Classic Renaults

BrianD3

Does anyone here own a classic, rare or performance Renault? Is there an owners club in this country?

I just posted this thread as I spotted an old Renault 5 (the original seventies model) in the Cavan area. Looked to be a daily driver, in good condition and had an NCT disc. These are extremely rare these days as they suffered badly with rust as did all other Renaults from that era. Later Renaults are better protected but getting quite rare now too. The performance variants never sold in large numbers so there are very few about eg when was the last time you saw a Clio 16v or R19 16 valve. Also, some survivors have been butchered by modifiers so an original car could be a good find. Recently on octane.ie someone posted a link to a classic car dealer in the UK who found two Renault 5 GT Turbos "Raider" special editions in orginal condition, great finds and cars IMO.

69 mustang

Don't have one but heres two pics of old Renaults The Blue Alpine and a green Renault Florde coupe 1959.

Silvera

Hey BrianD3, interesting topic !

(I've been in the Isle of Man for a few days so am just catching up with all the topics here).

I worked for a Renault specialist back in my 'panel beating days'.
One of our regular customers drove a white (88-WW) Renault 5 Turbo (bought new). What a car to shift ......rapid is an understatement!!

We did a lot of work for Renault Ireland and regularly had new performance Renaults in for repairs (along with everday Renaults).
One car that stands out was a new Alpine (on Trade Plates) that pulled into the yard one fine summers day.
It was a wine metallic colour and really caught everybodys attention.
The (lucky!) Renault employee who drove it up from the Rosslare compound just decided to use it that day to drop off another guy at our yard .......I'd say he had a blast driving it up from/down to Rosslare !!


I agree that Renaults are now very scarce. However, I have seen a few about in the last year or so - including a Renault 20, 12TL and 17.
There is a club based in the North who display at a few shows in the Republic each year - I saw them at the Abbeyshrule show in 2001.

Another Renault pic .......when did ye last see one of these

ds20prefecture

I wouldn't mind a R10.

MercMad

A freind of mine is restoring an identical car to the one in your above picture, a blue metallic R18 Turbo. Original 1 owner Irish 1981 car !

I remember it from new...........should appear at the car shows in the next year or so !

The Renault dealer in Drogheda ( now closed ? ) had a V6 Clio in the showroom for the last few years !

BrianD3

I saw a blue R20 in the car park at the Midlands American show in 2004 - maybe the same one Silvera?

The thing I've always liked about Renaults is their comfort, equipment, the innovations on many models. The older ones had a character of their own and some interesting designs eg the engine and suspension arrangement of the first R5. TBH I think they are much more interesting and rarer than many well known classics such as MGBs and Ford Anglias.

The newer ones are a lot more conventional and probably have less character but many of the old strengths remain.

I spent a while living in France and had the life scared out of me on numerous occasions as a passenger in R4s, R12s, R25s etc The accepted way to drive the R4 seems be keep your foot planted, don't slow down for corners and enjoy the body roll

As for R18 Turbos and the like - just think of the number of hot hatches and of fun versions of family cars that Renault have produced over the years. No other mainstream manufacturer has produced as many of these type vehicles IMO.

Silvera

The R20 I spotted was a gold colour (in Carlow Town), BrianD3 .....so there is at least two about !:)

I agree, Renaults were always such comfy cars (I'm speaking here of R20's, 21's, 19's, Safranes, etc). Both the seating and suspensions were/are so soft.
But their engines were also so soft ! :eek: ........and could be a hassle to work on.

Case in point - I recall doing the head gasket on a 1982 R5. If you were'nt very careful removing the head, you could easily disturb the cylinder liner (most other makes of cars don't have 'liners'!) .......and end up with an even bigger job (i.e. headache) than just replacing a gasket !!

BrianD3

Yep Silvera, I've heard a few stories about the cylinder liners. But not all Renaults have them and in any case I don't think they are a huge problem if you know to expect them. I would agreee that there are some "interesting" pieces of engineering in some Renaults eg having to take the engine out to replace the brake master cylinder on some cars. I think a lot of this is due to lack of thought when adapting the cars for RHD, some jobs which are straighforward in LHD can be a pain in the arse in the same car with RHD.

Still, similar comments could be made about a lot of cars. AFAIK on certain Opel Astra engines (take note Silvera!) the themostats is placed in a daft place, in the timing belt area behind the timing belt cover, supposed to be an arse of a job for such a simple operation like changing a thermostat

As for comfort and Renaults, you are right. But the ones you listed like the 19 and 21 are rock hard compared to the older ones like the 4 and 16 My family and myself have owned many Renaults in the last 20 or so years. Have had very few problems with them and always keep going back to them.

ds20prefecture

One of my earliest motor show experiences was of a then brand-new R30, complete with domed headlamp wipers. This, I believe, had the first iteration of the Douvrin 90º V6 in a body strangely prescient of the Chrysler Alpine. I loved it dearly, but I was about 8 at the time. Little did I know that a car from it's sworn enemy would be my true love.

The 10, 16 & 4 were probably La Régie's greatest cars

dubtom

A friend of mine had a renault 16 that couldn't be beaten for comfort,column gear change, it seemed to have lots of gadgetry for the time,late 70's if I remember correctly. I remember one time he took the train track cross at clonsilla at 60 mph and we barly felt it.I haven't seen a 16 in a long time.

Silvera

BrianD3 wrote:

Yep Silvera, I've heard a few stories about the cylinder liners. But not all Renaults have them and in any case I don't think they are a huge problem if you know to expect them. I would agreee that there are some "interesting" pieces of engineering in some Renaults eg having to take the engine out to replace the brake master cylinder on some cars. I think a lot of this is due to lack of thought when adapting the cars for RHD, some jobs which are straighforward in LHD can be a pain in the arse in the same car with RHD.

Still, similar comments could be made about a lot of cars. AFAIK on certain Opel Astra engines (take note Silvera!) the themostats is placed in a daft place, in the timing belt area behind the timing belt cover, supposed to be an arse of a job for such a simple operation like changing a thermostat

As for comfort and Renaults, you are right. But the ones you listed like the 19 and 21 are rock hard compared to the older ones like the 4 and 16 My family and myself have owned many Renaults in the last 20 or so years. Have had very few problems with them and always keep going back to them.

Or how about removing a R5 engine to change it's timing chain ?!
(A lot of guys made a hole under the dash (in the bulkhead) rather than remove the engine )

I always found the 21 to be very 'supple'.:D

Must remember that Astra thermostat 'problem', will change the 'stat when I'm remewing the cam belt in a few months

Incidentially, the garage I worked for had a R10 Gordini (ex-rally of Ireland car) in storage for many years - horribly looking cars !

Alfasudcrazy

I wanted one of these in my younger days (in the 60's):D The dauphine. I always seemed to like rear engined cars back then as the beetle and Fiat 500 were also high on my list.:rolleyes:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RENAULT-DAUPHINE-1960-LIGHT-BLUE-845cc-M-O-T_W0QQitemZ4586941934QQcategoryZ10410QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem