Renaultsport Twingo
Discussion
Let me tell you a story...
Man buys and totally rebuilds a Lotus Elise.
Man happy. Man sells Lotus and buys house. Man happy but sad. Man buys 981 Cayman as a daily.
Man again very happy. Man treats new car better than wife and “needs” runabout car for commuting and winter. Man sad. Man buys dubious Twingo RS. Man trying to make Twingo perfect for no reason.
So now you’re up to date...
So now my Cayman is hooked up to a CTEK and I’m collecting bits of NLA trim as I go and trying to fix this little nugget up.
Why is it a nugget? Long story but the seller was a lying asshat and is about as trustworthy as Tommy Shelby. Still... the car itself is ok underneath a load of niggly faults. Paint is original and in good shape. Here’s a little photo doc of what I’ve done so far
Plans? It’s 1 of 47 in the UK in this colour and is so much fun chucking it around roundabouts that I want to keep it long term and look after it. It won’t be long and it’ll be a really rare little thing.
I’m going to swap anything broken trim wise, get royal to do the steering wheel in perf leather and alcantara (same grey) with orange stitching and centre marker. I’ll get the gear knob and gaiter trimmed at the same time.
No interest in engine mods or making it noiser. The 981 on cold start is loud enough! I’m just going to keep it tight, clean and usable.
Man buys and totally rebuilds a Lotus Elise.
Man happy. Man sells Lotus and buys house. Man happy but sad. Man buys 981 Cayman as a daily.
Man again very happy. Man treats new car better than wife and “needs” runabout car for commuting and winter. Man sad. Man buys dubious Twingo RS. Man trying to make Twingo perfect for no reason.
So now you’re up to date...
So now my Cayman is hooked up to a CTEK and I’m collecting bits of NLA trim as I go and trying to fix this little nugget up.
Why is it a nugget? Long story but the seller was a lying asshat and is about as trustworthy as Tommy Shelby. Still... the car itself is ok underneath a load of niggly faults. Paint is original and in good shape. Here’s a little photo doc of what I’ve done so far
Plans? It’s 1 of 47 in the UK in this colour and is so much fun chucking it around roundabouts that I want to keep it long term and look after it. It won’t be long and it’ll be a really rare little thing.
I’m going to swap anything broken trim wise, get royal to do the steering wheel in perf leather and alcantara (same grey) with orange stitching and centre marker. I’ll get the gear knob and gaiter trimmed at the same time.
No interest in engine mods or making it noiser. The 981 on cold start is loud enough! I’m just going to keep it tight, clean and usable.
Edited by Paulr1980 on Saturday 25th January 21:02
Cheers! It’s not a Cup no but split seats and air con is preferred anyway. Does have the 17’s and tints etc so cup pack on a non cup car... not that it makes a huge amount of difference really IMO.
It’s on H&R springs which it sits nicely on. It’s a bit poggo stick on really bumpy roads so I’d say the spring rate and damping is pretty unmatched but maybe I’ll get coilovers at some point and set it up properly.
It’s on H&R springs which it sits nicely on. It’s a bit poggo stick on really bumpy roads so I’d say the spring rate and damping is pretty unmatched but maybe I’ll get coilovers at some point and set it up properly.
Edited by Paulr1980 on Saturday 25th January 20:23
Ok cool I’m away! So pretty much as it arrived. On 888R’s which were “interesting” on a 4.5hr drive home in 2 degrees and slightly damp conditions. Fun as cut slicks are this is a daily so I jumped on Black Friday and bought a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 asymmetric’s at just under £300 which was good.
I did the commonly made change to 205/40 17’s as opposed to the 195’s.
Sadly on fitting the depot notice a one inch crack in one wheel. They had been “refurbed” prior to sale so I was a bit gutted. Any way.. chin up knobhead! Quickly booked it in to a local refurb company A1 Powdercoating who did a fantastic repair. Black wheel weight and stubby valves without asking as well. Highly recommend this place.
Edited by Paulr1980 on Saturday 25th January 19:59
So wheels done I found some replacement centre caps on eBay for £5. Low expectations here but they’re a good match and fit. I’m not expecting them to last forever but it was £124 for a set of four from Renault and much as I want the car nice... no...
Next job was to clean the arches out and get the acre of land out. No idea if this era of Renault are rust protected but no harm in cleaning it out.
The calipers were painted (badly) at some point so the jet wash took most of the paint off but I’ll see to that later with some Frosts paint that I’ve had great results with in the past when fixing up my Lotus.
Next up was the cabin filter. It’s always smelt a bit like a wet rugby kit in the car which is normally blocked drains, a leak or manky cabin filter. It’s always fun changing these as they get missed for years and before you know it....
Hmmm... I’ll still clear out any drains I find and the boot latch makes a little rattle, plus I found a little damp in the boot so I’ll adjust that. Common fault as well apparently.
Next job was to clean the arches out and get the acre of land out. No idea if this era of Renault are rust protected but no harm in cleaning it out.
The calipers were painted (badly) at some point so the jet wash took most of the paint off but I’ll see to that later with some Frosts paint that I’ve had great results with in the past when fixing up my Lotus.
Next up was the cabin filter. It’s always smelt a bit like a wet rugby kit in the car which is normally blocked drains, a leak or manky cabin filter. It’s always fun changing these as they get missed for years and before you know it....
Hmmm... I’ll still clear out any drains I find and the boot latch makes a little rattle, plus I found a little damp in the boot so I’ll adjust that. Common fault as well apparently.
Edited by Paulr1980 on Saturday 25th January 20:03
Edited by Paulr1980 on Saturday 25th January 21:09
Edited by Paulr1980 on Saturday 25th January 21:52
So that gets me pretty close to date!
The rev counter which is handily right in from of you instead of in a big cluster was scratched pretty badly. I’ve known about polywatch for a while now and the lense of the tacho being acrylic I figured I’d give it a go. Did a great job and it’s scratch free!!
The rev counter which is handily right in from of you instead of in a big cluster was scratched pretty badly. I’ve known about polywatch for a while now and the lense of the tacho being acrylic I figured I’d give it a go. Did a great job and it’s scratch free!!
Oh the joy of iPhone irrational rotation.. anyone got any ideas how to fix it?
I’ll keep going and come back to fix it haha!
So that brings me to today. Plan was to: use BH Korrosol and get rid of the mountain of iron contaminant on the car. Wash down. Take the old crusty plates off (security screws grrr) clean off all the old tape and fit new clean plates on. I hate screws so just foam tape used.
Once that was all done I took the window seals off and gave them a clean, and fitted new vinyl strips to the B pillars. It’s not perfect but it’s a huge improvement and for £6 I can redo it in the summer when it’s less brittle and hard to work with.
A new Twingo decal on the back was fitted. People seem to remove these but I quite like it with them on.
Last job was to remove a butchered centre console which had the weirdest way of an aux connector (phono input?!) and fit one without that and that hasn’t got holes drilled in it.
I’ll keep going and come back to fix it haha!
So that brings me to today. Plan was to: use BH Korrosol and get rid of the mountain of iron contaminant on the car. Wash down. Take the old crusty plates off (security screws grrr) clean off all the old tape and fit new clean plates on. I hate screws so just foam tape used.
Once that was all done I took the window seals off and gave them a clean, and fitted new vinyl strips to the B pillars. It’s not perfect but it’s a huge improvement and for £6 I can redo it in the summer when it’s less brittle and hard to work with.
A new Twingo decal on the back was fitted. People seem to remove these but I quite like it with them on.
Last job was to remove a butchered centre console which had the weirdest way of an aux connector (phono input?!) and fit one without that and that hasn’t got holes drilled in it.
Edited by Paulr1980 on Saturday 25th January 20:26
So next job up.. paint the calipers properly. I really love Frosts paint and they do a raw aluminium colour that’s a dark silver and goes on well and looks OE-ish.
So that and unhang the exhaust and wire brush off any rust from the box and paint it smooth satin high temp black. It’s pretty gritty looking but doesn’t need changing yet. Hopefully it’ll look a bit smarter then. I’ll paint the inside of the tailpipe the same satin black and give the outside some wire wool and autosol love.
At some point I’m going to have to sort this oil leak. Clio’s from a bit of sleuthing leak gearbox oil so possibly that. Camshaft caps/rings leak apparently but I’ll get an oil change done at National as it’s not worth the effort to do it and dispose of the oil.
Hopefully a track day at Llandow in April!
If it had those 17" rims from the factory it might have the Cup chassis still? Could buy the cheaper Cup which had the bits like the non-split rear seats etc. but could add the Cup pack to a 'full fat' model. Either way though, they handle brilliantly with or without.
Some good work there OP, car looks good. Yes the iPod connectivity is a weird one as you have to use an RCA to 3.5mm lead. Looks like it has the upgraded stereo in it as well, which I never thought was too bad.
Some good work there OP, car looks good. Yes the iPod connectivity is a weird one as you have to use an RCA to 3.5mm lead. Looks like it has the upgraded stereo in it as well, which I never thought was too bad.
That’s interesting. I don’t mind what it is because the springs have been changed I can’t tell from those.
Stereo has got to go. I’m keeping my eyes out on eBay for a decent DAB and Bluetooth mech less unit so I can take calls and play Spotify back through it. I’ll happily give the original one away if anyone wanted it.
because the springs have been changed I can’t tell from those.Stereo has got to go. I’m keeping my eyes out on eBay for a decent DAB and Bluetooth mech less unit so I can take calls and play Spotify back through it. I’ll happily give the original one away if anyone wanted it.
I think someone in my neighbourhood has also seen the light. They used to have some sort of Audi estate, but now there's a Porsche, which has recently been joined by a silver RS Twingo. I suspect it's used for station and supermarket, but hope it sees some B-roads too.
I bought my Suzuki Swift Sport without first trying an RS Twingo (or Clio 1x2), but I can imagine how fun the Twingo is. I need to try one some time.
FWIW I think the pre-facelift Twingo looks better than the facelift :-D
I bought my Suzuki Swift Sport without first trying an RS Twingo (or Clio 1x2), but I can imagine how fun the Twingo is. I need to try one some time.
FWIW I think the pre-facelift Twingo looks better than the facelift :-D
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