GTL from Portugal

[Kermit4]

Kermit has been resprayed but colour is very close to a stardard R4 colour (code 907) Verd Jardin. I got this colour to touch up a few bits and it was too dark so my local spray guy lighted it a bit for perfect match. Thanks for your kind comment re the colour. Certainly sets it apart from most around here which seem to be beige. Living on the Algarve it looks good in the bright sunshine.

 

[JdeW]

@JdeW: All of these apply to French market models. On all R4s officially imported here, front seat belts were standard fitment on 1978 and later cars, when they became obligatory by the law for all cars.

Yes, you're right Angel here it was the same 3 point seat belts in the front came standard since 1978. On the rear it was optional, I think from 1972 just a 2 point rear seat belt (just a hip belt) could be mounted as the strongpoints should be there and maybe somewhere between 1978-1983 the 3 point rear seat belts with their strongpoints where possible to fit. My R4's (1983 and 1985) never had rear seat belts but the 3 strongpoints where there.
Here the 3rd strongpoint mount on my 1985 GTL, the first 2 points are obvious since the 1972 berline models.

Anyway, the rear seat belts (2 or 3 point) and their mounting points will differ per country as in those days every country had a different law about the rear seat belts and after all the FASA build R4's are unique/different in their way

 

[Scoobyznack]

Hello all,

I've just collected Joao after his short stay at Renospeed in south London.

Dealing with Derek there has been a pleasure.

He's dealt with the list of tasks identified during our service back in January, plus a few other bits found along the way:

FEMSA distributor replaced with new substitute-Ducellier item, with working vacuum advance
Frayed throttle cable replaced with new
Manifold gasket replaced, dealing with exhaust blow and inlet air leak
Proper crushable washer fitted to sump plug, curing leak experienced with solid copper item sold by DF
Nearside front hub and wheel bearing, driveshaft, CV and steering rack gaiters all replaced
Rear drum cylinders replaced; misplaced brake shoes refitted (they'd been mounted the wrong way round and were causing the brakes to grab on one wheel)
Front shock absorbers and mounting bolts replaced (turns out we'd been sold the wrong items in January)
...and tidied up a few other things round the engine bay.

Joao now starts immediately from cold (he was a pig before), runs smoother and more sweetly and is more responsive, and rides better. Banging over potholes has been cured, and the noisy exhaust blow has gone. In all, I'm very happy!

Now just the tracking to do (he's still pulling to the left), then I think he's about there for now.

I'll have a potter at the weekend and look for those seatbelt mounting points we were talking about. Meanwhile...


Ready to collect this morning -


Manifold gasket (in a bag with old throttle cable, sorry) showing split causing inlet air leak -


Best wishes, Simon.

 

[jjad]

Great! Enjoy!

 

[JdeW]

Well done and indeed the FEMSA distributors are a true horror.
Now enjoy driving but uhm what about the rear seatbelt mounting? It's starting to become a true topic

 

[Scoobyznack]

Okay Joop, today I had a closer look at the rear belt. You’re going to love this one...

So I have a 3-point belt on one side only in the rear. The keep for the buckle is fixed to a bracket on the seat back frame, which looks like a factory fit -





As pointed out to me, the upper mounting is bolted to the window frame, which isn’t standard -



At the other end of the belt I found this mounting arrangement -



What a shocking bodge!

At this point I decided to remove it from the car. I can’t imagine it would have much safety benefit.

My feeling was reinforced when I undid the top mounting bolt. Didn’t hear a nut clatter down the back and there’s no captive one - I think it was just threaded into the metal of the window frame

 

[Scoobyznack]

Removal took only a couple of minutes. Nice uncluttered back seat now and no illusions about safety kit

Just a small tear left in the seat base -


And hole in the window frame I can live with -


Now at the tyre shop to see if they can trace why the car pulls to the left. Will let you know the outcome.

Best wishes, Simon.

 

[JdeW]

Well Simon, just bizar for words that back seat belt "construction" luckily you don't need rear seat belts or at least I don't have them on my GTL.
Question still remains how such a construction ever could pass a Portugese MOT...
Maybe with a mere 50 euro, pounds or what ever in the ashtray for the inspector?

Best regards, Joop

 

[Peter Bale]

FASA build R4's are indeed a bit perculiar as @angel states.
A small R4 seat belt history;
1970 From april all models of Renault 4 receive seat belts in the front.
1972 On the berlines the anchorage points for the rear safety belts make their appearances.
1976 The seatbelts at the front are retractable
1978 Seatbelts are mounted at the rear of all models.

Thank you for this. I have a query. My FASA R4 TL is a 1984 and doesn't appear to have any mounts for the seatbelts. I intend to get someone to weld in some for me and it is interesting to see that others here recommend that the fittings are on the tailgate surround and not the metal strip beside the parcel tray. I have seen them in both places on R4s but it does make sense that it is stronger near the tailgate.
Any recommendations?

 

[Scoobyznack]

Evening all,

Hello Peter @Peter Bale - I’m the last person to ask, but Joop’s tailgate mount pic further up the thread looks like a good place to start.

So last weekend I took João up to a local tyre shop to get the wheel alignment checked. He’d been consistently pulling to the left, and the steering wheel was misaligned at straight-ahead, making indicating right turns difficult as they immediately cancel.

Pleased to report after 30 min and £40 both problems are solved

Before and after readings below - one front wheel was well out.

Have a good weekend everyone - Simon.

 

[Scoobyznack]

Evening all,

Quick call-in: we’re on a road trip with João: currently lolling on the Venice - Patras ferry, having left London on Saturday and driven through France, Switzerland and northern Italy. Destination will be the Greek island of Rhodes

Looking forward to meeting a certain forum member tomorrow...

I’ll report back with some words and pics from the trip in a few days.

Meanwhile best wishes,

Simon.

 

[Scoobyznack]

...and the pic - safely tucked up on the ferry

 

[Neil]

...and the pic - safely tucked up on the ferry
View attachment 23502

Nice One Simon .... and safe travelling buddy!
This pic taken this morning just prior to disembarkation at Sitka (Juneau to Sitka ferry).
I'm out here in search of a new squaw.
Saw my Welsh bride of 28 days without make-up for the first time last Tuesday. It opened up areas between us that I had not anticipated, so I immediately filed for divorce.
Looking forward to your next post with pics,
Happy Easter,
N.

 

[Scoobyznack]

Evening all,

Well @Neil whatever your romantic ups and downs at least you have a dependable partner in your R4

So to set the scene: the reason we bought Joao last year was for this trip... my other half is Greek, we have a big extended family in Rhodes, and we’ve recently been lucky enough to get a small flat out there for holidays and eventual retirement.

Rhodes is a big island, so we’ll need some wheels to get around. By the application of a bit of man-logic, presto: of course we need a R4 for this. There is none available locally, so... well, you can fill in the rest

 

[Scoobyznack]

Day 1 - London to Reims

We set off early Saturday morning. This was the day after UK was to have crashed out of the EU. We’d had a warning email from Eurotunnel that they’d be swamped ...but we arrrived to a ghost town - never seen Folkestone so quiet, breezed through on an earlier train and everything -



Once in France we took the autoroute as far as Arras then peeled off onto country roads, lightly trafficked with open views -



We arrived in Reims in time to visit the cathedral - I’d forgotten how magnificent it is -



Dinner was a French take on “fusion” cuisine: tagliatelle with duck foie gras



Day 2 report tomorrow

Best wishes, Simon.

 

[Scoobyznack]

Day 2 - Reims to Colmar

We spent a very enjoyable day avoiding autoroutes and wafting along France’s rural N and D roads - wide open and empty, linking occasional sleepy villages.

Joao cruised along at a relaxed 100 kmh and, as we were to find for most of the trip, was a bit of a celebrity being repeatedly waved, shouted or hooted at by enthusiastic passers-by

Lots of green open space -


Much sunnier than UK -


Tailgate picnic at a random quiet spot -


By teatime we hit civilisation and rolled into Colmar for our night stop. Petite Venise was tres jolie indeed -


At dinner we got into the Alsatian theme with a hearty choucroute, washed down with a nice Gewürztraminer


After a couple of nightcaps at a local bar we retired to our hotel. Joao slept in another secure parking, which cost almost as much as our room...

 

[Neil]

Day 2 - Reims to Colmar

We spent a very enjoyable day avoiding autoroutes and wafting along France’s rural N and D roads - wide open and empty, linking occasional sleepy villages.

Joao cruised along at a relaxed 100 kmh and, as we were to find for most of the trip, was a bit of a celebrity being repeatedly waved, shouted or hooted at by enthusiastic passers-by

Lots of green open space -
View attachment 23571

Much sunnier than UK -
View attachment 23572

Tailgate picnic at a random quiet spot -
View attachment 23573

By teatime we hit civilisation and rolled into Colmar for our night stop. Petite Venise was tres jolie indeed -
View attachment 23574

At dinner we got into the Alsatian theme with a hearty choucroute, washed down with a nice Gewürztraminer
View attachment 23575

After a couple of nightcaps at a local bar we retired to our hotel. Joao slept in another secure parking, which cost almost as much as our room...
View attachment 23576

Nice one Simon,
Keep living the dream. Always a pleasure reading your contributions to the forum (and pics)
100kph. Sounds about right, although I'm an 85-90 fan myself.
More importantly, and I'm sure you'll agree, none of us should ever be tempted to drive faster than our Guardian Angels can fly.

καλές διακοπές

 

[Scoobyznack]

Day 3 - Colmar to Varenna

Evening all,

Thanks @Neil ! Yes absolutely, I’ve done enough rushing around on motorbikes over the years, happy to chill and cruise these days. This trip has shown me slow touring is the future - but I’m getting ahead of myself!

So on our third day we rejoined trunk roads to cross the Alps. It took 30 min of stop-start traffic to get into the Gotthard Tunnel. As we got going the car suddenly cut out ...got it re-started while still moving, but surrounded by thundering heavy trucks that tunnel felt loooong!

Tunnel ahead -


After popping out into Switzerland we missed a fuel stop. Satnav found another one 20km away - which turned out to be off the motorway, up a twisting mountain pass in a village - and automated, which wouldn’t accept any of our cards ...eventually found another place back in the valley.

In the shadow of the Alps -


After the World’s Most Expensive Burger King (gastronomic pow point of the trip) we found a tyre had lost pressure. No sign of anything in the treads. Reinflated it and (after several nervous checks) it held pressure for the rest of the day - odd!

Two more hours took us into Italy and the stunningly scenic Lake Como, where an open-decked ferry took us across the lake to the gorgeous village of Varenna, our night stop.



Tiny Fiat estate was carrying four adults plus luggage!


Como: Arcadian beauty


Lakeside al fresco dinner of pizza and carafe of house red, rounded off with a couple of golden grappas - welcome to Italia!

 

[Neil]

View attachment 23598Day 3 - Colmar to Varenna

Evening all,

Thanks @Neil ! Yes absolutely, I’ve done enough rushing around on motorbikes over the years, happy to chill and cruise these days. This trip has shown me slow touring is the future - but I’m getting ahead of myself!

So on our third day we rejoined trunk roads to cross the Alps. It took 30 min of stop-start traffic to get into the Gotthard Tunnel. As we got going the car suddenly cut out ...got it re-started while still moving, but surrounded by thundering heavy trucks that tunnel felt loooong!

Tunnel ahead -
View attachment 23598

After popping out into Switzerland we missed a fuel stop. Satnav found another one 20km away - which turned out to be off the motorway, up a twisting mountain pass in a village - and automated, which wouldn’t accept any of our cards ...eventually found another place back in the valley.

In the shadow of the Alps -
View attachment 23599

After the World’s Most Expensive Burger King (gastronomic pow point of the trip) we found a tyre had lost pressure. No sign of anything in the treads. Reinflated it and (after several nervous checks) it held pressure for the rest of the day - odd!

Two more hours took us into Italy and the stunningly scenic Lake Como, where an open-decked ferry took us across the lake to the gorgeous village of Varenna, our night stop.

View attachment 23600

Tiny Fiat estate was carrying four adults plus luggage!
View attachment 23601

Como: Arcadian beauty
View attachment 23602

Lakeside al fresco dinner of pizza and carafe of house red, rounded off with a couple of golden grappas - welcome to Italia!
View attachment 23603

Simon! You are seriously jerking my memory bank.
At the beginning if this century, my mate and I suffered a forced day off waiting to load at Lomazzo (another European public holiday)
Took the train into Como. Nearly bought an ice-cream at the lakeside, but decided to purchase 2 pints of Guinness each instead ....
Keep on trucking.
N.

 

[André4Renaults]

Love that little Fiat 500! Four adults AND luggage.... I'm surprised it moved at all!