Clio 182 - Lets see where this goes?!

[Chris74#]

So, the 5 is currently with Mike Dullforce, so I took the opportunity to get the Clio in the garage so that I can get the welding done for the MOT. Just needs the front jacking points sorting.
I must admit that there is something about this car, I drove it back from the garage where it has been living and it was so much fun! Lots of power and the sounds and smells are great!

The front jacking points are shot and failed on the MOT so that is the job for this weekend.

I decided to use the old jacking pints from the 5 and got to work cutting the rust out of these points. I then cut the 5 jacking point to suit and after giving it all a good soaking of rust eater I welded the piece in position. I then ground the welds down and went round it with seam sealer!


Then I got some epoxy paint mixed up and gave it all a liberal coating of the stuff! I then got the bracket that I powder coated previously and fitted that after cleaning up the bolts!

That'll do for now, its solid and sealed. I'll squirt some waxoyl in there tomorrow after I have finished the other side!

Thanks for reading guys!

 

[DaveL485]

Please chuck a couple of wheels under the car, if it comes off that jack...

 

[Chris74#]

Please chuck a couple of wheels under the car, if it comes off that jack...

Yeah, it was on two axle stands aswell as the Jack!

 

[Chris74#]

OK got some issues with this Clio - need some help please guys!!



I have bought a 2nd hand throttle body and 2 2nd hand pedals but no joy, they are probably all scrap!!

Has anyone else come across this?

Thanks guys!!

 

[Brigsy]

Wiring issues at a guess. Check white plug in engine bay for corrosion.

 

[Chris74#]

Wiring issues at a guess. Check white plug in engine bay for corrosion.

Checked the white plug, gave it a clean, it didn't look dirty at all. I have ordered a new coil and plugs. Will work through the usual suspects.

 

[Chris74#]

Meanwhile the ECU box had snapped off in one corner so I removed the lot, welded a new corner on, then powder coated it all! Gave the intake manifold a clean up and a lick of paint also! a bit of #74 going on!!









Thanks for reading guys!

 

[Chris74#]

Oh yeah, also gave the headlights a sanding down to clear the haze from them - turned out really well! was worried about sanding the headlights, but it worked well!

 

[Duncan Grier]

Looks great @Chris74# and always nice to see some #74 ocd greatness

 

[Chris74#]

So decided to put the engine bits back together and noticed some of the dreaded ginger behind the rear bumper. So as we do, I pulled the bumper off! Probably should have left it on for now!! Started with the rear lights!!





I then took a look at the petrol cap area as I could see from up inside the arch that there was some rust, I opened it and gave it a little poke and it crumbled and came out in my hand!

Ill save this bit for some CAD later!!

So that was the bad and the ugly! the good was that the engine started and ran fine! no lights or fault codes - for now!! looks OK too!


Looks like I'll be getting the welder out again!!

Thanks for reading guys!

 

[Duncan Grier]

Suprised how much rust has taken hold, guess they are not as new I think

Looking forward to seeing repair action

 

[Chris74#]

Suprised how much rust has taken hold, guess they are not as new I think

Looking forward to seeing repair action

Hopefully caught it in time. Looking forward to some serious panel making and welding!!

 

[andybond]

I love threads like this. Obviously not the tin rot but the repairs you do.

 

[Aldo]

Fair play taking these projects on! Seems some of the ph2s aren't holding up as well as some others.

Nice to see it being returned to a healthy state and kept on the road though.... instead of being dragged to the scrappies like I did with mine lol

 

[Adey]

good work, I think a lot more of them are more rotten than we would think. Engine is looking fresh

 

[Norwich Nick]

Yup, it’s mostly hidden and once you spot it, it’s too late. One of the checks before buying is pop the rear door cards off and have a look, you’ll see all the rust spots from there.

There is also an issue with the fbw accelerator wiring which is becoming common, a bit like what has been experienced here.

I keep thinking about another this shape but started to be drawn more towards 200s.

 

[Chris74#]

Yup, it’s mostly hidden and once you spot it, it’s too late. One of the checks before buying is pop the rear door cards off and have a look, you’ll see all the rust spots from there.

There is also an issue with the fbw accelerator wiring which is becoming common, a bit like what has been experienced here.

I keep thinking about another this shape but started to be drawn more towards 200s.

Yeah, I do like the shape of the 200!!

 

[Chris74#]

Got out there this morning ready to attack the rust!! First job - move the filler spout out of the way.

Even that was a game, The nut & bolt holding it in place was so rusted, it snapped the metal tab of the rear leg! another job to come back to.
Then I got the wire brush out and started to clean the underseal off to get a look at the extent of the rust. Got absolutely covered in the crap!


I kept going until I found shiny metal!

I then decided that repairing the inner filler spout would be best done off the car, so I got the spot welds drilled out and got rid of the remnants of the rivets which held the plastic insert in place.

and out it came after giving it a bit of heat to release the sealant holding it in place.


Then I got on with marking the inside ready for cutting. I decided to do it in 3 parts!

and then got cutting, what a game getting in there!

I cut it out, but then decided to cut a bit more off it as the rust inside was all over the back of my patch!

Then I cut the rest out being careful to maintain their shape!


I got the filler surround into the blaster for a quick clean up!

Then into a bucket of nasty to try and get rid of all the sealant!

I then got some sheet metal out and marked and cut three pieces!

After cleaning one up, I tried to reconstruct the rust to give me an idea of the shape.

I marked that up then moved on to some Cardboard Aided Design to repair the filler panel.
Then on for some welding!



Gave it a trial fit


That'll do! I'll give it a grind & clean up tomorrow!

Thanks for reading guys!

 

[Duncan Grier]

Hours or fun had there @Chris74# looking good and certainly a lot healthier

 

[Chris74#]

Spent a few hours out there with the dirty girl in the garage! I cleaned up the welds and had to add some more spots to fill in some gaps!

I then put my mind to getting the flap in place, mindful that it needs to site square in the hole! I trial fitted the panel again and then set about making some kind of a template!
I managed to snap the flap as I tried to get to out as the nuts were well stuck on there!

So I gave it a whizz of the wire brush and soaked it in WD40 and got it in the vice!

A bit of arse twitching and careful brute force and hey presto!


I got the remains pieces of the metal that was there and laid them in place to try and get an idea of where I need to cut! I measured the plastic block on the flap and went for it!

I then put the flap in place and gave it a quick test fit.

Just need to somehow get the correct position for the bolts!


I then used the cardboard and trimmed it down to suit the aperture, I then marked the fixing positions and got them drilled out!

Then test fitted the flap into the panel

I then test fitted the whole thing to check the line!

Its a bit out of line!
So I removed it and took it back to the bench for a bit of persuasion!!

After a few gentle tweaks, another test fit!


Spot on!! Now to repair the flap! Got some epoxy glue! The socket is holding it in position! Then got some rust converter out as I could feel a rough patch up inside at the top of the aperture, so gave it a liberal coating of this stuff!





Then got some etch primer and paint on pressing!
While that was drying I decided to give the inside of the wheel arch a wire brushing to remove the undersell around the cut area.

Once the paint had dried, I gave it a final test fit
The next step is to get the seam seal in there, I got some dinitrol out and gave the pressing a coat!



Then to get it in there and clamped in place. I did dry test the clamps so I knew they would work before getting seam seal everywhere!

After a minute or so, I realised that I had put the seam seal on the wrong face, so removed the pressing again! and applied seam seal to the correct face!

Then got it clamped in again!


And thats where todays fun ends, I'll leave that to set!

Thanks for reading guys!