mid life crisis 172 build attempting all the uk tracks..

[andyj007]

Post #001
ive been wanting to have a go on the race tracks for a long time now... being quite handy at the carts, and a hardcore motorsport fan its about time we ticked this box on the bucket list...
welcome all comments and advice... never to old to learn and definately not to proud to be told im wrong
the crazy plan to visit all the major uk tracks if possible.. im not sure they are all open to track days.. as well as spa and the ring..
i built a vw transport camper last year for a summer of cycling and family holidays... will use this as tow vehicle..
link here .
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133297948@N07/albums


car..
2002 iceberg 172.... 62k miles 2 owners... FSH

mods planned (essential)
brake upgrade
suspension upgrade
part interior strip... (leaving dash leccy windows and door panels)
x2 bucket seats & harness
half cage
wheels / tyres
steering wheel
clutch... ? ( a little high but not slipping) and check gearbox circlip linkage i have read about on early clios

mods planned (not essential )
engine and car body ascetics ( i like things just so...)
exhaust... feel touch smell and sound a car should have it all

picked car up last week, gave it a nice clean... you never really know your car until you give it a first scrub up...
really pleased, a great buy.. right place right time... its had a resprayed front drivers wing as paint peeling on inner arfch lip,, a couple of car park dings but other than that spot on and totally un thrashed original.... found a uneaten kinder egg in date under the rear seat... so munched it up whilst having a brew admiring the car...
that will be the first post then... pics in post #002 then commencement...
Andy

 

[LeeRS]

Lol. Love me a kinder egg.
Good luck mate, enjoy it!

 

[andyj007]

Post #001.5
The kinder egg suprise was some naff my little pony bracelet.. Build was quite straight forward.. With no bits missing... Good omens i hope

 

[andyj007]

Post #002

 

[andyj007]

 

[Darren S]

Lol. Two years older and half the mileage of mine!

 

[HelloImSam]

Nice!

My iceberg's on 62k with 3 owners!

Hard to find examples like that these days!

 

[andyj007]

Nice!

My iceberg's on 62k with 3 owners!

Hard to find examples like that these days!

yeah i know sam.... shame to pull it to bits.. you just cant buy simple cars like this anymore, but it does kind of help me to throw some cash at it......
ive also got a 2005 smart roadster coupe with 26k try finding one with that milage!

 

[Stay Puft]

That looks super clean. Good luck on the bucket list.

 

[Clio_fool]

Car looks good, and good plan to visit all the tracks. Looks like you're quite handy too, that a quality kinder build!

 

[cpaterson76]

View attachment 153628 View attachment 153629 View attachment 153630

Very tidy looking Andy, nothing wrong with having a clean and presentable track toy :up:

Watching with interest mate:smile:

 

[andyj007]

right o.. seat time... looking at the options and chating with the guys at sports seats u you..
got these at the top of my list in grey with black stitching..
http://www.sportseats4u.co.uk/mirco-gt-3d-fibreglass-motorsport-seat/prod_5602.html
with a 4 point harness of some description

the 3d material is new out this year, on this range and i quite like it.. looks hard wearing...
before i pull the trigger... over to the forum to see if any one has any good or bad opinions / thoughts / or experience with mirco seats...
obviously would whizz down to the lads to stick bum in seat... before parting cash to have them fabricated..
AJ

 

[Darren S]

Are you going down the route of battery relocation, etc?

Subscribed to this. :up:

 

[andyj007]

stage 1 is to do all the basic mods listed above .... get out and nail few track days of the list..stage 2 then make the engine and gearbox bullet proof (or as much as possible for a given budget)..
further full blown works would be dependant on how much cash is available and when.. and if deemed necessary..

 

[Jack_S]

Looking good Andy! I should (fingers crossed) have mine on the road this weekend so could shoot over and let you have a look at my seat/cage set-up?

 

[andyj007]

yes be good to meet you... will pm my details always coffee on the go here

 

[RMDavis]

Nice purchase mate!

The Kinder egg comment did make me laugh! 😂

 

[+Doc+]

Subscribed so I can steal your good ideas

 

[andyj007]

First batch of bits arrived.. Oreca 330mm steering wheel.. And cheap £20 boss kit. Took a picture against the original rs one.. Whilst it looks its not much smaller in the picture it makes a huge difference in reality.. For me a 300mm one would look too small..
Not sure im running with a yellow them so may colour the centre band..

 

[LeeRS]

I was going tonget a wheel with the yellow band at the top byt my ocd would not allow me to have it slightly off centre. Would do my fkin nut in.
Exactly the same milage as mine in that pic. Weird.

 

[cs_dave]

The boss dont work if you have cruse control or traction control as the 2 notches than link into the squib arnt present on the 20quid boss

Fine for me as i have none of those lol

 

[TRH_Racing]

Good luck on getting all the tracks done!

I've done brands and snett so far, got a lot more to do until i manage all of them

 

[mikey4410]

Real nice example there dude.great find

 

[andyj007]

Think i may be ok with the cheapo boss as no cruise control ,doubt it has traction control either, will find out in the morning.... will take it up the road and give it some beans.....
more goodies today....
brembo hc disks...
ds2500 pads
some super duper stop faster fluid...
all from George at RTR parts ... outstanding customer service..... and quick delivery...
fabia splitter... (not sure im really fussed with fitting this..having seen it. guess i just wanted to blow 15 pounds)

trying to locate some cup shocks at best rate... using renault parts is 170 pounds for x 2 front & x 2 rears but whilst it lists cup options for the fronts, the rears are stated as only for 2004 onwards... can anyone help with this or a link to the correct cup rear shocks for a 2002 172 if the actually will indeed fit?

 

[andyj007]

"Brembo, the choice of CHAMPIONS"

 

[andyj007]

progress :smile: just not on the clio.. Purchased a trailer.. Bit tight on space in my yard so wanted it just big enough and no more..
Picked one up reasonbly local.. For an alright price.. On further inspection i wasnt really happy with design or strength.. .. I wanted to mod it slightly anyway so purchased some new 50 x 50 x 5 mm square tubing for runners and some 50 x 10 flat bar for the side sections from the local steel supplier.. A quick trip to my local screwfix to pick up a £70 stick welder and some electrodes..
Never welded arc before.. it took an hour or so and a couple of you tube videos to get the hang of it.. sort of !
Basically got the new runners in place and modified one side to take the mudgards in the new position.. Another couple if evenings shouLd see this good to go.. Then I can start building and fitting my goodies in thr clio...
Saturday progress........Planning it out.. Cutting old metal out 2 runners in

Quite pleased with my welds :smile: very satisfying to get right...
Once its finished, i will weld back the checker tread plate and also position wheel stops to spread the load evenly over the two axels for better tow stability...
So if any one has had their car on a 4 way scale set and can advise on corner loadings i would be interested in the kg loads per wheel.
Unfortunately its dark know and i was having so much fun today i didnt take any pictures of progress.. So will shoot some in morning....
the trailer is now super rock steady and stable with no flex in the chassis.... .. the side rails have been lowered and strengthen. to enable the door to open fully when loaded.....
enjoyed playing around even if it was a little chilly

 

[Clio_fool]

Good job With the welding. Will the smart tow all that though?:laughing:

 

[andyj007]

good spot!... be funny to try...
best underated car ever imo... blows the clio 172 out the water for fun and handling..

 

[MarkCup]

Nice plans.

There's no mention of the cambelt in your opening post...it's been done recently? If done on the nose at 5 years you've technically another year before you'll need to bother...but unless you have proof of when and by whom, most suggest getting it done anyway as a precaution.

 

[andyj007]

hi thanks mark, yes it was done last year, 10k miles ago... stamped in the book and receipt.. along with a sticker under the bonnet from the belt manufacture....the depahser was not listed tho... but the engine sounds real nice to me..
i will give the belts a good look over...

 

[andyj007]

bit of an update
the list of goodies we now have has been growing
brembo disks, ferrodo 2500 pads
cooksport springs
330mm oreca steering wheel
cup shocks
x 2 sparco evo seats
seat mounts on order
1/2 cage on order

still to order..
seat base x 2
harnesses..

big weekend with lots planned..
finish trailer mods.. - paint.
full interior strip ..
fit steering wheel....
fit brembo brakes
fit cup shocks and cook sport springs.
fog light brake duct mod..

lets see how far we get...

 

[andyj007]

Weekend over... update..
had a great productive satisfying weekend, didnt manage to get everything completed, but think that was a little ambitious, plus i had more family duties, cycling, and the motor racing and superbikes to watch.. didnt manage to get the spanners out at all on sunday

spent saturday on the trailer, as you know i purchased the shortest trailer i thought i could safely get away with for the clio...
upon measuring it up and making some modes specifically to suit the clio, i decided that i wasnt really happy with the strength and layout so i purchased a arc welder, located a local steel supplies and got about some mods..
ive given all the new metal work a coat of black hamerite,
basiicaly i added some 50 x 50 x 5mm box steel along each side, tacked in some 25 x 25 x 3m angled cross braces to re drill the checker plate and bolt too.
i cut off the original mudguards, and metal work and lowered these by 250mm... I checked the clio door opening, and allowing for my lowering springs the door should open freely to get in and out when loading..
i managed to find a striped out clio that had been weighed front to rear, and using the given kg, set about making and welding in some front wheel stops out of 50 x50 x 5mm angle iron... you can see these at the front of the side ramps... positioned these by trying to work out where the weight needed to be over the twin axels to give me about a 60kg nose weight (perfect for towing)... nothing scientific, i tried to work it out and in the end just looked at it and guessed it... ive had the car on the on the new platform, it locates the wheels perfectly, and my arm sensory scales (lifting the front by hand ) indicate that its looking pretty good..
bit more painting, fix the rear light (i broke it duh) tidy up the cables blow over the silver paint... re do the mudguards as they are a bit too low and the trailer wheels look like they may rub when going over a big bump... and shes good to go...
decided that i do this next week, and move on to the car for mondays work

 

[andyj007]

monday..
first l tackled the rear shocks and springs.. cooksport springs and renault cup shops... cleaned up the arches as i went along... real easy job... although you do need a reasonable socket breaker bar to crack the lower nut free
before

After

 

[andyj007]

Front...
soaked the two lower shock arm bolts the night before, but still need a 400mm breaker bar to free them up.. quick trip to machine mart and it did the job just perfect..
cleaned up the arches a bit aswell.. quite a straightforward job, luckily i had read on here about being care full to not let the passenger driveshaft pop out thuis drainng the the gearbox oil... no spring compressor needed to take off the original or to put on the the cooksport ones... the hardest part or more fiddly is feeding the existing shock out from within the arch around the wishbones and brake lines... but take your time its easy enough... oh.. being a muppet i tried with only one side of the car jacked up... struggled to get the existing shock unit out then realised i was fighting the anti roll bar... after jacking up the other side it was a piece of cake...
thought id do this out side in the glorious sunshine that we had this morning... but it started to rain this afternoon... probably would have been finshed in time but started watching the super bikes on tv over a lazy lunch... needles to say with the car stripped apart i couldnt just park in in my garage, so had to get out the easy up gazebo...

 

[andyj007]

Have been thinking hard about what colour to introduce, as i think the iceberg is a bit boring as is.. so roll cage wheels, and interior metal work...
had a eureka moment when i unboxed the cooksports... they have been powder coated in what i can describe as a gloss lead. anthracite and the colour looks stunning against the iceberg..... ive messaged cooksport to see if they can provide me with a ral colour or number so i can use it..... failing that it will be down to my local body shop to look over some sample cards...

 

[andyj007]

I should have ordered some new bolts, rubber boots, shock caps... just to keep my ocd happy...
if any one can advise on what exactly i should be asking for when i phone renault it would be appreciated..
im thinking i need to ask for..
x 2 top mounts complete
x 2 shock top spring locator plates ?????
x 4 front lower shock bolts & nuts.???
x 2 front shock rubber cups???

 

[andyj007]

The car sits super ace, and drives really smooth... with minimal roll.. i could live with this set up easy on the road every day.... will see how wit goes on the track..
will be adding a rear arb at some point...
didnt think the existing shocks and springs were in bad nick for 60k miles either.. certailny no leak or snapped springs..
did notice a little play in my passenger track rod end ball joint.. so will order two of these with teh new bolts and bits..
really enjoyed working on "Kinder" as the car shall named going forward due to finding one under the seat

 

[Clio_fool]

Busy weekend there pal, looking good. When's the first track outing?

 

[andyj007]

im in two minds wait until its all done (about 4 weeks) as seats and roll bar on order...or
might do a shakedown on the 12th or 18th... may..
just ordered a whiteline arb.. so got that to fit with my brakes....

 

[GrahamS]

Very very quick and good progress! The top mounts should only be hand tight on top!

x 2 top mounts complete http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-R...l:Clio&hash=item41a40ddfe9:g:exoAAOSwL7VWsI9M
x 2 shock top spring locator plates ????? 8200808455
x 4 front lower shock bolts & nuts.??? Bolts 7703002835, nuts - 7703034265
x 2 front shock rubber cups??? 7700434126

Of course check those numbers but they should all be right