Clio Mk2 Ph1 shed (read: way too attached)
Discussion
Back in late 2013 I had just passed my driving test and I was lucky enough to have my parents offer to buy me a car. I had £2-2.5k to buy and insure it, so my only options were small displacement hatchbacks. Before I started looking, I'd pretty much settled on an early mark 2 Clio; we'd already owned 3 Clios, and one had saved my Mother's life in an accident on the motorway so I knew it would keep her happy.
Here she is after a deposit had been left. (we actually went to view the green Clio, but somebody had bought it before we got there!)
Not much happened to the car initially, I was never going to cover it in mods, but there were a few areas that needed attention.
I managed to find a fog light blanking plate to cover the hole in the front bumper. £4.70 for 2! I managed to sell the one I didn't need for a fiver!
Had my first issue with the car a few months later. Pulling into a car park I couldn't select 2nd gear, by the time I'd jammed it it the car had rolled to a stop and I had just as much trouble grabbing 1st. Eventually I'd worked out I could slot it in 1st by working it in and so presumed there were gear linkage alignment issues (The car had the same issues on the test drive, but were fixed before I bought it).
With the car being drivable, if a little awkward to get into first I carried on my day which resulted in around 20 miles of driving.
Obviously it needed taking to a garage so the next morning I went to take it up, but first decided to check the oil and water. As soon as I opened up the bonnet I noticed something didn't look right, the whole engine looked out of place...
It seems the garage I bought it from didn't torque the engine mount bolts after they changed the cambelt! £40 later and my local indie had fixed it.
Added a few more bits after this, such as a aftermarket stereo and some model correct alloys.
The water pump let go later that year (the day I arrived at uni 250mi away!), but I limped it along for a few months topping the water up. The battery stopped holding charge for more than a few hours too, but I got around that by parking on a hill and roll starting every morning! I really didn't want to spend any money as the MOT was due soon. Turned out it went through with only a number plate bulb out!
It sailed through the following 2 years, with the odd wheel bearing and anti-roll bar link for MOTs. It even took me and the other half on our first holiday to Scotland for the week.
After 3 years of pretty much trouble free motoring I decided to replace her with something more grown up; a Volvo S40 2.0D. My motorway mileage had increased dramatically and we had a planned trip to the south of France. By this time I'd become too attached to let the car go, so I lent it to a family member who was in between cars. She served him well for a couple of months, until she suddenly lost compression on 2 cylinders! Damn.
Still too attached to let go, she was parked up in a garage until I came home from Uni that summer. I'd managed to talk my Mother into letting me dismantle the car on her drive so I went to collect the Clio from my Grandmother's garage, armed with a tow rope and some hope.
The little trooper started first time (with jump leads) and was limped home on 2 and a bit cylinders!
This was my first engine rebuild so I had a little guidence, and a Haynes manual.
As can be seen in the photo, the head gasket wasn't in the best of conditions!
Obviously the cause of the issue there. All the valves were replaced along with all relevant gaskets. I decided not to replace the Piston rings or bearings as I wasn't sure why this happened to the head gasket, and unsure as to how long it would last!
She fired right up once all back together, and ran better than ever! There was a slight cough at low rpm and high throttle, I assumed it was due to my inexperience in setting manual tappets, but this has improved dramatically since more miles have been put on her.
The little Clio went back into the garage for a few more months (it was easier to justify keeping a functioning car!) until my girlfriend passed her test later that year when I gave it to her as a stop gap car.
Since then I've fallen in love with it again, I drive it at every opportunity I get. It puts a smile on my face every time I get in it (smitten I know
), it's difficult to describe but you find yourself having fun at 35mph, rather than 65mph. Unfortunately, the other half has also fallen for it. Which means now it's on track to be doing about 15k a year and about to tick over to 120k.
It might get far more love that a true shed deserves, but with a total cost of ownership below £1500 over 45,000+ miles I can justify spending a little more on it yet.
Here she is after a deposit had been left. (we actually went to view the green Clio, but somebody had bought it before we got there!)
Not much happened to the car initially, I was never going to cover it in mods, but there were a few areas that needed attention.
I managed to find a fog light blanking plate to cover the hole in the front bumper. £4.70 for 2! I managed to sell the one I didn't need for a fiver!
Had my first issue with the car a few months later. Pulling into a car park I couldn't select 2nd gear, by the time I'd jammed it it the car had rolled to a stop and I had just as much trouble grabbing 1st. Eventually I'd worked out I could slot it in 1st by working it in and so presumed there were gear linkage alignment issues (The car had the same issues on the test drive, but were fixed before I bought it).
With the car being drivable, if a little awkward to get into first I carried on my day which resulted in around 20 miles of driving.
Obviously it needed taking to a garage so the next morning I went to take it up, but first decided to check the oil and water. As soon as I opened up the bonnet I noticed something didn't look right, the whole engine looked out of place...
It seems the garage I bought it from didn't torque the engine mount bolts after they changed the cambelt! £40 later and my local indie had fixed it.
Added a few more bits after this, such as a aftermarket stereo and some model correct alloys.
The water pump let go later that year (the day I arrived at uni 250mi away!), but I limped it along for a few months topping the water up. The battery stopped holding charge for more than a few hours too, but I got around that by parking on a hill and roll starting every morning! I really didn't want to spend any money as the MOT was due soon. Turned out it went through with only a number plate bulb out!
It sailed through the following 2 years, with the odd wheel bearing and anti-roll bar link for MOTs. It even took me and the other half on our first holiday to Scotland for the week.
After 3 years of pretty much trouble free motoring I decided to replace her with something more grown up; a Volvo S40 2.0D. My motorway mileage had increased dramatically and we had a planned trip to the south of France. By this time I'd become too attached to let the car go, so I lent it to a family member who was in between cars. She served him well for a couple of months, until she suddenly lost compression on 2 cylinders! Damn.
Still too attached to let go, she was parked up in a garage until I came home from Uni that summer. I'd managed to talk my Mother into letting me dismantle the car on her drive so I went to collect the Clio from my Grandmother's garage, armed with a tow rope and some hope.
The little trooper started first time (with jump leads) and was limped home on 2 and a bit cylinders!
This was my first engine rebuild so I had a little guidence, and a Haynes manual.
As can be seen in the photo, the head gasket wasn't in the best of conditions!
Obviously the cause of the issue there. All the valves were replaced along with all relevant gaskets. I decided not to replace the Piston rings or bearings as I wasn't sure why this happened to the head gasket, and unsure as to how long it would last!
She fired right up once all back together, and ran better than ever! There was a slight cough at low rpm and high throttle, I assumed it was due to my inexperience in setting manual tappets, but this has improved dramatically since more miles have been put on her.
The little Clio went back into the garage for a few more months (it was easier to justify keeping a functioning car!) until my girlfriend passed her test later that year when I gave it to her as a stop gap car.
Since then I've fallen in love with it again, I drive it at every opportunity I get. It puts a smile on my face every time I get in it (smitten I know
), it's difficult to describe but you find yourself having fun at 35mph, rather than 65mph. Unfortunately, the other half has also fallen for it. Which means now it's on track to be doing about 15k a year and about to tick over to 120k. It might get far more love that a true shed deserves, but with a total cost of ownership below £1500 over 45,000+ miles I can justify spending a little more on it yet.
I had one of these as a 1st car too, I eventually colour coded the bumpers, fitted the dual optic front lights, lowered, fitted cup wheels and an interior from a later car, it was a great 1st car and it taught me a lot about maintaning and working on cars, I think I did 113k in it before selling it on. The only bad thing I remember was the sunroof rattle!
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