Hi all,
About time i posted a thread about my new purchase!
Prologue
At the tender age of 17 my Dad purchased a Nimbus grey R27, bloody lovely car! With the Recaro seats and the cup pack it was a little pocket rocket and was a car 17 year old me could only dream of.
Some years later...
The ratty MX5 i owned suddenly became a liability, eating through alternators regularly, rusting everywhere and the final straw where it left me broken down after 5 laps of Oulton Park.
I had my fun in the MX5 game and decided it was time to move on, they really are great little cars but i was ready for a change.
So whats next?
The list of replacements was varied and odd, ranging from E46 M3, to TVR to Fiat Panda 100hp. All i wanted was a car that had that special something, it needed to be a little bit mad and not bankrupt me.
The list was finalized to a Clio 197 and a Megane R26.
After talking to a few people, including dad it was decided a 197 would be the next best step leaving the door open to upgrade to the R26 a few years down the line.
The search was on
My only requirements for the Clio was it had to have the Cup chassis and the Recaro seats. After searching through a whole heap of cars and a number of viewings i couldn't find a decent car.
Most had hugely inflated prices or were in a shocking condition.
There was one car however on eBay, a blue F1. It had a few niggly issues and was a high miler but...
Cup pack? Check
Recaros? Check
Good history? Check
Price? Bang on budget
Whats the catch? Its over 3 hours away
After speaking with the owner via this forum i had a decision to make.
Do i let it slip through my fingers?
Do i have a mad dash down their as soon as i can and buy it?
You know where this goes!
Dad? I've bought car, fancy a trip to Gloucester?
So off we went. Viewed the car and all seemed well, a test drove revealed the car was a good runner. Need i say more? It was bought there and then and i drove it back to mum and dad's house.
Obligatory picture of car on driveway:
Look at those seats!!!!!!
Now to shift that rotbox Mx5
After dealing with a few idiots and hilarious low ball offers a chap and his son came and bought the car for a decent price with no hassle. Off it went to be pressed straight back into track duties. The Mrs was more sad to see it go than me!
Obligatory picture of car being driven away:
It's clio time!
Now i had shifted the MX5 it was time to collect the Clio from my parents house.
Beep beep beep
Turns out when a clio has 0 fuel it's turns into an 80s alarm clock. £60 of Tesco 99 momentum sorted that right out.
Quick nighttime blast?
A friend popped over so we nipped out to see what the clio could do on some twisty roads. Turns out it's brilliant, but as it was dark we couldn't go too mad.
Working nine to fiiiiiive
Morning came and I don't think I have ever been this excited to drive to the office, was pretty short lived when I realized it was raining and had been all night.
Home time!!
After struggling to concentrate all day due to the new car I rushed out the door at 5 ready for a blast home.
What can I say?
Car is fantastic, short ratio box doesn't work at all on a dc or m way. But get it on a country road and it's always in the power band, which is handy when you have to overtake 3 lorries and various tractors.
On a twisty bit of road I found it very composed and hugely grippy. Chassis is nice and taught on the open road but a little crashy in town.
Car's now back home and parked in its spot.
Fancy going for a drive?
Mrs called up saying she was on her way home, she suggested I took her out for a spin! You don't have to ask me twice :laugh: . We live a stones throw from Saddleworth moor so a quick hoon to the top and back was all that was needed.
Car really is fantastic, I know this road well and it holds up so much better than my MX5. Suspension really flows out here and it's handling is pin sharp. One thing I am finding though, the chassis is so composed I find myself driving a lot faster than I could in the MX5 which means making progress really does require the road to yourself!
Unfortunately for us an old boy spun his MX5 backwards into a fence just as we hit the good part of the road. So a gentle jaunt to the top for a few pics then we came home.
Car was then booked into to have the tracking done as it had a slight pull to the left. This has now been cured and the steering feels much better.
Spare center caps also turned up making the car look right again.
Nice pouch
The clio doesn't really have it key, it has one of these daft cards. I'm dabbling with leather craft at the minute so made up a little pouch for the key rather than a key ring. I'm really pleased with it!
So what are you doing about this silver?
The mrs, much like me is a stickler for detail. We both hated the silver trim and centre console that adorns the dash. It was not only looking cheap it was also quite worn.
Deeply dippy
I'd been wanting to try plastidip for a while now, it's a spray on substance that coats anything in a rubbery plastic like layer. I thought the matte black version of this would tone down the interior and maybe give it a nicer feel.
After turning the bath into my spray booth I was ready to paint...
After using probably 5 coats on everything I had a nice texture that should hopefully wear quite well. I'm really pleased with this and for £14 and a few hours I'd certainly recommend it.
What's next? I should have a small fortunes worth of service parts arriving this week, will service the car myself next weekend then set about using the car some more, there's a potential trackday on the horizon too!
About time i posted a thread about my new purchase!
Prologue
At the tender age of 17 my Dad purchased a Nimbus grey R27, bloody lovely car! With the Recaro seats and the cup pack it was a little pocket rocket and was a car 17 year old me could only dream of.
Some years later...
The ratty MX5 i owned suddenly became a liability, eating through alternators regularly, rusting everywhere and the final straw where it left me broken down after 5 laps of Oulton Park.
I had my fun in the MX5 game and decided it was time to move on, they really are great little cars but i was ready for a change.
So whats next?
The list of replacements was varied and odd, ranging from E46 M3, to TVR to Fiat Panda 100hp. All i wanted was a car that had that special something, it needed to be a little bit mad and not bankrupt me.
The list was finalized to a Clio 197 and a Megane R26.
After talking to a few people, including dad it was decided a 197 would be the next best step leaving the door open to upgrade to the R26 a few years down the line.
The search was on
My only requirements for the Clio was it had to have the Cup chassis and the Recaro seats. After searching through a whole heap of cars and a number of viewings i couldn't find a decent car.
Most had hugely inflated prices or were in a shocking condition.
There was one car however on eBay, a blue F1. It had a few niggly issues and was a high miler but...
Cup pack? Check
Recaros? Check
Good history? Check
Price? Bang on budget
Whats the catch? Its over 3 hours away
After speaking with the owner via this forum i had a decision to make.
Do i let it slip through my fingers?
Do i have a mad dash down their as soon as i can and buy it?
You know where this goes!
Dad? I've bought car, fancy a trip to Gloucester?
So off we went. Viewed the car and all seemed well, a test drove revealed the car was a good runner. Need i say more? It was bought there and then and i drove it back to mum and dad's house.
Obligatory picture of car on driveway:
Look at those seats!!!!!!
Now to shift that rotbox Mx5
After dealing with a few idiots and hilarious low ball offers a chap and his son came and bought the car for a decent price with no hassle. Off it went to be pressed straight back into track duties. The Mrs was more sad to see it go than me!
Obligatory picture of car being driven away:
It's clio time!
Now i had shifted the MX5 it was time to collect the Clio from my parents house.
Beep beep beep
Turns out when a clio has 0 fuel it's turns into an 80s alarm clock. £60 of Tesco 99 momentum sorted that right out.
Quick nighttime blast?
A friend popped over so we nipped out to see what the clio could do on some twisty roads. Turns out it's brilliant, but as it was dark we couldn't go too mad.
Working nine to fiiiiiive
Morning came and I don't think I have ever been this excited to drive to the office, was pretty short lived when I realized it was raining and had been all night.
Home time!!
After struggling to concentrate all day due to the new car I rushed out the door at 5 ready for a blast home.
What can I say?
Car is fantastic, short ratio box doesn't work at all on a dc or m way. But get it on a country road and it's always in the power band, which is handy when you have to overtake 3 lorries and various tractors.
On a twisty bit of road I found it very composed and hugely grippy. Chassis is nice and taught on the open road but a little crashy in town.
Car's now back home and parked in its spot.
Fancy going for a drive?
Mrs called up saying she was on her way home, she suggested I took her out for a spin! You don't have to ask me twice :laugh: . We live a stones throw from Saddleworth moor so a quick hoon to the top and back was all that was needed.
Car really is fantastic, I know this road well and it holds up so much better than my MX5. Suspension really flows out here and it's handling is pin sharp. One thing I am finding though, the chassis is so composed I find myself driving a lot faster than I could in the MX5 which means making progress really does require the road to yourself!
Unfortunately for us an old boy spun his MX5 backwards into a fence just as we hit the good part of the road. So a gentle jaunt to the top for a few pics then we came home.
Car was then booked into to have the tracking done as it had a slight pull to the left. This has now been cured and the steering feels much better.
Spare center caps also turned up making the car look right again.
Nice pouch
The clio doesn't really have it key, it has one of these daft cards. I'm dabbling with leather craft at the minute so made up a little pouch for the key rather than a key ring. I'm really pleased with it!
So what are you doing about this silver?
The mrs, much like me is a stickler for detail. We both hated the silver trim and centre console that adorns the dash. It was not only looking cheap it was also quite worn.
Deeply dippy
I'd been wanting to try plastidip for a while now, it's a spray on substance that coats anything in a rubbery plastic like layer. I thought the matte black version of this would tone down the interior and maybe give it a nicer feel.
After turning the bath into my spray booth I was ready to paint...
After using probably 5 coats on everything I had a nice texture that should hopefully wear quite well. I'm really pleased with this and for £14 and a few hours I'd certainly recommend it.
What's next? I should have a small fortunes worth of service parts arriving this week, will service the car myself next weekend then set about using the car some more, there's a potential trackday on the horizon too!
