Greetings from Istria

[Teodor]

Hello,
As introductions are not my favorite sport, I'll be short.
I come from Istra, Croatia.
An R4 enthusiast since I was a kid, and i've always wanted an R4 just like my grandfather had, I remember I learnt how to drive in it when I was 13-14. When my grandfather passed away 10 years ago, the R4(1981gtl, later in text referred to as Red) was left to the mercy of all kinds of weather and has been there for the past 10 years. Recently, I re-discovered my passion for it and I needed a car so I went ahead and bought one(1990gtl, White), figuring I'll learn everything I can about it, and when I have the time and place, do a restauration of my grandfather's. I'm very handy and theoretically I could do everything by myself, given the tools and place. Except for maybe tires, parts of the engine(if I had a guide in detail I could do that too), and the toughest part to me seems to be actually taking out the engine and separating the chassis from the body, so I can access everything underneath.
So, first things first, White has to be prepared for registration, I already ordered the tires: Kumho Solus 145/80/13 - 75t 4seasons.
Brakes and lights have to be checked and fixed, and the engine needs a bit of tinkering, and then hope it passes the scrutiny and trained eye of our vehicle registration officers

Peace.

 

[reidalpine]

Dobro dosli na forum Teodor ! good to see more people from Croatia on here,we already have a few as you no doubt will see.. -Reid.

 

[Teodor]

Thank you, I saw
Good to see other enthusiasts from Croatia, as the R4 is considered as a trap on the road, people use it, smash it and throw it away.
Here's a picture of the "new" one, when I go where Red is parked, I'll snap a few good ones

 

[jjad]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Your white car looks very good. Our GTL is probably similar: it's 1990 and built in Slovenia.

Looking forward to seeing more pictures :¬)

 

[JonathanT]

Welcome ! Your white R4 looks to be in amazing condition

 

[Teodor]

Yes, but now I'm starting to see the faults, and also, I overpaid it. The engine is barely running, there's rust in critical places, and the tank seems to be very rusty. Nothing that can't be fixed but still, the car was supposed to be in excellent condition, and as soon as I got home from where I bought it, that's around 25km, problems started to be very clear. The guy that sold it made it run just enough somehow.
Well, at least I have an R4 now

 

[JonathanT]

Well it is an old car I guess . But the good thing is its in good and enthusiastic hands now . Well done Teodor . It's a great and friendly forum lots of knowledge available on here should you need it. Keep the photos coming. I think white R4's look great

 

[Paul Narramore]

Teodor, when I bought my R4GTL last summer I didn't buy it as a very good car but one which ran but would require a fair bit of work to get her running reliably. This is different from your case when you bought what you were told is a good car. The first jobs I did was a couple of oil changes, the oil was jet black as were what I found under the rocker box. New filters and plugs. Check all ignition wiring, tyre pressures, brakes and so on. All the easy stuff has then been done which makes any other faults easier to locate.

 

[petak]

dobro došao u klub

Here are few active Croatian R4 lovers.

But help that you will get from around the world on this forum is enormous.
It is amazing how many people here know R4 in details and are willing to share their knowledge and experience to newcomers.

Removing body from chassis and removing engine is not so complicated as you can think at first.

See you!

 

[uaz04]

Hello Teodor!
Since I was present with you and your dad as your R4 was trying to make its way from seller's home to your home, I'll share this pic from the scene.
At this point, halfway home, the petrol pump was spewing fuel.
It will get better and better, as with any R4 that is respected and loved.

 

[pepper]

Hi and welcome, it certainly looks in better condition than my very poor white 4tl, good luck getting all the issues sorted out, I'm sure it won't take you long, there isn't really much to go wrong on these great cars...