R20 TS Resto thread - UPDATE 20/10/16 Dead Fuego makes good organ donor!

[doubleyeller]

Have you not got the head off yet? We are all waiting patiently to find out if it's an interference unit or not.

 

And if it is, how badly interfered with is it?

No, not yet, it's not me who's doing it though! I don't want to push my luck with the garage by nagging them - after all there's not many places will let you dump a dead R20 on the doorstep and give it a home! Top lads or what?

[Dick Cheeseburger]

No, not yet, it's not me who's doing it though! I don't want to push my luck with the garage by nagging them - after all there's not many places will let you dump a dead R20 on the doorstep and give it a home! Top lads or what?

For giggles, you should have had it towed to your local RenNO stealers and asked them to quote on 'getting it running and back as new again.' I bet half of them wouldn't have even seen a 20 in the flesh.

Looking forward to the next step on this one.

[doubleyeller]

After a phone call from the garage to say that the new cam belt was on the 20, I raced down. At the lights in town, this beige Ital drew up alongside the car - winning shot or what?

 

 

I raced into the garage, only to find that they still hadn't managed to get a spark in the plugs. (enjoy the 20TX style anti climax there?)

 

However, I found some interesting 1989/1990 snack debris in the rear ashtray of the 20TS

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this riveting update, I hope to get back to you all when the old girl is finally up and running - if I haven't been murdered by terrorists

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[doubleyeller]

Great news! The garage have got this running, and there is no valve damage to the engine!

Even better news, the automatic gear box is fully functioning!

 

Unfortunately I wasn't there to see it myself, when I went in at the weekend, I tried to start it, and the starter motor promptly died! 

I was also told that the wiper motor had seized and needed replacing.............

 

But overall, good news, right? At least we now know the engine and gearbox are fine, so the whole project is a goer!

[vulgalour]

Finally found the thread!  Hooray for the excellent news!  Have a thread bump!

[doubleyeller]

Ok, not so much happening on the 20 at the mo - due to redundancy and lack of funds! However, I did find out that, like the Maxi, the seats in the Series 20 fold down to make a very acceptable travel bed!

 

 

Also, been having a look at the sills - some welding needed! Especially around the nearside rear, where the arch has rotted, and been cut away - sill cover and all! I have a repair panel for the whole rear arch, but can anyone advise a more time and cost effective (IE less paint) repair?

 

 

[vulgalour]

Pick two:

Quick

Cheap

Proper

 

There's no escaping cutting out the rot and welding new metal in if you want it to last.  Filler and the like is a false economy if you want to keep the car.  For the paint side of things, if you have any aptitude with aerosols you might be able to get a reasonable finish to the repairs.  Pale metallic green isn't as common as once it was but there are still some manufacturers using it, the main one that comes to mind is the Honda Jazz.

 

 

It might not be a perfect match but if you check out the Halfords paint racks you could get lucky and find something close to the existing shade.  For localised repairs, this is a reasonable solution as it's not so obvious as a big smear of red oxide and acceptable on an older rare car, people will just assume it's giffer owned.

 

As for the rest of the car, you'd be amazed what you can clean up and restore without spending any money and sometimes without spending much time either.  Good old soapy water and a nail brush can work wonders on vinyl, for instance, and costs next to nothing.  Steel wheels can be rubbed down with wire wheels in a household drill, masked off with playing cards (£1 a pack from the pound shop) and all four painted with a single can of wheel paint.  The black inserts can be done similarly cheaply with a different can of paint, a roll of cheap masking tape and some patience.

[Skizzer]

Love Renault 20s, especially with TS powah Congratulations on getting it running!

 

If it's anything like the 16, "hotel mode" is actually a pretty comfy place to sleep.

[chaseracer]

^ Unlike a W124 Merc, slightly surprisingly! #SF15

[ShiteRider]

Jeez louise, i'd forgotten all about '54321' s.

Cool car, good luck with it.

[Parky]

Great news on the engine!

 

As VA says not many folk use a metallic green anymore but someone somewhere online should be able to make something up cheaply enough?

 

Even worth trying an older Renault dealer who might have some dusty cans out the back they want shot of

 

Otherwise for extra cheapness, some gloss rollers and a couple of tins of tekaloid/dulux/B&q value emulsion will see the whole car looking peachy.

[Asimo]

 

For extra sleeping legroom the back of the rear seat swings forward at the bottom & upward and hooks out of the way; ISTR there is a strap that hooks on the grabrail.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Finally found the thread!  Hooray for the excellent news!  Have a thread bump!

  

Ok, not so much happening on the 20 at the mo - due to redundancy and lack of funds! However, I did find out that, like the Maxi, the seats in the Series 20 fold down to make a very acceptable travel bed!

 

WP_20160618_12_40_09_Pro.jpg

 

Also, been having a look at the sills - some welding needed! Especially around the nearside rear, where the arch has rotted, and been cut away - sill cover and all! I have a repair panel for the whole rear arch, but can anyone advise a more time and cost effective (IE less paint) repair?

 

WP_20160804_17_20_59_Pro.jpg

Maybe try and find a mobile welder to quote for thr repair, ensuring they will cut the rot out and fabricate repair plates, rather than slap a patch over the grot. As for airyassholes, don't Halfrauds have an actual mixing service? Great to see this old beast again anyhoo.

[320touring]

Re the paint- try Paints4u.com

 

they seem to be pretty good at matching original shades,assuming you can give a paint code - not too expensive either.

 

I've had a few things off them and they seem to be decent

[doubleyeller]

Re the paint- try Paints4u.com

 

they seem to be pretty good at matching original shades,assuming you can give a paint code - not too expensive either.

 

I've had a few things off them and they seem to be decent

 

Thanks for the suggestions folks - nice to come to a place where people appreciate the project instead of looking me up and down like a nutter! As you can imagine, being 27, all my friends just see this as old scrap!

I have little or no knowledge of mechanicals or bodywork, and have probably bitten off more than I can chew, especially for a first project! That said, I am of the opinion that the car is well worth saving, particularly as I think these are more or less extinct! Are there any more out there? 

[Junkman]

 

Capture.JPG

 

For extra sleeping legroom the back of the rear seat swings forward at the bottom & upward and hooks out of the way; ISTR there is a strap that hooks on the grabrail.

 

 

That feature was carried over from the R16.

[Pillock]

Great, now I've got the 5-4-3-2-1 song in my head.

 

Good update though, thanks

[brownnova]

Glad to see an update on this! Keep going, it'll be unique when it's done!

[For Fiats Sake]

[Parky]

Thanks for the suggestions folks - nice to come to a place where people appreciate the project instead of looking me up and down like a nutter! As you can imagine, being 27, all my friends just see this as old scrap!

I have little or no knowledge of mechanicals or bodywork, and have probably bitten off more than I can chew, especially for a first project! That said, I am of the opinion that the car is well worth saving, particularly as I think these are more or less extinct! Are there any more out there?

 

They are out there but very rare indeed.

 

Have you got a paint code? It's usually on the vin plate or on a sticker somewhere. If we have that we can all go googling and seeing who can find the cheapest supplier.

 

I will say that even if you find a fresh aerosol of genuine Renault paint it is not going to match the 35 year old paint your car is wearing!!

[Bren]

Thanks for the suggestions folks - nice to come to a place where people appreciate the project instead of looking me up and down like a nutter! As you can imagine, being 27, all my friends just see this as old scrap!

I have little or no knowledge of mechanicals or bodywork, and have probably bitten off more than I can chew, especially for a first project! That said, I am of the opinion that the car is well worth saving, particularly as I think these are more or less extinct! Are there any more out there?

 

Obviously you have no knowledge of mechanicals or bodywork. You bought an old Renault. You joined autoshite.

[richbraith]

Rebadge it as a Dacia 2000

[doubleyeller]

Rebadge it as a Dacia 2000

 

I'd feel mean, as Nikolai Ceaucescu's secret police apparently used to knock about in those - and one parked outside your door meant certain death! Plenty of Romanians round here like............

[doubleyeller]

Thanks for all  the advice guys - I'm needing to find a new job before I can even contemplate making any progress - the nail brush and soapy water being a possible exception! It concerns me that the guy will want it out of his garage (fair enough really) if he's not getting on with it due to my finances - in the worst case scenario would anyone here potentially be interested in this fine motor?

 

Anyways, enough gloomy talk - have another picture!

 

 

This was the beast coming out of it's 26 year hibernation back in March! As you can see, the Offside wing, front bumper and front scuttle panel had been removed by the previous owner's nephew in order to replace the said wing - but it never got done, despite him having obtained a wing from a blue 20. Odd really, a 10 minute job to put it all back together.................

 

ALL DONE!

 

[doubleyeller]

If anyone would like to take a look at this lovely 20, or try out the (mega comfy) drivers seat, the car is at Jubilee Motors in Shipley. Any small donations for the starter motor fund will be greatfuly received, please leave under the centre armrest.

 

[Skizzer]

My sort of thing but that's bad timing for me unfortunately, as I've just taken on another big project. Hopefully you'll quickly resolve your job challenge and will be able to keep it and see the resto through.

 

With unknown amounts of welding needed I fear it's not going to be worth big money. For God's sake don't scrap it or oval race it though.

[doubleyeller]

My sort of thing but that's bad timing for me unfortunately, as I've just taken on another big project. Hopefully you'll quickly resolve your job challenge and will be able to keep it and see the resto through.

 

With unknown amounts of welding needed I fear it's not going to be worth big money. For God's sake don't scrap it or oval race it though.

Well it will only owe me big money once the resto's finished. like you say, it would be criminal not to give it a fighting chance of survival.- howmanyleft data may be notorious, but I'd be surprised if their claim of only two surviving

TS automatics is wrong......................

[Skizzer]

My post wasn't very helpful, was it? Sorry. Someone will probably flame me for saying "I don't want it but you mustn't sell it to a banger racer even though you have nowhere to store it and could probably do with the cash."

 

What I think I mean is, it's worth saving so keep us posted and don't do anything rash. Be great if this stayed in the family - ideally with you following good news on the employment front.

[doubleyeller]

My post wasn't very helpful, was it? Sorry. Someone will probably flame me for saying "I don't want it but you mustn't sell it to a banger racer even though you have nowhere to store it and could probably do with the cash."

 

What I think I mean is, it's worth saving so keep us posted and don't do anything rash. Be great if this stayed in the family - ideally with you following good news on the employment front.

It's all good - best thing from my point of view would be if anybody local needs stuff  like bulbs / tyres / MOT etc, take it to the garage  (Jubilee Motors in Shipley) and mention you brought it because you'd heard about the old Renault they were doing up - they're far less likely to get fed up and evict it if they see it's bringing customers in!

[For Fiats Sake]

Is there enough potential loving owners on here to justify a "Sierra base" style purchase and restoration?

 

As it was born on the wrong side of the alps for my taste my only involvement would be to chuck a few euro in the pot to see it kept in the fold - unless you could hammer a FIAT badge over the current one.

 

Don't panic, something will work out, unless you already owe the garage, in which case I would recommend a payday loan from Autoshite financial services*.

 

All the best with it.

 

*10000%APR Variable, term and conditions apply.  Your bollocks may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments.  Regulated by the Financial Goons Authority.  Complaints dealt with by "Big Dave".