Kit’s New Ph1 172

[KitsonRis]

Keeping my eye on this, have looked at ITB's a few times just haven't gone for it, drove an ITB'd Ph1 a few years ago and it sounded epic, I am sure you won't be disappointed

I wanted to do it to my old Ph1 and never got around to it. And when I bought this one I had to do it and I’m in a position financially to do it too. I know I should have spent the money on a respray and finding any rust but my man maths said I can get it looking amazing but then I wouldnt want to use it as much so ITBs would have never had happened or get the ITBs and might as well get the body work sorted to finish it.

 

[mintno1]

I wanted to do it to my old Ph1 and never got around to it. And when I bought this one I had to do it and I’m in a position financially to do it too. I know I should have spent the money on a respray and finding any rust but my man maths said I can get it looking amazing but then I wouldnt want to use it as much so ITBs would have never had happened or get the ITBs and might as well get the body work sorted to finish it.

Understand completely, definitely don't do it the way you are supposed to, where's the fun in that 😂 I keep toying with the idea of turbo'ing the titanium but again haven't gone for it, maybe the main problem is I can't decide and don't want to mess anything up, should just probably go for it and stop messing around! Are you planning on keeping long term? I need to decide what I am doing then pull my finger out and get it all organised as quickly as money allows

 

[KitsonRis]

Understand completely, definitely don't do it the way you are supposed to, where's the fun in that 😂 I keep toying with the idea of turbo'ing the titanium but again haven't gone for it, maybe the main problem is I can't decide and don't want to mess anything up, should just probably go for it and stop messing around! Are you planning on keeping long term? I need to decide what I am doing then pull my finger out and get it all organised as quickly as money allows

Can’t be that much to go wrong if you do turbo it? 🤷🏻‍♂️
Yeah I do plan on keeping it for a long time. I’ve not gone too mental with the spec on it and it’s still got all the interior apart from the air con. Oh and the back seats are useless as the buckets are fixed and you can’t get into the back. I still have the original front seats but they need a retrim. They may go back in one day. The goal is to have it looking factory fresh which I could only justify spending that money if it were kept. It cleans up well but there are some things that let it down when you get close to it. It getting to that stage is going to take its time as I don’t want to sell my E34 which would cover that cost and more!

 

[KitsonRis]

Plan is to paint the rocker cover this weekend. But cleaning it up with some degreaser it’s come up surprisingly well

I am tempted to clean it up more and not paint it. Due to the hassle of having to mask everything up! Then source another rocker cover to paint ready so when the belts are done next have it to swap out.
Oh I will be sorting out the bulk head heat shield as that fabric stuff looks pants!

What are people’s thoughts? Do more cleaning on it now? Or just throw some paint on it now, bolts and all! (Well mask up the important things)

 

[Stefan.]

I'd paint it all now personally.

 

[Poopensharten]

Paint it but paint it in a bright silver.

 

[RustyMojo]

I’m in the paint it camp mate. Nice clean silver. It looks so good when done and a clean bay will show off you ITB beautifully

 

[KitsonRis]

If I were to paint it then it might be black. Plus side of it being black is it hides any oil leaks.
I’ll mask the oil filler cap, the sensor on the left and the breather hole and see how I get on! If the tape won’t stick then I’ll leave it.

I was just surprised how well it came up after some degreaser, tooth brush and elbow grease

 

[Adey.]

You cant just buy another rocker cover and bolt it on unfortunately Ris. They are line bored and matched to the head. Looking good cant wait to hear the noise

 

[KitsonRis]

You cant just buy another rocker cover and bolt it on unfortunately Ris. They are line bored and matched to the head. Looking good cant wait to hear the noise

What?! That’s not what I wanted to hear! Ok that’s settled then, it’s getting painted this weekend. Aiming to do the tarting up before the new year/early January and then fire it up in January. Still waiting for the ECU as they have had supply problems.

 

[KitsonRis]

I DID A THING

yes I know it’s a simple job of removing the lower inlet but I haven’t really used spanner’s much for a long time. Aiming to fit the bodies on the block tomorrow for a trial fit. Still plenty to do.

Decided against paining the rocker cover this weekend. I couldnt get any masking tape to stick and it is also 0deg outside. And I’m worried it will look crap and then be a nightmare to resolve seeing as it’s not a rocker cover off job kind of engine. It will be done though at a later date for certain. Saying that I have just sprayed the crash bar, buts by the lights and the place where the bonnet catch went and that has worked ok

 

[KitsonRis]

I couldn’t resist fitting them. All just loosely bolted on as I no doubt will have to remove them to fit other stuff.

The question is do I run the filter that came with them. Or make some mesh inserts to fit between the trumpets and bodies to stop the larger debris entering the engine?? Sensible me says fit the filter but stupid me says don’t and make more noise.

 

[KitsonRis]

Muggins here might have messed up the coil pack HT lead order 🤦‍♂️ I took photos of the engine before I started but foolishly not with the inlet off. I did label the HT leads with "gear box end" and "cam belt end" and didn't remove them from the coil pack when I took that off so I knew where they would go. I remember when I got the leads there was a note in the box saying to ignore the number on the leads as they are wrong. Watching the K-Tec YouTube video on fitting the ITBs they swap the leads over to make them the right length and not stretched

I did this then moved them too many times and now I am in a pickle! Now it is snowing loads and I cba to go and check it.

Also been eying up the billet fuel rail from K-Tec which I think will be worth it.
Getting a shopping list ready for the new year as knowing how the post is at the moment I won't get it. On it will be:

• Fuel rail
• Fuel pipe fittings
• Bigger fuel pump
• Heat shield material (thinking that nimbus stuff)
• PMS breather plate
• Catch tank
• Throttle cable
• ABS sensor
• Something to redo the injector leads as the plastic wrap has perished and falling apart
• Wideband lambda
• AFR gauge

 

[Stefan.]

I'm sure @Tubbs Vice will know.

Not only a way with words, but he knows his way round clios, meganes not so much (jokes 😘)

 

[Krarl]

Cylinder 4 is cambelt side, the coil pack will have numbers next to which cylinder it goes to

 

[KitsonRis]

Cylinder 4 is cambelt side, the coil pack will have numbers next to which cylinder it goes to

Yeah I had it wrong! Didn't notice the little numbers on the coil pack before

 

[Krarl]

Yeah I had it wrong! Didn't notice the little numbers on the coil pack before

When you spend toouch time around Renaults this is what happens

Little hidden Easter eggs

 

[KitsonRis]

Felt a bit of two steps forward and one back today. Decided to take the throttle cable out ready for a new one only to be greeted with what looks like a hack job of refitting the arch liner. There was a random self tapping screw in the inner arch that looked like at one point held the liner in place but the liner had snapped off so there wasn't really anything holding it on by where the ABS sensor goes. So I decided to pull it off and try and do the impossible and source an arch liner that is in somehwat acceptable condition that isn't going to make me sell a kidney on the black market to fund it. Failing that I might call it a race car and run no arch liners and cry everytime it is used in the rain.

While I was in the wheel arch I decided to give it a quick clean, looks alright under there. Some areas that I might need to do something about in the spring as a temporary measure until the car gets a re-spray. It will get a better clean soon under all 4 arches.

Why didn't I get some coil over covers when I had the suspension changed?! Bilsteins look naff very quickly! Removed all this from behind the arch liner too

And my ecu turned up today!!

Have got a shopping list of parts I need to get, will be doing that after Christmas. I think once I have everything it should be simple in getting it sorted and maybe like 2 days of work?

Also slowly running out of room in the garage to store the bits I have taken off! I haven't got rid of anything yet just in case but with my E34 in the garage and it takes up most of the room it is now quite full, along with the boot of the Clio. I am sure I can get rid of the old radiator though.

 

[KitsonRis]

Progress has been slow, not helped with the bad weather and waiting on some parts.

A catch tank, PMS breather plate, fuel pressure regulator housing and new 4bar pressure regulator and a KTec fuel rail turned up

With a break in the weather yesterday and some help from my brother to fit the injectors to the fuel rail I mounted the breather plate and the fuel rail

Yes it is a bad photo as it started to rain as I was just finishing. I only plugged the injectors in so the pins were not open to the elements. I went out this morning and moved the wires to come though the bodies at the back behind the rail. The cable conduit has turned up si I can now redo the covering on the injector wires and get that all positioned niceley. However having problems with the TPS so I can't wire that in so need to wait until KTec get back to me with a solution. Turns out they have made a bit of an oversight with the Ph1 set up as their new TPS is not compatible with the Ph1 loom. I hope they are getting me a wiring diagram of their TPS so I can wire it into my loom (but will put a connector in it somehow so I can remove it) as @NorthloopCup sent me the diagram for the loom, I just don't know what the sensor is.

The heat shield material turned up so I need to get a pair of snips and work out how to fix it to the car. Probably try and use the existing moutning points but I know it is going to be a right faff. Need to work out where to put the catch tank - with suggestions next to the coolant expansion tank so will have to do that after the heat shield goes on.

Made a diagram of how my fuel supply set up is going to be along with plumping in the fuel tank breather that went into the carbon cannister that I have now removed.

This has made me work out what I need to order. Basically some 8mm fuel hose and jubilee clips. But waiting for KTec to come back to me about the TPS so I can order the right wiring stuff for that at the same time, although thinking about it I know what I think it shoould be so might just get it now.

Throttle cable and ABS sensor is on the way from AUTODOC, no idea if the throttle cable is any good seeing as I can't get hold of a genuine item any more. Although Renparts are selling a LHD one, but what is the difference between a LHD and RHD?! I also hope the ABS sensor works as that would be 4 I have tried and I don't really want to be going down fitting a Cup brake set up so I can remove the ABS.

I think I have hit a point with this where I am just now with the fiddly jobs that take time and there are no quick wins with bolting stuff on anymore. Not going to have a chance to work on it next weekend but the following weekend I am home on my own so will get the parts lined up to get cracking.

 

[KitsonRis]

Spent some time this morning ticking off a few more jobs on the list:

• New throttle cable fitted (this definately wasn't done while I was on a work call with my laptop in the garage and just listening on headphone....honest) - although it isn't attached to the throtle boddies yet
• Wired up the throttle position sensor - I was sent a plug by KTec and I was struggling to fit the pins in it so ended up just soldering the wires from the sensor directly to the loom which I can gaurantee will come back to bite me as something is wrong.
• Covered the injector wire loom with some conduit to tidy that all up
• Plumbed in the catch tank from the breather plate - still need to plumb in the fuel tank vent as i removed the carbon canister but this is a minor issue. Also might plumb the fuel pressure regulator into it as well
• Reconnected the fuel supply to the new fuel rail

Yes I know the fuel pressure regulator is upside down, I knew I needed to remove it so I can take it to my step dad's tomorrow to borrow a pair of circlip pliers to fit the regulator. It will go back in the other way around

I am not 100% sure on the fuel return line position. I will probably move it to under the bodies but then I will need to do something to hold it out of the way of the alternator belt. But I am thinking get it running and be happy that it is working then maybe go back and move a few things around in the engine bay.

Got some time next Sunday which will be fit the throttle cable to the bodies, cut the heat shield to fit that and if it is warm enough I will move some of the pins from the ECU wiring as it isn't exactly plug and play. Spoke to KTec and they have told me how to do it and what pins need swapping over. I don't fancy doing it in the cold though as it needs to be right.

If that all goes to plan then it technically could be started! Will see how I get on next week. After next week I am not going to have any time on it fot a good few weeks unfortunately

Running out of room in my garage with parts everywhere! Can't wait to get rid of it all once I know it is working.
I also need to look at storage for all the bits and pieces I have accumulated. Stuff like nuts and bolts kind of thing. I have one tub it all goes in but it is now getting full and really needs ordering. Ideally want some kind of racking with those little removal pots. I was working today and doing one job and then clearing everything away ready to do the next thing just to keep on top of it all. Just need some more space!

Went to fit the ABS sensor on the rear. The one I have bought looks like it is the right one, finally. Although I need to take the hub off to fit it 🤦‍♂️ I couldn't be bothered to do that today as it was getting late and I was frozen after being outside all day.

 

[KitsonRis]

Two more jobs ticked off the list this weekend. Didn't have a lot of time over the weekened but I could have done it in one day if I didn't have to go out this morning.

Throttle cable now attached and works. Got a nice feel to the pedal too. Was a right pain to do! But that is what you get when you modify things. Did that Friday afternoon when I finished work, just about finished it before it got dark.

Then this afternoon I cut the heat shield and put that in place. A bit fiddly to do and not sure if I would to re-do it at a later date, will see how it holds up!

I was impressed with how well I managed to roughly guess where to put the three holes for the fixings! Did buy a rivnut gun the other week for fitting the catch tank. Was struggling to find something to attach the top of the heat shield in the holes that were there, no idea where the original ones went! But an M4 rivnut fits straight in and I had some bolts and penny washer already so that was an easy job! I know I should also fully remove the air con but it is a minor issue at the moment.

One more job to do before I can attempt to start it and that is rewire the Gen90 ECU. My brother doesn't quite know he is doing that yet but I am sure he has his suspicions about doing it! I was thinking I could get it mapped without a front bumper and the rest of the jobs to be done, like I can't drive it up to EFI on the base map so can get away with no front bumper for the time being? Oh I will put the trumpets back on once my brother has also double checked everything I have done, without them will give a bit more access. I'll put the air filter on when I know it is running.

Annoyingly I wont have any more time on it now for a few weeks as I am away next weekend and busy the following but getting that heat shield on today has made me realise it is actually very close to being ready! The other week it felt like there was loads to do.

The one thing I am excited about is being able to clean my garage when this is all done I can't roll the E34 out as the Clio is in the way to tidy up and vaccuum in there. And I have very limited space so when I get anything out it becomes very messy very quickly! Like today was the worst it has been in ages with tools and all that every where.

 

[KitsonRis]

Spare half hour today so I did some finishing jobs.
The p-clips for the fuel return line arrived so fitted them. It is a lot tidier now and managed to cable tie the hose out of the way of the alternator belt

I took some inspiration from when I had RC cars and putting the electronics inside balloons to keep them away for any wet. I decided to put the connectors I am now not using inside balloons that have been cable tied shut to stop the weather getting into them and causing possible problems. Just makes it a bit neater under there. Will see how well they last.

And then I thought I would remove the ECU ready for moving the pins around. That was a mistake! Turns out it is a right faff. Didn't manage to finish removing it, but it is a horrible thing to remove. Car currently has no battery in it (probably wont do for another week or so) but knowing my luck it wont work now or the immobiliser will be stuck on as I locked the doors on the key or some crap like that with it being without a battery. TBH I am sure the brand new battery I have is dead already seeing as I haven't turned it on for 8 weeks.

 

[KitsonRis]

Ok so this happened today after work

It works!! We’ll sort of. Runs proper rough, has no idle and smokes a lot. And those with a keen eye will spot a wire from the battery in the passenger window that goes to the fuel pump as for some reason it won’t get a feed so it has got a constant positive. Need to sort out why it won’t talk to the fuel pump. But another option is to run a permanent feed to the pump with a switch on the dash. See THIS thread for details on the dodgey fuel pump.
It all seems to work though!! All the fuel system that I put in holds up. Although the fuel pressure regulator is very loud!
The idle is too low and stalls, but I can’t open it any more as the idle screw is maxed out and being stopped by an anti rattle spring. Hoping with a map it will sort itself out. But to get it going have to hold at about 1.5k RPM.
I am very happy. I know I need to go an address a few things but I can do that once it is all working. I want to have another look at the fuel hoses into the rail as it looks a bit naff and I need to sort the ECU holder out - where I had to move some of the pins around the wires have alot of slack so the cover doesn't fit anymore and also the GEN90 is slightly wider than the standard one so the bracket doesn't fit.
So will need your help @VenomUK soon to get it to EFI haha.
Going to spend a bit of time looking over it again to make sure, attach the trumpets and air box.

 

[KitsonRis]

Fitted the trumpets and the cover in the ECU wires. Engine bay looks proper smart now! Still undecided if I want to run the air filter or just get some mesh to sandwich behind the trumpets to stop any of the big debris.

Had it idling for a bit longer while I dropped it off the little caravan levelling ramps it was on. It got a bit smoother and I tickled it up to 3k RPM. Still runs rough but oh my the noise!!! Also the coolant light is on, the one that looks like a tooth brush. It was all working before and all of the system is brand new (not installed by me so it will work). I’m hoping that the ECU is not talking to it. Actually I’m hoping all the rough idle and the fuel pump is because it is not set up correctly.

 

[RustyMojo]

Fitted the trumpets and the cover in the ECU wires. Engine bay looks proper smart now! Still undecided if I want to run the air filter or just get some mesh to sandwich behind the trumpets to stop any of the big debris.

Had it idling for a bit longer while I dropped it off the little caravan levelling ramps it was on. It got a bit smoother and I tickled it up to 3k RPM. Still runs rough but oh my the noise!!! Also the coolant light is on, the one that looks like a tooth brush. It was all working before and all of the system is brand new (not installed by me so it will work). I’m hoping that the ECU is not talking to it. Actually I’m hoping all the rough idle and the fuel pump is because it is not set up correctly.

Looking forward to seeing this mapped mate

 

[KitsonRis]

Looking forward to seeing this mapped mate

Me too!! Want to be a bit more confident with it before I’ll get it booked in. And I’ll speak with EFI first to see what they say about common things that go wrong when mapping so I can check first. But it has new everything so I’m hopeful it will be ok

 

[VenomUK]

@KitsonRis Can’t wait to see this fully running and no problem at all with giving you a hand to get it to EFI. Once you have a date in mind etc then drop me a message or WhatsApp

 

[KitsonRis]

I’ll message you first before I book it in in case you’d re free haha. But yeah, give me a week to make sure on its actually ready to be booked in with the rough af idle as I don’t want to get there and be like them day “nahh can’t map this it’s s**t”

 

[Coops Mk1]

Nice progress! Should be epic once done and bring on the trumpets 🎺

 

[KitsonRis]

A massive shout out to @barnesautos for his time and help today. He knew exactly why the fuel pump was not running - my instructions from KTec were incomplete. I needed to move another pin on the ECU. So now I don't have a dodgey wire running from the battery to the fuel pump lol.

Had it running again early because why not. It sounds amazing, even with a slight miss fire. But it is soooo loud. I will have to sort out a centre silencer for the exhaust as it currently only has a back box. Need to chuck a bit of fuel in it and I might run it for longer to get it up to temp and see if it all holds up. I presume that won't cause any damage seeing as it only has a base map?

Going to get the bumper prepared for painting this week. Will give that a go myself as tbh it can't look any worse that in is!

I also wonder how long my "temporary" solution to the fuel hose is going to stay on the car. Like I need to revise it but I have a sneaky feeling that it will be like the current set up for a long time haha

 

[VenomUK]

I also wonder how long my "temporary" solution to the fuel hose is going to stay on the car. Like I need to revise it but I have a sneaky feeling that it will be like the current set up for a long time haha

If it works and isn't broken then why change it

Looking good mate. You have me on WhatsApp, drop me a message on there and we will sort things out from there.

 

[KitsonRis]

Checked the TPS wiring as per @barnesautos instructions and happy that is was the right way round.

I managed to get it to idle without holding on the throttle. It is still far too low at 750rpm and wants to stall and is a bit lumpy. It still has a slight miss when revving too and smokes a lot. Hoping this is all down to base map and not been tuned.

Going to chuck a can of petrol in it tomorrow afternoon and run it so it gets up to temp as it was still stone cold after 5 mins.

 

[KitsonRis]

I think it is fueling perfectly.....

Haha. No wonder it is running rough af, it is like this over all 4 bodies. And giving it a bit of throttle it sounds smoother but isn't on the gauge. Bit annoying as I wanted to get it warm but I can't get it to idle properly. It idles too low (no more adjustment on the throttle stop) and eventually just conks out and smoke comes out of the inlet 😬 spoke to my brother and he says the timing is out but as I haven't touched the cambelt etc it is just not fuelling correctly as mechanically the timing is fine. Ah well.

 

[KitsonRis]

I’ve rechecked the TPS wiring and happy that is all correct. Checked for continuity between the signal wire and ECU plug. And then saw the voltage drop in the signal wire when the throttle is operated. I also with the advise from barnesautos to remove the TPS, start the car and manual move the TPS and the engine tone should change as it thinks more fuel is needed. Nope, nothing. This could tie up with what KTec told me the other day saying the bodies are not balanced or the TPS needs pairing with the ECU.
I also showed the carb ballancer video to my step dad and he thinks it could be too much fuel pressure forcing the injectors open and I’m getting exhaust gas out of the inlet. I am running a brand new 4 bar FPR which is vented to atmosphere. I am still thinking the base map is rubbish and it’s fuelling incorrectly. Like it’s on 2/3 cylinders at best. I am going to message EFI tomorrow and see what they say as will be taking it to them to get it mapped. Like this could all be normal and they can chuck a better base map on it to get it running to shake it down a bit before going for it.

As I wanted to show some progress I started to paint the front bumper.

Just some filler primer at the moment. Aim to finish it next week. I can’t see any harm in giving it a go as it can’t look as worse as it did!!!

 

[VenomUK]

Nice update mate. Very strange with the balance gauge being all over the place. Hope EFI can shed some light on this during the week

 

[KitsonRis]

Nice update mate. Very strange with the balance gauge being all over the place. Hope EFI can shed some light on this during the week

Yeah it is a bit odd, like I was expecting it to be a constant reading not all over the place on all ur cylinders. I’ve messaged EFI to see if they know what could be the cause. Also asked about availability so I can see when you are free. In my mind it has to be the base map in the ECU as that’s the only thing I can’t check, the rest of the things I’ve changed are mechanical stuff so it has to be like correct as it all looks good and that. I know it was never going to be drivable on it but I hoped it would be stable. Oh does your truck have a winch? As it’s pretty un-drivable as you have to keep it at least 3k rpm to move it around and then it just conks out so not sure it would be able to drive into the back of it on its own steam.

 

[VenomUK]

I can't see how it can be anything else, it's a modern engine, if something was wild and out it simply wouldn't run. I think its the base map to that's causing the rough running. Yes, it has a lovely winch on the back, that's not a problem getting it on the back.

 

[KitsonRis]

Perfect! Waiting to hear back from EFI to see what they can do.

 

[KitsonRis]

Front bumper is now fitted after I painted it

I don’t think it’s too bad for a rattle can job done by me. I still need to polish and wax it but it was raining. Looks soooo much better now. The whole car will still need a respray though.

Need to sort out the arch liner situation. I’m tempted to remove them but fit the front sections somehow and cover up some of the inner arch with some material - like the hole by the brake servo and that.

Also have a drain in the battery 😭 went to unlock it so I didn’t set the alarm off and would unlock on the key. Thought here we go again as it was playing up the other day which was “solved” with a charging the battery. This time I measured the voltage and it was 2V…yep that’s flat. So I’ve put it into charge again. It’s dropped from full to flat in 3 days so something must be wrong somewhere? Battery was new in October. Started to do this after I jacked it up on axle stands and cleaned the inner arches. Unless a door isn’t shut or something. Further investigation required!

Oh and sort of booked in to EFI for mapping on the 2nd April. Managed to speak to them last week, that date was suggested to drop off and leave it with them. I said I’ll get back to confirm, which I did the next day, not heard anything from them for a week 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[KitsonRis]

Final once over ready for mapping at EFI tomorrow. All looks ok. No leaks from the fuel system. Starts at the turn of the key, if the battery has any juice in. Battery on charge. Still can’t find the drain - but when I reconnected it just now the fuel pump started without the key in the ignition… Got a little tool kit with me just in case. Will need to get a tank of fuel on the way. And thanks to @VenomUK for offering his truck and services to get the car there!

Not after big power tomorrow. But anything above 180bhp will be amazing!! Annoyed I didn’t have a figure of power before I started, I would guess 150-160bhp?? More after improvements in the power delivery.