R6 850cc

[ggcton]

Now I know you will all think I am a bit mad but I found this 850cc R6 in a barn and as it is one of only 2 known to survive in the UK (there will be others) I have decided to rescue it.

I have new doors new front panels new wings inner and outer and new sills so that should help.

It does not look too bad underneath but no doubt will hide some horrors.

Two questions the body construction is similar to the R4 so how difficult is it to remove the body?

Does anyone here know if any of the R4 chassis repair panels for the chassis would fit?

The car was driven into the present position 20 years ago when the brake linings needed replacing and has been there ever since.

I think it will be good company for my GTL which is performing quite well these days and attending shows.

 

[Stuart Delahoy]

Your quite mad, but it would be great to save a RHD one.
I broke a late R6 a few years ago and still have some spares which you are welcome to.
They are in the back of a lock up coming to no harm, just let me know when your underway.
Stuart

 

[ggcton]

Thanks Gary

 

[Cornish4]

Hello Gary, you might be a bit mad but these are very rare cars now, much rarer than the four, so well worth saving I would say. I see its tax exempt so that is a bonus, and I believe it's a 4 under the skin, so parts shouldn't be too much of a problem. I've enclosed a photo taken at last year's Thenay gathering of some R6s. Are you going to make it to Thenay? Regards Brian.

 

[pepper]

I love the 6, it reminds me of Citroens Ami, a little bit of the ugly sister about them to me!

There was a lovely one for sale on the internet somewhere recently and I was toying with buying it, but decided against it!

I'm still toying with buying a certain Renault 5 Gordini though

 

[Cornish4]

That might have been the R6 that Rob Doran down in Exmouth was selling. It's a cracker, very low mileage and only one owner before Rob, who I believe has hardly used it. The R5 Gordini sounds interesting, another rare car.

 

[ggcton]

Both The 5 Alpine and Roberts R6 are now sold. Alpine to London and R6 believed to have gone to the Emerald Isle.Gary

 

[angel]

Hello Gary

The chassis is exactly the same as the R4, so any repair panel will fit.
Body removal should not have any difference, except for, of course, that it is heavier...

I have access to a parts stock of a 70s Renault parts shop, and I remember seeing some R6 specific parts that may be useful for you, like rear lights, front indicators, maybe bumpers etc. Are you interested?

 

[ggcton]

Thanks I will bear that in mind I have just bought the R6 stock from a local renault agent so I have 14 front panels about the same number of bumpers and exhaust pipes. I will bear you kind offer in mind I will not have the car home for a few weeks, we are taking it to a friends Garage for appraisal when he returns from holiday and then I will have a better idea what I will need.
Gary

 

[sam 119]

My first Car was an S reg Renault 6 TL and it was brilliant being the best £50.00 car I ever had. Sadly it rotted from the inside out but it lasted me for 4 years and covered 75,000 miles in that period.

 

[ggcton]

David M requested some pictures of any work on the two R6s as we go.
I am not planning any immediate work on the Blue TL although a little paint work will be done at some time in the future.

The 850 cc silver car will have an extensive restoration here is a picture of the car now.
As you can see the construction is R4 with a party frock and some mechanical tweeks.

When I removed the engine and box I found the engine frozen and in a poor state and the gearbox had unrepairable damage to the crown wheel and speedo drive so I have sourced replacments.

As there are so few R6s left in the UK sourcing parts has been quite easy and at modest prices.

I now have all the suspension and braking parts new plus four new doors , a pair of new inner and outer wings and a front panel the interior is very good except for the head linning so it should be possible to make a good job of it even if it will take a bit of time.
Next plan is to take the car to the welder to have the body and chassis made sound and while the car is away I shall rebuild the engine and change the gaskets and oil seals in the replacement gearbox
Gary

 

[David M]

R6

I must say that the picures show quite a sound car at the front.
The rear is the problem for many R4/6, how is yours looking?

Cheers,

David

 

[ggcton]

Not too bad but does need some work also there are some patches in three of the corners of the floors which need to be taken off and restored properly.
Gary

 

[ggcton]

The strip down continues and so far no more surprises,however the previous owner had bolted on some repairs and I still have to see what is underneath.I hope all the original rust has been covered up as there is a better chance of the original flanges ect still being there.

Today I am changing the front suspension which is a learning experience as I have not worked on front wheel drive cars before.

Thanks to Malcolm who has offered sound advice.
Gary

 

[ggcton]

This morning I removed three of the bodge repairs applied by the previous owner 20+ years ago. The repairs had been undertaken with heavy plate bolted to the floor good news on two fronts.

1 No metal had been removed before covering the rust and all the original flanges remain in tact.

2 When the farmer had made his repairs he had applied a thick coat of very heavy grease between the panel and the rust which has prevented any further deterioration to the floor pans.

There are repairs to be done but the relief is that they look capable of being done.We will await the welders opinion.

The more I look at the car I want to make a very good job of it so having been inspired by Barnfined's project I am going to attempt to remove the body to improve the quality of the work on the chassis and make life a bit easier with tank replacement and running new fuel and brake lines.

I rang malcolm when I was working on the front suspension as having changed the upper and lower ball joints and tie rod eye bush one side I noticed that the new wishbone was at a greater angle than the other side.
Malcolm could not see how I could have interfered with the torsion bar settings so I looked for another explanation.

I discovered that the shock absorber on the other side was sticking and when I removed it both sides are now much the same.

I bought a pair of new armstrong front shock absorbers on e bay dispite all the warning on this site about quality and the R4 problems.

They are an terrible fit so back to the drawing board and find some good quality ones as I fitted to the 4GTL.
Gary

 

[malcolm]

Glad the suspension height mystery is explained.

The body looks really good on that R6. Well worth saving. Have you got all the chassis panels you need?

 

[ggcton]

I have some rear floor repair panels and the two long panels that go the length of the body.
I do not know what else I will need untill a full inspection.Gary

 

[ggcton]

Thanks for the tips Malcolm this morning I jacked up the body on the rear beam inserted two wedges and before I could get the heat gun out the body has separated from the body.
The body is now sitting on wooden blocks on top of the chassis.
Two of my strong mates have bad backs at the moment so I may have to try and get my neighbour with a tractor and bale lifter to come and lift it.
Thanks again Gary

 

[ggcton]

My friend John came round this morning to help and the the body is now off and a proper job of repairing the chassis and body can take place.

]

 

[Azazello]

Impressive to see how much it is similar to a r4 when you begin dismantling it...