new project

[ade]

just a quick intro...i'm the naive idiot who bought, unseen!, the R4 on e-bay recently....the one that'd been stored for 8 years....said to have 'excellant body', 'one of best chassis i've seen' etc etc....and i believed him. Let that be a lesson....
The reality: chassis around one rear damper bracket gone, hole just to the rear of the o/s/f extension, but rest of chassis looks sound. Body: the inner ledge along the n/s/r window completely disintegrated, holes around both rear belt mounts, hole at rear o/s corner of boot floor, but front wings may be saveable.....oh and its a non-runner, which i knew.
Anyway, good excuse to give him negative feedback, but now i've got to decide whether to restore or cut & run (not literally cut it up, i hasten to add). I can weld, but this metal is soo thin.....ade
P.S. it cost 450 quid

 

[Steve Hennessey]

I'm so sorry to hear you've bought a shed load of work. Was this the green one? Unless you can do the work yourself expect some big bills.

 

[ian Stanbury]

..Could be worse Ade...

..Ade dear boy, we all do it so dont feel too hard done by.. I bought mine for twice as much and it was just as bad but having bought it I was determined never to let my wife to say.. 'told you so, you have bought a pup' so I determined to turn my pup into a fine mature lady (thanks mainly to Malcolm and all the people oozing enthusiasm on this site).

Dont cut and run, cut and do and you will be able to enjoy owning an fab car, a car that gives you a great deal of pleasure driving around, a car that people at traffic lights smile at and if you are really lucky you will be able to join us next year at Santa Pod for the Renault 4 championship run!!

Allez Les Renault 4's

 

[malcolm]

Doesn't sound too bad if that's all that's wrong. There was a complete replacement upper rear quarter panel on eBay that didn't sell a couple of weeks ago but I can't remember which side. Seller was jim66a (might be worth a contact). Though you say inner edge? That's weird.

Unusual for the damper mounting to go without the inner suspension mountings. Suspension mountings are a pain as they are a suspension off and jig job.

Yeah, metal is thin so lovely to work with. Are you using MIG? http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/thin-metal.htm works well down to 0.6mm

Do post some photos.

 

[malcolm]

Ah ha - found it. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150159905231

Doesn't look so bad. Though a high price for no MOT and a seized engine.:wink:

 

[Bluebell]

Ade, don't berate yourself too much. You've sometimes got to make instant heart-led decisions when buying from eBay. By the time you've tracked round the country to see a car it would be gone.

This year we've bought two cars, unseen, from the far corners of the Empire (Glasgow and Minehead) and we've come back with absolute treasures. Don't beat yourself up, it's just luck.

BTW I don't know how Great Uncle Claude gets on all the photos! He's particularly proud of his personalised number plate on the red van.

 

[paulandpat]

I don't expect you're the first and probably won't be the last.
We bought our R4GTL from French E bay whilst still living in the UK but moving over here full time. I came over in a LWB Relay van full of furniture with a trailer with a Citroen Ami 8 on it, then spent the following Saturday shuttling back up to Le Havre from St Lo to collect the R4.
Got it home, took it to the local 'garagiste' for a pre CT (MOT) and he pronounced it 'mort' - dead. After a bit of head scratching and a few calls to a friend who had lived here a while we put it in for the CT and it passed - needing only new headlights, as the old ones were rusty! The fact that there were holes in each side of the rear chassis close to the suspension that you could put your fist in did not seem to bother the tester too much.
It soon got taken to a very reputable local welder who repaired it, and 12 months later it has provided reliable daily transport. A visit to the UK - West Yorkshire - caused a lot of head turning and no little amusement when I took it to a tyre place for some new tyres, the fitter drove it in, then had to blow the horn to attract someones attention - he could not work out how to get out.
Any way best of luck with the work - may the car give you as much pleasure as ours has!
Paul and Pat
Basse Normandie.
1985 R4 GTL / 1956 Renault 4cv / 1976 Citroen Ami 8 / Citroen BXTZD estate / Citroen Relay / Renault Trafic Eribacar camper / about 12 mopeds and cyclemotors - transport for every occasion!!

 

[ade]

to cut or run?

thanks for all the condolances, yes it is the green one, and i did buy the rear quarter, so it looks like i'm thinking of wading in already....its actually not quite so bad....it had been rustproofed from new, so the floors are rust free, doors are good etc...maybe i should put this on technical section, but with the recent rain, (it has to be outside for now) the roof gutter is perfectly designed to collect water above the rear side widow....has anyone drilled this to drain it ?(both sides)....ade

 

[malcolm]

There should already be holes in the rear of the roof (at the low point just outboard of the boot hinges). Couple of rectangular slots. Possibly they could do with a clean out.

 

[ade]

yes, there are a couple of slots,which i didn't see, but if you park on a slight down slope, they don't work, as they're positioned at the rear .....if anyone's interseted in where to find the rusty bits, i'll attached some pics.....when i can find out what a URL is....ade