First car - Clio 1.2 PH2

[Brandon Dommett]

Hello all ,

This is my first car and my first project , i managed to pick this up for 650GBP in august 2021 with a fresh MOT, 82,500 miles and at the time completely stock , based on its mot history having a sun strip i gathered at some point it may have been considering im also the 8th owner. The car was used simply as transport to a pub and back or would frequently just be left at the pub car park whereas it is now my daily to work and college. At first being 18 i intended not to modify the car and just simply use as just transport back and forth but have since became very attached to it. Its not the greatest bodywork wise with scratches and some dents but she looks good after a clean.

This is the car when i first got it...

After this i felt like it needed a remake and so went scouring the internet for improvements with some budgetary restrictions. I added a 182 grille and also swapped out the front bumper with a different style that seemed more sporty without sourcing wings and an actual sport bumper along with a tow strap. The car was also given 25mm hub centric spacers on the rear and 20mm on the front for a bit more poke.

I also added a 172 rear bumper and had a custom mid/rear exhaust put on to where it sounds nice but not too crazy

As you may have seen in the photos some lacquer peel was easily seen ( and became worse when the girlfriend took a pressure washer to it) so i decided it was time to fix it DIY style , some wet and dry sanding and some hologram grey Renault paint off amazon which did the trick. We are not experts so its not perfect
but its much better and cheaper.

After this i started having problems with the headlights and being misty almost like dirt and instead of restoring them ( this will be done at a later date) we decided to tiny the fog lights yellow and while we had some spare tint the headlights themselves yellow for the whole french look.

I also decided the standard spoiler was not enough and went insane with a 172 cup spoiler and an actual working brake light ( after a broken one)

This picture it how it sits currently as for budgetary purposes any more modifications are on hold as its age is starting to show and as clios seem to do its started to give way in some places but not bad for a 21 year old car

 

[Brandon Dommett]

This is how the car sounds currently.

 

[Martin_172]

Good work on the paint on the bonnet! - Always liked that colour on a mk2.

Not a fan of the headlights, i think if you just restored the lights so they were back to being nice and clear that would look good, smaller front plate too always tidys them up, this was only slightly smaller, pretty much exactly the same size as the recess, enough that it tidied up the front a little but not enough that you get pulled!

EDIT: Im laughing here at me judging your yellow lights when 19 year old me 15 years ago had yellow fogs ^^^

 

[hopgop1]

Not a fan of the yellow lights personally, but the car looks good.
Much prefer those earlier ph2 wheels to the 172 style wheels of the later cars. Had them on my first car, although I did put a massive hole in one of them hitting a pothole hidden in a puddle, still mostly held air too somehow!

 

[Brandon Dommett]

Thanks guys, the headlights are due to be done when I've got time as under the tint they are worse then they look in photos but the tint when I quickly put it on almost stopped the lenses from fogging up after it had been wanted then applied so I can see a bit better than before.

The wheels i wished the previous owners had kept in better shape, from 5 metres they look good but up close they have nasty curb rash and all, I did try and find another set but they seem to be harder to find then I expected , maybe if I lower it a tad I might even just get them refurbed for an oem look.

 

[Martin_172]

Thanks guys, the headlights are due to be done when I've got time as under the tint they are worse then they look in photos but the tint when I quickly put it on almost stopped the lenses from fogging up after it had been wanted then applied so I can see a bit better than before.

The wheels i wished the previous owners had kept in better shape, from 5 metres they look good but up close they have nasty curb rash and all, I did try and find another set but they seem to be harder to find then I expected , maybe if I lower it a tad I might even just get them refurbed for an oem look.

I found to be fair they sometimes come up on ebay for about £40 delivered each, find a good condition one, buy it, then sell your damaged one for £40 delivered and it ends up costing you about £15-£20 to swap to a good condition wheel, i done that on my 1.2 runabout and now have a full set of unmarked wheels lol

 

[Brandon Dommett]

I found to be fair they sometimes come up on ebay for about £40 delivered each, find a good condition one, buy it, then sell your damaged one for £40 delivered and it ends up costing you about £15-£20 to swap to a good condition wheel, i done that on my 1.2 runabout and now have a full set of unmarked wheels lol

Wish I would've thought of that sooner😂 spent too long looking at getting aftermarket alloys until I saw the price! I'll have to do some research on eBay see what I can find since my luck at finding decent wheel on places like Facebook marketplace that would fit is depressing

 

[Toby]

Not keen on the yellow tints but looks good so far.

OZ F1's and 40mm drop.

 

[Brandon Dommett]

Gave her a well needed wash got her all shiny and less than 24 hours and it rains of course , the yellow tints are due to come off and will be restored along with a better sun strip. Got new private plates as well.

 

[Martin_172]

Not into the sparco stickers, tow strap, yellow tints and sun strip. Maybe it's because I'm old? 😂

 

[Brandon Dommett]

Not into the sparco stickers, tow strap, yellow tints and sun strip. Maybe it's because I'm old? 😂

Honestly i put the sunstrip on and its awful but it works til i put another on the tints will be coming off as well so the lights can be refurbed. Im sure if in a few years i still have it ill be bored of the other pieces as well tbf

 

[Brandon Dommett]

Looking at getting some new alloys without necessarily breaking the bank , anyone got any thoughts on these?

JR3 4x100 7J in red

 

[Brandon Dommett]

New sunstrip fitted and a carbon badge cover , also attempted to restore the headlights and got the most out of them i could instead of buying new.Grabbed the wheels above in a good deal online with new tyres , also got some 40mm lowering springs (yes i know its not much but i live with potholes the size of footballs). Planning to get the side plastic trims and front painted to body colour and possibly some tints after that i think that's all i can realistically do , had a search for some 172 rep side skirts or similar but they aren't made anymore it seems and don't plan on going full sport rep. Pictures shown below: