The Petrol Blue Project continued

[MLB]

Good afternoon!

Been a couple of weeks since I bought this well known and lovely looking petrol blue 182 off @Christopher. but only found time for its first wash today, in the rain, so thought I'd start a thread.

I wasn't really planning on getting another Clio, but when this came up for sale I just had to go have a look! It has got all the options I was planning to get for my arctic blue 182 so after a whole afternoon of going over the car and checking all the paperwork I struck a deal with Chris and drove it home!

And what a drive it was, yay for 200 motorway miles
First night out together, parked up at services.

Been so busy in work I've only managed to get the first wash done today and I had to cut it short because it started pouring down.

Steps today
-Snow foam
-3 bucket method using Mitchell and King winter shampoo
-Gyeon wetcoat (because rain)
-Quick go at the exhaust tips with Mothers Mag&Aluminium polish

It's going to get a proper wheels off detailing session in spring with a good quality wax but this will have to do for now!

Before

Snowfoam

After

Gotta love a little bit of beading

I've only covered about 500 miles since I bought the car so no real plans for it other than to enjoy it, go out for drives, wash, polish, take pictures and as soon as the weather starts to clear up in spring, take it to the track!

 

[MLB]

Weather hasn't been great but this morning it looked like it was going to be dry enough to go out for a little drive.

Typically it started raining within ten minutes after setting off and it got dry by the time I got home two hours later!

Good thing was, there was no one on the road!

Got a couple of minor things sorted as well, replaced the number plate light, new boot gas struts in and cleaned the boot lock as it didn't want to close first time every time.

 

[welshname]

Lovely looking car. Although for some reason something doesn't look right about the turini's but I can't put my finger on it.

 

[MLB]

Thanks!

Is it the colour or the way the car sits on them?

Might be the fact it's got 18mm spacers up front which makes it fill the arches better than the rear?

 

[welshname]

Think it might be the sunken in look at the rear. Also with being very bright I'd forgotten about the grooves on the inside edge of the spokes.

 

[MLB]

Yes I've noticed it as well, it's more obvious because of the angle of the pictures but it is on my list of things to look at in spring.

Either move the rears out a bit or see if I can get slightly thinner spacers at the front but I need to clear the calipers at the front so will need to do some measuring!

 

[PP200t]

That looks lovely! Wish I’d kept my PB and certainly put Turini’s on it.

 

[-Rob]

Wish I had kept my Petrol Blue, only lasted 3 months with me.

Hard to find a looked after example these days, it looks great on the silver turinis.

 

[PP200t]

Wish I had kept my Petrol Blue, only lasted 3 months with me.

Hard to find a looked after example these days, it looks great on the silver turinis.

Yours was lovely too, I think this looks fresh on the silver turini’s but yours on anthracite turini’s looks moodier.

 

[MLB]

Thanks guys!

Yes it does look nice and fresh on the silver turinis altough the anthracite does suit petrol blue as well. Anthracite would be easier to keep clean (looking) as well as the turinis really tend to catch a lot of sand and mud I've noticed!

 

[frayz]

I think i must be the only one who doesn't get a boner over the colour, it really doesn't do anything for me personally.
However, it does look a lovely example and wishing you well to enjoy using it.

 

[mossyv6]

Looks great mate - always liked this car.

But yes I have to agree the spacing on the Turinis looks strange - what spacers is it running? Rear needs spacing out or front reducing.

 

[Coops Mk1]

needs front spacers down to 15mm and rear 10mm to balance imo

lovely motor though

where did you source struts for boot from too? genuine? do they work as all of mine on both cars are tired

 

[MLB]

@frayz I get that, it's one those colours as well that only looks good when clean and when the sun is out (three days a year..)

But when the sun does pop through I love the colour!

@mossyv6 and @Coops Mk1 It's got 18mm spacers on the front and I'm not sure about the back as I've not had time to get the wheels off. I am thinking of going down to 15 front and 10 rear if those aren't on there yet.

@Christopher. Can you remember if there's any spacers at the rear?

Ah and those Boot struts are from ebay but I accidentally ordered two sets (wasn't clear in the ad if it was a single unit or a set of two so got two sets by accident). If you want you can have the second set?

 

[frayz]

I need to get some boot struts too really.
They’re not that bad so haven’t done em yet, but new ones would certainly be welcome. lol

 

[Christopher.]

The car is looking great mate. Glad your enjoying it.

There are no spacers on the rear. I had planned to get the 10mm hub spacers but never got round to it.

You will need to do some measuring when it comes to the front spacers. The 18mm ones from PMS clear the PMS 300mm brembo brackets nicely.

It's hard to explain but you will see once the wheel is off, the brembo calipers are clear by alot on the faces but with the height they sit at from the hub (because of the 300mm brackets) fits nicely into the shape if the inside barrel of the turini. If you remember the spare set of wheels 2 of them have some paint damage on the inside of the barrel, that's because of using the old 5mm spacers I had.

Hope this helps. You've got my contact details if you need any more help.

 

[MLB]

Thanks Chris! Yes I do remember you had issues with the 5mm spacers! And good to know about the rear spacers, I'll see if any come up for sale or just get them from pms direct!

I'll have to have a look in a couple of weeks, I might get the wheels off in a week or two anyway as I might take it to Oulton Park 28th of January!

@frayz I'll get you the link where I got the struts from but I'm going to check spoiler-roof clearance first as I forgot when I installed them. I'll get back to you tomorrow!

 

[MLB]

In preparation for Oulton Park the 28th of January I wanted two things sorted.

First changed the thermostat as it wouldn't keep a constant temperature, very slight variations, but still for the cost of a thermostat and some coolant and 20 minutes of work it's worth replacing.

Then on to the @Yanoo stiff shift 1.0 kit including the brass bushes.

Beautifully made I have to say. Shame you don't see it once fitted!

Had to get the cat out of the way so took a bit longer than the stated two hours but wasn't too difficult mainly due to the clear instructions that come with the kit.

First everything off the car and taken apart

Had to measure the OEM plastic rings and sand them down a bit. Typically the batteries in my caliper had died and surprise surprise they take some kind of special battery! Luckily found a similar battery that worked, in a shop nearby.

Note the brass bushes in the background, these were the ones that got replaced:

Old rubber ball surrounding

New silicone ball insert

Before

And after!

Wow does it feel stiff, I sanded down the brass bushes twice and refitted it all, but still quite stiff, big difference to the original wobbly setup!

Running in period is about 250 km so will see if I need to adjust it or if it settles a bit.

Now just get the toweye installed, track pads installed and tools packed and I'm ready to go!

 

[MLB]

Had my first day out at Oulton Park yesterday and loved it!

Looked like it was going to stay dry so I'd put the Federal RSR's and PBS Prorace pads on the car on Monday, checked all fluids and gave it a clean:

Heavy rain showers and lower than expected temperatures resulted in a less than confidence inspiring start of the day!

After signing on I went out with an instructor for the sighting laps and started with 20 minutes of tuition, best decision of the day that was!

Didn't get as much track time as I'd thought as I'd decided to call it a day early when it started to rain again early afternoon. I'd had a great day and the car performed faultlessly so didn't want to risk binning it on my first day.

I was definitely the slowest out there, so hope I wasn't in anyone's way but I've definitely learned a couple of things :

Tuition is gold!
I don't need coilovers yet
This is going to cost a lot of money..

Couple of shots from the day
First time out alone!

Before the rain

These were the same colour this morning

 

[leeds_182]

Nice honesty on the track review.

Coilovers are a total waste for the skill level 90% of track drivers operate at. You either buy s**t ones for the lowz or have to spend at least a grand for a decent set.

I quite like the colour but certainly wouldn’t have paid the premium Renault wanted for it. I still don’t know why someone would spec it over liquid yellow but then again, I’m a ‘look at me’ kind of guy.

 

[MLB]

I agree, I was planning an upgrade over summer especially as I find it a bit low on the grams springs but it drives well and the 1000 pound would pay for three or four full track days which will be way more rewarding.

As for the colour, I think it's a bit like BMW's sunset orange, looks quite dull at the best of times when not clean or when it's cloudy. Liquid yellow is definitely more crowd pleasing and better looking most of the time.

Petrol Blue does attract attention though, even the trackday organiser came out to our garage to ask what colour it was as he'd never seen it before and it caught his eye when I drove by when the sun was out.

 

[JamesBryan]

Are you local to Oulton?

 

[MLB]

About fifty minutes away, right in between Anglesey and Oulton Park.

 

[JamesBryan]

About fifty minutes away, right in between Anglesey and Oulton Park.

Not too bad then, i'm 20 miles away but it take 40 mins to get there.

Best circuit in the country for variety of corners.

 

[MLB]

That's good to hear! I've only heard great stories about Oulton anyway, it's nice and long with quite a bit of elevation change.

I'll probably see you there some time then!

 

[JamesBryan]

That's good to hear! I've only heard great stories about Oulton anyway, it's nice and long with quite a bit of elevation change.

I'll probably see you there some time then!

Probably, i may as well live there 😂

 

[MLB]

Not done much last month, but did notice a bit of moisture in the boot. Got the baby powder out and wasn't surprised to find the rubber grommets leaking.

They were well due a replacement after closer inspection, the new ones are a nice snug fit.

For anyone looking, part number is 7700423111, £3,29 Inc VAT for two from Renault.

Gotta love an easy cheap fix!

 

[JamesBryan]

Not done much last month, but did notice a bit of moisture in the boot. Got the baby powder out and wasn't surprised to find the rubber grommets leaking.

They were well due a replacement after closer inspection, the new ones are a nice snug fit.

For anyone looking, part number is 7700423111, £3,29 Inc VAT for two from Renault.

Gotta love an easy cheap fix!

Should have just siliconed them back on, they will leak again.

 

[MLB]

I know they will, but if these will last another fourteen years I think it is worth the investment while they're available.

 

[MLB]

Washed her yesterday and had a spare afternoon today so started on a couple of things that were bothering me: the faded plastics!

Thoroughly cleaned and degreased and then put Gyeon Trim on. Bit of a pain with cotton buds but still better than the lower grill which is a job for future me.

Took about a hundred pics for my detailing friends, but I've condensed them for the Clio community, guess no one is really interested

Before and after

Close up and two pics of the half finished plastic covers, see how it'll hold and if it's worth taking the rest of the car apart for.

While at it I did a quick wipe down under the bonnet.

And of course a couple of pics to show off Petrol Blue when it's showing its true colours!

 

[frayz]

Interested in the Gyeon trim. Looks superb.
How was it to apply? Thoughts?

 

[Waite_87]

very nice

 

[MLB]

Interested in the Gyeon trim. Looks superb.
How was it to apply? Thoughts?

Dead easy. I used a small stiff bristle brush and Gyeon Prep, let it dry and then liberally apply Trim with a cotton bud. For the larger areas I use their own suede cloths.
Let dry for 2-5 minutes and wipe with a disposible microfiber cloth. (I use the Kirkland cloths, 36 for under 18 pounds and then get rid or use for dirty jobs).

Then just have to keep it dry for 24 hours (so they say).

I've used about 5-10% of the bottle so my rough guess is a full bottle will do all exterior plastics including headlights about twice.

 

[MLB]

With the weather hopefully being dry next couple of days I'm finally going to be able to give the PB a good clean and polish.

Headlights will be coming off, so the bumper is coming off and as the fabia splitter isn't looking too great I've ordered a new one.

Started with the dirtiest badge ever!

Still says Clio..

Ordered new plugs

And polished the badge using Scholl S30 and cotton buds.
Before:

After

 

[FatRS]

Following with interest as a previous owner of this car, but off topic, my wedding ring looks exactly the same as yours. Enough of comparing rings. Back to the car.

 

[MLB]

Nice, great taste!

Cool to see you're still active as a previous owner, how long did you own it for? Sold to Chris in January 2014 if I remember correctly?

 

[FatRS]

Yes. Sold in January 14. Didn’t realise it was that long ago.
Was totally standard bar lowering springs in my ownership.
I think I bought it in 2012. Not sure though. An HPI will show.

 

[MLB]

It's got quite a couple of modifications now! But I got all the original parts to return to standard bar the original springs and wheels, always an option.

As for today, I was going to wash and clay the car in preparation for polishing, but wanted to get the PMS stub axle spacers fitted before getting the whole driveway wet.

Started with taking the discs off, broke a bearing, great..

Then started with WD40 and a wire brush to get all the rust off the bolts but still managed to snap my Torx socket, this isn't going well so far!

At least there was still a piece of the Torx bit left, until there wasn't..

Ended up spending the whole day with different kinds of tools nannying the bolts, loosening and tightening them, spraying with loads of WD40 and finally got them all out.

Nice and rusty!

Glad I sorted it in the end with all the shops closed I would need to order online and wait for tools to be delivered!

PMS spacers in:

Big thank you to @George@RTR_Parts for advice and being still open to order new discs!

 

[MLB]

Got a better start today, finally doing something where I actually know what I'm doing!

Washing and claying stages finished, anyone interested in the full process with pics/products etc let me know and I'll do a bit of a write up!

Specially for @frayz Gyeon Trim in action

 

[MLB]

Got a bit of polishing done today, but wasn't happy with the results polishing around the side trims so needed to remove them. Couldn't find a good guide or pictures on how to remove them and most threads just advice to use a lot of force.

Turns out there's a tiny little pin that you push in and it just slides off, pfff that would've saved me an hour of messing around!

That'll make things a lot easier to polish tomorrow. Might spruce up the bullets with some fresh paint as well.

And a sneak peak of what it's going to look like:
Before

After