AdamWilkes
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 407
- Location
- Poole
Smart car 
- Thread starter Jnr-Renospeed
- Start date
Jnr-Renospeed
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 171
- Location
- Newington
Thank you Adam and Brian it makes it worth the effort even more, cheers 
.
.
Leonardo.IT
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 253
- Location
- Tuscany (Italy)
That's mint, everything on the car just looks perfect
Jnr-Renospeed
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 171
- Location
- Newington
Thanks Leo!
Jnr-Renospeed
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 171
- Location
- Newington
Managed to dig out a pair of clear NOS Cibié indicator lenses today and fitted them with some orange bulbs. I had been occasionally looking for some on the web, but non looked good enough condition or cheap enough + p&p, so discovering these in storage was a pleasant surprise.
They look more subtle against the yellow but more sporty in my opinion , so it's a win win...
They look more subtle against the yellow but more sporty in my opinion , so it's a win win
...
André4Renaults
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 709
- Location
- Barnet, Hertfordshire.
I found a set & fitted them to my Daf 33:Managed to dig out a pair of clear NOS Cibié indicator lenses today and fitted them with some orange bulbs. I had been occasionally looking for some on the web, but non looked good enough condition or cheap enough + p&p, so discovering these in storage was a pleasant surprise.
They look more subtle against the yellow but more sporty in my opinion , so it's a win win
View attachment 26190
Jnr-Renospeed
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 171
- Location
- Newington
I have changed the indicator lenses not the spotlights, I've had those fitted for a while. Daf looks nice though !
Leonardo.IT
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 253
- Location
- Tuscany (Italy)
Well done!Managed to dig out a pair of clear NOS Cibié indicator lenses today and fitted them with some orange bulbs. I had been occasionally looking for some on the web, but non looked good enough condition or cheap enough + p&p, so discovering these in storage was a pleasant surprise.
They look more subtle against the yellow but more sporty in my opinion , so it's a win win
View attachment 26190
I think the clear lenses are a little touch that changes radically the look of the front of the car.
I'm looking at those as well for a while, but as long as I can't find a pair in good condition, I'm thinking about making a copy with clear resin of the original ones...
JonathanT
Not normal for Norfolk
- Messages
- 1,332
- Location
- Wymondham Norfolk
Very cool look - well doneManaged to dig out a pair of clear NOS Cibié indicator lenses today and fitted them with some orange bulbs. I had been occasionally looking for some on the web, but non looked good enough condition or cheap enough + p&p, so discovering these in storage was a pleasant surprise.
They look more subtle against the yellow but more sporty in my opinion , so it's a win win
View attachment 26190
Jnr-Renospeed
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 171
- Location
- Newington
angel
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 2,444
- Location
- Athens, Greece
I have some NOS Seima ones, PM me if you are interested.
Jnr-Renospeed
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 171
- Location
- Newington
Hi everyone, time for a story about the old chestnut, reproduction part quality 
...
Preface: this is the first time in Dad's many years of 4L experience he has had a mechanical fault on the road.
It begins a while ago, when I had been having issues with starting due to the 4's fuel pump, it would start and then frequently die due to fuel starvation but once the ignition was turned again it would be fine, when previously it would instantly fire into life, whether hot or cold starting. Not to mention on long journeys it would spray a mist of oil out of the relief hole all over the engine bay, which we rustically fixed by wrapping some cloth around the pump...
Fast forward to a couple months back and the car began to need a bit of excessive cranking to start, upon top of the previous problem when it would occasionally die upon starting to need another turn of the key to run. (We were planning on fitting a non return valve to combat this but due to scheduling, hadn't gotten around to it)
Yesterday I took the car out for a spin, I noticed it felt a bit less gutsy than normal and less willing to rev, though I assumed it was due to filling up with 95 rather than 98 octane fuel the previous day...
Which brings us to today when I drove Dad into London to pick up a customer's vehicle which he would drive back home and I would follow behind in my car. First sign of trouble was when leaving the garage and starting my car, the revs fell to about 400 and the engine died, though when restarted with the revs held, all was good (assumed fuel vaporisation at the time due to the very hot weather).
Long story short after sitting, bloody melting, in a 36°C+ traffic jam
, whilst trying to avoid another traffic jam 
, the car stalled when I was pulling away and then just down the road the idling revs fell again and the engine conked out and wouldn't restart. Naturally this happened on double yellow lines in a congested street, but we managed to push my 4 to a very close by carpark. After first checking the electronic ignition Dad determined the fuel pump had packed up.
Thankfully we had the customers car to get us home, so we payed for a ticket for the R4 and drove home, cooled down for a while and then went back to my car. We rigged up an electronic fuel pump to get the car home, the car for sure felt more gutsy than before which leads to the conclusion that the pump had been effectively leaning off the mixture over time. I also suspect there's a high chance that the diaphragm was at fault and was damaged by the ethanol in modern fuels, leading to the problem, though OEM pumps seem to be more hardy...
I suppose I can take some saving graces seen as the car conked out so close to home with transport available and not in London thank goodness! Though it would have been nice if it could have done it on a cooler day or not ever preferably
.
Updates to come!
...Preface: this is the first time in Dad's many years of 4L experience he has had a mechanical fault on the road.
It begins a while ago, when I had been having issues with starting due to the 4's fuel pump, it would start and then frequently die due to fuel starvation but once the ignition was turned again it would be fine, when previously it would instantly fire into life, whether hot or cold starting. Not to mention on long journeys it would spray a mist of oil out of the relief hole all over the engine bay, which we rustically fixed by wrapping some cloth around the pump...
Fast forward to a couple months back and the car began to need a bit of excessive cranking to start, upon top of the previous problem when it would occasionally die upon starting to need another turn of the key to run. (We were planning on fitting a non return valve to combat this but due to scheduling, hadn't gotten around to it)
Yesterday I took the car out for a spin, I noticed it felt a bit less gutsy than normal and less willing to rev, though I assumed it was due to filling up with 95 rather than 98 octane fuel the previous day...
Which brings us to today when I drove Dad into London to pick up a customer's vehicle which he would drive back home and I would follow behind in my car. First sign of trouble was when leaving the garage and starting my car, the revs fell to about 400 and the engine died, though when restarted with the revs held, all was good (assumed fuel vaporisation at the time due to the very hot weather).
Long story short after sitting, bloody melting, in a 36°C+ traffic jam
, whilst trying to avoid another traffic jam , the car stalled when I was pulling away and then just down the road the idling revs fell again and the engine conked out and wouldn't restart. Naturally this happened on double yellow lines in a congested street, but we managed to push my 4 to a very close by carpark. After first checking the electronic ignition Dad determined the fuel pump had packed up.Thankfully we had the customers car to get us home, so we payed for a ticket for the R4 and drove home, cooled down for a while and then went back to my car. We rigged up an electronic fuel pump to get the car home, the car for sure felt more gutsy than before which leads to the conclusion that the pump had been effectively leaning off the mixture over time. I also suspect there's a high chance that the diaphragm was at fault and was damaged by the ethanol in modern fuels, leading to the problem, though OEM pumps seem to be more hardy...
I suppose I can take some saving graces seen as the car conked out so close to home with transport available and not in London thank goodness! Though it would have been nice if it could have done it on a cooler day or not ever preferably
.Updates to come!
JdeW
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 909
- Location
- Laarbeek The Netherlands
Breakdown due to fuel that's terrible.
Yes, the ethanol in the so-called modern petrol is the death blow to old-timers.
Here in the Netherlands it is even worse with e10 petrol containing 10 percent ethanol.
The e10 should contribute to less co2, forced by the so-called "green" figures, but the opposite is true, and now the tide is turning, almost everyone notices what junk e10 is and the sales of 98 octane have increased.
It is best to drive with high and even higher octane petrol as I almost always used to refuel 102 octane in germany and is still available today. If everything is adjusted correctly you will be amazed what such an R4 engine can do and preserve all the parts concerning fuel provisioning, I speak from 450,000 kilometers of R4 experience in 5 years.
And guess what petrol I'll use when my GTL is restored
Yes, the ethanol in the so-called modern petrol is the death blow to old-timers.
Here in the Netherlands it is even worse with e10 petrol containing 10 percent ethanol.
The e10 should contribute to less co2, forced by the so-called "green" figures, but the opposite is true, and now the tide is turning, almost everyone notices what junk e10 is and the sales of 98 octane have increased.
It is best to drive with high and even higher octane petrol as I almost always used to refuel 102 octane in germany and is still available today. If everything is adjusted correctly you will be amazed what such an R4 engine can do and preserve all the parts concerning fuel provisioning, I speak from 450,000 kilometers of R4 experience in 5 years.
And guess what petrol I'll use when my GTL is restored
Jnr-Renospeed
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 171
- Location
- Newington
Haha, that'd be nice!
I tend to fill the car with 98 though occasionally I fill with 95 to keep costs down if I'm only driving around town. It doesn't pink or knock with 95 in it even without any additive, due to compression loss over the years etc.
Yes, having grown up with classic Renaults it's impressive how long they can last, and how much stick they can take if maintained properly
.
Last edited:
Jnr-Renospeed
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 171
- Location
- Newington
Fuel pump replaced with cleaned and checked used original spare, and all is now well .
We took the old pump apart and found that the oil seal on the diaphragm shaft had failed and oil had filled the chamber effectively hydrolocking the pump, hence the oil slick in the picture below. Originally we suspected the diaphragm may have perished due to ethanol though this was not the case.
Unfortunately the rest of the pumps components are in perfect condition but is unusable.
.We took the old pump apart and found that the oil seal on the diaphragm shaft had failed and oil had filled the chamber effectively hydrolocking the pump, hence the oil slick in the picture below. Originally we suspected the diaphragm may have perished due to ethanol though this was not the case.
Unfortunately the rest of the pumps components are in perfect condition but is unusable.
Jnr-Renospeed
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 171
- Location
- Newington
First drive now I'm back from uni for Xmas, picked up 6 bags of logs ... perks of a practical classic blah blah blah ... car was a bit low and a very full petrol tank didn't help much. I'm not too sure if I fancy getting the Christmas tree in the boot though !
... car was a bit low and a very full petrol tank didn't help much. I'm not too sure if I fancy getting the Christmas tree in the boot though !
JdeW
Enthusiast
- Messages
- 909
- Location
- Laarbeek The Netherlands
The car roof is room enough and all rubbish stays outside instead of in the carI'm not too sure if I fancy getting the Christmas tree in the boot though
