For sale on EBay, wants back arches doing but looks a good project for someone, nice Megane RS in the background. £1500 not overly excessive or make offer!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1995-RENAU...item4611df7b5e
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For sale on EBay, wants back arches doing but looks a good project for someone, nice Megane RS in the background. £1500 not overly excessive or make offer!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1995-RENAU...item4611df7b5e
That car is proper getting around
Is it a bad penny mate? I've pointed it out to a colleague at work! :sad:Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris197F1
It was advertised on here at a good price and the guy who bought it then advertised it a few weeks later for a rather increased price. Was on ebay for a while at various prices and he must have finally sold it as thats a different seller now. What annoys me is I got outbid on that car when he sent it to auction, it was then relisted the following week so its obvious he got a friend to outbid as I would have won it for £750.
If its the same car that is, im pretty sure though tbh
Oh yeah he also doesnt mention in that advert about the gearbox being difficult to select reverse :)
Yeah, I was interested in this initially. It's a shame that the trader got there first as if I'd have bought it it would have been restored and put back up for sale. And of course those awful tints would have been removed.
The car is tainted now. It's been through more owners than Portsmouth FC
lol p4cks
It is a shame really whats happened to it. Maybe it needs a true enthusiast to get hold of it next and turn it around
I ended up buying it (yes, I did read this first - didn't put me off!), and bringing it down to Cambridge. The plan is to use it in the chelmsford/East anglia Targa rally championship. I've had quite a bit of success in the last two years in an extremely beaten-up (but much loved) standard 1.4 clio Mk1, and think it's time to upgrade!
This one seems ideal for me so far - I've been after one with scruffy bodywork, but mechanically solid and not had the suspension/engine tinkered with (i.e. ruined) as seems to be so common - I've had it up on my ramp today and am quite pleased that everything seems perfect - Original OEM suspension (albeit with polybushes, but that's got to be an improvement) in good condition, original F7R engine (Can't see any reason not to believe the 103K miles, and my other clio has done 220K!), and the JC5-014 gearbox is absolutely perfect (Compared to every other renault clio gearbox I've had, and I've gone through a lot...). The seller claimed to have "fixed" the engaging reverse problem mentioned earlier (linkage fouling the exhaust) - which seems to have been done by ingeniously crimping and bending the gear linkage rather than realigning the exhaust, but no harm done!
Those Godawful window tints have been removed (What on earth were they thinking - might as well have put a neon sign on the roof saying "Police, please stop me, I have a boot full of drugs and no insurance"), so slightly less embarassing to drive about in. And the locking wheel nuts with a missing key have been replaced with standard ones.
The alloy wheels and T1R's are rather nice - seems a shame to go rallying in them; I've got a set of scruffier 14" wheels with 888's on (Higher profile, so same overall ride height as the original 15's) that I can use for rallying, and keep the originals for road use.
One day I'll get around to tidying up the sills and wheel arches properly (I did this on t'other clio, so should be easier second time around, right?), but for the time being I've just slapped underseal and waxoyl all over the underneath, which has suffered from a complete lack of any oil leaks from the engine or gearbox, and hence started to go a little rusty.
So the first targa rally for this french beast is in two weeks time - I've been driving it around as much as possible just to check everything is reliable, and have but another 2000 miles on it since the last post with no problems whatsoever, and have rather grown to love driving it about.
Anyhow, I entered it into an autosolo today just to give it a thorough shakedown and get a feel for it's handling at speed. The first two test runs went fantastically well, with only a WRX imprezza and BMW 328 setting faster times. I then screwed up the finish of the third test, had to reverse to get the right side of a cone - dropped the clutch in reverse and clonk - the nearside driveshaft snapped. - I guess that was the point of a shakedown!
Fortunately I had a spare standard driveshaft from a 1.4 clio which was enough to get me home - and very easy to swap over. It snapped just at the hub end where the CV joint meets the splined shaft. I've broken clio driveshafts a few times before, but always at the gearbox end. So I'm hoping some geniuses here will be able to give me some advise:
1. Are driveshaft failures at the hub end common, or has this CV joint just been replaced with a cheap after-market jobby at some point?
2. What are the options for getting the strongest, most indestructable driveshafts ever, and does anybody have any such item they're willing to sell? Presumably stengthening at the hub end will mean uprated hubs, but I don't want to go so far as to uprate the brakes or struts. What do the Group N cars do for driveshafts?
3. Although the engine mounts appear to be OK, has anybody found weak engine mounts to be the cause of drive shaft failures? - I could imagine all that torque in reverse would stress those mounts in unexpected ways resulting in odd driveshaft angles and more likely to break?
Hmmm. Surprised there are dozens of techie gurus with plenty of advice here on this one. Looking closely at the broken joint, I'm pretty certain that it was just a cheap dodgy CV joint, but after a bit of research I've decided to try the conversion to beefier 172 shafts with 172 hubs, 280mm brakes and 172 wishbones - with slightly wider track. I've put together all the bits I need and I'll let you know how I get on...
The williams' Rallying debut was certainly fun, and not entirely uneventful. If anybody's interested, photos are available here:
http://mandh-photography.co.uk/2013/...hy-targa-rally (Car number 13/113)
We were putting in some very competitive times, but a navigational error in the morning caused us to end up way behind. Then we had a couple of punctures which lost us more time. Finally in the afternoon we rather over-did it on the loose gravel/mud with the setting sun in our eyes - went straight on through a substantial clump of buddleia which put a load of branches through the radiator and ended the day, but it we've learnt a lot for next time - which isn't now until May.
I've fixed the damage from the bushes, and also replaced the front shocks - which seemed to have not coped with the punishment. The most important thing to do before the next event is add a sump guard - found some very deep scratches across the sump - so it could easily have ended a lot worse than just a punctured radiator!
Good to see it's getting enjoyed!
Attached some more photos of the french beast being driven as intended at the most recent Targa rally - performed faultlessly this time, finishing a very respectful 15th overall, finishing position being limited only by driver/navigator incompetence rather than inadequacy of my willy!
It's now fitted with a sump guard (hand crafted from 6mm aluminium plate), and I've just finished welding in new rear wheel arch sections and sills, together with a dozen or so sections underneath that needed some welding and fabricating due to rust - all now stripped, welded, painted and sealed and looking as good as new underneath. It's still in the air with all the panels removed awaiting some paint - I'll post some pictures if anybody's interested.
Yeah get some pics up8-)
shouldnt u guys be wearing helmets?
It seems bizarre, but under MSA rules for a Targa rally, helmets of any kind are prohibited (see http://www.sccon.co.uk/pdf/tc1301Regs.pdf) - I cynic would suggest that it's the old-fasioned oppinion that the best form of safety equipment would me a large, barbed spike in the centre of the steering wheel, to keep the driver's mind focussed! But actually, it's all run on a closed airfield and whilst there's plenty of obstacles to hit, the chances of an accident requiring a helmet for protection are very slim - although we were hitting 80mph in the long straights, the average over an entire test is no more than 30mph. Detailed results are here: http://chelmsfordmc.co.uk/cmc/Targa/...esultsBook.pdf - as you can see, it was the RWD entrants like the BMW318s and MX5s who had the edge at that event - usually it's the other way around.
I'll take a few photos of the new arches and sills and underside now it's all in primer - unfortunately I haven't got any pictures of it all in pieces after I started cutting the rusty bits out but before welding new bits in.
Next event is on the 8th June at Debden, Cambridgeshire.
As requested, a few photos of the new, rust-free underside of the beast - most of the work has been on the sills, rear arches, rear chassis legs, and the outriggers between the front of the sills and front chassis legs. That's also nice new zircotec matting to replace the original heatshields that had disintegrated.
looks like youve been busy!
Had the best result yet down at the Wethersfield Targa on 7th July - picked up 1st in class, 2nd in class and best crew awards, but still mist out on 1st overall to the very well prepared mk2 escort, mostly due to driver incompetence on our part.
Unfortunately there arent any decent photos to post here apart from these - 3rd photo along...
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/n1i4cfuzu...xPHsBCgNeDv_sa
The new hydraulic handbrake proved a revelation - but not sure about the new 350lb custom-made springs - I have a feeling that the springs may now be stiffer than the chassis...
Next event is on the 30th August at Debden with a few extra improvements to the car - picked up a composite bonnet (currently being sprayed in 449 sports blue after being fettled to fit properly) and a few other bits and pieces from a chap in Uttoxeter who seemed more pleasant than I was expecting given his reputation on here!
http://williamsclio.co.uk/forum/atta...tid=7088&stc=1
http://williamsclio.co.uk/forum/atta...tid=7086&stc=1
http://williamsclio.co.uk/forum/atta...tid=7087&stc=1
Photos of the beast in Action at the April Targa rally at Debden - a very respectable 3rd in class, and the car performed faultlesly. It also once again gave the ClioSport 172/182s a good thrashing ;)
looking clean there lads.
I haven't updated this in ages, so thought I'd post a quick animation of the willy in a heroic slide at last weekend's "Bomb along" targa rally at debden. A few silly mistakes puts us down at 6th overall, but much better than two weeks earlier when a broken (cheap chinese parts..) lower ball joint put the car out of action for four of the tests, and we've yet to be beaten by any of those new-fangled 172/182 cars.
The car now has gaz gold suspension and a Quaiffe diff - you can really see the diff working it's magic to pull us out of the slide in the animation!
http://williamsclio.co.uk/forum/atta...tid=8117&stc=1
can you upload a link direct to the giff file for me to try insert?
Try this attachment, although the forum seems to truncate the 1.66MB animated gif to a single frame when attached grrr. I would submit it as a video, but it's actually just 9 frames taken in quick succession by the professional rally photographer who just happened to be standing in the right place.
Attached as a .zip file this time...
Also I don't think I posted this photo of a mishap last year - only superficial damage, but made for a spectacular photo - I reckon the photographer was there oiling the surface to make sure he was in the right spot!
http://williamsclio.co.uk/forum/atta...tid=8120&stc=1
Man gravel gets everywhere
I haven't updated this in ages, but the old Willy is stilly going strong with the rallying, becoming something of an old campaigner now. We're steadily improving, mostly by learning to drive better rather than improvements to the car, now having won two events outright. Although many have tried, we've still yet to be beated by a common-as-muck 172/182 cup car :)
Attached are some photos from earlier this year - the "Bomb along" targa rally and the "Complete Rally Services Challenge". The latter was a particularly tough event, being 65 miles of mud and gravel tracks and across stubble fields. We finished, but only just, with much work to do fixing all the bits that fell off!
that first picture looks like it was hard going!
Not Quite as hard going as in this one:Quote:
Originally Posted by northy
http://williamsclio.co.uk/forum/imag...attach/jpg.gif
The Quaiffe works wonders in situations like that!
Another First overall at last weekend's Jumbo Targa rally ( https://chelmsfordmc.co.uk/TargaRally/Javalin19 )
Comptetitors seem to be moving away from Clios these days - the competition being mostly from MX5s last weekend, but the old Williams still beats them all! These cars seem to be getting so rare, treasured and valuable these days that it's a almost embarassing me thrashing mine every month - but I don't think I'll stop having all the fun just yet!
More hi-res pictures here: http://www.redroofsfarm.com/Willy/Willy.html
Great Pics...
In the Stanta Targa rally it looks like your tyre is coming off the rim on the tarmac stage lol.
Regards Ian
Thanks Ian - yes, got a puncture at Stanta after a spent bullet cartridge (it is all on MOD training land, and littered with old cartridge cases) went through the tyre - had to drive through the test on the rim before I could change it - fortunately I don't use the original gold speedline alloys for the rallying!
Haven't posted anything on here in a while, so thought I'd add an update since I'm in the process of making so many changes to the car...
At this year's Stanta Targa rally, the gearbox failed (actually, it failed on the way to the event, so didn't even start) - The bearing on the main shaft under the pinion failed, and damaged both the pinion and gearbox casing. Fortunately, the Quaiffe diff wasn't damaged, so I've been been building up a new box with the old LSD.
It seems that the supply of old JC5 boxes in usable condition is starting to dry up a bit, so I've been building one up with gears and ratios more suited to Targa rallying - I've gone for gear set "I", but the very high-ratio 5th gear cluster from the DCI box and the 65/15 final drive - so 1st-4th gears are all around 10% lower and closer than standard, but with a giant leap up to 5th to make it bearable on the road.
Having done a bit of research - I've discovered that although externally the gearboxes are totally different (with selector mechanism on the top, totally different driveshaft/diff arrangement), the JR5 box as fitted to everything from Mk3/4 Clios/Meggys/Lagunas Nissan Juke/Note, most Dacias, etc. share many of the internal components, and in many cases are improved/better engineered internally than the old JC5 boxes but are a straight swap into a JC5 casing. For instance, the input shaft, all main gear clusters, 2 of the selector forks, crownwheel and pinion (but not diff.) are all a straight swap into an old JC5 gearbox casing, and opens up the options available for gear ratios on the Williams considerably, including final drive rations of 4.3, 4.5 and even 4.9 when the lowest ratio Renault ever fitted to a JC5 box was the 4.1 as fitted to the Williams and 172/182.
Since they're so common right now, I've been able to pick up a couple of JR5 boxes with low mileage that appear like new internally for next to nothing, in order to build up my new JC5 box.
Whilst the engine/box has been out, I've also gone about some engine work - so the engine is apart, with high compression forged pistons & rods going in, catcams and pulleys, lightened flywheel, etc. so I suspect the potential for it to just explode on the next Targa has increased exponentially :)
Will get round to posting more photos at some point.
Great info Alan for all those that like to tinker with this sort of thing...hope you get it all back together and working properly.:)Quote:
Originally Posted by AlanC
Regards Ian
Attachment 9939
Another picture from this weekend, having not posted anything for many years - how not to treat your Williams! The car is still going strong, having put up with this sort of punishment for 10 years now. Poor result though since we dropped a couple of minutes after the throttle pedal fell off!
It sounds like you had quite an eventful weekend! It's great to hear that your Williams car has been resilient and going strong for 10 years, even though it had to endure some punishment.