1968 Renault R8. Rusty, Low and Slow (more power loading)

[Adey]

Its been a busy few days, and I'm definitely starting to feel way too old to be rolling around on the floor messing with old cars. But it has still brought a smile to my face.



Right where are we up too. Started on all the brakes. Fitted the MC, new front hard lines and remade some of the rear fittings. Got everything filled with fluid on Thursday and then spent ages trying to get fluid through everything. No joy at all. Initially I thought it was because the system was bone dry but after cracking off some fittings I realised that the brake hoses I hade mentioned earlier as looking ok were actually curse word. Internally blocked. Anyway, a quick jaunt over to HoseTechnik (attached to Forge Motorsport) saw me with a custom set of orange braided lines. Managed to get them all fitted up and the first round of bleeding done. I do think it needs another go as there isn't much feedback on the pedal and it feels a little spongy so ill revisit that soon. Once i was happy that was 90% wrapped up I moved on to the next job.



The suspension. Now long term I have some ideas on what I want to do to get the best of both worlds, lows and drivability. Now I used be hardcore static but these days with the amount of wibblepoo roads and speed bumps I feel I need the adjustability of air. That's further down the line though so for now we are going povo spec static lows. I needed to get some measurements from it all anyway so did a test with no suspension fitted at all, and resting on the bump stops. It looks cool as curse word tbh (don't care what anyone else thinks or the practicality of it all the car is getting built to go low and cruise) After I got what i needed I chopped the front springs to give me some useable lows. The front is good where it is, bar a little positive camber on one side which I need to address. I've started on the rear but will wrap that up in the next week. Once ive finished the suspension and brakes ill move to the rest of the electrics and we can hopefully start putting some miles on it 🤞

No suspension















And where we ended up












Thanks for reading

[zeberdee]

Looking good .

I know the feeling of time spent messing with cars & feeling my age !

But when the results look like that , it’s all worth it .

👍

[v8ian]

Feb 18, 2024 19:16:18 GMT zeberdee said:

Looking good .

I know the feeling of time spent messing with cars & feeling my age !

But when the results look like that , it’s all worth it .

👍

wait till you get to the wrong side of 60, ------ its sh-te getting up off the floor

[drive]

OOoooofff...that looks wicked !!! Now those low profile tires look spot on !!

[ovimor]

66 here..... Did my 'smokinn' caliper Jan 6th.
Then the other started 'smokinn' last week 🙄..

Got my local mechanic to do it, though... Just too damn cold n wet for rollin about.


Loving this


OVIMOR

[Adey]

The sun was shining, and I was itching to get back on the 8, so I pulled a half day today so I could finish up on the ride height. 2 hours of messing about but we are there. Not massively slammed but it drives on and off my drive so its good to go in my eyes. Front camber still needs addressing but I need to get a tool made to accurately adjust it. Brakes are also starting to come to life now so ill bleed them again soon. Lots of little bits to sort and finish up so I can start using it. The carb being a big one. It'll start nicely but I think the auto choke part of it is stuck on. Once it gets some heat into it it'll stall every time you touch the throttle, and for some reason when you do tap it, the chock goes fully closed again.

Anyway, here are some pics

[ovimor]

I discovered early on that the Solex, on the IMP, was a bit $hite...

I loved the 1 1/4 SU on my previous MM1000 vans.

I got a lad, at my works, to fab up an adapter to put an SU onto my IMP.

Best mod I ever made #simple carb # breathes BIG... 👍

OVIMOR

[ovimor]

.... SU carbs use a 'tapered metering needle'...

Don't forget = filing a simple flat down the length of 'any' needle will increase fuelling/let's you tackle 'flat spots' with a bit of tweaking 😉

OVIMOR

[Adey]

For some reason the water temp/oil light has started illuminating on the dash. I disconnected the water temp sensor and the oil light then worked as it should, assuming failed sensor, i have a spare that i got from an old, early r8 engine i used for parts on the dope. Will swap it in and see if it works as intended.

Carb base water passage was blocked and not allowing the auto choke to work. Gave it a little clean out and that's working fine now, opens up as the engine warms. Car now cuts out at temp so I need to spend a little time cleaning the carb through. I may order a gasket kit and give it a full strip and clean if I cant get it working properly.

Another thing on my list is the handbrake, I think the cables are stretched as they move fine, but not enough to actually clamp up the rear wheels. Ill try adjusting them out to the max but they are pretty far on the adjusters already.

[ovimor]

You need a 'hoseshoe' in your handbrake cables....

Google is your friend 😉

OVIMOR

[Adey]

I've been told by a Renault specialist that I have adjusted them the wrong way and they are backwards to how I think. you adjust them inwards not out. Ive got a few days tinker time as of tomorrow so ill see how i get on (y)

[Adey]

So where are we at... handbrake sorted (big thanks Steve Swan ) brakes... I had a leak that required me to get another line replaced. I think its ok now, they work of sorts, and hold spongy pressure with no current loss of fluid. I think they will need a further bleed though.

Engine was starting perfectly from cold, I was working on the hot running (or lack of) when the starter motor gave up. That is currently off for investigation though there is a place not far from me that refurbish starters and alternators so unless I can fix it it'll be going to them.

Electrics, headlights are now working, ideally I need a new unit on the one side. Brake lights all sorted. Wipers work as does the interior fan (though the matrix isn't plumbed in) that leaves the indicators to rewire with a modern flasher and the horn to sort.

Other than a good service and a deep clean it's not a million miles off usable.

Also managed to get to a post office that deals with the tax side of things. Log book has been sent off for changing to historic and the car is now taxed for 12 months at the new rate of £0 😁

[Adey]

Managed to find a refurbished starter on ebay so that has been ordered, Fingers crossed with me for next weekend.



I couldn't not tinker though so spent some time today removing the upper and lower dash so I could rewire the indicators with a modern hella 12v flasher relay. Very easy job once I went through the wiring diagram, the oem wiring has 3 wires to the flasher, you reuse the same 3 wires and just add an earth from the relay. Throw in some new bulbs and bingo, left and right indicators with a modern flashing speed.



Horn is next on the list, I've also noticed a washer pump looks to have been retro fitted. it'll need removing and redoing as the tank has disintegrated but not a biggy to sort out, maybe a universal bag style one that kit cars use can go back in.



Considering it was dropped off on the 5th of Feb as a nonrunning and unused car I think I'm doing well, properly excited to get it out on the road soon



Thanks for reading (y)

[Adey]

I have some second hand parts on their way this week, a pair of rear lights, some front indicators and a headlight. Looking forward to getting them all fitted. The starter motor will hopefully be here by the end of the week too so all being well i can get some test miles on it this weekend 🤞



I popped my head out earlier and gave one corner a rub with some citrus pre wash and a sponge, and a quick rinse off. The pictures don't show how big a difference there is but WOW. Looking forward to giving it a good scrub all over. Will still look ropey but loads better than it currently does

[Adey]

So I usually try and document most of the builds on video, though this time I've been so busy trying to get it back on the road asap I've not had chance to get the camara out every time I'm tinkering. Ive slapped together a little bit of footage for those who like to watch on YouTube

[Adey]

So todays plan of giving it a shakedown has been hampered by SNOW! not too much out there, and I used to have fun in the Dope in the snow, but for a first ride out in the 8 ive decided to wait. Having something fail in this weather will be a pin to fix at the road side.

www.instagram.com/reel/CKbRI4CHKgP/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I did also get a headlight to replace the one that has gone dull, but it doesn't have the side light part of it. My current one has a hole through the housing that holds a bulb. I'm now trying to source another. Found a gasket kit on ebay also so grabbed that just in case its needed in the future.

[Adey]

So I can't help but try and make things fit. A little out of the box thinking, I drilled the headlight undersized of the bulb and then using a cap head bolt, a washer and a nut with a taper I nipped it up until the hole was the correct size for the bulb. Snug fit for maximum contact. We now have a better looking headlight 👍🏼

Whilst I was there I also had a try at rubbing the bumpers and light surrounds with coke and tin foil. Definite improvement 👌🏻

[jimi]

That's a fair improvement in the bumper

[Adey]

OK... I did it... now I can relax a little. More miles on the car coming soon 😁

[Adey]

Good day and a not so good day.



I realised I haven't changed the gearbox oil after yesterdays first test drive so that was first on the agenda for today. That was a massively slow process with it being super cold and then filling takes an age through a little tube. If I was doing it on the regs id be tempted to get a pressure filler. Any way job jobbed, no major issues there.



Onto the drive, and wow, I'm shocked at how smooth and compliant it is. That and it also makes me very happy to start using it. Took it for a short run and briefly stopped in to see @jezer101. Brakes were still a little spongy and the revs were hanging high at idle. But other than that it was a great drive, 50comes up ok, didn't push it past that though.



This afternoon saw me clean the carb abit and all the linkages. Hopefully this will stop the revs hanging high. I flushed out the cooling system now its proven itself and filled back up with coolant. And this is where we got into a little bother. After the carb clean I needed to get the car going obviously to check it over, but it wouldn't catch. So kept cranking, not excessively I don't think but the "new/refurbed" starter has started going slow, got hot and now wont turn long enough to actually start the car....



I did have plans of running it to work this coming week but that'll depend on getting a new starter and getting it running sweet.



Another side thing I've noted (and now confirmed by @paulyventuri) the wheels were made staggard. Half inch wider on the rear. I had one on the front and kept looking at it thinking it needed a decent alignment. Looks loads better now the wider wheel is back on the rear.



Overall a good weekend on the 8 and a huge step towards getting it back in use.