SharkyUK's Trophy - #165

[SharkyUK]

And that's where we are currently at as of Saturday 21st Feb 2015... It's been over two years 'in the making' and I'm still not able to enjoy it yet due to the various issues. But I think there may be light at the end of the tunnel now. I hope. Nothing has been spared, no shortcuts taken with this car. So I'm hoping she repays me some of the love after all the money, time and effort that's been spent on her!

 

[Claude]

Thanks for remembering us over here on Clio Trophy

 

[SharkyUK]

Thanks for remembering us over here on Clio Trophy

...and you are??? Hahahaha! I blame old age. Senility. Dementia. Laziness. Love / hate for the Trophy. Or a mixture of all those.

 

[Claude]

Loving your work - very, 'Fifty Shades of Damon'

 

[SharkyUK]

Hahahahaha... *embarrassed grin* I don't know what you mean...

 

[markoc]

Great car and glad to hear that you're still perservering with it. You're progress thread makes for a great read and the car is a credit to you

 

[SharkyUK]

Great car and glad to hear that you're still perservering with it. You're progress thread makes for a great read and the car is a credit to you 

Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed having a read through it. Thanks for the reply and kind words.

 

[Agent 86]

Hi SharkyUK,
I've just spent many hours reading your history with the Trophy and there is no doubt that this thread is a superhuman effort, well written and interesting and I can't but admire your ability to stay motivated despite the occasional hiccup.
Keep up the good work.
Jon.

 

[SharkyUK]

Hi SharkyUK,
I've just spent many hours reading your history with the Trophy and there is no doubt that this thread is a superhuman effort, well written and interesting and I can't but admire your ability to stay motivated despite the occasional hiccup.
Keep up the good work.
Jon.

Hey Jon,

Thanks for taking the time to read through the thread; I'm glad you enjoyed it and found it interesting. I won't lie, it's been an emotional ownership - especially the last few months - but I am determined to see it through and I have a bunch of good people on the case. I'm confident the Trophy will be in full health very soon.

Again, thanks for your time and kind words.

Cheers,
Andy

 

[Greenouse]

Thanks again Andy for putting the time and effort into this thread! Really enjoyable read and the car is a credit to you!

 

[Dsturbed]

Hey Sharky, you the guy sometimes in the layby in Caldicot (just after the lights/co-op)? -

 

[SharkyUK]

Hey mate.

No, that's not me. I don't think I've ever taken my Trophy to Caldicot. I've been to the castle a few time in the Type-R though. Super cream teas at the castle!

 

[SharkyUK]

March 2015 - Update - Bad News

Time for an update and, I'm sad to say, it's not been good news of late.

Recently, following the work that Russ has kindly done on my car, the Trophy was trailered down to Dan at SJM to give it a look over. As mentioned in my last few updates it's not quite been running right and something has felt amiss. The 18mpg, the lack of torque, the difficulty in driving the car below 3k rpm and the bogging down of the engine at sometimes seemingly random times. Due to the problems the car has been sat idle for the last couple of months or so until it could be looked at. I spoke to Fred (who's a little busy to say the least) and he kindly offered some suggestions as to potential issues and things to look for. As it was at Dan's and was convenient, we were able to carry out a compression test and take a quick look at the bores to see if they threw up any indicators as to what might be contributing to the problems.

Unfortunately cylinders 3 and 4 were smoking and some 60-70 psi down on cylinders 1 and 2. The pistons were also rattling like a b!tch in the cylinders (even taking into account the fact they are forged and take some time to warm up). There also appeared to be some marking on the cylinder walls. I spoke to Fred again and, as Dan and Mike were available to take a look, I asked if they would be happy to do so. It was something I didn't want to do but it was stripped down to see what was going on. Ah, the joys of modified cars... LOL!

To cut a long story short the engine has suffered damage; scored cylinders, cams, to name but a few things. The head has also been damaged. The upshot of this is that a new engine is needed. The good news is that the conrods are ok The piston rings were obviously not in the best shape and neither are the pistons; which are a little oval in shape now as possibly are the bores. I was given the bad news and able to see it for myself and, alas, sh!t happens. Again and again with this car

Sorry the pics aren't too clear but you can see a little scoring on the cams, bores and cam journals; quite a lip on the scoring in places.











[video=youtube;2a5l8ryDIPE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a5l8ryDIPE[/video]

It's not easy to say how or what went wrong (and I'm certainly not pointing the finger as I fully believe this has been pure bad luck) but it looks like incorrect fuelling may be the culprit; possibly some injection/injector or fuel pump problem. It's a risk you take at the end of the day and sometimes things don't go to plan and such things can't be accounted for

I won't lie... it's upset me a bit and it has hit the wallet hard. I'm not going into hard figures but thousands has been spent on this car and it's about time it gave me a break. Maybe one day it will In the meantime it will be SORN'd and engine-less whilst I decide what to do next. Fred has kindly offered to source and help with parts if needed and Dan and Mike have kindly offered to incur the wrath of the Trophy whilst discussing potential routes to go down next. Obviously I need to spend some time considering things. The Jenvey ITB's and GEN90 ECU (in perfect condition and hardly used) will be sold. The ITB's haven't even seen 4k miles yet and not been used in anger due to the ongoing problems with the car. I will most likely keep the conrods as I've grown attached to them! LOL!

As said, plans are being discussed but it might be a while before Le Clio Bast**d Rouge sets tyre on tarmac again. I'm sure it will, but I've no idea in what shape or form. Regardless, if I do decide to continue then it will effectively be the last throw of the dice with it. If I carry on and have problems then I will cut my (hefty) losses and crush it. Simple as that. But then again maybe it will be 4th time lucky!

As said, I'm not pointing fingers or accusing anyone of anything. I'm purely updating my thread to keep the story of Trophy #165 alive and up-to-date. Those involved with the build have a good reputation and for good reason. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend or use them again; hence I don't want to see any s**t thrown or rumours spread when they are unfounded (I know how good the Interwebz can be for s**t throwing and rumour spreading!)

I just don't know what to do next... but I will say a big "thanks" to those of you who have been following for some time now. I look forward to hopefully bring you some more news and updates soon and I'll post again in this thread as and when something worth mentioning crops up. Apologies if the thread goes quiet for a little while...

Cheers.

 

[RsMax]

That is more than frustrating.... Seeing things like that happen and all the money spent
is completely rubbish..


BUT: Don't look back on the bad things. I suggest:
Try to buy a standard 182 exchange engine. Just put
it in the T and only give it an RS-Tuner remap and
use a nice aftermarket exhaust (I just do not know which
one is currently fittet on your car).

Then start the T up and have fun like on the first day!

If you want to sell the itb's and the ECU, please sent me
a p.m.

"keep your head up mate!!"

Regards from Germany

 

[SharkyUK]

Hi Max.

Yes, it is more than frustrating! There's very little can be done so - as you say - it's time to move on and to work towards getting the Trophy back on the road. I have a few plans and ideas that I'm currently looking at so hopefully will make a decision very soon.

I am running a custom exhaust system from ProSpeed (an exhaust specialist only a half hour drive from where I live in south Wales) and I really like it. It will be staying with the car for the foreseeable future However, the ITB's and ECU are for sale.

Cheers,
Andy

 

[MarcB]

Andy i feel for your pain & i totally understand that its no ones fault and that its part and parcel of driving a heavily modified car, A lot of things can go wrong for a number of reasons and a large portion of them is not down to human error.

As for the car and the decision on what to do i see 3 choices and if it was me i would want the best of both worlds so i would go with option number 2 as at some point you need to cut your losses and walk away from trying to keep a heavily modified car running and emptying your wallet week in week out.

1, Buy a new engine from renault, fit it all together and have a good running day to day trophy for many years to come.
2, Buy a second hand engine and slightly modify with subtle mods (197 cams, Air/Exhaust mods)
3, Replace Engine and modify it heavily again and possibly have more issues.

 

[SharkyUK]

Thanks for taking the time to reply mate; your words make a lot of sense In an ideal world (i.e. one where I was sensible) I would take option 2, maybe 1, and discount option 3...

In all seriousness I have weighed up a few options and covered those that you outline yourself. I have to agree in that option 2 would make the most sense. I'm certainly not made of money, nor would I claim to be, but I did go into this build making sure that I had enough to cover it and so that I wouldn't be high and dry if the worst did happen. Which unfortunately it did!

On the plus side I am very fortunate to be in a position where I can consider option 3 and to very much have 'one last throw of the dice' with the Trophy. I'm probably a fair bit older than most on here, have a very understanding better half who loves performance cars and I don't have any kids or dependants to worry about. I also don't drink, smoke or take expensive holidays; driving is very much my passion and hobby. I am VERY fortunate to be able to put aside a little of my hard-earned each month to enjoy my hobby With that said I have been able to think about going ahead with another modified build of some level (although as to what level is still being discussed). Regardless of the outcome, this will be my last 'flirt' with a modified Clio so things had better work out this time! Haha!

I'm certainly not poo-pooing your comments or words as they make perfect sense and I genuinely appreciate the sentiments behind them. I guess I'm just almost set on what I want to do next and am fortunate enough to be able to go ahead and try it. Of course, there is still that possibility that things will go wrong but I'm due a little bit of good luck sometime soon.

I will probably make a final decision in the coming days so I might change my mind again in the meantime... all I know is that I won't be running a forged NA or high-comp build again.

Thanks for your reply and attempt to inject some common sense. I hear you sir!

 

[markoc]

Totally gutted to hear about your latest spell of disastrously bad luck! All I can say is that I wish you all the best with whatever you plan to do next... Because you really desevre a break!
Do I sense some boost?
Best of luck.

 

[marrow]

Just a comment, the Trophy was all about handling not outright power. How about focusing your energy and money on the handling side? Perfect this and you'll carry more speed more of the time. So option 1/2 it is.

 

[hoolio]

Just a comment, the Trophy was all about handling not outright power. How about focusing your energy and money on the handling side? Perfect this and you'll carry more speed more of the time. So option 1/2 it is.

Nothing wrong with a little extra of both

Like everyone I've followed the "progress" of 165 for it seems a fair while (I even saw it at Fred's last year) and it must be heartbreaking for you. Do you recon that you can pin most of the problems down to what proved to be a 'weak' engine right from the start?