Time for an update.. good news and bad news.
Good news, after months and months, I got the engine working, it starts and drives, one side effect is that even the automatic ECU is compatible with manual cars - we tried it accidentally after finding out the ECU I put in originally and was watching the smoke was actually a manual one. The engine also was full of water from where it was stored at the garage that failed to finish the engine change. The loom which was an E7F 601 loom also interestingly worked without any issues, although I had to cut the wires out and change them for the automatic loom as the alternators were different. I took it to another garage and they started the engine without any issues.
HOWEVER!
The body is now scrap! As I write this, its still in the garage where it went to the second time. So 10 1/2 years of ownership and 21/2 years off the road has taken its toll. Why you ask? I thought I had a semi decent body, just a small patch of welding here and there and it would be fine. I knew about the wheelarch which was starting to go like mad, which I started to also try and limit, but then came a big one:
See these areas (attached)? That is where the rear axle bolts to on 2 of the photos. The nearside has corroded so much, its not worth saving. The nearside is nearly as bad. So bang goes my ideas of using it as a van. Of course, I've put a lot of time and effort into this car over 10 years and learnt a lot from it.

The other areas is nearside sill about half way down and 2 parts of the nearside rear wheel arch,
However, all is not lost. A lot of garages will not accept the work to weld the Clio as they think its not worth the time and effort doing so. What I have done instead is decided to keep the green one (seen in a few photos)for the time being and swap the parts over that are of any real significance. It also means I have a couple of stored parts I can no longer use as its a 5 door not 3 (which makes things easier in one way when I carry passengers - I did want a 5 door from the outset but then I decided to make a van out of the 3 door which is going to be harder for a 5 door) and my sides skirts are no longer usable! Unless anyone knows where someone is selling 5 door skirts for an RSI? Oh yeah, it ain't blue and its an automatic. On the flip side, a 5 door van does sound tempting, but what do I do with the 2 extra doors?
I've said on a facebook group I'm signed up to about this issue but if anyone wants any 1.4 RT parts from an interior or someone wants to strip out the parts I've swapped over/not retaining (It will be a virtually complete car minus steering wheel, possibly gearbox/clutch and engine loom), then you are free to PM me. I'm not going to charge a lot. Online valuation is £122 scrap (although I don't wan't to part with it :'( ) so as long as I make a little more than that, I'm happy. Or if someone wants to take the whole lot away. Just beware, its not drivable. Engine starts and moves, but that rear axle is too deadly and it doesn't have an MOT.
