Clementine's Garage
Clementine the Cat
 
Image of flower
Yellow R4
 
Réparateur d'automobiles

Manual to aultomatic for Renault 4 is it possible.

It has been done in the past, using Mk1 R5 powertrain as Stuart imagined. Crossmember repositioning may be needed, I think the auto gearbox is longer.
 
you would need a complete Mark 1 Renault 5 as a donor car these were produced from 1978 to 1985 very few survived the ones that didn't get scrapped through rust have been scrapped through automatic gearbox failure anything left over now is likely to be restored in its own right
 
Although this doesn't directly answer Derek's question (R4 manual to automatic) has anyone come across a Renault 4 (1970-75) that had been converted to hand controls (vacuum-assisted clutch, hand throttle)? My father was a War Pensioner from WW2, who had been seriously injured (losing a leg) whilst on active service. In the days before Motobility, War Pensioners were issued every five years with a black Morris Minor, converted with hand controls. When in 1970 the MM stopped production, the most suitable, versatile and cost-effective alternative chosen by the Ministry of Pensions was the Renault 4 with a similar conversion. Have any of these survived?
 
Another possibility might be a Ferlec electric clutch set-up out of a Renault Dauphine.
 
Although this doesn't directly answer Derek's question (R4 manual to automatic) has anyone come across a Renault 4 (1970-75) that had been converted to hand controls (vacuum-assisted clutch, hand throttle)? My father was a War Pensioner from WW2, who had been seriously injured (losing a leg) whilst on active service. In the days before Motobility, War Pensioners were issued every five years with a black Morris Minor, converted with hand controls. When in 1970 the MM stopped production, the most suitable, versatile and cost-effective alternative chosen by the Ministry of Pensions was the Renault 4 with a similar conversion. Have any of these survived?

Yes in 1976 and 1977 there were quite a lot of these around mobility cars one of my neighbours had one
 
To answer #John Edmonds, I once owned a late ’70s R4 with a vacuum-operated clutch. There was possibly also a hand throttle but this had been removed by the time I bought it. The clutch mechanism still worked fine. Cannot tell you any more, I’m afraid — the car itself went many years ago (rust!).
 
Thanks Paul & Benchseat for confirming fond memories of this era. As I recall, the 150mm (?) diameter vacuum chamber housed a piston that mechanically operated the clutch lever on the bell housing, almost Brunel-like engineering hissing when operated by the quadrant hand lever. This was paired next to the throttle quadrant to the right of the steering column, so both the throttle and clutch could be operated by the fingers of your right hand with your thumb locked over the rim of the steering wheel, leaving your left hand to operate the gear lever. Brakes? There was also a vertical lever hinged to the floor that mechanically connected (without power assistance) to the brake pedal. However, this braking arrangement was too cumbersome for Dad, so he stripped it out and relied on his good left leg for normal foot braking. Despite the complexity, he was a skilled driver with these conversions, and ultra-competitive with road rallies of the '50s and '60s. Although he eventually grudgingly accepted automatic transmissions later in life, he always said '...this isn't really driving!'. He eventually gave up motoring in his 90s, following his first speeding ticket at 88 (years, not mph....)
 
I think such an arrangement (vacuum operated clutch) was used on the Variomatic DAF/Volvo 343s.
 
Back
Top