MK1 Valver Resto Project

[JonniP]

Been thinking if this is a good idea or not... hopefully i can keep updating it!
so currently own a 1.4RT thanks mainly to my dad its a very reliable car its very tidy too, had it re-sprayed a year back..anyway saw this valver for cheap and decided to do the mad thing...buy it and give the old one to my little bro.

collected it last night...on pulling up realised the mammoth task ahead in-terms of body work..surface rust..its rainbow blue...its messed up!

tried to start...doh no battery power no worries power started it and off we went to the petrol station. filled it up checked levels and tyre pressures and set off on the 50 mile trrip home...

never been so demotivated in my life! suddenly realised there was ALOT of work infront of me lol.
so plan is to get it running as it should and get all the interior bits functioning.
so whats to do? so far...

Charge battery
Service
Fix oil pressure guage n/w
Fix heater controls all out of position?
Fix heater blower not working
Fix engine fan on with ignition
Fix Dash computer (doesnt come on at all)
replace all interior bulbs
Stop sunroof leak
Change tyres
Fix suspension (most uncomfortable drive ever)

so if anyone has any input or valuable wisdom please share it!
hopefully will be bringing this old valver back from the brink of death lol!

 

[dunlop]

sunroof is almost impossible to stop leaking lol.

heater blower will usually be the wiring by the blower itself.

the display is a temperature display and thats it. the bulb's have probably blown on it.

 

[JonniP]

oh dear! what do people do about the sunroof then? my existing clio doesnt
just got all the service bits (brakes on order tho ) going to give it a try now.
i want your airbox price dependent PM me

 

[couzens]

sounds like ahuge task, should be an interesting read once started, wack sum pics up!

 

[Spongebob 172]

first stop would be to get the dash out and sort all the wiring out..you would probably need to do this anyhow to sort out the dash computer..its a fairly straight foward job to do...as for the sunroof,its a pain in the arse to do its sounds like it could either be a perished rubber surround or the runjners could be out of line

 

[Stryker]

i have a valver replica for sale, could take the engine out of that and put it in mine lol

 

[Mark One]

oh dear! what do people do about the sunroof then? my existing clio doesnt
just got all the service bits (brakes on order tho ) going to give it a try now.
i want your airbox price dependent PM me

see williamsclio.co.uk guides for the sunroof. It is a mission. as good as the WHOLE interior out and roof lining

 

[16v_paddy]

Try replacing the ariel 1st is it a ph1 or 2?

Mine leaked loads, turns out it was the seal on the base of the ariel was fcuked. £12 from renault

If yours is a ph1 with the square ariel base then it probably is the sunroof thats leaking

If your blower is deffo knackered I've got a spare you can have

Have a look at www.clio16valver.co.uk, should be some guides there as well

Good luck with it m8

 

[JonniP]

right...long day but productive...went to GSF and got/ordered service bits got home and did the easiest job...spark plugs!

next thought id have a crack at swapping the thermostat...i noticed on the drive home it was showing the temp as being really low. like a d1ck i forgot that i should empty the water first....woooooooooooooosh all over the garage floor lol and the stupid car is too low to put anything under it!! had to quickly push it out the door. then realised id been given the wrong stat! sooo annoying.
then decided to get a crack on with the interior.

Gave it a good hover out - visual assessment the interior is in pretty good nick, no big scratches on the dash etc. it wasn't good that 90% of the bulbs were gone

got to work on the heater controls, got the plate off and found whoever had taken them out last just didn't apply their brain when they put em back in. fixed that and changed the bulbs.
the Hazard light had blown so i set about replacing the bulb then i realised you cant! so its a new one from reno? unless someone knows better. had a spare so that was ok.
happy with the controls i moved on to taking out the top of the dash to sort out all the bulbs..eventually got it out the speedo cable had no slack on it but managed to get it all out...changed over all the bulbs and tested and yep all working the external temp was just the bulbs not working. while i was taking the top off i noticed someone had put a woodscrew through the side...turns out the alarm installer put the brain in the vent and the screw is holding it in...

next little job was to wire up an ISO block as someone had just chopped off all the existing wires didnt have a stereo to test with but im sure i got all the wires right so its all soldered and dressed in with loom tape. Noticed that the last IDIOT (im allowed to call them that!) had managed to rip out the terminal on the antenna cable im thinking ill have to crimp a new end on..ill look for them later but if anyone knows where to get them from let me know!

next little job was to see why the interior lights arent working..simple the panel is all corroded and theirs no continuity so i need a new one..while i was testing i discovered that the alarm installer had taken the feed off the interior light fuse.

time to look in the engine bay...i dont know WTF went on there but someone had been playing around..
i noticed last night the fan comes on as soon as the ignition is on...i saw the problem..there was 3 core flex from the fan to the battery and coil pack (is that the other end of the HT lead from the D.Cap?) whoever done it had just stripped the wire and wrapped them together and put tape round it...ultimate bodge...then they taped the entire loom with the stuff...eventually got it all off and extracted the bodge. plugged the fan into the connector block it SHOULD connect to and tested it but taking the end off the rad and bridging the terminals..fan came on...im going to make a good guess the car was overheating due to the thermostat reading so cold, i hope no damage was done to the car...

doesnt seem like much but everything took a bit of time...like the bulb holders were so peculiar i had to swap the bulbs and that wasnt a straight forward thing!
anyway im happy with the interior now when i put the car back on the drive it was dark and having all the bulbs on and working made such a difference.

 

[16v_paddy]

If you do need a new antennae cable, it comes as part of the kit from renault, new ariel, new base with rubber seal and the long grey cable - I got all that for £12

Sounds like you've made some good progress though :approve: keep up the good work & get some pics up

 

[JonniP]

My dad popped in just as i was packing up and checked the car over (he's the expert ) said it seems nice and straight. the front has willy wings and a rt bumper so i think its had a prang but looking underneath it all seems fine...wierd.
the paint is appalling i have never seen anything so bad all the laquer is peeling off. so dad said we will have to get a full re-spray when its done.

now it has willy wings...i want willy widetrack lol...ill need to change the shocks so im thinking about it..so if anyone is selling the bits give me a price also needing some recommendations for coilies...might as well do it one time and done with it.can i use valver coiles on the willy widetrack?

what i really need is someone who has a valver or has had a cpl and knows their stuff to come over and give me some pointers :hint:

ok thanks for reading ill get somes pics up soon

 

[JonniP]

If you do need a new antennae cable, it comes as part of the kit from renault, new ariel, new base with rubber seal and the long grey cable - I got all that for £12

Sounds like you've made some good progress though :approve: keep up the good work & get some pics up

sweet! thanks

 

[16v_paddy]

The valver and williams wings are exactly the same

If you're going for the widetrack you need the willy wishbones, ARB and driveshafts as well as the right shocks

You can fit the valver coilies to the widetrack, but it fcuks the camber up, best off with the williams ones

Have a look on www.williamsclio.co.uk and www.clio16valver.co.uk , Mk1 bits are pretty sparse on here :dapprove: I also know a lad who's got 2 williams he's breaking, shedloads of others on those forums have got plenty of valver bits for sale, including me

 

[Eliganza]

would just like to point out, i haven't done anything to that car so i can't be blamed for any bodging! id like to see it fully restored, i always planned to revert it back to standard but im sure you'll have more success

 

[16v_paddy]

There's a guy on williamsclio selling the complete widetrack
http://www.williamsclio.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33146

 

[Mark One]

If you're going for the widetrack you need the willy wishbones, ARB and driveshafts as well as the right shocks

You can fit the valver coilies to the widetrack, but it fcuks the camber up, best off with the williams ones

valver shocks on willy track provide about 3 deg of negative camber. Serious fun times. big spending on tyres.

 

[cat171]

This thread needs pics tbh.

 

[JonniP]

sorrrryy! i have some pics of how bad the car looks on the iphone trying to sort that out now.
project got some good news today...i got a payrise!
lol
now just need to hope wifey to be doesnt find more ways to spend money on a wedding

 

[JonniP]

My new old (very poorly) baby...


Why is there so much stuff missing lol...


OTT on the sealant TBH and it still leaks!


Gash Spoiler


the spoiler was attatched with woodscrews and no thought was put into the process end result it the bootlid is pretty rotten so after another one.

been offered a willy widetrack for £150 has wishbones, driveshafts, shocks, springs, arb.. no subframe or track rods. can someone please advise me? not 100% on what i need. i paid mny subs on friday or saturday for clio16valver and still waiting for access to guide

 

[Mark One]

willy subframe is stiffer, but heavier. The general feeling amoungst MK1 owners seems to be "do not want" lol
That widetrack deal is fair, you may be able to use your original track rod ends if you can free them up.
you don't need a guide tbh. It's an easy job apart from free-ing up the bolts.

 

[JonniP]

hmm so slightly better handling with the silly subframe im guessing? ill get a poly bush set as well. the existing struts and springs are messed up...too low and too harsh so needed to change em anyway. The springs the guy is selling are 5 months old.
later ill get some coilies

 

[JonniP]

lol silly = willy

 

[Mark One]

I've never driven both. I'd guess winston probably has. The subframe does seem to be the only bit of the willy no1 really wants though (correct me if i'm wrong). Think people are just dissapointed with the added weight and minimal handling advantages.
One of these was going on williams clio pretty cheap, the guy ended up throwing it in a skip as he needed the room! i think that says it all.

 

[JonniP]

lol! anyother opinions? (no offence mark1 really appreciate the advice)
just looking at polybush's on DTweeks
does this sound right:
x4 front lower wishbone mounts
x2 ARB inner mount
x2 ARB outer mount
£300 exc vat?

cheers again

 

[JonniP]

hmm demon tweeks is misleading or their text isnt very clear
http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=2207
this is what i want right? for the willy widetrack conversion

 

[Mark One]

yeah the Ktec one is right. and the opinions are not mine, just the impression I get from others who have experienced both setups.
Personally, i've got my widetrack ready to fit (with polybushes), but I won't bother with a willy subframe.

 

[JonniP]

cool thanks marky its looking like i will be leaving the subframe. the other advantage is i can fit it all in my clio!

are you using the willy trackrods?

 

[Sym0n]

lol! anyother opinions? (no offence mark1 really appreciate the advice)
just looking at polybush's on DTweeks
does this sound right:
x4 front lower wishbone mounts
x2 ARB inner mount
x2 ARB outer mount
£300 exc vat?

cheers again

Not sure how you've got to £300 exc VAT, K-Tec sell a full kit for the Williams setup, wishbone and ARB, for £101.05 inc VAT lol.

It's at the bottom of the page you linked too.

 

[AlexG]

Sounds cool what your doing mate. where in Croydon are you?

 

[16v_paddy]

I was going to say it but MarkOne beat me to it & covered it all lol

Keep at it m8, looks in ok nick from the pics, but I know they can't show it all mine was a bit of a nail when I bought it as well

I've got a ph2 rear wiper arm & motor if you need it unless you want to keep it all ph1 :S

Nice 1 on the pay rise I should get mine in January :rasp:

 

[JonniP]

when u go to dtweeks they say £60 for wishbone bush then it says 4 required then it says each when i read it it looked like 4 bushes needed at 60 quid each!
yeah i figured it was the k-tec one £101 all in cheers fella

spoke to winston on MSN last night and got a lot of good info like make sure i get the 4 arb mounts, nuts and bolts!

he confirmed what MarkOne said, i think what i will do is buy a valver subframe that way i can get everything treated and painted in advance.

Ill order some new willy track rods as this one doesnt have any, i know i can use the valver ones not sure how easy they are to replace at a later date? if someone could tell me. i dont know as i havent done it yet.

also going to try and replace the rack as winston recons its slightly faster and slightly wider, if your going to do it do it properly!

 

[JonniP]

Sounds cool what your doing mate. where in Croydon are you?

just off green lane fella

 

[JonniP]

I was going to say it but MarkOne beat me to it & covered it all lol

Keep at it m8, looks in ok nick from the pics, but I know they can't show it all mine was a bit of a nail when I bought it as well

I've got a ph2 rear wiper arm & motor if you need it unless you want to keep it all ph1 :S

Nice 1 on the pay rise I should get mine in January :rasp:

interested...but maybe not right now need to concentrate on getting the mechanics's sorted i do need a rear washer jet though..

cheers on the congrats was a total surprise, not a bad rise!

 

[JonniP]

Not sure how you've got to £300 exc VAT, K-Tec sell a full kit for the Williams setup, wishbone and ARB, for £101.05 inc VAT lol.

It's at the bottom of the page you linked too.

hehe as i said its demon tweeks descriptions are right confusing! i could have been selling polybush kits lol

 

[JonniP]

just ordered polybush set, another stat (was given wrong one) and a low temp fan switch - decided that if the fan switch is faulty i want it there to fix it straight away!

whats more comfy H&R or FK? car will be for road use..i just want camber coz its cool wont be dropping more than 35mm i live in london!
i know they sell camber bolts but thats not the same!

can someone please send me some pics of their engine bay? i need lots! basically mine is a mess. just want to see how it should look.

thanks as always

 

[Mark One]

Have a look at your track rod ends and try to release one. You may be lucky but they are normally rust welded on and require some pretty extreme measures to remove them. worst case you could need a new rack

 

[Winston]

I would go standard Williams suspension for road use

 

[GarethM]

sounds like you have a lot of work ahead of you

good luck fella

 

[BigGrsi]

i know this a bit late now, but maybe other mk1 users may be able to benefit from it. I know that in a lot of cases people say the whole sunroof needs removing and sealing to fix the sunroof leak, but that really isnt the case. From my experience all i did was remove the interior light, and then removed the aerial (one bolt-very easy). i cleaned the bottom of the aerial, the roof where the aerial mounts and the mounting bolt. Next i put sealent on the roof (not too much), then on the base of the aerial. Next you need to get someone to hold the aerial whilst seal the underside, before tightening the bolt back up! Tighten up the bolt, wipe away the excess and jobs a good un!
Oh btw, use proper plumbers (water resistant) sealent as i have heard of some so called 'enthusiasts' using all manner of cheap s**t!
Hope this helps some!

 

[JonniP]

thanks bigrsi a few people has also said that. the problem i have is that the previous owner but mastik all over the sunroof already! ill try and clean it out and do the arial fix.

maybe today...im just heading out to have a look at why the heater blower isnt working. have to rush though work later.