Renault 14 Madness

[Guest MattJY]

Hi, looking for about a year for a RHD R14 and nada!

 

To recreate my first car, a champagne gold 82 R14TS with beige interior and 1.4 engine looks like I am going to have to start with a LHD French car and cobble it together from a UK parts car.

 

Looking into this (and I know I have PM'd some of you already) I am going to need:

Dash

Heater

Pedal box

Scuttle

Wiper assembly

Bulkhead

Steering rack

...and a few other bits

 

I know its madness but I thought why not and I am an accomplished home restorer.

 

Of course, if a UK car came up at sensible money then would consider that too.

 

There seems to be very few left in the UK that could be counted on one hand so I know this is not a simple task.

 

Finders fee payable for any leads that turn good.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Narrowly missed out on one about 18 months ago, distraught I was! Metallic green GTX?

Very late one, likely still in Glos/Wilts area.

[mk2_craig]

Must be a few in barns and garages still, but probably off the road by late 80s due to being rotten and worthless. I want one too!!!!

[blakey79]

I want one three....

[skattrd]

Quality first post, I for one salute your madness.

 

That said, if I ever see a rhd 14 for sale I shall be nabbing it for myself.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

This thread contained a couple of uberfucked UK R14s. It's a couple of years old but maybe they're still languishing somewhere with all those lovely RHD bits on them. 

[loserone]

 

Picture from my 'rents utility door.  Apparently the first 14 was an R reg.  Between two of them they made 9 years of driving, I can /just/ remember the second.

[Burnside]

Good luck with your search. I remember seeing a similar Renault 14 to your original one back In the early 90's. I passed it everyday on my way to and from Junior School and always used to look at it as it was the only one I'd ever seen. Think that gained a tide line lower half and after a few years it then disappeared. 

 

I brought a toy Guiloy Renault 14 from a Auto Jumble a short time later because it reminded of it which I still have.

[barrett]

Why not just buy a lhd example and not add a load of unnecessary complication?

[panhard65]

Converting a lhd to rhd is a major undertaking that will make just restoring one look like a walk in the park. They rot just sitting still and there is a reason there are none left. The design of the rear axle and mounts is really shit and even without salt on the roads they will rust. To convert LHD to RHD you will need at least 3 layers of the bulkhead. Just buy a lhd and enjoy it. They are no where near as good as you remember though. Hopefully my one is still going LDV159V It is on sorn since the mot ran out last year. It was a biege 14ts

[garethj]

Driving a LHD Renault in the UK is fantastic, it allows you to fit yellow headlamps and drive with one arm out the window, waving a Gauloises and conveying regret, pity, enthusiasm or anger depending on how you flick your wrist.

[Parky]

Firstly you are in the right place for not only do we know what a Renault 14 is, they are rather desirable in this establishment. Sadly I have neither 14 or parts of a 14.

 

I presume you have bothered the owners club for parts or cars? And were they ever exported to Oz? Might slightly improve your chances of finding RHD parts there (although they will be upside down of course)

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Driving a LHD Renault in the UK is fantastic, it allows you to fit yellow headlamps and drive with one arm out the window, waving a Gauloises and conveying regret, pity, enthusiasm or anger depending on how you flick your wrist.

I have two packs of Gauloises in the CX, in case I ever have a crisis.

[Eddie Honda]

I have two packs of Gauloises in the CX, for there is always a crisis.

 

FTFY.

[nigel bickle]

I know of 2 rhd 13's. Mine, bought around 6 years ago via this very forum, is part welded. Ive sorted one side but it was such a bastard i laid it up and walked away. I'll go back to it one day -or I wont. Its worth nowt, and Ive got the dry space ,so it can stay there.

 

Regie Ritmo, now so loved up he barely visits here, also has a rhd 14 that has been road legal for many years. Ive moved it for him, and sorted a few mechanical issues so know it runs well. I've even supplied a replacement interior (his is trashed) from a wreck I broke up which I'll wager is still sitting inside it -ready to be fitted.  His seemed rust free, last time I pordded hte rear suspension..

 

Panhard 65 is right. The rear suspension mounts killed them all -its an absolute bastard to repair on a worthless munter with no real redeeming features. They are '' pleasant'', at best.

 

Try Reg -but I doubt he'll log in to look at your message. He might- and I guess theres a slim chance he'll sell. 

 

If I wanted another, Id' be on theos french site;  but that rust trap means I'd head a long way south, for a dry one.

Its on of the very  few cars I wouldn't buy without inspecting - most owners have no clue, and it is effectively termina

 

As to rhd- ing it?  Sadly near impossible, those spares are unobtainable and it will only lower its value, since its worthless here but has a rising value on th continent.

 

But I could be wrong. You may get 'lucky'. Good luck with your search.

[Guest MattJY]

Well thank you guys for the welcome.

 

It’s not really about money or value (that’s me lined up to get well and truly rinsed), hard work or complication. Once something like this is in my head it has to be done.

 

So Nibblet do explain how you missed it and so you have any leads to follow up?

 

NB, I’ve been looking at pics of bulkheads pretty much all week and I think its doable. Not simple but doable.

 

Forgetting the dash and cosmetic bits this is what I have learned:

 

Engine firewall/bulkhead. It’s workable. The pressing looks from the engine side the same. Brake unit and washer bottle swapped and new brake lines. Work will need to be done to the lower steering and clutch cable mounts.

 

Scuttle. This could be cut and reworked by moving the air intake and wiper spindle mount. The heater box may well be different as the pipe to the scuttle inverts in LHD/RHD. This is the bit that is the most hard work and TBH I may well just leave it. Granted I’ll have to check the legalities of having the wiper sweep the wrong way but it’s not like I’ll ever drive it in the rain. Then if the parts ever came up I could always do it then

 

Steering rack, can’t find one but I do know it’s the same as a Pug104 and suspect it can be sourced as can the clutch cable.

 

The unknown bit is the cabin side of the bulkhead, pedal box mounts etc and TBH I can’t start it without a dash anyway so this is where I need your help guys.

 

I am willing to pay a finders fee if anyone can help me out so please if you would, could you follow up on those leads for me.

 

I’ll try and get up in the loft later and see if I can find some old pics of BYD 323X which was based in the Southampton area for all of its life until it was scrapped in 93.

[Richard]

You could see if Lacquer Peel can remember where he spotted this. 

 

Pear by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Edit- I've just read to the end of the comments, apparently it's not there now.

[Guest MattJY]

Richard, that one was indeed scrapped a few years ago.

[Skizzer]

If you can find one of the last surviving RHD ones, does it not make 37 times more sense to restore that and respray it gold rather than chop it up for a handful of parts?

 

Seems rather a waste, as well as next to impossible.

 

I too am contemplating a Renault 14 purchase once I’ve got more time and freed up some storage, also largely for stupid sentimental and rarity reasons. I don’t want another project though so LHD will do me just fine.

[Guest MattJY]

If you can find one of the last surviving RHD ones, does it not make 37 times more sense to restore that and respray it gold rather than chop it up for a handful of parts?

Seems rather a waste, as well as next to impossible.

I too am contemplating a Renault 14 purchase once I’ve got more time and freed up some storage, also largely for stupid sentimental and rarity reasons. I don’t want another project though so LHD will do me just fine.

Absolutely!

 

If I can work it the other way, get a RHD car that is savable then buy a French car for it’s interior and trim then yes.

 

I don’t want to convert a LHD it’s just I see this as the only realistic route.

[Junkman]

Cheap, not worth doing, etc.

 

Do any of you oldtimers still living in 1996 have an idea what R14s are worth in Polyglottshire nowadays?

Some may* be surprised.

[mk2_craig]

How about other RHD markets? Are they any more likely to have survived if there were reasonable numbers of sales in Malta, Cyprus?

[Guest MattJY]

UU

How about other RHD markets? Are they any more likely to have survived if there were reasonable numbers of sales in Malta, Cyprus?

Yep looked. There was one in Cyprus but it was LHD.

 

I’m using websites that scout from the Nords down to North Africa and not seen anything in over a year.

 

I’ll keep going but feel the only way to find one is via you guys that stumble across them or know mates that has one.

[Yoss]

I’ll try and get up in the loft later and see if I can find some old pics of BYD 323X which was based in the Southampton area for all of its life until it was scrapped in 93.

Although YD is a Somerset reg. I'm in Southampton too, near the Sports Centre. When I was still at school there was a gold or beige (memories etc...) one just round the corner from here with the reg AAA 222V (AA being a Hampshire reg). I've always remembered it for that reason.

 

Not helpful at all but I've always remembered that car because of the reg and this is the only place I would admit it.

[Guest MattJY]

Here you go, found it, the faces have been removed to protect the innocent

[Guest MattJY]

Although YD is a Somerset reg. I'm in Southampton too, near the Sports Centre. When I was still at school there was a gold or beige (memories etc...) one just round the corner from here with the reg AAA 222V (AA being a Hampshire reg). I've always remembered it for that reason.

Not helpful at all but I've always remembered that car because of the reg and this is the only place I would admit it.

I owned the gold one from 88-91 and parked it on the road during the week in a road just Up the road from where St Mary’s stadium is now and walked into Soton Institute where I was a student.

 

I then sold it to a nipper in Bursledon where he ran it for a year or so then it was scrapped.

 

A mate saw it in a Soton scrappy I do remember that

[Guest MattJY]

I remember I had to do a clutch, then the gear selector quadrant snapped and I was forever replacing driveshafts as the CV’s used to knock. I did drive it like I stole it

 

Oh Christ and the overheating issues. Did the head gasket 2 or 3 times. The guy I sold it to had the rack jump and drove into a gate post so was still repairing the thing after I sold it!

 

My dad had a 1.2 mark one green metallic GTL hence why I bought one. We came out one day and the bonnet was not shut properly. We made the mistake of opening it only to observe the front turret pop. The bonnet was all that was holding it in place.

 

When I bought the gold one I wax oiled the inner wings as they rusted horrifically here and underseaked it. It didn’t have any rust in it due to this.

[Eric]

 

This is mine, a R14 GTL from 1983 (last one ever sold in The Netherlands)

[Uncle Jimmy]

Well thank you guys for the welcome.

It’s not really about money or value (that’s me lined up to get well and truly rinsed),

So Nibblet do explain how you missed it and so you have any leads to follow up

Sadly all I know was that it was metallic green on an 'X' plate and a top of the range model so Ts? TX? It was for sale with a mechanic I know about 18 months ago and by the time I heard about it he had sold it, £600 I believe.

Maybe worth joining classic Renner owners club and asking a few questions?

I've been pretty unlucky with cars really, bought the wrong ones and not bought right ones when I've had the chance!

[bramz7]

I found an R21 through the ROC. Obviously more abundant but food for thought.