Some progress on my 62 Renault

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For those who didn't see it, when I bought my Renault about a year ago, it looked like this.
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After a little cleaning

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Jump forward a bit and we have the straightened, sandblasted and painted parts
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A little polish and BBQ paint and the manifolds progressed from this
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to this
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The rear grills went from this
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to this
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Rebuilt the transmission
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This week I got the parts for the conversion to 12 volts, plus steering wheel, lighting controls, water pump, and the missing cylinder sleeve.
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A little polish took care of the alternator
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Also took apart the replacement rack & pinion steering I picked up a couple of months ago. This one is excellent inside.
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With a little luck I'll put the engine together this week. Lots more details on my site.
 
Would you restore a Dauphine, or any pedestrian car, for me?
Where do you find the time?
I love your Corvair, and I have no doubt that this Renault will be at least as nice when you're done.
Great work!
 
Finding time is a trick, especially living in two cities 450 miles apart, but it is also a way to maintain my sanity. Staring at the computer all day may be productive, but it is not fun.
 
Gosh, I learned to drive in a 62 Dauphine with a 3 on the floor. Not many people would restore one of these, but you sure won't see yourself coming and going. It does look great, though.

My favorite Dauphine memory is pulling into a full service gas station and asking them to "Fill up the oil and check the gas.".
 
Inspiring work you are doing! Very very nice work, and I like the choices of cars you work on.
 
Next up? The LeCar, maybe?

There has to be an interesting story about a '62 Renault here, somewhere...

Cheers!

p.s. NICE WORK!
 
Quote:
(space or $ are a problem)


I built a garage for ample space. Now I squeeze 3 into it and pull out the working ones to work on the others.

Without the power train and front suspension, 4 people can easily carry the Renault around.

As for the $, I figure it is cheaper than golf, women, or drink.
 
Didn't get much done today, but at least cleaned up the engine parts to assemble. Since this engine had been rebuilt a few miles before being put away, most of the parts are usable, but I had to take out a lot of scratches on the piston skirts that were probably caused by the cracked block and ovaling of the sleeves on #2 and #3 cylinders.
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I sure admire your determination & skill at restoring these old cars, Widman- though I'd probably choose different models myself. I mean- a Corvair, Morris Mini pickup, & now a Renault?
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I have a Renault story. Way back when I was in high school, some friends were loaned a Renault (Dauphine? looked just like yours) by a friend(?) of their family who wanted to sell it. I remember it seemed to have no forward gear synchronizers, would usually crunch with every shift & its radio- AM only of course- didn't work. Anyhoo- their older brother's girlfriend went with them to the store in it one day, & wanted to play the radio. They told her that since it was a French car, it only played French radio stations- and she believed them!
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They dodged the bullet on that Renault- but later on, one of them- in the East Texas of ~1970, mind you- bought a sweet condition, but ultimately *Very* troublesome Austin Healy Bug-Eyed Sprite!
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Carry on with your automotive orphans, Widman. You do Very Nice Work.
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The Renault wasn't planned, but he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Cute story on the radio.
I loved my Bugeye Sprite. I used to outrun cops in up-state NY in the mountains. Also drove it regularly from DC to NYC on $1.05 in gas.

The machine shop broke their 12mm x 18 in bit making my water tube, So the engine will have to wait for me to come back in a couple of weeks.

Might as well get started on the trim, right?
I'm not sure how this is supposed to come off, but this spring steel did the trick
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Of course there were some dents in the stainless
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Finally back in Tarija with a few hours to play with the car. This time I started assembling the engine, although I had to stop and order a new set of rings. I'll be taking it to the body shop Saturday so they can replace or repair the floor and lower parts, while I finish assembling the engine and suspension.

Had a water tube made out of stainless to replace the rusty one. Here are a few pics. More on my site, which I'll be updating as I go.
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