Completely worthless Renner 19 - Wipe investment

[mk2_craig]

Yeah, so this started with one of those slightly cryptic Facebook posts on a local classic car club group:

Hmm. Maybe it's actually a 14 if it's really 40 years old? But absolutely none of those have been on my radar locally for at least 20 years. Possibly an 18?

Enquiries were made and I tracked down the car:

Ah, ok an actual 19 then, with suspected track rod end issues. Despite appearances, actually in regular use up until autumn 2019 when the insurance ran out and it was parked up.  Go on then!

Started up easy enough, helped by a newish looking battery, so I went back home to sort out insurance and obtain suitable transport for collection:

I live on the fringes of St Helier, Jersey's main urban area.  Nowhere's further than a modest bike ride away, but with the right route it can be a very rural experience:

I would encourage anybody to come and pay a visit some time - the borders reopened in July and the island is welcoming visitors who are uneasy about France or Spain.

Very quickly I find myself practically in the countryside.

Some nice big old piles in between the fields:

Unexpected tat hoard located, with 205 and Escort content:

Onwards:

And onto what passes for a main road for a bit.

Back onto the lanes:

And we're here.

Owner has kindly extracted the R19 from the "garage".

What you're seeing here is an older-style Jersey registration document, issued in 1998.  The owner purchased this from the local Renner dealer (Bagot Road Garage, still trading today and still selling Renners) back in 1991!

Paperwork completed, it's time to lob the bike in the back, loads of room in these with seats folded forwards.

All right let's go!  114k on the odometer.

The first thing  I determine, other than the "something wrong in the steering department" is that this thing is somewhat electrically deficient.

- Indicators = not functioning

- Rear wiper = not functioning

- Stereo = not functioning

Which made me slightly concerned that the brake lamps might not be functioning.  With half a tank of slightly stale pez I had no need for the filling station shot, but I pulled off the road (using Highway Code-approved hand signals) to lob some air in the tyres:

Pleasingly, at this point I was able to identify that both brake lights (and both sidelamps) did indeed work as they should.  That cheered me up a bit.

Queue for a lane closure at roadworks allowed me to get a shite picture of this shite looking Fourtrak

And we've made it home!  That'll help keep house price valuations down to manageable levels.

My wife doesn't know about this yet.  She works three mornings a week so I'm going to sneak out to it when she's in the office, and gradually give it a good look over.  So far however I've concluded that the nearside track rod is loose and knocking in the bellows where it meets the rack, therefore that's the first job to tackle before I think about notching up any more miles in it.

Got a file with bills etc in - I'll leaf through that shortly and report back!

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Energy!

5 minutes ago, mk2_craig said:

.....

....this thing is somewhat electrically deficient.

- Indicators = not functioning

- Rear wiper = not functioning

- Stereo = not functioning.....

Bust fuses?

[320touring]

Excellent stuff:)

Car looks ace and good collection thread!

Really enjoyed Jersey the couple of times I have been - always happy to go back.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

This surely calls for a bottle of:

[Dick Cheeseburger]

@mk2_craig

I love everything about this. The originality of your 19, the fact you were able to hop in and drive home, and the fact you're on Jersey. 

Were you born on the island? I did one of my teaching practices there back in around 97. I stayed with the Brint family in St Ouen at the time (they were very peculiar) and used my free time to hire a Corsa with mates and explore the island. 

I fell in love with the place pretty quickly - I was intrigued by all the occupation concrete structures including the underground hospital and have been back a couple of times since to explore further. 

I assume the rules of 'you can only live here long-term if you have seven figures in the bank, are born here or marry a local are still relevant? 

Looking forward to updates! 

[Split_Pin]

Absolutely fantastic and there doesn't seem a lot wrong with it.

A 19 is on my bucket list since I enjoyed my MK1 Megane so much.

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

8 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

....the Brint family in St Ouen at the time (they were very peculiar) ....

There is still an Andy & Sam Brint listed as St. Ouen residents in the local directory. Might be related?

[mk2_craig]

5 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

@mk2_craig

I love everything about this. The originality of your 19, the fact you were able to hop in and drive home, and the fact you're on Jersey. 

Were you born on the island? I did one of my teaching practices there back in around 97. I stayed with the Brint family in St Ouen at the time (they were very peculiar) and used my free time to hire a Corsa with mates and explore the island. 

I fell in love with the place pretty quickly - I was intrigued by all the occupation concrete structures including the underground hospital and have been back a couple of times since to explore further. 

I assume the rules of 'you can only live here long-term if you have seven figures in the bank, are born here or marry a local are still relevant? 

Looking forward to updates! 

I was born here @Dick Longbridge !  To parents who had moved over from Edinburgh in the early 1970s.  I moved there in 97 and spent 8 years studying then bus driving, followed by a year each in Leeds and Leicester. Back here Jul 07.

Residency rules are restrictive, but there are other routes to being granted entitled status (essential employment, or rent for ten years before property can be owned). If you're seriously wealthy and can guarantee the government a tax contribution of 125k a year, you're also in.

[vulgalour]

Best price!   Bonus that it was in fine enough fettle to wobble home too.

[SRi05]

That looks like it'll scrub up well tbh. Well erm..bought ?

[purplebargeken]

Like Jersey. First time I ever saw merge in turn signs and people actually adhering to it.

R19. Much impressed.

[danthecapriman]

Nice! I’ve not seen one of those early style 19’s for ages.

[Aston Martin]

It's a good job Jersey doesn't have an MOT system...

[eddyramrod]

Free is always the right price!  Good move!

[mk2_craig]

I'm already at risk of putting money into this old heap... it bugs me that only three of the original wheeltrims are present. 

There's a perfect* matching one for sale on Ebay right now - condition is entirely consistent with the rest of the car:

New steering rack too that has consistently failed to sell.  Offer sent to vendor. 

[vaughant]

Jersey lost looks so beautiful, looking forward to going in the future. 

[busmansholiday]

Honeymooned there back in the mid 80's, and went back a couple of times late 80's early 90's. Really must go back again as we loved the place.

Nice "purchase", when do you intend to tell the wife.

[RichL]

Always good to see some autoshite Jersey action! 

Really must pay a visit one day 

[bunglebus]

Blimey a 19. They've all vanished as far as I can tell, Only ever went in one, a 16V that was hoot to skid about in.

[320touring]

29 minutes ago, mk2_craig said:

There’s some tactical logistics going on here. I need to get the Panda Alessi back home for a few weeks, but I’ve just given her thirteen hundred quid towards a shabby BINI Cuntvertible which we will slowly be making nice again. 
 

So in a way this R19 has already cost me 1300 pound notes. 

Just a well you didn't buy a mini convertible...

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Haven't seen a 19 for years. The people who might have been driving one in this area back then are now in bloated Binis and smoll* SUVs

[Three Speed]

Jersey will be invaded by a group of Traction Avants in May 2021. It’s a TOC thing that should have happened this year but didn’t for some reason. We took 24 cars to Guernsey a few years back. Jersey’s bigger and can accommodate a few more. So we’ll bring more. Last time I was in Jersey was to pick up a free BX estate. Are all cars free in Jersey?

[BorniteIdentity]

Tremendous work.  I was due to visit Jersey earlier in the year until Covid locked you all on.  (I work for the prestigious Channel 103, albeit remotely).  

When I can piece together a plan, I'll let you know. This looks amazing!  Well done.

[mk2_craig]

1 hour ago, Three Speed said:

Are all cars free in Jersey?

I guess there’s only a limited market for end of life clunkers that cost more to export than they’re worth and need work for MOT elsewhere. I’ve had some good stuff over the years from folk who just can’t be arsed with them any more - the economics of the local secondhand car market differ somewhat from that in mainland UK, for various reasons. 
 

1 hour ago, BorniteIdentity said:

When I can piece together a plan, I'll let you know. This looks amazing!  Well done.

I remember you mentioning the Channel 103 gig back at the start of the year, when I was looking at getting the feasibility of getting the Fiesta that @red5 ultimately adopted over to the island. I’ll always put the kettle on for any shiter that wants to call round!

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 hour ago, Three Speed said:

....Last time I was in Jersey was to pick up a free BX estate. Are all cars free in Jersey?

 

12 minutes ago, mk2_craig said:

I guess there’s only a limited market for end of life clunkers that cost more to export than they’re worth and need work for MOT elsewhere. I’ve had some good stuff over the years from folk who just can’t be arsed with them any more - the economics of the local secondhand car market differ somewhat from that in mainland UK, for various reasons....

Are we hoping for a free Roller or a free Merc next time out?

[stuboy]

nice phase 1

[mk2_craig]

I love being given paperwork with an old car, especially one like this where the PO hung onto it for nearly three decades. It really helps you form a picture of what was done when, and in what manner. I’ve had a quick skim through:

It seems that PO carried out a lot of low level, routine maintenance himself and only reverted to the main dealer for trickier jobs where a more specialised part or complicated repair was required. This would explain why the last stamp in the service book was right back at 12k in late 91, though it was in for anti corrosion warranty inspections later on (this also gives some idea of how quickly mileage was piled on in the earlier years). 
 

There’s also a nice, if probably generic “thank you for buying a Renner” letter from the dealer:

Interestingly, there is also what appears to be a printout from the manufacturers service manual literature (dated 2007) showing the steering rack components, which is oddly missing from the 1991 Haynes Workshop Manual. So it’s possible that the track rod issue I’ve detected has been a problem for quite some time, though it probably hasn’t been racking up mileage at such a great rate between then and now. I will probably replace rather than repair, as to do so is quicker and very little more costly, but it’s still a useful diagram to have. 

[greengartside]

Love for everything on here, what a superb save! David Seaman would be proud of that one.

Jersey is up there on my bucket list of places to visit. Lovely looking place.

[bunglebus]

Looks like a similar set up to my 5 - I changed a track rod on that for the same reason, felt like I was going to bend the rack winding it out. Not a hard job though really

[Bren]

I remember when these were fairly common.

For a while they seemed to be the car of choice for uninsured n'er do wells.