Shite at the Vicarage: Renault 8 Painting in Progress

[Westbay]

36 minutes ago, The Vicar said:

I've found a wing for €150 in France, from a guy who seems to be well known in the R8 world.

Now I just need to organise a courier....anyone ever done this before? I don't really know where or how to begin!

DHL ?

[tooSavvy]

56 minutes ago, Westbay said:

DHL ?

Driver Hopelessly Lost... 🙂

🚙💨

[The Vicar]

I’ve managed to get a bonnet from the same guy with the wing, and potentially an Irish courier who can pick them up on Wednesday. Watch this space!

[The Vicar]

Some progress on the bodywork. The rear left wing is the worst of things so far, lots of little pin holes. The rest of it is really quite good:

[The Vicar]

On 11/04/2026 at 14:50, The Vicar said:

In the meantime I found a guy local who sold me NOS brake pads, a water pump, a head gasket kit and a brake light switch for 50 quid. Handy bits to have!

So this little haul of parts arrived. The seller has a huge collection of NOS parts for a huge selection of 60s, 70s and 80s cars. This was everything he had for a Renault 8, but he also has a number of parts for a Simca 1000. Do they share any relation to the R8? He has a few bits, including a set of shocks that might be worth buying 🤔

[Hawkal]

Would this have Shamrock etched glass seeing as it was a CKD or was that only for beetles and minis? 

[The Vicar]

On 15/04/2026 at 18:10, Hawkal said:

Would this have Shamrock etched glass seeing as it was a CKD or was that only for beetles and minis? 

Just checked, and no. No shamrock glass. Not sure if it should have it? Maybe @Blue 850 will know?

When it comes to original irish cars I’m always a bit suspicious given the number of ringers on the scene in Ireland, but the old newspapers under the seat and a very faded old 70/80s dealer sticker from a garage in Tullamore are good enough indicators for me. 

[The Vicar]

The engine parts arrived today and my dad has wasted very little time this week 

He’s a great man for this stuff. He’s more excited/determined to hear it running that I am!

 

[Blue 850]

22 hours ago, The Vicar said:

Just checked, and no. No shamrock glass. Not sure if it should have it? Maybe @Blue 850 will know?

When it comes to original irish cars I’m always a bit suspicious given the number of ringers on the scene in Ireland, but the old newspapers under the seat and a very faded old 70/80s dealer sticker from a garage in Tullamore are good enough indicators for me. 

I think that would depend if the glass came from Renault in France or was supplied by Triplex in Ireland, I'd imagine the  R8 might not have had the sales volume to justify ordering of Triplex

[martc]

On 11/04/2026 at 13:50, The Vicar said:

I've removed the damaged wing and had a go at straightening the front panel.....

The Vicar discussing the straightening with a fellow expert.

Careful attention to detail...

Done, now all we need to worry about are the small perforations...

 

[mcmolloy1]

Have you tried retro renault services for parts? They specialise in this era of Renault

[adey]

Duncan @ retro renault services is decent and a wealth of knowledge (helped me today with my dash vents) , Not sure what ordering from the continent is like for you over in Ireland but I tend to use meca parts or arnaud ventoux pieces for harder to find parts though postage can sting a little 

[The Vicar]

Second setback…

Too much pressure pressing the pin in..

I can’t find one singular piston for sale anywhere. Emailed the place I bought from last week…no reply yet but fingers crossed 🙁

 

[Mr Pastry]

24 minutes ago, The Vicar said:

Too much pressure pressing the pin in..

If these are the type that are an interference fit, shouldn't the small end of the rod be heated first?

[The Vicar]

So x4 new pistons on their way for the second time...I only need 1 but nowhere seems to sell them single! 

Got word from the courier that he should be able to pick up the wing and bonnet this weekend.

Top end looking good in the meantime

 

[Brigsy]

On 20/04/2026 at 15:34, Mr Pastry said:

If these are the type that are an interference fit, shouldn't the small end of the rod be heated first?

Later c series need the rods heating to fit. I imagine these will be similar.

[The Vicar]

Wing and bonnet finally on their way to me! Fingers crossed 

[The Vicar]

[Westbay]

eeerrrmmm, isn't the bottom piston  in the picture in wrong way round ? 🤔

[The Vicar]

On 26/04/2026 at 09:15, Westbay said:

eeerrrmmm, isn't the bottom piston  in the picture in wrong way round ? 🤔

Were it not for your eagle eye I’d never have even noticed that! I said it to him (my dad) and he was adamant that it wasn’t a problem anyway..

Engine went back in this morning and…

It’s in pieces again. Too tight for the starter to turn 🥴

[Mr Pastry]

19 minutes ago, The Vicar said:

and he was adamant that it wasn’t a problem anyway..

Yes it is, that is why the pistons are marked.  The gudgeon pin is offset towards the thrust side.

[RayMK]

@The Vicar Your dad is doing a grand job of attending to an engine that was in a very poor state.  Whilst it is still somewhat disassembled it may be prudent to do everything possible to ensure the wet liner sealing surfaces in the block are spotless before they go back in and, subject to Renault practices being different from my wet liner experience on Reliants, check that the liner stands proud of the block by the specified amount so that the head will apply the required sealing force top and bottom when tightened down.  It's a messy job if they leak.  I have found that when appearing to offer advice to an enthusiastic  dad, it is wise to have an escape route planned 😀.

[Westbay]

13 hours ago, The Vicar said:

Were it not for your eagle eye I’d never have even noticed that! I said it to him (my dad) and he was adamant that it wasn’t a problem anyway..

Engine went back in this morning and…

It’s in pieces again. Too tight for the starter to turn 🥴

"Yes it is, that is why the pistons are marked.  The gudgeon pin is offset towards the thrust side."  @Mr Pastry

[The Vicar]

There has been a bit of a pause to the progress on this, I’ve been back in Italy for a while on “business”. In my absence I’ve had my garage extended, so now I have room for 3 or 4 cars, or ideally 2 with space to actually move around and work:

The car is in the same spot in both of these photos

The engine rebuilt continues with my dad, pistons all inserted correctly this time 😃 He had also taken a bit of a break and I can’t blame him of course. I’d be lost without him. 

That’s the replacement bonnet sitting on the car now too

[tooSavvy]

Scene straight from Pole Barn Garage..... 🤣

Yo 👍

🚙💨

[The Vicar]

Im told that this is now moving under its own steam!

[The Vicar]

So, I applied for a new logbook for this (I need to stop buying cars with no paperwork), filled out forms and sent everything off etc last month, and I received notice today that they have no record of the registration and VIN number combination that I provided. The registration number is live, which is a good thing, so it just means I got the VIN wrong. I sent them the full sequence from the oval plate below (R1 132…), and that’s obviously not it. Is it possible that the 5 digit number on the diamond plate is my VIN? I don’t want to get it wrong twice, so I want to confirm first, but I can’t find much online..

[LightBulbFun]

24 minutes ago, The Vicar said:

So, I applied for a new logbook for this (I need to stop buying cars with no paperwork), filled out forms and sent everything off etc last month, and I received notice today that they have no record of the registration and VIN number combination that I provided. The registration number is live, which is a good thing, so it just means I got the VIN wrong. I sent them the full sequence from the oval plate below (R1 132…), and that’s obviously not it. Is it possible that the 5 digit number on the diamond plate is my VIN? I don’t want to get it wrong twice, so I want to confirm first, but I can’t find much online..

Hmm, I pulled the VIN number from its vehicle record, and im afraid it does not match any of those numbers at all, and the vehicle comes back as white...

(it does at least come back as a Renault!)

[The Vicar]

The car was indeed originally white, I only noticed this recently after looking back at pictures taken when I first viewed it:

[Wibble]

Thank goodness for that! For a moment I thought you’d bought a ringer😬