Kit's Ph1 172

[dann2707]

Just read this from start to finish. Cracking work mate. Really enjoyed it.

 

[KitsonRis]

Just read this from start to finish. Cracking work mate. Really enjoyed it.

Really, were you bored?! Haha. Thanks! I've learnt and re-learnt loads doing it, got out of practice since moving out and going to uni.
I know it has been a bit slow as I don't live where the car is kept, hopefully I get offered a new job (been told I should get a formal offer this week) and I can move back home so can tinker with it in the week. But with this BMW I have to help with the Clio might take a back seat until September.

 

[dann2707]

Not at all man! Was a good read.

Are you going to be taking more weight from anywhere soon?

Im really undecided what colour to do my interior now though. Grey looks good.

 

[KitsonRis]

Not at all man! Was a good read.

Are you going to be taking more weight from anywhere soon?

Im really undecided what colour to do my interior now though. Grey looks good.

The only weight saving thing I want are poly carb windows but other things are more on the list first. I am not skinning panels or removing anything from the loom. In theory my car could be put back together with ease as I haven't cut any cables, the CD changer wires are still under the seats.

I didn't want black as thought it would be be too dark and white would just get dirty. So I went with a grey, simple as it was just some Dulux gloss paint.

I know I need a cage but other things have cropped up

 

[KitsonRis]

Did a few more things that have been annoying me for a while....
Finally sorted the brakes out. The Ferodo DS2500 pads for the front I bought I couldn't get to fit, they were just far to thick to go over the disc. So got some Brembo OEM ones, had these on before and liked them just wanted something "track" focused.
Sorted the ride height and stiffened up the front spings/changed the ratings to stop drive shafts rubbing.

However I have been thinking.......
The car is now at a point where to develop it further it needs mega bucks throwing at it. Priced an engine build from Engine Dynamics and that came to roughly £4k - engine rebuild (non-forged parts), cams, dephaser pulley, lightend flywheel, clutch, hoses then rounded up for fitting and a map. But then I want to get ITB's the following year so say £2k including an ECU and map? This would hopefully get to a power of 210bhp (what I want to aim for). Plus I want to get my wheels powder coated and a rear cage and then look at polybushing everything. This is now sounding really silly for the money involved.
Then the curve ball...my friend is selling his E34 535i with a manual gearbox. It is bitchin'. Totally original, he is the second owner, the original was an old chap who had it from new and ordered it from BMW to a high spec. It is in very good condition. And I am seriosuly tempted. But I don't think I could run/keep the 172 and this. The daily Clio is going in September as it is time to move on, doing more miles and that isn't up to the job. The 535 would be the daily car (I am not fussed on MPG).
I will no break the 172 as I don't have the time, space or patience to do it! Would be sold complete. I have a rough figure of what I would accept.
Just thinking that taking the Clio to the next step is worth it and all the money as I will only be losing it. The E34 hopefully should go up in value. GAHHHHHHH!!!!

 

[Jekyll]

Oh the decisions!!

 

[Budgie]

@KitsonRis pics of the E34 required.

How much is he asking for it?

 

[KitsonRis]

@KitsonRis pics of the E34 required.

How much is he asking for it?

No pictures unfirtunately, but same colour and wheels as this one

It's technically not for sale, but he said he would sell it to me. He doesn't need to get rid of it. No sure exact price but it does sound reasonable looking on eBay. It is the same friend who my step dad bought the E36 from. He also has two E21's. Can you see a theme running.......

 

[Budgie]

Yeah, that's wicked. Buy it.

 

[KitsonRis]

Yeah, that's wicked. Buy it.

Stop it!!! As I so would tomorrow.
Going to wait on this job offer I am hopefully receiving this week first then I can see what my financial situation is. Plus I want to wait to sell at least one Clio first, probably the normal one after it's MoT test in two weeks.

 

[dann2707]

£6k to get an extra 40bhp doesn't seem worth it at all mate. Id debit get another car. I'm guessing a turbo conversion is out of the question if you're set on tbs? £6k could get you a pretty decent boost conversion.

 

[Jekyll]

You could get a nice low boost conversion for that and have 3k to do what you want still!

 

[KitsonRis]

£6k to get an extra 40bhp doesn't seem worth it at all mate. Id debit get another car. I'm guessing a turbo conversion is out of the question if you're set on tbs? £6k could get you a pretty decent boost conversion.

You could get a nice low boost conversion for that and have 3k to do what you want still!

Not after boost personally, prefer NA and the noise it makes! I am only being OCD with getting the engine re-built as it has just ticked over 170k miles and with the extra power through it with cams and ITBs I don't know it will last for long! Plus the enginebuild was a lot less than £4k but then while it was apart then why not do other stuff at the same time and fitting is what I was thinking.

Just thinking it is time for a change as well. I will miss the car when it goes and as everyone knows another will be bought in the near future! Maybe just not a track one. Plus the E34 is damn cool.

 

[KitsonRis]

 

[KitsonRis]

@Dr Jekyll Have you sabotaged my car??!! As its currently in the garage getting the power steering sorted. And seeing as I am spending money on it I was thinking of keeping it. Hate spending money and seeing no benefit seeing as this won't make it more valuable to sell. Damn thing!!

 

[Jekyll]

Why me?!

 

[KitsonRis]

Why me?!

You wanted to "unlike" me selling it! You have cursed it :tongueclosed:

 

[Jekyll]

Haha, maybe it's just not meant to leave you!

I also have a PAS leak if that makes you feel better?

 

[KitsonRis]

I also have a PAS leak if that makes you feel better? :wink:

Yes it does. At least I am not going through this pain on my own.

 

[Jekyll]

And me and @MrBlonde changed he's steering rack the other day and the PAS pipe kincked to the point of o return so we had to fit another one.

Ball ache job. We removed the gearbox cage and fitted it that way.

Chin up!

 

[KitsonRis]

Car update:
* daily Clio not road legal still being sold
* 172 in the garage getting repaired
* borrowing mum's car this week as I am car-less - this has now broken on the way to work. Wipers have just stopped and I can see naff all. Fuses good, swapped relays. Nothing.

THIS IS NOT IDEAL!! In other words, don't give me a car as somehow it will break. Got to get recovered to go back home to make the daily Clio road legal for a week to use that. Unless the recovery man can fix the wipers (could be a bad earth or a blown motor)

 

[KitsonRis]

The 172 is back on the road!!! Woop woop!! Only a small bill of £485, but for the hassle of not doing it that is good, and this does include parts.

However, I am so close to admitting I have the Ph1 172 disease and scrapping the E34 idea to buy another 172 as the daily and keeping my current one and being a yob in that with ITBs. Regardless of what I do the normal Clio needs to go....any offers? Or know anyone that needs a cheap run about or first car?
Again I blame @Dr Jekyll for this, you came back to a Clio and you said you dislike me thinking of selling it!
Need to make my mind up and so I can start wasting money on the track 172 😂

 

[KitsonRis]

Right, so it is that time again I pulled my finger out and start doing something with the car! This is now made a lot easier as I have got a new job starting next month which means I can move back in with my parents for a while to "save up for a house deposit".....aka waste it on the car and bike. Also gives me the access to the garage/workshop/tools in the evenings and I am a little less reliant on the car being able to work the next day as I can easily cycle and not worry about getting the car back to my parents to fix it as I could borrow a car.
I have also sold the daily car, but that cash and my rent deposit will go towards a new daily drive....thinking something a little different and cool like an old Fiesta with the aim of a 2ltr Zetec conversion in a few years, but have seen a V6 Vauxhall Omega Estate which I think is proper cool. However it is highly likely I will end up with an Octavia VRs (brother, Dad and Step dad all have one!) or another Ph1 172 - but there is method in my madness with the Ph1. I know what to look out for and how to fix them. Also I have a sneaky feeling they are going to start going up in value soon, especially the non Titanium ones. So the plan will be to keep it OEM and not as mental as the track one. Would love an Odessey Blue one or an Exclusive only to rip out that gash interior and put a normal sport one in!!

So the things I want to get done before next "season" / spring are:
* Tidy up the engine bay. Get new inlets and engine mount/cam cover to paint up so I can do as and when and then straight swap. Look at a new coolant bottle/clean that up. Paint other parts and give it all a good clean
* New leads and coil pack while the inlet is off
* Sort some wheels out and get powder coated - thinking something like TD's Pro race 3's
* Roll cage and get powder coated the same colour as the wheels, bright orange of corse! And then the mirrors too so they all match
* Get a new rear wing. Would be the Trophy rep one but everyone is getting them and I don't want a Cup one. But have seen something on the Prima Racing website that is in between the Trophy and the V6 Trophy in size. Wrap it black to match the roof
* Connect the brake ducts! I have got ports but they are cooling the inside of the arch lining as that gets very hot you see........ just need to get some hose to go to the brakes
* General service - oil, filter and gear box oil
* Sort out an engine spec so I have a figure to save towards. Thinking the "refresh" option from Engine Dynamics to give it a new lease of life and then while they are at it some high lift cams, lighteneed fly wheel, clutch, sillicone hoses and anything else that might as well be done. This is so it will effectivley be "new/zero miles" when I come to put ITB's on next year. No, I do not want boost!!!!

So this week I will be trying to source parts to paint / service the car with for a week off I have between jobs at the end of the month. So hopefully this thread will be a bit busier as I will be doing stuff instead of just driving it to work everyday!!

 

[KitsonRis]

Not much happened this weekend reall, cleaned the car...it was clean before I cleaned it! Haha. Fitted some new Cree LED side light bulbs as reccomended by Dr Jekyll

However when I came to fit the one it fell out of the holder and into the light :weary: so had to take the bumper and that off to remove the light to get the bulb out. What a right faff. Need to sort out a quick release bumper I think.
Also went to use the opporunity to fit my tow strap as the bumper was off. But the metal fixing bit doesn't sit flush to the threaded hole due to the front pannel slightly obsuring it (isn't an issue for the standard tow eye but cannot fit anything flush to it!) and then I needed to cut the bumper to get the strap out. So I left it for now. It needs to come off again soon anyway to do the brake ducts so will fit it then.

Engine parts for painting are slowly being aquired and turning up, so looking forward to getting that done!

 

[KitsonRis]

Car got a bit of love this weekend - oil and oil filter were swapped and I also changed the pre-cat lambda sensor

Had a missifre issue under acceleration and it was suggested that the lambda sensor is the issue; I would have not guessed that for ages! However after changing it the car has greatly improved, somehow it is a lot easier to drive and it feels like it pulls better. But not sure f this is some kind of placebo effect.

Changing it was easy, just a little fiddly pulgging it back in as the anti-roll bar is in the way! Also hated doing it as I had to get right under the car and I don't like it, the sooner me my brother and step dad sort out a two post lift the better! Was jacked up on one corner on an axel stand then the trolley jack and boot jack was also in place for that bit of extra security and comfort. Still hated getting underneath the damn thing!!

Solid engine mount turned up!

Also got the engine parts and started to paint them, along with the new engine mount to match. Colour is Ford Graphite Grey. They look loads better than the initial black paint job I did. Need to do the lacquer and they are ready! Will order gaskets, new coil pack and HT leads so I can swap them all and have nice and fresh everything. Not sure what I want to do with the "Renault Sport" lettering. I currently have it painted orange, but I don't want to risk messing this paint job up!

 

[KitsonRis]

Had a bit of a tinker with the car today. Fitted the freshly painted inlet manifold, cam cover and solid top mount. Took the opportunity to change the coil pack and leads. Afte the failure of the last coil pack and leads I bought, this time I opted for a genuine Renault coil pack and Magnecore leads. They do look the part and the engine runs alot smoother

Bought new gaskets as I ddn't want to risk them being damaged and then being unable to drive the damn thing.

Also bought a new oil filler cap and gave the top of the engine a bit of a clean. Ideally wants painting but that can wait.
Not sure about the little protective covers on the HT leads for plugs 1 and 2. The other two leads don't have them.

Glad I changed the engine mount as mine was in two pieces. Yes, two pieces. The rubber bit had failed so the engine wasn't bolted down. I have done track days like this! Hopefully the new Vibratronics one will also help.

Horn had stopped working so took the opportunity to fix this. Turns out the horn that plugs direct to the loom isn't working so for the time being I have put the second horn that piggy backs off the broken one into the loom. However this makes the horn sound pathetic! So need to sort the other horn out as I don't really fancy a rubbish horn as no one will take me seriously!

When the car went to get the power steering pipe changed at a local garage, it turned out they didn't do a good job of looking after the car, however I cannot prove it was them as I found all these things a while after. First was I am sure some bumper fixings are missing and also in the wrong place or not the same bolts that were in there. The passenger head lamp adjustment motor was not attached and left dangling. The bonnet close sensor isn't attached to anything and I cannot find the connector it goes into. And the worst one is the throttle cable housing is broken. I have bought a replacement and hope to get that fitted tomorrow. This was only replaced back in January which is so annoying. I wish I had it today as without the inlet manifold access is really good to get behind the heat proof/shield! So I am think I am going to remove it tomorrow to help out.

 

[KitsonRis]

Also booked Cadwell Park for the 4th December with a few friends. One has a 182 and the other a Mk1 MX5. Hopefully will be quicker than the 182 as it is pretty much standard, but I am quite conservative in the braking zones as I don't want a crumpeled car! So we will see.

 

[KitsonRis]

Throttle cable changed :up: Was really simple, mainly as I knew what OI was doing after only changing it in January and I had the brilliant idea of removing the inlet to give me loads more room!!! I t was done within 20mins, and that includes getting the tools out of the garage and taking the wheel off.

Drove the car to pick up the throttle cable and it feels a lot smoother with the new coil pack and HT leads on. I am very impressed. Or it could be sue to the fact the engine is actually secured to the chassis :grimacing:

 

[KitsonRis]

Not much has been done these past few weeks apart from drive it to and from work. The commute to the new job is so much nicer than the old one, that was like rally driving.
Have made some purchases.....

These wheels. Utter bargain at £307 from £624 and the are new!!!! I have only know two Clio's with these on, so hopefully will be a bit different

But black is boring...so they are going orange! I know it feel wrong to buy brand new wheels then to get them painted. But this time I am going to do it properly and sandblast and them powder coated. Would have prefered doing this to second hand ones but at that price I couldn't say no. This will be done in the new year as I want to get a cage and that powder coated orange at the same time so they match. Although coming to think of it my interior might look a little gash then as I have painted it dark grey (didn't want black or white or titanium) and I have brown seats, so not sure orage will match Seats are easily changed and one day I was going to replace them when they get worn out.
But I have just seen there is a Mark Fish group buy for cages, not what I wanted to see right now! They are good prices for a full cage and is highly tempting but I wanted to do it in January/February to stop the cash flowing out this month!

And I have bought myself a new daily drive! Another reason to not buy a cage this month. Its a Mk1 Octavia VRs, always liked them. And to not break tradition it is my step dad's old one (the Clio was his before mine!). Want to keep it as standard as possible as then it will hold its valu, bit of a gamble of a future classic. Will try and get some pictures soon.

 

[KitsonRis]

A few pictures of the new daily car just after a wash, hopefully will be a bit more shiney soon with a few more washes.

This was pre-vacuum!

Few jobs to do on it -
* Change front discs and pads (bought and ready to be fitted)
* Paint a caliper as it has been changed at some point and it's not green like the others
* Got a crack in the windscreen the other night so I am getting that changed Sunday
* Sort the exhause out as for some reason it doesn't have a VRs exhaust on so there is a cut out in the bumper for it but it has a "stealth" tip on. I do have a VRs exhaust tip / last foot of the exhause I could put on (cut the old exhaust off and sleeve this on) or....get a nice custom made stainless system made like I have on the Clio
* Get it re-mapped

Clio time now......was at Cadwell Park on Sunday. Unfortuately my friend who I was going with was in hospital so was unable to attend, which I was sort of glad about as I didn't have anything to prove without him being there!
Car was really good. I enjoyed the track too, apart from the low sun which made it impossible to see going down the pit straight! Did about 60miles in total on track
Brakes on the other hand were questionable at times. Some times the pedal went straight to the floor and the next corner were fine. I think (or hoping!) they just need a bleed. They were fine at Llandow when the last time the car got abuse, but since then they have had new pads and discs (same pads and I have not go Brembo HC discs instead of the HC Max ones). So will give them a bleed and take it from there.

Wheels were extra black this time! When I get the new wheels donw I will coat them with some form of protection to help them, and the fact they have a flatter surface will be easier to keep clean

My driving did let me down quite a bit I thought. I could do all the sections and corners of the track but not in the same lap! Not sure if it was nerves or not knowing how to drive the track. Knowing this has made me want to try and improve, may look at instruction next time

 

[KitsonRis]

Got a video of some laps from Sunday. Do have more but I thought these were the cleanest of the day

 

[KitsonRis]

Gave the car a bit of a once over as the last time I used it was at Cadwell Park to make sure I didn't kill it!
Turns out my basically new front brake pads are nearly gone :neutral: They were only replace back in July after Llandow. They were the same pads as what they replaced but the ones I took out in July covered +30k miles and several track days! These only managed one track day and about 3k miles. The pads are the Bembo OEM ones so were not budget. I had epic problems getting a pair of DS2500 to fit as they were too thick so went for the OEM ones. But now hopefully with the discs a little thinner they will fit, plus my brother said he will get them to fit!
However, the brake material had to go somewhere though...onto the wheels, which subsequently baked on as the wheels got hot and it is now solid! GREAT :up: This now means the wheels are ruined as it doesn't shift.

However.....

Trial fitted the new wheels, well one a least! Looks really smart. And I am tempted to keep them black. One as it looks smart and also it will be a lot easier to keep clean!!!! But this will mean getting rid of the orange colour scheme, will repaint the mirrors black I think, or could go back to titanium and then get some new door strips as I painted the lettering orange and I had to glue one in as it kept falling out of the strip.
I will probably re-furb the F1's and put some track tyres on I think

Then I did some tinkering - bought a another pasenger light to make a cold air feed, because I want to extract that tiny bit of power gain :tongueclosed:😂 haha

I have taken it all apart and cut the main beam light bit off which was great fun as I love my Dremmel, best tool ever.
But the bit which the lbulbs fit is broken (only found out after I took it apart) so I need to find a way of re-mounting it back into the unit. Another thing I need to think of is placing the side light bulb as the hole which it went through has been cut off so it will poke into the unit and be blocked by a piece of ducting. Need to get a trumpet cone thing and some ducting to help with this so I can trial fit it and then decide wthe best place to put it. Wanted to get to this stage before I bought anything as I didn't know what I will need, but have a better idea now. I know it wont give any gains but I think it looks ok, and I was a bit bored and fancied getting creative!

The insurance runs out next month and I am tempted to not re-new it for a month or two so I am forced to do some jobs I keep putting off. I think this will give me an incentive to get them done!

 

[KitsonRis]

Got a bit of work done over the past few weekends.
Took the arch liners off and was presented with this mess

ALl cleaned up now. One reason why I wanted to do this job was to remove the 16 years of grime and to have something that looks a little flash

Will be givn another once over before the arch liners go back in. I didn't want to use a scrubbing brush in case it scractehd it all and proveded a route for the rust to strat, so used a sponge and elbow grease. I think it looks better, but it is only going to be covere up by the arch liners again 😂 Just about to buy some ducting to make some brake cooling ducts, another job I have been putting off for ages!!
Fixed the clock bulb :up: refitted my passenger air bag cover as it had fallen through, it was only lued on lightly :up: fitted my tow strap, had to dremmel the bumper to get it to fit :up:
All the parts I want to spray paint are off the car and ready to be painted - mirrors, front grill and fog light surrounds/duct ports. All going to be black. Just need some semi-decent weather to start that. Also need to paint my calipers to give an accent colour as black wheels make it look a little featureless in the arches. Just need to decide wha I want to do with the lettering of the door strips. I want to keep the Ph1 style. I may smooth them over and get some stickers made up for it.
Got some caravan ramps for Christmas to help with acking of the car. My brother has some and I used his when at his as the trolley jack wont fit under the front of the Clio. I think they are really usefull! Makes getting the whole front end on axel stands easier IMO as you dont have to rock the car much when lifting onto the second stand, hich is the bit I hate and get nervous about when putting it on stands. They also came in handy yesterday when changing the front drop links on the Octavia.

Just need to bleed the brakes, change the front pads and get the new wheels sorted. Have a date for when I want the car back on the road - April 1st as its a track day at Llandow. Then it is Coombe Action Day the following weekend, then I am thinking after that get it booked into Engine Dynamics then, otherewise it will never get done!!
Just thanks to my brother for letting me keep the car on his drive while I get these jobs done, and also helping out and giving advice when I need

 

[KitsonRis]

The job list is slowly going down!
Both front arches have been cleaned. Just waiting for the ducting to make my brake cooling stuff then I can refit the arch linings.
About to order new brake pads, gear box oil and brake fluid.
Need to wait for a warmer day to finish off the painting parts.
New wheels have been coated, used Gyeon Q2 Rim Sealant. From the reviews I ead about it I hope it does the job of keepiong the brake dust at bay or easier to clean!

Got some GTechniq C4 to restore the trim on the Skoda, but I thought it would be rude not to on the Clio 🙈:tongueout: I need to wait until the Clio is "finished" for the year, like the big expensive jobs, and I will waste the cash on the Skoda - new exhaust, re-map, coil overs.....

So most of the jobs on my list have been started, but I need to finish them! Really after a warm few days and things to turn up really. But being home now makes doing car jobs easier! Glad I moved jobs now.

Also got an unexpected bonus from work this month.....there is serious temptation to blow it on car parts.

 

[KitsonRis]

Fw more jobs done this weekend.
I know painted calipers are not the usual thing to do and people tend to hate them. When the wheels were black I did find the car looked like it had nothing in the arches, just black voids. So I want to still have a small bi of colour there so decided to paint the calipers orange. This was done on the car and I am sure the backs of the calipers are not orange, but I don't want to remove them as sods law says I will take them off and they wont work properly after! Plus I will only remove them to put 4 pots on.
Before:

After one coat:

And after a second coat, finished:

The look gash behind the orange wheels! But they arent staying for long. I am thinking a sinlge lap before the calipers are not as orange! Just need front pads (DS2500) and a bleed and the brakes will be done.
Fitted the fire extingusher I got for Christmas:

Hopefully I never have to use it.
All the fixings turned up this weekend for the arch linings so I can crack on with getting them refitted along with the brake cooling ducts.
Still waiting on some good weather to finish off some painting - mirrors and front grill. Just too damp in the air to get a good coat on. But progress is still good!

Got a deadline of the week before 1st April, as I have booked a track day at Llandow for then! So its just bleed brakes and fit the new wheels and tyres.
Llandow should be good fun, usually is. Step dad is taking his E36 and my friend is taking his E21.

 

[barnesautos]

Any pics of your brake ducts ?

 

[KitsonRis]

Any pics of your brake ducts ?

No...because they haven't been made yet! I removed the fogs and put in trumpets the other year but not put any ducting in (to cool my inner arches haha).
I've bought some flexi hose stuff to connect the trumpet cone things and just going to cut a hole in the arch lining. Hopefully will get them made up in the next few weeks.

 

[Jekyll]

Where did you get the brake caliper paint from?

Looks like its covered really well

 

[KitsonRis]

Where did you get the brake caliper paint from?

Looks like its covered really well :smile:

It's from eBay. I search for "calliper paint orange". Tbh I don't expect it to stay that orange for long! Just something to add a bit of colour behind the black wheels.
Glad I did the second coat as the first wasn't quite thick enough. Just need to use the car to clean the discs up as they are getting a slight rusting coating as has not moved in about a month.

 

[josh11490]

Possibly will see you at llandow in my gti, considering booking it.

Car looks good!