Project 338

[dablk]

Nice colour.

Can rem how bad the inner ones where.. I can just remember the steering rack ones are worse. With with the subframe in the car.



Just make sure you get the correct ones. Lots of miss information out there as the cup/trophy arm was thicker.

 

[dablk]

Ahh I think the issue is compressing te clamp around the new inner bush enough to be able to get the bolt in.

 

[DaveS]

2018 UPDATE

Evening all. Well we’ve been busy with a bit of a winter refresh under bonnet. Started by removing all the alloy parts - upper inlet, engine mount, alternator bracket and brace bar and fuel rail protector and sent them off to be vapour blasted. Whilst they were away we’ve cleaned up everything as best we could and given the block a coat of hammerite. We also fitted a new sent of genuine plugs.

Before



After









We then finally fitted an new front grill. Unfortunately I have only been able to track down the battery decal and not the one on the left. My graphics lady can reproduce but at around £300 I think I will struggle to break even - there can’t be that many people who want to buy one now they are NLA from Renault. Scanning an original is a possibility if anyone would lend me one?

All finished for now and back on the road with a fresh MOT - only done 3025 miles in the year.

Before



After

 

[Greatwhyte]

2018 UPDATE

Evening all. Well we’ve been busy with a bit of a winter refresh under bonnet. Started by removing all the alloy parts - upper inlet, engine mount, alternator bracket and brace bar and fuel rail protector and sent them off to be vapour blasted. Whilst they were away we’ve cleaned up everything as best we could and given the block a coat of hammerite. We also fitted a new sent of genuine plugs.

Before

View attachment 23532

After

View attachment 23527

View attachment 23528

View attachment 23529

View attachment 23530

We then finally fitted an new front grill. Unfortunately I have only been able to track down the battery decal and not the one on the left. My graphics lady can reproduce but at around £300 I think I will struggle to break even - there can’t be that many people who want to buy one now they are NLA from Renault. Scanning an original is a possibility if anyone would lend me one?

All finished for now and back on the road with a fresh MOT - only done 3025 miles in the year.

Before

View attachment 23533

After

View attachment 23531

Awesome work.

I can recommend a sticker guy called pukkar design he has done some BMW stickers for me and is excellent.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Trophy77]

Looks great, really nice job. Giving the engine block a clean and coat of paint is also on our list of things to do.

 

[DaveS]

Decided it was time to upgrade the exhaust - not a cheap job. Unless that is you come across someone selling one second hand. Came across this Milltek resonated (quieter) cat back system for £75.....



Aside from the centre box being a little dented all looks good with no repairs and all welds look good.

After setting to with a metal polishing wheel, power drill and a tube of Autosol, and a fair amount of blood, sweat and skin I have now got this..





Still a little bit of work to finish it off but not too bad I think.

I’ve bought some new Milltek clamps, front hanger and cat to system bracket.



Question is what rear hangers should I go for, Stick with what I have, Renew to standard, upgraded, or put a set of Powerflex poly inserts in? Also when fitting should I use a little exhaust assembly paste between the cat and the new pipe?

Advice would be welcome.

Dave

 

[Mikeyjp]

I have would got with the power flex mounts

 

[Saint27]

Not cheap, much stronger, look like this..........

 

[DaveS]

Well that went well......

 

[Greenouse]

Really enjoyable read, hats off for the work done so far! Excellent detail.

One question, apologies if I missed it, how/what did you use to clean the seatbelt? Product and method?

 

[DaveS]

Thanks - it’s been a labour of love.

There are various methods. The one I used was to fully extend the seat belt and then put a peg on it so it can’t recoil back. I then got a bucket of hot water with a household pre- wash powder in it. Depending on your situation you can put this on the front seat or on box outside.I put the set belt in it over night. The following day I then gently scrubbed it wth a soft nail brush. For any hard to remove stains ( you will be surprised how much the pre- wash brings out) I used a car interior shampoo. Once I was happy I then rinsed them and let them dry. As you will have read I was lucky to have access to a dehumidifier and so they were dry in under 1 hour.

Another method is to pull the seat belt out fully, take it outside the car and close the door trapping it to stop it recoiling. Then use a jet wash.

 

[Greenouse]

Thanks for the reply, I'll give one of those methods a go, thanks!

 

[LiamH]

Hi all,

New owner of 338 here

It seem right that I continue the project 338 thread in the way it has been going,

One of the first jobs I've decided to do is get the steering wheel sent away to snappy,

I have bought a spare wheel as I want to keep the original, that has been sent away today

I have also just got hold of a can of genuine Renault tyre foam just to complete the tool kit in the car.

I look forward to getting stuck into the car, not that it needs anything as it is a total credit to Dave the previous owner,

I have just spent a small fortune on detailing products to keep the car looking as fresh as it possibly can...

Liam

 

[LiamH]

Quick update, treated the trophy to a retrimmed wheel which arrived today, can't wait to get it fitted, I've had this car a little bit now and it's been an absolute pleasure

 

[Cue]

who did your wheel - like the look of that..

 

[LiamH]

Snappy over on the Clio sport forum, top quality work I must say

 

[LiamH]

Such an improvement over standard

 

[LiamH]

Dropped 338 off at Renault this morning for a service as they had a deal on for £149,

normally I always do my own services but I thought I'd give dealer servicing a whirl

I will do another one myself long before it is due again at the dealer and I'll continue to service the car twice as often as the manufacturer suggests as it has never steered me wrong in the past.

 

[LiamH]

Got my car back from Renault yesterday, had a "free" health check as dealers do, advised the sump gasket has a weep,

out of curiosity I asked for a price for them to do it... £475 plus VAT I was expecting it to be expensive but wow!

I now have the car booked in at a local specialist to have it done for £80 plus the price of the gasket, a bargain compared.

They also picked up the dog bone link rubbers beginning to split, this is definitely a DIY job so my question is, I'm very tempted to buy Powerflex but should I just go for a standard mount?

 

[Hughie]

My Trophy also has an oil leak from somewhere around the sump joint so I am planning on fitting a new gasket in the next month.

Having researched it and studied the Renault workshop manual I would estimate the amount of time needed to do the job is 4 - 5 hours assuming you know what you are doing and have all the tooling and everything prepared. This is probably why Renault are quoting the £475.

Seems like your Local Renault specialist will be making a huge loss on this job unless he is doing it for the love of it!

Does anyone else have a better view of how long it takes and what the pitfalls of the job are?

Apart from that your exhaust work looks really good.