Hello everyone,
I recently purchased a lovely 172 Cup from Chris on here (original build thread below):
https://www.cliosport.net/threads/i-bought-a-172-cup.813726/page-5#post-11639488
I've owned loads of French cars in the past, and started off in a Saxo over 10 years ago. My builds have ranged from mild modifications to full race engine equipped 106 Rallyes so have plenty of experience when it comes to working on them (some of you may have seen this online, circa 200Bhp Bodies etc.) Since then things have changed, and I now have a Megane Trophy R as my main toy. I'd fallen in love with the Mk 3 Megane after owning a Clio 200 then a Megane Trophy, simply great cars (that accolade also includes the Clio 200).
Having driven a 172 Cup many years ago and instantly enjoying it, i've been after a nice one for some time. Sadly most of them that are available for sale nowadays are absolutely buggered and / or unsympathetically 'modified' by their owners, so naturally I jumped at the chance to snap up the one Chris had as soon as it became available. I had been looking at 182 Trophy's but the cost increase to what is essentially the same car seemed nonsensical, and generally I think their value is heavily inflated at present (£8K plus for a 15 year old Clio) *head scratch*
So, I called Chris and arranged to come and collect the car. It was a bit of a savage journey but eventually arrived following a 4 hour train journey from Somerset, across London, then back out to Stansted! By the time I got there it was dark so couldn't really see a lot, but I had spoken to Chris and read his build thread and it looked good to me overall.
I drove it back mostly without drama, other than a few curious noises (always stressful buying a new car as you never know quite what you're in for, or whether it is actually a 'good one'!) After a few miles I noticed some noise from the rear end which I attributed to the exhaust resonating on the heat shield (I've had all these exact same issues with numerous French hatches over the years so know the noises and what the cause of them generally is). There was also a slight knock which I couldn't tell if it was the spare wheel in the boot or something else. Anyway, I drove it to work yesterday and had a nose under it at lunch as the curious noise was really irritating me. I haven't had the time to 'get into it' properly yet, so a brief inspection was all that could be done.
Upon inspection I discovered the knocking sound was a result of the rear damper bolt having worked itself fully loose (it was almost hanging out, which could have been devastating if it had fallen out on the M4 at the speed of circa 70Mph which I was travelling at shortly before!!!) Not great.
Anyway this was a simple fix and I nipped it up by hand then used a spanner from one of our Engineers to tighten up properly. I was pretty unhappy at this point because I have to wear smart attire to work so this was the last thing I wanted to be doing. A simple mistake on Chris's part I suppose, and upon discussing he assured me that all bolts had been properly torqued. It goes to show that you should always double check your work especially on key areas such as the suspension. That aside, I got it home last night and set about getting stuck into the other jobs.
Mostly it's a good clean car, fresh bodywork, good wheels and suspension, it drives very well and has plenty of pull through the gears. It's a lot of fun to drive and the steering is tight. I also love how it looks, the lines are simple and it's a classic little machine. For a 15 year old car it's in very good shape and has been restored nicely to the OEM finish. My plans are retain this ethos as they are becoming increasingly rare, and are likely to only increase further in value due to their somewhat iconic status.
In it's current guise it is not quite up to my standard in terms of finish so there will be further cleaning and correcting of questionable workmanship (i.e. the exhaust, as if this was tested after fitment it would have been apparent that further adjustment was needed to prevent resonance - not the fault of Chris as I understand this was done by others). However, I have also found several other bolts missing where 'work' has been done so I was getting perplexed and annoyed finding these things (i.e. missing bolts on inlet manifold where it was possibly removed to be painted, however in the build thread the bolts are all there so I'm confused to how these were not in place). That aside, I will get all these bits sorted and the base car I have to work with is a good one.
I started last night with some preliminary cleaning of steering wheel, dash, floor mats and underneath them, rear parcel shelf, boot space, inside all rubber seals etc. There was a lot of dust and dirt and general grubbiness to be addressed, but I suppose most peoples idea of 'clean' is not quite the same as my OCD level so this is to be expected ?
Overall I'm happy with the car and I am confident further improvements can be made.
The other issue I currently have is the alarm keeps going off which is driving me mad so I need to sort this out ASAP. Chris did mention this to me that it had gone off a few times on him so I suspect the bonnet switch will need replacing (any tips as to where this can be sourced would be appreciated).
First jobs were as mentioned above, plus securing the spare Turini in place with a spare Renault Sport ratchet strap from my Trophy R, pics to follow.
I recently purchased a lovely 172 Cup from Chris on here (original build thread below):
https://www.cliosport.net/threads/i-bought-a-172-cup.813726/page-5#post-11639488
I've owned loads of French cars in the past, and started off in a Saxo over 10 years ago. My builds have ranged from mild modifications to full race engine equipped 106 Rallyes so have plenty of experience when it comes to working on them (some of you may have seen this online, circa 200Bhp Bodies etc.) Since then things have changed, and I now have a Megane Trophy R as my main toy. I'd fallen in love with the Mk 3 Megane after owning a Clio 200 then a Megane Trophy, simply great cars (that accolade also includes the Clio 200).
Having driven a 172 Cup many years ago and instantly enjoying it, i've been after a nice one for some time. Sadly most of them that are available for sale nowadays are absolutely buggered and / or unsympathetically 'modified' by their owners, so naturally I jumped at the chance to snap up the one Chris had as soon as it became available. I had been looking at 182 Trophy's but the cost increase to what is essentially the same car seemed nonsensical, and generally I think their value is heavily inflated at present (£8K plus for a 15 year old Clio) *head scratch*
So, I called Chris and arranged to come and collect the car. It was a bit of a savage journey but eventually arrived following a 4 hour train journey from Somerset, across London, then back out to Stansted! By the time I got there it was dark so couldn't really see a lot, but I had spoken to Chris and read his build thread and it looked good to me overall.
I drove it back mostly without drama, other than a few curious noises (always stressful buying a new car as you never know quite what you're in for, or whether it is actually a 'good one'!) After a few miles I noticed some noise from the rear end which I attributed to the exhaust resonating on the heat shield (I've had all these exact same issues with numerous French hatches over the years so know the noises and what the cause of them generally is). There was also a slight knock which I couldn't tell if it was the spare wheel in the boot or something else. Anyway, I drove it to work yesterday and had a nose under it at lunch as the curious noise was really irritating me. I haven't had the time to 'get into it' properly yet, so a brief inspection was all that could be done.
Upon inspection I discovered the knocking sound was a result of the rear damper bolt having worked itself fully loose (it was almost hanging out, which could have been devastating if it had fallen out on the M4 at the speed of circa 70Mph which I was travelling at shortly before!!!) Not great.
Anyway this was a simple fix and I nipped it up by hand then used a spanner from one of our Engineers to tighten up properly. I was pretty unhappy at this point because I have to wear smart attire to work so this was the last thing I wanted to be doing. A simple mistake on Chris's part I suppose, and upon discussing he assured me that all bolts had been properly torqued. It goes to show that you should always double check your work especially on key areas such as the suspension. That aside, I got it home last night and set about getting stuck into the other jobs.
Mostly it's a good clean car, fresh bodywork, good wheels and suspension, it drives very well and has plenty of pull through the gears. It's a lot of fun to drive and the steering is tight. I also love how it looks, the lines are simple and it's a classic little machine. For a 15 year old car it's in very good shape and has been restored nicely to the OEM finish. My plans are retain this ethos as they are becoming increasingly rare, and are likely to only increase further in value due to their somewhat iconic status.
In it's current guise it is not quite up to my standard in terms of finish so there will be further cleaning and correcting of questionable workmanship (i.e. the exhaust, as if this was tested after fitment it would have been apparent that further adjustment was needed to prevent resonance - not the fault of Chris as I understand this was done by others). However, I have also found several other bolts missing where 'work' has been done so I was getting perplexed and annoyed finding these things (i.e. missing bolts on inlet manifold where it was possibly removed to be painted, however in the build thread the bolts are all there so I'm confused to how these were not in place). That aside, I will get all these bits sorted and the base car I have to work with is a good one.
I started last night with some preliminary cleaning of steering wheel, dash, floor mats and underneath them, rear parcel shelf, boot space, inside all rubber seals etc. There was a lot of dust and dirt and general grubbiness to be addressed, but I suppose most peoples idea of 'clean' is not quite the same as my OCD level so this is to be expected ?
Overall I'm happy with the car and I am confident further improvements can be made.
The other issue I currently have is the alarm keeps going off which is driving me mad so I need to sort this out ASAP. Chris did mention this to me that it had gone off a few times on him so I suspect the bonnet switch will need replacing (any tips as to where this can be sourced would be appreciated).
First jobs were as mentioned above, plus securing the spare Turini in place with a spare Renault Sport ratchet strap from my Trophy R, pics to follow.
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