Restoring Little Bluey - my 182 FF ClioSport in Racing Blue

[ex-Chinese Dave]

Happy retirement. If you get bored you could always help me identity strange noises on my Cup 😂

 

[Mr Underhill]

I’ve been having some fun in old Bluey lately — blasting around the North Yorkshire moors and commuting back and forth to work (not for much longer).

Last Tuesday, I was coming home on a properly windy evening - Storm Floris, if my memory serves me right - and noticed smoke swirling around more than usual.

I thought, “Crikey, my engine’s gone!” lol. I wasn’t even revving it that hard, so I went straight home. It’s been on the drive since Sunday, when I took her down to my storage and could hear all sorts of noises that weren’t really there, lol. Damn cars - got me paranoid now! 🤣

Anyway, she's going for a leak-down test on Thursday, which should tell me a bit more. 🤞

 

[Mr Underhill]

Leak-down test complete.

Bad: My little car’s engine is shot.
Good: She’s about to get some TLC.

#OldCarLife

 

[Mr Trailer Man]

What amount of leakage did you get and where from Jon?

 

[Mr Underhill]

What amount of leakage did you get Jon?

Just waiting for the full report. I’ve got some video, but I don’t understand any of it - not mechanically minded, unfortunately.

Cylinder 3 is good 🤣

If you start the car, it’s perfect. If you drive it sensibly, it seems perfect. The only way you notice oil is if you take it to 4,500–5,500 rpm - then it reveals itself.

On the positive side, I’ve caught it at the right time and should, hopefully, be able to retain the original engine and have it rebuilt.

But I’m not the one building it, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

 

[Mr Trailer Man]

Just waiting for the full report. I’ve got some video, but I don’t understand any of it - not mechanically minded, unfortunately.

Cylinder 3 is good 🤣

If you start the car, it’s perfect. If you drive it sensibly, it seems perfect. The only way you notice oil is if you take it to 4,500–5,500 rpm - then it reveals itself.

On the positive side, I’ve caught it at the right time and should, hopefully, be able to retain the original engine and have it rebuilt.

But I’m not the one building it, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Could be the rings then.

A fresh set and a light honing should sort it.

Lap the valves and new stem seals while you're there.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Could be the rings then.

A fresh set and a light honing should sort it.

Lap the valves and new stem seals while you're there.

I’ve only briefly chatted to the techie, so I’ll wait until I see the full report, but I think it’s a lot worse than that.

I'm keeping the car, so I'll get whatever it needs to future-proof it.

The upside is, I don't have to listen to “kick its head, it'll be right,” or “needs a piston soak, pal,” or “just needs an ItAliAn TUnE.” 🤣

 

[bren172]

Who are you going to get to rebuild it? Could you keep us posted on costs? I'm still scared of what my engine is going to be like after only doing 1000 miles in 13 years

 

[Mr Underhill]

Who are you going to get to rebuild it? Could you keep us posted on costs? I'm still scared of what my engine is going to be like after only doing 1000 miles in 13 years

I'll keep the thread updated. Just part of the car's history.

 

[Mr Underhill]

From the leak-down reports:

• Cylinder 1 – 45% (Major leak)
• Cylinder 2 – 10% (Good)
• Cylinder 3 – 15% (Good/Fair)
• Cylinder 4 – 95% (Catastrophic)

Likely causes:

• Ring/bore issues
• Intake valve issues

I’ll just get the whole lot refreshed and future-proofed. There can't be many - if any - Racing Blue 182s out there in this kind of cosmetic condition, so with a refreshed engine, it should last me many more years to come.

The story continues..................................................

Thank you for reading.

 

[Mr Trailer Man]

Some fair leak that, 45% and 95% 😅

 

[Mr Underhill]

Some fair leak that, 45% and 95% 😅

 

[Mr Trailer Man]

View attachment 1756551

95% makes me wonder if the piston was actually at TDC on compression stroke 😅

Did the car run ok?

 

[Mr Underhill]

95% makes me wonder if the piston was actually at TDC on compression stroke 😅

Did the car run ok?

The car runs fine when hot. I noticed the symptoms getting worse when starting from cold. If I let the car tick over for 5 minutes after the cold map has switched, you’d honestly never notice anything - unless you floored it and looked in the rear-view mirror.

 

[Mr Trailer Man]

The car runs fine when hot. I noticed the symptoms getting worse when starting from cold. If I let the car tick over for 5 minutes after the cold map has switched, you’d honestly never notice anything - unless you floored it and looked in the rear-view mirror.

Yeah i reckon that's done a ring potentially.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Who are you going to get to rebuild it?

 

[SharpyClio]

View attachment 1756553

Somehow it’s more broken after the rebuild? 😂