320Touring's Hill climbing Clio

[320touring]

Thursday 7th October 2021.

Idly flicking through Gumtree at lunch. What was I looking at? Cars of course!

Something caught my eye, a silver seductress with Gallic flair..

2005 Clio 182, non runner, MOT'D til Jan 2022 and only 1.5hrs from home.

I send it to a friend as it was 30 mins from his.
He declines.



Immediately I am on the phone to the owner.

Cranks then stops, won't run.



At this point another mate sends me the same advert. Now I know I have a willing accomplice in the game.
to whit, a trip to the north was concocted, and arrangements with the vendor made.



On the way up we discussed likely causes of the issue - settling on 2 possibilities:

1. Immobilizer issues

2. Crank sensor failure.

we arrived having decided that the most likely fault would be immobilizer related due to the short crank time.

I Said to my mate "don't do an immobilizer reset on it - I don't want him putting up the price of it runs"



I speak to the vendor, car has been sitting 7 weeks, with no luck getting it fired. I check the oil and so an initial crank it turns over 4 times and stops.

no obvious damage to the crank sensor wiring.

this all sounds immobilizer - so time to barter and get the fker dragged away behind the range rover before doing a reset...

at this point, my mate has done a reset and the bloody thing is now running on the vendors drive🤣😁

I'm pleased - it's now a known Quantity and I can take it for a test drive.

the vendor is like 😲

the test drive was successful, and I managed to chip a wee bit off the asking price.

​​​​​​What is it like?





it's a 182 with cruise/traction control and air con. 

168k on the clock, MOT til Jan 2022.

Positives

Some MOT

182 SO ALL TEH POWAH AND BIG ZORST

4 new tyres

Solid underneath

Rear calipers work

All the electrics work



Negatives

168k miles

Timing belt due

De-phaser pulley doing an impressive impression of a skeleton pleasuring itself in a biscuit tin

I don't need another fking car

The 4 new tyres are Toyo Proxes

[320touring]

There was a sporadic SERV light, and Traction Control light. Rapidly, they be came common, and then permanent. The ABS light didn't want to be left out either..


A wealth of online info (and consultation with tame whisperer Clio Stu) meant that the first port of call was the steering angle sensor mounted behind the wheel

I decided to tackle the job in freezing conditions in January just before the MOT.

The battery was disconnected for 30 mins before airbag removal (the time filled having a cuppa to provide warmth for the next part of the endeavour)



Wheel removal was simple, and luckily for me, the steering angle sensor wound round until the yellow telltale appeared.

This meant


A lack of lights!

It was now in with a chance of becoming a long term fleet member.

Time to get it in for an MOT



Bugger.

It looks a lot. But In reality,

Strip and clean the rear brakes

Fit new rear pads

New front damper (and a swap to stock springs at the same time)

Polish the headlamps

Bottle of cataclean and rag it to pass emissions



PASS



That achieved, it settled into the role of daily driver.

Here is it with some of my other decrepit fleet members



Yes, that is a Ph1 Clio 172 Exclusive in front of it - I went into 182 ownership knowingly, despite my better judgement..

[320touring]

The rest of January and February proceeded without incident, averaging 35.7mpg in mixed use with a full load of tools in the boot.

I must say cruise control is a god send - the ability to just sit at a GPS 65mph on the motorway, without danger to your licence is great, especially as I know that these cars prefer to cruise a fair bit quicker..

Daily duties continued apace. Here it is in sunny Callander after a spirited drive. The rear seats a safe space to secure steak and haggis pies from Mhor Bread for the drive home.





A decision to upgrade the Xenon bulbs went in a quintessentially Clio way..

Removal of the battery (to access the passenger headlamp) resulted in a snapped battery clamp bolt.

This necessitated drilling and tapping the battery tray to fit a new bolt. Handily, the battery tray also doubles as the gearbox mount and is made of aluminium.

No pressure then.

Step forward a mate and his multifaceted tap and die..





The £80!!! Bulbs were fitted and vision is much better.

A couple of weeks later, the Clio was pressed into being an exhaust holder to allow the separation of a BMW E30 exhaust. A job it did admirably

[320touring]

If you have made it to here dear reader, you're probably wondering when the hill climbing begins...

Back in the mists of time, @Elstro1988 started a thread on hillclimbing using a Kia Rio..

Since then. I have fancied having a go at it.



I joined Monklands Sporting Car Club (£20 for the year) and got details on the championship.

Handily, they offer track days where you can go and get as many runs up the hill in 4hrs as you want.

This seemed a brilliant idea to test if I enjoyed it, before going deep into the championship/overalls/gloves/timing beam breaker etc.

The first track day of the year was Sunday 10th April.



Wednesday, 6th April, I was to be found giving the Clio a once over.

A problem was discovered.


A glorious stuck piston on the front right caliper.

Nevermind, new pads and a replacement caliper should fix it..

Clio Stu is contacted and the caliper replacement is scheduled for Friday 8th April

Overnight click and collect pads are procured and we are sorted.





Well, not quite.

Anyone who knows me will recall that on all the 172s I have owned previously, rear calipers have been a pain.

This 182 was determined to continue the tradition.



We fitted the new front caliper and new pads on the front.

Decide to bleed the caliper through. All going well, and no bubbles to be seen.

Tighten everything back up and test the pedal



To

The

Floor.



bd.



A look round the other calipers and brake lines reveals that the left rear caliper (same circuit as front right) has popped the caliper seal



The piston was removed and a new seal fitted, stopping the leak.



However. We now had air in the lines, and a pedal that just would not firm up.

We tried 2 different bleeding orders, bleeding it with the car off and the car running. Even taking it for a drive to get the ABS to cycle (to remove any air in the pump).

Nothing worked.

At 11.45pm I called it - time to give up and go home. I called my Brother for a lift, top chap that he is!



On the Saturday I was helping a mate move house (any excuse to hire a van!)

So the car was not looked at.

No hillclimbing for me then.

[320touring]

I elected still to go along on the Sunday, and at least get a look at the course and meet the folks.

Suffice to say, the people we met were very pleasant and welcoming, and the array of cars wide.



This was making noises I hope my Oxford will one day make - sounded and looked great climbing the hill!



No idea what this is - the driver was far too busy scaring passengers for me to be able to have a chat.




These extremely well presented MGTFs were driven by a couple of old boys who gave them laldy..






A lovely Morgan that promptly spat its dummy on the initial sighting run, and FTP'd for the rest of the day.




A father and son built bike engined bd. Noisy and quick.

The father was heard to remark "that's him coming up the hill sounding like a black and decker drill"




This did two climbs then left. Don't know why. It was lovely




This had a 1380 A series in it with a tasty cam - properly lumpy and deceptively fast. Good direction changes too, almost as if being light and nimble helps..




The MX5 to the left of the galaxy belonged to another first timer - he really seemed to be enjoying himself!




Another person enjoying themselves was the owner of this Aygo - each run faster than the last, and the wee thing seemed to enjoy it.



Speaking of wee things...







there were two specials present and they were spectacular

[320touring]

On the Wednesday after the (non) hillclimb, I collected the Clio from Clio Stu.

He had flung a pair of discs on it, and bled it again, finally getting a pedal. Thankfully.

I think the old discs were a bit tired..



The next "Track day" at the hillclimb is on the 5th of June, so that's the next target.

Additionally, a mate has got me thinking a wee teeside track evening may be in order too. There's one on the 6th of June...

Onwards!

[320touring]

Just booked onto a track and fun day on the 22nd May..

Hope it's fun

[320touring]

Cambs_Stuart said:

Track days in a clio are always fun!
Good to see another on here. How's the shell on yours for rust?

Thanks!

It seems ok so far, certainly not the worst I have had..

Got a link to a thread about yours?

Cheers

[320touring]

Cambs_Stuart said:

I've got a big old thread on my clio:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

And my clio had a very similar set of MOT issues:

Sweet will give that a good read!

CouncilFerrari said:

AND a Seat Toledo?!?!?! I haven't seen one of those in a long long time. My Dad had a white one, that's made me very nostalgic.

Love the Clio's, I had a 172 Cup and wish I'd never got rid of it.

Aye, recently sold the Toledo - was glad to have rescued it a while back, did some work to it and it's off to keep going with someone else!

[320touring]

I'm hoping to drag race this at Crail on the 15th May, so decided to give it a check over prior to that (and with enough time to get anything needed..)

Had it up in the air checking all the front suspension and brakes - nothing to worry about which is pleasing.

Time to pack up then.

• Shuts bonnet*

NOPE.

Cock.



The latch that holds the bonnet pin has seized open. So the bonnet just sits on the safety hook.



Nothing for it but to strip and clean the mechanism then.

First, remove the upper grill securings at the left and right, then pull the grill gently forward to expose the latch mounting.

The 10mm bolts received a goodly dose of remonstrating fluid, and a cup of coffee was consumed.

To whit, both came undone without issue.

There was a fair amount of gunk under the latch - so much so that it wouldn't return properly.

This is part way through cleaning:



And here it is after a re-greasing:



Installation is the reverse of removal, and it's all operational now.

Such is the way of Clio Lyfe!

[320touring]

LordHaveMurci said:

There was a safety notice on these Re: bonnet latches & keeping them greased, they had a habit of coming open while people were driving apparently!

Yep, part of me was glad it failed whilst working on it, rather than on the motorway 😁

[320touring]

Ooh, nice run!

I'm a fat Basturt and it's on Toyos. If I get sub 16 I'll be pleased!

[320touring]

Two things to report:

1. The OBC reads 42.2mpg after 100 miles on this tank. I wonder if pulling all my tools out helped?



2. It's more practical than it has any right to be..

[320touring]

First competitive outing for this today - up to the almighty Crail for some Drag racing.

I say drag racing, but it was more a meeting of mates interspersed with Going Like fk ..

Firstly, scran was procured from a fine establishment



Others were met and a sedate run to the track meant that I arrived with decent MPG for the tank so far.



I'd covered a fair few miles (and added a further 20L to the tank in anticipation of the trip today)


I reset the trip mpg to see how bad it was. Happily, over all the runs and returns back to the queue, it managed 13.6mpg. Pretty decent really.

With the exception of 1 run, where I launched at 3000 rpm and triggered the traction control (so the car cut power and bogged) I found 2500 and careful with the clutch got reasonable launches without the threat of damage to the driveline.

the best time of the day was 15.615 @90.5mph



As you can see, my reaction times ain't great, but at least I am consistently in the 15s 

I decided discretion was the better part of valour, so was not doing burnouts etc, just rolling up to the line and launching at 2.5k..

​​​​​The car handled it well, thankfully.

it was nice to use it in anger for the first time.

the trip home was very leisurely, partly because of the lovely weather, and partly because of only having 1/4tank or so left to get home.





Next Sunday is a hillclimb day - so we will see how it fairs there..

[320touring]

Cambs_Stuart said:

Good to see you're enjoying it. And I'll go and give my bonnet latch a good clean and grease!

Thanks! Aye was good to get out in it.

Think my time was not told bad, as my mate with a 182 engine in his Kangoo was about 1/10th behind me.

So they are both either in decent fettle or equally buggered🤣

[320touring]

Gtom said:

I must admit I was quite aggressive with the car to get the 14.7 time, I snapped the gear linkage doing full throttle shifts.

Also as far as I know, Crails surface isn’t anywhere near as good as Santa Pods?

Good time still, how did it compare to other cars?

Yeah I didn't want a broken car 70miles form home

I was lifting when shifting as didn't want to bugger the clutch or linkage .

Crail's surface is a wartime air strip, so mainly concrete. No compound down.


There was a turbo's ph1 172 there running low 14s, but most in my class were in the 15s.

Some mates ran the following

Ep3 type R 15.3
Kangoo 182 15.7
Toyota MR2 MK3 with a Corrola vvtli lump 14.7
Ssangyong Rexton 20.2
Volvo v70 T6 14.1

The Volvo surprised everyone. 4wd, 2 tonnes, 304bhp and a turbo'd 3.0straight 6.

It just fked off. Vented seats on, Aircon on. No discernable noise, just gone.

[320touring]

Surprising news on the fuel consumption front...

55.47L used for 488.5 miles (Inc the 20L top up before drag racing)

40.04mpg

That's it's second best tank I've had out it.

[320touring]

The Bearded Tit said:

Looking good! I recently sold my partner's ph1 1.4 automatic. Stupidly comfy compared to the Vauxhalls I've always owned. Bit curious though, the first post said the Toyo Proxes tyres is a negative. How come?

They're very soft sidewalled, and I find them squirrelly in the rain when pressing on.

Much prefer Rainsports, but these tyres have good tread so going to get a wearing out them first.

As always with tyres, it's generally down to personal preference and experience.

To their credit they held up well to drag racing

Edited by 320touring on Tuesday 17th May 08:42

[320touring]

After managing to slice my thumb open working on my '59 Morris Oxford ( narrowly missing the tendons and the nerve), on Wednesday,

I've had to pull out the hillclimb tomorrow as the wound has not healed enough to be able to drive..

bd

[320touring]

This car was supposed to be on a hill climb on Sunday 5th of June and a track evening on the 6th of June.

Obviously, on Monday 30th May, I heard a telltale tinkle of a clutch release bearing any time the clutch pedal was depressed.

I fear this thing is as workshy as me.

Over the next week, the noises got louder, and the car more juddery on takeoff.

Luckily, I'd not booked with the trackday or hillclimb.

Now the car shakes like a dog stting razorblades as you pull away and each gearchange is accompanied by a thud.

The aforementioned booking money is now going towards a new clutch being fitted. I've asked Clio Stu to give the whole front end a check over whilst it's up in the air.

Suffice to say, I have an answer to the question "Why is there a clutch set in the boot"?

To be fair to it, i got it at 168999 miles, and got 5700 miles out the clutch. Wonder what state the friction pad is in?

Photos to follow once stripped!