hi everyone

[cardifflad]

firstly happy new year to everyone,

just joined today, so ant help would be much appreciated, also im not much good working with cars, but willing to learn. Ive just been given from a dear friend a Renault 4 L which has been garaged for the last 10 years without moving or started up, tyres are flat, and battery being taken out, it has only travelled 16,000 miles and is in its orginal condition, i.e. excellent cond.
My first question would be ..what battery do i need to purchase and what precautions should i take if the engine hasnt been turned over for such a long time, believe me as i said cars are not my strongest subject ,any help from you all would be great.

cheers

 

[cardifflad]

sorry to mention the car was born in 1971

 

[pepper]

Change the oil and if its been standing that long the petrol should be drained out and fresh put back in. I'd also get the points opened and clean between them and make sure there is a good spark before trying to fire up the engine.

I'd take the king lead off the engine and turn it over until the oil light goes out to make sure there is plenty of oil around the engine, that should also bring the fresh petrol up, then I'd replace the king lead and it should with some fingers crossed fire up.

 

[malcolm]

I'm not sure of the battery - a good motor factor should have the battery listed for the old R4s. Otherwise take measurements of the space available and work out where the leads go (I think terminals towards the center of the car and positive rearwards) and get something that fits. I'm not sure if the '71 cars were 6V or 12V. That must have been around the changeover and will be important. Pull the ash tray out - it should say 6V or 12V on the back of the wiper motor. Or remove a bulb from one of the lights - the voltage should be stamped on it.

For recommissioning an old car I'd be inclined to remove the spark plugs, squirt a little oil into the cylinders, and turn the engine over on the starter motor with the plugs removed until oil pressure builds up (maybe 15 seconds).

There's a danger (depending on storage conditions) that piston rings may have seized to the pistons. This could result in poor compression and scratched bores if the car is started. I normally take the risk, start the car, then check the compressions after a couple of minutes of running at about 2000 rpm. If the compressions are good the piston rings should be free. If not the couple of minutes running shouldn't have done too much damage.

The petrol will be stale after 10 years and will smell disgusting like white spirit. Syphon it out (there is a drain plug in the tank but it will be seized and might pull out of the tank if you try to remove it) and put a couple of cans of fresh petrol in.

The carb would probably need puling of for a good clean up. There will likely be sludge in the float chamber and the jets will need blowing out. The distributor will probably need a service with new points and any other crusty looking bits replaced.

Post some pictures - the car sounds like a brilliant find.

 

[cardifflad]

thanks for the important info lads, i will post pics as soon as poss. would the drain plug for the petrol be on the tank? im going to need a lot of coaching to get her up to scratch lol. once again thanks. im hoping to get her to my garage next week would she be ok to tow??? or would i need a low loaded ?
15489 genuine miles on the clock, there are new micheline tyres on her , flat though , ill give them some air and see what happens, tan leather bench seats as new, no wear at all,even the chrome work is in good condition, speak to soon, paul

 

[edwardhall]

Work shop manual

Hello
i would advise that you invest in a work shop manual you can learn a lot from it.