Glacier White 200 Cup

[strell]

I know it is a really nice shell, brand new condition, with a full cage. But, I think it would make the project really expensive starting off with a shell like that. Ideally I need something that comes with brake lines, fuel lines, loom etc.. etc. already in it.

Yeah true. Won’t be a cheap way to go at all

 

[burrellbloke]

Thank you to everyone who has sent me messages - they really are appreciated.

I think by the weekend I will have a plan of action sorted and will let you know if I need any help or parts.

 

[Beany]

Sorry to hear the bad news. Onwards and upwards. Bent metal is easily fixed / re shelled!

come back stronger

 

[burrellbloke]

We sat down and worked out some very rough figures tonight trying to work out the best strategy of getting a/the Clio back on the road in a reasonable period of time.

Although we have been offered a 197 shell for a very fair price the logistics of trying to get a bare shell in to a running condition on my driveway does not seem to be a very sensible option. We don't have the luxury of a unit, or even a small garage to work on the car. I will get an idea of what the cost would be at the weekend for a garage to do a lot of work in terms of moving the engine from the current 200 to a bare shell and getting that shell in a moveable condition. But I am guessing the figures will be at least a few thousand pounds. If we did go down this route we would then spend quite a bit of money looking for replacement parts that the shell is missing, or we do not have, like a new front end.

The other option, which seems to be more practical, is to buy a running Clio 197/200 and do most of the work on the drive to swap out the suspension, brakes, rear axle, engine, gearbox etc., etc. Although the initial outlay of buying a running car may be expensive by "breaking" the unused or duplicate parts we could recover a decent sum of money.

We still have the yellow dot Recaros, and together with items from the new car such as a running engine, gearbox, exhaust, diffuser, wheels etc, etc the overall cost of getting a Clio back on the road, and back on track, should be manageable.

Can anyone help me with these questions:

1. How easy is an engine swap? Our current engine seems to be reasonably strong, the belts were done recently and it does not leak fluids. I would like to keep the engine if possible. Apart from the physical task of pulling the engine out of one car and putting it in to another are there any complicated issues with ECUs and immobilisers? I think that @EthanMenace and I should me capable of doing an engine swap over a weekend.

2. Are we being foolish thinking that a car transplant can be done on my drive?

I am going to have a look at the Clio that @Sean197 pointed out on eBay next week.

 

[Sean197]

Engine swap is straightforward, just document with pics what you unplugged/unbolted then do the reverse when refitting. Unbolt suspension, driveshafts, gear linkage, and exhaust, unplug wiring and heater pipes, remove the front bumper and crash bar and lift out. I swapped my saxo engine on my drive with no issues.
Easiest thing regarding the immobiliser is to send both ecus away and have the new cars immobiliser data transferred onto your ecu, then it's plug and play.

 

[RSRowe]

1. How easy is an engine swap? Our current engine seems to be reasonably strong, the belts were done recently and it does not leak fluids. I would like to keep the engine if possible. Apart from the physical task of pulling the engine out of one car and putting it in to another are there any complicated issues with ECUs and immobilisers? I think that @EthanMenace and I should me capable of doing an engine swap over a weekend.

2. Are we being foolish thinking that a car transplant can be done on my drive?

1. It's not too difficult if you have the right tools and a decent amount of space. I wouldn't prioritise switching the engines over if you're buying a complete car.
Removing the whole of the front of the car will be easiest in terms of access, but you'll still need a good jack and an engine crane ideally. The ECU/immobiliser isn't something to worry about, as you'll literally be unplugging one engine, and replacing it with another.

I think you'll have a busy couple of days trying to achieve it over the course of 2 days if you've not done it before. You are lucky that the car has been recently put together, so nuts and bolts should could apart fairly easily, but things can take longer.

2. The transplant as a whole is definitely doable on the drive, but my main concern would be making sure the parts you're switching are safe to be ran again.


As a general piece of advise, I would say never underestimate the time it takes to do a job, and certainly make sure you have PLENTY of free space..... there will be parts x2 scattered everywhere.

 

[PITA]

Option 3 - buy my car

 

[burrellbloke]

Option 3 - buy my car

Too expensive for me.

 

[PITA]

Joking aside; anything is achievable on your driveway but it will ultimately come down to how much you value your own time. Transplanting parts from yours to a fully functioning car will be the quickest option. Swapping ECUs, engines etc gets tricky when you go across years and models (197/200/cup etc).

The bonus is that most (all) of your mods will easily transfer over and you don’t have a full weld in cage, roof scoop etc

Is claiming on the insurance off the cards (with a buy back of your car)?

 

[Big Ben]

Meglio for sale. Quicker and cheaper

 

[burrellbloke]

An insurance claim may be short term gain for long term pain. I have already got to deal with a price hike next year on my insurance because of the claim on the Megane. It will cause @EthanMenace insurance to shoot up for the next few years and I suspect that it will be cheaper in the long run just to take the financial hit of not claiming.

 

[burrellbloke]

I had a chat with Alex at AW Motorworks today. He said words to the effect of buying a cheaper replacement car and transferring parts would be far cheaper than starting off with a bare shell. So, I have put a deposit down on a glacier white Clio 200 and will take a look, and hopefully collect it next week.

 

[burrellbloke]

 

[RSRowe]

Welcome to the key card club

 

[burrellbloke]

We have purchased a slightly battered Clio 200 that is a cup packed full fat. It has 115,000 miles on the clock and a full FSH. This is the car that was listed on eBay with drivers side rear quarter panel damage.

We viewed the car in the dark, took it for a quick test drive. The seller was honest about the faults and as per the description the car did have a crunch in fourth gear. The boot switch does not work. Also, the car Is displaying an "electrical fault" on the dashboard. I think that there is a problem with the BCM as none of the full fat auto functions are working such as auto lights, auto wipers, cruise control or the central display.

The car drove okay and in fact felt very civilised. The car was quiet compared to the really battered Clio that is still sat on my drive.

Version 2 of the "Glacier White 200" project is underway...

 

[burrellbloke]

@EthanMenace has been hard at work this week stripping parts from the Cup and the newly acquired full fat.



Hopefully by Friday the Gaz Golds and brakes will have been transferred from the Cup and ready to use at Brands Hatch at the weekend. If anything else gets transferred over it will be a bonus.

 

[burrellbloke]

Does anyone know what the part number for a Body Control Module for a 200 full fat is?

I need to buy a spare and get it recoded as the current BCM in the full fat is not working. We have checked the fuses in the engine bay and inside the car but cannot see any reason why the BCM is not working. We have no interior lights, no cruise control, no stereo, no central display (amongst other faults) and there is an “electrical fault” on the display.

 

[RSRowe]

Check the fuses on the battery first. The 60 and 70amp ones

 

[PITA]

Does anyone know what the part number for a Body Control Module for a 200 full fat is?

I need to buy a spare and get it recoded as the current BCM in the full fat is not working. We have checked the fuses in the engine bay and inside the car but cannot see any reason why the BCM is not working. We have no interior lights, no cruise control, no stereo, no central display (amongst other faults) and there is an “electrical fault” on the display.

Can you not recode the cup item?

 

[burrellbloke]

Check the fuses on the battery first. The 60 and 70amp ones

Will do.

The suspension has been swapped, the brake discs and pads swapped, the braided brake lines have also been swapped. After a quick drive to drop off a torque wrench last night the car refused to start. The display is now showing a steering not locked error message. If I go to start the car it makes all of the usual noises like the relays clicking, and the fuel pump priming, but when the start button is pressed the immobiliser light stays solid and there is no cranking. We tried jump starting the car from another battery but still no luck.

I think a thorough look at the fuses is a good idea.

I suspect that the fault is electrical.

We had to push the car back home last night which was exhausting. When pushing the car I could hear a very faint metal clinking that I originally thought sounded like a small nut or washer falling off, but I heard it a few times. Not sure if an earth is lose even though none of the earths have been touched.

More problems to diagnose.