A thread dedicated to christine (Clio 172)
Discussion
When I was young and a bit naive I purchased a Clio 172 on a whim, previously I had a 1.2 Clio, I liked the handling of the Clio 2s and to quote Clarkson, 'they were the sort of car that makes you feel happy!', so the 172 was the natural progression step up.
The car was a bit rough round the edges and had a hard life, there was cracks on the front bumper, wheel arch linings were missing and some of the windows were not original, there was broken glass under the rear seats so there was some interesting history behind it. Alarm bells should have rung as the service history showed the gearbox was completely replaced at 50,000 miles but more importantly the cambelt was also well overdue. However I got it for a good price and it was 1 of the only 60 flame red early phase 1 cars.
After getting the cambelt kit, aux belt and waterpump done, I managed to source a un-cracked bumper and arch linings from another red 172 being broken up, I also replaced the wings as they were in much better condition, the car was mint at this point. I also sourced the very last stock of bumper mounts from Renault(sorry if you have ever tried to get these).
Being a bit contreversial here, Ive driven most iterations of the clio 1*2s including the Trophy, and I strongly believe the early phase 1 cars were the best. They were lighter than the later cars, had smaller lighter wheels, slgihtly longer gear ratios and also have a cable throttle setup which made them really responsive. They are great cars to drive, you can literally thrown them into any corner and they will stick, the chassis is dynamic out of the box, I would strongly recommend them.
This car eventually saw me through the whole beginning of my adult life, during ownership I completed my uni HND, got my first proper job, got engaged, moved into 1st house, got married, had first child, got better job, got bigger house, had second child. I also learnt a huge amount about maitenance and mechanics, and also handling and driving experience.
Who said hot hatchbacks are not practical?
130,000 miles of adventure later the car had gained various battle scars, scratches, parking dents and I had replaced:
- The radiator (twice)
- Both driveshafts
- TDC Sensor
- Steering column (bearing failure)
- Exhaust (twice)
- Throttle cable
- Fitted eibach sportline springs and braided brake lines
- Serviced religiously
- Had 3X Cambelt changes (they are not cheap)!
This thread is dedicated to that car and the adventures I had with it. The nickname cristine came about because its red like the car in the film. One time while driving up the A303, the throttle cable frayed and jammed, it developed its own mind and its own cruise control and it tried to kill me!!
After 9 years I had amassed a huge amount of service history and receipts for the car, regrettebly I had to move on, listed it for sale and within seconds it was sold for not much less than what I originally paid for it.
However the story doesnt end there, the car is still going strong with its new owner, infact its now a succesful hill climb competition car and has won one of the heats in this summers midlands hill climb competitions, X684BJA aka Christine you are one epic car!!
The car was a bit rough round the edges and had a hard life, there was cracks on the front bumper, wheel arch linings were missing and some of the windows were not original, there was broken glass under the rear seats so there was some interesting history behind it. Alarm bells should have rung as the service history showed the gearbox was completely replaced at 50,000 miles but more importantly the cambelt was also well overdue. However I got it for a good price and it was 1 of the only 60 flame red early phase 1 cars.
After getting the cambelt kit, aux belt and waterpump done, I managed to source a un-cracked bumper and arch linings from another red 172 being broken up, I also replaced the wings as they were in much better condition, the car was mint at this point. I also sourced the very last stock of bumper mounts from Renault(sorry if you have ever tried to get these).
Being a bit contreversial here, Ive driven most iterations of the clio 1*2s including the Trophy, and I strongly believe the early phase 1 cars were the best. They were lighter than the later cars, had smaller lighter wheels, slgihtly longer gear ratios and also have a cable throttle setup which made them really responsive. They are great cars to drive, you can literally thrown them into any corner and they will stick, the chassis is dynamic out of the box, I would strongly recommend them.
This car eventually saw me through the whole beginning of my adult life, during ownership I completed my uni HND, got my first proper job, got engaged, moved into 1st house, got married, had first child, got better job, got bigger house, had second child. I also learnt a huge amount about maitenance and mechanics, and also handling and driving experience.
Who said hot hatchbacks are not practical?
130,000 miles of adventure later the car had gained various battle scars, scratches, parking dents and I had replaced:
- The radiator (twice)
- Both driveshafts
- TDC Sensor
- Steering column (bearing failure)
- Exhaust (twice)
- Throttle cable
- Fitted eibach sportline springs and braided brake lines
- Serviced religiously
- Had 3X Cambelt changes (they are not cheap)!
This thread is dedicated to that car and the adventures I had with it. The nickname cristine came about because its red like the car in the film. One time while driving up the A303, the throttle cable frayed and jammed, it developed its own mind and its own cruise control and it tried to kill me!!
After 9 years I had amassed a huge amount of service history and receipts for the car, regrettebly I had to move on, listed it for sale and within seconds it was sold for not much less than what I originally paid for it.
However the story doesnt end there, the car is still going strong with its new owner, infact its now a succesful hill climb competition car and has won one of the heats in this summers midlands hill climb competitions, X684BJA aka Christine you are one epic car!!
Edited by davebem on Thursday 6th October 19:14
Edited by davebem on Thursday 6th October 19:15
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