The life of... SharkyUK's Trophy

[SharkyUK]

Any progress or this still a spamfest?

Still a spamfest to stop the thread from disappearing into oblivion. Shouldn't be too much longer mate.

 

[Addicted]

I hear V6 owners often keep spare coilpacks with them (iirc, may have been leads instead?), is that genuinely the case?

Hopefully your Pink shed will be ready soon!

 

[Renault Wolverhampton]

iirc its brown now

 

[SharkyUK]

I hear V6 owners often keep spare coilpacks with them (iirc, may have been leads instead?), is that genuinely the case?

Hopefully your Pink shed will be ready soon!

From what I've been reading, yes - it does seem that coilpacks 'expiring' is quite a common occurrence! Luckily I have a replacement arriving tomorrow that should at least get me back on the road.

Thanks mate - hopefully the Pink shed will soon be home.

iirc its brown now

No worries, I was quite fancying a colour change anyway! I would have preferred James May Beige, though...

 

[Renault Wolverhampton]

lol a bit like an old morris marina????

 

[davo172]

iirc its brown now

Moss growing on it now too !

 

[SharkyUK]

lol a bit like an old morris marina????

Happy memories of the old Morris Marina. My parents had one and I have fond memories of it throwing us into a ditch (on the way to catch the Isle of Wight ferry) when something on the rear suspension let go. They don't make them like they used to.

Moss growing on it now too !

Moss?!?!?! Serious?! :S Is it really looking that sorry for itself?!

Fred - is it done yet? I am really getting to the point where I need it back soon. As much as I love the V6 (and wish I could buy it) the insurance premium is starting to bite hard now!

 

[domsclio182]

Really hope the car does you proud once you get it back mate, you deserve it after all your problems. you must have the patience of a saint for how long you have waited to have this done.

 

[davo172]

Really hope the car does you proud once you get it back mate, you deserve it after all your problems. you must have the patience of a saint for how long you have waited to have this done.

THIS ^^^

Was only joking about the moss

 

[Chip-mk1]

Happy memories of the old Morris Marina.

I knew an old boy who had a tuned one on twin carbs etc, was surprisingly quick for what it was, but it handled like a whale on a sheet of ice.

 

[SharkyUK]

Really hope the car does you proud once you get it back mate, you deserve it after all your problems. you must have the patience of a saint for how long you have waited to have this done.

Cheers fella. I'm sure the car will be in great shape once it's back. Getting excited again now...!

THIS ^^^

Was only joking about the moss

You b*****d! LOL! Thanks mate.

I knew an old boy who had a tuned one on twin carbs etc, was surprisingly quick for what it was, but it handled like a whale on a sheet of ice.

I'm not sure if that sounds like fun or not. I was very young at the time my folks had the Marina but I do remember if being damn awful; only matched in awfulness by the colour and the interior 'fabrics' (although I use the term lightly).

 

[SharkyUK]

** UPDATE **

I've just received a couple of messages from people concerning the state of my engine and rumours they have heard. I'd like to put this to rest now before rumours get out of control and any potential mud-slinging starts!

To cut a long story short, the rumour is that my engine blew up hence why it's arguably taking so long and I haven't got it back yet. I can categorically state that THIS IS NOT TRUE! Fred/BTM have NOT blown up my engine and, despite taking longer than anticipated, work is being carried out to their usual high levels / standards. Such misinformation is both unfair to the trader / specialist (regardless of who they are) and not something I want to be associated with! I'm all for transparency hence this short update to highlight where things are currently at.

A few months ago some conrods were purchased for my forged build but were found to be unacceptable in terms of weight imbalance between items. These were rejected and another set acquired. These were then used in the build going forward. Fast forward to the last few days... After further thought and consideration, Fred was not 100% happy with the conrods and communicated this to me recently. The result being that the engine and gearbox have been taken out again and the conrods are going to be replaced with items from Arrow instead. It's as simple as that. No bangs, no blow-ups, no problems.

Thanks for listening.

 

[Chip-mk1]

Arrow rods are a nice product, decent upgrade


Downside of course is if you suffer from another failure like where the centre mains like to do kart wheels, you lose more expensive rods as a result, so its a hard decision we all have to make when building these engines and its easy to see how fred has managed to go both ways on one build, lol.

 

[Fred@BTM]

love a rumor mill monkey, good way to damage someone's reputation! Furious!

2 companies have fucked this car already, you really think i want to be the third?

 

[Fred@BTM]

** UPDATE **

I've just received a couple of messages from people concerning the state of my engine and rumours they have heard. I'd like to put this to rest now before rumours get out of control and any potential mud-slinging starts!

To cut a long story short, the rumour is that my engine blew up hence why it's arguably taking so long and I haven't got it back yet. I can categorically state that THIS IS NOT TRUE! Fred/BTM have NOT blown up my engine and, despite taking longer than anticipated, work is being carried out to their usual high levels / standards. Such misinformation is both unfair to the trader / specialist (regardless of who they are) and not something I want to be associated with! I'm all for transparency hence this short update to highlight where things are currently at.

A few months ago some conrods were purchased for my forged build but were found to be unacceptable in terms of weight imbalance between items. These were rejected and another set acquired. These were then used in the build going forward. Fast forward to the last few days... After further thought and consideration, Fred was not 100% happy with the conrods and communicated this to me recently. The result being that the engine and gearbox have been taken out again and the conrods are going to be replaced with items from Arrow instead. It's as simple as that. No bangs, no blow-ups, no problems.

Thanks for listening.

with no labour cost, you forgot that bit

 

[Tony Hunter]

Fkn lol!! Where did all that come from.

 

[Chip-mk1]

love a rumor mill monkey, good way to damage someone's reputation! Furious!

2 companies have f**ked this car already, you really think i want to be the third?

These things are best nipped in the bud so I can see why Sharkey posted but I dont see where has anyone damaged your reputation TBH or even why you are entering the dummy spitting olympics?

If people arent given the whole story, all they can do is make assumptions, with there being relatively few of these cars being built "publicly" people want to know how each build is getting on so they can make decisions on their own, thats not nasty rumor mongering though, its just intrigue and interest surely?

Dont take it so personally, or you'll stress yourself into an early grave, lol.

 

[JonC219]

Good news on the rods Andy. At the end of the day you want everything perfect so it's worth waiting for the perfect parts

PEC rods to begin with was it?

 

[mi16chris]

I've had problems with cheap rods from a uk supplier that starts with p found them most unhelpful , arrow are the dog balls tho

 

[SharkyUK]

2 companies have f**ked this car already, you really think i want to be the third?

Exactly - which is why I have no issue whatsoever with what has been talked about and agreed upon. I just don't want any reputations being tarnished and/or friendships strained.

with no labour cost, you forgot that bit

Absolutely - no complaints from me on this either! :rofl:

These things are best nipped in the bud so I can see why Sharkey posted... <snip>

Yeah, that's the reason I wanted to highlight it now. There's a fair few people interested in this build and I simply didn't want misinformation spreading. I do honestly believe that comments made were not malicious and not intended as a slur on work being done or carried out. However, I also appreciate that a trader has every right to protect their interests and reputation (which can be a hard thing to get and maintain these days!) And I certainly don't want anyone stressing themselves into an early grave! Life's too short as it is. Hopefully this is the end of it and it was nothing more than a storm in a teacup. At the end of the day, Fred is a guy I would happily go to time and time again as he's one of a handful of people I'd trust with my car; and I don't know many people who would trust me with their own pride and joy (i.e. the V6).

Good news on the rods Andy. At the end of the day you want everything perfect so it's worth waiting for the perfect parts

PEC rods to begin with was it?

Cheers, Jon. And yes - they were PEC rods.

I've had problems with cheap rods from a uk supplier that starts with p found them most unhelpful , arrow are the dog balls tho

I hear the Arrows are good mate. These should be more than adequate.

 

[Sir_Dave]

Just out of interest, why is it taking sooooooo long to do, is Fred not being paid any labour/doing it in between smoking/drinking/other peoples paying jobs or something? I've bought, owned, got bored of & sold 3 or 4 cars in the time yours has been at BTM lol.

 

[Fred@BTM]

company 1, drive in drive out in a day - engine fucked

company 2, drive in drive out in a week - engine fucked

then there's me

if i knew the parts would've taken 3months for the first lot (which were wrong) then another 3 months, then i wouldn't of stripped his car!

 

[Gray]

What was the actual issue with the PEC rods?

I've got a set of PEC I section rods for my forged Megane engine.... should I be worried?

 

[Chip-mk1]

What was the actual issue with the PEC rods?

I've got a set of PEC I section rods for my forged Megane engine.... should I be worried?

If you read Ian (speedy) thread there was a good post about it from sandy brown. There are several ways in which they are inferior to arrows by design. And they aren't as well quality controlled (not just pec, all the cheap Chinese stuff is similar).

In the past I've paid the premium for arrow rods on engines I really care about (like my nova, 2 bar of boost and 8500rpm and 600 odd bhp) but that said I still happily use the PEC ones in moderate spec engines and tbh they are about 99 percent likely to have been ok in sharkeys I expect, but Fred had made the sensible decision to increase the odds of the rods being ok to about 99.99 instead with the arrows.

as a good friend of mine would describe it "arrows are cheap insurance".

Should you be worried? Probably not.

 

[SharkyUK]

Just out of interest, why is it taking sooooooo long to do, is Fred not being paid any labour/doing it in between smoking/drinking/other peoples paying jobs or something? I've bought, owned, got bored of & sold 3 or 4 cars in the time yours has been at BTM lol.

In addition to what Fred said above... it's just been one thing after another really. Yes, it's taking a long time but (as already pointed out) it didn't get off to a good start due to parts availability, faulty parts (when they did turn up) and other minor hiccups. Looking back over the thread, you can see that Fred had actually taken the engine and gearbox out (and stripped them down) shortly after I had dropped off the car! Like myself, he was fully expecting to get the parts in to be able to crack on with the job. Obviously this didn't turn out that way due to that 3 months delay it suffered for those aforementioned reasons.

Several times over that period Fred had earmarked time for work to go ahead on the build (based on expected delivery of parts) and several times was let down. I was kept updated and we also used that time to change a few things with respect to the specification. In hindsight, the car wouldn't have been stripped down and I could have enjoyed another few months driving whilst parts were gathered... but hindsight is indeed a wonderful thing and obviously we were expecting to push on immediately with the build. It's important to note that, on the flip-side of the coin, I may well have been able to enjoy a few months more driving before taking the car in to Fred... but I'm not sure the engine would have lasted another few months anyway! It wasn't in the best of health by any means. (The "Filter of Death" hadn't helped and the ECU "Map de la Mort" also didn't help...)

I also clearly remember talking to Fred early on and he said he'd take his time to get it done properly. I was fully expecting it to take 3-4 months. It's just unfortunate that events genuinely conspired against us and it took 3 months to get out the starting blocks! :rofl:

I think I'll leave it there for now as I feel I'm becoming increasingly defensive and having to justify why it's taking so long! The bottom line is that, yeah, I'm a bit miffed it's taking so long (only due to those initial delays) but I've got no issues, no problems with what's being done and what's going on. And that's what counts because it's my bl00dy car at the end of the day! Let's just hope that the end of the build (and subsequent mapping) goes smoothly.

Peace and love x

...but Fred had made the sensible decision to increase the odds of the rods being ok to about 99.99 instead with the arrows.

Exactly this, Chip - thanks!

Normal service will be resumed shortly... :cheers:

 

[Evandim*]

company 1, drive in drive out in a day - engine f**ked

company 2, drive in drive out in a week - engine f**ked

then there's me

if i knew the parts would've taken 3months for the first lot (which were wrong) then another 3 months, then i wouldn't of stripped his car!

Although this has been littered with problems and I admire you taking this car on in view of past outcomes I do feel you are being a little unfair on the companies from what I personally know (and I do know a little bit of the history of this car and owner )

If you read the history from day 1 I have said the car didn't feel right my late father a mechanic for many years also said it didn't feel right and offered a compression test etc this was never taken up. Personally before I would have done work I would have made sure the engine was sound.

Company 1 (K-Tec no point in playing its all down here in black & white) had the car and did the ITB's after having this done Sharky aka Andy was very pleased with the work (as noted on here and I recall him at my house telling us how happy he was) The day after Llandow (Andy didn't track his car by the way in case anyone thinks that's related he was taking photos) he had problems with the car. This shortly after having the work done... he then takes the car to TDF not back to K-Tec to fix their problem?

I don't know what arrangement Andy had with K-Tec? Personally as above I think the car should have been tested before fitting ITB's (but what do I know I'm no mechanic) or was the arrangement just to fit parts? But why go to a place spend all the money only to go somewhere else when it goes wrong that doesn't make sense and as far as K-Tec know there is no problem!! sorry but if I trusted them enough to hand over that much cash and do work on my car I would at least trust them to take it back and get the problem fixed before taking it else where.

Company 2 TDF now have a car that has had work done by someone else which is never an easy task to take on... again Andy gets it back and all is well and cant praise TDF enough. Yet few months down the line some other issues and now its with BTM.. again does TDF know there is a problem? Reading this it didn't go back to them there is no mention of them etc (none that I can see)

can you see a pattern forming here?

how would you feel if you believe you have fixed the problem Andy was happy etc only to find a few months later Andy decides to take it to another company because of problems without you knowing and then that company says...

company 1, drive in drive out in a day - engine f**ked

company 2, drive in drive out in a week - engine f**ked

company 3, drive in drive out in 7 months - engine still f**ked

That's why I say I think its a little unfair because from what I have read on here and what I know from Andy personally these companies don't know there is an issue and/or haven't had the chance to put it right.

Fred good luck with the rebuild sounds like you are going to need it bless you, like others I am also very interested to see how this all pans out, as I'm interested for the LY182 after driving a 172 with ITB's around the track

Andy I do hope you get the Trophy back soon I can imagine how frustrated you feel... told you to get a DC5 lmao

 

[Fred@BTM]

^if you knew the full story you'd understand why it hasn't gone back to either, ask Andy how much his hotel/travel bill was, and i doubt they gave him the best courtesy car on the planet

 

[Evandim*]

^if you knew the full story you'd understand why it hasn't gone back to either, ask Andy how much his hotel/travel bill was, and i doubt they gave him the best courtesy car on the planet

I know a lot more then what's been posted on here with the early events as Andy was living with in my house! So I think I know the full story and how much he has spent along with a few other things along the way

But that isn't my point as I'm sure you know.

I thought the courtesy car was your sweetener for having the car so long and after TDF courtesy car very brave of you lol

Mind I'd be surprised if anyone gives Andy a courtesy car again after reading what's happened again lol poor Andy

To be fair Fred I really take my hat off to you taking this car on after two other garages have been involved so many hands on it and so many people blamed. I just hope you have a better outcome from all this saga.

 

[Chip-mk1]

Fred's doing a complete rebuild with new parts and new bodies and new loom etc isnt he?

In which case who cares how many previous people worked on all the bits that are now in the bin anyway, to Fred its a blank canvas as Andy has given him carte blanche to do the full job properly I believe?!

 

[Fred@BTM]

correct EVERYTHING (bar the block and crank) has been binned

 

[Martin.]

Wow that must be a big bill!!!

 

[Amos91]

I can't believe people have had to justify what is going with his car. Equally surprised people think they are involved enough to start rumours as well.

Thought all that was left at the playground!

 

[Evandim*]

correct EVERYTHING (bar the block and crank) has been binned

very wise move just as well Andy's loaded too... And don't let him tell you otherwise

 

[Chi]

Everyone knows Andy is rolling in money

 

[SharkyUK]

Oh for crying out loud... just spent aaaaages writing a reply and it timed out and lost it! Here's an edited (non-essay) version...

Fred good luck with the rebuild sounds like you are going to need it bless you, like others I am also very interested to see how this all pans out, as I'm interested for the LY182 after driving a 172 with ITB's around the track


Andy I do hope you get the Trophy back soon I can imagine how frustrated you feel... told you to get a DC5 lmao

Hi Lyn, thanks for taking the time to post up your thoughts and views. Many people on here probably don't realise how well you know this car (or myself) so do indeed have an insight into its history and some of the problems. As I've mentioned in the thread on a few occasions, you and Malc always thought it wasn't quite 'there' in terms of how it performed (in comparison to other 1*2's). It certainly wasn't bad, but lacked that urgency you had experienced in other RenaultSport Clios. I wasn't too worried as it ran well and I just assumed I had a weaker engine (seeing as they do vary so much from the factory). It certainly wasn't damaged (by me) in my earlier ownership and it was looked after properly - taking it down to the likes of Mike at RenTech for servicing and maintenance. The rolling road days with Rebel showed it wasn't in too bad shape.


In terms of having the work done at the various places, yes - I was initially happy after I got it back. The difference before and after was noticeable and naturally I thought this was great. It wasn't until a little further down the line when things started to go wrong. It's the longer-term damage that's caused the issues here due to various reasons - be it poor workmanship, practices or shoddy parts. I can't remember the dates now (it was some time ago) when we were heading to Llandow; I think it was the day you mentioned. I had just had some work done and put my foot down to enjoy a blast with you following... and I ended up holding you up! I clearly remember you saying that you were expecting me to pull away but I just ended up as a mobile roadblock which, in hindsight, leads me to think that something was awry (that's not slur on your car as I know it goes well). Anyways, the upshot of it all is that it eventually came to a head and I took it in for a rolling road and health check and it made... wait for it... 157bhp. With ITB's and all the mod's done prior to that. The health of the engine was very much on the decline and this was in the time between company #1 and company #2. The reason I took it to company #2 were based on recommendations from people whose views I respected and, more importantly, for other reasons which I have not posted on here - mainly legal reasons!


The whole issue with company #2 was a farce. It might be taking a while to get my car done at the moment but at least it didn't get forgotten about in the corner of the workshop with nobody knowing what it was in for! Again, there's more to the story than what's been posted but that's because the details aren't for public consumption. Believe me, it's not been a case of me being lazy, not following up on my car or anything like that. Quite the opposite in fact! It also didn't help that I believe I got caught up in the whole company split that took place and my car went in for work with one company... and came back invoiced to a different one. In fact, I remember meeting Fred for the first time at TDF. I had just driven 4 hours to pick up my car and it was put on the rollers for final checks. It went pop and p***ed oil all over the place. I was not amused and it wasn't the only time where I'd made that same journey to pick up the car, only to return home empty-handed. Again, I was happy when I got it back but I think it was more placebo than anything. The work I had requested to be fixed hadn't seemingly been done. It still had leaks. It started to soon run very rough again. Parts and work to fix my problems weren't made or fabricated. In the end I just asked for the car to be returned in a healthy state. Allegedly the engine was inspected internally and given a bill of health. As Fred knows, this was NOT the case and frustratingly the wallet was a lot lighter.


To cut a long story short, and not repeat other stuff I've already mentioned elsewhere, I'd basically had enough. That's when I got in touch with Fred and decided to get it done properly. Out with the old, in with the new. And with a few choice modifications, too. I'd already spent about 7-8k at this point and had nothing but a poor running car.


LOL! Yeah, it's frustrating Lyn and sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I'd got a DC5 instead. Despite the problems, the Trophy still makes me smile though... damn French hot hatch.


Regarding the ITB's... they are a lot of fun as you've experienced yourself. If it's a route you are interested in then I may now be able to offer a few choice bits of advice and some pitfalls to avoid! :rofl: I think they'd suit the LY182 quite nicely.

^if you knew the full story you'd understand why it hasn't gone back to either, ask Andy how much his hotel/travel bill was, and i doubt they gave him the best courtesy car on the planet

Yeah, the Vee will take some beating... it is a rather special car.

I know a lot more then what's been posted on here with the early events as Andy was living with in my house! So I think I know the full story and how much he has spent along with a few other things along the way


But that isn't my point as I'm sure you know.

True, you know a lot of what's happened but not everything. Only a few people know the extent of what went down / what happened subsequently following the botched work and so forth. As said, not all details are on here as it's not something that I want posted on a public forum (it grew to be more of a private matter!) At the end of the day mistakes were made - myself included, chiefly taking the Trophy to the wrong places to start with - and nothing came out of it. I just ended up with a knackered engine, a dent to the savings and my Renaultsport-owning pride, and back to square one.

Fred's doing a complete rebuild with new parts and new bodies and new loom etc isnt he?


In which case who cares how many previous people worked on all the bits that are now in the bin anyway, to Fred its a blank canvas as Andy has given him carte blanche to do the full job properly I believe?!

correct EVERYTHING (bar the block and crank) has been binned

Indeed - I just told Fred what I was looking for, provided a rough budget, listened to his advice and suggestions, revised the specification based on those discussions and left him to get on with it.

Wow that must be a big bill!!!

It's all relative mate. It's small-change compared to, say, purchasing a McLaren P1. Hopefully it will be money well spent as I won't be able to do this again for a few months... *grin* Better make that years!

I can't believe people have had to justify what is going with his car. Equally surprised people think they are involved enough to start rumours as well.


Thought all that was left at the playground!

It sometimes feels that way. Maybe I should have just kept this private... but then again I've enjoyed keeping this thread going despite the ups and downs. :clown:

very wise move just as well Andy's loaded too... And don't let him tell you otherwise

I wish, Lyn! No Hollywood wages here I'm afraid. I'm still awaiting that lottery win or promotion to CEO!

Everyone knows Andy is rolling in money

That's just not true, my friend... I'm even contemplating taking your good self off my Christmas list this year...


And on that note, I can't take anymore of this 'justification' malarkey. It's been a long day and it's time for this crayon to sign-off. Thanks all for the comments and contributions to the thread. Hopefully there will be some good news and pics soon...

 

[Midnight]

I'm sure everyone has had a bad experience with a tuner/specialist. I know I had a huge one some years ago now I tend to stick with companies that have good reviews based on 'owners clubs' and touch wood its worked for me.

Anyway I think this thread needs to get back on topic, I'm sure the OP has had enough explaining the situation and fine details that in fact no one else really needs to know.


Lovely car and it sounds like an amazing spec. Bet you cant wait to feel the full effect of the modifications you have carried out!

 

[Evandim*]

Never claimed to know it all only you know all the events.

I wasn't aware of the latter part with TDF so it does read a little clearly now.

You say you have to justify yourself but I don't think anyone is asking you to do that certainly not me (you know well enough)

Thing is when you do a detailed build thread like this people will ask questions because they are showing an interest in you and your car build not asking you to justify yourself. If they didn't what's the point in doing the thread

When only half the info is given it easy for people to see gaps and then ask questions and that's how rumours start... Not that I've heard any mind.

I hope you are taking this to trading standards so they can look into it and no one else gets treated so badly. If you need any details let me know I've done a lot of work with them recently (I'm with them today funny enough with rouge traders) so have a few contacts there.

A DC5 wouldn't have suited you the pink trophy is so much better lol

Looking forward to seeing you back on the road in taffy soon

Hang on in there

 

[BIGASH]

Guys can't we just do as Andy has asked and leave this! I could add paragraphs of rubbish chat too but we've been asked not to carry on discussing it so I'm listening!

Can't wait to see your engine finished Andy will be an impressive bit of kit from what I've seen

 

[Toastfrenzy]

217 ????

 

[Evandim*]

Guys can't we just do as Andy has asked and leave this! I could add paragraphs of rubbish chat too but we've been asked not to carry on discussing it so I'm listening!

Can't wait to see your engine finished Andy will be an impressive bit of kit from what I've seen

Excuse me for showing an interest haven't posted on here in ages either

This was only posted 4 days ago hence I thought it was ok to post maybe the thread should be locked if we are not allow to post.

Still a spamfest to stop the thread from disappearing into oblivion. Shouldn't be too much longer mate.