R4 GTL 1985 Restoration

[JdeW]

Chassis small update

New heavy metal has arrived (and still I'm a big fan of the NWOBHM as well ) a repair piece of the left outer rear suspension mounting.


Meanwhile doing some small panel repairing...

Cutting away


Preparing replacement steel and welding


Sanding the out- and inside


While I was doing all those things above I put my youngest son to work on rough cleaning the replacement rear axle




But just cleaning is a lousy job (but somebody has got to do it ) so I gave him a new challenge... (he's eager on learning new crafts and knowledge as long as it's technical). Learning how to MIG weld by himself..... (I think he peeked on his fathers Cebora welder setting's and welding art )


Final first results...


But the correct welding challenge remains for his own future safety


We'll keep you updated next time

 

[Jurjenz]

I'm sure you had really pleasant days working in the sun like that! Are you going to replace the outer axle mounts?

And hey, did I spot a bavaria kratje?

 

[JdeW]

Hi Jurjen, you've got a keen eye on spotting that Bavaria crate I just use those crates as a stand, and the actual brewery is just 3 km away from my home
And yes the whole rear axle will be refurbished so the outer axle mounts (aka outer silent blocks) as well as the inner silent blocks will be replaced after the torsionbars are removed.
Though the inner bushing don't tend to be problematic, I noticed on the old original rear axle that the rubber on the inner bushing started to desintegrate.
That is to expect after more than 30 years of wear and tear...
This link is a nice tutorial and with the torsion bars removed it's much much more easier to remount the rear axle.

 

[JdeW]

Again small update The Chassis

Some small panel & strip repair


And after some further cutting, hamering, welding, sanding and zinc spraying, this small job's done.


Thanks to Robert (aka Harbourseal). I got my hands on his rear axle jig


Crude fitting of the rear left outer suspension mounting.


Cutting and it seems to fit


As mentioned earlier, I would amputate some old donor parts
Gave it a cleaning and sanding and welded the old parts in place.




The repair part for the outer suspension mounting is for 2/3 complete. I only have to weld some extra 2mm zincore sheet metal to make it a whole and the dimensions for some injection slots, to protect chassis cavities, are copied to the new part.


And metal labour starts on the next page....

 

[JdeW]

Preparing to weld the part in place.






And as always zinc spraying at the end.


It's awarding to see that rust makes room for new metal, but still a way to go.


More next time

 

[Jurjenz]

Very done!

 

[petak]

Big job done......!

 

[JdeW]

And here we go again, it never stops

Some orders have arrived.


For a change we'll work on the rear axle revision. This means disassembling (removing the torsion bars) and replacing the inner and outer bushing.


With a hammer, chisel and some gentle force the torsion bars are loosened and removed (peace of cake).


Before disassembling both sides of the swingarms are carefully measured and noted.




Now disassembling can start using an iron saw for destroying the inner bushing.


Before tapping the inner bush out we first have to weaken it using the iron saw again.


And tap it out.


Et voila.

 

[JdeW]

The rubber parts are weakened with a drill that's better than with a torch... and with a little force and pliers the rubber bush is removed.
Leaving just a small inner bush. carefully we tap the outsides in and this way the inner bush is weakened and can be removed with pliers.



For the outer bushing again we use a special drill to weaken the rubber inside.


And removed.


There's just one pressed ring to be removed so very carefully I use a small cutting disc just to cut/weaken the ring and not the precious part underneath it and I use a large screwdriver to further cut and split the thingy.


Now it's easy to get rid of any surface rust and give the parts their first new layer of protection.
I use a, from Germany obtained, maritime product Brantho Korrux 3 in 1.


Time to start reassembling the swingarms so get back to all the measurements, notes, pictures and start getting your hands dirty again.
Pressing the new inner bush in place.


Right side done.


Leaving the same procedure for the left side.


Et voila, les deux côtés sont prêts à nouveau.


And the refurbished parts get their second layer of protection, and for now we call it a day.


Next time more to come as we start on restoring the rear right chassis e.g. drilling out the various spotwelds, cutting out many rusty parts and panels and....love it

 

[JdeW]

Minor chassis update on removing the right rear support beam.

Drilling out various spotwelds.


A peek inside the rear support beam reveals again that mice did feast inside the R4's cavities.


Further we go underneath the chassis.


Making some room.


Revealing the rust underneath that patch panel, typical a fast and cheap but poorly fix to get a car pass MOT... This is not the way a repair should be done !!!


Fortunately the youngest son knows the correct way to deal with such a rustodrama.


And away with ye olda stuff.




Still enough to do in preparation for welding the new support beam, but that's next time.

 

[mr-reno-139]

First time I've read this restoration story excellent attention to detail with clear photos and information well done

 

[Jurjenz]

I really love & like your progress Joop, keep it up!!

 

[JdeW]

I really love & like your progress Joop, keep it up!!

Hey Jurjen, thanks mate and how about your progress on the paint job?
We've had excellent weather conditions here in the southeast for the last 4 days...
Grtz, Joop

 

[Marco93]

Wow, Compliments, Amazing job!!

 

[Fentible]

As ever I am in awe of this level of craftmanship. My own LHD 1984 Renault 4 is currently languishing in France and I still have 2 years until we move out there permanently (Brexit willing) before I can begin the mechanical restoration of a remarkably rust free example. So just wanted to say thank you for the high quality photos and accompanying notes that I am sure will be of great future assistance.

 

[JdeW]

Here we are again with progress on chassis works.

New parts arrived.


Cut away the old outer part and taking measurements with the new outer repair part.


The outer repair parts gets it's extra sheet panels and after some hours the new and old part, hardly any difference......


And the youngest one is also put to metalworks creating the injection slots.


First small tack welds joining old and new, plug welding upper side of the rear cross beam to the outer beam and seam welding the outer beam all around.


Aligning the new inner support beam and keep an eye on the measurements.


Plug welding the inner support beam to the rear cross beam.


Welding the overlap in place


And a zinc finish for primary protection-

 

[JdeW]

Preparing to close the gap and plug welding the panel in place.


Now it's time to fix the floor at the rear, so lining up a rear left repair panel.


Preparation on the floor panel has been done, fitting, grinding, fitting, tapping, hammering, fitting, grinding and drilled a countless number of holes for the plug welds.


The youngest is starting on crude preparation on the rear right bottom panel.


And again fitting, grinding, fitting, tapping, hammering, fitting, grinding and drilled a countless number of holes for the plug welds.
Then tack welding starts and a seam weld to start it.


After grinding the welds again the famous zinc protection.


No rest for the youngest, time to clean the gas tank.


The rear right and rear left floor panels are seam welded in position.


Plug welding the floor panels is the next thing to be done after Christmas.

For now I wish you all a merry Christmas and all the best R4 miles for 2018.
Cheers

 

[Jurjenz]

Love it, love it, love it!

 

[JdeW]

Love it, love it, love it!

Thanks for the compliment Jurjen you did allready a hell of a metal replacement job on your chassis still I peek sometimes on your restoration pictures

 

[JdeW]

Again a small update on chassis works

Starting with plug welding on the rear right.


And after a while right and left look like this.


Grinding is more time consuming then welding..


And after a few hours and a thorough decreasing it looks like this.


And off course a zinc protection is applied.


The gas tank also get's its further cleaning and decreasing. On the first cleaning job I noticed a dent probably it occured somewhere in the R4's early lifespan. But it's not leaking so no hassle to replace it.


And the first layer of spraypaint is applied.


The rear chassis is almost done.
What's left is a small modification on the ends of the outer beams that keeps away any future dirt pilling up on that particular part.
Now it's still open.


A strip of sheet metal will be applied as shown below (photo by courtesy of Jurjen) and some holes will be drilled so that the Mike Sanders grease can reach the cavity at the end's inside.


That's it for it now, the first year of restoration has passed.
A lot has been done and it's still fun and rewarding this massive DIY project.
Keep it safe tonight when using fireworks
Cheers.