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Renault 4 new chassis in 2013?

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benchseat

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I have just received a circularised EMail from Mélun RetroPassion giving details of their "new chassis" project. They say that they are aiming for an availability date of 2013 and that the price will if possible be kept to under 2000 Euros (about £1700 at present rates).

Assuming that this project is successful, members should be alert to the possibility of new chassis being available and should start saving their pennies now. One imagines that the better response Mélun get to this scheme, the longer the product is likely to be available.

Although one should not be totally optimistic at this stage, the implication is that if you have an R4 with a shot chassis but the rest in good order, it may be worth postponing restoration until a new chassis is available, rather than attempting to restore the existing chassis with all the long-term problems that welding onto rust can bring. Hopefully the metallurgical quality of these new chassis will be better than was achievable 20-50 years ago.
 
I already mentioned in another topic that on the Dutch forums there has already been word that the project is cancelled because the market was too small. Don't know if it's true though.
 
It seems a shame, the usable stock of 2CV's improved radically when replacement chassis became available, likewise their value.
 
The EMail I received was dated 19th April 2012 : assuming this is accurate, it certainly gives the impression that the project is ongoing. There was a German R4 chassis project which ran into the ground about two years ago (see Thread entitled "New Chassis Are Being Made !!!!!").

One has to be realistic about the prospects of this project coming to fruition, even though Mélun seem to be as well qualified as any to carry it through. Hopefully they will keep us posted (even if the project is cancelled). As "barnfind" implies, it would be in their interests to ensure that the maximum number of R4s continue on the road.
 
I had the e-mail as well yesterday ,it does seem a bit pricey ,but it is a good idea,espaicaly if you could buy the full floorpan as if that was available it would save a lot of cars.
 
I wouldn't describe Euro 2000 to get an R4 back on the road as excessive (given that most of us can do the work ourselves). Good-condition R4s seem to be fetching high prices these days (or rather, high prices are being asked, which is not necessarily the same thing . . .), particularly RHD models. Essentially you'd be paying E2000 to recreate a machine which might be worth twice that, the only further major expense being a respray.
 
I wrote to Mélun acknowledging receipt of their publicity (see first post on this Thread) and have just received an acknowledgement from them. So the project is evidently still very much alive.

Apparently you can see progress of the project on Mélun's website or their Facebook account.

It may help if any reader of this Forum who is serious about purchasing a new chassis, but has not yet told Mélun of their intention to do so, should get in touch with them. The more encouragement and interest (from genuine, committed potential purchasers) they receive, the higher are the chances of this project coming to fruition. The staffmember who contacted me (Stéphanie Pereira) writes good English.

One additional point : if economic problems in the Eurozone continue to escalate, and if UK interest rates go up, the anticipated price of €2000 may be less in £GBP in a year's time than it is at present (all other things e.g. inflation being equal).
 
A friend went to Melun Retro Passion last week, on his way to a road trip, and told me he saw a stack of some 40 R4 new chassis...
 
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