should I do it?

[will]

When I was a kid my parents had a renault 4, and I always liked it. Now I'm responsible enough, I would love to be driving round the lanes in one.
I am pondering about buying a 1979 TL, that apparently is in good condition. Particularly in terms of chassis rust. Should I go for it?
If the chassis is fine now is it likely to rust up in the next few years? Is there anything I could do to prevent the rust? I'm reasonably practical and have been servicing an old Nova for the past year, and would be willing to learn to do work on the Renault.

My partner thinks it will end up costing us quite a bit of money and lots of my time. What do you people think?

Thanks
Will

 

[malcolm]

Welcome to the forum Will.

Everyone should own a Renault 4!

I prefer the GTL to the TL due to the larger engine, higher gearing, and less years to accumulate rust. Having said that I used a TL to commute from Dundee to Cambridge for a few years and it seemed to work (if a little slowly).

It's rare to find a TL with a good chassis. They tend to rot around the rear suspension mountings. If it hasn't done so yet, it will certainly try over the next few years. Injecting waxoyl into all the chassis members can help prolong the rusting process. As can regularly hosing dirt from the nooks and crannies underneath.

The main risk of money spending tends to be associated with welding. I have my own welder, so running costs are close to nothing for me. We have Liam on the forum who can provide second hand mechanical parts.

Any old car can take up a lot of time, but I'd guess the Renault 4 is one of the cheapest and least time consuming routes into "classic" motoring. I wouldn't recommend owning an MGB in quite the same way.

:clementi:

 

[Liam4R4SPARES]

Yes ! just buy one . Its not going to break the bank and the worst case scenario is that you cannot deal with running one and you sell it on.As long as the underside is good everything else can be repaired .I can supply spares and the website is a great comfort blanket if any problems should arise .

 

[will]

More advice

more advice needed

I'm going to look at this 79 TL. What should I look at? Can I check out the chassis just by looking underneath or do you need to take any covers off? It's very low milage, is there anything I need to be aware of with a low milage vehicle?

It needs new front wings, do I need to get these from a renault dealer or will my local car parts shop get them? It needs rubber seals for the windscreen as well should this be a problem sourcing?

Last of all. My thinking is if the chassis is as good as the guy says it is, I would be better off going for this vehicle rather than the GTL van on ebay at the moment, that has alot of rear chassis rust. Sound right?

Thanks for your valuable opinions.

Will

 

[malcolm]

Hmmm. Buyers guide. Must get around to writing one of those sometime. In fact I got about 1/100th of the way through a buyers guide earlier in the year. You can see some of the areas of the chassis to look at on http://www.renault4.co.uk/buyers-guide.htm

The restoration section of this site might be useful too. Just have a look at the bits I've restored and see if they need doing.

The TL is likely to be a better option than the van, especially if the TL stands up for inspection and the van turns out to be the one I've seen photos of (lift up the floor mats).

For a low mileage vehicle - there shouldn't be too much to worry about. Make sure the engine turns over. Apart from that you'll have to look at tyres, exhaust and brakes. But they are service items.

The wings are available from Renault (£26 plus VAT last time I looked) and the windscreen seal was available a couple of years ago. Hopefully that'll still be a possibility. Otherwise Liam will surely do you a decent secondhand one.

If you are in doubt, post lots of photos of the car on the forum or in the gallery, particularly of areas that can cause issues. We'll have a look. It's tricky to be value cars from photos, but un-repairable is normally easy to spot.