Clio 16v 'YOJ'
Our story begins on a dark Sunday night, the hero of this story is a student who had been to a Valver meet the night before and had gotten the bug back, real bad. After discussing the trials and tribulations his classic mini was putting him through with a good friend; it was decided that it be the piston rings that were shot and as such it was not a great idea to continue using this car as his mode of reliable, economical and regular transport.
Upon discussing life the universe and everything with a fellow valver owner it came into conversation that a certain 432 valver all the way in the city of Plymouth was no longer wanted by its current owner and was advertised on the most respectable places of all to sell a car. Ebay.
Upon further inspection the advert clearly discussed the poor valvers current heart giving a knocking sound and that it could, given time, become much more than the minor annoyance that it was currently.
The student pondered the idea of owning a valver since the early days of his youth, and despite the troubles with this special 432, it may very well give him the answer to his current car problem. He furiously text the owner to make him a respectable offer on the car, after 5 minutes there was no reply. In the suspence and anticipation the phone number was called and an ebay message sent! A price was agreed and the deal was done. The 432 Valver was due to be collected in exactly 7 days.....
Now the treasure hunt began, for a new engine was required! Scouring forum after forum and even ebay an F7P could not be found anywhere, most other enthusiasts could not even give their F7P's away and it soon became clear that most owners don't even try to sell theirs when changing for a more favorable F7R or F4R. The hero of our story was deeply disappointed and could not focus on the revision for his exam the day after next until he found himself a suitable motor for his new found Clio 16Valver.
The search continued until the next day his mind still racing contemplating where he could get a replacement from, in a last ditch attempt he left a certain welsh valver owner a facebook message on the off chance that he may have a spare engine, but he did not hold out hope!
Several hours and furious messages later an F7P was sourced from our welsh contact discussed earlier. It was currently in a vehicle destined to spend its life as a coke can and so a date was set and that deal was done! In his excitement our hero went on to buy servicing items, such as a cambelt and an oil filter! He really splashed the cash!
After purchasing these items, he struck another bargain! Another fellow valver owner, otherwise known as "Mr Tranself" in certain rings, was involved with a certain oil company and as such, new Engine Oil, Gearbox Oil, Anti Freeze and Power Steering Fluid was purchased for a total of £50 delivered to the doorstep! What a legendary bargain!
4 Sleepless nights went by, bursting at his sides with excitement our hero couldn't wait to collect his first ever proper Clio 16V after dreaming of owning one for 5 years, the day to collect the engine turned up.
He lept out of bed, threw some clothes on, grabbed his keys, ran downstairs, got into his girlfriends 1998 Clio RL, fired the engine up, threw it in reverse and then remembered that it was only 8:30am and that he could not collect the engine untill 1pm. Disappoint once again reared its ugly head and instead of succumbing to the misery that it brings, our hero kept himself busy contemplating car names.
He racked his brains for several minutes before deciding that Nicole was the perfect name for two reasons 1) The car was an N reg 2) The original Renault marketing campaign involved a character named Nicole.
Finally the time came to collect the engine, 2 and 1/2 Hours each way racing down the motorway at approx 70mph
he reached his destination on time, loaded the engine and began to race back to Coventry. The courier car was reversed up to the gate and with the help of his housemate Golum it was time to hoist the new donor engine into the garage.
Several tyres were placed along the ground for stopping points, with a big HEEEVE HOOOO it was lifted out of the car and onto the first tyre, with the second the engine traveled a further yard to the next tyre. This process continued until the engine reached its new home in the garage soon to also be occupied by Nicole.
Time moved very slowly for the next few days until it came time to make the great journey down to see Nicole and have her delivered by the great folks, the AA.
Upon arrival Nicole was spotted without any hesitation and the student instantly fell in love! She was tatty, she had ripped seat covers, An arch in primer and the central locking didn't work, but he didn't care! Smiling our hero parted cash and was swiftly on the blower to the AA. A recommended mechanic arrived an hour later to make an official diagnosis on the poor valver; a quick decision later he pronounced it "f**ked" and recommended recovery of the vehicle to Coventry. Another hour passed and the first recovery truck arrived, Nicole was loaded onto the back of it and the great journey began!
The next stop was Exeter to be loaded onto an official AA truck, Our hero, Nicole and the peculiar recovery driver were early and so it was decided that the best use of time would be to off load her:
Soon the massive AA truck turned up, Nicole was loaded onto it and the next leg of the journey began:
Time ticked on, 6 hours after the initial call to the AA it was time for Nicole and our student hero to part ways with the strange recovery driver and greet a new one for the final leg of the journey. Our hero was becoming weary, having been traveling for 6 hours and still another hour to go - he did not feel it was appropriate to take anymore pictures, and so he met this new recovery driver and for the first time that night he was being driven by someone normal. He arrived at his destination at 2:30am, 7 hours after the initial phone call to the AA, after a swift unload and a hand shake it was time to rest his weary head.
The next morning 5 hours after arriving via the AA, our hero was re-energised and buzzing with excitement to play with his new Valver. He deemed it appropriate to first of all remove the snow covering the windshield and then to put it in the back garden before moving it into the garage. Nicole had found her new home:
It was important to share the reason Nicole was struck aside by her previous owner with a video:
This video is a symbol to us valver owners everywhere! Its a metaphor! It shows us that no matter what is wrong we can fix our beloved rot boxes and that they deserve our care and attention or they may merely vanish into the history books and be forgotten about for the rest of time....
Finally the first chapter in our story ends with Nicole meeting her replacement F7P for the first time, this F7P showed more than just a means to an end for Nicole, no it was symbolic of her re-incarnation and that she would rise from the depths and clutches of those who would have been willing to purchase her for parts, to make a mere profit!
The hero of our story and Nicole wish to bid you all many thanks in reading just the start of this epic adventure which will continue over much time featuring many many more photos.
Thank you!
Upon discussing life the universe and everything with a fellow valver owner it came into conversation that a certain 432 valver all the way in the city of Plymouth was no longer wanted by its current owner and was advertised on the most respectable places of all to sell a car. Ebay.
Upon further inspection the advert clearly discussed the poor valvers current heart giving a knocking sound and that it could, given time, become much more than the minor annoyance that it was currently.
The student pondered the idea of owning a valver since the early days of his youth, and despite the troubles with this special 432, it may very well give him the answer to his current car problem. He furiously text the owner to make him a respectable offer on the car, after 5 minutes there was no reply. In the suspence and anticipation the phone number was called and an ebay message sent! A price was agreed and the deal was done. The 432 Valver was due to be collected in exactly 7 days.....
Now the treasure hunt began, for a new engine was required! Scouring forum after forum and even ebay an F7P could not be found anywhere, most other enthusiasts could not even give their F7P's away and it soon became clear that most owners don't even try to sell theirs when changing for a more favorable F7R or F4R. The hero of our story was deeply disappointed and could not focus on the revision for his exam the day after next until he found himself a suitable motor for his new found Clio 16Valver.
The search continued until the next day his mind still racing contemplating where he could get a replacement from, in a last ditch attempt he left a certain welsh valver owner a facebook message on the off chance that he may have a spare engine, but he did not hold out hope!
Several hours and furious messages later an F7P was sourced from our welsh contact discussed earlier. It was currently in a vehicle destined to spend its life as a coke can and so a date was set and that deal was done! In his excitement our hero went on to buy servicing items, such as a cambelt and an oil filter! He really splashed the cash!
After purchasing these items, he struck another bargain! Another fellow valver owner, otherwise known as "Mr Tranself" in certain rings, was involved with a certain oil company and as such, new Engine Oil, Gearbox Oil, Anti Freeze and Power Steering Fluid was purchased for a total of £50 delivered to the doorstep! What a legendary bargain!
4 Sleepless nights went by, bursting at his sides with excitement our hero couldn't wait to collect his first ever proper Clio 16V after dreaming of owning one for 5 years, the day to collect the engine turned up.
He lept out of bed, threw some clothes on, grabbed his keys, ran downstairs, got into his girlfriends 1998 Clio RL, fired the engine up, threw it in reverse and then remembered that it was only 8:30am and that he could not collect the engine untill 1pm. Disappoint once again reared its ugly head and instead of succumbing to the misery that it brings, our hero kept himself busy contemplating car names.
He racked his brains for several minutes before deciding that Nicole was the perfect name for two reasons 1) The car was an N reg 2) The original Renault marketing campaign involved a character named Nicole.
Finally the time came to collect the engine, 2 and 1/2 Hours each way racing down the motorway at approx 70mph
he reached his destination on time, loaded the engine and began to race back to Coventry. The courier car was reversed up to the gate and with the help of his housemate Golum it was time to hoist the new donor engine into the garage.Several tyres were placed along the ground for stopping points, with a big HEEEVE HOOOO it was lifted out of the car and onto the first tyre, with the second the engine traveled a further yard to the next tyre. This process continued until the engine reached its new home in the garage soon to also be occupied by Nicole.
Time moved very slowly for the next few days until it came time to make the great journey down to see Nicole and have her delivered by the great folks, the AA.
Upon arrival Nicole was spotted without any hesitation and the student instantly fell in love!
She was tatty, she had ripped seat covers, An arch in primer and the central locking didn't work, but he didn't care! Smiling our hero parted cash and was swiftly on the blower to the AA. A recommended mechanic arrived an hour later to make an official diagnosis on the poor valver; a quick decision later he pronounced it "f**ked" and recommended recovery of the vehicle to Coventry. Another hour passed and the first recovery truck arrived, Nicole was loaded onto the back of it and the great journey began!The next stop was Exeter to be loaded onto an official AA truck, Our hero, Nicole and the peculiar recovery driver were early and so it was decided that the best use of time would be to off load her:
Soon the massive AA truck turned up, Nicole was loaded onto it and the next leg of the journey began:
Time ticked on, 6 hours after the initial call to the AA it was time for Nicole and our student hero to part ways with the strange recovery driver and greet a new one for the final leg of the journey. Our hero was becoming weary, having been traveling for 6 hours and still another hour to go - he did not feel it was appropriate to take anymore pictures, and so he met this new recovery driver and for the first time that night he was being driven by someone normal. He arrived at his destination at 2:30am, 7 hours after the initial phone call to the AA, after a swift unload and a hand shake it was time to rest his weary head.
The next morning 5 hours after arriving via the AA, our hero was re-energised and buzzing with excitement to play with his new Valver. He deemed it appropriate to first of all remove the snow covering the windshield and then to put it in the back garden before moving it into the garage. Nicole had found her new home:
It was important to share the reason Nicole was struck aside by her previous owner with a video:
This video is a symbol to us valver owners everywhere! Its a metaphor! It shows us that no matter what is wrong we can fix our beloved rot boxes and that they deserve our care and attention or they may merely vanish into the history books and be forgotten about for the rest of time....
Finally the first chapter in our story ends with Nicole meeting her replacement F7P for the first time, this F7P showed more than just a means to an end for Nicole, no it was symbolic of her re-incarnation and that she would rise from the depths and clutches of those who would have been willing to purchase her for parts, to make a mere profit!
The hero of our story and Nicole wish to bid you all many thanks in reading just the start of this epic adventure which will continue over much time featuring many many more photos.
Thank you!
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