Renault 4 For Sale

In the Renault 4 Garage: Gordini Restoration The restoration of a 1967 Renault 4 modified with a R5 Gordini engine and 5 speed gearbox. And you thought you were daft! This is where most of the updates are on this site. Technical tips Frederick the frog demonstrates how to fix common R4 problems, and how to maintain your Renault. Price and buyers' guides What to look for in a Renault 4, how much to pay, and what they are like to drive. Also a little about history and how to find spare parts. My Cars My Renaults from a TL to an F6 van, many GTLs, and even an elderly 4L. Features the restoration of Ermintrude the GTL and her tour of Europe. Citroen 2cv Adventure Lucie owned a Citroen 2cv before her Renault 4. She drove it across North Africa and the Sahara desert. 2011 Events 50th Anniversary - Thenay, France The 3rd 4L INTERNATIONAL will take place on 15,16 and 17 July 2011 next to Thenay (41). Forum members from the UK and the rest of Europe are planning to meet at the event. Book ahead as B&Bs are filling up. See the forum thread. Renault 4 forum - latest topics: Door trouble ..Reida dear boy More and more R4s appearing on Ebay lately Hi from Hampshire(UK) Zenith 28 IF Carb Replacing the Head Gasket R4 TL for Sale Pickup in Manche - urgent Chassis Repair Pre 1976 Fuel Tank Back by popular demand - Cars (and parts) for sale on eBay Outside the Garage: Learning MIG Welding Save money on Renault 4 repairs by buying a MIG welder and doing your own welding. The MIG welding website includes a tutorial complete with videos. The Slow Car Club Completely standard road going Renault 4s racing against Citroen 2CVs at Santa Pod. Links to other automotive and Renault websites can be found on our resources pages Email Clementine's Renault 4 Garage Disclaimer: This site was written by a cloth cat called Clementine. While it might be fun to see a stuffed cat puppet in court, if you believe anything she has to say you should really be thinking about suing your psychiatrist. Clem has conformed enough to do a privacy policy. Whatever you do, don't try to sue Frederick the Frog. He's sensitive. And there is a precedent for a plague of frogs.... Car insurance for a Renault 4 One of the pioneering vehicles of the hatchback revolution, the Renault 4 is world renowned as an economy vehicle and so you might expect it to qualify for cheap car insurance. Indeed it is a cheap car to insure - but you must be savvy about where you search for quotes and the steps you take to keep premiums down if you want to find real value for money. Clementine has been sensible and bought a Clio for the winter. Here's a guide to car insurance for Clios! home my cars restoration tech tips guides forum Réparateur d'automobiles © renault4.co.uk || Ermintrude the Renault 4 - Restoration Rust is all a Renault 4 owner need worry about as the mechanical bits seem to last forever. Renault 4s don't even rust to the extent of other cars - my MGA and MGB restorations were much more extensive than I intend this one to be. Ermintrude the R4 has rust in all the usual areas so these restoration pages could act as a buyers guide for potential purchasers. Click on the pictures to enlarge, and on the "more" links below for more information Buying Ermintrude Ermintrude had been owned by a gentleman from London for over 10 years. He stopped driving her when one of the rear suspension mountings came adrift from the chassis. The car would have been sold for spares if I hadn't donated my hard earned £50 and rescued her. I bought Ermintrude in mid September 2003. Too many Renault 4s have gone to the crusher due to rear suspension rust. As these cars have a separate chassis, the body is just there to keep the rain out. As long as there aren't any jagged wings to take out pedestrians, and the seatbelt mountings are OK the body should never be the cause of an MOT failure. More: Description of Ermintrude the Renault 4 as bought Removing the Body I removed Ermintrude's body from her chassis to make body and chassis repairs easier. The repairs can be done to a reasonable standard with the body still attached, but the welding is much less effort with the body removed. The body is held on to the chassis by dozens of bolts, all of which are pretty easy to find. These need to be undone, and various wires and cables detached. I happened to have a Loadall Farm Special which made removing the body very easy. An alternative is to break the rubber sealant with a knife and ask four strong blokes to do the lifting. Chassis Repairs The rear suspension was so far gone on Ermintrude that I had to make a jig to ensure that all mountings ended up in the right place. The LHS mounting hadn't completely severed - it was still held on by a small piece of metal but it wasn't much use for positioning, so I used dimensions from the factory workshop manual. The original chassis on Ermintrude lasted for 20 years. Perhaps with a little rust proofing this chassis could last as long again. More: Renault 4 Chassis Welding in Detail Body Restoration All 4 wings rust on a Renault 4. Wings are cheap and can be unbolted and replaced so don't present a great problem. The doors don't tend to rust, so the main rust issues in the body are the corners of the body, mostly at the rear of the car, and the rear wheelarches. The photograph shows the area behind the rear doors which had comprehensively rotten on this car. More information about Renault 4 body repairs can be found by following the link below. More: Renault 4 Body Restoration in Detail Painting Preparation for paint and painting is the most time consuming part of any restoration, and painting is the only part of the restoration that relies on fine weather. Clementine has chosen to paint this car in mid winter. Fortunately the fine weather of the summer extended into November, and with a bit of a rush the paintwork was finished before December. More: Renault 4 Painting in Detail Completed Reassembly was a bit of a rush, but Ermintrude was completed just in time to go to Scotland for New Year celebrations. She proved completely reliable. Ermintrude drives extremely well. The new shock absorbers really do transform the ride. She is also surprisingly quiet. She struggled with some of the Scottish hills, especially with 5 passengers on board. More: Ermintrude on the Road And: Living with a Renault 4 Read about the Gordini restoration home my cars restoration tech tips guides forum Réparateur d'automobiles My cars 1965 4L Ornella - the 1965 Renault 4 1984 GTL Renault 4 restoration Ermintrude the Renault 4 Chassis welding Body restoration Painting Ermintrude on the road Ermintrude goes to Monte Carlo Drag racing in a Renault 4 Living with a Renault 4 1986 GTL Rosalie the Renault 4 Clementine repairs the rear chassis Sensible version of chassis repair Rosalie goes to Chamonix 1985 GTL Bluebell restoration Meet Bluebell Dismantling Bluebell 1977 TL Florence the psychedelic Renault 4 Florence - restoration Florence goes to Czechoslovakia © renault4.co.uk || Frederick the Frog and the Art of Renault 4 Maintenance Clementine is joined in the garage by Frederick the Frog to demonstrate how to resolve common Renault 4 problems (without spending money). See the forum for more technical questions and answers. How to do an oil change Frederick's guide to changing the engine oil and filter. Why oil changes are important Fredrick the Frog finds an unloved Renault 4 engine. Starter motor Does your Renault 4 turn over very slowly on the starter motor? If so your problem might be dirt in the solenoid. Frederick the Frog explains how to fix it. Clutch seizing The Renault 4 clutch should be light and smooth in operation, but seizes up after many years of use. Frederick shows how to un-seize the clutch without taking anything apart. Replacing the points In a Femsa distributor from a Renault 4 GTL. Battery Was it the battery after all? Save money by fitting a cheaper battery from a Mini. Headlamps Renault only supply headlamps for left hand drive R4s. Frederick the frog shows how you convert them to right hand drive and fit a sidelight. Gas Pressurised Dampers (shock absorbers) Most dampers supplied for the Renault 4 don't work properly. Find out why and how to select good dampers. Fitting Rear Dampers How to fit gas pressurised dampers without all the problems of them expanding too much. Front suspension lower balljoint Frederick decides a creaking sound is caused by a lower balljoint and tries to replace it with a new one bought on eBay. Front Brake Discs Frederick fits new brake discs and pads. Rear Brake Shoes Bendix and Girling rear shoes together with some wheel bearing action. Gordini Wheel Nuts Frederick does some cool things with a lathe. Frederick's angle grinder (RIP) Frederick's angle grinder passed away today giving him another opportunity to take something apart. Serious Technical Stuff: Rear Suspension Jig A positioning jig for rear chassis welding repairs. Don't leave home without one! Torsion Bar Unloading Tool A tool to unload the tension from front torsion bars prior to removal or adjustment. Building a full chassis jig The chassis jig will be used in the Gordini project - lots of rust in the chassis to repair on that one. There's also a page with dimensions for building a chassis jig. home my cars restoration tech tips guides forum Réparateur d'automobiles Tech tips Engine How to do an oil change Why oil changes are important Starter motor Clutch seizing Electrical Replacing the points Battery Headlamps Suspension Gas pressurised dampers Fitting rear dampers Front suspension lower balljoint Brakes and hubs Front brake discs Rear brake shoes Gordini wheel nuts Other Frederick's angle grinder (RIP) Very technical Rear suspension jig Torsion bar unloading tool Building a full chassis jig Dimensions for the chassis jig © renault4.co.uk || || The Renault 4 1961 to 1993 The Renault 4 was in production prior to 1976 and therefore owners of ALL Renault 4s are eligible for club membership we feel this car has a real future as a classic, this car has fond memories for many people and was an innovative workhorse in it's day. We are very keen to develop an active R4 section within the club and welcome new members. R4 Register a New Era Derk Flavell Hello fellow Classic Renault Owners, my name is Derek Flavell and I have taken over the position of R4 registrar from Liam who’s reports were very much appreciated. I would like to give a very brief account of my involvement with Renaults and particularly the Renault 4. I started working for my elder brother back in the mid 80s as a mechanic. My brothers garage serviced and maintained a variety of vehicles with a good helping of 70s and 8s Renaults. The firm’s runabout was a 1973 R4TL which was thrashed mercilessly to collect spares or run trips to the shops. On one occasion we pilled 50 or so old car batteries inside to take them to the scrap man, this made for an interesting drive it was on the bump stops and handled like it was drunk but it did it and lived to tell the tale. I now run a small garage myself where I indulge my passion of fixing and modifying R4s.I drive an 1985 F6 van pictured above as my daily commuter. I have fitted it with an 45 Gordini engine and a five speed gearbox which makes the motorway journey of approximately 400 miles per week a lot easier. It is still noisy and cold but it is great fun. My previous F6 ,a white one also did me proud I used it for five years and racked up over 70,000 miles before selling it back to the original owner who had first refusal on it. That van has a 1397cc type 847 engine fitted and when I recently serviced it I was pleased to see the milage had just tripped the 300,00 mark. The Renault 4 is a fantastic vehicle. it is the urban runabout,it is a mini MPV or a van. The R4 was once regarded as boxy and dull but now it is having a renaissance and is regarded as cute, chic, and eminently practical .it is anti the modern trend towards big ugly and heavy. If you have never owned an R4 go out and get one now as the prices are going up and up. You won’t be disappointed with your purchase. I am aware that we have a number or R4s in the club but apart from Mark we rarely see them at the events, when an R4 is on the club display it always attracts a lot of public attention so we would be very glad to see you out there enjoying the events with other club members. Best wishes Derek A Short History by our Registrar Derek Flavell. The Renault 4 was launched at the 1961 Paris Salon ,its new layout of engine and transmission all at the front was a first for Renault at this time. The car featured many new ideas including a flat rear floor and hatchback configuration. La Regie Renault was so convinced that the new model was a winner that the hatched a plan to get the sceptical man on the street of Paris behind the wheel. " Prenez le Volant" offered 200 special cars to the general public to drive at there will and leave for the next person to have a turn such was the success that by march 1963 sales were strong and 50,000 examples were produced. Sinpar had already produced a four wheel drive version and Renault had given us the "Super Confort" but the idea of a more Haute Couture model was realised with the introduction of the "Parisienne" , This model had extra chrome work and plastic decals replicating wickerwork applied to the sides and rear hatch. 1966 saw the 1 millionth R4 as the "Plein Air" was created, this model was a true convertible it had no doors just a windscreen and a flimsy canvas roof. 6 Volt electrics gave way to 12 volts and 1972 say the first 4 speed gearbox on the R4. The R4s wide appeal across France was amazing it was a classless car and was driven wy well to do city types and country folk alike. The establishment also embraced the car with the Police, army, La poste. and fire service all finding a use for the versatile design. With a thirty one year production run the R4 was and still is Frances most prolific car ever and was the 5th biggest selling car of all time with a total of 8135424 units produced. Obviously with such a long production run there have been many updates and modifications but in essence there were three different font grill The loaf shaped aluminium, the oblong shaped aluminium and the oblong shaped plastic. There are two engine sizes you are likely to encounter the 845 cc and the 1100cc but there were more as can be seen in the following table . Engine Gearbox Brake type handbrake activation 1961 603cc 3 Speed 4 drums Front 1961 747cc 3 Speed 4 drums Front 1964 845cc 3 Speed 4 drums Front 1972 782cc 4 Speed 4 drums Front 1978 1108cc 4 Speed 4 drums Rear 1981 1108cc 4 Speed Front discs and rear drums Rear 1986 956cc 4 Speed Front discs and rear drums Rear If you would like to know more obout owning a Renault 4 please contact Derek on 07816 586642 Send mail to contact the club with questions or comments about this web site. Last modified: September 13, 2010