Clio 197 Track Build

[british_tommy]

Hi All

I've been loitering here for a while so I though I should get this thread up and running.

Earlier in the year I bought a 197 to replace my old 172 cup track car. The old girl still had many miles/laps in her but for me it was time to upgrade.

This is the old girl:

And here is her dirty younger sister!

First things first, the car is in fairly good nick, a couple of small issues but nothing too serious. The main one is that the gearbox is shot to bits. Luckily enough the guy I bought it from was honest enough to accept this and sold the car complete with an unknown replacement gearbox. So the first thing I did was take the replacement box to a local gearbox specialist who stripped it down, replaced some seals and the syncro's and gave it a bit of TLC. When i went to check on progress I was greeted with this box of bits!!!

 

[Pav]

hope she is all in good nick soon so you can take it out on a track...

 

[sevenfourate]

".....expensive box of bits" i think you meant.

Anything repair-wise on the 197/200 has expensive written in-front of it, as its never straight-forward, simple or quick.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.......

 

[british_tommy]

This is true - expensive box of bits!!! However the second box wasnt actually in that bad condition. A selector seal, new updated syncro, amongst other bits and all good to go.

At this point I had a dilema on my hands. I always wanted a LSD in the old car, but never wanted to fork out the cost of taking the gearbox out, splitting it and putting in the diff. On this occasion the work was already underway... so i thought it would be rude not to!

This little baby turned up not long after:






And then fitted into the gearbox, resealed, painted, and on the workshop floor ready to get fitted in a couple of weeks - bill - around £250 (plus the LSD!)

 

[british_tommy]

Next I purchased a spare set of wheels from a member on Cliosport, the red set in the photo below, complete with a set of full slicks with decent tread left -



Didnt like the red... (funny that) so got them stripped, pressed (they were all bent), a refurb'd in gloss white:



Now just need to get them wrapped in some rubber and good to go.

 

[british_tommy]

Next I turned my focus back on the car.

Time to strip it, so removed all of the interior, seats, trim panels and roof liner.



Don't really mind all the hard work as I'm getting paid for it....:lol:

 

[british_tommy]

Tar removed with a heat gun - and residue with Autoglym Tar Remover. Will be weighing the big pile of stuff before it goes, so will update with weights over the next few days.

 

[british_tommy]

Safety Devices 6 Point Bolt in Cage ordered from Mark Fish Motorsport, supposed to be getting fitted this week but there is apparently a 2 week delay in the factory so not coming until w/c 30th May :001_huh:

In the meantime I have ordered some 3k3ohm resistors for the seatbelt pre tensioners, air bags and a 100ohm resistor for the seat position sensor, could someone confirm this is correct for the seat position sensor otherwise I will have to get my multimeter out and measure the resistance in the original seat circuit.

I've also ordered some 7/16 UNF eye bolts and spreader plates, to prep the car for harnesses. Thinking of painting the interior but unsure of the best way to do this at the moment, dont really want to pay for a paintshop to do it so likely just going to get some rattle cans!!!

Also a query re the airbag ECU - can this be removed without causing too much trouble? How would I get the airbag light to stay off once removed (staying road legal for now).

 

[Chris]

Them speedlines look brilliant!

 

[sevenfourate]

This thread is looking like being pretty epic.......

WATCHING

 

[Pav]

£250 for a box rebuilt??where is that pls??

 

[british_tommy]

Just a local gearbox guy near me. 250 cash job, and not so much a rebuild, more of a refresh, not many parts actually needed replacing.

 

[Yiannis197]

you don't mess about do you?? Nice one mate, keep the pics coming.

 

[british_tommy]

So I've given up with resistors. I tried today but for some reason the rear driver side pretensioner won't clear with a resistor fitted, tried a couple of resistors and also measured the circuit with a meter and it's all good, just won't clear the light. So I've ordered a CLIP off eBay to see if that will work, and whilst online also ordered sparco sub frames, a bunch of nuts and bolts, OMP Boss Kit for my wheel, and some side mounts for the old seat. More photos as soon as all that lot starts to turn up!

This weekend I'll be primering the interior now that it's all stripped, ready for paint.

 

[Flacsi]

Keep up the good work! Following

 

[Raptor6767]

Watching the thread.
Keep up the good work!

 

[john_walker74]

£250 for a box rebuilt??where is that pls??

Remember that was just a refresh of a gearbox not fitted to a car. The changeover will take a bit of time and cost a bit if not doing it yourself. Also need to facto in the cost of a.new clutch and slave.

Still a decent price for the work.done.

 

[british_tommy]

Fully Stripped - Primered and ready for paint...

 

[Pav]

what a good job :jase:

any idea of the weight now??bet you stripped quite a few kilos..

 

[british_tommy]

Not yet - I've got a huge pile of stuff ready to go down the tip (or to somebody else if they want it?). We'll weigh it as it goes in the van and I'll post results up here.