Door Screen Frames and Early Grille for 4TL

[Darling]

Hi everyone,

after denying myself a R4 for too long I finally got a R4TL ´77/78 last month which currently is getting a lot of TLC and some fresh paint.
One of the issues I have is that the door screen metal surrounds are badly corroded and ideally want replacing.
Does anyone have a contact for replacement frames?

The second issue is regarding the potential to easily replace the black radiator plastic grille with the Mk2 metal grille from the early 1970s. Would the earlier grille fit onto the later car bonnet? Did they use the same headlights? How many parts does the earlier grille consists of? Anyone willing to part with a full set of parts needed for the transplant?

Last issue for now - The project owes most body parts from a French shell which came with a molded white single-piece plastic headlining (or is that a canopy?).
I haven´t seen these before - does anyone know if that was a factory fitted part or an aftermarket product?

Thanks for your help,

Peter

 

[angel]

The aluminum grille fits directly on the later/latest bonnets. You will need the grille surround, the inner mesh, the badge and the fixing kit.
The surround appears on ebay now and then, but don't expect it to be cheap if new. The same goes for the badge. The mesh is much more rare, but you could either find one on a secondhand grille, or fit a piece of wire mesh with the correct dimensions.
The fitting kit is not available for a long time, but very easy to make yourself. What you need are square pieses of aluminum or plastic sheet, fitted with an M6 stud on the centre. We have discussed it at some point and you will figure it out as long as you have the grille on your hands.

The plastic headlining was fitted to all R4s since 1979 model year.

 

[Darling]

Thank you Angel, most helpful.
Does this mean that the position and type of headlights are identical to the different grilles?

 

[renault4mad]

hi Darling...(strange saying that..haha)
if you look on Renault 4 parts for sale on the forum...Rich is selling a 68 to 73 front grille...not sure if hes still got it

with the metal window surrounds then i would go plastic mate...no rusty marks etc...i know its not original but saves a lot of hassle

cheers
andrew

 

[angel]

Yes, headlamp position on 68 to 92 bonnets is exactly the same, and both grilles interchangeable.
Later bonnets will not have the four slots around the headlamps (there were corresponding tabs on the aluminum grille to be bent over these) but this is not a problem.

 

[Darling]

Thanks everyone for clarifying these issues.
This obviously means I can convert grilles later on - whenever I should find all the correct parts - anyone willing to swap for a couple of hen´s teeth?
Will look into the plastic surrounds as an option.

Peter