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Restoring Little Bluey - my 182 FF ClioSport in Racing Blue



Andy P

ClioSport Club Member
  Clio 172, i20N
So glad you got it sorted Jon. Must be very satisfying that you sorted it yourself with a little help from Brigsy.

I know what you mean about how they feel to drive, took my 172 out to do a few tip runs in today & probably enjoyed them drives more than I do driving the i20N daily.
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Mega! Little more satisfying that working things like this out!
Cheers Rich.

Other than the washer pumps' poor connection, I inadvertently caused the starting issue myself by removing the fuse box too thoroughly, leading to a loose wire. These older cars can be tricky. I mean the car ran perfectly until I replaced a wiper stalk. 😂

This morning, with the sun shining, I felt ready to go back to the beginning. Fortunately, it's not a modern car with complex electronics; once you understand the basics, these cars are pretty straightforward.

Either way, the car was getting fixed by me or Mick, which allows you to be a bit braver.
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
So glad you got it sorted Jon. Must be very satisfying that you sorted it yourself with a little help from Brigsy.

I know what you mean about how they feel to drive, took my 172 out to do a few tip runs in today & probably enjoyed them drives more than I do driving the i20N daily.
Cheers Andy. Yeah I’m lucky to have Jon on my doorstep and he’s always happy to help. His head is full of useful Renault information 😂

Mines proper standard and behaves itself. It’s probably how it drove from factory, bar a little wear and tear. My BG was feral and tried to kill me every time I went out in it.

I’ve been driving an i20 N demo at work and I was slowly coming around to it. It’s a cool little car.
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Well, the car's been going great. I did a few more miles back and forth to work but have now decided it’s time to move on. She’s currently in storage, and I’m going to fit the last few remaining genuine parts to the car and give her a proper detail inside and out before listing it for sale in early spring.

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Whoever buys this car will get a cracker - having all the right parts, history, and ownership. There probably aren't many 182 RBs like this left, so hopefully, she goes to a good owner who'll appreciate the work that's gone into it and keep her in tiptop condition.

The new exhaust for the circuit car arrived yesterday from PMS, although TNT decided to dump it outside the dealership in the pouring rain. Luckily one of our staff spotted the box and gave me a call.

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Instead of my usual 3.5-inch slash-cut types, I opted for some 3” external rolled tips. I believe these will look better on the RB.

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That’s it for now. Thank you for reading and for anybody looking for a great car, watch this space.
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Did a little bit on the old girl on Saturday.

I got this bonnet catch off a lad when I was picking up some bits and pieces. I saw it in his bin and noticed it was a genuine Renault part, so needed saving.

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My old catch had a problem with the spring, so I'd replaced it with an aftermarket one - NLA - but it never quite worked properly and I wasn't confident with it.

Degreased it, then lobbed it in a bucket of B&H Deox C and left it for a week.

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It pretty much came out like this.

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Covered it in ACF-50, greased the spring mechanism and put it on the car.

It's not show and shine, but it's another original part saved and now works as it should. I'll just keep hitting it with ACF-50 to hold the corrosion back.

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My new PMS exhaust arrived a few weeks back, so switched the 3.5-inch slashed tips for some 3” external rolled tips. I think it suits an original car better.

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In terms of selling her, the missus has been chewing my ear off about letting her go. The poor woman has had to endure years of me obsessively working on these projects and knows what I'm like. She's right, as soon as I sell it, I'll get bored, buy another one and restore that. :ROFLMAO:

So for now she's staying. Thank you to everybody who messaged me. It's much appreciated.

Thank you for reading.
 

Louis

I Park Like a C**t
ClioSport Club Member
Did a little bit on the old girl on Saturday.

I got this bonnet catch off a lad when I was picking up some bits and pieces. I saw it in his bin and noticed it was a genuine Renault part, so needed saving.

View attachment 1680889
View attachment 1680886
My old catch had a problem with the spring, so I'd replaced it with an aftermarket one - NLA - but it never quite worked properly and I wasn't confident with it.

Degreased it, then lobbed it in a bucket of B&H Deox C and left it for a week.

View attachment 1680888

It pretty much came out like this.

View attachment 1680885View attachment 1680887

Covered it in ACF-50, greased the spring mechanism and put it on the car.

It's not show and shine, but it's another original part saved and now works as it should. I'll just keep hitting it with ACF-50 to hold the corrosion back.

View attachment 1680884

My new PMS exhaust arrived a few weeks back, so switched the 3.5-inch slashed tips for some 3” external rolled tips. I think it suits an original car better.

View attachment 1680883

In terms of selling her, the missus has been chewing my ear off about letting her go. The poor woman has had to endure years of me obsessively working on these projects and knows what I'm like. She's right, as soon as I sell it, I'll get bored, buy another one and restore that. :ROFLMAO:

So for now she's staying. Thank you to everybody who messaged me. It's much appreciated.

Thank you for reading.
An original, but probably recalled, part 😂
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
An original, but probably recalled, part 😂
I think that was the issue with my old (original) one. The plastic around the spring kept sticking forcing the bonnet to pop up if you went over a bump.

Luckily only onto the latch.

I've had a bonnet go up through the windscreen when I was flat out down the straight at Cadwell, so I'm a bit paranoid about such things.

The aftermarket part was very similar.

So far this one seems much better. 🤞
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Looks lovely! Mental to do all that work then sell. How much you going to be after?
My wife has helped me see reason, so I've decided to keep it for the time being.

Being a workaholic, I easily get bored, which is why I embark on these projects in the first place.

Regarding the price, I'll stick it on Collecting Cars and set a reserve price of £6,000. I do have quite a few interested people in it now, but I've kept them updated on the situation.

If I were to part with this one, I'd undoubtedly seek out another project to restore, though I might opt for a different brand as the condition of these cars is pretty poor and acquiring enough quality parts for another one might prove challenging.
 

Will2010T

ClioSport Club Member
  Clio MK2 PH2 172
My new checkstrap arrived. I went for a decent make as the cheapos are a bit flimsy.

View attachment 1659120View attachment 1659121

Removed the speaker, door handles and electric window/mirror switches.

View attachment 1659122

4 screws at the bottom of the door then lifted the cover up and off.

It came off a bit too easy.

View attachment 1659123

On further inspection you can see it’s been off before. Little to no Butyl sealer at all plus some snapped plugs. I’m surprised it hasn’t leaked.

View attachment 1659124View attachment 1659125View attachment 1659126

1 torx screw and two small 10mm bolts and the old checkstrap was off. That’s 19 years of wear and tear right there.

View attachment 1659127

Cont……
Hi where did u buy check strap from ? Can’t find that make
 

bren172

ClioSport Club Member
  clio 172
Sorry for no updates but i've been busy with the trackcar and restoring/fixing oil leaks on the BG daily. Went totally over the top as usual, but so far so good.

Day off today so i'll bring the thread up to date with what's happened to the RB.

First job was to whip the old beam off, look for corrosion, treat it and then build back up with a restored beam i did earlier and new parts.

View attachment 1567982

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Underneath wasn't bad at all, so i just gave everything a clean up and then undersealed, touched up the painted areas and then cavity waxed oiled it. It's ugly but the goal is to avoid any corrosion and the treatments i used are in brush form only.

View attachment 1567978

Even had a go at the exhaust heat shields :ROFLMAO: god knows how long they'll last. I've since bought a large sheet of nimbus heat shield so stay tuned for a Frankinstein monster of an attempt at replicating the rear shield.

View attachment 1567979

Rebuilt the restored beam with new bolts, nuts, brake lines, calipers, brake discs and pads etc....Old brake lines on the rear didn't look great so replaced with stainless steel braided lines.

View attachment 1567977View attachment 1567976

I've been trying to get my hands on some genuine cup springs but the ones i've been offered are pretty much useless, so may just keep the Eibach spings on for now. I've also bought brand new front and rear Cup dampers to replace the new aftermarket dampers currently fitted. I'll stick these up for sale later when i take them off.

View attachment 1567975

Had a few parts aqua blasted, replaced the exhaust bushes and cleaned up the exhaust. I was going to replace the Scorpion system on it with a PMS but it's almost new and doesn't sound too bad at all.
Hi, fantastic build. I spent all afternoon reading your BG thread from start to finish. It was pretty epic. Where did you get your rear beam? Was it already freshly powder coated?
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Hi, fantastic build. I spent all afternoon reading your BG thread from start to finish. It was pretty epic. Where did you get your rear beam?
I bought it off eBay.
Was it already freshly powder coated?
No it was a mess. I restore my own. Powder coating doesn’t last that long.

Are you looking for a rear beam? I have a beauty sitting in my garage.
 

bren172

ClioSport Club Member
  clio 172
I bought it off eBay.

No it was a mess. I restore my own. Powder coating doesn’t last that long.

Are you looking for a rear beam? I have a beauty sitting in my garage.
Yeah I am as I love the idea of how you did it. Build up a rear beam separately then swap over as a whole. I'm just about to recommission my 2003 172 and you've made me want to go the whole hog. I love the work you've done.
Whereabouts did you buy all the parts for the new rear beam. Have you got a quick list of the places to go that you could send me? I'd really appreciate your help. 1 more thing, I can't believe how much prices have gone up since you restored the BG. The 200 cell cat was the biggest shock, I think you paid £250, it's now £450!!!
Let me know about your rear beam and all the other stuff whenever you're free. Thanks
Bren
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Yeah I am as I love the idea of how you did it. Build up a rear beam separately then swap over as a whole. I'm just about to recommission my 2003 172 and you've made me want to go the whole hog. I love the work you've done.
Whereabouts did you buy all the parts for the new rear beam. Have you got a quick list of the places to go that you could send me? I'd really appreciate your help. 1 more thing, I can't believe how much prices have gone up since you restored the BG. The 200 cell cat was the biggest shock, I think you paid £250, it's now £450!!!
Let me know about your rear beam and all the other stuff whenever you're free. Thanks
Bren
I'll drop you some images of it later today.

I appreciate the feedback on my 2 threads. Those were my first two projects. So learning as I went along.

Since then I've started two new ones based on learned knowledge and experience.
If you want your mind blown, check out my RB thread :ROFLMAO:

 

bren172

ClioSport Club Member
  clio 172
I'll drop you some images of it later today.

I appreciate the feedback on my 2 threads. Those were my first two projects. So learning as I went along.

Since then I've started two new ones based on learned knowledge and experience.
If you want your mind blown, check out my RB thread :ROFLMAO:

Already coming through it as we speak. That's the car I messaged you about with the rear beam. Had to stop last night, it was the early hours and could barely keep my eyes open trying finish 1 more page!
I basically want to do what you're doing. I've owned the car for about 14 years and it needs a proper going over.
Any companies you can recommend where you find all the parts would be much appreciated
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Already coming through it as we speak. That's the car I messaged you about with the rear beam. Had to stop last night, it was the early hours and could barely keep my eyes open trying finish 1 more page!
Sorry, I just realised which thread it was, i've done that many now.
I basically want to do what you're doing. I've owned the car for about 14 years and it needs a proper going over.
I don't think I'd do another project as you can't get a lot of the genuine parts new now, so I've taken to finding second-hand stuff and restoring those.
Any companies you can recommend where you find all the parts would be much appreciated
You just have to strip everything back (if you have the room to work on your car while it's off the road), make a list of what you need, then look on eBay or here and go from there. I've only got 182 parts, but some work on 172.

Drop me a pm so we don't clog up the thread and I'll try and help with as many questions you may have.
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
I've been so preoccupied with my Track car, I completely forgot the MOT was due on the RB.

Picked her up from storage last night and gave her the first proper exterior wash using some BH products.

Dropped her off at the garage this morning filthy thanks to the rain, then got a call a few hours later saying she'd passed with flying colours.

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So that's her 3rd straight pass in a row, which is something I'm particularly proud of.

mot-pass.jpg


I still haven't decided if I'm going to sell her, but that's just me thinking out loud as usual. I know I'll never find another like her or be able to restore one to the same high standard due to the scarcity of parts.

Thank you for reading.
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
A short break in the weather so took Muttley down to Saltburn for a quick run on the beach - me in the distance.

I’d only been down there a few minutes and got a ping on my phone - “Is that you mate?”

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Haha I’m looking all over the place expecting to be shot by a sniper before realising it’s a couple in the nearby restaurant waving at me.

Must be following me on Instagram or stalking me. 😂

It’s amazing how these old cars make people all fuzzy inside.
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Back in 2023, I refitted my CUP suspension after experimenting with ASTs. On a business trip to London the car felt awful - sliding, wobbling, and unstable. A quick check revealed uneven tyre wear on the inside.

2 new Michelin PS3s helped, but a slight vibration persisted above 65 mph. Multiple visits to the tyre centre for balancing but no improvement. Tried another center with the same result. It ruined the drive completely.

So this week I got 4 new Michelin PS3 205/45/16 tyres, dug my Turinis out, and thanks to a friend of @Brigsy, got them sorted.

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Fitted them last night. I do like my Turinis but might go a touch lighter.

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After a drive to Wilton Castle and a blast down the A19, the car is perfect.

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In summary, my CUP wheels either:
a) decided to bend,
b) I have a faulty tyre, or
c) my usual tyre centres and have forgotten how to balance wheels.

Thank you for reading.
 

ldubl

ClioSport Club Member
  182
Looks amazing on the Turinis!

Glad you got it sorted

Looks like a fair amount of camber on that rear wheel, what settings are you running?
 

Brigsy

ClioSport Club Member
  T.Turbo
Good to hear tyres are all sorted mate, Woody always does a great job of fitting.

He said the finish is nice on the wheels, did Romax refurb them?
 

Brigsy

ClioSport Club Member
  T.Turbo
Look spot on, i guess its the same colour anthracite they used years ago. I had a few sets done by them in the mid - late 2000's when Rob owned it and was always a good finish.

I have a set that need doing again soon so will give them a go again, had them done by motorcool and powdercoat coming off already so need redoing after little use :cautious:
 

Mr Underhill

ClioSport Club Member
Look spot on, i guess its the same colour anthracite they used years ago. I had a few sets done by them in the mid - late 2000's when Rob owned it and was always a good finish.

I have a set that need doing again soon so will give them a go again, had them done by motorcool and powdercoat coming off already so need redoing after little use :cautious:
I’ve been using them since the 80s but I think it’s his son running it now. He did my CUP alloys but the finish wasn’t great. Friday afternoon job, so I had to take them back. He sorted it without any hassle though.
 


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