Restoring Little Bluey - my 182 FF ClioSport in Racing Blue

[Brigsy]

Did my fogs today, makes more of a difference than you'd think.

I also want to go to a genuine splitter at some point, are they really that easy to smash do you know? I'd be devastated if I spent probably 10x the price of a fabia one and broke it.

Genuine splitter still available here if you need one. https://shop.renaultsport.com/RSperformance/lame-avant-ragnotti-clio-ii-r-s.html

I ordered one as a spare for my trophy, as they are very brittle.

 

[hopgop1]

Genuine splitter still available here if you need one. https://shop.renaultsport.com/RSperformance/lame-avant-ragnotti-clio-ii-r-s.html

I ordered one as a spare for my trophy, as they are very brittle.

That’s what I was looking at, may well treat myself next pay packet.

 

[Brigsy]

That’s what I was looking at, may well treat myself next pay packet.

Delivery is fast. Only downside is you will get stiffed with customs fees.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Genuine splitter still available here if you need one. https://shop.renaultsport.com/RSperformance/lame-avant-ragnotti-clio-ii-r-s.html

I ordered one as a spare for my trophy, as they are very brittle.

Wish I’d have known that beforehand 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

[bowen86]

Love checking for updates on this.

Keep it up.

 

[Mr Underhill]

It’s great to be back out in these amazing little cars. Couldn’t help but take a pic as I was heading home for the evening. She got her 3rd wash since I bought her, but it‘s desperately in need of a proper detail. Going to get her booked in soon.

 

[Twingo 1??]

desperately in need of a proper detail. Going to get her booked in soon.

Not be taking it to the valeting lad at work then 😂

 

[Mr Underhill]

Not be taking it to the valeting lad at work then 😂

Let me think about that for a minute 🤔

 

[Mr Underhill]

Took a trip over to see @Brigsy this morning to turn the seat airbags off via Clip. Top bloke and very knowledgeable. Great to know he’s only on my doorstep too. Thanks Jon 🙏🏻 #Legend

In other news I’ve lost my flippin locking wheel nut key. I’ve literally turned the garage and house upside down but to no avail. I have a feeling it was in the ashtray of old BG as I never liked leaving it in the RB whilst in storage. Spoken to the new owner but nothing has materialised.

I’ve dropped a message to my Renault dealer and will put a post up here of the pattern. No idea if these things can be identified or replaced but hopefully CS can help.

It’s not all bad news though as I did a quick midweek trip down to Derby to pick up some really clean Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 wheels. I‘ve been looking for a clean unmolested set forever after selling 3 sets of them 2 years ago 🤦🏻‍♂️ I’m f*ckin stoopid.

These won’t be my daily wheels, but I’ll use them for when I visit my local circuit. Can’t decide on tyres just yet. I usually go with A052’s as they’re a proven circuit tyre, but I’m also hearing good things about MRF ZTD’s. We’ll see.

In other, other good news, I love the new seats. I had a really good blast in the car today putting in some miles across the North Yorkshire moors. So comfortable, although it‘s highlighted the crashy nature of the Eibach Pro-kit springs, like I suspected they would.

On the subject of suspension, 5 weeks after ordering my AST’s I made a call to see where they were after initially being promised 3 weeks. Allegedly something went wrong in the ordering process so AST Holland never picked the order up. s**t happens I guess, so it’s going to be July now before I get my hands on them.

Thanks for reading.

 

[NickReilly063]

Looking the bussiness Mr Underhill.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Looking the bussiness Mr Underhill.

Thank you NickReilly063 😂 I think It’s time I went back to plain old Jon 🤔

 

[JamesBryan]

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Used those before for a replacement on my dad's Ford.

Sent them pictures and one turned up and fitted perfectly.

Wasn't the cheapest at around £50 though.

 

[Mr Underhill]

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Used those before for a replacement on my dad's Ford.

Sent them pictures and one turned up and fitted perfectly.

Wasn't the cheapest at around £50 though.

Thanks James. Cheaper than the alternative I guess.

 

[JamesBryan]

Thanks James. Cheaper than the alternative I guess.

True.

 

[Brigsy]

Good to catch up @Mr Underhill welcome to pop down any time.

Your RB looked mint too. One of the best mk2 clios ive seen in a long time! The pole positions are a great choice, i want a set after sitting in yours earlier.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Not a lot happening as I’ve been out of the country for 3 weeks, but back now and eager to crack in with the next phase.

In my last update I mentioned I’d lost my locking wheel nut key. Thanks to @JamesBryan sending me a link, I was able to track down a replacement. It worked out at £45 plus £30 delivery but as I was ready to travel, thought I’d leave it until I got back.

I’m replacing the factory bolts with a stud nut kit, so £75 to essentially throw the key away seemed stupid.

So I gave it to one of our techies, who pulled out a hydraulic chisel, gave it a few ugger duggers and 5 mins later they were off.

With that job out of the way, I can now look at replacing the suspension. Now I won’t go into the hows and why’s, but Cooksport managed to screw my order up. They’re a good bunch really and got it sorted.

A nice big box was waiting for me on my return.

After discussing my options with Simon at Cooksport I went with AST 5100s. As I’m using the car primarily for the road with the odd circuit day, I opted for 70NM front and rear.

I was going to get Cooksport to fit and set them up, but the delay clashes with other things I’ve got going on, so just need to get it booked in somewhere more local to me. A lad I used to use at Track Torque Racing in York has left, so I may still use them. But if anybody knows somewhere close to North Yorkshire, then drop me a pm.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Small updates.

Bought a new exhaust flange off @16v_paddy then took it to my local exhaust centre (Sadler's garage in Darlington).

I was more excited about this job than pretty much all my other work. I’ve seen so many cars going home early on trackdays, that I’d be an idiot not to do mine. Lovely job.

They also adjusted my PMS exhaust as it had a defect during manufacturing and the tail pipes were touching the bumper trims, resulting in meltdown.

I just need to clean the melted plastic off the exhaust tips now.

I have a nice solution to replace the trims. More of that later.

Last job of the day was to fit my AST’s.

Factory suspension off.

Shiny new ones on.

I haven’t played around with the settings as it’s going down the Track Torque Racing first week in August for full set up.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Jamess182]

Great read up mate. Looking forward to seeing how it sits on the TDs, never been keen on the oem 182 alloys, horrible things.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Great read up mate. Looking forward to seeing how it sits on the TDs, never been keen on the oem 182 alloys, horrible things.

Cheers. I’ve got a few choices when it comes to wheels. I’ll be using the TDs for circuit but probably go back to my Turinis for road use.

This was a picture of the car when I put the AST’s on the front. I’ll get some proper pictures when I get it all set up, but these are straight out of the box. You can see how lower it is already compared to the rear which was still on standard dampers.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Forgot to update the stud nut kit, supplied by @FrogJam Motorsport. I went for 68mm as they’re ideal for cars running no spacers and TD Pro Race alloys. They’ll also allow me to run my standard Cup alloys with the centre caps on.

 

[Clio_fool]

Get some covers on those sexy coilovers!

 

[Mr Underhill]

Get some covers on those sexy coilovers!

I’m not a fan tbh. They’ll never rust under my ownership.

 

[Brigsy]

Great updates mate, Ast's look mega. Forgot to say spotted you going towards Southbank on A66 yesterday near mcd's. I was going the other way in the blue clio van.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Great updates mate, Ast's look mega. Forgot to say spotted you going towards Southbank on A66 yesterday near mcd's. I was going the other way in the blue clio van.

I’d have been going to the branch on the A66.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Time to tackle the melted exhaust trims.

And remove the melted plastic off the exhaust tips.

A bit of Acetone, a thumb nail and some Autosol did the trick.

Got a length of plastic trim lok from my mates at CMRacing and cut a piece 27cm in length.

It’s virtually the same width as those ridiculously expensive replacements, which aren’t even that nice.

A gentle tap with a camping mallet and they’re on.

Then refit the exhaust tips and the jobs a good un.

They’re quite neat, in fact I prefer these to the cheap aftermarket replacements. Plus they won’t fall off. If you stand 10 feet back, they even have a carbon effect.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Took the day off to visit Track Torque Racing in Tockwith, York. They’ve set up my old track car many times and they know what they’re doing.

Work included setting the ride height, geometry and corner balancing.

Poor blokes face 😂 he wasn’t having a good start after hitting himself on the bridge of the nose with a ratchet. 🥴

I went for a fat lad setup at 100 kg. I’m not quite there yet, but winter’s coming 😂

The whole job took a couple hours.

As it was a nice day, I decided to give her a blast across the North Yorkshire Moors.

What a difference. The cars certainly lively. Still compliant for road use, but I can tell it’s going to be pretty good on a circuit.

The only thing left to do now is change the oil and filter. Fit my circuit wheels and tyres, upgrade the pads and change the brake fluid.

Oh and I’ve also earmarked an LSD. More of that later. Thank you for reading.

 

[Andy P]

@Mr Underhill Have you refitted the abs cable bracket to the shocks.

I replaced mine for new ones from Renault, this was the part number 8200143718 if they are still available.

 

[Mr Underhill]

@Mr Underhill Have you refitted the abs cable bracket to the shocks.

I replaced mine for new ones from Renault, this was the part number 8200143718 if they are still available.

Hi Andy, yes I did. I realised I'd taken a picture of it missing. I'm rubbish at that sort of thing.
Mine were in really good nick.

 

[Mr Underhill]

A picture I took of the car in Morrisons this morning, 24 hours after the fitment of the new suspension.

I'm going to have to get some 15-inch wheels on this sooner I think.

I made the choice to have it set up for the circuit as I won't be killing it with road miles and wearing the tyres out.

But I just couldn't resist driving it again this morning, despite having a brand-new Hybrid car sitting in storage lol

I have some 15" TD Pro Race which I'm using for track time, so might go balls deep and buy a nice set of Evo corse X3MA 7x15 and sell the Turini's.

Decisions, decisions....

 

[Brigsy]

Great updates as usual mate

Evo corse get my vote.
 

 

[Andy P]

Hi Andy, yes I did. I realised I'd taken a picture of it missing. I'm rubbish at that sort of thing.
Mine were in really good nick.

I thought you would have with your attention to detail.

Car looks spot on👍

 

[Andy P]

Forgot to update the stud nut kit, supplied by @FrogJam Motorsport. I went for 68mm as they’re ideal for cars running no spacers and TD Pro Race alloys. They’ll also allow me to run my standard Cup alloys with the centre caps on.

View attachment 1654404View attachment 1654405View attachment 1654406

@Mr Underhill This post gave me a gentle reminder that I needed to order a new stud & nut Kit. So you have cost me money .

I also bought the 68mm ones from @FrogJam Motorsport as I run TD Pro race with no spacers.

Nice little gesture in the packaging which made me chuckle, I thought it was very clever marketing.

 

[Mr Underhill]

@Mr Underhill This post gave me a gentle reminder that I needed to order a new stud & nut Kit. So you have cost me money .

I also bought the 68mm ones from @FrogJam Motorsport as I run TD Pro race with no spacers.

Nice little gesture in the packaging which made me chuckle, I thought it was very clever marketing.

View attachment 1655995

My Freddo and Jam is still in the box with my pads so will have well and truly melted by now. They’re a good bunch of lads and they give a damn. Are you going to CSF then?

 

[Andy P]

My Freddo and Jam is still in the box with my pads so will have well and truly melted by now. They’re a good bunch of lads and they give a damn. Are you going to CSF then?

😂

Yes they are. Met them @ Donington a few years ago and had a nosey around the Clio.

Very nice build.

No, I have a track day @ Bedford on the 26th.

 

[Mr Underhill]

I’d bought some new injectors and spark plugs from Renault a while ago, but misplaced them. Had a good tidy up in the garage this morning and found them so figured I’d replace these just to be on the safe side.

I read a lot about cheap injectors from Amazon and have bought fakes before, so for an extra £28 for 4 injectors, it’s not worth taking the risk imho.

I have no idea where the old injectors were sourced from, but they seem identical to the genuine ones, other than a few numbers are different and the hole at the front is larger on the OEM part (Pictured right).

Good to see everything is still nice and clean under the intake and cover with no nasty surprises

It was covered in oil when I purchased it.

Took her out to commondale with the missus and she wasn’t impressed with the new bouncy suspension 😂 She says I’ve ruined the ride, which is strange as she hated it before. Women eh!

Took a quick shot before getting her back into storage.

I‘m hoping to get to CSF but am still waiting on tyres. I’ve had some Yokohama A052s on order for a while now, but still not in stock. After chatting to a few members on here I’m going to try some MRF ZTD mediums in the interim, so fingers crossed they arrive this week 🤞🏻

Thank you for reading.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Well today‘s job should have been straightforward but as usual, life finds a way of kicking you in the b****cks.

The plan was to fit my new discs and pads and TD Pro Race wheels ready for next weekends CSF meet.

My MRF Tyres arrived, so I was all set to take them down to my usual place in south bank, but as they were delivered to my work, one of the techies suggested I take them to the auto centre in Darlington. ”It’s only around the corner and they’ll be done in an hour”.

Got a call an hour later to say he’d nicked one of the tyres putting it on and it’s got a hole in it. I know these cars are good on three wheels but…..

So now I’m on the phone, mid afternoon, frantically trying to get another tyre sorted. With the best will in the world, the quickest he could get a tyre to me was Monday.

Ok, that’s still doable. I’ll just do the brakes instead.

Now a few months back I noticed the PAS pump sounded a little noisy. Everything felt ok, but I suspected something wasn’t right. I’d mentioned it to a few people but they couldn’t hear anything. Having 3 of these cars at the same time, my gut feeling was telling me otherwise.

So thought I’d have a good look and there’s a leak coming from the pump. Damn.

Good job I have a spare.

Then the grandkids rocked up 😂 I haven’t seen them for a week.

“Grandad, watch this cartwheel”. Grandad are you coming to watch Peter Rabbit at the pictures with us”. I do love my family more than cars though.

So I’m standing there looking at my immaculate engine bay, with all its beautiful ancillaries and spotless paintwork thinking can I be bothered ripping all this apart it. Life’s too short to be stressing out. Bonnet slam.

Off to the pictures 😂

Thanks for reading.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Got my tyres back today so gave the TD Pro Race a test fit.

So pleased with how it sits now. Near identical to my track car and rides just as badly on the road too 😫 Should be a hoot on circuit though.

Still no PAS so CSF isn’t happening but I have a couple of days spare between now and Croft, so hopefully get it all done.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Mr Underhill]

 

[yeecup]

looks absolutely perfect that. love it.

 

[Mr Underhill]

looks absolutely perfect that. love it.

Aw cheers fella. I have put a lot of time, thought and money into it, so I'm really chuffed with how it's tuned out.

I know of a few followers who would have preferred it to stay factory after I first restored it, and I totally understand that, but I think this is better.

If they saw it in the flesh, they'd agree.

Just need the LSD fitting now.