1991 Renault19 16v Cabriolet
Location
Country: UK
County: LEICESTERSHIRE
Tax & Test
Taxed until: End of April 2012
MOT test due: December 2012
Description
She's a 1991 'J' plate Renault 19 1.8 16v Cabriolet in 449 blue.
I rescued this from from 'Gentle Ben' on Retro Renault, having been sat around for quite some time. It was in a pretty sorry state when I picked it up, was in dire need of a clean and the roof was extremely rotten.
The engine also ran rough, but i've put a fair amount of time and effort into her so far.
Here's what has been done in my ownership:
- New second hand roof fitted. The roof is a blue mohiar and was brand new in/around 2006. Still looks great, however there's a tear in the rear window which I have taped up.
- Interior cleaned
- Dash bulbs replaced
- Heater matrix replaced
- Checked for rust around the gas struts for the roof. There's no major rot there.
- The engine ran rough, upon investigation the leads/spark plugs were just covered in rusty gunk from the air vent on the bonnet. Cleaned these up and now it runs a dream.
I kept having an issue where it'd spring a coolant leak when hot, took it apart a few times and couldn't find the source, then thought I saw it coming from the headgasket.
So, I whipped the head off and fitted a brand new headgasket, oil filter, thermostat, and filled her up with fresh oil. Fired it up and left to idle and the coolant leak re-appeared. Upon further investigation it was a small split in one of the pipes covered by a jubilee clip. Fixed this and she's been running perfect ever since.
The manifold nuts are not rounded at all, i've had these off several times recently, so no worries there. Everything i've removed and refitted is greased up where necessary.
Good points:
- Engine runs as sweet as a nut. The tappets are silent, even on cold mornings, i've never heard them tap once.
- Always starts first time. I've been commuting in her since early december no problem at all
- Gearbox is possibly the smoothest JB3 i've ever used. No worn synchros, no crunching, no whining, all gears select perfectly.
- Since i've fitted a new steering rack, it drives lovely and straight, nice and smooth.
- Standard exhaust system fitted with a decat.
- Fitted with original speedlines in fantastic condition complete with centre caps and excellent tyres (fronts are brand new).
- Excellent condition roof, slight tear in the rear window which has been taped up.
- Plipper works fine
- Two keys, and two immobiliser keys
- Brand new discs and pads all round
- New wheelbearings
Bad points:
- The bodywork needs attention, ideally a respray. Pretty much every panel is marked in some way. It doesn't look bad after a clean though.
- The arches are a little scabby but not too far gone, still solid
- Sills are a little scabby in places, but still solid
- The bonnet fitted to the car was rotten around the air vent, new bonnet fitted with no rot but paint isn't great.
- Passenger door was reversed into in the work car park, so now has a dent. Have pulled the dent out but it is still scratched.
- Some rot on the underside of the car where a middle exhaust hanger sits which is likely to need attention come MOT time.
- There's a small hole in the boot floor. Easy job to weld though as there's plenty of access. The rest of the boot is solid.
- Power steering doesn't work. It's leaking from a join in the rack somewhere. I've had a quick go at fixing it by replacing the rack but that didn't sort it. I've got all the replacement pipes in the boot so shouldn't be a difficult fix. I just don't have the time. Having said that, it's not too bad to drive without it.
- Passenger side window regulator needs replacing. The window goes up/down but doesn't close properly without a push.
When listing the bad points, i've been as honest as possible so any prospective buyer knows what they are buying. However, I can't stress enough that I would much prefer you came to view the car and made your own decisions. It's not as bad as it sounds.
Ideally, i'd love the car to go to an enthusiast who is going to restore this car as the Phase 1's are pretty rare now. I've put a fair amount of work in so far, but i've quickly lost interest since stumbling across a new car i'd like to buy.
With the car, you will get the following:
- Boxes of spare parts including bulb holders for the rear lights, a new 'karmann' badge, one side has been replaced but the other needs fitting
- A hood frame from the old roof
- The old bonnet (hard to get hold of these)
- Other bits and bobs i find in the garage for the car1
- Spare steering rack and associated pipework
- Spare shocks and springs
She has two original plipper keys and both immobiliser keys.
With all the above said, I paid £550 for the car before I plowed a lot of money and time into sorting various bits out.
The price for the car is £500 for RTOC members.
I know I could easily make a fair amount of money by breaking her but I don't have the time or the heart. I'd like to see it live on. I also don't believe it deserves breaking as it runs and drives lovely.
I would urge any serious buyers to contact me on 07976 707 340 or PM me on the forum.
Any questions, please fire away.
Pictures taken this weekend:
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Originally Posted by Chunk
