Rusty & Horatio McAllister Titanium 182 Take 3 ?!?

[SBURV]

Hello all,

Coming from a long-standing history of cars — most recently diving deep into JDM restoration projects — every time I visited my local track at Castle Combe I’d spot a few of these little Clios buzzing around. Without fail, they always looked like they were having the most fun on track, no matter what else was out there.

Fast-forward to now: I’ve just wrapped up my WRX restoration and ticked off a bucket-list trip to the Nürburgring. With the project itch starting again, I found myself wondering what to tackle next. A Clio kept popping into my mind… I needed to find out what all the fuss was about. Yes, I know these things are over 20 years old now, so I may be a little late to the party — but having done my apprenticeship two decades ago, I’ve always kept my distance from French cars. It hasn’t been quite long enough for me to forget how awkward they can be to work on!

After spending some time researching the common issues and what to look out for, I stumbled across one just five miles from home. A bit of digging later, I realised this particular car actually has quite a well-documented history on this very forum:

https://cliosport.net/threads/rusty’s-titanium-182-take-2.834222/

After meticulously reading through the thread and speaking with the previous owner, I felt confident that this 182 had been genuinely well cared for over the years. That was enough for me — decision made, trigger pulled.

The thread might be old now and time has definitely taken its toll on the car, but I’m convinced this one has good bones to build from. So here she is:

She’s been standing a while, so job number one will be a proper clean, polish and full interior/exterior detail — then we’ll see where the project takes us from there

 

[agriff]

Welcome! I guarentee you will and won't regret it at the same time.

 

[Horatio McAllister]

Gutted that it’s had some bits stripped and let get into that state mate. But it should still have good bones! Just needs some love

 

[RMDavis]

Yeah I'm pretty pissed that the chap that bought it from me let it get that way.

Russ cherished that car, and I continued that love under my ownership. The parts that have been stripped really made it quite special. 😢

 

[SBURV]

So she's been sat on the drive for a week now and unfortunately its been parked up and untouched what was until today where I managed to peel myself away for family life for a few hours to get this old girl looking a little better.

First up - A jolly good bath! The car has been stood up outside for a while and it showed so - Pre-wash, Snowfoam, Shampoo, High gloss wax rinse got the car looking so much better straight away. I vow now not to get it get this bad ever again in my ownership. I must admit I do find cleaning and detailing rather therapeutic.

Outside

Under Bonnet

After drying off and getting buffed up next on the list was get the headlights polished up, unfortunately the headlights had really stared to show there age having misted and yellowed out.Luckily for me a quick polish really brought these lights back to life which was great to see.

Before

After

Speaking of yellowing lights the side repeaters had also seen better days, I picked up a pair of new ones from Ebay a few days ago - Quick and easy little job that again, makes a hell of a difference. I can tell someone once loved this car as already had chrome bulbs.

Last up was changing the steering wheel, the one fitted although I preferred style wise, it was very tatty so I changed it for an alternative I already had lying around from another car which is in far better condition.

Before

After

I'm feeling a lot happier now to see the old girl starting to look back at her best - Here are some pictures after a few touring cleaning, polishing and general tinkering.

Today had been a good day getting started

 

[Horatio McAllister]

So she's been sat on the drive for a week now and unfortunately its been parked up and untouched what was until today where I managed to peel myself away for family life for a few hours to get this old girl looking a little better.

First up - A jolly good bath! The car has been stood up outside for a while and it showed so - Pre-wash, Snowfoam, Shampoo, High gloss wax rinse got the car looking so much better straight away. I vow now not to get it get this bad ever again in my ownership. I must admit I do find cleaning and detailing rather therapeutic.

View attachment 1770192


Outside


View attachment 1770179


Under Bonnet

View attachment 1770181


View attachment 1770180


After drying off and getting buffed up next on the list was get the headlights polished up, unfortunately the headlights had really stared to show there age having misted and yellowed out.Luckily for me a quick polish really brought these lights back to life which was great to see.

Before

View attachment 1770193

After

View attachment 1770182

Speaking of yellowing lights the side repeaters had also seen better days, I picked up a pair of new ones from Ebay a few days ago - Quick and easy little job that again, makes a hell of a difference. I can tell someone once loved this car as already had chrome bulbs.


View attachment 1770186

Last up was changing the steering wheel, the one fitted although I preferred style wise, it was very tatty so I changed it for an alternative I already had lying around from another car which is in far better condition.

Before

View attachment 1770188

After

View attachment 1770189

I'm feeling a lot happier now to see the old girl starting to look back at her best - Here are some pictures after a few touring cleaning, polishing and general tinkering.

Today had been a good day getting started

View attachment 1770183

View attachment 1770185

View attachment 1770184

Top work mate, she’s already looking much better.

 

[SBURV]

Getting a bit of downtime from work over the Christmas period so here is the lastest updates.

I realised a few weeks ago that since buying the car I’d barely driven it at all — other than the ceremonial “drive it home and grin like an idiot” journey. So, naturally, I decided it deserved a proper outing and took it into work for a slightly longer run last week.

What could possibly go wrong..........?

Well… about 7 miles later, while delicately parking up at work, the car started feeling a bit… off. Lumpy. Uneven. Like it had woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Still, I parked it up, went inside, and cracked on with a long day’s work, choosing to ignore the growing sense of impending mechanical doom.

Fast forward to the drive home and the situation escalated. Under acceleration it started bogging down, misfiring, and generally behaving like it had suddenly developed a deep personal hatred for combustion. Not ideal.

No problem though — this is why we own diagnostic tools, right? Time to whip it out and see what horrors awaited me…

Unfortunately, the Autel greeted me with a wonderfully vague DF110 fault code, which helpfully pointed to… well… something. The DF308 code also popped up, but I’m fairly sure that’s just sulking because of the modified induction kit, so I wasn’t too worried about that one.

A bit of research later (and by research I mean falling down multiple internet rabbit holes), it turns out misfires on these are commonly caused by ignition components (coils, leads, plugs), MAP sensors, injectors, lambda/O2 sensors… basically everything.

Seeing as my goal is to make this car as reliable as possible — and I have absolutely no self-control when it comes to buying car parts — I did the sensible thing, I loaded up the parts cannon and started firing indiscriminately 🔫💸

Having fitted a new coil, plugs, injectors, MAP sensor I hadn’t made a dramatic difference to how the car actually runs — but it has bought me some valuable peace of mind that these common failure points (hopefully) won’t come back to haunt me later. On the plus side, I’m really enjoying working on the car. These little things are refreshingly simple, easy to access, and a genuine pleasure to tinker with.

And finally… the missing piece of the puzzle arrived today — the long-awaited HT leads!!

Picture the scene: me, behaving exactly like an over-excited child on Christmas morning, sprinting downstairs (well… briskly walking) and straight out to the Clio before common sense could intervene. Tools out, bonnet up, HT leads fitted in record time.

Moment of truth.

The car fired straight up. Good start. I then sat there for a few anxious minutes letting it warm up, listening intently, half convinced it was about to start coughing, spluttering, or reenacting its previous tantrum. Nothing. Just a smooth idle. Promising.

So I gingerly set off around the block and… success! 🎉

She now drives and pulls perfectly. No misfires, no bogging, no drama. Massive weight off my mind, especially as I was rapidly running out of ideas and starting to mentally prepare myself for something far more expensive and inconvenient. Turns out, it really was just the leads all along.

I’m genuinely relieved to have it back running as it should — and even happier knowing that several of the usual failure-prone components have now been refreshed, meaning fewer future headaches (hopefully).

As for the old parts: the plugs and leads will be ceremoniously launched straight into the bin. The rest will be kept as “just in case” spares — otherwise known as a get-out-of-jail-free card — and will almost certainly be tucked away in a box, forgotten about for years, never to see the light of day again… until one day they’re discovered and thrown away during a clear-out.

Classic.

 

[SBURV]

While the car itself was enjoying a well-earned rest over Christmas, I found myself knee-deep in paperwork instead. Armed with a brew and far too much spare time, I tackled the legendary folder of history (white folder pictured) that came with the car — receipts, invoices, scribbled notes… the lot.

After what felt like a full archaeological dig through the Clio’s many past lives, I’ve finally wrestled it all into an order I’m actually happy with. Once that was done, I clearly decided I hadn’t had enough paperwork fun and added an additional folder (pictured in black).

One of the big draws of buying this particular Clio was knowing just how much care, love and attention previous owners had lavished on it in recent years — much of which is documented in the detailed build threads on this very forum. The black folder is essentially a hard-copy archive of all the restorative work the car has undergone over the years.

Not that I have any plans to sell the car anytime soon, but if and when the day comes, the next person in line is likely to be an enthusiast. And let’s be honest — most enthusiasts appreciate that extra level of detail, especially when it’s neatly compiled rather than scattered across bookmarks and forum posts.

Thankyou @Horatio McAllister & @RMDavis

No spanners turned, no bolts tightened — but oddly satisfying progress nonetheless. Sometimes the real project isn’t in the garage… it’s in the paperwork 😄

 

[SBURV]

I’m sure most of you are the same — this is the time of year when projects quietly slip into hibernation. It’s dark when you leave for work, dark when you get home, and when you throw in the cold, the looming threat of snow, and the odd storm, it’s easy to see why motivation can take a hit.

So, with an eye on brighter, drier days ahead, I decided to do something productive and made a trip up to GSM Performance. No small feat, with over three hours each way, but I can honestly say it was well worth the journey. I’m not affiliated with them in any way, and I rarely recommend places outright, but if you’re in the market for new seats, they’re hard to beat — one of the very few places where you can genuinely try before you buy.

I arrived with a pretty fixed idea of what I wanted, heavily influenced by a bit of brand snobbery if I’m honest. That didn’t last long. The big-name, high-end seats I’d set my sights on left me surprisingly underwhelmed. So I wiped the slate clean — no preconceptions, no badges, no hype. I worked my way through the showroom, sitting in every seat, judging them on one thing only: support and comfort.

The result? I walked away with a pair of seats I’m absolutely over the moon with — even if they’re not the ones you might immediately expect, however actual seat installation will have to wait for another day.

Today - Time for a small job yet like rather controversial one this morning - the rear wiper delete on the Clio 182. I genuinely never use the rear wiper in any car, I can't stand the wiped mark it leaves behind as it makes any car look dirtier instantly, I do like to keep my cars clean so just can't stand it!!

It all started innocently enough. I stood at the back of the car, looked at the rear wiper and thought:

“Do I really need you?” The answer, obviously, was no. Track car vibes don’t include a rear wiper, and weight saving of at least 0.0007kg was surely on the cards.

First up, off comes the wiper arm. A quick wiggle, a little persuasion, and… nothing.
OK, fine. Out comes the puller, because we’re being professional today.

Several turns later, accompanied by noises that sounded suspiciously like the glass protesting, the arm finally surrendered with a crack that briefly made me question all my life choices. Glass and arm survived and heart rate eventually returned to normal.

At this point I removed the motor from inside the tailgate. Surprisingly easy once the outside fight was over — a few bolts, one connector, and the whole lot came out in one lump.
Weight reduction achieved #Motorsport.

With everything cleaned up, the hole was treated, bunged and sealed then finished with a proper rear wiper delete plate leaving a flush gloss black finish that actually looks OEM+.

Stand back, admire, nod approvingly, go back inside to warm up.

The rear of the Clio now looks cleaner, meaner, and far more “I might go to the Nürburgring” than “I need to reverse in the rain”.

Next as you've provably guessed will be focusing on the interior which I feel so so lacking in these Clio's when compared to other cars of the same era.

 

[Louis]

Looking good.

Interested to see which seats you chose! I loved my pole positions. They definitely needed the foam back support fitting though but I dailied them for many miles.

For future ref, just hacksaw that wiper arm.

 

[MrBlonde]

I know what you mean mate,i had plans to swap my rear beam over and sort out all of the underneath but,that didnt happen.Will do it soon once we start to get longer days.

I have also been looking getting some other buckets,GSM seems the place to go to,i would like to vist there also but not a local vist coming from essex and also there only open weekdays.

Soo what seats did you end up getting?,i have been looking at Corbeau Pro Sports or Sparco.

 

[SBURV]

I know what you mean mate,i had plans to swap my rear beam over and sort out all of the underneath but,that didnt happen.Will do it soon once we start to get longer days.

I have also been looking getting some other buckets,GSM seems the place to go to,i would like to vist there also but not a local vist coming from essex and also there only open weekdays.

Soo what seats did you end up getting?,i have been looking at Corbeau Pro Sports or Sparco.

Sorry about the current state of the workshop, I’ve got to have a bit of a sort out on there when I get a chance. This is what I ended up with and genuinely (for me anyway) were by far the most comfortable seat I sat in - And I did make a point of while being there trying every single one.

Mirco was not a brand that I have seen much of or would have seriously considered but these velour RTX-7’s really did it for me.

In answer to your question they did have both Corbeau Pro and Sparco seats there. One word of warming with Corbeau seats though if you are tall like me, the backs of them do seem to come up a little shorter than the others. I found I few of them where my shoulders would cover the two back harness holes so not ideal in my particular case. Again something I wouldn’t have known without going to try them all first so do feel it was worth the trip.

 

[SBURV]

Hello you lovely lot!!

So… the question I’m sure you’ve all been desperately refreshing the forum for — three weeks on, what progress has been made?

Short answer: not loads.
Long answer: I’m blaming the weather. One of the wettest Januarys on record round here and my garage has basically turned into a damp French spa. Very on-brand, really.

Now that all excuses are officially out in the open, I have managed to tick a decent job off the list — the new seats from my last post are finally in.

Removing the old seats was pretty straightforward, although why some sadistic French engineer decided they should be bolted from underneath the car is beyond me. Still, quirks like this are part of the joy of old French metal, right?

Fitting the new seats, however, took a few attempts to get them somewhere I was actually happy with. The Sparco bases supplied by GSM at the time had me sitting like I was driving a bar stool — hilariously high and completely useless for my needs. After hours of late-night Googling I got in touch with Jon Fossard, who makes the VBD X-Low subframes. Absolute gent — sorted me out in no time.

Cue several evenings of fitting in the dark, between rain showers, questioning my life choices… but they’re now finally in. I’ll grab some daylight photos soon, I promise.

Next up — and this might divide opinion — Dash Flocking.

Why? Three reasons:

1. Race car.
2. Let’s be honest, Clio interiors aren’t exactly Bentley-level.
3. I love the look, and I’ve never done it before — learning new things is half the fun.

Flocking kits are cheap and easy to get hold of; everything I needed came from the imaginatively named Flocking Ltd. After researching the hell out of it, I noticed a lot of people struggle to get a decent finish — and having done it myself, I can see why. There are a few not-so-obvious steps that make all the difference:

• Prep is everything – Clean, panel wipe, dust-free workspace. Same rules as paint.
• Warm & dry – Cold or damp conditions will absolutely ruin your day.
• Sieve the flock – Sounds daft, but if you don’t, it clumps and goes on patchy.
• Be organised – The adhesive skins over quickly. Once that happens, game over. Have everything ready and move fast, grab a friend to lend a helping hand

Overall, I’m really pleased with the result. It is a slightly terrifying job because if you mess it up, there’s no easy undo button — but dashboards for these aren’t exactly unicorn parts, worst case.

The dash is currently still living on the dining room table (yes, I have a very understanding wife). It’ll be going back in over the next few days, so I’ll get some photos up once it’s fitted and looking like it belongs there.

More updates soon… assuming the weather allows it

 

[Horatio McAllister]

Second set of Jon Foz lowered subframes that car has had! Still gutted some whopper sold the seats out of that car!

BTW it should still have the lowered steering column which works well with the seats subframes

 

[SBURV]

The Jon Foz frames are definitely the way to go, the Sparco ones had the seats sat in a ridiculously high position.
As it stands currently I could go a little lower on the side frames but I’ll live with it of a while and see how I get on. I need to remember that I’m fat and old now, getting in and out of this thing now isn’t a particulary glamorous affair 😂

Excited to get the dash in it see what it looks like. Weather permitting a job for tomorrow afternoon however the forecast looks somewhat changeable so we will see.

 

[SBURV]

Me again...

Today I once more said "I don't care if it's raining or not today is going to be the day" So after much huffing and puffing and complaining about the weather, there was a very breakfast break in the weather so I set too it - fitting the dashboard was actually remarkably straightforward. I know. I’m as shocked as you are.

Before it ever made it back into the car though, the dashboard spent over a week proudly sat on my dining room table, serving as a centrepiece that absolutely no one asked for. It did give me plenty of time to admire the flocking — which looks spot on. Zero glare, proper motorsport vibes, and a massive upgrade over the standard shiny plastic.

I’m pleased to report that the dash has now vacated the dining room and the wife is once again able to eat at the table, restoring peace to the household and significantly improving my long-term survival prospects.

The flocked dashboard went back in with far less drama than anticipated. No wrestling, no mysterious leftover fixings, no existential crisis halfway through. It almost felt suspiciously easy — like the car was lulling me into a false sense of security for future jobs.

While the interior was still in bits, I also took the chance to finalise the fitment of the new seats. A bit of fine-tuning with the rails, a lot of sitting in the car making sure everything felt right, and they’re now spot on, seating position is good, and holds me in place incredibly well.

With everything back together, the cabin feels completely transformed. Between the flocked dash and the buckets, it’s gone from “quick Clio” to something that feels genuinely purposeful and track-focused. One of those upgrades that makes the whole car feel special every time you open the door.

As always, it’s never truly finished — but for now I’m calling this a successful chapter. Dash fitted, buckets sorted, dining table returned to normal service.