Renault R4 F6 1985 - full restoration

[Dejan Subotic]

This is my recent purchase...The previous owner (a member of Serbian r4 forum) rescued it two years ago and did some welding on body panels and paint job...Chassis is rust free and almost intact, floor pan dry and lovely...no rust at all on the car. However, the paint job wasn't done up to a good standard and on top of it there are 3 layers of paint underneath.
I decided that it would be worth keeping this one on the road for new generations to see

My plan is to strip it down to bare metal (shot blasting) and protect it with epoxy within 4h. Then the rest will be done by professional painters. All the metal parts shall be blasted, protected and treated with either paint or powder coating...all new rubbers, engine refurb and new windshield (I was lucky to find some old stock in Serbia so why not use it)

Now...I have some questions

1. How do I split chassis from the body?
2. Any place on the earth to buy rear door seals? (Are the top and side ones the same as the fron door ones?)
3. Any place to buy the windscreen rubber seal for the GTL (This one has been modified to fit GTL windscreen)?
4. Any suggestion on chassis galvanising? I do have a very good facility for hot galvanisation, but not sure whether the part that is double skinned would cause any troubles?
5. Any place where I can get the rear stop light rubber seals?
6. Any suggestion which product to use for seam sealing?

 

[Dejan Subotic]

More photos

 

[Dejan Subotic]

Some more

 

[Dejan Subotic]

And finally this is how my f6 was finished off. In the next few months it will go trough the same process all over again

 

[malcolm]

It sounds like it will be a nice restoration. Be very careful with any shotblasting the body panels - the panels are very thin and fairly flat so even with very careful shotblasting distortion from the heat caused by the abrasive will distort the panels. Another member on here had to scrap a shell after blasting. I removed my paint with stripper and strip and clean discs, but even there you need to be very careful with heat.

Chassis galvanising is also risky as the floor pan is likely to distort and that can twist the chassis. Sensitive shotblasting on the chassis should be OK. I used a 95% zinc cold galvanising paint on mine.

For seam sealer polyurethane sealant is good for cars.

Your van is in much better condition than mine already.

 

[jonigel]

I agree with Malcolm do not sandblast the body it will more than likely be ruined. As for body removal it just unbolts and lifts off,you might have to cut through some of the sealer though.
You have non standard rear lights but you should be able to get the rest of the rubber seals from Melun Retro Passion.

 

[petak]

maybe you could find someone that is working with soba (soda blasting) as soda is much fragile that sand and will destroy panels much less.
But also person who is working with it must not be butcher, and need to know what to do.

But i would definitely use old fashion method. chemical paint removers and wire disc on drill. Time consuming but more safer way.

 

[JonathanT]

Ha ha ....Marvellous! So glad others can learn and have learned from my ignorance commissioning sand blasting. Yes completely ruined a great bodyshell and caused me to still be working on my car rather than driving it right now.

Since I have seen DIY soda blasting outfits for sale at reasonable cost in Machine Mart. Otherwise paints tripper and more would be a great alternative

You might find a bit more rust than you hoped when it's all apart . Whatever happens I wish you great fun restoring your van

 

[Dejan Subotic]

Thank you guys for all the lovely feedback It is fueling my enthusiasm
Rear stop lights have been changed to the originals but some shabby rubber has been put in place.
I read somwhere on this forum (or one of the r4 desicated uk web pages) that with a fine sand - after 3rd use, and a low pressure (70psi / 5bar) it is possible to sandblast without distortion. As my family has business connections with the blaster he offered me the whole service for £60. Now, my plan was to find an old scrappy wing/door and give it to him for a test blast and then take it to my car body specialist to examine. Soda or recycled glass would definitley be a safer bet, but the glass is not available in Serbia (although it is available in Croatia) and Soda (just the medium) cost me £150.
I'll do the test and will let you know what happens.
Has someone got a photo of the original door seal profile? I sourced 'original' ones from two different suppliers and they are slightly different (one has got holes along the lenght to let the air out)....see photos

 

[petak]

Here is rubber i have taken down from my R4.


This is one angel (from this forum) is offering.


I have bought it and rubber is nicely closing gap around doors.