RM04 MOR - Arctic Blue 182

[HaveaCuppa]

Managed to pick this up today after getting g an email from Kevin to let me know it was ready.
It was possibly the worst day to pick it up as we had snow last night + torrential rain this morning, but never mind haha.

Im genuinely blown away with the finished product. The guys really really know their stuff and gave me a quick tour around the workshop. Plenty of very very nice metal around including a liquid yellow 182.

Unfortunately I took minimal decent before pics. Here’s the state of the car before the bodywork.

This was above the rear bumper on the offside. About the size of a 50p and it was starting to bubble further back too.

The fuel filler was starting to bubble everywhere. Top, bottom, side and also behind.

Crushed jacking points and sills both sides. This also meant the side skirts didn’t quite fit right either.
There were also a ton of dents, stone chips and scratches along the doors and rear quarter.

I’ll post the after pics in the next post.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

A few quick after pics when the rain decided to stop for 5 minutes.

No more stone chipped rear quarters and that rust bubble where the arch met the bumper has now been sorted.
Both sides have been resprayed along with the side skirts too.

Fuel filler area sorted. There was a massive hole behind this so it’s all been cut and a new panel put in.
While it was up on the ramps, they also sorted some underbody corrosion near the rear axle.

Sills and jacking points all sorted. The side skirts now actually sit flush.

So it’s looking pretty spot on at the moment. Pulled into a petrol station on the way home and one of the banners flew off and hit the side of the car. Luckily no scratches or damage!

Just need to get it undersealed in May and it’s ready for the summer.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Managed to pick this up today after getting g an email from Kevin to let me know it was ready.
It was possibly the worst day to pick it up as we had snow last night + torrential rain this morning, but never mind haha.

Im genuinely blown away with the finished product. The guys really really know their stuff and gave me a quick tour around the workshop. Plenty of very very nice metal around including a liquid yellow 182.

Unfortunately I took minimal decent before pics. Here’s the state of the car before the bodywork.

View attachment 1578928
This was above the rear bumper on the offside. About the size of a 50p and it was starting to bubble further back too.

View attachment 1578929
The fuel filler was starting to bubble everywhere. Top, bottom, side and also behind.

View attachment 1578930
View attachment 1578931
Crushed jacking points and sills both sides. This also meant the side skirts didn’t quite fit right either.
There were also a ton of dents, stone chips and scratches along the doors and rear quarter.

I’ll post the after pics in the next post.

I had quite a bit of work done on the o/s rear in December after some stupid b**ch reversed into my rear quarter. I also had some rust bubbling through where the rear bumper meets the arch. The body shop said the bumper was rubbing on the metal. He ended up cutting it out and replacing it. He's done a cracking job. He put a small piece of vinyl inbetween the bumper and arch so it doesn't rub again.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

I had quite a bit of work done on the o/s rear in December after some stupid b**ch reversed into my rear quarter. I also had some rust bubbling through where the rear bumper meets the arch. The body shop said the bumper was rubbing on the metal. He ended up cutting it out and replacing it. He's done a cracking job. He put a small piece of vinyl inbetween the bumper and arch so it doesn't rub again.View attachment 1578956View attachment 1578957

That’s a cracking idea. I might have to look into doing that. There’s a local guy near me that does paint protection film.

It does seem to be a bit of a common place for rust to start when they two panels rub.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

I’ve also picked up a set of these from Ian @ MrPinkPins. Should hopefully mean I’ll never have to deal with stuck pins on the brembos.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

That’s a cracking idea. I might have to look into doing that. There’s a local guy near me that does paint protection film.

It does seem to be a bit of a common place for rust to start when they two panels rub.

Looks like a cracking job you've had done. 👍 I used to see people post about rust round the arch and others would say it's probably had some crash damage/repair.
Well mine had never had any damage or repair and it was bubbling so maybe its a good idea to put something between the bumper and arch to stop it occurring again.

 

[MLB]

That looks like they've done a proper job, love a shiny Arctic Blue!

And those Mr pink pins are brilliant, had mine for a year now or so and it makes life so much easier when changing brake pads.

 

[Oliver98]

Protek in Bathgate? How much did you pay for the welding and paint out of interest mate?

 

[HaveaCuppa]

That looks like they've done a proper job, love a shiny Arctic Blue!

And those Mr pink pins are brilliant, had mine for a year now or so and it makes life so much easier when changing brake pads.

Yeah, I’m hoping the old pins will just tap out easy enough. They’ve only been on the car for 5 months and less than 500 miles, so fingers crossed haha.

I was having a bit of an issue with the central locking recently. The car would lock on the button, but wouldn’t unlock unless you put the key in the door. Seems to have sorted itself after a battery disconnect and the car now locks and unlocks off the key again.

A few more bodyshop pics from Kevin:

Heres the rot underneath that has now been cut and sorted.

I need to snap some after pics once I get under the car properly.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

And here’s the fuel filler work for anyone who is interested.

Note the hole at the top. The bubbling of the filler cap didn’t look bad from the outside but underneath, it was pretty rough.

A new filler neck panel was made to replace the old one.

The rear arch rot was also cut and Replaced.

And a few more general pics from the work.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

Managed to get this in the storage unit today. It was a little hairy with the snow and ice but it never missed a beat on the 50 mile or so drive over.

Took a couple of 7am fuel stop pics.

Got it hooked up to the battery conditioner but found the ‘comfort clips’ which bolt straight on to the battery were a touch too tight. So I’ll quickly drill them out and put them on next time I visit the unit. So for the time being, I’ve just used the crocodile clips and left the bonnet up.

I’ve had a couple of odd electrical issue recently - mainly keys not working and lights turning on and off. Fired Stu and Renomotive a message and he sorted me out with a few bits of trim I needed as well as a full UCH/ECU set. He’s an absolute gent and seriously helpful. I highly recommend messaging him if you need Clio bits in Scotland

and finally, I’ve picked up a decent set of 197 cams for my impending belt change this summer. If anyone has used 197 cams before, how s**t is it to drive before mapping? I’ll need to drive from Edinburgh to EFI, but would trailer it if it was a pig to drive.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

So, we moved unit a while back. Just over the road but the new place has a 2 post lift and a bit of extra space. I finally pulled the Clio out today as it’s off to Glasgow tomorrow for undersealing,

The chap who owns the unit has an incredible collection of cars - 996 GT2, 430 Scud, 106 Raylle and a 355 to name a few. He had his SL65 on the ramps doing a few bits to it. Had a look around and helped him swap the wheels over. He took me for a quick run up the bypass in it.
Wow. Something this heavy should not be this quick, This thing just pulls and pulls. No back boxes/center silencers meant it sounded bloody Awesome.

Anyway, the Clio made the 50 mile journey hope without putting a foot wrong after 3 months of storage. It’s covered in dust so maybe Time to pick up a cheap cover for when it’s back in storage after summer?

Tried to swap the old stubby aerial back to a standard one. Nope. Whoever put the stubby one in must’ve gorilla glued the bugger on as it would budge with molegrips. I’ll order a new base soon and sort it.

I quickly swapped the center console out as someone has self tappered cup holder to it and left it in a right state. The lower dash was also bonded back together as it was rattling like f**k.

old

new

Handheld dusters to hold the lower dash in place while it set…

And finally, a very quick pic as I was in a rush. @CFAB rear net. Amazing bit of kit!. Really really chuffed with this. I’ll try and snap a few pics of this properly next week when the car is out of the undersealers.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

Made it to Preserve and Protect this morning for about half ten. The car ran spot on for the hundred miles or so we covered.
The EML light came on during the last 20 mins though after nigh on 60 miles of motorway. It seems to be a common thing for my car at least. After a stint of driving at 70/80, the eml will light up but then go out when the car is next started. I’m assuming this is to do with the sports cat as the code reader pulls up nothing.

No pics to post but there were some lovely cars out today. I forgot how awful Glasgow was to drive through though. Like Edinburgh, but slightly worse!

Swung by Krispy Kreme for a biscoff donut. Properly good things.

The car should be ready to collect at some point next week once it’s sorted. Can’t wait as I can put some miles on it. I’ve covered about 160 miles in the past two days, which is the most it’s been driven since last October….
I think I’ve done about 400 miles in it since the last MOT

 

[CFAB]

That just looks mega in there mate, glad you’re happy with it. Send over some pics when you get 5 mins.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

That just looks mega in there mate, glad you’re happy with it. Send over some pics when you get 5 mins.

Should be picking up the car Fri/Sat so once it's back, I'll take some pics and fire them over for you. Bloody happy with it. Love how it fits into the old seat fixing points, really tidy installation!

 

[HaveaCuppa]

Righto, update time again.

I picked the car up from Preserve and Protect in Glasgow on Saturday morning. It was another red hot day and the car performed faultlessly on the drive home. So that was around 250miles since pulling it out of storage and it was spot on.

Here are the pics from Preserve and Protect. This’ll be spilt over a few posts as there are a fair few pics.

Once the car was on the ramps, they snapped some before pics.

This brake disc is driving me insane. The slightest bit of rain and it’s rusting.

All things considered, the underside isn’t looking too bad in the before pics. Especially when you take into account it spent the last 10 years in Scotland.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

The next stage was to degrease everything and a steam clean.

Once everything was clean and shite free, they inspected underneath for any especially rough areas. We are solid underneath thanks to @Gally and his team at Protek, so it was straight onto rust conversion for any surface rust and then wax & Dinitrol.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

Primer, wax and Dinitrol applied below.

Im missing the rear heatshield here. Currently sourcing one To collect at some point soon.

This was then left to cure and cavity wax injection was done.

Completed. Very happy with the results and it gives me at least a better chance of the Scottish weather not decimating the underside. It’ll be stored away over winter from now on but it’s good to have ready if it ever needs to be used in the winters.
There’s a 10 year guarantee on the undersealing process, so each year it’ll go back to be inspected and any nicks, dings etc will be topped up - which is a nice touch.

A quick snap with the brothers 1.2 in Hermiston Gait. The poor lad only passed his test last month and it was his first time on a motorway + driving through Glasgow

 

[Gally]

Awesome stuff! They really are very good and glad our stuff never gave them much hassle.

Nice to see one looked after properly as our country causes havoc with every car!

 

[HaveaCuppa]

Spent this evening checking over the car after it’s big run as I’d not used properly since October/November(!?) last year.
The front top mounts were a little loose, the rears certainly need looked at as the near side rear looks like it’s not fully threaded - it’s maybe got another 2 turns left on it. I’ve got new top mounts for the rear so will tackle this another day.

Another part from CFAB was fitted. This time it was the fuel rail bracket.

Before

After

Ive had this issue since I’ve owned the car, so any help would be appreciated. The bolts that hold the coil pack to the inlet manifold are partially stripped. It’s been awhile since I’ve had the inlet manifold off, but do the coil pack bolts bolt into the actual block or the top inlet manifold?
I’ve got some helicoils laying around but I’m not brave enough to do it if it involves helicoiling the block. That’ll be a job for someone far more competent haha.

The bolts in question. 3 out of the 4 are dodgy and work loose after a while.

a few more pics of the CFAB rear net.

A really neat and hidden method of bolting it to the only seat clips.

And that’s us pretty much up to speed. It desperately needs a wash and polish, so that’s something for the weekend job list.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

Awesome stuff! They really are very good and glad our stuff never gave them much hassle.

Nice to see one looked after properly as our country causes havoc with every car!

Thanks chap
Your team sorted it underneath incredibly well.

I’ll need to get booked back in next year for the bumpers/bonnet sorted as they are the only thing bugging me now!

 

[HaveaCuppa]

Met up with a mate today who bought a 182 a few months ago. He bought it with Renaultsport Turini’s on it and didn’t want them. I offered him my standard non-renaultsport Turini’s and a few parts he needed and the swap was done.

Whilst my car was up in the air, I noticed the rear exhaust bush had popped out. That’ll explain some the the annoying exhaust rattle that has been driving me insane recently.

Took a few pics late in the evening. Need to get out in the daylight for some half decent ones. Was bloody fun getting back out though.

So still to do.
- I need to sort a new exhaust as mine is rattling badly. Sounds like a bag of nails
- The high level brake light has died so need to sort that.
- Properly wash and polish it. It’s rank atm.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

Parked up today and heard a ping. The passenger side handbrake cable snapped. Bugger.

I’ll add it to the list of bits to do. Any got a link for half decent handbrake cables?

 

[MRBILLYUK]

https://vi.raptor.ebaydesc.com/ws/e...=174019&pm=1&ds=0&t=1621445638818&cspheader=1

https://vi.raptor.ebaydesc.com/ws/e...9&pm=1&ds=0&t=1619810320000&ver=0&cspheader=1

 

[HaveaCuppa]

Just a small update today.

The rear Turini’s I swapped onto the car were in pretty bad condition. One had a pretty noticeable dent in it and the other had previously cracked and then been welded…
So I picked up a pair of clean silver Turini’s from a chap down in Wales.

As is stands, it’s in full McDonald’s drift spec with anthracite fronts and silver rears. I think I prefer them in silver, so will be getting them refurbed at some point soon. New rubber was put on the rears too as the ones that were on shot.

The handbrake is now sorted too, as are the bolts that hold the coil pack down. The cat had a proper annoying rattle, which was down to a lose bracket. This has now been sorted too so we are finally rattle free! Feels like a different car on tickover now haha.

Recently I noticed my rear high level brake like wasn’t working. Went to pop it off tonight to check and I snapped the bugger. So I need to source a new rear lense/unit. Not arsed if it works as I’ve got a new board coming from a chap who builds them in Peterhead.

Quickly gave it a coat of Infinity Wax QDX Ceramic and called it a night. Really impressed with this stuff, it gives a decent amount of protection and takes next to no time to apply.
Here are some s**t beading shots

Happy with the how it’s looking (odd wheels aside) at the moment though. It’s nice to be able to concentrate on small jobs now the bigger ones has all been done.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

My daily shed was not passing its next MOT without welding and the likes, so I punted it on marketplace and it’s gone. This means the Clio is now stepping into daily duties for a couple of months.

Its great to be able to put a few miles on the car and enjoy it a little more while the good weather lasts. I’ll be sourcing a new daily shed at some point soon though as I’m not running the Clio through winter up here.

Anyway. I nipped over to Stu at Renomotive to source a few bits. What a place! Floor to ceiling and wall to wall wievery part you could think of for a 172/182. He’s a top chap too with a lovely collection of cars.


First on the list was a new brake servo as mine is a little crusty. This’ll be getting ground back and a lick of paint.

Also picked up a rear heatshield as mine is missing.

Next up was a new rear cup light and aerial base. Still gutted I cracked my old cup light…
I also ordered a new circuit board for the light as mine is fecked

I’ll hopefully get these fitted this weekend if the weather is half decent.

a couple of pics of the car on daily duties. I forgot how low it sits with a weeks worth of shopping in the back though….

A few bonus pics from Renomotive:

It’s due it’s belts this October too. What’s the rough sort of price for full belts, dephaser and water pump? I’ve been reading it’s around £800 for belts but I’m assuming it’s a four figure job with a fresh waterpump?

 

[HaveaCuppa]

I managed to get a few bits done on the car this evening.

First up was sorting the aerial.

Old base off.

New base and aerial on.

Now the only issue is that I’ve replaced my boot struts with cheapo knockoff jobs and they are slightly too long, which means the spoiler catches the aerial when the boot is open. So new struts will be ordered this week. Buy cheap, buy twice…

Oh, and if anyone else tackles this job at home, the aerial base is a git to remove with a socket. I used an old lambda sensor tool and it worked a charm.

Up next was sorting the crack cup spoiler light - which didn’t work. I’d bought a new light as well as a new board, just incase. The new board wasn’t needed, so happy days!

Old cup light. You can see the corrosion on the solder here.

New cup light. Pretty mint board.

Gave the spoiler a quick clean inside and then refit everything.

We now have a working high level brake light and zero cracks

 

[HaveaCuppa]

I noticed the rear bumper/number plate light was going yellow again. I only replaced it 18 months ago! Went to pop it out and it was incredibly loose. Turns out one of the clips and snapped, so again, I’ll need to order a new one this week.

And finally, thank you to @Iranian Pudding for the carbon canister delete plug. Mine ticks like a crazy, so this weekend I’ll be pulling the lot and plugging it with this.
I’m hoping this sorts the issue as it’s seriously annoying!

 

[Colin-S]

https://www.sgs-engineering.com/gsc2549-renault-clio-trophy-tailgate-strut
I've heard people say good things about this company, I know this is for a Trophy but maybe they'll fit?

 

[HaveaCuppa]

https://www.sgs-engineering.com/gsc2549-renault-clio-trophy-tailgate-strut
I've heard people say good things about this company, I know this is for a Trophy but maybe they'll fit?

Funnily enough, These were the ones I was just looking at. I can’t imagine Renault made different struts for the trophy over the 172/182?

Will get them ordered and update this, cheers Colin!

 

[Louis]

Funnily enough, These were the ones I was just looking at. I can’t imagine Renault made different struts for the trophy over the 172/182?

Will get them ordered and update this, cheers Colin!

They fit just don't open as far. BMW 1 series ones also fit.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

https://www.sgs-engineering.com/gsc2549-renault-clio-trophy-tailgate-strut
I've heard people say good things about this company, I know this is for a Trophy but maybe they'll fit?

Ive had some from SGS Engineering and i wasn't happy with them. They always sound rough when opening and closing the boot and didn't feel that strong.
Ive just replaced them with these off ebay and now the boot opens and closes better and smoother.

FOR RENAULT CLIO MK2 HATCHBACK (1998-2005) REAR TAILGATE BOOT TRUNK GAS STRUTS | eBay

Model: Renault Clio (Mk2). Body Type: Hatchback. Pair of Rear Gas Struts. Year: 08/ 1998 - 2005. Position: Rear. All of our products are sourced directly from our range of approved factories. All of our parts are subject to quality testing and are ISO TS16949 certified, we also search to make...

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Louis]

Ive had some from SGS Engineering and i wasn't happy with them. They always sound rough when opening and closing the boot and didn't feel that strong.
Ive just replaced them with these off ebay and now the boot opens and closes better and smoother.

FOR RENAULT CLIO MK2 HATCHBACK (1998-2005) REAR TAILGATE BOOT TRUNK GAS STRUTS | eBay

Model: Renault Clio (Mk2). Body Type: Hatchback. Pair of Rear Gas Struts. Year: 08/ 1998 - 2005. Position: Rear. All of our products are sourced directly from our range of approved factories. All of our parts are subject to quality testing and are ISO TS16949 certified, we also search to make...

www.ebay.co.uk

These will open too far. He wants shorter ones.

These are the ones I got and they're perfect 5 years later. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/11505830...V1hdbrvQTK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[MRBILLYUK]

These will open too far. He wants shorter ones.

These are the ones I got and they're perfect 5 years later. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/11505830...V1hdbrvQTK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

They don't open too far. I have them fitted on my 182. The SGS ones mentioned earlier were never smooth and felt weak when lifting the boot. The ones I posted make the boot lid feel so much lighter and a much smoother action 😊
Why buy BMW struts when you can buy the correct length struts for a mk2 clio?

 

[HaveaCuppa]

Cheers chaps

I’ve already ordered the SGS struts, but if they are iffy like @MRBILLYUK experienced, I’ll take a punt on the 1 series struts above.

I bought the cheap ones I currently have from eBay and they were for a standard Clio. Probably why they are a touch too long with the cup spoiler on?!

I appreciate the help though, as there are a couple of options if needed

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Cheers chaps

I’ve already ordered the SGS struts, but if they are iffy like @MRBILLYUK experienced, I’ll take a punt on the 1 series struts above.

I bought the cheap ones I currently have from eBay and they were for a standard Clio. Probably why they are a touch too long with the cup spoiler on?!

I appreciate the help though, as there are a couple of options if needed

These are the ones I have on my car from ebay, with a cup spoiler. They fit perfectly 😊

 

[Darren S]

I managed to get a few bits done on the car this evening.

First up was sorting the aerial.
View attachment 1606893
Old base off.

View attachment 1606894

View attachment 1606896
View attachment 1606897
New base and aerial on.

Now the only issue is that I’ve replaced my boot struts with cheapo knockoff jobs and they are slightly too long, which means the spoiler catches the aerial when the boot is open. So new struts will be ordered this week. Buy cheap, buy twice…

View attachment 1606898

Oh, and if anyone else tackles this job at home, the aerial base is a git to remove with a socket. I used an old lambda sensor tool and it worked a charm.
View attachment 1606899

Up next was sorting the crack cup spoiler light - which didn’t work. I’d bought a new light as well as a new board, just incase. The new board wasn’t needed, so happy days!
View attachment 1606900
Old cup light. You can see the corrosion on the solder here.

View attachment 1606901
New cup light. Pretty mint board.

View attachment 1606902
Gave the spoiler a quick clean inside and then refit everything.

View attachment 1606903We now have a working high level brake light and zero cracks

You did well in swapping that spoiler brake light out. I had to loosen my spoiler in order to give me enough cable slack to disconnect it.

 

[HaveaCuppa]

These are the ones I have on my car from ebay, with a cup spoiler. They fit perfectly 😊

That’s odd, maybe they sent the wrong ones when I bought them a while back. Bugger! Haha.

You did well in swapping that spoiler brake light out. I had to loosen my spoiler in order to give me enough cable slack to disconnect it.

It was pretty tight to be honest. Just enough wiggle room to swap it without pulling the spoiler off. I was more nervous about cracking the thing when tapping the light back in!

 

[HaveaCuppa]

Another small update.

A parcel from RPD dropped through the door this morning.

old vs new. I cannot believe how manky these get. I feel like it’s going to be a yearly consumable.

@Hamish Laurie dumped his 182 at mine last night as his wheel bearing was fucked. Started swapping his rear discs, although he forgot to bring both discs So swapping the passenger side is tomorrow’s job.

Anyone else’s dog do this?!

Hoping to attack the carbon canister on this over the next day or so too. Oh and detail the thing. It’s filthy in person

 

[HaveaCuppa]

Still not sorted the carbon canister. Hope to get it done before it goes back into storage, but I’ve been just enjoying driving it at the moment.

The SGS boot struts came and have finally sorted the issue with Ariel clearance. No dodgy noise either @MRBILLYUK , so maybe you just had a bad set? It’s still early days yet but I’m happy.

You can see the difference in strut length. Old on the left, new SGS jobbies on the right.

Spot on now.

Spent an age doing the annual rear light clean up on the pins too. I should really keep on top of this as they were playing up recently.

Hit them with contact cleaner and emery paper and they are spot on again.

I’ve been meaning to remove the wind deflectors too as they don’t have clips in them, so rattle around like mad. Pulled into the drive today, put the windows up and it snapped the corner of one. Ripped them off and binned them. Not sure if I can be arsed with the hassle of buying a new set. They scratch the s**t out of the top of the wndows too.

Next on the list, apart from the carbon canister and a belt change in Oct, is to get the wheels all done in silver. Driving me mad now.

I’ve got to say though, I’m really really enjoying this as a daily driver. Yes, it’s pretty stiff and terrible on some of the rural roads that I drive, but it’s always properly fun. If they were still cheap, I’d pick up a s**t one as a daily tbh.