Conor's Arctic Blue 182FF

[CPhillips93]

Hi, my name is Conor, i am 19 and currently living in Cornwall. I am a law student at Falmouth Uni, working at a hotel in between my studying.

Bit of background info.. have come from a 106 Quiksilver.. was mint and was a helluva lot of fun and made me smile very often! however, the time came to move on!

There she is above next to my aunty's and cousin's cars

So after much delibiration and arguments with my parents, i decided i wanted a RS Clio 182 (hence why i am here:rasp

I searched on ebay, pistonheads and autotrader for 182's in any colour.. however i had my heart set on black
I found one for £3500 around 20 miles away, and it was in Black Gold however, i got there and it was clear that there was alot of work needed to be done :dapprove:
I was dissapointed at first as this would have been ideal, but as soon as i came home, i checked pistonheads and there she was, my Arctic Blue 182 with only 44k on the clock, FSH with the belts and tensioners changed as well, mint bodywork and a Scorpion RS192 exhaust.. it was perfect
After a couple viewings i took the car off his hands on Friday!

Yesterday morning it was finally good weather so out came the cleaning equipment!

I first gave the car a spray over with some bug and tar remover in the common dirt areas;

i let this soak and then got a "pressure washer" and put some shampoo and hot water in there ready for a rinse!

The plastics were looking rather worse for wear (forgot to take pictures before) so after a great deal of bumper shine they looked like so;

Then after all this i used the good ol' bucket and sponge;

Once i had finished the whole car i got to work on the sill, 50/50 shot;

when i bought the car, i knew full well it was in need of a good detail.. there were a couple of spots where the lacquer had been marked;

so out came the meguiars ultimate compound..

and its nowhere to be seen!

and to finish up, none other than;

matte arctic blue anyone?

even the cat came out to help!

and then the finished article

However, on sunday, i played football, and broke my ankle in two places :dapprove:
So for 6 weeks i will not be able to do anything to my car.. perhaps some ordering of parts!




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[PP200t]

Very nice!! Needs tire shine though

 

[-Danman-]

Looks really nice mate, was it a previous members' or did you put the tax disk holder on?

And also, what's the insurance like? I'm 20 and never really thought about a sport.

 

[pupster92]

i pay 1400 on mine. Im 20 but on a multicar with my dad and bro.

Car looks lush though Conor, Good find

 

[KielT]

Car looks lovely mate, and best colour

 

[Cw Tuning.]

looks tidy mate

 

[CPhillips93]

Very nice!! Needs tire shine though

i did use some twice :S i am just gonna blame the tyres

Looks really nice mate, was it a previous members' or did you put the tax disk holder on?

And also, what's the insurance like? I'm 20 and never really thought about a sport.

It was there with the car so i assume that 1 of the previous owners was a member well i paid £500 on top of what i am paying but should be around £1400 when i renew

i pay 1400 on mine. Im 20 but on a multicar with my dad and bro.

Car looks lush though Conor, Good find

Thanks bud it is lush! just a shame i cant drive it

looks tidy mate

Thanks

 

[JonC219]

Injury recovery time is not good for you bank balance.

Broke my back in May and it nearly broke the bank while I was bored at home ordering bits! Haha

 

[CPhillips93]

Injury recovery time is not good for you bank balance.

Broke my back in May and it nearly broke the bank while I was bored at home ordering bits! Haha

Sick pay isnt that good either :dapprove:
haha, i can imagine i will be like that too!

 

[CPhillips93]

Right had an appointment today at the fracture clinic and it turns out i need an operation on my ankle:S not sure how i feel about this yet but if its going to put it right i am not going to complain!

But this has given me alot of time off of work, which although means i am not getting paid much i have been able to think about what i want to buy for the car

After reading for a few blogs on here I have decided that the RS197 badge really tidies up the rear nicely! so this has been added to the "wish list"

As far as improving the mechanics and bodywork of the car, i need a new clamp for the exhaust as well as getting a dent remover out to look at 2 (yes there is only 2 dents :rasp dents that need removing

Also, whilst trawling through ebay in my spare time (of which i have alot) i came across this - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Clio-MK2-...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2c5b325c67 - my cousin did something very similar on his 106 GTi with red and blue LEDs.. i think blue LEDs for the lettering and red for the screens would look good.. whats everyones opinions?

the cousin also has a bit of spare carbon wrap.. i dont think i will need to explain this further:rasp:

Overall my aim over the next 6 weeks is to keep her clean, order some stuff, and just have a think about things
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[CPhillips93]

Seeing as i cant reply to this thread with new updates, health updates will have to suffice

Went in for my op thursday, and came back 9pm that night all fixed, with an added 7 screws and plates of titanium!

So here i am back home 3 days later, recovering on heavy painkillers!

I would have liked to have shown off my new metal on here, but unfortunately the hospital failed to give me a copy of it!

But just glad to be back counting the days till i can step back into my car and drive it again!

Conor.
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[mjogreen]

I'm considering doing an LED conversion on my MK3. I just think these LED lights look smarter no matter where they go. Apart from strips under or around headlights :banghead:

Good luck with the recovery mate! The car looks very smart, I bet you can't wait to be back on the road!

 

[CPhillips93]

I'm considering doing an LED conversion on my MK3. I just think these LED lights look smarter no matter where they go. Apart from strips under or around headlights :banghead:

Good luck with the recovery mate! The car looks very smart, I bet you can't wait to be back on the road!

I am sure they do a kit similar to the one i posted? they do, my cousin did this in his 106 and it looked awesome! Oh dear god, i hate that! i think it is very comical when people do it and have the really bright LED strip and dull bulbs FLOL!

Thanks mate! It honestly is the cleanest one i have seen.. literally a couple dents which can be removed:rasp: i am counting down the days, and doing all my physio just to make sure i can walk proper as soon as i can!

 

[CPhillips93]

Headlight Correction


So 13 days after my op, and near enough 3 weeks after the break the novelty of sitting on my ass doing nothing has worn off.. and daytime tv is utter shite :dapprove:

Having only sat in the passenger seat of the car for the majority of the time I have owned the car I wanted to get my hands dirty again, so not needing to stand to do it, i attempted to correct the headlights!

To be honest the headlights were not all the bad to begin with anyways, but who likes ragged old headlights anyways?!

I had some 800 and 1200 grit sandpaper already from previous painting sessions with the 106, so got to work wet sanding them until the headlights were hazey! In hindsight, i should have started with 400 but hey ho!

Finished them off by applying some rubbing compound by hand, and then followed by some meg's UC to shine em up!

results;

by no means the best results that I could have acheived, but it was just to diminish my cabin fever for a bit... and i am a cripple:rasp:

On the "bits and bobs" list so far as i have been going round the car is
​

• 
  [*=center]Aero flat wipers
  [*=center]Pipercross replacement panel filter
  [*=center]Bilberry wheel cleaner
  [*=center]Auto Glym HD wax (seen the results on my mates mk2 RS and it is superb!)
  [*=center]DAS6 DA
  [*=center]Exhaust clamp
  [*=center]Considering decat pipe...
  [*=center]Dent man to take out my couple dents!

I am also going to the hospital again on thursday so i will get an x-ray of my cankle for the curious people out there!

Conor.

​

 

[CPhillips93]

Little Update

I knowingly bought the car with some advisories on the MOT, and they were;
​

• 
  [*=center]Discs pitted (needing to be done by the next MOT)
  [*=center]Poor fitting CV joint gaiter (hopefully, it was fixed, but hoping its just a matter of a new clip!)

So instead of doing my usual routine of needless trawling on the internet, I thought I would make better use of my time! One night after looking on ebay for said brake disc/pads I came across a set of mintex discs (with bearings and ABS rings) and pads, as well as some brake cleaner! All for a very low price of £69 !

Not wanting to miss out on a bargain, I ordered these on Wednesday and they turned up this morning (Friday).

Nothing exciting but heres some pictures!

The box alongside my fetching cast and crutches!

Box at first glance

Contents of the box. Bit disappointed as I thought I was getting mintex discs AND pads.. turns out that its just a generic brand of pad. Nevermind!

Making his second appearance on the blog, my cat decided that my empty box was is new home!

So as soon my cast comes off I should be putting these straight on (the 19th October)
I am looking to replace the current filter with perhaps a green cotton filter or similar, anyone had experience with these?
I am also looking at a decat, but again is this really worth it?

Comments and suggestions welcome :approve:
Conor.
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[CPhillips93]

Update

So after 6 long lonnnnnnng weeks I finally got my cast off last friday, its fair to say that it f**king stank! :dead:

This has without a doubt been a tough 6 weeks, its unbelievable how depressed an inability to do simple tasks can make you! However, I took a big sip of man up and here I am now with no cast, a nice fixed fibula and a nice limb! :rasp:

It isnt all good news as the Doc says I wont be able to drive for another 2 weeks

A couple of pictures for those who have a strongish stomach;

Onto the car... so on the sunday after the cast removal, I deemed myself fit enough to get down and dirty with the rear discs/pads :rasp:

Unfortunately due to my mobility I shy-ed away from taking photos and just got on with it in case I started to ache, so sorry for more writing than pictures!

Drivers came off nice and easy, but the passenger side needed a little more persuasion, but got the job done in the end no troubles!

It was safe to say that both the discs and the pads were shagged, the pads were near enough metal and if I find them I will upload a picture!

I did this job with my cousin who owns a 172, not sure of his name on here, but having moved my car he noticed how the brakes were quite spongey in comparison to his, so I am buying some braided lines and giving the car good bleed!

Also whilst we had the car up on the stands we took a look at the exhaust and CV joint which had come up as advisories on the last MOT. Having assessed both, I took to ebay and bought the required parts!

Pics of the shagged exhaust clamps;

notice alot of smoggy blackness on the second picture.. both are being replaced to try and cure the leak!

and quick snap of the car in the garage;

Arctic Blue looks very nice in different light!

Conor.
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[syko6288]

Likeing this thread mainly because i have an arctic also but will be keeping and eye as i never can get the colour looking like that hopefully after a machine polish it will

Keep it up and glad the fibula is fok

 

[Martin.]

Wow in that last picture it looks immaculate! Good work

 

[plymcl172]

Very nice!! Needs tire shine though

+1 on that

 

[CPhillips93]

Likeing this thread mainly because i have an arctic also but will be keeping and eye as i never can get the colour looking like that hopefully after a machine polish it will

Keep it up and glad the fibula is fok

To be honest its mostly the garage and the lights that make it look like it! Cannot beat a good going over with Meg's Ultimate Compound and AutoGylm Super Resin Polish! Thanks bud!

Wow in that last picture it looks immaculate! Good work

aha, thanks, I think that the lights in the garage really shows it off!

+1 on that

Hadn't been washed in while, dont worry I do use it!

 

[danward]

Loving this build, its a great read. I'd be gutted to buy the car then not be able to use it for that long! I bet you can't wait to put some miles on it.

 

[CPhillips93]

Loving this build, its a great read. I'd be gutted to buy the car then not be able to use it for that long! I bet you can't wait to put some miles on it.

Thanks mate! At the moment its not jam packed with serious mods but due to my current situation its just a matter of getting it ready for the MOT and then its when the serious stuff will be coming! Yea, its very frustrating it being on the drive and not being able to drive it *sigh*

 

[CPhillips93]

Update


So fitted the parts I bought the other day. I didn't take pictures but who really wants to see some pictures of an exhaust However, did have a mare with the cv joint clip which broke so is now held on with a plastic cable tie :S Don't worry it will be replaced asap!

So finally back driving now, driving to uni which is about a 50 mile round trip... and I have to say I absolutely love the Clio!
On this trip there are several bits where I can open her up and give it some, but when I get home the trip computer still reads 35 mpg, perfect:rasp:!

Also very very annoyed with myself as I have kerbed one of my wheels
If I am honest none of them were kerbed, although this one was worse for wear so was in need of a refurb anyways.. someone say silver lining?

I am not an avid detailer, but I do prefer my car to be as clean as I can and after hearing rave reviews about AG HD Wax I ordered up a kit off amazon for £32, not bad! Que arty farty instagram picture

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[JLister]

Really like this, in brilliant condition

 

[CPhillips93]

Really like this, in brilliant condition

Thanks mate, good to hear it from someone else

As promised, the picture of the kerbed wheel

 

[CPhillips93]

Update

So with the weekend off, I planned a detail session with the help of a friend, a Makita machine polisher and plenty of tea

Saturday came, and after getting up at 9 to pick up the Makita off of a mate I cracked on with the onset of a rain shower imminent. My intention was to just use the Makita on my headlights which were in need of a good seeing to! However, I got a tad carried away and decided to continue with the bodywork :rasp:

And then... THE HEAVENS OPENED :banghead:
And unfortunately stayed open all day, causing me to abandon the detailing session till Sunday!

In fear of a repeat of Saturday, I text my cousin, so I could borrow his garage for the day and play continued on Sunday morning.
Again I started early, and took my car up the road. I had only managed to do the headlights on Saturday so got cracking on the bodywork!
I used a combination of a 3M Green pad and Megiuar's Ultimate Compound purely because I couldnt be bothered to buy more polish! Then finished up with a healthy layer of AG HD wax
I did bring my DSLR but failed to take pictures beforehand, and afterwards because it ran out of battery
So a couple of phone pictures from afterwards;

Nice bit of sparkle in this one as well as my ugly mug

Also got carried away on eBay and ordered a patch lead so I can set up my stereo and subwoofer (que the haters ) and also aero wipers!

Conor.


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[CPhillips93]

Been a long time since I posted in here!

In the mean time, I have changed the rear discs and pads over, had to fix my exhaust clamp again, this time using high temp silicone which has hopefully done the trick, as well as having to pay out £150 to the MOT station as it failed on emissions due to an apparantly very dirty throttle body :dapprove:

Since then though the car has been running perfectly, and I am enjoying it alot!

Heres a couple of photos to show what I have been getting up to recently!

heres the xray of my cankle :rasp:

a bit of epic frost!

and who said the Clio sport wasn't economical

bit of epic beadage from a couple layers of AG HD wax

also settled for a different head unit after all the issues with the last one!

Anyways, I have now got a few plans for modifying the ol' bird!

Planning on a brake fluid flush and adding some braided lines and some Blue fluid.

Also like the look of the Eibach Sportlines which may be purchased depending on finances.

Bought some carbon fibre wrap the other day so no doubt I will be going to town on a few bits :rasp:

And I am definitely going to change the dogbone mount to a Powerflex item... got a bit of engine movement!

Thanks for reading, hope you have had a good Christmas and any comments and suggestions are welcome as always !

Conor.
​

 

[Lordman]

Missed the updates on this one, good to see your getting back on your feet and bringing the treats back in

Great looking example, keep it up :approve:

Merry Christmas!

 

[CPhillips93]

Missed the updates on this one, good to see your getting back on your feet and bringing the treats back in

Great looking example, keep it up :approve:

Merry Christmas!

Thanks mate, I will try

After alot of pondering I took the leap and have bought the dogbone mount bush and a green cotton air filter from kam racing!

I order this on the 29th and it is still processing today, so I rang up and it turns out that they have to order the filter in and should be with them by next week.. this pissed me right off! I was hoping it would be with me in the next week so I could crack on with it.. I ordered some Suitjamas from America (those who watch How I Met Your Mother will get this ) and they will be here sooner than the stuff for the car

Anyways, went for a little drive tonight and my mate pointed out that the exhaust was leaking AGAIN! This will be the 4th time since I have had that its leaked! Anybody want to swap their exhaust for mine :rasp:?

I will be on here again as soon as the filter and dogbone mount is fitted to give you my two pence

Conor.

 

[CPhillips93]

Update

So today I was beginning to get bored of the whole laying in bed doing nothing cycle that I had gotten myself into, and with no parts to add to the car I decided to take some off!

After reading through here about an air resonator in the intake system which decreased the noise of the airbox I decided to remove it!

Fairly simple job, hardly worth the pictures...Just a matter of removing a hose and cable from the unit and undoing a bolt as well as plugging a hole!

And the unit itself-

Whether or not the removal of this will have any affect on the car remains to be seen, but if it is limiting the air going to the box, it cannot be doing any favours!

Also, a while back a bought some yellow Hammerite with the intention of doing my calipers as soon as, which turned out to be several months later

Before:

Lovely shade of yellow!

Doesn't look half bad behind the wheel!

After:

The keen eyes out there will notice that I have had a little play and wrapped the Renault diamonds on the wheel caps!

Anyways, comments and suggestions are welcome!

Conor.





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[JonC219]

Looks good mate, glad you're back on your feet now, I know what its like!

Just a heads up though, someone else painted their calipers with yellow Hammerite, and after some heavy braking the paint actually burnt/melted and bubbled off! You're better off getting some proper caliper paint

Jon

 

[CPhillips93]

Looks good mate, glad you're back on your feet now, I know what its like!

Just a heads up though, someone else painted their calipers with yellow Hammerite, and after some heavy braking the paint actually burnt/melted and bubbled off! You're better off getting some proper caliper paint

Jon

Worst feeling ever right?!

Ahhh man! Read some reviews on the yellow caliper paint from halfords and apparently its awful! nevermind!

 

[CPhillips93]

Update
So earlier this week I FINALLY got my Green Cotton replacement air filter and Powerflex lower dogbone mount kit in the post.. If anyone wants to order from kamracing... don't, they took over 2 weeks to get it sent out to me, and they didn't notify me that there was going to be a delay

So anyways, cracked on with the jobs!

Air filter comparison, in and out without trouble!

Then came the difficulties... got this off no trouble

and getting the mounts out was not much trouble either! But I went to fit it yesterday and it was just too tight! I gave up and had to leave the clio on axle stands over night

So today came and after a post in the correct area last night (very helpful!) I managed to figure out the problem.. basically I had hacksaw-ed the ridges of the old mount and taken out the rubber but forgotten to knock out the ring in the middle! So again I got the hacksaw out and cut a tiny slot so I could hit the bugger with a screwdriver to get it out! Job done!

Sorry there isn't many pictures, but after the trouble and stress I had last night I just wanted it done!

Last night whilst reading through about the Powerflex mount I read alot of criticism about it... so for any of those following this that are considering this mount here is my review - before I had a lot of gear knob movement and now I have very little. Peoples main criticism was that the mount would cause the car to shake.. I had a similar mount on my 106 and its exactly the same on this, there is very very little vibrations, and they can only be felt on idle, and through the steering wheel. Overall its well worth changing!

Comments and suggestions welcome!

Conor.
​

 

[CPhillips93]

Braided lines have been purchased and will be fitted shortly! Anybody got any recommendations for Dot 4 fluid, or is any brake fluid up to scratch?

Also, my exhaust is leaking AGAIN which is the fourth or fifth time now! Again, anybody have any recommendations for fixing this? Bearing in mind that I have already used a new clamp, exhaust putty and high temp silicone? Would a matching decat work a bit better?

Conor.

 

[Tommo.]

Braided lines have been purchased and will be fitted shortly! Anybody got any recommendations for Dot 4 fluid, or is any brake fluid up to scratch?

I have just got some ATE Super Blue DOT 4 fluid. It's well spoke of on here!

 

[CPhillips93]

God, long time no post.

Well, since my last post I have been extremely busy with Uni work, had 4 essays and 1 exam since I last posted and still have another due in soon, and they say Uni is all easy work? :S

Anyways.. I ordered up some braided lines a while back and finally got round to fitting them today. First impressions are that they are not a significant amount better than the standard items. The pedal travel was not much different, although this may be due to air in the lines (brake fluid was coming out pretty filthy so it is likely that hasn't been given a full flush in a while) so in the not too distant future I will be flushing the system with some ATE Super Blue fluid. Whether or not this expels travel issues is a mystery but is worth a go!

I break up relatively soon and will be working very very hard with the following ideas in mind;
​

• 
  [*=center]Eibach Sportlines
  [*=center]Brake fluid flush
  [*=center]Decat
  [*=center]Wheels refurbed in a secret colour :rasp:
  [*=center]And a general spruce up of the engine bay

Anyways, any comments and suggestions are welcome as always!

Conor.
​

 

[danward]

Nice updates since my last post.

 

[Kitson93]

Liking this a lot! keeping it fresh and clean. Lovely car you have yourself!

 

[CPhillips93]

SPRING CLEAN!



So with the good weather finally here (sort of :rasp I decided it was as good a time as any to crack on and finally remove the salty, muddy grime that had built up on the 182!

Heres a couple pictures to highlight the state of the car!

Before I had even got started with the cleaning, I finally decided that the diamonds and bullets needed a little freshen up! I am not really a fan of the chrome, and the bullets being a complete different shade to the wheels and the chrome badges didn't make sense to me.

So after a trip to halfords, I decided that Ford Graphite Grey was a nice shade and picked a can out to try!

Primer baking:

Comparison of paint to primer:

So in between hoovering, and washing etc... I was either prepping, "priming", painting and lacquering the pieces in order for them to dry whilst it was still sunny and mildly warm :rasp:

Recently, whilst fixing my exhaust for the fifteenth-millionth time, I had bent my jacking points back (never making the mistake again! ) so another thing on the list for today was trying to make them look more acceptable! Using mole grips and a clamp I managed to get them looking straight-ish and I slapped some smooth hammerite on there for good measure! I was contemplating getting them done professionally, but considering the cost and how likely it is to happen again there was only one option

So all in all the car ended up looking a little like this:

The last picture just shows that the upper grill needs to see some paint :S

Anyways, sorry for the amount of pictures! Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Conor.
​

Liking this a lot! keeping it fresh and clean. Lovely car you have yourself!

Cheers mate!

 

[JaredHasNoBrain]

Spray the Grill now!!! looks grey as hell compared to the rest like you said
Lovely car though.