Steves Megane conversion build - She's finally running (VIDEO inside)

[TB Rich]

Perhaps just those first few hours are the most crucial for bedding the rings in well, stuck on a motorway and unable to vary the revs and load much due being unsure of the map is just not ideal. I'm always super paranoid about that sort of thing mind, but a couple of hundred quid on trailers is nothing compared to the money (and blood) you've put in

I actually hired a car transporter for mine as it was a single place to hire from, and also mainly as I don't have the right towing thing on my license. But was cool to drive and easy to winch the car on etc - cost £110, though I'd imagine you'd be looking more around £150 with additional mileage.

 

[Stephenvenning]

It's getting picked up tomorrow now and dropped off Sunday. A puncture on my dad's car put an end to picking it up and driving back :lol:

 

[TB Rich]

sweet, for the best really imo. What was the issue that was giving SCA so much grief to find?

 

[Stephenvenning]

sweet, for the best really imo. What was the issue that was giving SCA so much grief to find?

The loom I think was wrong.... Andy made up a new one and it worked perfectly.

 

[Stephenvenning]

UPDATE:

I know its been a long time without a decent update so i apologise. Anyway today was a very good day, the culmination 2.5 years of hard work, I actually got to drive it. The car drives great and with the extra torque it is so much easier to drive even when limiting myself to 3k revs before getting it mapped. The gearbox is sweet as a nut and shifts soooo smoothly. Cant really put the Quaife LSD to the test until mapped and running intended power. Power delivery is so smooth with a lovely induction noise and typical turbo noises which we all love. The clutch is very tricky especially doing hill starts but i always knew this was the case with a 4 puc paddle clutch, I will get used to it over time.

Today I just gave the car a clean inside and installed my rear seats. I also wiped over the engine bay to remove any dust, Ill need to install the battery tray again, that will be a job for tomorrow.

In the week I plan on detailing the car and get it protected for the winter weather. Im also going to be installing the rest of the fuel system on the weekend ready for mapping at the end of the month.

Pictures as always:









Quick video:

http://vid1373.photobucket.com/albu...e Uploads/VID_50950402_010143_zps9hvsbwkm.mp4

Thanks as always

 

[Chris]

Great news Steve!

Ive been itching for an update, never mind how much you've probably been itching for the car to be back haha!

Bet you can't wait for it to be mapped and you can drive it properly...!

 

[Foxspeed]

excellent news!!!!

 

[Pav]

happy days

 

[H2MRK]

Great news, glad you got it all sorted!

 

[Sean197]

Great news that it's fixed! So after 4 months the auto electrician couldn't diagnose his own loom was at fault? You should chase him for money, at least I would be. Might be difficult as he's closed down though...
Anyway, onwards an upwards, looking forward to seeing how this goes once mapped!

 

[Stephenvenning]

Thanks guys

Tonight The front of the car was taken apart again to fix a small coolant leak on the radiator hose, did the hose clip up a bit tighter and it seems to have solved it.

Then I took the car for a quick 50 mile blast around the local roads, didn't miss a beat. Still cant get over how fast it is with only revving to 3k, going to be an absolute animal once mapped

 

[Stephenvenning]

 

[Pav]

can i say im a bit jealous??think its safe to say that I am..enjoy mate

 

[osmanv]

beautiful, so want to have this in South Africa right now....
il spend the nights in stealth mode destroying all the modded vag gtis running around the place

hope she brings you many miles of sheer pleasure

 

[Stephenvenning]

UPDATE:

Another week with the clio and all is going great. There are though a few problems I need to address first before mapping. First one being the problem of overheating that these conversions seem to have. It really showed up when we had that freak heat wave earlier in the week. The cause for this is I believe a mixture of things; 1, the radiator is too small, therefore a megane radiator is on the way as we speak and will be fitting that next weekend. 2. the ducting for the radiator is terrible, now that the bottom vent is filled by an intercooler and the top vents mainly for the engine intake, the radiator is hardly getting any air to it. To remedy this Im going to install ducting from the top vents down into the radiator. Also Ive noticed 200's with this conversion rarely get this problem, the reason I believe is the top vents on them is far lower down than a 197, hence they get far better airflow through the radiator.

Today I set about relocating the battery in the boot to make way for a cold air intake on to bring down them intakes temps a bit. I picked up some 25mm^2 cable, crimps, heatshrink and a 100A fuse from work. I crimped a large 35mm^2 ring tag on the existing wires for the battery, I then attached the cable using another ring tag and a m6 bolt which I tightened and loctited in position, 5 layers of heat shrink were then shrunk over the connection. Next up I drilled a 10mm hole into the bulk head with a suitable grommet and ran the cable into the cabin by the foot well, teh cable was then ran all the way down the car under the kick plate/side trim and into the boot where it was terminated at the battery, the earth for the battery was attached to the chassis in the boot. Looks so much neater now in the engine bay. I still need to secure the battery but for this time being this will be fine.

Tomorrow I am going to be installing my fuel system into the car in order for me to break the 300 hp mark.

Pictures:

 

[Yiannis197]

Just cought up with this Stephen. What a great job you've done on this car, credit to you.

Glad is all up and running, the overheating issues are very well known so I'm sure you'll get it sorted at once

 

[sevenfourate]

I'm still mesmerized by the engine bay pics !

Overheating issues were to be expected by the sound of it - but also sounds like you've got it all in-hand.

Have fun with the fuel system today. Your getting ever closer...............

 

[Chris]

Missed these sorts of updates

 

[Stephenvenning]

Thanks guys

UPDATE:

Bit of a late update as didnt have time yesterday. Well Ive managed to install half of my fuel system. I first set about wring in the pump. You use the green wire (12V feed) on the pump sender and run this to a 12V relay, so when the stock pump primes and turns on, the relay closes contact and the HP pump comes on. A 12V 60A cable is run from the battery to one side of the relay contact, then another 60A cable is run to the HF pump. I have also spliced into the green wire and installed a security switch and hidden it in the car, so when the switch is open the pump will not power on and hence the car will not start, i recommend more people do this, really easy, only took an hour or two and easy to find electrical components and could save your car from being nicked.

Next up was plumbing it up as much as I could, I ran the return line to the swirl pot and the overflow from the swirl pot back into the top of the sender unit. All torques motorsport grade fittings were used along with Teflon braided line. The swirl pot assembly was bolted to the floor using m5 cap head bolts with hank bushes being crimped into the floor of the car. The rising rate pressure reg boost reference was also connected using a T off of a vacuum line.

Next week Im going to fit the new megane radiator, finish the fuel system and build some aluminium boxes for the battery, hopefully my varley top battery will arrive this week.

Pictures:











Thanks

 

[Pav]

if i have to be honest,half the time i have no idea but it all looks very nice and complicated...thumbs up