the story so far

[Spongebob 172]

So back in march i sold my mk 1 clio turbo hybrid and set about finding a really cheap ph1 172.....

So after trawling through ebay,the local free ads i finally found one not to far from me that was in autotrader.....

So armed with cash i went to look at one which had 101k on the clock,belts done at 72k and the biggest folder of service history ive ever seen all done through renault,with one lady owner i was going with my head and notmy heart....

So i get to the carand straight away i notice the dent in the boot and the bonnet,not to bad as i can get it sorted i thought to myself,so the bloke came out of the house and we talked about the car and went for the test drive,once we got back we talked money....he wanted £2300 but i wasnt prepared to pay that and said no to him and my offer was £2050 cash..with that i left him my number for him to think about it and left....with in 5 mins the guy rang me and accepted my offer so this is what i bought

So after a few weeks i noticed that the handling wasnt all that good and the back end kept sliding out on me,so instead of spending £££'s on coilovers i got a second hand set of rear dampers of another member(burp)and with the help of my very good friend jamesstone we set about changing them and this was the outcome

So i then wanted a new cliosport rear sticker and knowing my neighbour was a graffix guy he sorted one out for me,i tiold him what i wanted but he just went a bit bigger....well alot bigger

So after getting this done i decided to add a splash of colour under the bonnet,having not done any spraying before i had a go and was pleased with the outcome

Before

After

 

[Spongebob 172]

To be continued..........

 

[Brown.]

CS sticker in the back window MUST GO!!!...looks gash as its not straight.

 

[MoRpH3uS]

Nice start !

 

[B16DOE]

CS sticker in the back window MUST GO!!!...looks gash as its not straight.

+ 1

 

[Spongebob 172]

yep its going tomorrow as i now have a new one to go on...i dont like it at all but seeing that it was a freebie i didnt have the heart to tell him it was crap and to big so i kept it on for a while

 

[iimushroomzii]

Thats stickers massive!! You sorted the dents out now?

 

[Mish]

That sticker looks gash!

Good work on the rear dampers though! And get some wet and dry and get sanding on the engine. Cover looks awesome, but it's let down by tarnished inlet etc

 

[Spongebob 172]

That sticker looks gash!

Good work on the rear dampers though! And get some wet and dry and get sanding on the engine. Cover looks awesome, but it's let down by tarnished inlet etc

cheers mish i got the inlets being sent away in the week to a metal polishers so should look miles better next week...i have done a ph2 rear light conversion,so pics will follow tomorrow and more late next week

 

[Mish]

Good stuff mate... once you start the jobs you can't stop eh! Keep at it matey!

 

[couzens]

awsome! that silver 172 is still down the scrap yard mate and the boot is still on it! get down there and grab it up mate! you've still to take me for a spin!

 

[Spongebob 172]

awsome! that silver 172 is still down the scrap yard mate and the boot is still on it! get down there and grab it up mate! you've still to take me for a spin!

could be a trip down there on monday then mate....

 

[couzens]

haha!! do it mate im down there all day monday! got a trial at the body shop there

 

[cobra248]

awsome car for the price mate. did u eva get owned by that speed camera ivan??

 

[Spongebob 172]

awsome car for the price mate. did u eva get owned by that speed camera ivan??

not heard anything since so id say yes i got away with it....

 

[Jamesstone]

Looking good mate, that damper was a fun day lol! look forward to seeing the progress


Coilovers FTW

 

[Leeshez]

Looking good.

 

[Spongebob 172]

this was the other clio that made way for this one.....oh i so much miss da boost innit

 

[Spongebob 172]

#####update#####

I got a little tip of from couzens about a ph1 172 in his local scrappers so i went and had a look today expecting to see a pile of crap...how wrong i was,this little scrapper had a mint ally bonnet and bootlid along with a new standard airbox...so without wasting time i had away the bonnet and airbox,then i came across a ph2 with a full set of bumpstrips and bullets so i had them aswell along with a nice clean boot carpet..with this in hand i was thinking £120 but to my absolute amazement i got the lot for £60,thats right £60..so i paid the guy and quickly went before he realised what i had..will look nice on my motor by this evening..so off out again over to halfords to get the paint for the bumpstrips...pics later

 

[Middo]

mustn't grumble about a bargain.

 

[Spongebob 172]

So with a big thanks to jamesstone i got my new ally bonnet fitted yesterday evening..both myself and james were amazed at the difference in weight compared to a normal clio bonnet

So today i fiited the silvervisions i got in the groupbuy from joshhatton and very pleased with them as i needed to have them after getting a set of ph2 rear lights

before

after

and then the rear lights

the next thing i have to do is to start on the bumpstrips and bullets

So with most of the cosmetics done its onto the engine and suspension next...most go the coilovers route but seeing im on a budget im gonna go with a set of eibach lowering springs,for the engine im not sure yet as im pretty happy with the setup i have now especially after the rolling road a few weeks ago...
I put my car on the rollers last as i didnt want to embarras myself seeing it was the only ph1 there..so when most people had gone it was my turn and this was the outcome..there were a few shocked faces but i was on cloud nine,it just goes to show the ph1 172 is officially phqicker

this was the first run...

then the second run...

so this is the story so far...hope you enjoyed the read

 

[stevo172-RWD]

thats good!
good output!

 

[Marky_]

Nice work matey! Would be very happy with that result.

 

[Fred@BTM]

what was wrong with it on the first run?

 

[Spongebob 172]

We were a bit worried about giving it full beans so thats why it only put out 146

 

[Spongebob 172]

Nice work matey! Would be very happy with that result.

cheers marky im really happy with the car at the although it still has some way to go yet

 

[GazM]

Very good results mate, what engine mods so you have? Also how come the bonnet is lighter than the original??

 

[Spongebob 172]

Very good results mate, what engine mods so you have? Also how come the bonnet is lighter than the original??

engine mods = fastchip group n remap
pipercross open cone air filter
scorpion 2.5" s/s exhaust from cat back

Some of the early ph1 172's came with an ally bonnet,mostly "w" reg
Then by the later "x" reg model they came with the heavier standard bonnet

 

[Peperami]

This is gonna look mint mate! Looking forward to seeing it!

 

[Spongebob 172]

cheers peps...its getting there slowly,i got a mint bootlid on its way and then i think it will finally be able to come out of the shadows and join in the photos when we have the next shires meet

 

[Jamesstone]

Looking good mate! How did the painting go?

 

[Spongebob 172]

Looking good mate! How did the painting go?

to be honest i didnt have the balls to do it so instead i gave the car a relly good wash and clean..i will attempt them later in the week

 

[Jamesstone]

Fair enough lol, if you want me to get them sorted mate let me know, sure i'll come in alot cheaper than a body shop! If you do them your self you know you just gotta give me a bell if you get stuck


James

 

[Spongebob 172]

james pm with your charges and if they are good i will let you do them..when could you get them done by mate??

 

[Spongebob 172]

james pm with your charges and if they are good i will let you do them..when could you get them done by mate??

 

[Spongebob 172]

.

 

[Spongebob 172]

**************UPDATE**************

Its been a while without having doing nothing to the car until last week when i got a call from my good friend jamestone with regards to a set of ph2 alloys which ive been wanting for a while,so last week he popped over and fitted them with me and he had my old ph1 alloys

next up i went to a local scrap yard over the weekend and picked up a plenum and fuel rail guard of an old ph1 172 for £30 which ive started to polish..and this morning i got in the post a nice set of chrome bullets to go with the ph2 bumpstrips that im currently painting..then last night i met up with couzens at a local meet and got a nice new cupra splitter although im not sure how to fit it yet,and finally i got my exhaust sorted today as the rear section had dropped,but luckily it was just a clamp that had come loose...

 

[Spongebob 172]

So today was a day mostly spent with a drill in my hand with a wire wool attachment and lots of wet and dry....why oh why did i start this today,its not easy but the fuel rail guard is looking good..also rubbed down the ph2 bumpstrips again after yesterdays disaster with the paint lol

still a long way to go yet....

 

[MoRpH3uS]

A little bit more elbow grease and you're on

 

[Spongebob 172]

**************UPDATE***************

spent most of last week polishing the plenum and fuel rail guard so this weekend i decided to leave that and fit my new cupra splitter...so off to might mate jamesstone armed with said splitter and got to work with,was surprising how easy it was to do,the main thing was getting it central..once this was done i moved on to the rear of the car and got rid of the huge cliosport sticker that i had on there..the revised one looks alot better and not so much in your face..got up this morning and gave it a good wash and wax and heres the result..next up carbon fibre..so watch this space