Hi mate
I bought the car six months after it had some pretty major mechanical surgery, following the failure (in service) of a cambelt.
Basically, as the gent I bought the car from explained, it was going to be £1400 for a normal rebuild or just a bit more for some work to be done to it. Ive got the receipt for £2500 from a specialist in Winchester called Derek Pratt - I phoned him before I bought the car and he explained how he remembered that car as it was the first Clio 16v hed worked on (hes a 19 16v specialist, but the Clio engine is the same bar the manifolds). Anyway, the bill says it had a skimmed head and manifolds, Verniers, re-profiled cams to a custom (and unknown) spec, an uprated ECU and little bits and bobs like the PBV to help it idle better. It was engine dynod before it went in at 171.3bhp.
Now, the thing is that I bought this car as it is. I dont know a lot about it unfortunatley and still have this niggling feeling that I should have taken it to a specialist to have it looked at by now (10k miles down the line) - though it runs as sweet as you like. Ive never opened up the engine or anything, but I can tell you what its like to drive. Against a regular 16v it doesnt pull away in 1st until about 5000rpm - and then just increases the gain slowly as you get faster. In gear, at speed and at high revs, the difference is apparent immediately versus my mates standard 16v.
Ive also been up against a Williams 3 (running 100bhp nitrous) - hes called Si and gets on here every so often. Off the nitrous, mines quicker all round, except for at low revs, where it lacks pull - the torque delivery is still like a regular 16v. With the nitrous on (and presumably by no means developing an extra 100bhp) his Willy pulls about two car lengths on me by 100.
