Jason_E
ClioSport Club Member
Elise, 530d
So a week or two ago, I managed to secure my self a little run down shack to tit about with cars. I am a serial car buyer, and I think it was going to become a problem for my neighbours at some point (although, they've never once had a problem with it). Also, laying on my drive in the freezing wind and rain was getting a tad boring.
Anyway, as soon as I got this unit I knew what I wanted. A tow car, a car trailer, and a track car project. So as soon as I had the keys...
I had put a post up on one of the Clio Sport Facebook pages, asking for a project. Something not too tidy, no MOT, needs work etc. Cheaper the better! I dont mind how far gone it is.
Somehow though, after getting bored of answering desperate messages from people trying to offload their absolute sheds for £2k plus, I got a message about the badboy you see on my rig above.
Not only was it cheaper than anything else, it was (on paper) really appealling. 89,000 miles, 4 owners and a stack of history. Mostly standard bar some springs, the exhaust and a panel filter. I just assumed it had some big hidden issue, the MOT ran out back in October and at this point the chap just wanted rid.
Obviously it needs Belts, an MOT and a few bits tidying up. However once I got it back and started tearing into it, I realised I COULD NOT use this as a track car. Its by far the cleanest I've owned, and dare I say it cleaner than anyone I've clapped eyes on in many years!
First things first - a to do list.
1. Brakes - They worked, but felt a bit sticky from being sat
2. Service - It had been serviced so regularly, i felt bad not doing an oil service (with genuine parts + Oil!)
3. Rust - I had to strip back all the usual areas and see if it was hiding any nasties
4. Wheel Refurb - one was scraped, thats all. But I managed to scrape another getting it off the trailer ffs
5. Belts and MOT - this one I'm leaving up to beaniesport....
I stripped off the side sill covers and to my surprise - solid. Almost brand new looking. There was some surface rust around where an idiot had jacked it on the sills, but that was it. Under the fuel flap? Not a sausage. I started stripping out arch liners - still nothing.
In fact, the only stuff I found was surface rust on some of the suspension components (Rear beam, mainly). But I had a plan to get that sorted.
Then, there was the brakes. Had basically new pads all round. So I stripped those back, painted the calipers up and cleaned/re greased the pads. All working mega now!
After a service, gave the engine a literal wipe down. No products, just some big wipes and a microfibre.
So whats the plan now? Well - The headlights and bodywork need a good detail. This car deserves me going a bit overboard I think. I want to either buy a NOS front grill, or refinish this one in a more OEM style. Its currently gloss black with the obligatory french flag on it! Obviously the wheel refurb as well.
Overall, I think Im going to move this one on. I wanted a track project and have ended up with something I want to lock away for ever and ever, which I just cant reasonably do. Nor would I get much joy out of that.
Next jobs will be putting a sports cat in the exhaust, aformentioned detail, and getting BeanieSport to do a belts service + MOT.
As ever, this thing will be documented on my crappy youtube channel if anyone cares....
Anyway, as soon as I got this unit I knew what I wanted. A tow car, a car trailer, and a track car project. So as soon as I had the keys...
I had put a post up on one of the Clio Sport Facebook pages, asking for a project. Something not too tidy, no MOT, needs work etc. Cheaper the better! I dont mind how far gone it is.
Somehow though, after getting bored of answering desperate messages from people trying to offload their absolute sheds for £2k plus, I got a message about the badboy you see on my rig above.
Not only was it cheaper than anything else, it was (on paper) really appealling. 89,000 miles, 4 owners and a stack of history. Mostly standard bar some springs, the exhaust and a panel filter. I just assumed it had some big hidden issue, the MOT ran out back in October and at this point the chap just wanted rid.
Obviously it needs Belts, an MOT and a few bits tidying up. However once I got it back and started tearing into it, I realised I COULD NOT use this as a track car. Its by far the cleanest I've owned, and dare I say it cleaner than anyone I've clapped eyes on in many years!
First things first - a to do list.
1. Brakes - They worked, but felt a bit sticky from being sat
2. Service - It had been serviced so regularly, i felt bad not doing an oil service (with genuine parts + Oil!)
3. Rust - I had to strip back all the usual areas and see if it was hiding any nasties
4. Wheel Refurb - one was scraped, thats all. But I managed to scrape another getting it off the trailer ffs
5. Belts and MOT - this one I'm leaving up to beaniesport....
I stripped off the side sill covers and to my surprise - solid. Almost brand new looking. There was some surface rust around where an idiot had jacked it on the sills, but that was it. Under the fuel flap? Not a sausage. I started stripping out arch liners - still nothing.
In fact, the only stuff I found was surface rust on some of the suspension components (Rear beam, mainly). But I had a plan to get that sorted.
Then, there was the brakes. Had basically new pads all round. So I stripped those back, painted the calipers up and cleaned/re greased the pads. All working mega now!
After a service, gave the engine a literal wipe down. No products, just some big wipes and a microfibre.
So whats the plan now? Well - The headlights and bodywork need a good detail. This car deserves me going a bit overboard I think. I want to either buy a NOS front grill, or refinish this one in a more OEM style. Its currently gloss black with the obligatory french flag on it! Obviously the wheel refurb as well.
Overall, I think Im going to move this one on. I wanted a track project and have ended up with something I want to lock away for ever and ever, which I just cant reasonably do. Nor would I get much joy out of that.
Next jobs will be putting a sports cat in the exhaust, aformentioned detail, and getting BeanieSport to do a belts service + MOT.
As ever, this thing will be documented on my crappy youtube channel if anyone cares....
