Nicole.R - 01.02.2014 *SOLD*...
- Thread starter Willis
- Start date
15 December 2013;
Well... SHE'S HOOOOOME!!! :thumbup:
I just want to say, before I go into it all, that Ste and Alistair have absolutely gone above and beyond the call of duty today to get her back to me.
Where to start? I haven't had the light or chance to get any photos yet so you'll have to bear with me, hopefully I'll get some time this week after work. She isn't 100% finished, but that was always the plan anyway that I'd get her back in a low boost semi-finished state and have a week of gentle driving before taking her back to Ste for a nut and bolt check and to have the boost turned up as well as a couple of little finishing touches. I felt it was the best way to do things and the lads have already had a couple of days using her as well before today which is always the best course of action as any faults which develop can then be rectified before handover (more on that later) and avoids a lot of swearing and awkward phonecalls if something does go wrong...
It's been a LONG journey!!! There's been some rough patches along the way, some my own doing, some Ste's doing and then just for good measure some beyond all reasonable control of either of us. Without boring everyone and plastering private lives all over a car forum (the ones who know, know already) let's just say that from my point of view I've had the whore of all summers and Ste has had a lot to deal with himself. I've been very frustrated at times, Ste has been very frustrated at times too and we've had the odd clash but we were mates before this project started and we always said no matter what got said during it all we wouldn't fall out over a car (no matter how special she is). Project cars and indeed major work such as conversions very rarely go to plan and often take some time, from the outside this can look like people aren't pulling their weight etc., but that isn't always the case and I wouldn't want people to view the time this has taken as a negative towards Ste. We both hoped and wanted this to be wrapped up in a couple of months but it just didn't work out that way.
Ste took the project on knowing that money was tight and I had issues in my homelife and I took the project on knowing that Ste would be fitting Nicole in around other jobs. But along the way we had the problem of trying to find an ECU, at one point I think there was six people trying to help us find one!?! That ate around seven weeks in an instant, the engine and gearbox were in the car all refreshed and ready to go but we couldn't take things any further. As things settled down in my homelife and Ste adjusted to being a Dad, things started to pick up and settle down for us. We found an ECU, we got a great deal on some driveshafts and then we changed the spec' of a few things which of course added some more time onto the project. Then without going into the finer details, some bespoke parts that were meant to take ''a few weeks'' to get to us ended up taking a few months to get to us, believe me we were both majorly p!ssed off but what can you do!?! I'm a picky b@st@rd and Ste is a perfectionist so we knew we just had to suck it up and hold on. In the end Ste actually went to the fabricator himself and pulled an all-nighter to get them sorted. It's stuff like that that generally goes unseen and unappreciated behind the scenes of a project... Anyway, once the parts were back they were on and good to go within a few days and at this point, Nicole had been running for around four weeks and able to drive in and out of the garage under her own steam.
Off she went for her MOT, came back with a couple of minor advisories (tyres, more on that later) but all was well. Stuck six months Tax on (boo-hiss) and then the shakedown could start. This was Thursday just gone, all was well, she bled up nicely and was running perfectly. Then on Friday morning, she decided she didn't want to play anymore and I got a rather distressed phonecall from Ste. It just happened to be Friday 13th. Enough said. She'd thrown some errors up, these errors being four failed coilpacks and a failed fuel pump. WHAT. THE. F?CK!?! Luckily though Ste & Alistair knew it would be one of a few things and set about chasing up some parts. In the meantime (the space of about ten minutes), Ste tried to start her up again on the off chance et voila. Perfect. WHAT. THE. F?CK!?! So anyway, the decision was taken to hold the parts and see how she coped for the rest of the afternoon. Alistair took her home that night to put some miles through everything and all was well. Until Saturday (yesterday) morning when Nicole did not want to wake up!!! WHAT. THE. F?CK!?! So after another rather distressed phonecall from Ste, the plan was for Ste to take up a spare part that we thought was causing the problems so he could swap it over there and then. Turns out Nicole still didn't want to play games. So, along came a truck and brought Nicole down to Bolton with Ste and Alistair determined and p!ssed off in equal measure. She was coming home today, wether she wanted to or not.
They set about her and within an hour she was running and all was well. Until... She then decided she didn't want to unlock her steering lock. Cue poor Ste sitting with his head in his hands contemplating the merits of a firebomb hahaha!!! Luckily, Neil (Oscar360) had popped in on his way home from work and just so happened to have the magic touch and Nicole finally accepted defeat. You couldn't make it up, after all of the waiting on parts and the moaning between me and Ste, she was finally physically ready to come home but mentally she wasn't ready to say au revoir and was doing everything in her power to stay in the warmth at SC; I think she'd grown quite fond of the lads and the ramps. That leads us up to this evening nicely really, I think I've covered everything!?! And if you've made it this far then you've done well, thanks for not baulking at the amount of words and just not bothering because of the lack of photos. It's a lot to take in but as I said at thet start it's been a LONG journey!!!
So, where is she up to now? She runs, very well indeed, everything on the dash works perfectly and all of the OEM functions have been retained. She pulls like a train and the power is so smooth and linear in delivery for an FI engine, I'm very very impressed. Now bear in mind she's running at around 8PSI at the moment which will equate to around 200-225BHP as an educated guess? Bascially standard power for this engine but at less than standard boost which is down to the extra goodies she has. Sixth gear sees 70MPH at 2,500RPM which is going to be great on future longhaul trips but don't be fooled, she still picks up as soon as you hit the fun pedal. I'd say the steering feels slightly heavier now I've gone up and out an inch with the wheels (Megane 225) but it could also be down to the fact I've been driving a superlight Punto for the last month or so. The brakes aren't quite on form yet, but they'll be fine once they've had some miles in them as she's been stood for a while and if they do appear at all to be struggling with shedding the extra pace then I have a set of CL pads to go in. Handling wise, she doesn't feel massively different, certainly not a huge amount more weight over the nose but I've not given her a real blast out yet so that opinion may change. The fronts are running on Kumho KU39's and they feel nice and solid and progressive. Although the rear tyres (Events) are, well, eventful, to be polite. They are dogsh!t but they were free with the wheels and they'll be getting replaced with another pair of KU39's on Wednesday hahaha!!!
Now for the soppy bit. I want to say a big big big thanks to Ste and Alistair (and Muggsy, whilst he was there, traitor) for the work they've done. Not only that, but thanks for letting me spend time up there in and around the garage and get my hands dirty (not on Nicole, they weren't that brave with me). I've learnt some new stuff and it was a good laugh as well. A big thanks to Oscar360 for just being a top mate and a verbal punchbag when I've needed to blow off some steam about Ste and likewise for being there when Ste needed to blow off some steam about me as well hahaha!!! Thanks also to Robo, iAndy, Litchy, MikeH, Deadmau5, Robinson, Henderson and Fernandez (and non-197.net-ers Andy, Chris and Chris) for keeping me (relatively) sane through all of the sh!t in my homelife and convincing me not to make THAT phonecall and throw in the towel when things weren't going to plan....
So, what exactly has been done to Nicole?
F4RT
K&N Filter
225 Gearbox
ScanGauge II
ARP Rod Bolts
SC Autos Clutch
Miltek 2.75" Decat
Megane 250 Turbo
Forge Coolant Hoses
SC Autos Intercooler
Miltek 2.75" Link Pipe
ATE SuperBlue Brake Fluid
Forge Adjustable Recirc' Valve
SC Autos ''Big Boy'' Hard Pipe Kit
And what's Ste got planned for her next weekend?
Fluid Check
AC Regassing
MORE BOOOST
Nut & Bolt Check
Fitment of AndrewJeffs QuickShift
Refit Undertray (left off to spot for leaks this week)
Foglight Removal (more to come on that another time)
And then in January she'll be having the following work done...
SC Autos; Final mapping and fitment of Forge Adjustable Actuator
TGS; Fabrication of 3.00" exhaust (single exit tailpipe and no silencers, fully heat-wrapped)
There's more to come beyond that as well, I want to get in as many trackdays as I can this year and there's already a new parts list growing.
Project cars don't get finished, they just keep evolving. :thumbsup:
Well... SHE'S HOOOOOME!!! :thumbup:
I just want to say, before I go into it all, that Ste and Alistair have absolutely gone above and beyond the call of duty today to get her back to me.
Where to start? I haven't had the light or chance to get any photos yet so you'll have to bear with me, hopefully I'll get some time this week after work. She isn't 100% finished, but that was always the plan anyway that I'd get her back in a low boost semi-finished state and have a week of gentle driving before taking her back to Ste for a nut and bolt check and to have the boost turned up as well as a couple of little finishing touches. I felt it was the best way to do things and the lads have already had a couple of days using her as well before today which is always the best course of action as any faults which develop can then be rectified before handover (more on that later) and avoids a lot of swearing and awkward phonecalls if something does go wrong...
It's been a LONG journey!!! There's been some rough patches along the way, some my own doing, some Ste's doing and then just for good measure some beyond all reasonable control of either of us. Without boring everyone and plastering private lives all over a car forum (the ones who know, know already) let's just say that from my point of view I've had the whore of all summers and Ste has had a lot to deal with himself. I've been very frustrated at times, Ste has been very frustrated at times too and we've had the odd clash but we were mates before this project started and we always said no matter what got said during it all we wouldn't fall out over a car (no matter how special she is). Project cars and indeed major work such as conversions very rarely go to plan and often take some time, from the outside this can look like people aren't pulling their weight etc., but that isn't always the case and I wouldn't want people to view the time this has taken as a negative towards Ste. We both hoped and wanted this to be wrapped up in a couple of months but it just didn't work out that way.
Ste took the project on knowing that money was tight and I had issues in my homelife and I took the project on knowing that Ste would be fitting Nicole in around other jobs. But along the way we had the problem of trying to find an ECU, at one point I think there was six people trying to help us find one!?! That ate around seven weeks in an instant, the engine and gearbox were in the car all refreshed and ready to go but we couldn't take things any further. As things settled down in my homelife and Ste adjusted to being a Dad, things started to pick up and settle down for us. We found an ECU, we got a great deal on some driveshafts and then we changed the spec' of a few things which of course added some more time onto the project. Then without going into the finer details, some bespoke parts that were meant to take ''a few weeks'' to get to us ended up taking a few months to get to us, believe me we were both majorly p!ssed off but what can you do!?! I'm a picky b@st@rd and Ste is a perfectionist so we knew we just had to suck it up and hold on. In the end Ste actually went to the fabricator himself and pulled an all-nighter to get them sorted. It's stuff like that that generally goes unseen and unappreciated behind the scenes of a project... Anyway, once the parts were back they were on and good to go within a few days and at this point, Nicole had been running for around four weeks and able to drive in and out of the garage under her own steam.
Off she went for her MOT, came back with a couple of minor advisories (tyres, more on that later) but all was well. Stuck six months Tax on (boo-hiss) and then the shakedown could start. This was Thursday just gone, all was well, she bled up nicely and was running perfectly. Then on Friday morning, she decided she didn't want to play anymore and I got a rather distressed phonecall from Ste. It just happened to be Friday 13th. Enough said. She'd thrown some errors up, these errors being four failed coilpacks and a failed fuel pump. WHAT. THE. F?CK!?! Luckily though Ste & Alistair knew it would be one of a few things and set about chasing up some parts. In the meantime (the space of about ten minutes), Ste tried to start her up again on the off chance et voila. Perfect. WHAT. THE. F?CK!?! So anyway, the decision was taken to hold the parts and see how she coped for the rest of the afternoon. Alistair took her home that night to put some miles through everything and all was well. Until Saturday (yesterday) morning when Nicole did not want to wake up!!! WHAT. THE. F?CK!?! So after another rather distressed phonecall from Ste, the plan was for Ste to take up a spare part that we thought was causing the problems so he could swap it over there and then. Turns out Nicole still didn't want to play games. So, along came a truck and brought Nicole down to Bolton with Ste and Alistair determined and p!ssed off in equal measure. She was coming home today, wether she wanted to or not.
They set about her and within an hour she was running and all was well. Until... She then decided she didn't want to unlock her steering lock. Cue poor Ste sitting with his head in his hands contemplating the merits of a firebomb hahaha!!! Luckily, Neil (Oscar360) had popped in on his way home from work and just so happened to have the magic touch and Nicole finally accepted defeat. You couldn't make it up, after all of the waiting on parts and the moaning between me and Ste, she was finally physically ready to come home but mentally she wasn't ready to say au revoir and was doing everything in her power to stay in the warmth at SC; I think she'd grown quite fond of the lads and the ramps. That leads us up to this evening nicely really, I think I've covered everything!?! And if you've made it this far then you've done well, thanks for not baulking at the amount of words and just not bothering because of the lack of photos. It's a lot to take in but as I said at thet start it's been a LONG journey!!!
So, where is she up to now? She runs, very well indeed, everything on the dash works perfectly and all of the OEM functions have been retained. She pulls like a train and the power is so smooth and linear in delivery for an FI engine, I'm very very impressed. Now bear in mind she's running at around 8PSI at the moment which will equate to around 200-225BHP as an educated guess? Bascially standard power for this engine but at less than standard boost which is down to the extra goodies she has. Sixth gear sees 70MPH at 2,500RPM which is going to be great on future longhaul trips but don't be fooled, she still picks up as soon as you hit the fun pedal. I'd say the steering feels slightly heavier now I've gone up and out an inch with the wheels (Megane 225) but it could also be down to the fact I've been driving a superlight Punto for the last month or so. The brakes aren't quite on form yet, but they'll be fine once they've had some miles in them as she's been stood for a while and if they do appear at all to be struggling with shedding the extra pace then I have a set of CL pads to go in. Handling wise, she doesn't feel massively different, certainly not a huge amount more weight over the nose but I've not given her a real blast out yet so that opinion may change. The fronts are running on Kumho KU39's and they feel nice and solid and progressive. Although the rear tyres (Events) are, well, eventful, to be polite. They are dogsh!t but they were free with the wheels and they'll be getting replaced with another pair of KU39's on Wednesday hahaha!!!
Now for the soppy bit. I want to say a big big big thanks to Ste and Alistair (and Muggsy, whilst he was there, traitor) for the work they've done. Not only that, but thanks for letting me spend time up there in and around the garage and get my hands dirty (not on Nicole, they weren't that brave with me). I've learnt some new stuff and it was a good laugh as well. A big thanks to Oscar360 for just being a top mate and a verbal punchbag when I've needed to blow off some steam about Ste and likewise for being there when Ste needed to blow off some steam about me as well hahaha!!! Thanks also to Robo, iAndy, Litchy, MikeH, Deadmau5, Robinson, Henderson and Fernandez (and non-197.net-ers Andy, Chris and Chris) for keeping me (relatively) sane through all of the sh!t in my homelife and convincing me not to make THAT phonecall and throw in the towel when things weren't going to plan....
So, what exactly has been done to Nicole?
F4RT
K&N Filter
225 Gearbox
ScanGauge II
ARP Rod Bolts
SC Autos Clutch
Miltek 2.75" Decat
Megane 250 Turbo
Forge Coolant Hoses
SC Autos Intercooler
Miltek 2.75" Link Pipe
ATE SuperBlue Brake Fluid
Forge Adjustable Recirc' Valve
SC Autos ''Big Boy'' Hard Pipe Kit
And what's Ste got planned for her next weekend?
Fluid Check
AC Regassing
MORE BOOOST
Nut & Bolt Check
Fitment of AndrewJeffs QuickShift
Refit Undertray (left off to spot for leaks this week)
Foglight Removal (more to come on that another time)
And then in January she'll be having the following work done...
SC Autos; Final mapping and fitment of Forge Adjustable Actuator
TGS; Fabrication of 3.00" exhaust (single exit tailpipe and no silencers, fully heat-wrapped)
There's more to come beyond that as well, I want to get in as many trackdays as I can this year and there's already a new parts list growing.
Project cars don't get finished, they just keep evolving. :thumbsup:
Last edited:
Fair and honest write up Willis, long journey but will be worth it in the end. This is where the fun begins....
Yiannis197
Paid Member
And yes, you got there eventually!
Long ride mate, I'm really glad you stuck by your original plans. Nice and honest write up as well.
Now..where are the pics??
Long ride mate, I'm really glad you stuck by your original plans. Nice and honest write up as well.
Now..where are the pics??
Similar Thread Suggestions
| Thread starter | Similar threads | Forum | Replies | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nicole ? Papa ! - Clio 197 F1 | Projects/Progress Threads | 135 | |
|
Sold: 2014 Megane 265 Cup - £14,750 | Non-Clio For Sale | 5 | |
|
Just raced a 2014 fiesta ST | Clio General Chat | 2 | |
|
Nicole's Bathtime... | Detailing | 35 | |
|
|
Nicole Has An Anti-Detail... | Detailing | 15 |