Struggler
ClioSport Club Member
Ph1 track 172
Sorry for the lack of pictures, im not usually into the whole "blogging/doing write ups".
but as im bored, i thought id give it a go!
So late august year, my love afair with my low **** finally came to an end, too much beaching on speedhumps had taken its toll on the gearbox/diff and it locked solid!
Tbh, i wasnt even that annoyed about it, i had said to myself for months, next time it breaks, im moving on! so before i had even got the car recovered i was on the web looking at valvers (since i had always wanted one!)
after a week or so, i found one that i really liked, it was local, slightly modded in the right way, and in my price band. So i went to have a look at her and hopefully buy, when met with my first problem......
The previous owner didnt have the logbook :S, though my imediate reaction was to run a mile, everything seemed innoced, (selling from a nice family house in a good area, not a shadey character in a carpark). So i agreed a new price, and applied for a new logbook.
pic of the car as i bought it!
it was more or less standard,
slightly lowered,
K&N filter,
decat and mongoose exhaust
lighten flywheel.
metal monkey dials
so i bought her, and that evening, took her out for a drive. I wanted to see what she could do, and get a feel for it so i had a couple of blasts. And tbh, i wasnt very happy.
Though granted, my last clio was sat on bumpstops, so everything feels boaty to me, but the suspension felt incredibly loose! Pulled over, and she added insult to injury, and was pissing out water
. So i crawled her home, and went to bed an unhappy bunny (first car ive ever really bought)
So i started to look for the water leak. to make things easier, i tried to take the bonnet off, and BANG, one by one, the bolts snapped (later i found out you can just unclip the hinge!) "what next" i was thinking to myself! Found that the leak was coming from the lower rad hose, so off i went in search of a new one. ECP dont have them, autocare dont have them, so had to go to renault. £67 for one hose!! and a 5 day wait. bought some bodge repair for the meantime, and some bonnet pins to hold the bonnet down!
While stripped down, i also replaced the k&n filter for an ITG pannel filter in the origional airbox!
In the meantime, i began to strip the car out! i had kept the seats from my old clio, so they went in, and i picked up a halfcage from a lad on clio16valver, aswell as a new sunroof motor as the old one had packed up letting it leak!! (which i also found out the hard way). also threw the areal from my old clio on as this one had been snapped off.
few days later, hose comes in, and i sling it on, happy days! UNTIL!! the already rather low clutch starts playing up, sometimes it wont go into gear, sometimes it would. then BANG! and the clutch did nothing! (pedal still felt firm, but wouldnt disengage the gears) luckily this was outside my house!! Once again, i began to strip it apart, and found that the clutch plate had split, and spat some the springs out! so £108 for a new clutch and gearbox oil! 2 days later shes back on the road!!
So finnaly, she was all working nice, and i finally had a week of good behavior and was beggining to trust it!
However, i still didnt like the handling, just felt far too boaty for me. So i purchased
Powerflex bumpstops,
new top mounts,
new springs,
new balljoints,
hightemp paint (for the callipers)
spax adjustable rear shocks
OMP strutbrace
and got about fitting them. also wanted to try and lower the tortion bar, but the incorrect tools led me into a brick wall! Even with all this fitted, its not quite as tight as i'd like it. Getting the tracking done soon, and Koni adjustable front shocks as soon as i can afford it!
While she was off the road, i set about sorting the massive rust hole that stripping it had uncovered. i grinded it back to bare metal, painted it with rust stopper, and fiberglassed over the hole. Not permanent, but i intend to have the arch replaced at somepoint.
Hole:
Fiberglass
after this i painted it very thick with hammerite paint. i know its not the best job ever, but its not really bodywork so meh. its held very well so far!
also added some tow stickers, removed the ktr sticker and window wipers.
plans are to (in order)
Get tracking sorted
lower tortion bar to match,
new front shocks,
new rear tyres
new arches!!
How she stands now
sorry if ive gone on,
ive owned the car a month, and you are completely up to speed!
ill try to have more pics and less words next time!
but as im bored, i thought id give it a go!
So late august year, my love afair with my low **** finally came to an end, too much beaching on speedhumps had taken its toll on the gearbox/diff and it locked solid!
Tbh, i wasnt even that annoyed about it, i had said to myself for months, next time it breaks, im moving on! so before i had even got the car recovered i was on the web looking at valvers (since i had always wanted one!)
after a week or so, i found one that i really liked, it was local, slightly modded in the right way, and in my price band. So i went to have a look at her and hopefully buy, when met with my first problem......
The previous owner didnt have the logbook :S, though my imediate reaction was to run a mile, everything seemed innoced, (selling from a nice family house in a good area, not a shadey character in a carpark). So i agreed a new price, and applied for a new logbook.
pic of the car as i bought it!
it was more or less standard,
slightly lowered,
K&N filter,
decat and mongoose exhaust
lighten flywheel.
metal monkey dials
so i bought her, and that evening, took her out for a drive. I wanted to see what she could do, and get a feel for it so i had a couple of blasts. And tbh, i wasnt very happy.
Though granted, my last clio was sat on bumpstops, so everything feels boaty to me, but the suspension felt incredibly loose! Pulled over, and she added insult to injury, and was pissing out water
. So i crawled her home, and went to bed an unhappy bunny (first car ive ever really bought)So i started to look for the water leak. to make things easier, i tried to take the bonnet off, and BANG, one by one, the bolts snapped (later i found out you can just unclip the hinge!) "what next" i was thinking to myself! Found that the leak was coming from the lower rad hose, so off i went in search of a new one. ECP dont have them, autocare dont have them, so had to go to renault. £67 for one hose!! and a 5 day wait. bought some bodge repair for the meantime, and some bonnet pins to hold the bonnet down!
While stripped down, i also replaced the k&n filter for an ITG pannel filter in the origional airbox!
In the meantime, i began to strip the car out! i had kept the seats from my old clio, so they went in, and i picked up a halfcage from a lad on clio16valver, aswell as a new sunroof motor as the old one had packed up letting it leak!! (which i also found out the hard way). also threw the areal from my old clio on as this one had been snapped off.
few days later, hose comes in, and i sling it on, happy days! UNTIL!! the already rather low clutch starts playing up, sometimes it wont go into gear, sometimes it would. then BANG! and the clutch did nothing! (pedal still felt firm, but wouldnt disengage the gears) luckily this was outside my house!! Once again, i began to strip it apart, and found that the clutch plate had split, and spat some the springs out! so £108 for a new clutch and gearbox oil! 2 days later shes back on the road!!
So finnaly, she was all working nice, and i finally had a week of good behavior and was beggining to trust it!
However, i still didnt like the handling, just felt far too boaty for me. So i purchased
Powerflex bumpstops,
new top mounts,
new springs,
new balljoints,
hightemp paint (for the callipers
)spax adjustable rear shocks
OMP strutbrace
and got about fitting them. also wanted to try and lower the tortion bar, but the incorrect tools led me into a brick wall! Even with all this fitted, its not quite as tight as i'd like it. Getting the tracking done soon, and Koni adjustable front shocks as soon as i can afford it!
While she was off the road, i set about sorting the massive rust hole that stripping it had uncovered. i grinded it back to bare metal, painted it with rust stopper, and fiberglassed over the hole. Not permanent, but i intend to have the arch replaced at somepoint.
Hole:
Fiberglass
after this i painted it very thick with hammerite paint. i know its not the best job ever, but its not really bodywork so meh. its held very well so far!
also added some tow stickers, removed the ktr sticker and window wipers.
plans are to (in order)
Get tracking sorted
lower tortion bar to match,
new front shocks,
new rear tyres
new arches!!
How she stands now
sorry if ive gone on,
ive owned the car a month, and you are completely up to speed!
ill try to have more pics and less words next time!
