Hello from France driving to the Gambia

[jennyjoseph]

We are a British family living in Brittany for the last 10 years. We decided it was time for a change so we're off to the Gambia to help out with a small charity promoting bee-keeping. Sounds OK so far. Two months ago we were offered 2 R4's , one 1984 GTL and one Savane for nothing, neither of them road worthy but the GTL had potential. My husband is no mechanic, just a DIY fixer but he has finally got the GTL (which turned out to have a 956cc engine in it) on the road and now we're preparing her for Africa. There will be two small children in the back and a very small trailer behind. We plan to leave on the 18th September so if anyone has any advice or cautionary tales please let us know:?:eek:

 

[John Doe]

Welcome to the forum, I am sure you will find plenty useful information. Please do post some photos of the car and the trip.

 

[malcolm]

Only advice I can think of is to to give the car a service and then do some long trips in the car before you set off. If they are running correctly the R4s should go on for ever, but it's best to identify problems before you set off.

I once serviced a car immediately before a long trip - one of the service parts was faulty and it broke down!

I'd love to see photos of the trip. Sounds like quite an adventure.

 

[Pieter]

Advice

Make sure the cooling system is *really* up to scratch. We did a 12,000Km round trip of Europe one summer in a GTL and the main problem was despite never overheating in the UK, it perpetually did so in France, Spain, Italy etc.
Turned out the problem was the radiator fins were clagged up internally, despite water flow being quite good through it.
I've had similar problems in Australian outback in an R4.
The best thing to do is to get the radiator recored or a new one fitted before you go or in France (they are available and still quite reasonable) plus new alternator belt, hoses and HOT WEATHER thermostat fitted before you go. And keep at least one set of spare hoses and belts.
I'd also look very carefully at the distributor, for wear to bearings and bob weights etc. Its not unknown for them to self-destruct and if you take a good secondhand spare with you it will get you to the next town.
Godd luck!

 

[Pieter]

Sorry, I meant Africa, of course!