1973 Renault 15 - I've broken my own rules.

[High Jetter]

Hero

[Zelandeth]

On 25/07/2025 at 15:38, 4wheeledstool said:

Research suggests no ballast resistor required - I reckon the 52 year old coil just shat itself after a few hundred miles were asked of it after sitting around for a long time.

More pieces arrived today, another glass expansion jar, indicator/side light unit, boot lamp, and a decent wheel trim to replace the one that looks like it was driven over then "straightened".

New coil should be here tomorrow. 👍

Good good.  Just seemed worth mentioning as it would be easy to miss if it wasn't a car you were familiar with. 

I learned the hard way when the replacement coil was cooked in only a month or so before I realised there was a ballast resistor missing.

[4wheeledstool]

400 miles covered as of this afternoon, surprisingly there are now no coolant leaks!

How long this happy situation lasts for remains to be seen. 🤣

[4wheeledstool]

Had a good look over this pretty much identical car at the weekend.  (Same car posted above by Dan302) The guy (Wayne) came all the way from Colchester to Tatton Park for the show. Pretty fortunate for me, as I don't think there will be many (if any) other 1973 Renault 15 TS in the country.

This car is a couple of months later than mine, but very similar in spec. It gave me an ideal opportunity to see what most of the parts missing from my car look like.

After a chunk of something unidentified was removed from my carburettor yesterday, the cold starting problems I've had for the last couple of weeks have now gone. 500 miles now covered since back on the road.👍

 

[Dj_efk]

Is your fuel filter nicely filling up with cack or is it staying clean?

I always found a car resurrected back to the road would need a new one (or the one on it cleaning out, if old enough) pretty soon after..

[4wheeledstool]

After a couple of hundred miles, there is a bit of what looks like sand in there. It's a lot better than I thought it would be!

[Matty]

I'm sure that 15 was there the other year at Tatton as well. First I'd ever seen in the flesh and a lovely thing

[4wheeledstool]

The passenger side window winder mechanism has been seized since I bought the car. Today I managed to un-seize it.

Unfortunately, the channel that the bottom of the drop glass sits in has rotted, meaning that the rollers that run along the channel get so far then drop out. 
I'll add this to the "required parts" list.

[High Jetter]

No surprise, Shirley?

[4wheeledstool]

22 hours ago, High Jetter said:

No surprise, Shirley?

The one on the other side looks pretty fresh. I reckon the passenger side window was left slightly open during a period of outdoor storage - most of the metal pieces inside this door are rustier than the ones in the drivers side. Not a surprise, just another potential pain in the poo pipe. 🤔

[4wheeledstool]

600 miles now covered, I'm getting a bit of confidence in the thing now.

Still need to get the fuel gauge working.

Dashboard out will probably be the next job, I'm aiming for 100% functionality. 

Don't hold your breath. 😂

[4wheeledstool]

Not got around to doing any more work on this yet, but did manage to get hold of a new upper chrome trim for the rear bumper in France.

Looks a bit nicer than the bodged one - one more piece of the puzzle found.😁

[4wheeledstool]

Not had the time for fettling recently, but have managed to get it out and about a few times 

Over 800 miles now covered.  It's had a fair bit more action than any other fleet member this year - hopefully that'll continue whilst more parts are sourced.👍

[Dj_efk]

Nice that you’re starting to be able to rely on it - well-earned with the great work you’ve put into it. Love reading about the journey getting an unusual proper classic like this knocked into shape.

[4wheeledstool]

A thousand miles now covered, enjoyed the vast majority of them. As of this morning, it now runs like a bag of shite. All the ignition components have been replaced, and the timing checks out as spot on, so I'm leaning towards the carburettor being the cause of poor running. When it was stripped and cleaned earlier this year, a lot of muck was ousted, but I wasn't able to do a thorough job as I don't have a sonic bath. Hopefully I'll be sending it away for a proper clean and overhaul soon, so it's been parked in the corner again while I get my act together.

Looking forward to getting the thing out again in the not to distant future. 👍

[Matty]

Best thing about it is it just looks like nowt else 👌

[4wheeledstool]

The bloke that used to own this car 17 years or so ago when it was still in its original white paint sent me a load of pictures of it recently. Interestingly, a picture of the speedo shows that the mileage had only risen by 500 miles by the time I acquired it. This seems to fit with the story I've uncovered with regards to the many problems a couple of its more recent previous owners have encountered with it. The difference with its current owner is that he doesn't give up so easily!

Potential parts haul hopefully incoming soon! 😃

[4wheeledstool]

Until I get round to sending the carburettor away for a proper clean and refurbishment, this continues to be a game to start. When up to temperature it's tip top, but runs terribly when cold.

A further root through the collection of junk that came with the car has yielded a few more of the missing pieces, as well as a decent replacement head gasket.

The rubber strips that sit between the door seal and roof rail have been identified and fitted.

For the engine bay, the starter motor's heat shield, warm air induction pipe and rubber seal that goes between the bonnet and slam panel have also been reinstated. 

After getting fed up with the bodged in halogen bulbs not sitting correctly, I sourced some P45T pattern bulbs in yellow. Not so bright, but the right bulbs for the headlamps. 👍

For some reason this image will only display upside down. Irritating. 

[4wheeledstool]

Now the battery is back on, I thought I'd better try them out.

[Lacquer Peel]

Fantastic thread and car. 

The 15 is beautiful  

[motorpunk]

Loving this. I'd like to see it in the wild to get some photos someday. Would be a lovely car to put in Classic.Retro.Modern. 

[DSdriver]

I know it won't be original but it might be a good idea to put a line filter in the fuel to the carb. A clear one will let you know if it is filling with crap.

Fuel consumption and performance might suffer from the weight of all the missing parts you are replacing - its no longer a lightweight racer 🙃

[4wheeledstool]

10 hours ago, DSdriver said:

I know it won't be original but it might be a good idea to put a line filter in the fuel to the carb. A clear one will let you know if it is filling with crap.

Fuel consumption and performance might suffer from the weight of all the missing parts you are replacing - its no longer a lightweight racer 🙃

It has a fuel filter just before the fuel pump. (just visible in engine pic above)

I don't think a filter was fitted originally, relying on a little gauze type thing in the fuel inlet banjo on the carburettor.

[4wheeledstool]

Fingers crossed, I should have a set of these coming in the New year. 😃

[stuboy]

23 minutes ago, 4wheeledstool said:

Fingers crossed, I should have a set of these coming in the New year. 😃

nice

[4wheeledstool]

A neighbour donated a load of odds and ends to me after a garage clear out. Unusually, a set of spark plugs among the other stuff were the correct type for the 15.

Still not had the time to get any more fettling done.☹️

[4wheeledstool]

Got an afternoons fettling time on this today. I borrowed a sonic bath, so got my carburettor stripped and cleaned properly this time. So far so good, it starts and runs better than ever now. Celebrated by taking a ride out on an otherwise miserable day.

Hopefully I'll get back on it soon and restore functionality to the fuel and temperature gauges. 

[IronStar]

On 23/12/2025 at 12:45, 4wheeledstool said:

A neighbour donated a load of odds and ends to me after a garage clear out. Unusually, a set of spark plugs among the other stuff were the correct type for the 15.

Still not had the time to get any more fettling done.☹️

Marchal! 😍 There’s a name I didn’t thik I’ll ever see on a box of unused parts! 

[motorpunk]

1 hour ago, 4wheeledstool said:

Got an afternoons fettling time on this today. I borrowed a sonic bath, so got my carburettor stripped and cleaned properly this time. So far so good, it starts and runs better than ever now. Celebrated by taking a ride out on an otherwise miserable day.

Hopefully I'll get back on it soon and restore functionality to the fuel and temperature gauges. 

Is that a photo from 1978, or today, 2025?! 
 

(love this!)

[4wheeledstool]

As soon as the car was starting and running nicely, paranoia about what issues were next up began. This afternoon I found out. 

I set off on a ride out, all being well until the thermostat opened a couple of miles down the road and POP!

I was planning on replacing the coolant hoses at some point, they're possibly as old as the car, it looks like I'll be ordering some sooner rather than later.🤔