Supercinq - theorganist goes back to his youth!

[theorganist]

Well not quite but my first car was a phase 1 Yellow A reg Renault 5TL. I purchased it in 1992 when I was 17. It was only 8 years old and not too rotten although there was an advisory on the sub frame. However one crankshaft failure and two head gasket failures and a burnt out circuit board behind the dash and a non working speedo meant it ended up being part exchanged for a mark 1 Fiesta (at a bomb site car dealers) which was a lot older and in probably worse condition.

 

I have been hankering after another Renault 5 for some time and am about to realise my dream!

 

It is a phase 2 Superfive in fairly short lived 1237cc TR trim level, I believe the 1237cc engine went into the Twingo. Here are some pictures. I am hoping to collect it Saturday and drive it back from Frome. I am paying £300 for it which I don't think is too bad, of course in autoshite fashion I haven't heard it running, I only have the owners assurances!

 

 

I am not entirely sure what is going on with the mesh grill, I presume it has been damaged at some point! If anyone happens to know where there is one available I would be very interested.

 

 

 

 

[Parky]

Ah, had a couple of these in my youth, would have another like a shot! Absolutely love them

 

What are your plans for it? Quick spruce up and into daily service?

[HMC]

Superb! Haven't seen one for ages, love all the period dealer stuff in the rear window. Theses generally seem to resist rot well. Looking forward to more pics.

[Sudsprint]

Retro before anyone thought of retro.

[dollywobbler]

Brilliant.

[Craig the Princess]

Looks lovely, never had much to do with Renault 5s so looking forward to this thread

[500tops]

Loving all the original stickers in the rear window!

[mouseflakes]

Retro before anyone thought of retro.

 

You've got it bob-on. Had never really occurred to me, but you're right. These were a pretty decent homage to a well-loved original which somehow managed not to appear contrived, unlike other more recent attempts to do something similar (Beetle, Bini?). I guess it helped that is was a genuine successor to the original as well.

[Lord Sterling]

Looking sweet there Tha_O. I did think the grille looked a bit weird, shouldn't be too difficult to find one though, if not, France is a great place to find spares for these. I'll help you with translation if needs be.

[AlabamaShrimp]

I had one that nearly killed me, had a heater that squealed like a pig and the hardest clutch I've ever used but still not a bad car and I'd have another

[cort1977]

Very nice.   I hope the crooklock comes as part of the deal?

[theorganist]

Ah, had a couple of these in my youth, would have another like a shot! Absolutely love them

 

What are your plans for it? Quick spruce up and into daily service?

Well straight into daily service (or what passes for daily service as I only do around 6,000 miles a year). Certainly a spruce up and find a new grill!

[greengartside]

Superb buy!

 

Re: Mesh grille. There is a 5 at my local breakers which has come in. The front end has all gone but I'm not sure if the grill is still there. Will check and report!

[theorganist]

Looking sweet there Tha_O. I did think the grille looked a bit weird, shouldn't be too difficult to find one though, if not, France is a great place to find spares for these. I'll help you with translation if needs be.

Thanks, we will have to meet up and go for a spin in it.

 

I forgot you speak French, my next aim (at some point in the year....hoepfully) is to replace the Peugeot with another Renault 14 from France only I am not having much luck in finding someone who will sell at the moment, I have messaged a couple of sellers in English and google translated to French but have had no response so far, any help would be much appreciated.

[theorganist]

Superb buy!

 

Re: Mesh grille. There is a 5 at my local breakers which has come in. The front end has all gone but I'm not sure if the grill is still there. Will check and report!

 

Thank you that would be very helpful.

 

There is a red one being broken on ebay, which I could respray if the worse comes to the worse.

[Mr Lobster]

Brilliant! Looks decent enough and a good price too.

 

I've never owned a SuperCinq and at some point I need to rectify that.

[hauserplenty]

I'm temped to say "LeCar" but this appears to be a later design. Was this its successor? If so, it would be underpowered for our roads with only 1200 cc's, but it looks like it's in great condition! Renault are under the radar here at the moment, having acquired Nissan. It seems to be that in the US, one only drives a hatchback if one absolutely has to!

[Cavcraft]

Absolutely love it! The Mk1s are the lookers, but let's be honest, any 5 looks class these days. I very nearly had one last week, but didn't bidf anyhwre near what it was actually worth so lost out.

There is nothing not to like about these cars, look forward to hearing more about it.  

[theorganist]

I'm temped to say "LeCar" but this appears to be a later design. Was this its successor? If so, it would be underpowered for our roads with only 1200 cc's, but it looks like it's in great condition! Renault are under the radar here at the moment, having acquired Nissan. It seems to be that in the US, one only drives a hatchback if one absolutely has to!

I think Le Car was the US version of the Renault 5 mark 1. This was it's successor.

 

I think Renault has always been my favourite make, if I was going to buy a "modern" car it would probably be a Renault or Citroen as they seem to have retained a small sense of individuality. 

[theorganist]

Absolutely love it! The Mk1s are the lookers, but let's be honest, any 5 looks class these days. I very nearly had one last week, but didn't bidf anyhwre near what it was actually worth so lost out.

There is nothing not to like about these cars, look forward to hearing more about it.  

There was a near identical one but on a G plate on ebay last week, in Blackburn I think. It fetched nearly £400 if I recall. There was a nice early TL in Dorset but I didn't bid enough. There are quite a few "standard" ones fetching over £1000 now and seemingly many of them seem to be the auto model.

 

I agree the original 5 has wonderfully clean lines, I do think the phase 2 still retain some of the spirit of the original but I guess facelifts don't always improve the styling. 

 

I will certainly try and do a collection thread on Saturday (hopefully without a picture of us on the hard shoulder of the M5)!

[mercrocker]

Nice one!  Proper gallic-ness before the world went mad.   There was one just up the road from me in daily use until very recently (late last year).  Pleased to see the woman owner has replaced it with a 2CV.   

[RobT]

Nice! Trims will smarten that up a treat, if you can find some OE ones. Shame you don't live closer Peter as I'd be interested to compare the 5 to the Mk1 Clio I bought recently.

[theorganist]

Where are you Rob? I saw your Clio post, it was very interesting, it made me start looking for one. There is a J reg 3 door RT auto near me for sale which I was considering.

[Junkman]

I remember posting it in the eBay thread. I found the shiterised grille arrestingly beautiful. So please don't change it.

I never had such a new one, only series 1 ones, so I'm looking forward to your road test report.

One of these is potential Junkdaughter #1 material.

[Ghosty]

Yep, a LeCar is an early R5 with Fed-spec safety bumpers and headlights.

[17-Coffees]

Epic! 

 

Can't remember the last time I saw one 'in the wild', let alone a 5 door! 

[RobT]

Where are you Rob? I saw your Clio post, it was very interesting, it made me start looking for one. There is a J reg 3 door RT auto near me for sale which I was considering.

South London, so a few miles away from you...how much was it out of interest? Piccie would be good too!

 

I always thought the supercinq was bigger than the Clio for some reason, so I just checked carfolio and it's a tiny bit taller but smaller elsewhere although not by much.

 

Hope all goes well on Saturday!

 

Edit: some mega period trims on ebay, shame there's only two but it's a start.

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-5-TL-1986-Wheel-Trims-PAIR-7700-738-951-/291714701483?hash=item43eb8d18ab:g:pVwAAOSwyjBW7ztG

[Parky]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172023029462?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Found another one so that's three quarters of a set already. Being an anorak I know these are 5 GTL trims which was one up from the TR model The Organist now owns so everyone will think he is a high roller with a 1.4 version!

[theorganist]

Thanks Parky, I am quite often down London way (May bank holiday next) so next time I am down your way I will let you know.

 

Thanks for the pointers re the trims, I have added them to the watch list.

[theorganist]

South London, so a few miles away from you...how much was it out of interest? Piccie would be good too!

 

I always thought the supercinq was bigger than the Clio for some reason, so I just checked carfolio and it's a tiny bit taller but smaller elsewhere although not by much.

 

Hope all goes well on Saturday!

 

Edit: some mega period trims on ebay, shame there's only two but it's a start.

 

$_57.jpeg

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-5-TL-1986-Wheel-Trims-PAIR-7700-738-951-/291714701483?hash=item43eb8d18ab:g:pVwAAOSwyjBW7ztG

 

 

Rob this is the advert for the Clio auto near me.

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/renault/renault-clio-1.4-petrol-automatic-1992/1159942727