Mk1 F4R/172'd Track Car Project [Year 3 - Engine and Chassis Rebuild]

[f0xy]

As quite a few of you know, I got rid of my MK2 quite a while ago now, and havent been around much on the forum since. The new project is why, and ive decided to start a project thread now ive got some way into it.

From the title, you obviously know its a MK1... I wanted something a bit more 'hands on', so a MK1 project is what I decided on. Well, a MK1 Hybrid.

There seems to be quite a few MK1 projects going on here at the moment, ive tried to do my 'own thing' by trying to get some one off things in there, but I really dont care if its the same as someone elses anymore, its my car!

Firstly, Ive mainly based this project around a blog...Il keep updating on here, but more stuff will be updated on the blog as im going along. It can be accessed at:

PLEASE NOTE - If you want to view my project without the discussion/spam in between the updates, my blog is always kept up to date @ http://www.f0xy.net/

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Now...the project itself!


Day 1

The plan is to build a MK1 Hybrid track car, mainly for use on track days, but still be road legal for day-to-day use.

After looking around for a month or so, I came across an Xeros Gray Valver, that someone over on Clio16Valver had been to see, and wrote a small review of. It seemed to stand out from the others i’d seen, so I decided to go and look at it. The car was based in Leicster, 100 miles+ from me, but I was hoping it would be worth it.

Good: Little to no rust at all on the boot
Little to no rust on the bottom of the doors
Very little to no rust on BOTH arches, very, very slight bubbling on the underside of the arch, nothing showing on the outside yet.
Bonnet in excellent condition
Standard exhaust in excellent condition
Parcel shelf in excellent condition
Mint condition full leather interior
Completely Standard
Standard Ph2 wheels in great condition
Loads of tread on tyres
Brand new clutch, cambelt and water pump with receipts to prove
Sunroof works and does not leak (it was raining when i went to see it)
Private plate included in sale
Drove very well indeed

Bad: Slight chipping of paint on passenger side front wing
Crack on drivers side front wing
Very tiny scuff on passengers side front bumper edge
Heard a slight knock from the rear when going over a speed bump
Drivers door has been keyed so will require a respray
Play in steering, requires column welding
The usual wobbly gearstick syndrome, needs a new mount

After having a good look around, and test driving it, I made the seller an offer…Managed to get it over £200 cheaper than the asking price! Bargin.

Took it easy on the way home, seemed to be running well. Ended up taking it out for a drive later on that day, which ended in disaster. After turning a sharp corner, I began getting huge screeches from a belt/pully under the bonnet, had no idea what it was. Managed to get it home, and leave it on the driveway until I had time to look at it…



Day 2

Set about trying to figure out what the screeching was today… Started the car, and turned the steering slightly whilst looking under the bonnet. The power steering pump pulley was jamming, and the belt was slipping over it, causing the noise. Checked the belt, to find it was very slack, so I initially thought the tensioner had moved.

Stripped the front down so I could get the belt off, then realised it was the power steering pumps pulley that was catching on the mount that it usually bolts into. This led me to think that one of the pumps mounts had sheared off, causing the pump to move, but this wasn’t to be the case.

Got the pulley off the pump, to find there was not a single bolt holding the pump onto the mount. Quite shocking really, as there are usually three 10mm bolts holding the pump in! Also, by looking at where the holes for the bolts are, there is no way the bolts could have just fallen out, as there is no space between the pulley and the pump. They must have never been put back in! You can see where the pulley had ground away part of the mount that it is meant to be bolted into.

Managed to get three bolts that I needed from a spare power steering pump that Winston had, so used them to bolt the pump back into place. Then reattached the pulley, and put the belt back on. Started the car and it was running fine, no noises when turning the wheels…result!



Day 3

First proper look around the car today, turns out there is near enough no rust at all. Had a look through the paperwork, its had loads of new stuff over the past year or so, full service history too. Not that it matters anyway, as the engine is being changed.

There are two main problems with the car, a crack to the drivers wing, and a key mark down the drivers door. I went round a handful of bodyshops, and got some quotes, but decided to leave it for now until the bulk of the work has been done.

The interior is full leather, in near enough mint condition, especially for a car just turning over 142k miles!

Although there a few little niggles, like the speedo is very wobbly up to around 30mph, possibly a worn cable from the gearbox, or something else. Also couple of the dash lights are intermittent, probably need a few replacement bulbs. The list of things to sort is ever growing!

The drivers and passenger doors had some silly stickers round the keyholes, passenger side came off fine, but when I peeled the drivers side off, some paint came off with it, and revealed some damage to the keyhole.

It seems its either been broken into before, or the lock has been tampered with and the repair has been bodged. Also, the cracked drivers wing looks un-repairable, the crack is not just on the visable side, the mount on the back of it is fully cracked also. The key mark to the drivers door is very deep, and will most likely need a full respray, repairing the damaged lock at the same time, I may even have the lock taken out completely.

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Day 4

As I needed a new wing, due to the other one being un-repairable, I went and picked up a pair from Winston. They have no cracks, and are perfect for being resprayed, which will eventually happen as the door needs doing also!

I also picked up a spare steering column from him, to get welded, as clios are known for getting play in the wheel, from a worn component in the steering columns design. My current steering column has alot of play, so I picked this up to have it welded, to swap with mine and get rid of the play completely.

I set about removing the cracked wing from the car so I could put the blue one on, as the headlight wasn’t sitting properly. I removed it to find hardly no rust yet again, just a tiny bit next to the hole where the wing bolts in, very suprising!

After fitting the new wing, I noticed it didnt really fit properly. There seemed to be a bigger gap between the top of the wing and the bonnet than there is on the passenger side. I have yet to try adjusting the bonnet, as its a two person job, but it looks like the headlight and bonnet have been adjusted previously to make the broken wing not look ‘as bad’ as it may have done.

I’d say it has been hit pretty hard from the front end to crack the wing, but there is no recorded accidents, and everything behind the plastic looks as it should and untampered with. Ive left the wing for now, and going to have a look into re-aligning the bonnet when ive got more work done, as its going to have to come off completely at some point.



Day 5

Started to strip the interior out of the car today. The idea was to only leave the two original front seats in for now, until I get some sub-frames fabricated to fit my bucket seats from the previous car. As this is going to generally be a track orientated car, the dash is going to be taken out to keep everything as simple as possible.

First to come out were the front doorcards, which revealed a secret about the cars history. The drivers door looks near enough brand new, and has a Renault parts sticker on the inside. After getting the passenger side doorcards off also, it is a slightly different design, so confirms that the door is definately not original! Oh well…at least that means it isnt going to rust anytime soon.

As the interior is near enough mint condition, I needed to be careful when removing it, so it could all be sold as a complete set. The carpet was in very good condition also, so could be sold, but it meant removing all the seats to get it out in one piece. This started by removing the rear bench, then the front seats, and then pulling the carpet out.

After removing all of the interior trim, the car revealed yet another secret. The drivers side rear quater has been replaced at some point, the whole panel. The inside of it is a completely different color to the passenger side, and looks brand new. The only thing I can think of is that the previous owner had this replaced due to rust, as there are no recorded accidents.

As said earlier, everything is going to be removed from the interior, even the full dashboard. The top dash will remain as a shade for the clocks, but everything else will go. I ran out of time to do this, also didnt get the chance to remove the roof lining, so that can wait until another day. Finally re-fitted the front seats and seatbelts so it could be driven.



Day 6

Ive been sourcing parts over the past few weeks even though I didnt yet have a car, as I had decided the direction it was going to be heading. I wanted to run a Clio 172 drivetrain, as the brakes are bigger and more powerful than the Williams/Valver setup. To do this, it required having the wishbones, calipers, hubs and driveshafts from a 172.

A Williams and a Valver are nearly the same, apart from engine capacity and the width of the front track. The Williams has a wider track for better handling, so the plan was to incorporate this also. The 172 components are the same as the Williams, bar the slight different hub design to allow the 172 to have larger brakes.

The usual disk size for a Mk1 Clio is 259mm, whereas the 172 run 280mm disks. This gives a lot better braking performance, aided by a larger caliper allowing for larger pads, meaning a greater contact surface area on the disk. There are also a lot more options open with regards to type of disk and pads for 172’s, compared with Mk1 Clios, so it seemed to be a good idea to run the newer larger components.

As the parts were well used, I decided to clean them up, and paint them with a coat of hammerite. This would keep them in good condition, and prevent any surface rust in the future. Firstly sanded them, rinsed them off, then painted on the hammerite.

I had also got hold of a 172 anti-roll bar, as this has to be replaced when doing a wide-track conversion, due to the larger track width. The 172 anti-roll bar and the Williams are the same shape, well, that’s what I thought. When it arrived, it turned out to have a hump in the middle, which meant it was useless, as it would not fit onto the Mk1s subframe.

As the 172 anti-roll bar will not fit, I need to source a Williams anti-roll bar, and a 172 O/S driveshaft, as ive only managed to get hold of a N/S one so far. A few other bits are still needed, like the outer arms for the wishbones, and new bushes for the wishbones and anti-roll bar.

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Day 7

Set about removing the whole dash from the car today, as its staying mostly out anyway, but I mainly wanted to get all the sound deadening out thats on the bulkhead. Spent a good few hours trying to remove it carefully, but it just wasnt happening, it seemed everything possible was attached onto the back of it.

I gave up for a while, and started to attack all the sound deadening/tar that Renault kindly glue into the car when manufactured. Need some serious heat to remove this stuff, but it weighs a ton…so it was all going to come out. Heatgun and wallpaper scraper in hand, set about removing it from the boot, the footwells, under and behind the seats…

After all that was out, set about getting the dash out once again. Decided to give up with the careful approach, and cut the dash where it goes around the steering column, as that was what seemed to be keeping it in the car. There wasn’t enough room to get a hacksaw in there, so I ended up using some garden shears to cut through the plastic, which worked a treat. Then bent the drivers side of the dash upwards over the steering wheel, and pulled it from the passenger side to get it out of the car completely.

Once the dash was out, you could see where it had been held in, and where it needed to be cut to get out. I think this was down to Renault riveting the dash together in every possible place when it was originally put in, but anyway, at least its out now!

When the dash is in the car, everything usually screws into it, clocks, dials, everything. To keep it drivable I ended up cable tieing the clocks into place, and just pushing the wires out of the way for now.

Eventually the loom will be stripped down, and everything thats not needed removed from it. The top dash will soon be going back on also, as it isnt really practical driving at night with nothing shading the clocks, all you can see is orange on the windscreen.

The heater matrix/blower has been left in for now, still undecided weather to remove this or not, with winter approaching it might be a slightly bad idea. The radio and all speakers have been fully removed, so the dash is looking pretty bare now.

All the sound deadening that covers the bulkhead was fully ripped out, and most of the loom cable tied round various things to keep it out of the way. It was getting late, so decided to finish sharpish so I could use the car the next day, it was still a complete mess, but everything was re-connected and it started, so it will do for now!



Day 8

As mentioned previously, I am going to be using 172 running gear on the hybrid. The coilover suspension that is going to be used is designed for a Williams, so they are a slightly different size than the 172 hub. To make the coilovers fit the 172 hubs, they needed to be machined down, as they are slightly too fat to fit inbetween the coilover strut. I dropped the 172 hubs that I had got off at a precision engineering company earlier in the week, and had 2mm taken off each side of the hub, taking it from 26mm to 22mm, the width of a Williams hub.

I went to pick the hubs up, but while I was there, they told me that the hub had to be split to stop it spinning when it was being machined. They asked me did I want the hub re-pressing there and then, but I decided to say no, so I could change the bearings while they were in pieces. I am going to take them back to be re-pressed, along with the wishbones when I recieve the bushes for those, as they need to be pressed into place also.

I could have probably got away with not replacing the hub bearings, but I thought I may aswell do it while they were apart as they will not need replacing for very long time. The hubs need cleaning up and painting ideally, along with the other pieces of the hub, as hopefully, these will never need to come apart again once re-pressed.

After having these machined, I realised the bolt holes that go through the hub are alot larger than the ones that go through Williams hubs, so the 172 hub bolts will not fit through the Williams coilovers. This means im going to have to get the holes on the coilovers machined to a slightly bigger size, to allow me to use the larger bolts that the 172 hubs need. Ive not had time to double check this yet, but im hoping there is enough ’spare’ material round the bolt holes that are on the coilovers to allow them to be machined safely, I will just have to see.

As I had got hold of another steering column to get welded, I left it at the same place that I had the hubs machined, so they could weld it for me. They set the column square, then welded all the way round, so this just needs swapping with the one currently on the car, and the steering play will be gone.



Day 9

After getting the welded steering column back yesterday, I decided to try and fit it today… Started by removing the clocks, and the bolts holding the column in place. The steering column is held on at the very bottom by a 13mm nut and bolt, which is inside a small hole through the bulkhead. It is at a very awkward angle, and after trying numerous spanners and sockets, the end of the bolt just rounded off.

Had no idea what to do, so gave Winston a call, and he came down with his tools. Tried attacking it from the engine side using a mass of socket extensions, but even sockets were just slipping on it now. Had one last try by smashing a 13mm socket onto the nut, but it wasnt wanting to come off. Ended up putting the column back into place, and the clocks back on, as we had run out of ideas on what to do.

The only way it was going to be able to be removed was an angle grinder through the lower part of the column on the cockpit side, but this can only be done when I remove the subframe to fit the widetrack, so im going to have to live with the steering play for now. When I come to remove the subframe, it simply needs grinding, then the bottom part of the colum will come off with it. Obviously then there will be more room to work on the rounded bolt, and it should be easy to fit the welded column when the subframe goes back on!

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Day 13

A nice parcel arrived for me today in the post, a BB Tuning de-cat. The good thing about this decat is it can be used on both Valver and Williams manifolds. The two parts of the de-cat can be twised to change the direction of the flange on the end. A Valver manifolds flange is vertical, whereas a Williams manifolds flange is horizontal. so this de-cat can be used on both.

Had a bit of spare time also, so decided to see if I could sort the idle issue the car was currently having. It will idle fine under normal driving, but as soon as you floor it, then come to slow down, the idle will stick at around 2k. It is easily sorted by turning the car off, then back on, which resets it… but this is becoming very annoying as im having to drive it easy everywhere.

First idea was there could be a problem with the idle control valve, so took that off. After looking inside, it seemed to be very dry, so sprayed some lubricant down the hole, then put it back onto the car. Took it for a drive, gave it a good run, but the problem was still there.

After speaking to Winston about what I had tried, he has told me to get it off again, hit it with a hammer, spray loads of carb cleaner down the hole, and see what happens. Hopefully i will be able try to get that done in the next few days…



Day 14

Set about fitting the de-cat today, on the standard exhaust, just to see what it sounded like. I had a look around at the standard exhaust first, to find the pipe leading to the backbox was squashed in half, if not more! This explains the nocking noise I was constantly getting from the rear of the car, the exhaust looked like a shoddy fit, no wonder it was hanging so low and hitting the rear beam.

After having a look at the exhaust and how it was arranged under the car, I decided to make a side exit exhaust out of the standard exhaust parts, just as something a bit different until I get round to having an exhaust made for the car. Removed everything from the car, all the way back to the manifold, then had a look to see how I could make it into a side exit…

I decided to saw the pipe attached to the backbox at the end of where it is straight, to give me a straight pipe with an enlarged section, so it would go over the center section as a sleeve. As the pipe was already squashed, I decided to leave it that way to make it into a bit of a tip, instead of it just being a big round hole.

Next, I attached the de-cat onto the center section, then the tip on the other end. After it was assembled as one piece, fitted it to the car, and made a bit of a DIY mount for it, as there arent any in the right place for a side exit really. Got everything bolted on, and took it out for a drive, loud isnt the word. It seems alright at normal driving pace, but as soon as you open it up, its stupid loud! It also likes to backfire and pop a lot, which makes for some good fun when people are around! So somehow I managed to go from fitting a de-cat to a standard exhaust, to making a side exit out of the complete standard exhaust, at least it’s a bit of fun until I get round to getting an exhaust made…



Day 15

After trying to clean the idle control valve the other day, I was told to use carb cleaner instead. I had it off again, cleaned it fully, tapped it with a hammer, then re-fitted, but the idle was still terrible after putting your foot down.

The only thing left that it could be was the speedo cable, as there is a sensor on the clock end which tells the ECU the current road speed. Winston saved the day again as he had a spare speedo cable, so I drove upto his for it, then set about fitting it as soon as I got back.

Didnt take long to fit at all, as I have no dash in, the hole it goes through is pretty accessable. Clocks off with four screws, pulled the cable out, then pulled the gearbox end out. Replaced with Winstons cable, connected up and refitted the clocks along with the top dash. Took it for a short drive, no more speedo wobble and the idle issues were gone!

A job on the list from the start was to take all the removable panels off the car, and check for/treat any rust. Got both of the wings, bonnet and bumper off, and had a good look around. There was a small bit of rust that turned into a hole after poking it with a screwdriver under the passenger headlight, which im not sure how to sort yet. The hole is quite sizable, but im not sure if it is part of the slam panel, if it is, i will replace the whole thing.

There were a few spots of surface rust around where the bumper and wing bolt on, and where the arch liners attach. After sanding these down, they were coated with some ‘KuRust’ treatment. Once that had dried, I painted on a coat of hammerite to protect all the bare metal, and hopefully prevent any more rust for quite some time. I still need to clean the arches out, and hammerite all the insides of those, but once again, ran out of light to get anything else done today!

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Day 16

After stripping the wings and bumper off to clean and treat the surface rust yesterday, then paint, I had left the parts off overnight for the paint to dry. I only managed to get the outer wings protected and painted, Ive still got to do the front/slam panel, and inside both of the arches with KuRust/Hammerite to make sure everything is protected.

Finished removing the rest of the tar/sound deadening today, cleaning the remaining glue off with thinners to get it perfectly clean. The car is completely free from tar/sound deadening now, removed from the boot, foot wells, under and behind the seats. Overall it makes the interior look a lot tidier, especially when it is all going to be painted in the near future.

I got round to sorting the dashboard today also, by cutting up the removed lower dash to allow the top dash to mount in its original place, giving a shade for the clocks, and make the top look a little bit tidier. All the original mounts have been used, and it doesnt wobble when driving, so its going to be staying like this for a while. After re-fitting the wings and bumper, I decided to go out for a drive to get a few videos of the ‘DIY Side Exit’ exhaust...

http://www.vimeo.com/1780366

Also got a short speedo video on my private runway, missed second gear though, doh!

http://www.vimeo.com/1782979



Day 17

I had been waiting for quite some time for these to arrive, and today they finally turned up. Original Williams Speedline wheels, which I think I am going to paint black. Two of the tyres are staying on, as they have plenty of tread left, the other two have already been removed as they are semi-slicks, previously used on a track day. Im going to keep them on a spare pair of wheels for use at some other time.

Im expecting two more tyres to arrive this week at some point, the same size and specification as the two that have been left on the other two wheels. I need to get one of the wheels repaired, as the edge has previously been damaged. The wheel still holds air, and isnt bent, but Id rather have the edge of the rim sorted before I start refurbishing them. More on these soon…

Day 18

Got round to designing some seat sub frames today, to fit the MK1 floorpan. Decided to design them to be as low as possible, if they end up being too low I can always use spacers to raise them up.

Now they have been designed I just need to find a place to fabricate them for me, as the place I used for the previous car is no longer in business. I have been looking around for ages to try and get hold of some Sparco Corsas, a few models up from what my other seats are.

I found someone with some Sparco Corsas for sale, unfortunatley they have blue covers, but I found out I can easily get replacement black covers direct from Sparco. I drove to Derby to collect them today…although they will probably stay out of the car for a while until I get some replacement covers. I also found a buyer for my other seats, so these have technically cost me nothing!

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Day 20

The two Goodyear Eagle F1’s that I had been waiting for arrived today, so I had them fitted to the wheels. I originally was going to get the damaged wheel repaired, and then them all powder coated, but I thought il leave it for now and just give them a DIY spray job. The damaged wheel was still holding air, and you cant hardly see it when the tyre is on, this was one of the reasons I decided to just DIY them for now.

I decided to use Plastikote instead of Hammerite to refurbish the wheels, as I wanted a non-glossy satin finish. Before painting onto them, they needed lightly sanding to remove all the stuck on bits of dirt and marks. After that, used some heavy duty tape to mask up the tyres, then sprayed straight onto the sanded wheel. The good thing about Plastikote is you do not need to primer, it can be just painted straight on.

After painting all four wheels, I decided to sand the side-repeaters and give them both a light coat of the same black paint. After lightly sanding them, painted straight on and left everything overnight to dry. Once they were dry, the wheels seemed to have come out very good for a DIY job, even the side repeaters. Pictures of the wheels fitted will be added soon!

Day 21

I have been having a few problems with the idle recently, and high fuel consumption since putting the side exit on. I dont think the problem is related, but it needed sorting. I think it was down to the car being driven hard after probably never ever being driven harshly by the previous owners, which had ended up coating the lambada sensor in soot.

I had to nip upto Renault the same day also, so I spoke to BRUN, who had a good look around the engine bay and pointed out a few things he thought could be a problem. First of all, the pipe that runs to the MAP sensor, had been bodged with a pipe that was far too thin for it to be working correctly. I got hold of some vaccum hose, and fitted that as it should be.

I also took the lambada sensor off the exhaust, cleaned it, and sprayed it with carb cleaner. While I was cleaning the lambada sensor, I had disconnected the battery in an attempt to reset the ECU, so I would have a fresh start with the new pipe and clean lambada sensor. After re-fitting the lambada sensor, and re-connecting the battery, it seemed to idle perfectly. Il have to see how the fuel consuption is when im driving it.

I also did a few other bits today including cleaning the glue left over from the tar removal, tidying up the dashboard, and removed the little lock/unlock pins that usually pop out of the top of the door. With it being stripped out these were rattling all the time, so I just unclipped them…no more rattles now!

Day 22

Went to the scrapyard today to collect some bits and bobs to allow me to re-locate the battery into the back of the car. This will give me alot more room in the engine bay when it comes to deciding what air filter setup im going to run in the future.

I then set about finding a MK4 Fiesta to get the battery box from, as I had been told this was a perfect fit for a clio battery, and had mounting holes in the bottom.

Managed to get hold of one for £5 from a local scrap yard. I then needed something to connect the positive wires that are currently in the engine bay to, didnt want to bodge it. I was told that old BMW 3 Series had the batteries in the boot, so had a special terminal under the bonnet, which was perfect for what I needed. Got one of those from a local scrap yard too, for free.

To be able to fit this, I needed some heavy duty battery cable. I bought 5 meters, and some terminals. I decided to get black cable as I didnt want it to stand out down the inside of the car. Luckily there was a blank grommet on the passenger side of the bulkhead, so drilled a hole and ran the cable through there. Then laid the cable down the side of the car, into the clips that are used by the Renault wiring, looks tidy this way.

I needed to mount the battery box itself next. I decided to put it on the passenger side, level with the wheel arch at the back, so there would be enough room for a cage when I get upto that stage. Marked out the three required holes to drill, and went through the floorpan. Then used stainless washers, bolts and nylock nuts to secure it into place.

The paint was sanded back to the bare metal under one of the bolts where the battery box was mounted, to allow a short ground cable to be connected there. After doing this, I crimped both ends of the new battery cable, put the battery into place and connected the new cable. For now ive used a simple ground cable to ground the battery in the boot, but im on the hunt for a ground cable from a year 2000> Transit Van, as the battery is under the drivers seat. They have a ground cable which is fused upto 170amp, which is more than I will ever need.

The last job was to connect everything upto the BMW terminal under the bonnet. I connected the cable from the boot onto one of the pins, and the remaining cables onto the other. Then put the covers back onto the terminal, and checked everything was safe. All that was left to do was to try and start the car, fired up first time! The battery terminal has a mounting hole so it can be attached out of the way, but for the time being it is just loose on mine. I have a position to bolt it onto, but some other cables need moving to allow this, so it has been left for now.

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Day 23

Had a few more parcels arrive today, the main one being from K-Tec which contained two sets of Powerflex bushes. I bought a 172 Wishbone bush set, as im running 172 wishbones, and a Williams ARB bush set, as im running a Williams anti roll bar. They were £110 delivered, which seemed to be the cheapest price around.

Some 172 front disks arrived also, to be used with my 172 front hubs + calipers. They are used, but were only on the previous car for 1000 miles, so theres plenty left in them yet until I decide to renew all the lines and get the brakes setup properly.

Last but not least was the ‘Coops’ Solid Dogbone mount, which replaces the standard Renault one. Usually a dogbone mount has rubbers at either end, to absorb gearbox vibrations and stop the engine from rocking backwards and forwards. Having a solid dogbone mount stiffens the gearstick up, and makes for sharp gear changes, something you would not get with a standard dogbone mount.

Day 26

I have just been waiting round the past few days for other parts to arrive, new hub bearings to be pressed and the coilovers machined. The same place that originally machined the hubs down for me were pressing the new bearings, and they were also enlarging the coilover bolt holes for me. Also, I was still missing another 172 brake line, and an O/S 172 Driveshaft.

The only option left was to drive upto Specialist Renault Breakers in Accrington and buy one, ended up getting one for £47. On my way home I called at Renault to pick up some 172 Hub Nuts + Bolts that I had ordered in. Nearly £17 for four nuts and bolts, ouch. I had put a wanted post up on ClioSport for a 172 brake line, and luckily someone local had a spare, so I nipped round to pick it up.

Last thing to do was to go and pick up the 172 Hubs and Coilovers. The coilovers are for a williams, so the holes on them for the hub bolts are smaller than the 172 ones I needed to use. After measuring them, the Williams bolts are 2mm smaller than the 172 ones, so I needed the coilovers holes enlarging by 1mm on every side, which would mean a perfect fit. Once again the engineering place got it as I wanted, the bolts fit perfectly!

I also picked up the hubs at the same time with the new bearings pressed, these will hopefully never need replacing. After getting home I mated the coilovers upto the hubs with the bolts, everything fits perfectly. The hubs had been machined to the correct width, so the coilover was a good fit, and the bolts went through as they should.

This meant everything was near enough ready to start fitting it all onto the car. When I was at Renault earlier in the day I picked up some standard 172 pads for £40, which will last me a good while. All that was left to buy was fluids, so I went to Halfords and bought 4 litres of gearbox oil, power steering fluid, brake fluid, copper grease and penetrating fluid.

The last thing to do before starting to fit everything was to get the Powerflex bushes into the 172 wishbones. Getting the old ones out was the biggest effort, having to burn the rubber, smash the center out, then hacksaw the sleeve out of the wishbone itself. After they were out, it became clear how hard it was going to be to get the Powerflex bushes into the wishbones myself. I ended up giving them to someone to use their press, which made the job easy!

It was getting late, but I decided to paint the driveshafts and wishbones with hammerite so they were protected and looked better on the car than being dirty and full of surface rust. After painting them I had gathered all the parts and tools in the garage ready to start fitting everything tommorow.

Day 27

I had all of the required parts to get the widetrack/172 running gear onto the car now, so I decided to start it this evening. I originally was going to do it on my driveway at home, but decided against it due to it going dark earlier, and how cold it was! I moved everything to my nans down the road, and got the car on stands in her garage. The garage is the tightest space ever, but I had no choice so just got on with it.

First thing was to remove the bumper and bonnet to make things easier, then to drain the fluids. Drained the gearbox oil first, then the power steering fluid. After this, I began to remove the Valver suspension components. This includes: Shocks, Hubs, Disks, Calipers and Driveshafts.

All seemed to be going well until I hit the first problem, the passenger side top mount was stupidly tight. Ended up snapping the allen key inside the top mount, after twisting it round twice, thats how tight the top mount is!

I tried getting the snapped off piece of allen key out, but it had rounded itself into the hole, so there was no chance of that coming out. After a few phone calls, Winston offered to come down tommorow with his compressor and impact gun to get the top mount off.

By this time it was nearly 10pm, so I decided to call it a night. I had removed both sets of brakes, drained all the fluids and removed both driveshafts. I could not get the track rod ends apart from the hubs, so they would have to come off with the subframe. Packed everything away into the garage, ready to carry on the next day.

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Day 28

Today the subframe had to come off, so the first job was to detach anything that was currently keeping it onto the car. First of all was the dogbone mount, then the steering column. As previously mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the steering had alot of play in it, due to a worn steering column. I had got another steering column, and had it welded, but could never fit it as the bolt holding the column onto the steering rack had rounded off.

The only thing I could do was cut the bad steering column in half and pull it out with the subframe, which wasnt a problem for the hacksaw.

There were still a few more things to do before the subframe would drop. The exhaust needed to be removed, along with the decat and manifold downpipe. With regards to the top mount that got stuck on yesterday, I just unbolted the hub from the shock, and decided to remove the subframe and leave the shock hanging until Winston could come up with his compressor and impact gun.

After double checking everything was disconnected from the subframe, I found a pipe that was still connected to the power steering rack. It was in the worst place possible, so I decided to leave it, and disconnect it after lowering the subframe down slightly.

There are only 6 bolts holding the subframe on, two at the back, two at the front, and the outer arms near the wishbones. After undoing the front two slightly, and moving onto the back ones, I hit another problem. Renault decided to be stupid and put captive nuts on the back of the bolts that hold the back of the subframe on. When I tried to undo them, they just kept spinning and spinning. I managed to smash the cage off that surrounds the nut, and wedge an adjustable spanner onto the nut, allowing me to undo the rear two bolts.

Once all the bolts were out, the subframe was only hanging on the two outer arms. After removing these whilst taking the weight of the subframe, it came off pretty easily. As you can see in the picture, the subframe has been removed with the anti roll bar, wishbones, steering rack and hubs still in place. This was because I couldnt remove the track rod ends from the hubs on the car, so I left them on thinking it should be easier to remove them when the subframe was off the car.

Next I needed to remove the cut steering column, valver wishbones and anti roll bar, which all came off pretty easily. I still could not get the hubs loose from the track rod ends, I was told I would need a ball joint splitter. Then I tried to loosen the track rod ends off and wind them out, because this would need to be done anyway once the 172 hubs were fitted due to the wider track. They moved suprisingly easy, so at least that would not be a problem when it came to refitting them.

I decided to clean up the subframe and treat the rust that is on it, and touch it up with hammerite where required, for future protection. Scrubbed all the dirt off it, and treated the rust spots with KuRust. In the meantime, Winston had been down and made light work of removing the shock/top mount that was still on the car. I need to invest in a compressor and impact gun!

After that had been treated and touched up with paint, I set about trying to remove the hubs from the track rod ends. I screwed a nut onto the end of the thread of the track rod end, put a socket over it, and proceeded to hit it with a hammer. After some time, and alot of penetrating fluid, they came out. The problem was, one of the track rod ends then ended up breaking, as when I tried to undo the nut from the thread, the spindle just kept on spinning, it had broken inside.

It was getting late once again, but I wanted to fit the wishbones and ARB before calling it a night. Applied plenty of copper grease on the wishbones, and they fitted perfectly, also attached the 172 bottom ball joints. Last was the Williams anti roll bar, which wanted to proove a pain. It was now very late, and I could not get the inner bushes into the clamps, so I left it and put everything back in the garage.

Day 29

After not being able to fit the anti roll bar bushes the previous night, I realised they were the wrong way round, how stupid! After moving them they went on relatively easy, still needed a g-clamp and some mole grips though. After that was done, I got a lift upto GSF, and bought two new track rod ends seeing as I damaged the one that was previously on when removing it.

The subframe was now ready to be refitted to the car, so I got it in the right position and slowly jacked it up halfway into position. I then connected the new welded steering column from the inside, and the power steering rack line thats a pain to get to when the subframe is in position. After that was connected, the subframe was fully lifted up, and the outer arms bolted on to take the weight.

Then the front two bolts were put in which pulled it into place. After a bit of fiddling leaning the engine forwards, the back went into position, then the bolts and nuts were put on. It was a bit fiddly now they were just normal nuts and not captive ones, but at least they wont just spin and spin when I next take the subframe off. Now the subframe was back on and bolted in, I put the solid dogbone mount on.

Next, both driveshafts were fitted, then the hubs onto them and onto the bottom ball joints. I then wound the new track rod ends on, and connected them to the hubs. I just guessed with what length to wind them out to for now, Il have a go at getting the tracking relatively correct when its on the ground.

The next job was to fit the front coilovers onto the hubs and car. I built the top mounts up on the coilovers, and left the height as it was for now. Once they were both built up, I fitted them onto the car, everything seemed to fit perfectly. The coilovers have slotted holes to allow for adjustable camber, I set both sides to the same, slightly negative to allow the wheels to miss the arches with it being alot wider track.

All that was left to do on the front now was to put the disks and calipers on, then swap the brake lines over to the 172 calipers. I was going to paint the calipers, but I never got round to it, they can be done on the car anytime so that isnt a problem for now. I had left the valver calipers connected so I didnt get brake fluid everywhere. Fitted the 172 disks, then put the pads in the calipers and bolted the caliper into place.

The last thing to do to complete the brakes was to swap the valver hose to a 172 one, so set about undoing the brake line nut. I dont know how, but I managed to round it off with the spanner, and eventually found out I should have really used a brake line spanner to get it off. I tried everything, pipe wrench, mole grips, nothing would move it. The only option left to try was to go and get a brake like spanner from halfords, just before they close, as it was nearly 6pm. Eventually got one, and tried it, but the nut was so rounded off it wouldnt move at all, just kept slipping. I tried the spanner on the passenger side, and it worked perfectly, swapped the line to the 172 one.

After swapping the passenger line, I gave up for the night as it was approaching 10pm. Before I started to tidy up, I noticed the disk was catching on the caliper as it was moving round on one side. I had no idea what was causing it, as the caliper was fully bolted on, and the disk was on with its retaining screws in. I couldnt figure it out, so I called it a night and packed everything away again.

Day 30

Another early start, and straight away figured out what the rubbing disk was. The disk wasnt seated properly on the hub, after tightening the retaining screws a bit more it was perfect. I was still stuck without a brake like on the drivers side after the nut rounding off, but I had the 172 line fitted on the passenger side.

I decided the only way around it for now was to run the valver brake line on the drivers side, with the 172 caliper. The only way around it now was to go to a scrap yard and take a like off another clio, then grind the one thats rounded off to remove it from the car. I got a lift upto the scrap yard, to find it was closed, so it was definately going to have to be run with the valver line for now. Luckily the sizes and fitment of hose are the same, just the valvers length is a bit too short, so I am going to have to avoid full lock until I can sort it out.

Now all the brakes were connected, I bled them with fresh fluid to get all the air out of the system. The passenger side had loads of air come out, and the drivers side virtually nothing, but everything seems fine. Next connected up the last power steering hose, and filled the power steering up with fresh fluid. I had some engine oil left over from a previous change, so I topped that up while I was doing the rest.

The last thing was to refill the gearbox with oil. Only Renault would be so stupid to put a plastic plug on the front of the box for the filler, and not a metal one. The plastic snapped as i was turning it, but I luckily managed to get it out. Got some hosepipe and a funnel, and filled the gearbox with 4 litres, then put the plug back in.

All the fluids were back in, and then realised I still need to refit the exhaust. When I came to refit the manifold downpipe, it would not fit past the drivers side driveshaft, so I had to take it all apart again to get the driveshaft off, then put the manifold downpipe on. Once the manifold downpipe was on, I rebuild the drivers side back up, and refitted the exhaust. Last thing to do was to bolt the wheels on, then take it off the axle stands.

First impressions were, my god its wide! I had wound the coilovers down a tiny bit, which was a stupid mistake, as the wheels were too far in the arches for the car to move. So I had to jack each side up, and raise them back up to what they originally were out of the box. This sorted it and I rolled it out of the garage.

Now the front was sorted, I just needed to swap the rear shocks to the ones from the coilover kit, and lower the torsion bar. I had read many horror stories about torsion bars being a right pain to get out of the rear axle, but mine seemed to come out easy. I jacked it up and put the car on stands, then screwed an M10 bolt into the end of the torsion bar, with a nut and a socket. Then wound the nut to pull the torsion bar out, which worked perfectly.

Before refitting the torsion bar, the rear shocks needed to be swapped. The bottom bolts came out fine, but as mentioned loads of times before, Renault had to be stupid and put a nut on the back of the top bolt, rather than a thread in the chassis. This meant when I tried to undo the bolts, they just spun and spun. After alot of messing around, I eventually got a spanner wedged onto the nut, and got the bolt out.

After doing the drivers side, moved onto the passenger side. Used the same method, but once the shock was off the car, the bolt was stuck in the hole on the shock. After putting the nut back onto the end of the bolt, and using a socket and hammer, the threads ended up getting damaged. I didnt have any spare bolts, so thought that was it, and I wouldnt be able to fit the shock tonight. But, luckily it was only the last two threads on the bolt that were damaged. I used the hacksaw and cut the end off the bolt, and the nut threaded perfectly onto the end once again, thank god!

Got the passenger side shock fitted, then used the jack to move the rear hubs up to the height that I wanted the rear to be set at. After I was happy with the height, I put copper grease on the torsion bars, and put them back into place. The copper grease will allow for easy removal if I want to change the height at any point in the future.

So nearly 50 hours, in four days, the car was widetracked on 172 running gear and coilovers. The tracking was slightly out, but it was nearly 9pm and pitch black, so I quickly refitted the bumper and bonnet, then drove the car home.

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Day 31

Decided to take a trip upto the garage this morning, to get the car tracked, seeing as everything seemed to be running fine. Got the car up on the ramps, and ended up finding out that the track rod ends would not wind out far enough for it to be tracked correctly. Usually when you do a Williams wide track, the valver steering rack should allow the track rod ends to be wound out far enough, but for some reason mine wont.

Im not sure if it is something to do with me running 172 hubs, but the only way to sort it really is fit a Williams steering rack with the longer track rod arms. Maybe the part where the track rod end joins onto the hub on a 172 is further out than a Williams one, but im certain that a Williams steering rack will sort it.

I adjusted the track rod ends myself, and the tracking is ok for now, not too far out. It will last me until I can get hold of a Williams steering rack, and after fitting that I will have it properly tracked. On my way back, I called off for a few pictures of the car now its got the widetrack and coilovers fitted.

And the current spec...

Car

1996 Registered Shell
Xeros Grey

Suspension

172 Hubs (Machined down to Williams Hub Width)
172 Wishbones with Powerflex Bushes
172 Driveshafts
172 Hub Bolts + Nuts
FK Highsport Coilovers (Williams Fitment, Bolt Holes Enlarged To Take 172 Hub Bolts)
Williams Anti Roll Bar with Powerflex Bushes
Welded Steering Column (To Avoid Common Steering Play)

Brakes

172 Front Calipers
Standard 172 Disks + Pads
Williams Hoses

Wheels

Williams Wheels - Refurbished in Black
2 x Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3’s (195/50/15)
2 x Toyo T1-S (195/50/15)

Exhaust

Custom Side Exit
BB-Tuning Decat

Interior

Fully Stripped - Only Front Seats Remain
All Carpets + Sound Deadening Removed
Bottom Dash Removed, Custom Mounts Made To Hold Top Dash
Battery Relocated Into Boot



More updates coming soon!

 

[Marky_]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Wow! Will read later :rasp:

 

[Naith]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

damnnn i was all ready for bed then, another project of urs keepin me up late!

<3

 

[Ollie82.]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Epic...good work Jord.

 

[Gray]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Immense man... should be a minter when done!

 

[drunknmunky]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

its awesome dude!! Prob come round tomoz and see it!!

 

[Naith]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

what a read i wanna see it asap, it looks so mean.

shud b proud of urself matey, not even finished yet!!!

 

[Alexander]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

this was worth the wait, awesome read and great looking car, already!

 

[Savi]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

looking that the pics...VERY NICE! will also read it another time lol

 

[Ian]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Jeez Jord, gonna have to come back to this in the morning (note to self: Day 29, lol). Knew you'd been busy, but had no idea just how busy! Will have to have a proper look at the car sometime if you don't mind mate!

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

yeah sure!

 

[Dangermike]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

i just read the whole thing.. took me an hour..
awesome read!!!!

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Another quick video i forgot to add. Bullet camera on the side of the car, flames :approve:

http://www.vimeo.com/1821721

 

[geesus69]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

looking good

can't beat a mk1 project

any clues as to what engine is going in?

and it looks like you had a lot of the same problems i had, rounded off brake unions, track rod ends (mine were too long though), suspension top mounts, all the joys of owning a mk1 clio

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

indeed, its engines nothing special really, i just wanted to go a bit custom with the running gear and a few other things......more coming soon

 

[Adams_16v]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Sweet thread mate will keep an eye on it.

Your car reminds me of something though!!

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=355318

lol!

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

yeah, i know lol!! i acctually saw the car you bought when it was originally for sale, and left it because I was looking for a black one, but then came across this, lol

I had starting doing this then saw your thread lol, and thought, oh well.....i might change it a bit soon though

 

[Adams_16v]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

nah man you have good taste, thats all that needs to be said!

 

[Christopher]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Mint

Good work as always, i'll probably come over at the weekend

Get the seats in!

 

[Limca]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

f**k me that was a good read up. well done jord.

 

[StevenMc29]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

i love these threads

 

[Kneel]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

about time the thread came mate, bored of reading your website lol! Bring valver round soon let me see it properly!

 

[B5 BDJ]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

its about time jord!! car looks nice, definitaly going to keep my eye on this thread.
just read it all and my eyes are killing! car sound good. love the flames

 

[Pettsi]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

Looks good mate. Will keep an eye on this thread!

 

[JCC]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

I'd love to have the knowledge/time/money to do all that. Great write up! Loving the flames!

 

[Mark One]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

NICE! love the project jord. cool cool car and a top effort too.

 

[Jon.L]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

cars looking good mate. what do you actually do!? you seem to have far too much time on your hands!

 

[JD]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

nice jords, been wondering what you have been faffing with recently!!

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

cars looking good mate. what do you actually do!? you seem to have far too much time on your hands!

student LOL

 

[Pick]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

in the vid is your fuel guage working, it says empty, lol, nice car tho deffo doing your self proud

 

[Jon.L]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

cars looking good mate. what do you actually do!? you seem to have far too much time on your hands!

student LOL

sounds bout right mate! my student days ended nearly 2 years ago i miss the bumbing around days off and lie ins! any big plans with this then?

 

[f0xy]

Re: Mk1 Hybrid Project

in the vid is your fuel guage working, it says empty, lol, nice car tho deffo doing your self proud

yeah its working, light had just come on :approve:

student LOL

sounds bout right mate! my student days ended nearly 2 years ago i miss the bumbing around days off and lie ins! any big plans with this then?

well the 'hybrid' element hasnt been done yet, as its still a standard valver engine, that will change soon.

got alot more waiting to go on, and loads more ideas....so will just have to see what direction it takes