Other ( non Renault ) 1971 Renault 8

[Turbell]

Whoops......



Real Rally in R8 stirred something up, this was in ROC magazine classifieds a while back, looked a decent car, expected to fly.....but next issue there it is again, my Dad mentioned it and we agreed it was worth a punt, long story short, I made an offer unseen and sent a loader, it's far more exciting buying blind.
It was restored 27+ years ago with new wings and a paint job, then stood due to family reasons, now seized lump and tired paint, but solid underneath by the looks of it, bit of inner wing work on the rear, front boot will need an old repair on heater ducting dealing with properly.
Car is at my Dad's, so not in my way, plan after a proper assess , is pull lump and I'll take it to mine and strip it.
Don't expect any big progress, it's more to keep my 83 year old Father sane, I'll have to bite my lip sometimes and let him fuck about with it, but it's here in the family.
I'll get some more pics up.

 

[Steve Swan]

Hours of fun right there...........................
Pull the lump and throw in skip, its a later car, so should be guided ball clutch. Salv was having a sell off of some core bits, due to losing storage. In Fact @Duncan Grier is selling off a complete rebuilt C1J and ancillaries. Job done !!! You would just need to find a 385 from a 16TX or 5G.
See how easy it is to spend other peoples money........................
You won't regret it.......
Well maybe......

 

[gordini stu]

I like it
These old girls are becoming so appealing to me , will be watching with interest ,
To be fair fancy a 10 , I spotted the gt turbo lump and thought might put it in something then got real and looked at my todo list

 

[Turbell]

Album that came with car



Engine bay looks like undersea footage of the titanic .....


Interior is good, fusty but all trim is nice



It came with a R4 1108cc engine as a spare, but probs only pistons and liners would match, we've plenty of NOS crank bearings, few Preloved liners etc, gasket set came with it, so I should be able to build a poverty engine no drama, get it mobile , sort shell proper, paint it eventually.
@Steve Swan , be a better starting point if we get it tidy before any future fun, long road ahead to make it straight.Let old man have his nostalgia fix.
@gordini stu , do it, rear engine Renaults are a blast, each newer variant gets better to drive, but same essential ingredient, first car I ever drove was a £15 R10 round a field, came off the top of a scrap heap and we put a S/H engine in it as the original was in bits in the front boot.

 

[Steve Swan]

Fair comment. Give you time to start the message list. Some parts will take a bit of finding. I am serious about the turbo thing. It makes a very civilised car, rather than the noise of an atmo. Only downside is removing the existing fuel tank for space reqd. I am currently debating selling the 1400 out of the Dauph, but would struggle to replace it, for what it actually owes me it would be more sensible to just keep it. Put an ear to the ground for a gearbox, that really makes the car useable and a comfortable 70-80 mph cruiser.

 

[BobG]

Nice! I love these little cars. I've PM's @Duncan Grier regarding some of his turbo bits for my R8.
Bob G

 

[Duncan Topliss]

I have the 5 speed box that was for sale with this car as me and my Dad drove down to see it as he was going to buy it but the chap didn’t like the offer I put in on behalf. As you said, it’s really solid underneath and has four new steel wings fitted but inner rears will certainly need repairing, possibly rear panel, boot floor and bottoms of doors but it will be a good project and saves me having the headache of my Dad going through it now haha. All the best mate, pass our best on to your Dad will you please

 

[Turbell]

I have the 5 speed box that was for sale with this car as me and my Dad drove down to see it as he was going to buy it but the chap didn’t like the offer I put in on behalf. As you said, it’s really solid underneath and has four new steel wings fitted but inner rears will certainly need repairing, possibly rear panel, boot floor and bottoms of doors but it will be a good project and saves me having the headache of my Dad going through it now haha. All the best mate, pass our best on to your Dad will you please

Duncan, when my Dad first rung Roy he said someone was coming to view the car after he returned from holiday, I then spoke to him after your viewing as my Dad ' piss pots about' on the phone......I was a little more direct.... your offer probably made him a bit more open to mine.
There's a fair bit to tackle on it to do it properly, if you were paying for the work on the shell, a few K wouldn't go far, but as you saw it's 'right' and complete, very little bodgerery,
The areas you mention are the obvious ones, but I think they'll be more to bottom it out properly, A posts are showing distress at least.
It'll turn out right in the end, the money they're fetching will give a good margin to spend.
Regards to you and your Dad, and I'll pass yours on.

 

[Turbell]

Been quiet for a while, but still doing a bit, had a gas with @Steve Swan about wing mounting repairs on 8 , so thought I needed to get back on the horse and do a bit, My Dad has been doing the upper inner wing area, but he doesn't have my vicious slitting disc skills so I went up to his place and started chopping....

Convinced him we've got go backwards to go forwards, it'll be built back as a box section, original rot trap seam ditched.
It had all been over plated, big lump of pigeon shit making it hard to find OE spots to pick it apart, lots of thinking before you cut, I knew there was an inner and didn't want to fuck it up unnecessarily , this isn't going to be easy or quick, convergence of lots of panels, C post is overplated on top of the spots as well, should be a bitch.
Prior to my renewed chop chop interest I'd rebuilt the original engine, 35k, but seized solid, pretty sure head gasket failure and then standing for 25ish years hadn't helped.

Same recipe as always, start with a clean block and work from there, engineers measured crank and within tolerance, clean and polish and it's was dandy, proper cross hatch hone shows a bit of pocketing in liners, but they'll do, 30 quid e bay ring set, new oil pump, bearings,seals and gaskets from stock,

Head skim and clean , rocker assembly was totally sludged up, valves cleaned up and ground in, re plated all bolts n bits, all built back up and tucked under my Dad's stairs.
It won't break any records, but will shove it along.

 

[Steve Swan]

That looks all too familiar.... Still it will be better than original once your done..
Looking for photos. Think I've reformatted an old hard drive I shouldn't
Great...........

 

[Turbell]

Nipped up to old man's, he's been crocked with COV for a couple of weeks, but after my chopping session he's started putting some metal in, shit extended quite far towards screen, so that all had to be put back before he could start with wing mounting face.
It's a double skin just where I'd cut and the outer was heavily pitted past this point in a few places as well, so he's cut outer out higher and put metal in.
Wing mounting face will be in two butted sections on the box shown, I'd like to give a reasoned rational explanation for this other than I bought steel too short.....sorry, be reet.





He's 83 and just lost his partner of 25 years, in my eyes he's a fookin legend.

 

[Steve Swan]

Tha'll be reet..