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Oh no! What have I done? Another budget Clio Ph1 172



  Clio 172 Track(ish)
So you may have seen my intro thread : http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?522736-Oh-no!-What-have-I-done!!!!!-Greetings-from-Cardiff-South-Wales

No? Ok I'll give you the short verison!

Wanted trackday toy for some time. Didnt want to spend a lot of cash.
Looked at MX5's, 328i's as have always got on with RWD. Did research, parts expensive and can be big running costs. So start looking at fast french hatches

Anyhoo, saw a PH1 172 "Project" on ebay. Only a 35 min drive from me, so after work one rainy tuesday I dragged my mate mctaggart up to deepest Aberdare to have a butchers. A Max Power'd up 172 with no interior and two bald tyres!

Anyway, after a good inspection and haggling I bought this for the princely sum of £400

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Matt black roof with no primer. Just peels off :S
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Check out the dash!
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Flush Tailgate - Secsy!
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Interior was painted matt black with a rattle can. Broom handle in there to hold up the hatch! Plus the battery was dead.
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She got dropped off at mctaggarts place (I dont have any off road parking) theres quite a collection of motors there!
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My MG TF (for sale BTW :rasp:) Lada Niva, which is being driven to Africa next year, mctaggarts starlet gt turbo, mctaggarts daily.. a 85bhp diesel smart car :cool:, the tango clio and poking out the side there, another Lada Niva being prepped for Africa.

Spent so far :

Clio : £400
Battery : £30
Two part worns tyres to pass the MOT: £35

The guy who we bought the tyres from tried balancing the two rear wheels but couldn't. they are more oval than round! We put them on and though the rear was running some crazy toe in camber but when we rotated the wheel, it went straight then toe out. :S

Replacement wheels needed all round then!

That week we attempted to remove that terrible effort of a dash. Easier than we thought!
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It was held on by cable ties and a couple of rivets! A pair of snips and some brute force later we had some shiny aluminium sheet to play with!

All the cabling looks intact, we'd already checked the electrics all worked but this was quite a relief. Anyone got a wiring manual for a 172? I'd like to know what I can remove and whats essential.

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Check out the handy work on the hole for the clocks :eek:. Cut with a swiss army knife??
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Full carpet set, Free to a good home!
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Next stop, my local garage for a once over!
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The aim of this was to make sure the shell and suspension components were all ok. We'd given it the once over when we first went to see it, but theres nothing like checking whilst on a car lift!

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And the verdict is...............

All ok! No play from the suspension, chassis and subframes are straight. One of the jacking points has been a bit mullered, but nothing a bit of dressing with a BFH wont sort. Also, the spring on the nearside front shock as a little bit of the end broken off (like half an inch) but is seated nicely so hopefully will be ok. Woooop!

Dad came over to take a look. "Ive seen worse... but they were in a salvage yard" ahh gotta love him.

Anyway, thats it for now. Going to get it MOT'd as soon as I tidy it up a little. Planning its first track outing on the 8th of August!

Shopping list:
15inch track alloys.
damper and ride height adjustable coilovers
bucket seat.
Oil and filter change.

Lets see how it goes! :clap: Thanks for looking!
 
  Starlet GT Turbo
It was a gamble for sure when we went to look at it!! I am actually chuffed though for my mate because it seems to be a straight car aside from the cosmetics! MOT for it this week!
 

Daniel

ClioSport Moderator
  Whichever has fuel
That dashboard!!! WTF!!

Was the seller not embarrased to show you the car??
 
  Maxi Megane and 182
Always going to be a good buy even if it was just to break as engine and box alone are worth the money.
Nice to find a bargain like this, I am always on the lookout for similar.
 

Rob

ClioSport Moderator
Wahey, glad you've got a project up, I was a "lover" in the other thread and still am in this one. You've paid the same for a car as some do for a second hand engine, so just look at it as getting a free shell? LOL!

Get hold of some 15's, take the front bumper off and refit the headlights properly and put a grille on, then put it all back together, it should improve the "look" a lot, as by the looks of it, the guy was clueless and you may well find the front bumper is rivetted on too... lol!

Glad you got rid of the dash ASAP, if you get a non sport dash top to cover that, (cheap and no airbag holes) it'll tidy it up a bit :)
 
  Starlet GT Turbo
lol my starlet in the picture isnt knackerd ha ha, i was just changin my brake pads :) we got pembrey on the 7th, if anyone else fancies doing that its only £80 for 9-12:00 open pit, then japfest 2 on the 15th!
 
  320d
It may look horrific but for £400 I can't think of many ways to go faster for less £. Realistically you could have that out on a track for £1000 in good nick.
 
  330i. E30 Touring.
What a shed.

For £400, break the thing, make £1000 and buy one that's already looking better!
 
  Clio 172 Track(ish)
Cheers for all the support guys!

I guess it was a moment of madness, but its going to be an exericse in how cheaply it can be done hopefully! Plus, I have no formal mechanical knowledge but a good knowledge of electircs and experience with body work. Its as much about me learning as it is about it getting (and staying) on the track!

What a shed.

For £400, break the thing, make £1000 and buy one that's already looking better!

Do you know what, I have thought about it over and over again. Its a lot of work and cash to get it up and running I guess, I guess I could have one track day in it, see how it goes then make the decision eh?

I would love to here your guys opinions of next steps... please bear in mind, im not looking to win any pub banter with this thing, I dont need to go bragging about "aww I beat a scooby round the fast left hander" its about smiles per pound!

* Im unsure what suspension to get... it deff needs lowering as so much weight has been taken off it. I wanted coilovers but realise this is an expensive option. Any ideas? A spring on the front will prob need replacing and I think one of the rear shocks is leaking a little.
* Wheels - well the two rear alloys are fubar.. so maybe steelies with some tidy rubber? what you reckon
* Seats, its got two seats from a campus or similar in it atm! No support along with comedy ride height makes it like helming the QE2! What are the standard fronts like? Any cheap suggestions?
* Im going to give a fluid and filter service but anything else I should look out for?

All in all I seem to be spending a huge amount of time on the parts for sale section. So let me know if you see any bargains anywhere out there :cool:

Cheers,

Steve
 
  Stagecoach Ticket
Look out for a ph1 non runner mate or a lightly shunted one would be far less work than sorting that one if you want it to look good

if not i matt black it only cost about £60 and 10 hours then it would look ok

OMP seats for front can get them about £100 a seat and as its a dog anyway just bolt them into fixed positions
Wouldent bother with standard front lights if its a track car as u will tape em up anyway bud

Good buy

J
 
  Bus w**ker
LOL that's f**king awful. Fair play to you for buying it and trying to sort it out, but I sense that this will end in a lot of blood, sweat, tears and money.
 

E11OOT

ClioSport Club Member
  Evo 6/Ph1 v6/R34
* Im unsure what suspension to get... it deff needs lowering as so much weight has been taken off it. I wanted coilovers but realise this is an expensive option. Any ideas? A spring on the front will prob need replacing and I think one of the rear shocks is leaking a little.
2nd hand ktecs one come up every-so-often in the for sale section, £180-£220

* Wheels - well the two rear alloys are fubar.. so maybe steelies with some tidy rubber? what you reckon
ebay have loads of 15" alloys for sale that would fit the clio, keep looking you'll find a cheap set

* Seats, its got two seats from a campus or similar in it atm! No support along with comedy ride height makes it like helming the QE2! What are the standard fronts like? Any cheap suggestions?
Get some cheap bucket seats, i sold a pair for £90 last month.
 
  Clio 172
nice shed lol wheres the clio? :) i will be keepin my eye on this looking forward to seeing what you can do with it :) good luck
 
  mk2 ph1 1.4 S
Rip off the god awful spoiler and chuck it on eBay/Gumtree.
Make some money on that...

Seems like a good project though! Good luck with it
 
  Saab 93 Aero Wagon
Brave man!

To that list i'd be adding a belt change purely as a matter of course. Get the engine healthy before spaffing money on the toys.
 


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