Alpine 1968 Renault R8

[Turbell]

Little tax free fun always puts a smile on my face.
Congratulations on getting it up and running.

 

[Big Steve - Raider]

A full bodied glass of Vintage French Fine!!!

 

[Steve Swan]

Result. Hosepipe method first. The heater valve may be problematic, but I'm sure you'll get it working. It should be quite good. This is a quantum leap from the Dauph chassis.

 

[Adey]

Ill get it hooked up soon, I think the valve maybe stuck already as the heater controls only move a little on the dash. The seating position will take a little getting used too, the slight twist is a little uncomfortable and makes my leg ache. I also feel very close to the wheel, I'm a lot bigger than most especially those in the 60's so this is a me problem

 

[Steve Swan]

The original seats when in good condition are great. I'll be a bit bigger than you ( for bigger read fatter) but was never uncomfortable a clutch footrest would be a good idea.

 

[Ian_R]

Just had a read of the full thread mate, top work with the car, and its a cool looking little thing. I actually like the colour combo of the wheels and and the car aswell. Keep us posted of the progress!!

 

[Adey]

Took it out for a little drive again today, I think I'm going to try and get it out for the commute over the next week. I will chuck in a hot water bottle for the early morning start, not even sure where my coffee will go either, and there's no stereo... I'm sure it'll be fun either way. It'll be roughly a 40 mile round trip so wish me luck.....

 

[Steve Swan]

I should have spotted, it is the super Duper Deluxe model as it has the chrome trim on the windscreen rubbers. The povo spec didn't......
Funy though no body mouldings. Think they were deleted when the 10 came out coz the 10 got them.
He said pulling up the hood of his Anorak

 

[Adey]

And it made it in to work. 16 miles complete, no major issues at all. One of the wipers made a bid for freedom though the plastic just shattered, looks brittle. I managed to put it back on and just not use them for the rest of the trip.

 

[Steve Swan]

Onward

 

[andybond]

Absolutely superb Adey. I have a real desire for one of these.

What is the car like in terms of body? Its it rust AF? Whilst I appreciate its not going to cause you any hassle with a MOT I would be concerned I would wake up to a pile of rust one morning.

 

[Adey]

id say 75% of my rust is superficial and located on removable panels. I have a few patches to do though, on in the rear passenger side footwell where it looks like water has pooled repeatedly. patch in a front and rear wheel well and one in the frunk where the water channel has rotted away. There will probably be more to sort over the year though. the ones in the wheel well are borderline for being 30cm of a suspension pickup point,

 

[andybond]

id say 75% of my rust is superficial and located on removable panels. I have a few patches to do though, on in the rear passenger side footwell where it looks like water has pooled repeatedly. patch in a front and rear wheel well and one in the frunk where the water channel has rotted away. There will probably be more to sort over the year though. the ones in the wheel well are borderline for being 30cm of a suspension pickup point,

So this reads like the panels / repair points are available. That should make life easier.

 

[Adey]

panels are available still yeah, plenty of fiberglass wings too, from stock to widebody, including front and rear panels

 

[Steve Swan]

Boot floor/Scuttle (drain channel) personally I would take the top off and repair the channel with fibreglass Resin,mat and flow coat cuz it needs to be waterproof and fibreglass isn't, unless it's sealed, The top face can be done in metal and bonded on. That way it won't rot out again. Then it's A posts, front floor triangles, front edge of inner wings under the wing (mud trap) possibly chassis/ sills and the outer ends of the B and C crossmembers at the join of the chassis, check the tunnel for a crack from the clutch cable support bracket, just behind the drivers seat belt buckle mount, then it's C posts and top of rear wing from one end to another, plus the extreme rear edge of the back wings, another mud trap other than that it will be dandy.....

 

[Adey]

And we are home. 32 miles complete and its super cool to use. Saw 65 when pushed on the gps but its super happy from 0-50ish and take it in its stride. Started to stutter on initial throttle press just as i got home so will give it a once over in the next few days, I suspect its the points but ill have a look into it.

Here have some more pics. The filtered ones are from people at work who spotted the car, grabbed pics and sent them over in the day. Great conversation starter

 

[Renny 5]

such a cool car

 

[Big Steve - Raider]

suspect its the points

I only ever hear bad things about points, so good if you can replace them with a sensor trigger, or whatever electronic points are??

 

[Adey]

they are fine if maintained but are a service item. I do have another dizzy here with an electronic conversion done to it. ill have a play at the weekend.

 

[Adey]

Not looked into the ignition issue yet, but I did get some yellow bulbs fitted