[White-r26]

Sweet stuff mate, I have some original springs off my old 172, only covered 30,000 if ur interested?

 

[vecbtb]

Sweet stuff mate, I have some original springs off my old 172, only covered 30,000 if ur interested?

Thanks for the offer. I'm already running on Eibach Pro springs which I put on 12 months ago.

 

[magpieV6]

cracking work mate, I love monaco 172's

 

[White-r26]

No prob's, that's what I replaced mine with, just make it sit that bit lower but not too low, tighten the handling upto, much less role in the corner's..

Cars looking tidy, loved my 172. Got my self a Megane f1 230 R26, 2 months ago..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Trophy#185]

Awesome work

Thanks aswell, will be refreshing the suspension on my clio soon so this is ideal for me

Would you recomend the paint you used on the hubs over say hammerite, or are they quite similar?

 

[vecbtb]

Awesome work

Thanks aswell, will be refreshing the suspension on my clio soon so this is ideal for me

Would you recomend the paint you used on the hubs over say hammerite, or are they quite similar?

I see the only advantage of Hammerite is that you can get it in brush form which might make it easier to apply for some projects. Otherwise this VHT paint is far superior in my opinion. Much glossier - like a porcelain finish - and far more chip resistant. I have found Hammerite very prone to chipping.

Having said that, I'm not going to use Hammerite even for parts of the car that I'll need to brush paint - such as the rear beam and lower arms that I doubt I'll get round to replacing. I am going to use POR15 chassis black for this. It's pricey at £20, but apparently very impressive.

 

[Bentleya]

Very nice work , looking really neat and tidy.

 

[rsdan1984]

looking good, will look awesome on the car. is this kind of refurb difficult to do?

 

[VIPER]

I see the only advantage of Hammerite is that you can get it in brush form which might make it easier to apply for some projects. Otherwise this VHT paint is far superior in my opinion. Much glossier - like a porcelain finish - and far more chip resistant. I have found Hammerite very prone to chipping.

Having said that, I'm not going to use Hammerite even for parts of the car that I'll need to brush paint - such as the rear beam and lower arms that I doubt I'll get round to replacing. I am going to use POR15 chassis black for this. It's pricey at £20, but apparently very impressive.

Also check out Epoxy Mastic 121 paint from here http://www.rust.co.uk/epoxy-mastic.cfm

Not used it myself yet, but the general consensus amongst the people I know who have is that it's extremely good indeed. :thumb:

 

[vecbtb]

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely have a look at the Mastic 121. Not much to report at the moment. I'm waiting a few days before making my big order at Renault for the remaining parts as I might have an option on uprated dampers 'for testing' - although I'm not sure I need them so the deal will need to be very, very good!

However, I have bought the new brake fluid. Not only is this stuff rated highly, it's blue colour makes bleeding easier - keep going until the fluid turns blue!

 

[Bueno]

Did you not have problems soaking the calipers with the seals on? are they ok after going in degreaser and vinegar? I done my carrier in vinegar but not the calipers yet!

 

[vecbtb]

Did you not have problems soaking the calipers with the seals on? are they ok after going in degreaser and vinegar? I done my carrier in vinegar but not the calipers yet!

I didn't use vinegar on the callipers. They were soaked in Bilt Hambers Deox-C which is safe on seals etc. The degreaser I used was just All Purpose cleaner which won't do any harm either.

 

[964kevin]

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely have a look at the Mastic 121. Not much to report at the moment. I'm waiting a few days before making my big order at Renault for the remaining parts as I might have an option on uprated dampers 'for testing' - although I'm not sure I need them so the deal will need to be very, very good!

However, I have bought the new brake fluid. Not only is this stuff rated highly, it's blue colour makes bleeding easier - keep going until the fluid turns blue!

Don't forget to use Super ATE GOLD next flush, it makes it easier to see when the change is complete. It's how I change my brake fluids.

kevin

 

[vecbtb]

Don't forget to use Super ATE GOLD next flush, it makes it easier to see when the change is complete. It's how I change my brake fluids.

kevin

Thanks, I had that thought as well.

I've ordered 2 x new front OE dampers and 2 x new ABS sensors today from Renault. The dampers will be keyed and given an extra couple of coats of VHT gloss black roll bar and chassis paint next weekend. I'm looking at fitting everything early April.

 

[Drew]

looking forward to seeing the end result of all this great effort! cant wait.

 

[vecbtb]

FRONT DAMPERS

Thanks to Wests Renault in Cambridge I have my new front dampers. Not all good news though, the ABS sensors I ordered were the wrong ones and have had to go back. The dampers had the usual factory finish of a very thin coat of semi-gloss black paint. There were plenty of scratches and chips exposing the bare metal - some caused by the dampers breaking through their cardboard boxes during transport, others I can only assume, by the factory.

First job was to degrease the dampers thoroughly with a strong mix of all purpose cleaner. Then I keyed all the areas that were going to be painted - which is everything below the spring platform. I couldn't see any reason to paint above the platform as this area isn't exposed to stonechips etc. This left me with this…

I wiped them down with IPA before painting all chips and scratches of exposed metal with 2 coats of Bilt Hamber's Hydrate 80 barrier system - goes on bright blue, dries black…

I sprayed them upside down (to help get as much paint as possible on the damage prone areas) with VHT gloss roll bar & chassis paint - 2 mist coats followed by 2 wet coats with 10 minutes between each coat. This paint is so easy to use with loads of propellent power and a great nozzle.

A far better, glossier finish which will match the hubs. With any luck the extra paint will offer a little more resistance from stone chips. They will get a couple of coats of FK1000p sealant before being fitted (as will the hubs).

Hope it's of interest.

 

[Tom90]

Good update, Using this project thread for a lot of inspiration for my own project

 

[VIPER]

Dampers look great mate :thumb:

Nice idea about spraying them upside down as well.

That paint does look rather good I have to say.

 

[vecbtb]

Quick update....

All the parts will be fitted during the easter break. I've had a change of plan regarding the protection for the hubs and suspension. Rather than use FK1000p sealant, I've ordered some Swissvax Motor Shine. An aerosol product that is more like a semi-permanent gloss lacquer. I plan to do the wheel arch plastics with this also. I'll stick to FK1000p for the callipers.

I've had a nice delivery from Bilt Hamber today...

Surfex to clean the wheel arches and some more Deox-C to kill the rust on all the brackets and suspension components that will be reused and repainted.

Not too long now.

 

[vecbtb]

REBUILD DAY 1 & 2

After many months its time to start the rebuild. I've got the car on axle stands and I've removed the old suspension struts from the car. I've stripped these down to inspect the components and refinish the metal spring hats and the ABS sensor brackets and screws. The top mounts and bearings are in excellent condition, but the hats and brackets were very rusty.

I used Bilt Hambers Surfex to clean up the springs and suspension components. Then I turned to my trusty Bilt Hamber Deox-C to kill the rust…

I removed them after 6 hours, gave them a wire brush and put them back in a fresh solution for another 6 hours to reveal…

Followed by two coats of Bilt Hambers Hydrate 80 to prevent any further rust and give a good base for top coat…

Then three coats of my usual VHT chassis paint…

Much better.

Whilst this was ongoing I turned my attention to the wheel arches. Plenty of scrubbing with Surfex and Tardis managed to clean up the arches very well…

As you can see, the old hubs, callipers and brake discs are still in place at this stage.
I wanted to get the wheel arch plastics looking black again so I used Swissvax Motor Shine spray on them - actually all over the wheel arch. Three light coats built up the gloss nicely. This spray is described as semi-permanent, flexible and water resistant - so I'm hoping for good things from it.

I know the subframe let's the side down, but that will have to be a job for a further restoration

With the paint on the springs hats now dry, I've rebuilt the suspension struts. Re-using the top mounts, bearings, Eibach Pro springs etc. Once again I've sprayed them with Swissvax Motor Shine for more protection, looking good I think…

I'll be doing more strip down over the next couple of days - removing Callipers, discs, hubs, track rod ends etc. I'll be back with the rebuild pics soon.

Hope it's of interest, thanks.

Matt.