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re 850 cc engine

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maurice mathews

mountain goat
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Dear Forum do you think the 845cc engine is not pratical for todays driving.?I have the engine out of my 81 r4 gtl . Looking at the general consensus on this wonderful site am becoming reluctant to put it back in........ Any advice members? PS plan a trip to Brittany with kids for summer in r4 ??
 
Hi maurice! My R4F4(fourgonnette) Used to be an 850 4gear. Wife and I took it to France twice without special problems..Ofcourse you will need to keep half an eye in the mirror at all times to see the big lorries coming up behind you... problem is you'll have to 'plan' long and/or steep uphills as there is not enough torque especially if carrying any loads.
-Putting in a R5 Gtl 1289cc has TOTALLY changed our R4
Gone are the hassle of having to downshift uphill or headwind etc.
and the car is in all aspects a 'normal'car
Advantage being you will enjoy your R4 -even more as it's just a very practical everyday-drive..
Ask yourself this;Have you ever thought Ah lovely day..I'll take my 4 and then thought No better take our dull but more driveable ToyDaiDatM'Bitch (Jap.) If so you need to get a larger motor in there ,A 1108cc GTL could do it....

PS:I will probably get a beating from happy 850-drivers now!!! -R.
 
Dear Reidalpine.Many thanks for your sound advice.Took my R4 out for a sly run some time ago and nearly had 2km tailback behind me.I have started restoration on my goat and to push myself have trip planned to France for summer.Its a 4 hour drive to Cork to the ferry and with two kids and a dog want to make trip as fun and enjoyable as possible.Has the 1150cc 5 gears? best regards Maurice
 
Maurice! all R4 was 4drive.It is however poss to fit a R5 5gearbox but it involves a fair bit of work (front-traverse/Napoleon-hat etc....) covered elsewhere here on the Forum....
In my opinion you will have a much more enjoyable -Plus safer car installing a bigger motor. -R.
 
From an enthusiast's point of view I always liked, and still like, the 845cc engine on a R4. Certainly, it lacks torque, but that worried me only when I was making a trip with three passengers and they started complaining about how slow we were travelling...

But, when put the Jogging (1108cc) this summer in daily use, I discovered a new world! I feel I almost drive a new car in R4's clothes. Lots of torque, that make you think you have even more ccs. It was the first time driving on the motorway that I could easily pass other cars! Having such tall gearing is also a plus, as you travel at 100-120 km/h while being able to talk with your passenger without shouting. If you can find a GTL engine with its gearbox, go for it.


maurice mathews said:
Took my R4 out for a sly run some time ago and nearly had 2km tailback behind me.
Click to expand...



...like this? :-D
 
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HI Angelos! my point exactly..I would have loved it too if the 850cc motor only would be enough to go with the flow of other traffic,but as average speed on todays roads and especially motorways are conciderably higher than when our 4's ruled(!) the streets,going for a larger motor be it the GTL or other Totally changes the practicallity of it.
-As I love driving the 4 ,I also want to use it the most ...
Send some sunshine up here will you! -R.
 
Thanks guys.I think you are right.For autenticity will look for the 1108 cc .The r5 seems complicated.Are they difficult to source? Regards Maurice.
 
:D Very funny advertisement for Renault 4 at the beginning of the seventies, the text (maybe you understood it) can be translated by:
overtaken in many times
but never old-fashioned

To answer to Maurice, personnaly I always drived R4 GTL with the 1108 cc, the only times I drive another models with 845 or 956... It was another world, these car were not such pleasant to drive as my GTL, not enough torque was the principal reason of that.
 
;) I've been told by a friend that a 1108 cc of Renault 4 with a 32 carburator (fitted on R5 GTL) develops 45 bhp...
 
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Thats what quite a few of us run, make sure you use the water pump too as it contains a nice heating element running through it to stop carb freezing.
 
just came across a R4 GTL 1985 in Donegal.Black melallic with tartan red interior ,,,,,,,,yuck.In perfect working order .I know own 3 R4 .A 1971 4l ,A 1980 4L ,A 1985 GTL. Think this has become an obsession .The GTL might fit the bill for the holidays ,,,,,,
 
now if you fix them all up You can all drive one each So no more troble with overload c",)
It would classify as an obsession if we were talking about any other car- -R.
 
Well -I've got 4 and then there's .....
seriosly-I've got no clue,If I see another one it's usually at some Renault-event.other than that I see 1 or 2 a year in traffic I think..
They salt like hell so much so that you can actually Hear cars rusting -R.
 
as you know the R4 is a very aerodynamically efficient design......
Proof is few smashed bugs on the windscreen..After I installed the R5-motor
I am now going SO fast most of the bugs gets smashed on the REAR-window (by force of suction I guess) c",)
 
Crosswinds are not a problem, beleive it or not! They are very stable, beating a lot of cars built 30 years later :-)

And, Reidar, don't laugh at our aerodynamics, either. A Cx of 0,39 is excellent for a late 50s design. Look at the following list and you will see... (remember, the lower the Cx, the better).

Fiat Ballila 0,60 –
Lancia Appia 0,57 –
Vauxhall Viva 0,52 –
Fiat 128 0,48 –
Daf 33 0,48 –
Ford Mustang 0,47 –
VW 1200 0,46 –
Jaguar E 0,44 –
Lancia Fulvia Coupe 0,44 –
Fiat Dino 0,43 –
Mini Minor 0,42 –
BMW 1600 0,42 –
Ford Escort 0,42 –
Fiat 125 0,42 –
Fiat 127 0,42 –
Fiat 124 0,41
Ford Capri 0,40
Peugeot 504 0,39
Renault R4 0,39
Mercedes 220 0,38
Alfa Romeo 1750 GT 0,38
Austin A40 0,37
Maserati Ghibli 0,35
Porsche 911 0,34
Alfa Romeo Giulia 0,34
 
HI Angelos-No I'm not dissing the Cw of our 4's At all!
My Alpine has somewhat better Cw but it also means it is very lightfooted
in crosswinds,so all in all I think they got it right on the 4 -not sure if it was after studies in a wind-tunnel-More by 'accident' I guess..... -R.

...May the 4's be with you...:p
 
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