Renault 19s - esp. phase 1 and TSE

RandomViewer · 19-04-2020 9:39pm

kev1.3s wrote: »

Door locks were a pain in the ass when they stopped catching, you could slam and slam and they still wouldn't stay shut. I once had to drive back from wicklow town with my passenger holding the door closed.

Little spring inside lost tension first frosty night, warranty covered them which was good as they were around £50 at the time (1990)

colm_mcm · 19-04-2020 9:40pm

Rob Thomas wrote: »

I was browsing the classic pages and this photo reminded me of the little cover for the radio - on the passenger seat here

Was that a security feature?

RandomViewer · 19-04-2020 9:43pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

Was that a security feature?

I think the idea was if the theifcouldnt see the radio he wouldn't break in, I can see a major flaw in that he'd probably break in to see if it was worth nicking.

Break80 · 19-04-2020 10:06pm

I started with a new 92 Clio van. 1.9 diesel. It would pull a mountain but you could not park it with no power steering.
Then a new 94 1.4 Rsi 19. Metalic Green Grey interior. I remember it used cut out every morning going down a hill from my house and the boot had a leak from new. When I collected it from the showroom the back lens was cracked and had to be replaced. I convinced myself it was repaired in the back hence the leak.
From there to a new 00 1.6 megane auto. In the meantime my wife had a 95 Clio auto which she started to learn in.
From the megane she went to a new 03 1.8 Leguna auto. Kitted out to the last but very thirsty.
From there we went to a new 06 1.6 megane auto. Metalic gold with black leather. It lasted 18 months before the auto gave up the ghost one night with less than 39k on it. I got it repaired under warrenty but got rid of it as soon as it came back.
There ended my love affair with Renault.
In spite of all these adventures I always had a soft spot for the Renaults of that time.
They were a bit classier than the jap boxes but i suppose I didn,t keep them long enough to give me real grief.

RandomViewer · 20-04-2020 4:16pm

Break80 wrote: »

I started with a new 92 Clio van. 1.9 diesel. It would pull a mountain but you could not park it with no power steering.
Then a new 94 1.4 Rsi 19. Metalic Green Grey interior. I remember it used cut out every morning going down a hill from my house and the boot had a leak from new. When I collected it from the showroom the back lens was cracked and had to be replaced. I convinced myself it was repaired in the back hence the leak.
From there to a new 00 1.6 megane auto. In the meantime my wife had a 95 Clio auto which she started to learn in.
From the megane she went to a new 03 1.8 Leguna auto. Kitted out to the last but very thirsty.
From there we went to a new 06 1.6 megane auto. Metalic gold with black leather. It lasted 18 months before the auto gave up the ghost one night with less than 39k on it. I got it repaired under warrenty but got rid of it as soon as it came back.
There ended my love affair with Renault.
In spite of all these adventures I always had a soft spot for the Renaults of that time.
They were a bit classier than the jap boxes but i suppose I didn,t keep them long enough to give me real grief.

Renault had power steering as an option rather than standard for a long time, don't think the Clio got it as standard till mid 90 s,

BrianD3 · 20-04-2020 5:40pm

RandomViewer wrote: »

1.7 were badged GTX, they hadthe4 bar rear axel, sold poorly here

Did you sell them, work in a dealership? I never saw a GTX or TXE here and never saw them mentioned in any brochure. E.g. no mention in the 1990 brochure in my first post in this thread.

I was rooting through some old newspapers trying to find ads especially any from 1995 or 1996 for the RTI or Baccara. Didn't find any. I seem to recall seeing ads in 1996 for the 19 1.4 which had standard ABS and rear disc brakes- a last gasp upgrade just before the Megane (with rear drums) came in? Have you any info on that?

I'll post some non 19 related stuff from my newspaper hoard in a while which may be of interest.

RandomViewer · 20-04-2020 5:53pm

BrianD3 wrote: »

Did you sell them, work in a dealership? I never saw a GTX or TXE here and never saw them mentioned in any brochure. E.g. no mention in the 1990 brochure in my first post in this thread.

I was rooting through some old newspapers trying to find ads especially any from 1995 or 1996 for the RTI or Baccara. Didn't find any. I seem to recall seeing ads in 1996 for the 19 1.4 which had standard ABS and rear disc brakes- a last gasp upgrade just before the Megane (with rear drums) came in? Have you any info on that?

I'll post some non 19 related stuff from my newspaper hoard in a while which may be of interest.

Worked in a dealership , we sold two 1.7 s in 1991, both saloons, both Caspian blue which is a green colour bizarrely, we never sold a second gen 1.7 or a 16 v of either series, 1.4 sold well diesels not so much, lots of overheating/ cracked heads, 1.9 diesel wasn't half the engine of the 1.6 d. The last model with the disk brakes and leather interior was called a Biarritz from memory, 1995 sales dried up as the megane came out the next year. There were UK versions that used the old 8 valve engine ,

BrianD3 · 20-04-2020 6:01pm

Non 19 stuff

Renault scrappage ad January 1996

New car prices 15th Feb 1989

mfceiling · 20-04-2020 6:50pm

Good thread lads.

Always had a soft spot for renaults.
First car was a 1.1 clio with a 4 speed gearbox!!
Sold it for a citroen ax gt which I kept for a month and needed the head gasket done so I got that done and lost all heart in it.

Went off and bought another clio. This time a mighty 1.2. They were a great little car. A miser on fuel and parts were cheap as chips.

When I came home from Australia in 2001 I bought a 96 megane. This time I moved up to a mighty 1.4!! To this day the father said he never sat in a car with more comfortable seats than that yoke. I drove it for ages and put serious miles on it and bar a battery and regularly servicing it never gave an ounce of trouble.

The young one will be learning to drive in a couple of years and I'd have no bother getting her a clio as a starter car.

RandomViewer · 20-04-2020 8:26pm

BrianD3 wrote: »

Non 19 stuff

Renault scrappage ad January 1996

New car prices 15th Feb 1989

R5 Campus was brought back for the scrappage scheme, absolute poverty spec with no resale value.

RobAMerc · 20-04-2020 9:45pm

I love the Irish standard quality motoring journalism in that Ad - "BMW enjoying success with their new 5 series ...." and a pic of a e30 3 series included !

Arthur Daley · 20-04-2020 10:00pm

Still flogging the 5 in 1996 was stretching it to the limits. Base design went back to 1972. The vans solidered on for a bit more again.

Oops! · 21-04-2020 12:53am

Arthur Daley wrote: »

Still flogging the 5 in 1996 was stretching it to the limits. Base design went back to 1972. The vans solidered on for a bit more again.

97 5's and Extra's were on the road.

Collibosher · 21-04-2020 1:24am

BrianD3 wrote: »

Only something that a geek would notice!

The best non 16v 19s IMO were the TSE/TXEs and the late model phase 2s from 1995/1996 such as the Baccara that was mentioned in this thread. The late Irish Baccaras had a particular alloy wheel design that I haven't managed to find a pic of online. If anyone has any Irish brochures for any model year it would be cool see them posted here.

I had a 1995 Baccara saloon in the same metallic blue as the convertible posted above. I'll try and dig some photos out of it.

Oddly enough, a couple of years ago I was on the M50 and saw a Renault 19 coming along side me and was thinking that I'd not seen one in years, and it was my old one, but now a kind of matt black colour. 95D6808 if the owner reads this, would love a photo of it now.

21-04-2020 7:41am

Merc were way more expensive then BMW back then. A 190 was over 520i money.

bigroad · 21-04-2020 8:21am

I remember working on the 19 diesels back in the day .
The 1.9 engine gave a lot of cylinder head trouble and clutch cable s were popular.
Can't remember any turbo diesel vans ,don't think they came here.
They were a nice looking car in their day.With plenty of extras on most.
Their main compition were ford escorts,Opel astra.toyota corolla.

BrianD3 · 21-04-2020 9:27am

Collibosher wrote: »

I had a 1995 Baccara saloon in the same metallic blue as the convertible posted above. I'll try and dig some photos out of it.

Oddly enough, a couple of years ago I was on the M50 and saw a Renault 19 coming along side me and was thinking that I'd not seen one in years, and it was my old one, but now a kind of matt black colour. 95D6808 if the owner reads this, would love a photo of it now.

A photo from back in the day would be great if you can. PS did the car have a rear wash/wipe, IIRC Baccaras had it, unusual for a saloon.

bigroad · 21-04-2020 12:33pm

Did they not bring out a Monaco trim with the leather seats or did the Baccara replace that trim line.

BrianD3 · 21-04-2020 1:11pm

bigroad wrote: »

Did they not bring out a Monaco trim with the leather seats or did the Baccara replace that trim line.

Monaco and Baccara were both used by Renault on various models in various markets. I don't think there was ever a R19 Monaco. There was a R5, R21, R25 Monaco and there was also a Megane Mk2 Monaco. There was a R25, Clio mk1 and R19 Baccara and probably others too.

As can be seen from the 1989 pricelist that I posted we got a small enough selection of various car models in the Irish market. We tended to get fewer poverty spec models but also fewer higher spec "big" engined models. Maybe they were available on special order.

tc20 · 21-04-2020 1:14pm

even as a non Renault owner, I'm enjoying this thread - these are the ones that bring out the model fan/nerd (meant in the best way), those passionate folk who can spot the finer details like a Mk2 grill on a Mk1 version, or an errant wheel trim at 50 paces.

Interesting to see the '89 price pages too.

Keep it up lads

Renotec · 21-04-2020 3:39pm

BrianD3 wrote: »

As can be seen from the 1989 pricelist that I posted we got a small enough selection of various car models in the Irish market. We tended to get fewer poverty spec models but also fewer higher spec "big" engined models. Maybe they were available on special order.

Hi All,
Reading the various posts I decided to blow the cobwebs off the username when I noticed this topic of interest. Thankfully we did not get the "poverty" models. The TR spec I think comes to mind that were common up north (3 door , Cleon engine etc..) unfortunately a lot did find their way south. Basically its an R9 in disguise.
A point on the general spec of models, often higher specs were not offered so as to remain low cost when compared to other manufacturer offerings. Accessories in the 90's were big business so alloys, trim kits, colour matching bumpers, mirrors, sunroofs, alarms, and mudflaps, tow bars were extras offered by sales until they became standard. I would even say that the 19 Supervan was an Irish creation.
Its only when you were doing Pre-delivery inspections at Rosslare on about 500 19's at a time that you found out what slipped through the net as a model variant.

Also
Here is what the brochures forgot to mention:
Mk1 19 the following will happen @ 5,000 miles or less.
Clutch cable will snap (required chassis / bulkhead mod).
Noisy front shocks in particular OSF - warranty change.
Door A pillar noise front requires modification not warranty.
Door lock mechanism (all doors) failure to close at times. Locks with certain date stamps to be changed - warranty item.
Gear linkage oil seal to gearbox oil leak. The theory was that as cars lay idle at the docks the shaft would rust if the lever was left in a certain position. Once moved the seal was scored and you inherited an oil leak.

Mk 2 19 (as above) plus:
PAS pump leak
Bendix type rear brake shoe adjuster modification
Girling brake hose (front) split (hose too short for turning radius).
Leaking PAS steering rack head.
Dropping 5th gear while in motion. Warranty mod.
Differential bearing growl (Diesel only)
Overheating - Cracked Cylinder head (Diesel and Mk1 1.7L petrol).
Heater rad (all variants).
Radio antenna - pinched during assembly (RHD only).
19 VAN drivers door windows shatter without warning while attempting to close the door normally.
Catalytic Converter rattling due to the "Irish" grade of fuel.
Speedometer jumps 1,000k for no reason. (Veglia type)
Water leak rear lights, also rear quarter panel joints.
Rear axle bushes (Single bar)
Handbrake lever button sticking (modification under warranty).
Automatic transmission gear loss.
Front seat pre-tensioner detonation while driving.

But having said all that, mine is going stronger than ever everyday!

BrianD3 · 21-04-2020 3:42pm

Here's some nerdy stuff - first page of a technical note summarising the differences between the phase 1 and phase 2 (at launch). I never knew about the roof crossmember, wonder was that for safety, torsional rigidity, noise/vibration?

Oops! · 21-04-2020 3:46pm

Renotec wrote: »

Hi All,
Reading the various posts I decided to blow the cobwebs off the username when I noticed this topic of interest. Thankfully we did not get the "poverty" models. The TR spec I think comes to mind that were common up north (3 door , Cleon engine etc..) unfortunately a lot did find their way south. Basically its an R9 in disguise.
A point on the general spec of models, often higher specs were not offered so as to remain low cost when compared to other manufacturer offerings. Accessories in the 90's were big business so alloys, trim kits, colour matching bumpers, mirrors, sunroofs, alarms, and mudflaps, tow bars were extras offered by sales until they became standard. I would even say that the 19 Supervan was an Irish creation.
Its only when you were doing Pre-delivery inspections at Rosslare on about 500 19's at a time that you found out what slipped through the net as a model variant.

Also
Here is what the brochures forgot to mention:
Mk1 19 the following will happen @ 5,000 miles or less.
Clutch cable will snap (required chassis / bulkhead mod).
Noisy front shocks in particular OSF - warranty change.
Door A pillar noise front requires modification not warranty.
Door lock mechanism (all doors) failure to close at times. Locks with certain date stamps to be changed - warranty item.
Gear linkage oil seal to gearbox oil leak. The theory was that as cars lay idle at the docks the shaft would rust if the lever was left in a certain position. Once moved the seal was scored and you inherited an oil leak.

Mk 2 19 (as above) plus:
PAS pump leak
Bendix type rear brake shoe adjuster modification
Girling brake hose (front) split (hose too short for turning radius).
Leaking PAS steering rack head.
Dropping 5th gear while in motion. Warranty mod.
Differential bearing growl (Diesel only)
Overheating - Cracked Cylinder head (Diesel and Mk1 1.7L petrol).
Heater rad (all variants).
Radio antenna - pinched during assembly (RHD only).
19 VAN drivers door windows shatter without warning while attempting to close the door normally.
Catalytic Converter rattling due to the "Irish" grade of fuel.
Speedometer jumps 1,000k for no reason. (Veglia type)
Water leak rear lights, also rear quarter panel joints.
Rear axle bushes (Single bar)
Handbrake lever button sticking (modification under warranty).
Automatic transmission gear loss.
Front seat pre-tensioner detonation while driving.

But having said all that, mine is going stronger than ever everyday!

All that sounds fairly spot on alright!

RandomViewer · 21-04-2020 4:32pm

Oops! wrote: »

97 5's and Extra's were on the road.

Extra ran to 99

RandomViewer · 21-04-2020 4:33pm

bigroad wrote: »

I remember working on the 19 diesels back in the day .
The 1.9 engine gave a lot of cylinder head trouble and clutch cable s were popular.
Can't remember any turbo diesel vans ,don't think they came here.
They were a nice looking car in their day.With plenty of extras on most.
Their main compition were ford escorts,Opel astra.toyota corolla.

They were around 2 k more to buy, very few sold

RandomViewer · 21-04-2020 4:37pm

Oops! wrote: »

All that sounds fairly spot on alright!

Forgot about the 5 th gear coming loose, remove end cover, put loctite on big nut ,replace cover

kev1.3s · 21-04-2020 4:45pm

bigroad wrote: »

I remember working on the 19 diesels back in the day .
The 1.9 engine gave a lot of cylinder head trouble and clutch cable s were popular.
Can't remember any turbo diesel vans ,don't think they came here.
They were a nice looking car in their day.With plenty of extras on most.
Their main compition were ford escorts,Opel astra.toyota corolla.

I was in negotiations to buy a turbo diesel van from a local builder before he died a couple of years ago. After that I dropped the ball and eventually his yard was cleared. I hope it didnt end up in a scrap yard.

bigroad · 21-04-2020 5:28pm

RandomViewer wrote: »

They were around 2 k more to buy, very few sold

That explains it 2k was a lot of money back than.
Wiki says the 1.9dt engine started from 1990 on .
89hp and 129lb ft with a top speed of 114mph.

RobAMerc · 21-04-2020 5:38pm

was the 19 Turbo Diesel Van not called the SuperVan ? My cousin had one, and he wanted to borrow my dad's 7 series for something - Dads insurance wouldnt cover him to drive the SuperVan because they were just too fast !! His one also had a car phone - which was unreal cool at the time ( except I had no one to call )

My 19 16v gave up the ghost on the Naas rd one night - friend of mine towed it to the nearest garage. petrol pump was gone. The mechanic had a 911 ( 964 I think ) parked outside - he pointed to it and said "same issue as that has, except thats cheaper to fix ! "
Yes, Renault parts were pricey !

RandomViewer · 21-04-2020 5:54pm

bigroad wrote: »

That explains it 2k was a lot of money back than.
Wiki says the 1.9dt engine started from 1990 on .
89hp and 129lb ft with a top speed of 114mph.

I remember garage sold one in 91, had a different grill and alloys, guy wrote it off after a few months

RandomViewer · 21-04-2020 5:58pm

RobAMerc wrote: »

was the 19 Turbo Diesel Van not called the SuperVan ? My cousin had one, and he wanted to borrow my dad's 7 series for something - Dads insurance wouldnt cover him to drive the SuperVan because they were just too fast !! His one also had a car phone - which was unreal cool at the time ( except I had no one to call )

My 19 16v gave up the ghost on the Naas rd one night - friend of mine towed it to the nearest garage. petrol pump was gone. The mechanic had a 911 ( 964 I think ) parked outside - he pointed to it and said "same issue as that has, except thats cheaper to fix ! "
Yes, Renault parts were pricey !

There were 3 specs from memory, base ,supervan , and one with a rainbow stripe and sideskirts, can't remember what it was called

colm_mcm · 21-04-2020 6:20pm

RandomViewer wrote: »

There were 3 specs from memory, base ,supervan , and one with a rainbow stripe and sideskirts, can't remember what it was called

Supervan Le Sport?

bigroad · 21-04-2020 6:24pm

I think the supervan could be got in 1.9d as most were.they had extra spoilers wheel upgrade electric windows,tinted.
A few lads I knew used to sleep in the back of them on weekends away .
They were a good bird puller

colm_mcm · 21-04-2020 6:39pm

They were certainly a cut above the Fiesta Flair van.

309 and especially 205 van were very popular back then.

Oops! · 21-04-2020 7:37pm

RandomViewer wrote: »

Forgot about the 5 th gear coming loose, remove end cover, put loctite on big nut ,replace cover

Same box/problem was inherited by the early Megane's.

RandomViewer · 21-04-2020 8:16pm

Oops! wrote: »

Same box/problem was inherited by the early Megane's.

Rover 214 had a similar problem but the box usually went bang shortly after it started

RandomViewer · 21-04-2020 8:18pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

They were certainly a cut above the Fiesta Flair van.

309 and especially 205 van were very popular back then.

Also the magnificent Peugeot 305

RandomViewer · 21-04-2020 8:20pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

Supervan Le Sport?

Yep

Leonard Hofstadter · 22-04-2020 12:35am

I've enjoyed this thread so much!

That price list from over 30 years ago was fascinating, just look at how limited the range most manufacturers offered was back then. Even by the standards of the day, Ireland got a very narrow selection of engines and specs compared to the UK market. I had no idea the Fiesta had such a limited line up for example, the fact that the XR2 was available suggests it was the very last of the Mk2s, but in general the Ford range is so narrow, no wonder there were so few Ghia models even back then - they just weren't sold on some of the big players, like the Escort, here.

To a certain extent you can see why so few bothered to go for a decent version of any given car, the price rises for a model with a bit of power and a bit of spec were quite high!

Thankfully the specs in modern cars are much better and the engine line-up is much closer to what is available in the UK now than before, although there is a lot to be said for the purity and simplicity of the times, too.

Collibosher · 22-04-2020 1:07am

BrianD3 wrote: »

A photo from back in the day would be great if you can. PS did the car have a rear wash/wipe, IIRC Baccaras had it, unusual for a saloon.

Yes, it had the rear wash/wiper.

It suffered from the dreaded power steering rack/pump problems that Renotec listed in his post. I seem to remember at the time the replacement rack was well over a thousand pounds :eek:

22-04-2020 8:57am

Rear wash wipe was very rare feature on the saloon. Only saw it on a turbo diesel and even then I think it was an optional extra.
I have a few old brochures I will upload if I can find them

BrianD3 · 22-04-2020 12:04pm

curvedxl wrote: »

Rear wash wipe was very rare feature on the saloon. Only saw it on a turbo diesel and even then I think it was an optional extra.
I have a few old brochures I will upload if I can find them

Please do so!

I might start a new thread for brochures and pricelists, I have some more pricelists (from newspaper supplements) from 1996 and 2000 and will try scanning them. I have various brochures too most of them are for newer cars though, would be a big job to scan them all but I might list the ones I have in case anyone is looking for something specific.

I think it's good to archive and share Irish specific stuff - I haven't found much online. I never bought any Irish car magazines back in the day and don't remember what if any were available.

bigroad · 22-04-2020 12:42pm

Yea the old pricelist s are great fun to look through.
From that 89 pricelist in the 15k range I think I would pick either a Carina gli or a vectra GT.
Can't believe the price of a passats.
Some of them came with only a 1.6d 55bhp engine.
Very slow.

colm_mcm · 22-04-2020 1:01pm

£15k for me would be either a 205 GTi or a Galant 1800 GLX

RandomViewer · 22-04-2020 6:10pm

Collibosher wrote: »

Yes, it had the rear wash/wiper.

It suffered from the dreaded power steering rack/pump problems that Renotec listed in his post. I seem to remember at the time the replacement rack was well over a thousand pounds :eek:

From memory £574 + vat +:fitting + the old unit surcharge, lots were nodded back to manual, R21 was worse for it

kaizersoze · 22-04-2020 8:12pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

£15k for me would be either a 205 GTi or a Galant 1800 GLX

Lovely car.

colm_mcm · 22-04-2020 8:19pm

kaizersoze wrote: »

Lovely car.

One of the first, if not the first car to have door handles as we know them today.

Loved them back in the day. Mitsubishi have gone to hell in the meantime.

RandomViewer · 22-04-2020 8:43pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

One of the first, if not the first car to have door handles as we know them today.

Loved them back in the day. Mitsubishi have gone to hell in the meantime.

Nissan/Renault got their dirty paws on them, blandness prevailed

colm_mcm · 22-04-2020 10:14pm

Do you know the story behind how they got hold of them?
The emissions “scandal”

Story for another thread

Toyotafanboi · 22-04-2020 10:44pm

Just read the whole thread and has me fairly dewy eyed over old Renaults now.

The first car I can really vividly remember the auld fella having was a 1986 Renault 18. Always remember thinking how big it was but maybe it's just how small it was.

Never gave it much thought for the last few decades until just now, had a google of it and it's a right quirky looking thing by today's standards!

Pretty sure the reg was 111 PNI. It was traded in off a 1993 Escort, which felt way more modern at the time.

Renault 19s - esp. phase 1 and TSE

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