Project - Equipage 4L Poppy (4L Trophy '16)

[Tripyrenees]

Looks like I will be back on the forum for quite some time (been away on a Citroen Traction project) as my son has just started the preparation for the 2016 4L Trophy. We have decided to use his current 4L a 1983 TL which is in the thread below, we we bought 2 years ago and it has been a fantastic "beat up" little car.

http://www.renault4.co.uk/forum/threads/83-4tl-runabout.6150/page-3

So, the first question on this year long project is - What engine and gear box should I be looking for to put in this car as the 850 is coming out (to be renovated and stored). We have been offered a 1397cm3 type 847 engine attached to a R4 "long" gearbox. Basically I want a car with decent power, good torque and then after the Raid, a nice cruising speed on the autoroute (with not too much increase in consumption). the holy grail I suppose

I am studying the threads on here at the same time as searching Le Bon Coin but would be good to have any advise and your experiences of powering up the little 4L.

PS - I know about the front support modification for the gearbox upgrades, need front disks (possibly rear) more cooling, suspension mods etc and plenty of more questions will follow.

Quite excited about this. Cheers

Ian

 

[Tomcat]

Good luck with your 'Project'
Will follow thread with interest

 

[iMacThere4iAm]

Officially 'non-original' engines aren't allowed on the 4L Trophy, but several do go every year so I don't think it is enforced.

 

[Tripyrenees]

Officially 'non-original' engines aren't allowed on the 4L Trophy, but several do go every year so I don't think it is enforced.

My son, Lewis, has studied the rules and the rule is that is must conform to what is on the Carte Gris and after looking at a lot of the other cars their engines have been "updated". They disregard the 850 as it suffers in the dunes, so we need to change it - majority of the rules are for safety and it under goes a control technique at the start. We would prefer a nice R5 GTL setup but open to any suggestions.

 

[iMacThere4iAm]

I did it in a R4 GTL which was perfectly adequate. A bigger engine would probably be more comfortable on the autoroute, but is not necessary in the desert. But if you have the chance to get a 1397cc engine, then why not!
My top piece of advice would be not to overload the car. Not easy when you need to carry spares, water, food, camping gear, tools, petrol etc!

 

[Tripyrenees]

We looked at the specs for the 1397cc and it drinks quite a bit of fuel. With the estimate budget of €1000 for fuel and tolls already it might be a bit much. As you say we don't want to go too much from the standard car, just perk it up a little and to leave us with a good Grand Touring car - I want to use it with my wife maybe for a Raid or Two.

 

[Tripyrenees]

My son and I have been chatting and I thing we are backing off the "Big" engine, firstly on the worry that it may be turned away on the day as the engine is supposed to conform to the Carte Gris and secondly the high fuel consumptions.

So we will go for a standard GTL engine and even though this is different to the Carte Gris, it is an upgrade that could easily of happened over the lifetime of the vehicle if the older 850 gave up the ghost and it is not too much of a shock to the inspectors at the start.

But we do want to "prepare" it well and totally rebuild whatever we find. So the questions is, what would you do to up the performance on the standard 1.1 GTL engine. And is there any differences between gearbox, i.e would an upgrade be available / necessary.

thanks
Ian & Lewis

 

[iMacThere4iAm]

If you're sticking with the 1.1L engine, the "Hennessey Hot Up Kit" or carburettor and manifold from the larger engine gives a modest increase in performance and a modest increase in consumption.

Personally I love the electronic ignition upgrade, makes the engine start and idle much better and needs no maintenance.

Others here will be able to tell you about the 5-speed gearbox but it's not as simple a change as the carburettor.

The desert dust is a problem for the air filter, it would help to have a filter that is more robust and easy to clean than the standard one. Many teams use 'cyclonic' pre-filters attached to snorkels, but I don't know how effective they are in practice.

 

[Tripyrenees]

Quick question - would a 1988 GTL be fitted with disk brakes and rear handbrake ?

We may be looking at one instead of using the existing 4TL (if we buy the TL goes up for sale)