R1120 Chassis Numbers

[malcolm]

OK, so I've been weak and have arranged to buy another R4. This time a '65 R1120. I'm planning to go to France on Sunday to collect the car and drive it home, but you'll hear all about that later.

To insure the car I need to know the chassis number, but I'm not convinced I have the right one. Does 1120-5243040 make sense to anyone as a May 1965 chassis number? My unrestorable '65 car has the chassis number 1120-4032466 and I can't believe there are a million cars inbetween. I'm wondering if I've been given a body number or something equally strange.

 

[daviddb]

1120 chassis numbers

For what it's worth ( not a lot) the chassis number of our May 1968 1120 is 1120-5669919.

Not sure what that proves but there it is.....


David

(snowy in the pyrenees)

 

[claude van rouge]

The year in log books (and other documents) can sometimes be unreliable.

According to the certificate of conformity for Claude he was first registered in 1987, the original warranty document gives the model year of 1989, he was delivered new (apparently), to the British Embassy in Cameroon in 1990. His old English log book gave the date of first registration as 1994 (the year he was imported into the UK) and his carte gris now has the same year.

So Claude is a 1987,1989, 1990,1994 model!

 

[angel]

You are reading the diamond plate/chassis number which has nothing to say about the date of construction (the oval plate number is for this). It is only for registration purposes.

Are you sure it is '65? Can you give us the oval plate number?

 

[malcolm]

I don't know the oval plate number. The car is near Avignon in France - I'll collect it next week. Everything looks correct for 1965 from the photos - early instruments, '65 seats and exterior trim, and a pre-66 body from the rear window shape.

So the chassis number can be misleading. Thanks for yours David - that's higher than my later car. That's good information. Here are the photos:

 

[David M]

Congratulations

That looks like an exceptional car. From the photos it looks complete, with no damage apart from the rear bumper. The paintwork is even and lustrous. The interior appears unmarked. Well done, Malcolm!
Is it a low-milage always garaged story or has it had a complete restoration?

Regards,

David

 

[jjad]

Oooh! I'm jealous! That's a great looking car Malcolm

 

[malcolm]

Looks lovely in the photos. I'm told it's good otherwise too, though I've not seen it so I'm taking a chance on it based on the photos. It was owned by a Curate for a long time, hasn't been restored but was resprayed at least a year ago. It's covered less than 60,000 miles.

Whatever it's like it will probably be a better starting point than my own identical '65 car which has rusted so badly it's not sensibly restorable. Besides, the new car cost less than my own '65 would have cost to restore. Anyone fancy a game of Renault 4 snap?

 

[Bluebell]

You've got a treasure trove of spart parts there Malcolm. You could perhaps swop back bumpers? And number plates to save you re-registering? :shock:

 

[paulandpat]

What a naughty suggestion!!!!:!: Some french cars have chassis plates riveted on with those odd spiral rivet things you can pull out and change over - Citroen H van engine number plates spring to mind!!!

 

[malcolm]

Not going to change number plates - would be B reg when I get mine registered. The F reg on my other '65 is much less cool (it was registered new on import). Besides, that would be naughty.

No hurry to re-register though. Most insurance companies would only allow me 14 days on French plates which wouldn't have left me enough time to get home, MOT and make an appointment with the DVLA. The company I've insured with is much more flexible so I'll probably still be on French plates for the Renault 4 run in May. I think the UK law allows me 6 months, but I've not found the info yet.

 

[claude van rouge]

I would have thought, but I'm not certain, that the six month rule would be similar to the situation we were in when we moved to France with our cars. The cars were registered to us in the UK but we had to get the cars CT'd (MOT'd) and re-registered in France within 6 months.