Lilou - Spanish built Renault 4

[mikehamid]

I thought I'd start a thread on my new arrival, a 1988 Renault 4TL. This is a Spanish spec model, built in Valladolid (North West of Madrid). It's spent all of its life, until 2014, living in the Balearic islands.

Fast forward to two weeks ago, I'd be itching for something French as a replacement for my Trabant, Igor. I had been tracking this and a metallic beige Citroen GS on Evilbay. After a few messages, I found myself booking an appointment to view it in a garage in Putney. 

When I arrived, my wife and I knew we had to have it on first sight. 





The owner was a very interesting guy, who had a range of other classics, including an undying love for Fiat 500s. After the first test drive, I was grinning ear-to-ear. A deal was struck. 

It ticked all of the boxes. French design, tick. Iconic and beautiful, tick. Left hand drive, tick. An interesting back story, tick. MOT, tax and ULEZ exempt, erm...

Like a kid in a candy store! 



After what felt like the longest week, the time arrived to collect our new purchase - aptly named Lilou by my wife. The car was immediately special to her, given that her grandad had one too. He cherished it before passing away before we met. Plus, being Spanish and French educated, they had a little something in common. 

We collected it as the original owner said his final goodbyes. 


Our view on collection. 




She handles motorways far better than Igor, our Trabant. 



Retro at the pumps. 



Of course, we took it to its first show the very next day. Ohsoretro in Margate. 
























The dream-team! 



Edit: Just realised I put this in the post-2000 section! Phone screens are too small for posts like this lol. 

[Davey]

Oct 6, 2024 7:18:06 GMT mikehamid said:

Edit: Just realised I put this in the post-2000 section! Phone screens are too small for posts like this lol. 

Cool little Renault.

I'm sure HoTWire will move the thread for you.

[ovimor]

Us '2k' folk are always happy to welcome fellow travellers...

Cool M9

OVIMOR

[HoTWire]

Oct 7, 2024 9:10:21 GMT Davey said:

I'm sure HoTWire will move the thread for you.

Done

Lovely little thing.

[mikehamid]

Thanks for the compliments guys - and for placing it in the right section HoTWire! Oops!

Job number one is to get the underside rust-proofed. I noted some crusty bits on viewing it, though all surface rot.







I attacked it furiously with a Wirebrush, to persuade the surface flakes to stop existing.







As some stubborn rusty pieces decided that they liked residing on the chassis too much, I decided to obliterate them with a rust converter. The one I used on the Trabi left a green goo that not only resembled the Hulk's flubbery baby batter, but would just never evaporate. I can never look at the colour green the same way!

So I thought I'd try some Jenolite. Not only did it not ejaculate all over the car (the spray nozzle itself got blocked immediately), but the results were brilliant!








Now that's clean!

Next up, I thought I'd remove the spare wheel and wash the underside. To my absolute pleasant surprise, it was pristine under the body! It seems to have already received some decent underseal. Result!





Don't worry, the brown is just dirt.

A new coat of underseal applied to the rear end. The rest will wait for another dry day.




Another job that was bothering me was the mileage. It has previously been MOTd at over 240k kms, before being reduced to around 135k "miles" later. Anyone that has a way with maths will notice that this is not equivalent. Not to mention that the speedometer still reads in kilometres.

After a test on an 18 mile trip, the odometer increased by around 28,meaning it still reads in kilometres.

I'm not overly bothered, as the condition is good, though it's clearly had a new set of clocks at some point.

[mikehamid]

Work continues with Lilou.

First of all, I decided to rummage through the overly large box of random spares. Rather usefully, I seem to be in possession of brand new centre caps. This saved me ordering some!







In other news, I also found some complimentary sweets from Der Franzose - a parts supplier based in Germany. It appears that I have two packs of car-shaped gummies to my name. Expired in 2018. As much as I would love to try them, my health is far to valuable to catch some sort of gastro-instestinal disease from a bag of complimentary sweets. Instead, I shall keep them as a souvenir.




This week also marked Lilou's first service in my ownership. A bonding experience shared between many-a-man and his classic/project car.



That's right, drain it out!









And the money-shot! Am I allowed to put this on here?



Once the fluid exchange was over, I set about trying to find a remedy for my peculiar issue with the side-lights and instrument panel light. Surely it was just a simple cases of switching the fuses? Nope!

Okay, perhaps cleaning the connections for the grounds? Nope.

......oh! Answers on a postcard please.

As you can see, they don't seem to work. A mild annoyance at the front, though completely pitch black at the rear! Very helpful!




I still also need to get a new heater core and tap ordered, as it appears to still be leaking coolant and water into the cabin when the engine is hot. Wonderful!

In other news, have some autumnal shots!







Fun fact, the image below was posted onto a spotted group in 2022. I commented to say that I wanted it. Fast forward to 2024, I now own it! This was not intentional, though quite funny. Did I manifest that? If so, how many more classics will I end up acquiring because I said I wanted them? Send help!

[glenanderson]

Smashing. Bookmarked. 👍

I have always liked the R4, its basic and utilitarian nature appeals to me.

Don’t forget to get some cavity wax into its hidden corners. Underseal is only half the job.

Has the Trabant gone then? 

[mikehamid]

Nov 5, 2024 13:15:27 GMT glenanderson said:

Smashing. Bookmarked. 👍

I have always liked the R4, its basic and utilitarian nature appeals to me.

Don’t forget to get some cavity wax into its hidden corners. Underseal is only half the job.

Has the Trabant gone then? 

Thanks a lot. I'll definitely get some cavity wax in. The daily could use that too, so that's on the agenda. 

The Trabi's for sale currently. Not an easy choice but it's time to move it on. 

[benzine]

Brilliant! I love a Renault 4. Great colour, too.

My earliest memories I have of holidays in Spain in the 80s/90s are the smell of 2 stroke and cigarette smoke, stray dogs and Renault 4s everywhere.

[glenanderson]

Nov 5, 2024 17:35:42 GMT mikehamid said:

The Trabi's for sale currently. Not an easy choice but it's time to move it on. 

Go on then. I’ll ask the dreaded question.

How much?

Got a link to the ad?

[mikehamid]

Nov 6, 2024 11:52:23 GMT glenanderson said:

Nov 5, 2024 17:35:42 GMT mikehamid said:

The Trabi's for sale currently. Not an easy choice but it's time to move it on. 

Go on then. I’ll ask the dreaded question.

How much?

Got a link to the ad?

I've sent you a DM.