything but hopefully will be all good under the skirts. Best place to look is behind rear door cards as you can see down behind skirt and all way to back before wheel arch. The cup I have bought doesn't have any rust behind there although it does have some other issues 😂
Yes I was thinking of the possibility of doing just that - it would need the work of a professional as it I guess it would need some plastic welding/filling then re-spraying? Am following your build thread for your Cup - always quite exciting following other people's adventures with their cars....... at least this shell doesn't have any rust
:up:So I made the return journey back down to Poole to pick up my re-upholstered seats for the VW Derby..... this time the car drove both there.... & back - here's a picture to prove it!
mintno1
ClioSport Club Member
Ph1 172 / Mk1 Valver
Yes I was thinking of the possibility of doing just that - it would need the work of a professional as it I guess it would need some plastic welding/filling then re-spraying? Am following your build thread for your Cup - always quite exciting following other people's adventures with their cars....... at least this shell doesn't have any rust
Very little rust if it has any, although also doesn't have a lot of anything else either 😂 donor car arrives later so hopefully that looks good once it arrives, saw what I thought was a Ph1 on the A14 going on a recovery truck last night and thought hope that's not you, obviously not which is good :up:
I love the longer days & nicer weather we've been having - it meant that I could replace the cracked passenger side, side skirt with the one I purchased off mintno1.
On removal of the old skirt - I was rather disappointed to discover that the car dropping off the axle stand down onto the side skirt had indeed damaged the cill beneath
On the plus side.... whilst there is some minor rust bubbling towards the rear of the cill - it doesn't look bad at all - although I'm guessing the bubbling is a sign that its coming through from the inside - so i'll have to remove the side panels at some point soon to get in there & treat the inevitable rust...
Cill section ready to go on - using some ebay special Rivets :wink:
On removal of the old skirt - I was rather disappointed to discover that the car dropping off the axle stand down onto the side skirt had indeed damaged the cill beneath
On the plus side.... whilst there is some minor rust bubbling towards the rear of the cill - it doesn't look bad at all - although I'm guessing the bubbling is a sign that its coming through from the inside - so i'll have to remove the side panels at some point soon to get in there & treat the inevitable rust...
Cill section ready to go on - using some ebay special Rivets :wink:
Jekyll
ClioSport Club Member
Regardless of the rust, the car looks fantastic.
Seeing this really makes me miss my old one.
Seeing this really makes me miss my old one.
Coops Mk1
ClioSport Club Member
Lots of Scrap...
@Dr Jekyll everyone knows phase 1 is the best (disclaimer - actually mk1 is da best)
Went last Wednesday to a local monthly car meet (for anyone in the Northamptonshire area the Earls Barton meet on the 1st Weds of each month during the summer is well worth the visit :wink
I got asked if I wanted to park the Clio in the show - so thought why not..... was surprised to return to my car at the end of the evening to see someone taking a could of photos of the car!:up:
It's only got a 40mm suspension drop - but in the long grass of the show field it looked slammed!!
I got asked if I wanted to park the Clio in the show - so thought why not..... was surprised to return to my car at the end of the evening to see someone taking a could of photos of the car!:up:
It's only got a 40mm suspension drop - but in the long grass of the show field it looked slammed!!
Not much to report on the Clio172 really - the Dephaser pulley remains a bit noisy... also what I suspect is the alternator's bearing causing a bit of a whistle, the clutch is still stiff (& high) & the oil leak/s haven't abated... but it keeps going & continues to surprise me with its fuel economy.
What it has been, is a trusty workhorse ( - ferrying bits about etc) during the re-build of my VW Derby, which, aside from a few little trim bits, is basically finished. With a fresh MOT - which it passed at the beginning of last month, I've already put on a fair few miles & gone to a couple of car meets/shows with it
What it has been, is a trusty workhorse ( - ferrying bits about etc) during the re-build of my VW Derby, which, aside from a few little trim bits, is basically finished. With a fresh MOT - which it passed at the beginning of last month, I've already put on a fair few miles & gone to a couple of car meets/shows with it
Took it to 'Early Edition' at nearby Sywell aerodrome;
