With regret here is my Phase 1 Renault Clio Williams (No 333) for sale that I have begun to restore. In short this is the origional phase 1 Williams, the only one to have a build number on the dash and in my eyes was always the one to have (the origional is always better than the sequel! ;) ).
I bought the car as a project in the later part of last year from a guy who had owned it for about 7 years as his weekend car. The car had been far from abused, in fact it was practically part of the family, but it was looking tired, things were starting to go wrong and the rust was starting to show. The car was always serviced and cleaned but not being much of a mechanic he had always paid people to work on the car for him, meaning he didn't know where to start when it came to needing some restoration work. I brought it home and took it off the road to begin to bring it back to its former glory however the engine has been started up once or twice a weekend and run up to temperature to keep it running nicely.
As you can see from the pictures (the bonnet clearly gives it away) the project is part complete but I have done alot of work to the car (see below) and it is now mostly mechanically sound. The engine is totally standard apart from a Scorpian back box and starts up straight away every time, idles really well, revs really cleanly with a great pick up and sounds fantastic! All the dials and electrics now work apart from the window washers and the rear window wiper. The interior is in fantastic condition and is again totally standard apart from the sunroof which I find quite a nice addition for summer driving (if we ever get summers again) for a car that doesn't have air con. The only mechanical thing to note, is there is a bit of a squeal coming from the belts when the car first starts up, my guess is that it is a slipping fan belt and will therefore be easy to fix.
The exterior is good over the majority of the car (my plan was to just mop it to remove swirls and light scratches) however some areas require attention. The Wheels are perfect apart from one (which has slight curbing to the chrome lip which can be polished out) after the previous owner had them refurbished to the exact colour match of Williams wheels including the chrome lip. Around the front of the car believe it or not, it is mostly complete (see work below) but it now needs the finishing touch of being painted as the bonnet has only been under coated and the two new wings are from a phase 3 Williams which is a slightly different shade of Blue to a phase 1. The main areas that need attention are the classic Williams rust areas. The passenger side rear arch and the drivers side sill are the two worst hit areas. The drivers side rear arch has been repaired by the previous owner but the join is is not perfect so I was going to clean that up. The passenger rear arch has rust through into two small holes and the rear of the drivers sill has also rusted through into a larger hole and is trying to creep its way forward. I have spoke to a body shop and the plan was to weld in a new panel into the the rear arch, blend the previously repaired one better and shape and weld in a new sill and paint.
The car will also come with a a couple of boxes of spares, pictured in the boot, and all the spares to complete the exterior of the car that are missing in the picture including; front splitter, front bumper plastic caps (next to fog lights), bonnet vent surround, phase 1 light surrounds and a new phase 1 grille. I would think most of the parts in the boot are not needed now but they will be useful to keep for the future should something be needed, or they can even be sold. I can also give the new buyer a great contact for parts should they find something is missing or they need something in the future.
The car currently has an MOT until the 21st August so it can be driven home once it has been taxed, which I can do for the new owner at cost. I would think however that the rust would need to be repaired for it to pass its next MOT but I don't think there is any other reason why it would fail. The cam-belt was changed about 5 years ago, but it has only covered about 10,000 miles since then as the previous owner began to use it less and less so it will probably run out of years before it runs out of miles (I would be changing it in the next 3-4 years even if it only covers another 10,000 miles). The Pads and disks are practically as good as new and won't need changing for along time to come. The tyres have good tread but one has got a slow puncture but it takes weeks for it to go down.
I did a part service on the car after bringing it home by changing the oil so it had good oil in it while it was being worked on but I was going to change the oil and filter again before the project was complete. I have already purchased a filter and some oil ready for this so they will be included in the sale. I have also changed the spark plugs and the air filter in recent times while working on other bits of the car.
Here is a list of all the work I have carried out:
- Removed faulty aftermarket Clifford Alarm and returned the car back to origional central locking
- Fixed electrical drain on the wiring loom and replaced battery
- Replaced faulty gauges
- Resealed Sunroof
- Removed front seats and shampooed all interior (including carpet, seats and seat belts)
- Carried out part service (oil, air filter and plugs)
- Replaced faulty reverse sensor
- Replaced leaking drive shaft seal
- Replaced Gearbox oil
- Fitted new roof lining (was starting to look tired)
- Replaced Parcel shelf (had holes in for speakers)
- Replaced scratched front wings.
- Reshaped bonnet badge hole and refitted Renault badge (badge had been removed and bonnet smoothed)
I have tried to cover everything but if you have any questions then don't hesitate to contact me. Viewings can be arranged with prior notice.
In short this is such a cool classic car that is only going to go up in value that is perfect for someone who wants a bit of a project. I would love to see it go to a good home where my work will be completed and the car will appreciated.
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