My Red Clio 1.2 Grande RN

[Connor3103]

Hey everyone,

I've been a member on here for 'bout a week now, and thought I would post up some pics of my new car. I turned 17 in March and passed my test last month (second time lucky), and have got my hands on a 1999 Mk2 Ph1. I'm planning a number of mods but am a little strapped for cash at the moment, and I hope you'll understand that changes will therefore be gradual as opposed to drastic to start off with. I'll apologise in advance for the poor quality of the pics, and before anyone brings it up, I've just ordered a brand new rear wiper as it's looking pretty crap atm.

Personally I think she's a great starting point, and although I'm not going for a "chavtastic" look, I think my fun will be restricted to driving, women, nights in and house parties as opposed to expensive nights out as I'm expecting to spend a bit of cash lol! Not sure whether to get a set of OZ F1 alloys, refurbish some second hand Dynamique/172's or go for something a little different like the ones here. Really liking the idea of a black and red colour scheme at the moment, as with a planned clean up of my black trim it shouldn't need much work. Anyways, my planned mods include...

• PH2 rear lights
• Clear side repeaters
• PH2 rear bumper
• Clean the trim
• Consider colour coding
• Chrome surround 3d carbon number plates
• 40mm lowering springs
• New CD/iPod head unit
• Alloys (possibly refurbish and paint black)
• K-tec induction kit
• Small back box
• Renault Sport half leather interior
• Car mats (LOL)

Pictures

If anyone else has any other ideas which they'd like to contribute, then please feel free to suggest them as I don't mind admitting I'm a complete noob. My car is registered as a Grande RN, but I thought they came with electric windows as standard? A little annoying but she's clean anyway. Bought for £750 with almost 90,000 on the clock, and is going in for a full service, new cambelt and MOT next week. I'm expecting it to fail, as there were 10 minor advisory warnings issued last year. Shouldn't need anything major though - fingers crossed anyway!

Connor

 

[Dm_26]

Nice wee car that.

Mods sound good but don't get chrome number plate surrounds. Will just look gay.

Other things to look for are

• Dual Optic Sport Headlights
• Bosch Aerotwin wipers
• Dynamique/Sport rear spoiler
• OZ F1 alloys
• Lose the mudflaps

Induction kit will not do much in the way of performance, will just increase the noise slightly

 

[Connor3103]

Wasn't sure about the chrome surrounds to be honest, my Dad has them on his Jag and they look pretty cool. Guess I am driving a Clio at the end of the day though lol, don't want to make it look like something it's not so will probably ditch that idea.

Are the dual optic headlights the ones with silver vision bulbs or do I have to buy them separately? Will think about the spoiler and siding towards getting some OZ F1's and painting them graphite grey.

With regards to the mudflaps, was going to take them off yesterday but am currently moving house and left my toolkit in a friends' garage. It only has one rear mudflap so looks even s**ttier than usual, and am going to take them off tomorrow.

The car seems to have these weird looking hex key type screws securing everything together, any idea if it's a special toolkit? My Dad says he has something to do the job so I'm hoping I won't have to buy some Renault attachment or something...

Cheers for the advice anyway mate. Anyone got any ideas if the cambelt will probably have been done? There's nothing to suggest so in the service history but it's going in to the garage next week and I don't want to risk snapping the thing!

 

[Dm_26]

Chrome surrounds don't really work on Clio's because of the indent in the bootlid, plates sit in nicely as standard, best just to get fresh standard plates made up, always makes it look better.

Dual Optic headlights are the same as these ones in the picture. Come off the sport models although you will need to fiddle with the wiring but there is a guide in the guide section for this. Silvervisions are just Silver coated indicator bulbs that flash orange. I personally prefer the "Diadem" bulbs which are blue but flash orange.

Also the wheels in the pic are from a phase 2 172 iirc

With regards to the "weird screws" they are just hex screws, any good screwdriver set should have hex adapters, nothing special. You will find alot of the screws on the car are all hex fitment.

I would get the cambelt and aux belt done asap even if it has been done before. Belts are due at 72k or 5 years so yours should have been done at least twice now. I failed to get mine done in my old car and it snapped and caused me all sorts of bother and cost me a fortune to put right, so my advice is get it done regardless

 

[gunner3011]

looks like a good little car to work with mate! ive just bought a ph1 recently and same position as you! 17, not long passed low on cash etc! but there are plenty of good little mods to do that are free or cost very little haha.

- ph2 rear lights are a must
- dual optics at some stage
- id lower it more than 40mm as mines down 60mm and theres still some arch gap!
- maybe de-wiper if you like the look of that?
- try and get your hands on a dynamique boot spoiler and colour code it?

dont get the chrome surrounds though! looks very cheap IMO, keep it looking clean with subtle mods is the may to go ( my opinion of course ) but there is plenty of inspiration on the site!

 

[Rob]

To give you an idea mate, this was how mine started out:





After quite some mods, which are detailed in my thread, Here







Oh and just some more information, as you're new and all.. lol

This whole car was done a serious budget, during its time with me I was always a student.

It had the following modifications by the time I was done:

Ph1 Dual optic headlights
Fog lights added and hard wired in
Ph2 172 alloy wheels resprayed by me in dark silver/light grey
Ph2 non sport rear bumper
Ph1 sport/ph2 "dynamique" spoiler colour coded
Ph2 rear lights
Full ph1 172 leather interior and alacantra (suede) door cards
Shorter aerial

I think thats about it for visual mods. lol

 

[Rob]

Chrome surrounds don't really work on Clio's because of the indent in the bootlid, plates sit in nicely as standard, best just to get fresh standard plates made up, always makes it look better.

Dual Optic headlights are the same as these ones in the picture. Come off the sport models although you will need to fiddle with the wiring but there is a guide in the guide section for this. Silvervisions are just Silver coated indicator bulbs that flash orange. I personally prefer the "Diadem" bulbs which are blue but flash orange.
View attachment 40627
Also the wheels in the pic are from a phase 2 172 iirc

With regards to the "weird screws" they are just hex screws, any good screwdriver set should have hex adapters, nothing special. You will find alot of the screws on the car are all hex fitment.

I would get the cambelt and aux belt done asap even if it has been done before. Belts are due at 72k or 5 years so yours should have been done at least twice now. I failed to get mine done in my old car and it snapped and caused me all sorts of bother and cost me a fortune to put right, so my advice is get it done regardless

How bloody odd, you posted that whilst I was searching for some pics to put up!

 

[Dm_26]

How bloody odd, you posted that whilst I was searching for some pics to put up!

LOL sorry, stole your pics Was the first ph1 non sport i found with dual optics

 

[Connor3103]

Really like the 172 wheels too, so it's a bit of a dilemma really, even if I haven't got the money yet! I'm hoping to pick up a set of decent alloys for less than £400, so I should be able to get something decent.

Definitely going for the PH2 lights and will also go for the dual optics, the all red rear clusters are horrible! Would you recommend getting the PH2's smoked? I'm going for a black/red colour scheme so I think it might look pretty nice. Can be a pain to get the smoking off though I've heard, so may just leave it...

Diadems aren't for me really I think the clear ones will look better on a red car but that's just my opinion. Don't mind the rear wiper I'd like to keep it fairly subtle like you say, so that it's easy to sell on when the time comes and doesn't look too OTT.

You have any larger pics of your car gunner3011? Looks pretty nice in your display but I'd just like to get an idea of the ride height etc! Is your model a 1.2 then?

 

[gunner3011]

i wouldnt smoke them if i were you! they really do look nice and clean on their own! mine were £20 from a scrappies! the only thing ive smoked were my indicators but it can come off easily enough with paint stripper ( do it off the car obv ) so you could always experiment!

heres a few pics! not the greatest in the world just off my phone but you can see the ride height etc

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/zz12/jakegunner3011/P7070022.jpg
http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/zz12/jakegunner3011/P7070022.jpg
http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/zz12/jakegunner3011/DSC00369.jpg
http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/zz12/jakegunner3011/P7070026.jpg

and mines the 1.4 mate

 

[Connor3103]

Probably got a bit more go in it than mine then pal, but for a 1.2, I was quite surprised at how nippy it was having driven my driving instructors 1.3 CDTi Corsa. It's actually amazing how fecking slow those lawnmower diesel engines are! Just as an update I set about taking the mudflaps off yesterday, which turned out to be quite a messy job when I resorted just to ripping them off. My screws are seized up big time!

I also had a first proper look around the engine and underneath the car, before setting about cleaning the trim with Auto Glym Bumper Care. Someone on here recommended it, and although it is really messy stuff, I was stunned at how well it returned my plastic to gleaming black...

Annoyingly we have a hosepipe ban in Blackpool though, despite the fact that it's rained heavily on and off for the past few days. What confuses me is how on earth you're allowed to use the same amount of water in buckets lol. Her paintwork is now covered in Bumper Care and is crying out for a wash! I also ordered a brand new windscreen wiper from Bolt On Bits in Bradford who I recommend.

When I came to fit it though, the small metal washer which holds the windscreen wiper in place has seized onto the motor itself, and ain't budging despite tons of WD40 and both me and my Dad pulling the crap out of it with a wrench. Going to leave it to my mechanic who will probably heat it up with a blow torch to loosen it up and sort it free of charge. Still waiting for insurance cover note to come through from the co-op so I can tax it too.

Anyone have any experience of them? I'm also planning to remove and smooth my bumper trims with Wet N Dry, and then paint and lacquer them in black as I'm going for a black and red colour scheme. If anyone has any ideas on how I can do this properly and efficiently without spending too much then I'd really appreciate any tips/links. Off to find some PH2 rear lights! Pics will follow soon...

 

[gunner3011]

weve got a hosepipe ban too mate, living in the wetest part of the country and weve got a ban!! just use watering cans though, worked fine for me! what bits of the bumper are you planning on smoothing mate? with painting its always best to get it done properly i think but ive done bits and bobs with the rattle cans from halfords. did my rear spoiler init and its pretty good tbh, the colours a pretty good match but with black you have no worries about matching, just give it a go but the key to success is GOOD PREP before hand, sanding it all nice and then your primer and colour and laquer, sanding when necesary of course to keep it nice! plenty of guides on here tho, just give it a search

 

[danzel]

You were quick with your test, I turned 17 in feb and my test isn't til 18th august

plans do sound good anyway but don't get chrome numberplate surrounds... a Dynamique rear spoiler and dual optics are a must though.


For colour coding, here's a good guide here

 

[Tunst]

Plans sound good mate

wish i left my mud flaps on, the car is always filthy now Mine got ripped off after i hit a rabbit lol

 

[Connor3103]

Well I can happily say that I resorted to cleaning the car today with many buckets let me tell you. She's looking clean as anything now, just half filled a huge barrel with cold water and used that to rinse the car etc. I also polished it with Auto Glym Super Resin Polish and it's looking pretty good to be honest, if not even better than when I use the hose pipe.

Probably the fact that it's not hot and sunny here today makes it a little easier, as it doesn't get chance to dry streaky. In all honesty I can't recommend Meguiars NXT Car Shampoo highly enough, it's mint stuff! Cheers for the link danzo, that was exactly what I was looking for mate. Decided against the chrome number plates as the standard ones I have on now aren't too bad to be honest. And what can I say, I'm a good driver haha ;-)

I actually failed first time, drove like a granddad for most of the way and was close to passing, but then cut the final roundabout and changed lanes without checking the inside door mirror haha. Ah well, 2nd time lucky for me despite nearly clipping bumpers with an oncoming vehicle. It's a complete farce in my opinion, but I'm sure you'll be fine if you hold your nerves.

Was quite shocked at how quickly I picked things up. I'd only had 8 lessons going into my test and passed after about 13, but honestly I was completely crap when I first started, couldn't even get the thing moving. Driving a petrol is a lot easier than a diesel though IMO. Thinking of doing my black side skirt things gunner, as well as the Dynamique spoiler when I get it and the black plastic on the front and rear bumper. Any idea what that'll cost in sand paper and paint etc?

Everyone was telling me to keep the mudflaps on, but I only had 1 on the back anyway and I think cars with mudflaps look bad anyway. Won't be driving like a mad man to start with but to have a tendency to put my foot down every now and then, so hopefully it won't be too dirty Tunst. Seriously though, what are you doing hitting rabbits you violent b***ard?

Cheers for the help guys, hopefully start on the painting Saturday and will post some new pictures next week!

 

[gunner3011]

which bit do you plan on smoothing on the bump strips? and sand paper will be less than a fiver, just get a wide range up to 1200 should probably do, some people go all the way to 3000 but im not sure how much use there is in that haha. paints will be th emost expensive part, a rattle can is about 6.99 or something at halfords and youll need a few of plastic primer, a few of the spray paint and a few of the laquer, youll only know how much as your going along though tbh. key thing is not to rush it though, i got a bit impatient on my spoiler and messed up a small patch ( luckily its not to obvious ) but patience is the key! if your not happy doing it yourself though you can always use a body shop! id reccomend just giving it a go though, you can only learn from mistakes

 

[Connor3103]

Just been pricing it up and it's probably going to be a £60 - £70 quid job, which is a lot less than a body shop would charge. There's a decent one nearby but to be honest I'd get much more satisfaction out of doing it myself and getting my hands dirty. Like you say I can only learn from mistakes, although hopefully won't make any lol. I'm doing the bumper and door strips

 

[danzel]

I'm sure you'll do nae bother on the colour coding, think the whole process takes a couple of days. Get a 172 front bumper too

 

[gunner3011]

yeah itll always be cheaper mate doing it yourself and you will get satisfaction from your own work! once you get the hang of spraying it gets easier each time i think, if you want you could always practise just spraying sum badges or something? just to help you get used to how to use the rattle cans and learn how to avoid drips and that! always keep the can moving is a good tip aswell i think, that helps avoid a fair amount of drips and keeps it even!

but honestly do take you time, dont think youll have it done within an hour or 2 as you will end up regretting rushing! set aside a weekend for it or summer hols are coming up now so perfect time for it!

 

[Stu.]

good base! in the best colour too check out my thread for inspiration mine started off the exact same lol http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?502929-low-ph1-pikey-build!&highlight=

 

[Connor3103]

Yeah I agree, gonna wait a few weeks until I have more time and then set about doing it in my garage on a long weekend. Thanks for the tips and like you say I'm sure we all gradually pick things up and everyone's got to start somewhere. Just checked out your thread stu, your car's awesome!