My new Clio 197 Progress Thread

Nick197RS

POTM Winner - January 2017
Platinum Member
Hey guys, fairly new to the forum. After introducing myself, I have decided to post my progress so far.
The car:
2007 Clio 197 LUX
Metallic Black
Fairly tidy - few bumper scuffs etc but clean interior.
Completely stock (apart from bodge caliper paint job)
Bought it cheap as it failed its MOT on various things

So far the problems I have found are, Completely worn lower swivel joints, Driveshaft seized in hub (found out when stripping down) took a hell of a lot of force to remove.
seized in abs sensor, nuts seized on roll bar end links etc.
shocks corroded and felt fairly soft when driving.
Rattling Dephaser pulley (YAY)

The Aim:
Originally, I decided to buy a clio sport as my dad has an rs200 and my brother has a megane 260cup (ex press car as seen on 5th Gear - the yellow one in the hot hatch shoot out)
I wanted to do some track days and maybe, if funds permit, would like to race in a budget hot hatch class in the next year or two.
After buying it and staring at it for the last few weeks, ive decided I will use it as my daily aswell and potentially buy another. My current daily is a Saab 93 Aero - mapped to 258bhp, very fun fast car but does not handle very well at all!!!

My progress so far has been slow as every task has been a hurdle, due to the lack of maintenance, every nut, bolt and component has been seized solid. A bottle of gas, can of penetrator fluid and a big hammer later, one corner is stripped down ready to be reassembled (waiting on parts arriving).
Here are some pics from when I bought the car.

While I have been waiting, I decided to embark on the task of retro fitting the Carnimat TomTom system into the car. This was a difficult task as wiring had to be transplanted into my car from the donor, as the connections were completely different... however it paid off in the end. I will get some more pictures uploaded of this soon

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First job on the list was a wash down... it was filthy!!!
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looks like you know what you are doing..lets hope you manage to sort all of them little niggles and you can enjoy some track time...
 
This is the current state...
Just waiting on parts arriving and getting stuff cleaned up and painted/ coated to prevent corrosion.
Got some Cup shocks and dampers off a chap on here, to make the ride more suitable for what I want it to do.7
Also got HEL Braided brake lines, Mintex race brake pads, luckily discs are recent so they can stay.
Swapped the tyres to Federal 595 RSR's to keep it stuck to the tarmac! I believe they like to hang out when you lift off in turns :excited:

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Cheers guys, yeah come from an engineering background and the family own a body shop :thumb:
So I can save on labour charges haha!
I need to get the wheels powder coated...What colour should I go for??????
 
Been doing abit more today. Removed the old swivel joint and fitted the new one. And been cleaning up bits to refit!

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The hubs were very grubby so some wheel acid, wire wool and elbow grease later...
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More tomorrow hopefully!!
 

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Car looks good Nick!! Looks like you have plenty of work to do!!

If you dont mind me asking what bodyshop do you own as i am looking for alloy refurbishment in the new year after the bad weather has passed!
 
great you can do all this yourself..would love to have the equipment and space to do all this too..keep it up
 
Halfords have some great deals on tool sets at the moment That and a big hammer and your sorted!!! Haha
 
Car looks good Nick!! Looks like you have plenty of work to do!!

If you dont mind me asking what bodyshop do you own as i am looking for alloy refurbishment in the new year after the bad weather has passed!

It's my dads body shop he doesn't do wheels. Your better off getting them powder coated. There's s place over at new longton and the wheel repair centre in bamber bridge.
 
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The place at new longton is my mates cousin. ill give him a bell tomorrow and see how much it is to have them powder coated. I'm after having mine done actually so ill see if he can do them cheaper for 2 sets.
What colour you going for?
 
The place at new longton is my mates cousin. ill give him a bell tomorrow and see how much it is to have them powder coated. I'm after having mine done actually so ill see if he can do them cheaper for 2 sets.
What colour you going for?
Ok that sounds good mate! And gloss black i think
 
Halfords have some great deals on tool sets at the moment That and a big hammer and your sorted!!! Haha


They do indeed Nick - i treated myself to a new screwdriver set for work (Advanced range - reduced from £15 to £7) and a set of combination spanners reduced from £35 to £20 for home......

Aso bought one of my mates the same screwdrivers for Christmas it was so cheap !

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/tools/hand-tools/halfords-advanced-8-piece-screwdriver-set
 
Good progress so far, and nice that you can do a lot of the work for yourself! Always handy when it comes to Renaults :wink:
 
Thought I would update the recent progress.
Been quite busy so things have taken a while to get sorted.
All the suspension is sorted now.
Both ball joints replaced
Fresh locking nuts fitted on everything, along with copper slip on the bolts to try and stop it all seizing up again.
Today I have fitted Eibach Pro Kit springs onto cup dampers. 20mm Drop front/25mm Drop rear.
Car handles nicely now and seems flatter in the corners. Also my brother noticed it cocks the rear wheels very easily now :smiley:
Brakes are all sorted for Oukton park on 14th jan.
Fitted Mintex pads and replaced fluid with AP DOT 5
I replaced the Timing belt and dephaser pulley a couple of weeks back, the engine felt completely different afterwards!!!
It felt much more powerful and was quieter and smoother.

Recently though I have developed a crunchy 3rd gear which seems to be getting worse and also starting in other gears. I've also noticed the gearbox sounds noisy when car is idling :worried:
I was due to change the oil, but it is probably too late now!
I have noticed the clutch getting abit poor recently too, so maybe that is exaggerating it a little.
Going to change box oil anyway and bleed the clutch and see if things improve...
Otherwise, Recon box and a quaife LSD :wink:

Car is filthy at the moment so haven't got any pics.
She is getting a good clean tomorrow so will post some up then.

I will also show off my new LED lit clocks :grimacing: they are the mutts nuts!
 
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Thought I would update the recent progress.
Been quite busy so things have taken a while to get sorted.
All the suspension is sorted now.
Both ball joints replaced
Fresh locking nuts fitted on everything, along with copper slip on the bolts to try and stop it all seizing up again.
Today I have fitted Eibach Pro Kit springs onto cup dampers. 20mm Drop front/25mm Drop rear.
Car handles nicely now and seems flatter in the corners. Also my brother noticed it cocks the rear wheels very easily now :smiley:
Brakes are all sorted for Oukton park on 14th jan.
Fitted Mintex pads and replaced fluid with AP DOT 5
I replaced the Timing belt and dephaser pulley a couple of weeks back, the engine felt completely different afterwards!!!
It felt much more powerful and was quieter and smoother.

Recently though I have developed a crunchy 3rd gear which seems to be getting worse and also starting in other gears. I've also noticed the gearbox sounds noisy when car is idling :worried:
I was due to change the oil, but it is probably too late now!
I have noticed the clutch getting abit poor recently too, so maybe that is exaggerating it a little.
Going to change box oil anyway and bleed the clutch and see if things improve...
Otherwise, Recon box and a quaife LSD :wink:

Car is filthy at the moment so haven't got any pics.
She is getting a good clean tomorrow so will post some up then.

I will also show off my new LED lit clocks :grimacing: they are the mutts nuts!

Some update Nick !

I echo your thoughts on the Eibachs re flatter cornering. You actually measured your drop ? Couple of us had some more than stated lows with these....

Lower ball joints replaced. Did you do these yourself ? I'd love to hear how they went.

And very much looking forward to pics of your dash. Sounds interesting............