Fuego!

[Station]

I saw this on Sunday night for sale on this very board. With the promise I won't buy anymore cars (before I bought the Nippa), I trained it 150 miles down to Somerset and drove it home.

 

 

I've only owned one French car before (Peugeot CTi) and my dad had a Peugeot 104 years ago, so was expecting the engine to disintegrate into ash and the electrics to fail into oblivion or something, but the whole car made it to Coventry without a hitch, and then onto The Wirral (another 140 miles) and then back down to Coventry again after I missed my train! I haven't driven it hard a lot, but the only fault was the dashboard bulbs (replaced), the stereo fuse blew on the way from sale, and the car doesn't run too well if it's under 1/2 a tank. The front wings have a couple of fixable dents and there's simple blebs of surface rust on various panels, but that's it, no holes that I can see. The seats are unbelievably comfy and brown and I'm really happy with it, even though I really shouldn't have bought it!

 

 

I'm driving it back up again and making a start on getting the body paint sorted. It kinda reminds me of a faster version of a Porsche 924, or even a Starion.

 

(photos courtesy of Mr Jon Watanabe).

[Spiny Norman]

Most excellent!

Like the Fuegos, and I remember seeing that one on here and the AS Face-ache page too. Nice to see it's gone to a good home.

[skattrd]

Nice one, I'm glad it's staying in the shiter fraternity.

Will this be making an appearance at Chumley? I'd love to see it in the metal.

[TagoraSX]

Very nice

[Partridge]

Blimey, they do still exist. I thought it was an urban myth.

[garethj]

Excellent choice, all the best people have dodgy old coupes! The drawbacks of a sportscar with the faults of the saloon built in.

 

I'm sure one of Trigger's excellent scans have got a Fuego in the road test, I think it's part of a group test

[nigel bickle]

I've quite a few spares for these (I do own 3 ,& several 18's).

 

Shout if you get stuck -but hope you enjoy it. They are nice enough cars to drive -and a bit different in an increasingly anonymous society.

[HillmanImp]

That does look quite splendid. Would love one of these.

 

There always strike me as being sat quite high up. Whats the ride in them like (I have not been in once since I was 9)? Looks wise I think they are a car that would benefit from being lowered slightly but dont know how they ride to start with.

[Spiny Norman]

...dont know how they ride to start with.

 

Like a 70s Renault....

Probably one of the few cars where mild stick-hitting would be a win-win situation. Better looks and less roly-poly handling without the ride deteriorating to Ford standards.

[dollywobbler]

Superb. As it was standing for many years, I wonder if the fuel tank needs a proper empty? Probably all sorts of gunky crap in there. Major kudos for driving it all over the place! A definite win wagon.

[Station]

I'm going to take the sender out of the boot area and have a nose inside. I'm not sure if the fuel filter has been replaced, I've got a new one on order.

I'm taking it to Chomnomley. I think I'd do more damage lowering it - it'd spoil the nice ride which is really a + factor. I'd hate to 'modify' it in any way, seeing as it's lasted so well for 29 years!

I possibly do need bits Mr Bickle! Do you know what radios, if any came in these?

[Junkman]

My father (a true autoshiter in his own right) had two of those in succession, both bought new.

The first one was nixed in the legendary Munich hailstorm of 1986, which prompted the purchase of the second one on the insurance claim.

Both were 2 litre GTXes with (unheard of back then) remote control door locks, which was a nice party trick and brag about gimmick in the mid-80s.

All I can remember is that the seats are more comfy than a 1940s armchair and my father's standard sentence:

 

"The only car that really doesn't rust is a Renault."

[Mr Lobster]

Wowsers. That's splendid, nice buy.

[willswitchengage]

Excellent. Very good! Lovely! Very jealous.

[HillmanImp]

Like a 70s Renault....

 

I did suspect as much. My experience of old Renaults is that they have more roll than Allinsons. I reckon it would look pretty smart with a little tweaking.

[nigel bickle]

The ride is pretty normal -by Renner standards. The turbo feels the same as the GTX (to me) -comfy but limited roll. They can hustle on. The turbo tends to knacker its starter motor (difgficult turning the caqr over when really hot) because its too close to the exhaust manifold.

Stereo? Mine have all got something different -standard DIN sized hole. I' ve put a 'modern' in the GTX (going back on the road this summer) with a Renault blanking plate over the front.

 

I've prob got a spare if you want? Its just a piece of black plastic -Renault symbol to one end (DIN sized).