Rally project

[celgt4]

Just starting a new Rally project. A Clio 172 to be used in tarmac single venue and on Mull 2014. Pics to follow when I can work out how to put them on.

 

[sonny172cup]

I use imageshack.us. Create an account and copy and paste image tags. Tends to be better than Flicker as they can then be viewed on apple devices better.

 

[celgt4]

Cheers. When i get a moment I will sort it out. Not a lot to see at the moment though.

 

[celgt4]

This is the car. Although now it as no front end on it.(wings and bonnet missing) but everything else is there. Car is being delivered on Friday to the workshop. Is it right to feel soooo excited about a new project? First job is to strip the car to a bare shell and remove all the sound proofing and useless brackets. (Weight is the enemy!) I want the car fully seam welded and then a multi-point roll cage adding.
I have sourced a Roll Centre weld in cage. These have the advantage in the cage mounts on to the rear beam mounts which should give it a more secure/strengthened mount. The downside is the cage doesn't come pre-notched. Pics to follow.
Just out of interest.. What weight is realistic for a Phase 2 172? I would like to get her down to 800-850kgs.
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[celgt4]

Is there a Clio rally build manual? If so how do i get it?

 

[Tony Hunter]

You never get it down to 800kg, 850kg sort of possible, 900kg is a more realistic figure.

 

[celgt4]

Thanks for the weight guidelines. At least i will have a target.

 

[ian-speedy]

My rally car is 920 kg , but I still have all steel panels , glass , and even electric windows , so could go quite a bit lighter

 

[Pauleds]

I considered building my clio into a stage car but I can't justify the cost of doing it now that you need to have seats and belts in date, fuel sampling valve, window film etc which I didn't have to have for my last stage car and that is just the basics.

After having this Clio for a while now I do think it would make an excellent stage rally car and I have had great fun using it on road rallies, sprints, hillclimbs and track days.

 

[ian-speedy]

Well if your building a car the seats and belts will be new so in date for 5 years , window film you can do yourself for £20 , I got the stuff from Peter lloyd rallying and did it myself , fuel sampling valve is less than a hundred quid , I see no issue myself so get it built lol.

as for the Clio making a good rally car , yes it does , mine won the welsh Tarmac championship last year in class and finished 3rd overall

 

[Pauleds]

600 for decent seats and belts
700 cage
1200 LSD (definitely want one for stages)
200 extinguishers
25 autolec cutoff
20 film
90 fuel sample valve

And that's just the minimum, and money I don't have straight away.

I think if I did decide to go down the stage route again I would just sell the Clio and buy something built as there are some bargains out there, admittedly it's not as competitive as the Clio would be but could have some fun but for less money.

 

[ian-speedy]

I wish my clio only cost that , i'm up to around £30k now lol , and i'm looking to upgrade to the larger sadev box before the end of the year adding another £10k to that , but half of that should be covered by the sale of my current box

Yes its always cheaper to buy a car rather than build one , and as shown the Clio is a very competitive car

 

[Pauleds]

Mine as it is owes me 4k and I wouldn't get that back for it, I would be better off breaking it.

Mine hasn't had that much done to it so I can see how easy it is for you to get to 30k

I'm just having fun with it at the moment.

 

[celgt4]

Cost is always going to be an issue with any form of motorsport. it is cheaper to buy one finished. the problem with that is you don't have the satisfaction of doing the build yourself. i find that more involving. It also means you can build and buy over a longer period of time. no large outlay to purchase a finished car. i cannot afford To buy a complete car but a few hundred pounds a month, well that's. ok. and keeps her indoors quiet ish.Bad news is.... the car cannot be delivered till Tuesday.

 

[Pauleds]

Time is a big factor for me thesedays, I don't have any to spend building another car. I've still got a 205 sat on the drive needing to be finished off.
Yes I have enjoyed building cars in the past, I just enjoy driving more than messing with them thesedays.

 

[celgt4]

The car was delivered on Tuesday. I need to find more information relating to the parts which require strengthening so a trawl of the web is in order. Pictures to follow this weekend.

 

[EVOgone]

Well if your building a car the seats and belts will be new so in date for 5 years , window film you can do yourself for £20 , I got the stuff from Peter lloyd rallying and did it myself , fuel sampling valve is less than a hundred quid , I see no issue myself so get it built lol.

as for the Clio making a good rally car , yes it does , mine won the welsh Tarmac championship last year in class and finished 3rd overall

Agree on both counts 20k and counting and not competed in it yet.!!! But if its as quick as my Mk1 out the box i will be more than happy....

 

[celgt4]

Just a few of the project.

 

[celgt4]

It's been a couple of busy weeks what with my 2yr old having to go to hospital with Pneumonia and the raging s**ts. He is better now and the other half has taken him away for the weekend to her parents and I have taken the time to put together a build manual for the project. At the moment it just concerns the shell and various suspension strengthening which is needed. Most of which was picked up from various threads on here. These have been invaluable.

 

[MG cup]

If your doing it properly I.e seem welding etc then R-Sport will have a patch kit with lots of laser cut/bent pieces for around the chassis rails and strut tops and so on.

 

[celgt4]

If your doing it properly I.e seem welding etc then R-Sport will have a patch kit with lots of laser cut/bent pieces for around the chassis rails and strut tops and so on.

Thanks I will look them up.

 

[EVOgone]

If your doing it properly I.e seem welding etc then R-Sport will have a patch kit with lots of laser cut/bent pieces for around the chassis rails and strut tops and so on.

Interested to know if they do as well.

 

[celgt4]

I will look R sport up and see what they have. Cheers. Anyone in the Harrogate area who has a rally/track car and would like to chat?

 

[celgt4]

Just bought a 172 road car on a 51 plate for on the road fun. Got rid of the Vectra 140 SRi estate. This was the only car where I don't think the steering, suspension and body were connected to each other!

 

[celgt4]

After a few months of inactivity I have decided to get on with things. This was spurred on by a trip to Harewood Gill Climb this weekend to watch pre season testing. You cannot beat the sight, sound and smell of competition cars to spur a man on. So I have bought a ported/polished head and today I am ordering my cage from Roll Centre. I need to strip the car and seam weld it then the cage goes in.

 

[celgt4]

I am looking at cams now. I need a cam to work well with standard injection. I have read a lot about Cat 421 and 422's. Are there any other considerations? I wanted a 285 profile but don't think the injection system will fuel it.

 

[shell-vt]

This is something to keep a eye on i think. looking forward to more pics ect..

 

[celgt4]

Money is tight at the moment as work has dried up but that's another story. I have managed to buy a few parts which will be used for the project. First was a ported and polished cylinder head. It looks good and should release a few dormant horses. The second was a pair of Spax adjustable rear shocks. I am going for adjustable bump/rebound as I need the capability to change from a smooth tarmac setting to a softer, more absorbent, setting for the bumpier Mull roads. I am trying to source front struts and cams now.

 

[celgt4]

I am looking for a sump grd, navvi's foot rest and a cage as I have decided to do a road rally starting in Otley, The Coleman rally. it is in August and if you live locally and interested in competing in Motorsport this is an ideal way to start. Standard car and cheap costs.

 

[celgt4]

 

[celgt4]

 

[celgt4]

 

[celgt4]

 

[celgt4]

 

[celgt4]

 

[celgt4]

 

[celgt4]

So it has been a while but I thought I would update a few pics and let you know what is happening.
Above it a cheap torx bit bought of ebay. It didn't manage to remove any of the bolts but I did break it on perhaps the hardest bolt on the whole car. The bolt that sits in between the rear passenger seats. I managed to break 2 and had to go and but a Halfords set. Which I would recommend. Any way that was a weekend wasted!
Progress is a bit slow due to no leccy in the barn and daylight is in short supply at the moment. I have managed to strip down the whole of the interior including the difficult dash top which decided it didn't want to "just pull out." I have removed almost all the sound deadening and a day sniffing tar fumes is overated!
I have decided to drill out all the excess brackets and will crack on with that soon. The cage is due to go in early February. I have chosen a weld in cage which will go behind the dash hence the removal of the dash. My welding is a bit like pigeon s**t so this task will be done by professionals. I will get a diagonal with harness bar, door bars and I hope to have a rear brace between the shocker tops. This will be MSA standard and once in I will spray it up to stop the surface rust getting hold

 

[celgt4]

I have seen these and spoken to the supplier and they seem confident that they will be more than up to tarmac rallying. 2 way adjustable and reasonable priced I might just take a punt on them.
I have also been busy on the hunt for a LSD and final drive. I have found a company who can supply the diff for £799. It's a helical and would work like a Quaife ATB. No servicing required and they offer a life time guarantee. If your interested then PM me.
I have also bought a pair of out of date Motordrive seats and Sabelt 6 point harnesses will fit them for a few road rallies I want to do before I get the MSA log book for stage rallying.
What is the reason for all this sudden activity? well I did Mull this year in this

 

[celgt4]

And God was it slow. I can honestly say that I have never driven anything as hard and gone as slow.
We were 102nd when the rally was cancelled and I was driving the socks off it. Still I was beating 50 other cars so god knows what their excuses are!!!!!!
Anyway I decided I needed more than 64BHP. another 100bhp at least. So the Clio is being readied for a few Road events then Mull.

 

[Tony Hunter]

Renault do a sump guard for the Clio. I have one on the race car. It's the same as the plastic one that's on the standard cars, it's not that thick, but I have clouted mine a few times, and it's done the job. It's a standard part made for the south american clios, where the roads are rough.
I know they have put the price up since I got mine.
Just a thought.