Restoring my 1988 R4 GTL in BiH

[John Doe]

Batch of parts is on its way to the body shop

 

[randomchuck]

Yep

I would kill to have that space to work. Fantastic job. Not bad with the images either. Must have a good camera.

 

[John Doe]

Thank you. Most of the things you see are not being done me but I will be working on the engine with my father. I do hope the next big restoration will be done by me I have a Nikon Coolpix L100, not bad at all but most of the photos are taken by my Samsung Galaxy S2 phone.

 

[John Doe]

Body primed...

 

[John Doe]

In the meantime I have ordered batch of parts from France including another grill since the one that I have has the shiny that goes around connected at the top. Well the new one was correct but it was missing a little part that covers the joint.

 

[John Doe]

Chassis in black and the rear suspension from another car which turned out to be the problem later on. Engine block was cleaned by me with the steel brush on the grinder.

 

[John Doe]

And then there was a big problem with the rear suspension, the wheels were way off and we couldn't get them in the right position. After few day we figured that the suspension itself was bent out of the shape. The old one was just fine but it had to be sand blasted and the outer mounting were used on the first one so I have ordered new. This is the current progress.

 

[Snoopy1974]

Definitively... SUPERB

 

[John Doe]

Thank you Snoopy I can't make a decision on what color to go with...

 

[John Doe]

I have decided on the color, it will be Alpine Bleu 485

 

[John Doe]

In the winter sun...

 

[RichardIRL]

I have decided on the color, it will be Alpine Bleu 485

This blue was available on late GTLs and is very nice.

I would actually love this blue on a car

 

[Snoopy1974]

Hi Richard,

first of all, did you receive the bubbles ? Are they ok ?

One of my GTL has this nice blue, but it's completely tarnished, and the number of the paint is not under the bonnet (maybe the inner wing has been changed ?...) do you know the exact code of this blue ??

 

[John Doe]

This blue was available on late GTLs and is very nice.

I would actually love this blue on a car

I was not sure if this color was available on the R4 so that was my biggest concern. Are you sure this is 485? If so, I can not tell you how happy I am

 

[pepper]

I'm another huge fan of the alpine blue, I'd love an A5atmo...

 

[RichardIRL]

Alexandre, I did receive them - just about 5 days ago when I messaged you - but I still can't switch the bulbs as I can't figure out how to open the headlights.

John, no I don't think its Alpine blue.

I think this is Bleu Orage 428 - but I am not one hundred sure.

I think it looks better when not faded, but it really looks striking. I am surprised the colour was not more popular.

 

[Cornish4]

It's quite easy really Richard, you simply lever off the plastic cover from the back of the headlight with a flat screwdriver, disconnect the electrical block, unclip the two bulb retaining clips and lift out the bulb. Make sure you don't disturb the plastic adjuster for left and right hand drive and refit the new bulb also making sure you line up the "tit" on the bulb with the slot in the aperture. Simples!

 

[RichardIRL]

Thank you Cornish. I will try that tomorrow hopefully if it's not raining.

John, I just saw a picture of your bronze R4 in your album and it looks in good condition. I am just wondering if it really deteriorate so badly in such a short length of time, as there is no evidence of any rust on the left A-panel or rear quarter panels. I realise pictures are often flattering, but the deterioration is spectacular.

There is another picture of that nice metallic bleu orage in Album Renault 4, also on a 1986-1988 R4 GTL and it looks very very nice.

 

[RichardIRL]

I found another 1987 GTL with that colour on leboncoin.

I think the colour works well with the grey trim, but not so much with black

 

[John Doe]

I think the biggest problem was that seams were not sealed at all, there was not much to weld last time, only minor things.

In your opinion should I go with the 428 or 485?