Renault 5 Prima Campus Restomod Project
Discussion
Jhonno said:
Now try with a good tyre and you would be surprised..
Uniroyals are under the OK for the money.. Definitely better than bald. They are soft so are a bit better on light cars I would imagine. They don't do so well when tested against measurables.
Clio looks like a decent donor! A bit rough but mechanically sound.
Yeah I mean I normally run Pilot Sport 4s on the road and then semi slicks on track so I'm aware of what a decent tyre feels like. Just pleasantly surprised by a tyre that is budget/hadn't used before...Uniroyals are under the OK for the money.. Definitely better than bald. They are soft so are a bit better on light cars I would imagine. They don't do so well when tested against measurables.
Clio looks like a decent donor! A bit rough but mechanically sound.
jhubs139 said:
Jhonno said:
Now try with a good tyre and you would be surprised..
Uniroyals are under the OK for the money.. Definitely better than bald. They are soft so are a bit better on light cars I would imagine. They don't do so well when tested against measurables.
Clio looks like a decent donor! A bit rough but mechanically sound.
Yeah I mean I normally run Pilot Sport 4s on the road and then semi slicks on track so I'm aware of what a decent tyre feels like. Just pleasantly surprised by a tyre that is budget/hadn't used before...Uniroyals are under the OK for the money.. Definitely better than bald. They are soft so are a bit better on light cars I would imagine. They don't do so well when tested against measurables.
Clio looks like a decent donor! A bit rough but mechanically sound.
The use I have made of the car over the past few years, they have suited my needs, but I am planning on getting back to more Sunday driving and blasts through the Beacons, so they need to change.
Next tyre swap I will be fitting PS5's I think, never tried them, but all the reviews point to these being the best option on a sensible budget.
Cracking project by the way, looking forward to watching the progress.
Ok, so after a few weeks of being way too busy and hindered by the rain I have made some more progress today... this week ended with my Brother having his TT written off so the Clio has been called into courtesy car duties. At least it will get a consistent run out and more of a shake down than I would have given it. My brother was stationary in his TT and got ploughed into by an old lady doing nearly 50 in a 30 on an otherwise empty road! Fortunately no serious injuries for either.
|https://thumbsnap.com/55MF2X6a[/url]
The big job ticked off today was putting together a platform for the 5 with my brother. This way I'm up off the dirt and working at a better height. I will likely grab some sort of temp garage or gazebo to give some weather protection, especially once the shell has no glass and is on the rotisserie jig.
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I did make a start on pulling the GT Turbo subframe apart. The wishbones will need some heat and a bigger hammer but the ARB came off easily enough. Can see now that it has full Powerflex bushings that are in usable condition. Will aim to get the subframe fully stripped, seam welded and then off to powder coating with the rear axle within the next few weeks.
Hopefully the weather holds for the long weekend coming and I can start making some decent progress. Next the interior will be coming out and then the engine with the front end going onto stands.
|https://thumbsnap.com/55MF2X6a[/url]The big job ticked off today was putting together a platform for the 5 with my brother. This way I'm up off the dirt and working at a better height. I will likely grab some sort of temp garage or gazebo to give some weather protection, especially once the shell has no glass and is on the rotisserie jig.
[url]I did make a start on pulling the GT Turbo subframe apart. The wishbones will need some heat and a bigger hammer but the ARB came off easily enough. Can see now that it has full Powerflex bushings that are in usable condition. Will aim to get the subframe fully stripped, seam welded and then off to powder coating with the rear axle within the next few weeks.
Hopefully the weather holds for the long weekend coming and I can start making some decent progress. Next the interior will be coming out and then the engine with the front end going onto stands.
Small progress on collecting bits for the build... have agreed a price on a pair of Corbeau bucket seats with GT Turbo runners...
Once I get these the plan will be to get them re-trimmed using the original campus seat covers to make the centres with a grey alcantara or similar on the outside for a nod back to the car in it's original state.
I may be moving back to Australia in the new year so will need to start getting jobs like these done in parallel to stripping the car and doing other mechanical jobs. Hoping to make some proper progress on that front over the long weekend
Once I get these the plan will be to get them re-trimmed using the original campus seat covers to make the centres with a grey alcantara or similar on the outside for a nod back to the car in it's original state.
I may be moving back to Australia in the new year so will need to start getting jobs like these done in parallel to stripping the car and doing other mechanical jobs. Hoping to make some proper progress on that front over the long weekend
Finally, lots of progress today with a break in the weather and a day free. I have now stripped most of the interior, with only the dash and steering wheel left. The steering wheel doesn't seem straight forward to remove so will need to do some more research.
I was pleased to not find any areas of rot lurking under the carpets or trim along the inside of the sills.
I made sure to start labelling up the wiring loom/connectors. The plan is to use the Clio donor loom mainly, but I'm sure I will need to use the 5 connectors for things like the lights etc.
Moving to the front end, I removed the bonnet and have started disconnecting the ancillaries in preparation for taking the Campus engine out. Given I have the other subframe I am considering leaving the engine and gearbox on the subframe with the suspension etc. and lifting the shell off. I am thinking this will be easier given the lack of space to move an engine crane around the car.
Away from the car I did the fiddly job of unpicking and removing the Campus seat covers. The bucket seats should arrive this week coming so I am hoping I can get them away with the Campus covers to be re-trimmed quickly. I'm keen to keep jobs moving in parallel for the sake of progress.
I have now ordered the rollover jig so I am ready for when the shell is fully stripped. Was hoping to carry on tomorrow but weather forecast is rain, rain and more rain.
I was pleased to not find any areas of rot lurking under the carpets or trim along the inside of the sills.
I made sure to start labelling up the wiring loom/connectors. The plan is to use the Clio donor loom mainly, but I'm sure I will need to use the 5 connectors for things like the lights etc.
Moving to the front end, I removed the bonnet and have started disconnecting the ancillaries in preparation for taking the Campus engine out. Given I have the other subframe I am considering leaving the engine and gearbox on the subframe with the suspension etc. and lifting the shell off. I am thinking this will be easier given the lack of space to move an engine crane around the car.
Away from the car I did the fiddly job of unpicking and removing the Campus seat covers. The bucket seats should arrive this week coming so I am hoping I can get them away with the Campus covers to be re-trimmed quickly. I'm keen to keep jobs moving in parallel for the sake of progress.
I have now ordered the rollover jig so I am ready for when the shell is fully stripped. Was hoping to carry on tomorrow but weather forecast is rain, rain and more rain.
Finally had another free-ish day and some dry weather to crack on with stripping down the shell. Probably made the biggest step today dropping the engine, front subframe and running gear out (and all with a freshly cracked set of ribs!).
We decided not to lift the engine out separately and instead disconnected everything from the shell before lifting it off the subframe. This wasn't too hard in the end with the most awkward part being dragging the assembly out from under the shell and moving it away.
I also test fitted the bucket seats and runners and they fit completely fine meaning this part of the shell at least is identical to a GT Turbo (hopefully this is the case elsewhere for things like the bodykit etc.).
The plan for tomorrow and Monday will be to clean up the engine bay and remove final few bits of wiring etc. and then drop the rear axle assembly. Once I've done that it will be time to paint and assemble the rollover jig which has since arrived and get the car bolted up to it. The the bodywork repairs can start!
We decided not to lift the engine out separately and instead disconnected everything from the shell before lifting it off the subframe. This wasn't too hard in the end with the most awkward part being dragging the assembly out from under the shell and moving it away.
I also test fitted the bucket seats and runners and they fit completely fine meaning this part of the shell at least is identical to a GT Turbo (hopefully this is the case elsewhere for things like the bodykit etc.).
The plan for tomorrow and Monday will be to clean up the engine bay and remove final few bits of wiring etc. and then drop the rear axle assembly. Once I've done that it will be time to paint and assemble the rollover jig which has since arrived and get the car bolted up to it. The the bodywork repairs can start!
Another day of good progress albeit with much more of a fight from the car. Dropped the rear axle assembly and assembled and painted the rollover jig.
The rear axle would've been an easy job if the nuts on the underside weren't so corroded. I started by using the impact driver which budged the 4 nuts a little way each but I didn't realise the force of the driver was twisting a bracket within the car and cutting into the floor around the mounting points. Doh! This will have to be welded and plated and will probably be wise to strengthen these areas anyway. I'm annoyed at myself for making the mistake but nothing that can't be rectified. A mixture of heat, impact driver and long bar finished the job.
The rollover jig was easy enough to put together but the bracket for the rear of the car seems wrong. The holes where the bracket attached are the correct distance apart but need to rotate 90 degrees from what I can see. Without this I would have got the car onto the jig today but will now have to see if I can get the right one sent or modify the one I have.
At least it is loosely assembled and I used up a few old cans of primer and paint that were knocking around in the shed from old motorbike projects.
Weather looks poor tomorrow so I think that will be it for this weekend but good progress and almost ready to make a start on the bodywork repairs and modifications.
The rear axle would've been an easy job if the nuts on the underside weren't so corroded. I started by using the impact driver which budged the 4 nuts a little way each but I didn't realise the force of the driver was twisting a bracket within the car and cutting into the floor around the mounting points. Doh! This will have to be welded and plated and will probably be wise to strengthen these areas anyway. I'm annoyed at myself for making the mistake but nothing that can't be rectified. A mixture of heat, impact driver and long bar finished the job.
The rollover jig was easy enough to put together but the bracket for the rear of the car seems wrong. The holes where the bracket attached are the correct distance apart but need to rotate 90 degrees from what I can see. Without this I would have got the car onto the jig today but will now have to see if I can get the right one sent or modify the one I have.
At least it is loosely assembled and I used up a few old cans of primer and paint that were knocking around in the shed from old motorbike projects.
Weather looks poor tomorrow so I think that will be it for this weekend but good progress and almost ready to make a start on the bodywork repairs and modifications.
Backtobasics2 said:
Any news on this one OP?
Sadly nothing meaningful to update at the moment. The Clio only finished it's unexpected courtesy car duties last week so is parked up awaiting it's fate once again. As is the way sometimes life has got in the way on this one for now through one thing or another. I have been thinking over the past couple of weeks that I may seek some outside help to get this one progressing as I rarely have more than a couple of free hours free over the weekends at the moment.I did add some more V8 goodness to the fleet in the form of a C63s wagon so there has at least been some 4 wheeled fun while the Renault(s) sit.
jhubs139 said:
So today I took the first step in beginning restoring and modifying my 1994 Renault 5 Prima Campus. I have had this for the last 15 years and it was my first car, bought with 16k miles from a little old french lady. I drove it everywhere, putting 40k+ miles on it in 3 years before moving onto something newer.
Unfortunately the car was only intermittently used after the first 3 years of ownership before finally being parked in my parents back garden for good around 6 or 7 years ago where it has slowly deteriorated.
I have thought about doing something with the car for a while now but between work and moving away for a while it hasn't been realistic.
The car was covered in mould and the sills and front wings were visibly rotten. We dragged it out and pressure washed it before beginning to strip it down and investigate the condition of the shell further.
From a distance the car looks ok but once we started pulling the wings off it was quite clear that parts of the inner wing and headlight panel/front slam panel had completed disappeared and will require patching.
Having taken both front and rear bumpers off and jacked the car up and inspected I am fairly confident the car isn't beyond saving so I have begun ordering replacement sills, front bumper mounting points and wings.
The plan for this will be to build the shell back up with;
- GAZ adjustable coilovers
- seam welded front subframe
- Full polybushing
- GT Turbo rear axle (if I can find one) or the existing axle modified to take discs
- Full roll cage
- Clio 172/182 engine
- Clio 172/182 gearbox with LSD fitted
- Front strut brace
- Clio ECU and full wiring loom
- Undecided on front seats but will remove rears entirely
I originally wanted to use a civic type r engine and gearbox but having researched the clio swap it seemed a much more sensible direction to go in terms of ease (R5 GTX engine mounts work with the clio engine and box etc).
The aim will be to get the car to 800kgs and 200bhp with a fast road/track setup.
Next step is to continue stripping the car out and getting the shell onto a rollover jig for repair work with one eye out for a suitable donor car.
DONT use Gaz….. There are WAY better options out there !!Unfortunately the car was only intermittently used after the first 3 years of ownership before finally being parked in my parents back garden for good around 6 or 7 years ago where it has slowly deteriorated.
I have thought about doing something with the car for a while now but between work and moving away for a while it hasn't been realistic.
The car was covered in mould and the sills and front wings were visibly rotten. We dragged it out and pressure washed it before beginning to strip it down and investigate the condition of the shell further.
From a distance the car looks ok but once we started pulling the wings off it was quite clear that parts of the inner wing and headlight panel/front slam panel had completed disappeared and will require patching.
Having taken both front and rear bumpers off and jacked the car up and inspected I am fairly confident the car isn't beyond saving so I have begun ordering replacement sills, front bumper mounting points and wings.
The plan for this will be to build the shell back up with;
- GAZ adjustable coilovers
- seam welded front subframe
- Full polybushing
- GT Turbo rear axle (if I can find one) or the existing axle modified to take discs
- Full roll cage
- Clio 172/182 engine
- Clio 172/182 gearbox with LSD fitted
- Front strut brace
- Clio ECU and full wiring loom
- Undecided on front seats but will remove rears entirely
I originally wanted to use a civic type r engine and gearbox but having researched the clio swap it seemed a much more sensible direction to go in terms of ease (R5 GTX engine mounts work with the clio engine and box etc).
The aim will be to get the car to 800kgs and 200bhp with a fast road/track setup.
Next step is to continue stripping the car out and getting the shell onto a rollover jig for repair work with one eye out for a suitable donor car.
You do not need coil overs either.
I had AVO adjustables on the rear and Koni front shocks with lowering springs on the front of my last R5 GT Turbo.
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