R4 restoration made in France

[iMacThere4iAm]

It's clear that I wasn't drunk ! I looked for a word which seems "crazy", I admit that to paint even the head of the bolts is really "too much"

Some might say that, but the quality of your work is really beautiful.

 

[jeffr4]

It's those details which makes a already impressive resto to a perfect one!
I have seen some nice restaurations and often it is a pity that the smallest details not have been done and it disturb the whole.
My enhusiasm also is adjacent to rabies:eek: but that is why one can do and do things, where an other only ponders

So keep on going beiing.. lashed...and do not hesitate to post your "crazy" details with pics etc.

 

[Snoopy1974]

Hello everybody,

David, I know that the the front torsion bars seem to be very too high, but they were never touched or dismantled, my friend Sylain told me when the car will make few kilometers the torsion bars will be at the good high... I really hope it because this look of 4WD car is not exactly my cup of tea :eek: :eek:

iMacThere4iAm and jeff, you can count on me to continue to be crazy with this kind of details...

 

[DavidN]

... my friend Sylain told me when the car will make few kilometers the torsion bars will be at the good high...

I seriously doubt that!
It's not like the common spring suspensions used on most cars where you see a considerable amount of seating after changing something on the suspension.
With the torsion bars there is almost no noticeable seating even when the torsion bars have been removed.

(I did lower my front a few months back and therefore had to completely remove the bars to re-set them. No seating at all even after that ...)
http://www.renault4.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=3643&highlight=torsion+bar&page=3

But we will see ...

 

[Snoopy1974]

David, you really afraid me :eek: :eek: If, after all this adventure, I have to remove the torsion bars, reajust them, etc... It would be frustrating and disappointed to start again (boring) mechanical operations

So... while waiting for the first try on the road, I continue to show you the following of the reassembly job; I started to clean all the carpets of the car, which are really dirty:

The car will not be perfect I decided to keep this one, memory of the fire in the wiring loom in 1998:

I started the cleaning with hot water and a product called "Cif" which have the peculiarity to scratch the dirt:

Then always the same product "Holts", notice the difference before/after

The front carpet is now in position, it looks like a new one

I bought a special glu to fix the wheelhouse carpets, it allows the repositioning of the part contrary to the neoprene glue:



I also refit the spare wheels with naturally all the harware in new

 

[Cornish4]

Snoopy, your standard of work is so good, the car is looking great. Angel is right, the torsion-bars won't settle with use, but not to worry, it's no big-deal to adjust them, so don't get wound-up about it. Wait until you've finished assembling the car then see how the ride height looks.

 

[Snoopy1974]

Hum... but... can you tell me why they are so high ? When I first saw the R4 GTL Clan which gave me its chassis, it was absolutly normal, whith correct heigh, I never touched the torsion bars during the restoration of the chassis, for the reason that I didn't want to have to adjust them after restoration ?????... Why they are so high now ?

 

[Cornish4]

Yes, I see from your restoration pictures that you didn't disturb the torsion-bars so it is a bit of a mystery I agree, but as I say wait until you have finished your great project and see how it sits then. You have quite a lot of parts to fit yet, bonnet, doors etc, all extra weight.

 

[allez-y]

My guess is going partly to shock absorbers. It could be that adjustment now should be different due to new absorbers. Power of torsions is very weak in the area of low load.

 

[allez-y]

...and of course, I take my hat off to this brilliant work.

 

[Cornish4]

The shock-absorbers don't actually effect ride height allez-y, only the ride of the vehicle. The torsion-bars will find their own height, so I think once Snoopy has replaced all the parts of his car it will regain its correct height.

 

[Snoopy1974]

Thanks you, so, wait and see

 

[allez-y]

Next placement of parts will surely affect the heights going down, but new shock absorbers are still more revolting against loading, although are not one-way like rear.

 

[Cornish4]

I think it is a case of "watch this space", and see how Snoopy's car settles down as he continues to fit parts. Carry on the good work my friend, and I look forward to seeing the fruits of your labours at Thenay next year perhaps.

 

[DavidN]

David, you really afraid me :eek: :eek: If, after all this adventure, I have to remove the torsion bars, reajust them, etc... It would be frustrating and disappointed to start again (boring) mechanical operations

Alexandre, I re-read this thread (at least the first 6 pages) and you are right, you never touched the torsion bars (or removed anything of the suspension).
So even if I can't explain why the front is that high now, it should lower to normal when you are finished.

 

[malcolm]

They are high because the car has been lifted off the ground. The suspension doesn't settle to it's normal position until it has rolled forwards a few metres. They should lower to normal height when you move the car.

Looks great!

 

[Snoopy1974]

They are high because the car has been lifted off the ground. The suspension doesn't settle to it's normal position until it has rolled forwards a few metres. They should lower to normal height when you move the car.

Looks great!

Thanks you Malcolm

 

[Snoopy1974]

Hi everybody

These days I reinstalled the back seat, after sanding it, I painted the back of the seat with two coats of black paint:

Before installing the seat, I went to a scrapyard to find rear seatbelts, mine were sold or lost for a very long time... I found a GTL with its seatbelts, but looking at the condition of the body I had to use a hammer and a chisel to take one of these belts :eek:

After cutting the rotten part with my grinder I carefully washed all the different parts and prepared them to fit on my car:


As I still like the small details, I put plastic covers on the head bolts at the rear of the body

Then, the rear carpet and the back seat have been installed in the car:



Another memory of the "old life" of the car are the holes I drilled in the rear parcel shelf in the nineties... it was the fashion to install a third rear stop light, to make the car more modern... Today they are hidden under two plastic covers

I also started the washing of the front seats, which are even dirtier than the rear one...

 

[Snoopy1974]

Hi everybody, there are very good news... but before telling the most important of them, let me show the differents parts which have been refitted on the car...

Finally I finished the washing of the front seat, even one of them has a little damaged on the basis, they appear in good condition


Then I sorted out all the hardware necessary to fit the doors on the car:

After having stuck the weatherstrips the doors are ready to be fitted, please notice that I made this job on the bed, the only place I was sure the paint would be not crossed off

The first one to be fixed on the car was the right rear one, the regulation of the lock took me very long time before being satisfied of it, and of the distance with the body:

I made the same job on the hatch, the strip was very hard and needed clamps during the drying of the glue:

During this, I fitted the clutch cable and regulate it:

And this part on the manifold:

The fuel tank filler pipe was also very hard to adjust, but at the end it's also beautiful outside as inside

 

[DavidN]

Love it !!!

And what about the ride height?