Project #69; Clio 182FF

[Lordman]

I have decided to create a thread on my Clio, the thread will be based around the principle of minor restoration and changes to improve my car.

Even though this is my first post the reason for me creating the thread was to give back and show appreciation to all of the ideas and help enlisted on the forum.
Another reason for the thread would be from developing a strange obsession (on which im sure most of you will have experienced), I would be of course be referring to restoring and rebuilding clio's, and all the little bits in between.

Before i forget to say i did have a lot of encouragement from Jon Garrett's; Trophy#56 thread, so many thanks for that Jon!

as with my first car (Clio 1.2 Dynamique) I ended up doing more to it than I thought i would ever do.

The New car in question was from actually visiting a mates house on which a few doors up from his a clio sport was peering through the garage door, I'd been looking for a clio sport for a little while, but the only thing that was holding me back from doing so was the originality or condition off the ones up for sale, I knew i wanted a 182 but was unsure on which varient.

Anyway, I knocked on my mates door to find out he wasn't actually back from work yet...SO I HAD TO GO AND HAVE A LOOK AT THE CLIO NOW

It turned out the chap that owned it had it sitting in his garage from when his son owned it, he originally bought it off of his son on the basis of him buying a new car because the dealer was giving him next to nothing in part-ex.

He hadn't put it up for sale as he was unsure on whether he wanted to actually get rid of it, but after a quick look round I made it my mission to get my hands on it :evil:

Next week got to go out and have a test drive in it, then this weekend I bought it.
Its an absolute minter bar a few bad points but thats whats the thread is for :approve:

Hope you Enjoy !

Andrew

 

[Lordman]

The car on the day of the Test drive!

 

[Lordman]

What the 182 will be gradually replacing in time, until i sell him.
Yes its a Replica Sport, I mean what else were you expecting

 

[Lordman]

Ok so the car is now home and I have just given it a wash with a pretty common carnauba wax solution, then pressure washed the soap off with the Kartcher

Dad washing his Saab in the background

 

[Lordman]

Ok so after pressure washing the carnuba wax off I decided to attack the interior while it dried!

So this is what the interior looked like before i started, to be fair it was pretty spot on before I did anything but there is always something that can be done, especially when you have OCD

 

[YoungyWHU]

I see you have 2 project threads running now!! ;-) haha.

Car looks really tidy. Any performance mods lined up etc?

 

[Lordman]

So it was out with those gash mats and in with the Vacuum!
All of the dirt and crumbs are now gone, so I decide to go down the route of protecting the interior.

The Products that i Really rate are:

Auto Glym's - Leather Cleaner, Auto Glym's - Leather Protector and Supagard's InteriorGard

The Leather products are fairly well know on the market so I wont bore you with the details of cleaning the leather, becuase its pretty much apply, wipe down and buff.
Now the InteriorGard is the one that really impresses me, fortunately dad always gets a Supagard protection pack when he purchases a BMW, so we had a couple hanging around , what it does is it protects the interior with an invisible layer of formula over ever fibre which wont ever wash out, so what ever the stain it will come off with the gentle brush of the vacuum head.

 

[Lordman]

YoungyWHU - Yes I wondered how long it would be before someone said, I was a noob and couldn't figure on how to edit the thread name or the content in it.
Im even struggling deleting the first one :rasp:

Performance wise I expect I will take it fairly slow as at the moment, Im running two cars which effects the bank balance quite dramatically as im sure you can imagine.
Its mostly going to be visual and getting it to factory condition, I expect the odd parts like a decat pipe and KTEC Uprated engine mounts will be first on the list :approve:

When more funds come in and the dynamique has gone, Maybe a Turbo conversion?

 

[Lordman]

So the Leather has now been cleaned and protected and the InteriorGard has been applied.

Im sure that the sharp eyed ones among all of you will have noticed the seats being a little darker, this will be due to the Supagard's formular still soaking into the materials.

All of fabric visible was protected (including the parcel shelf and the cheap and cheerful boot lining) Two layers of the formula were applied.

 

[Lordman]

After doing the interior the final drops of water from the jet washer were beading off, so I decided to crack out the polish. Now I havent ever seen anyone use this but my dad and i've cleaned his cars for years!

It isn't cheap stuff and will knock you back about £17.99 for a bottle, but when you take in consideration how much you will have to spend on multiple products to get the same finish, it truly is remarkable :star:

The results are in the name and also in the picture taken of my dynamique clio, its practically quick car valeting at home

 

[Lordman]

You can really see the depth and shine in the paintwork

 

[Lordman]

Received these in the post this morning, so will be replacing the old style elf sticker with the new one from the RS200.

The standard sidelights will be going as they are disgusting and dont match the headlights, these true white LED bulbs will be taking their place.

 

[Martin.]

After doing the interior the final drops of water from the jet washer were beading off, so I decided to crack out the polish. Now I havent ever seen anyone use this but my dad and i've cleaned his cars for years!

It isn't cheap stuff and will knock you back about £17.99 for a bottle, but when you take in consideration how much you will have to spend on multiple products to get the same finish, it truly is remarkable :star:

The results are in the name and also in the picture taken of my dynamique clio, its practically quick car valeting at home

I use this stuff. Awesome isn't it!!

 

[Lordman]

Indeed it is

 

[Lordman]

Got home from work and decided to set to work on those awful sidelights.

Im quite proud of myself as i managed to get at them without having to take the lights out.
Previously changing the sidelights was a walk in the park for my 1.2 as the engine is just lost in that engine bay, not so much room on the 182

Before:

After:

 

[Lordman]

I will be applying the Elf sticker in the next few days as I've found it to be a bit of a challenge to remove, i think im going to result to the hairdryer to see if that eases it off :S

Next up on the list of replacements will be the factory ariel, swapped for a stubby and chrome indicator bulbs (front + rear)!


The factory ariel

Before:

After:

 

[Lordman]

The chrome indicator bulbs i feel make a massive appearance/characteristic change for next to nothing, really did like the outcome and on a plus side found these nice and easy to fit (unlike the sidelights) :rasp:

Before:

After:

The Rear

Before:

During:

After:

While I was at this i decided to pull the rear number plate light out of my 1.2 to take the bulb out, I upgraded that to an LED and thought it would server more purpose on the 182

During:

After:

 

[BurnyC]

Just found this new thread...you got any plans for the bonnet? Always annoyed me but never got round to it

 

[Lordman]

Ahhh Chris, Hows it going ?

Yeah going to get him resprayed next month which to be fair is the only thing that needs doing, real minter of a car :approve: strange, only found out your name yesterday while i was in tesco carpark (found your membership card)
when did your dad tell you he sold it

(Is that it in your dp ?)

 

[Lordman]

Just found this:

BurnyC: Welcome to the forum mate! My old car, look after Boxer it's a good solid car, and had all the shocks etc. done recently so I tried my best to look after it. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread, be interesting to see what you do with it.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sorry there are 2, messed up big time Funny I recognised that in the plate to yeah really lucky to have noticed it while i popped round to my mates house, never seen one in such good condition it really shows you looked after it

Yeah please do

 

[Lordman]

The new rear light casing came this weekend to replace the old manky one which was stained.

Before:

After:

 

[Lordman]

What the exhaust was looking like after a quick clean, managed to get the black soot out with wonderwheels solution (acid).
although it still wasn't up to my standard the exhaust was showing its age and I expect treating it with acid damaged it a little too.

Before:

Luckily my mum had some industry metal cleaner which she lent me good old mum.

Astonishingly the exhaust came up like a treat and looked like this!

After:

 

[BurnyC]

Haha, I was literally just wondering if I'd left my membership card in there or not....! Apparently I did Glad you're enjoying the car, it gave me a lot of smiles, and also good to see it's gone to someone who's looking after it. Had a few people ask if the number plate was a custom one, funny that!

Yep, that is the car in my DP...thread with the pics in is here http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?633374-80085-mileage-Clio-182

Well, I knew my Dad did intend to sell it if the right offer came along, but when he rang to tell me how he'd just had the most enthusiastic lad ever wanting to buy it while he was washing it I was a bit surprised! You're lucky, it was gonna get used as a track car, so you got it just in time!

 

[Lordman]

Your quite welcome to have it back but it expired quite a while ago

Yeah i bet, truely one of the best condition clio sports i have ever seen, and in the best colour too :clap:
its not going to be chav'ed up dont worry about that, car cleaning is a religious thing for me as you can see from the dynamique

Ohh really, its a good number plate actually! cheers for the thread buddy.

ahaha ohh, ahah well i suppose thats a good thing 'enthusiastic', i honestly was so astonished by the car i couldn't think of anything to say to your dad other than 'its a really nice car' I must have said it 15 times over, i even offed to help him wash it

I know tell me about it, so little left in this condition, just couldn't let that happen.

 

[Poopensharten]

Fantastic mate. Love Arctic paint.

Also, your house is an absolute cracker!

 

[BurnyC]

Your quite welcome to have it back but it expired quite a while ago

Yeah i bet, truely one of the best condition clio sports i have ever seen, and in the best colour too :clap:
its not going to be chav'ed up dont worry about that, car cleaning is a religious thing for me as you can see from the dynamique

Ohh really, its a good number plate actually! cheers for the thread buddy.

ahaha ohh, ahah well i suppose thats a good thing 'enthusiastic', i honestly was so astonished by the car i couldn't think of anything to say to your dad other than 'its a really nice car' I must have said it 15 times over, i even offed to help him wash it

I know tell me about it, so little left in this condition, just couldn't let that happen.

Haha, I can see already how keen you are on cleaning! Good it's not being chavved up though, always nice to see what happens to your old cars (when it's good that is!). I thought I was keen, you make me look lazy! Don't worry about the card then, wasn't sure if it was my current one or not.

Haha, yeah he did mention the offer of helping him wash it...after this thread maybe he should've taken up that offer. Anyway, as I say, I'll look forward to seeing how you get on with it; I'm in Cheltenham often so if you see a black Saab Aero flash you or summat it'll be me! :cheers:

 

[Lordman]

Thanks Danny,

Haha the post is meant to be based around the car but to be fair I wasn't expecting that, so i'll hand it to you on that one.

 

[Lordman]

Lol, Guilty (lol all i could think off when i said that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqOBBhRpnxE)

Yeah it is nice to see them, unfortunately i dont think i will be so fortunate to find someone who is going to look after my dynamique :dapprove:

ahah yeah he should have but then he probs would have kept it

lol some road ranging nutter up my arse lol, nice car had a look at your pictures on flickr, mum had the same car in grey, although now she has the sportwagon version.
Let me know if you want it cleaned :rasp:

 

[Lordman]

So this weekend i have decided to attack the whole noise issue that most clio drivers will have experienced, as we all know the road noise is the thing that is noticed the most!

After having this issue in the rep i kinda go fed up of this and decided to something about it.

This may interest a few people who are keen to get rid of the noise issue, i havent yet seen a thread that covers this with pictures properly (but i might be wrong).

I mean if any of you have removed all of the seats to put new ones in and driven it (lol because you want to see how fast it is without the seats ) it seems to get very loud!!!!

The product I have decided to use is called Spaceblanket (not dynamat for all the noobs who think that this is noise cancelling material, its not its to stop vibrations between components, (in this case panels!)



Ok, so first of all i decided to unplug the rear light as these can be a real pain with regards to battery drainage, now the boot is going to be open most of the time so makes sense to do this:star:

I wont show the steps of removing the seats as im sure that there are plenty of threads for that.

However this is what it looked like once i stripped the rear bar, the seats and the boot lining!

Brilliant example of grubby seat belts in the front :dead: look at the colour difference, yuck !!!!

Also the floor panel was covered in what i guess is at least 5 years of dust and stuff, considering its all covered up i would think 5 years is about right?

Nice :lolup:

So the process of removing the door panels..... I found a lot of silicone and sponge, practically any joins where the panels split a piece of sponge fell down, lol a cheap way of stopping the rattles I suppose

The Renault insulation/noise reduction panels (what a joke) !!!!

The stuff I'm using..... Spaceblanket

Basically you can pick this up from B&Q for £11.99 ish, practically used as loft or wall insulation but with one difference, its sheilded to provide extra warmth (like when paramedics wrap you in silver foil) and to also to make it waterproof, ideal!

(Note: all the edges with exposed insulation was sealed with gaffa/duct tape)

Made sure that there is enough space behind so that all of the water that manages to get through the exterior trim inserts can run down and drain still.

Bodged the poppers on the door cars up with a bit of sealant, mainly because its easy removed and doesn't damage the panels.
This stops some of the rattles you will hear when you turn the bass up on the stereo (well what the stock unit has anyways)

Below is a clip of sound depth comparison between the factory shipped hollow panels and my insulated ones
(My apologies for the quere knocking on the panels)

All back together and I am happy to report that i can now hear no road noise from the back what so ever, the speakers have more depth, and also for those of you that have aftermarket exhausts you can still hear the brilliant grunt that the car makes, that is of course providing you dont line the boot in the stuff :rasp:. (It is rather thick so it wouldn't work in the boot really but im sure there will be thinner stuff that will do the job :approve

Any comments or questions welcome

 

[Jon.G]

I thought the thread title looked familiar!

You're doing a good job of tidying this up, keep it up!

 

[Lordman]

I thought the thread title looked familiar!

You're doing a good job of tidying this up, keep it up!

Was a good title, all the others are a bit bland, sorry about that :rasp:

Will do, cheers Jon

 

[Jon.G]

1 Question though, why 69?

 

[Lordman]

1 Question though, why 69?

More a reflection on its status The 'pussywagon' there is almost always a girl in there :rasp: But in all serious its last 2 VIN digits are 69

 

[Lordman]

New fancyplates front plate added, left mine with a little recess around the border.

Measurements: 520mm x 90mm

 

[cazzy]

Good work!! keep it up :cheers:

 

[Lordman]

So I have been wanting to reduce the little defects that have arisen in the paintwork over its 7 years of existence, soooooo.......

Last weekend I decided to invest in some Meguiars Swirl X, Scratch X, and Ultimate Compound (Ultimate compound hasn't yet arrived)
Some may be questioning why I have bought all 3 of the surface prep products, the answer to that would be I havent had a great deal of experiencing with such products before and from what I gathered they are weakened down consumer products of 3m. When i say the products are "weakened down" they are still powerful enough to damage the surface area. I have seen suggestions to go for the weaker product and build up to the ultimate compound to avoid damaging the paintwork.

I don't actually have a DA Polisher yet so muscle (or well what i have of it) will be put to use

So far I have gone over the car twice in Swirl X, now obviously doing it by hand the results aren't going to be anywhere near as good as doing it with a DA Polisher but its still makes a dramatic effect.

As we already have enough pictures of the car before I didn't take any before pictures ONLY AFTER !!!

The results have been very promising and because of this I have fallen deeper in love with the car, the swirl marks have been reduced and the colour has more depth and more vibrance, it really does bring out the flakes in the Artic paint.

Here are some pictures of it basking in the glistening sun

 

[Lordman]

Genuine Renault Sport floor mats came today

Sprayed with the Supagard interior protector and put them in ......

 

[Stefan.]

cracking car!!

 

[Lordman]

cracking car!!

Thanks, anything you like in particular ?

Had a little peak at your BG that looks pretty good too, that a yozzasport you have have fitted to him ?

More pics?

 

[Stefan.]

Thanks, anything you like in particular ?

Had a little peak at your BG that looks pretty good too, that a yozzasport you have have fitted to him ?

More pics?

indeed it is mate, you mean peak from my avatar/profile?