Renault 6 rescue (Aug 2020 - rehomed)

[quicksilver]

This has been in progress for a few weeks but I kept it quiet until it was all done and dusted as I didn't want to jinx it. Everything was going well, we were quite happy tinkering with the Maxi and had no intention of buying another classic, yet alone a project that has been off the road for decades, but then a chance remark about a manky old Zafira that even Cavcraft would turn his nose up at set off a chain of events that resulted in the purchase of a Renault 6.

 

It all started with model buses. My friend Bob from the Model Bus Federation passed away recently after spending a couple of years in a care home. I arranged with his executor Barry to visit his house in Rugby and acquire some of his models. The aforementioned Zafira languished on the drive covered in green so I asked Barry what he was going to do with it. He said he'd found a buyer but there was another old car in the garage, which he thought was a Renault 19, was L-reg and only fit for scrap. That doesn't sound too promising but what we found instead was pretty amazing.

 

 

It wasn't a Renault 19 at all but a 1972 Renault 6, pre-facelift, 845cc, last taxed in 1994 - a genuine garage find and a very rare car as the club know of only two others. Under all the dust the bodywork looked amazingly sound but the engine and brakes were seized so we couldn't get it out for a proper look. Nevertheless we knew it was far too good to scrap and Six-cylinder kindly offered to help with transport so we did a deal with Barry and became the owners of an immobile Renault 6 stuck in a garage 30 miles from home. Oh, and did I mention Bob had brush-painted it in 1970s British Rail loco livery so it was two-tone green with a grey roof, black and yellow tape stripes and yellow front and back ends?

 

 

That was just the start of what turned out to be an epic adventure so stay turned for more amazing Renault action...

[Asimo]

I didn't want to jinx it 

 

 

99/10 - Hammerite red buffers?

[strangeangel]

Wow.

[quicksilver]

You want more? But of course, I couldn't leave you hanging there. We'd only gone to Bob's to buy some models and had no idea we'd find a car so we had no tools and couldn't do anything with it then. Just over a week later we packed the trusty Zafira with tools for every eventuality, including a six-foot scaffold pole for applying some brute force, and set off for Rugby again with the aim of getting the Renault rolling. The first job was some gardening to dig away the piles of earth Bob had dumped in front of the garage, and then we could finally open the doors fully and get a proper look at what we'd bought. Luckily Bob had left it with the handbrake off and it turned out that only the nearside front wheel was seized. A bit of persuasion with a breaker bar soon got the wheel turning and the tyres were pumped up. Within 2 hours of our arrival, the car rolled out of the garage and into daylight for the first time in 23 years, much to the amazement of the neighbours, who knew it was there but had never seen it move.

 

 

 

Time for lunch in a very scene fashion as we found a period roof rack to go with it. Sadly there were no pineapples in the hamper.

 

Woollardage was done too.

 

 

And the Renault wasn't the only dead car there as we found this sad Galant further down the alley

 

Our biggest concern was a possible lack of keys. Barry had found some Renault keys but they didn't fit this car so I haven't the faintest idea what they were for or why Bob kept them. I had a rummage in his tin of keys and found a set for a Lada that was long gone, but then pulled out a Renault keyring and sure enough it contained a full set of keys for the 6. The door locks all work but the ignition doesn't - luckily the steering lock is broken as we would have to turn it 90 degrees to get it out. Mission accomplished, we rolled it back into the garage until it could be collected. Stay tuned for incredible things happening on the collection mission!

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Remarkable!

 

What a superb thread.

[strangeangel]

That is genuinely fantastic. I can't tell you how chuffed I'd have been to have opened a garage door expecting to see an R19 and found that (no offence etc.).

 

May the welding wire remain untouched, and the recommissioning be painless.

[vulgalour]

Can you make use of some mechanical spares?  I found 3/4 of the stuff I bought for my later bigger engined R6 were wrong since they were for the smaller engine, so I've got some things like rotor arm, distributor cap and clutch kit in the garage that are brand new and of absolutely no use to me.  You can have them for postage cost, I'll get some pictures of it all for you if you're interested so you know exactly what you're getting.

[hairnet]

adam

 

3 words

 

KEEP THE PAINTJOB

 

so itd not moved for 23 years???

 

how long had bob owned it??

[sierraman]

That's immense. Keep the BR paint, in a bizarre way it suits it!

[spartacus]

This is shaping up nicely to be an epic thread. Not to take anything from the main event but what sort of condition was that Galant in, that looks like a proper waste.

More please!

[wuvvum]

This is one of those threads where I wish I could press the "like" button more than once.

 

 

I think I've got a workshop manual for the early 6 somewhere if it's going to be any use?

[quicksilver]

And so to the fun bit - collection day! What it lacks in epic distance and multiple modes of transport it makes up for in supernatural influence and strange occurrences. Six-cylinder came and picked us up early in the morning and we set off to collect the trailer. Things started out well but then we had a problem with the trailer's lights which meant a trip back to Six-cylinder's gaff and about an hour spent rewiring the lighting plug. Because of that we were very late setting off, which was annoying at the time but as things turned out I'm sure it was divine intervention by Bob and he delayed us deliberately. The journey was uneventful and the Renault was soon steered out of the garage and loaded up ready to leave Rugby. It had lived there all its life, half of which was spent in Bob's garage, but did go to Bournemouth once and objected to that by blowing itself up as we found a hefty bill for an engine rebuild from a Renault dealer there in 1979.

 

 

 

Towing such a distinctive car soon had passers-by staring and pointing in disbelief, but here's where things get really surreal. We got to the A5 roundabout just 5 miles outside Rugby and a couple in a modern Ford something-or-other started frantically gesticulating and flashing their lights for us to pull over. We wondered what on earth could be wrong - had we given them road rage or was the Renault about to fall off the trailer? The woman came running over exclaiming "I can't believe it, that's our old car!" Turns out they had owned this very car back in the early 80s and sold it to Bob, and they assumed it had gone to the scrappers long ago so they never expected to see it again.

 

What are the chances of such a thing happening just 15 minutes after the car emerged from its hiding place of 23 years? Had we not been delayed by the trailer, we'd have been gone long before they got there so I'm convinced Bob was guiding events from the next life and made that meeting happen. The chap recognised the roof rack and remembered buying it from Halfords in the late 70s, and we've since had a text from him saying he's found an old photo that confirms it is definitely the same car. Even now I still can't believe that happened as it's just so utterly mind-blowingly improbable.

 

 

 

The rest of the journey passed without incident and the Renault soon arrived at its new home, after turning a few heads taking it through the middle of Towcester at lunchtime. The first job was a thorough clean to see what it really looked like under 23 years of grime, and then it went into the garage alongside the Maxi. I'm not religious but I do believe everything happens for a reason and that's definitely what happened with this car: Bob wanted us to save it and bump into the previous owners and he used his divine powers to make it happen. Huge thanks to Six-cylinder too for being so helpful as we couldn't have done it without him.

 

Maxi meets its new friend

 

Fleet shot. The Zafira has been evicted to outside storage.

[Bren]

Everything does happen for a reason.

 

The car was meant to be saved.

[beko1987]

Wow thats amazing!

 

Will you have it running for the field of dreams day in September?

[junkyarddog]

What a find,fantastic story too.

 

I lived in Rugby until the tender age of 7.

 

Dad worked in GEC there.

 

Please don't paint that little Renner,please

[Mally]

I'm often having trouble with my trailer plug.

Not because I tread on the cable at 11-30 pm of course.

So I fitted 2 of these just in case.

Look like reflectors, but fit 2 core cable and crocodile clips, clip on to stock car battery and off up the motorway at 60 mph officer.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1PC-Red-LED-Motorcycle-Truck-Trailer-Round-Reflector-Brake-Stop-Tail-Rear-Light/161939712430?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

[quicksilver]

Thank you all, I'll write a bit more tomorrow on the back story and what it's like.

 

Can you make use of some mechanical spares?  I found 3/4 of the stuff I bought for my later bigger engined R6 were wrong since they were for the smaller engine, so I've got some things like rotor arm, distributor cap and clutch kit in the garage that are brand new and of absolutely no use to me.  You can have them for postage cost, I'll get some pictures of it all for you if you're interested so you know exactly what you're getting.

Hell yes! We'll happily make use of anything you don't want. Thank you very much kind sir.

 

This is one of those threads where I wish I could press the "like" button more than once.

 

 

I think I've got a workshop manual for the early 6 somewhere if it's going to be any use?

What sort of manual? We already have a HBOL but it's a bit crappy as it's full of opinions and stupid comments and omits important information like the location of the dipstick.

 

I think getting it running in just two weeks is a tad optimistic as we don't even know why it doesn't run yet. We're only a few miles from the FOD so maybe we should organise a Renault-viewing trip as part of the weekend's festivities

 

Re Galant, it's been there 7 or 8 years. Last MOT in 2009 was a clean pass with no advisories but it came off the road shortly afterwards and was never tested again. What you can see of the bodywork looks very good but I haven't a clue what it's like underneath or mechanically, or what took it off the road.

[vulgalour]

The HBOL for the six is hilariously poor, only really to be used for light comic relief when attempted any jobs.  I'll get those spares photographed for you tomorrow when I dig them out of the garage, I can't remember exactly what there is but I know it's all in a single box.

[eddyramrod]

Brilliant.  Do not paint!

[Split_Pin]

This has to be the thread of the year. Other than the obvious charm of the 6, one of my favourite French cars, I can't decide what part of the story is like best.

 

Please tell me you are going to call it Bob!

[Asimo]

No surprise that this thread features a green car!

[Felly Magic]

Another Autoshite WINNING thread, the odds of being spotted by the old owners as well, spooky

[bigstraight6]

What an amazing story so far, it's almost unbelievable this turn of events. As others have said please keep the car as is with that wonderful paint scheme, railway totem stickers and roof rack. Oh, and call it Bob!

[captain_70s]

This place IS what it used to be!

[dougiefourspeed]

What a great story! Brilliant car too. You don't even see many 6's on the road in France now. I can only recall seeing one which was parked up in a garden near my Ma's place for a number of years. Gone now.

 

Can I also express some serious want for the Maxi. Looks great.

 

P.S. even if it had turned out to be an L-reg R19 that had been there since 1994 I'd still have been excited.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I take back all moans I have made about this forum. Completely and utterly brilliant. 4825437/10

[Yoss]

Brilliant.  Do not paint!

Or if you do, paint it rail blue, preferably large logo, just to bring it into the 1980s.

 

But seriously, well done. I'm glad this sort of thing still happens.

[greengartside]

Nothing else to say but, what a purchase, and what a bloody story! That's a proper 'buy a ticket for Friday's lotto' type of thing.

 

As others have said; do not paint and call it Bob. It's the law.

[Junkman]

I can smell the Ectoplasm from here!

 

I know a lot about possessed cars.

[eddyramrod]

Now how about showing us the models you snaffled too?