RE: SOTW: Clio Williams
Discussion
Dagnut said:
Anyone else think thats a fake? didn't they have a plague above the gear leveler?
you can tell buy the suspension the Williams had independent and the 16v had a torsion bar...i finks..i think the willaims has a wide rear track than that..i could be wrong but it doesn't look right
The originals had a plaque but the 2s and 3s didn't afaik.you can tell buy the suspension the Williams had independent and the 16v had a torsion bar...i finks..i think the willaims has a wide rear track than that..i could be wrong but it doesn't look right
Edited by Dagnut on Friday 11th July 13:03
Edited by Dagnut on Friday 11th July 13:05
Lots of little things to check its original. The engine should be stamped as F7R, not F7P (1.8 16v), and it has a wider track than the 1.8 16v. White dot on the dipstick, blue dials, seat belts, carpets, and williams embossed interior. The 2's and 3's have the 2.0 in the bumpstrip along the side instead of in the indicator housing on the wings. I'm sure there are other things, but I can't remember what else!
DR B said:
Lots of little things to check its original. The engine should be stamped as F7R, not F7P (1.8 16v), and it has a wider track than the 1.8 16v. White dot on the dipstick, blue dials, seat belts, carpets, and williams embossed interior. The 2's and 3's have the 2.0 in the bumpstrip along the side instead of in the indicator housing on the wings. I'm sure there are other things, but I can't remember what else!
originally thats what made me suspicious it looked to narrow at the rear..my mate had a mock up and Park beside the real one you could notice.That one is probably real but, I was wrong about suspension and plaque
Edited by Dagnut on Friday 11th July 13:27
williamp said:
so, is there an obvious way to check its an original?
Chassis Number - Your local Renault Stealership will tell you which number the production ran through -I have driven most fast Renaults and have driven a Williams 2 - My mate worked for Renault! - I still maintain this was and still is one the all time great hot hatches - If you can't stretch to a measely 999quid - Go for a 16valve instead - in my opinion there isn't much in it between the 2 - I was offered a decent SOTW 16valver the other day - Silver, 95 model, fully rebuilt engine and braking system, full leather and a full MOT - (The seller is a mate and he is an MOT tester!) I was offered it for 700quid!!
I'm tempted really tempted.
aaronc said:
No he's right about the 0-60 time. The williams had to change into 3rd gear to reach 60 so delayed it a second.
The williams was the best handling car i ever drove, like a go cart!
But beware, these things do cost a bit to run if not looked after, steering racks always common to go among other things.
But a classic in its own right.
I had a 137bhp Phase 1 16V (in its own slighty darker version of the blue) for about two years and the rack went too... as well as an engine mount (sounded like a big end had gone - freaked me right out). Gearbox went as well. Having previously owned a Ph.2 R5 turbo I knew what I'd probably be letting myself in for, prior to purchase!The williams was the best handling car i ever drove, like a go cart!
But beware, these things do cost a bit to run if not looked after, steering racks always common to go among other things.
But a classic in its own right.
That said, I did enjoy it in a sort of diametrically opposed way to the R5 (well, regarding the engine's characteristics anyway). Obviously with the Clio you have to ring its neck and forever stir the 'box - a typical early 16V'er - but, hey, if that's not involvement?!... It had great benign handling plus, in corners, you could cock its inside rear wheel by anything between 0 and 12inches!!! I think 6" was my average according to various 'spectators' (cue the jokes...). A fantastic pseudo mini-touring car rasp too (even on the standard back box).
My mate's g/f was thinking about getting a Willy <snigger> and I was a passenger in the test drive. You could genuinely feel the extra low- to mid-range grunt of the 2.0 over the 16V's 1.8, even though the difference was only 10lb ft (from memory, 129 plays 119). Presumably the extra 200cc of the Willy gave the engine more grunt low-down (as a comparison you had to get the 16V 'on-cam' at c.4750rpm before anything meaningful happened). Also, if memory serves, the Willy's exhaust manifold was a luuurv'ely genuine tubular jobbie.
Happy days...
Edited by joz8968 on Friday 11th July 16:59
Columbo said:
Front wings are plastic on the williams too!...
Yep, and on the 16V too. In fact weren't they on all of the Clio range, even the lowly cooking models? It was a nifty marketing ploy by Renault to advertise to the 17-25 age bracket that the wings could be replaced cheaply.Edited by joz8968 on Friday 11th July 17:01
Gad-Westy said:
Out of interest, are there many unique/expensive items on these or could one be bought at this sort of price and run cheaply with a little self servicing? Has got me thinking. There aren't many truly iconic (and relatively rare) cars available at this sort of money.
Honestly, the engines are bullet proof - just stick in at least a decent semi-synth every 6k (watch that level though - and don't RELY on the in-dash oil level gauge!) and you're done. Okay, there will be things that fail like racks, mounts etc, but over the course of a year any outlays won't be enough to pee you off (unless you're exceptionally unlucky!).They are so much more robust than a Pug 1.9 GTi or an R5 turbo (at the expense of a bit of extra weight - quite a lot more compared to the R5)... But at least they don't feel like they're going to fall apart 100 yards up the road! They feel that bit more solid and grown-up but without losing too much of the all-important fun factor.
There are many Renault specialists to look after the more taxing servicing/repair jobs, etc. e.g. Prima (are they still about?), Yozzasport, Angelworks, GDI, etc. (just don't fork out unnecessarily at Renault franchises, that's all!). Go for it. It really is a car that you can cane the living daylights out of... and have some serious giggles in the process!
Edited by joz8968 on Friday 11th July 18:52
imclueless said:
I had a 2 as a company car. Absolutely wonderful car. I have started to think of buying one as a run around. But finding one that hasn't been driven to the inch of its life....My orginal car has been crashed 2 or 3 times
Unfortunately, given the age of the cars, it will be a long(ish) hunt to bag a 'good' 'un...Edited by joz8968 on Friday 11th July 17:20
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