T-Cup becomes the ST-Cup!

[Big Steve - Raider]

I've had this itch for a while, but last weekend it finally got scratched! I'm now the owner of one of the RTOC's most (in-)famous Cup Car's - T-Cup!



I think this is a better photo



What with the Engine from Mart's old Trusty and the many Track Days it has attended with Bill, Mart & Col (The Master) it's dam near a piece of RTOC folklore!!

I would like to say a big thanks to the new Bill J/Billy Pallets etc for agreeing to part with it. I promise I will take good care of it & know it's tough for you to be without a Renault 5 GTT parked outside your house for the first time in 12 years!!



I would like to thank Pigsnake (aka Luke) for letting me borrow his trailer to collect it from Pallets towers



So this is how it stands at the moment:





Kinda reminds me of this:

[Kris M]

Glad to see the old girl going again Steve, will be great to see afew more coupes this year

[jesus in the seat of a 5]

you need to sticker the ole girl up properly...., good going steve...damn palllets youll regret that one..., ahh well tis in good hands and no doubt going to be used.., keep us updated...

[Big Steve - Raider]

My plan is to get it roadworthy for the 2012 Renault Turbo Festival & give it some stick on the track, then after the Day I plan to try & register it as a road car to help with the further plans.

On a side note, I spoke with a nice person at Renault UK & they were able to tell me that the manufacturing date for this car was 10th November 1989 and it was delivered to the dealer on 27th November 1989!


I then plan to give the car a bit of a refresh and am thinking one of the following, i'd be pleased to hear your comments and which one you prefer?? Whatever the colour scheme I will be putting the Original Decals back on also.

1)





2)



3)



4)



5)

[Ricardo]

I'm liking number 1

[jesus in the seat of a 5]

5, 4, then 1... me`s thinkin

[Mart]

Best of luck with the new project mate. It was/is a great track car, and that legend of an engine won't let you down

Number 1 gets my vote

[bod 182]

Nice one Steve im spraying mine at the moment same as picture 2 but with black to a german cup car specNational day should be fun this year seems to be cup revival

[bod 182]

Nice one Steve,mine will be the same as picture 2 when ive finished spraying it with black as well German cup car,National day should be fun this year a cup revival

[bod 182]

WHOOPS

[sieger]

2.

[Jonny5]

Number 2

[LiamR]

Ace car you have got yourself there

[jesus in the seat of a 5]

good luck with no2, youll need a phase 1 body kit an grille.........

[James5]

I like number 1 all stickered up

[The new Bill J]

you need to sticker the ole girl up properly....,

Excuse me, oh Holy one?! Those decals are the correct ones, and the correct locations for the 1988/89 seasons, as stated by Renault. Unlike when you had a go at stickering one up, and put them all in the wrong places

Gutted to see the legend go after all these years. Some awesome times were had building/driving/enjoying that car with Mart, Col etc etc. I know it's gone to a good home though, and I wish you all the best with it Steve.

Oh, and thanks to you/Sarah for the Clio as well. I've been giving it a wee detail this arvo, with all 46 buckets

It's not nice to be without a gtt in my possession after all these years. The 172 is trying it's hardest to make up for it though. I now see what the hype is about regarding the RS Clios - They are awesome little things!

[jesus in the seat of a 5]

[quote=The new Bill J;271594]Excuse me, oh Holy one?! Those decals are the correct ones, and the correct locations for the 1988/89 seasons, as stated by Renault. Unlike when you had a go at stickering one up, and put them all in the wrong places

, handbag down girlfriend...., i meant as in finish it off and steve had allready asked me..... , ahh well least i "had a go"..., ps that sun visor will look daft on a 172 so ill flog it for a grand on e bay as an original under the name of raidergt..

[The new Bill J]

, handbag down girlfriend...., i meant as in finish it off and steve had allready asked me..... , ahh well least i "had a go"..., ps that sun visor will look daft on a 172 so ill flog it for a grand on e bay as an original under the name of raidergt..

I think the sunvisor would look quite good on the Clio actually. Good idea about sticking it on Ebay though

[bod 182]

If thats the original car from that race year i wouldn,t change it just freshen up any dull paintwork etc OE all the way

[Big Steve - Raider]

If thats the original car from that race year i wouldn,t change it just freshen up any dull paintwork etc OE all the way

The paintwork's all over the place at the moment. Whatever I do I would want the Engine Bay & Interior to match the exterior.

Looks like a Polar Bear's @rse at the moment with the White outside & the Red inside.

[Pigsnake]

car Looks good steve.Looking forward to seeing it in the flesh.Its got to be colour scheme number 1 for me mate.

[Sam Fish]

Yeah, you don't need any stickers!
They ran with different ones all the time anyway, so '89 is different to '88.

Looks great!
If it was mine, and I wish it was, I would just keep the basic championship stickers and 'correct' trim for the year - so '89?
Yellow/white would look nice.
Then road register it!!!!

[Big Steve - Raider]

Yeah, you don't need any stickers!
They ran with different ones all the time anyway, so '89 is different to '88.

Looks great!
If it was mine, and I wish it was, I would just keep the basic championship stickers and 'correct' trim for the year - so '89?
Yellow/white would look nice.
Then road register it!!!!

Sam, am I correct in thinking that the White/Yellow is the 89 season colours?

[Phoenix Autosport]

another great car in the making, you gonna do a complete strip down and refurb like you did on the raider ?

[T.K]

4!

Awesome news. Awesome car. I remember battling with it fondly waaay back.

[Sam Fish]

Sam, am I correct in thinking that the White/Yellow is the 89 season colours?

Not sure.
Who knows when that sticker was produced...? 89/90?
So it was supplied as a complete car in '89 from Renault? If they supplied it as a shell, it wouldn't have been stamped with a chassis number/identity.
The team/driver must have bought a brand new car to convert into a racer for the last season in 1990!
And they only used it for a year, otherwise it would have different stickers on for the non-Renault supported championship. I think it was sponsored by Harlow Group in '91 as Renault was supporting the new Clio cup.

How many miles does it have on the clock?

[Sam Fish]

Ps:
The stickers on the car look very original. I wouldn't touch them! Not many left with the original ones still on there!
Apart from maybe the yellow bits and PMT.

[Brigsy]

White with yellow kit gets my vote

As far as im aware the stickers fitted now are replica's sam. Did you ever find out the original colour scheme bill??

[Big Steve - Raider]

So it was supplied as a complete car in '89 from Renault? If they supplied it as a shell, it wouldn't have been stamped with a chassis number/identity.

How many miles does it have on the clock?

As Bill pointed out when I picked the car up, one distinguishing feature of this car was it's lack of ariel holes which makes me think it's a proper Coupe? It's also got the original un-cut door cards etc.

It's got about 2,164 miles on the clock & Bill told me a story about the speedo on this car being stuck at a certain mileage for a long time which may help some people remember the car??

I'm sure Billy will clarify these stories when he gets on here?

[Big Steve - Raider]

Ps:
The stickers on the car look very original. I wouldn't touch them! Not many left with the original ones still on there!
Apart from maybe the yellow bits and PMT.

The stickers are all old & manky & need a refresh think.

[Duncan Grier]

Fantastic little addition to the collection steve

DG

[Sam Fish]

Maybe they reshelled an original into a brand new car? If the chassis number says from Nov '89, the shell must have started life then. The other bits could have come from an original, or could have been bought from Renault - they all had part numbers.

OR.... you could still order a GT Turbo in 'coupe' spec from the factory in '89 and go racing in it? I don't see why not. Maybe not with all the cup bits on, but without sunroof/stereo etc, road registered.

[DLampitt]

If thats the original car from that race year i wouldn,t change it just freshen up any dull paintwork etc OE all the way

defo dont change the colour to what it never was get it looking exactly like it used too back then awesome car

[THE MASTER]

well done steve on your purchase or was it a swap

as for the revamp ide go for the picky N°5 for a good reason. T~cup was originaly red and ive got a fealing that the one pictured in the picky is it's sister car or very close to it.

cant wait to see wot you do with it as long as you dont kill it's sprirt

[matty j]

2.

thats stunning!!!

[The new Bill J]

OR.... you could still order a GT Turbo in 'coupe' spec from the factory in '89 and go racing in it? I don't see why not. Maybe not with all the cup bits on, but without sunroof/stereo etc, road registered.

From what Colin told me (testing my memory as well), all the Renault built coupe's were sold through Renault London, and they all came with chassis numbers (Like T-Cup). Radbourne Racing built their own cars from bare, brand new shells. They were then given Radbourne chassis numbers, like Kris M's and Jesus' (RAD 1, RAD 2 etc).

I remember Colin telling me that Renault London ordered 50 (spare) coupes, ready for the 1990 season, in anticipation of some of the teams wanting replacment cars if/when they smashed one of theirs up. However, being Renault 5 owners , they just bodged the cars back together, and off they went. Because of this, Renault London only sold 5 of that batch, the other 45 were converted back to road cars (but leaving the thicker torsion bars in place) and sold off to Joe Public. All the coupe parts were slung into a store room at Renault London, where Martin Sadler (Who drove the Renault London sponsored coupe - The car which Colin maintained) slowely helped himself

[Mart]

Wonder if Sadler's got any Cup wheels going spare?

What d'you reckon Bill?

[Big Steve - Raider]

Wonder if Sadler's got any Cup wheels going spare?

What would you do with them?

1. They wouldn't fit an Evo
2. You've not got a 5GTT
3. If you did get another you'd not track it??

Keep your money mate!

[Mart]

You never know Billy knows I'm only pulling his plonk anyway

[The new Bill J]

[Phoenix Autosport]

looking at the pics i would say option 2 & 3 would be a bit of a pain as you would need a good condition phase 1 kit unpainted which is going to be a nightmare to find and expensive to buy, option 1 looks the best as the white and yellow are the iconic colours for the turbo cup.
also the image used everywhere of the turbo cup car has a number 5 on it to match yours so a bit of continuity there
cant wait to see this one, let me know if you need and bits flocked for it

[rat1]

i would go for no5 as it was originally red, but 1 looks good as well .but it has to be all stickered up or what's the point in having a cup car you might as well have got a nominal gtt .
or how about doing it in raider blue all stickered up

[Big Steve - Raider]

***UPDATE***

Found out some interesting information this week from a mixture of Renault and the DVLA. It would appear that the old T-Cup is known to the DVLA!!

I asked my man at Renault to see what information they have on the old girl and they gave me this:

VIN
VF1C4050501666185
Commercial make
RENAULT
Distributor brand
RENAULT
Designer brand
RENAULT
Manufacturer brand
RENAULT
Model designation
R5
Famille - Code Projet
X40
Code Modèle
C40
Body type
3-DOOR SALOON
Assembly factory name
FLINS
Identifier
064
Manufacturing date
10.11.1989
Commercial year
90
Version variant type
C40505
After-sales type
C405
Manufacturing number
F074010
Manufacturing year
1989
Engine type
C1J
Engine number
000SANS
Gearbox number
000SANS

EVENTS
Shipment
MADC Date
10.11.1989
Date of shipment to dealership
27.11.1989
Invoicing DC/DCZ
946
Network invoicing account number
000861
Invoicing country name
GREAT BRITAIN
Invoicing date
27.11.1989
Network invoice number
3312980
Delivery DC/DCZ
946
Delivery country name
GREAT BRITAIN
Date of delivery to customer
26.01.1990
Date of first registration
26.01.1990
Vehicle registration date
26.01.1990
Vehicle registration number
See below!
Registration country code
GB

So T-Cup's official registration number is:



With this information I looked on the DVLA's website to see what information they have on it and sure enough:



I phoned the DVLA up and they told me that all I need to do is fill in a V62 Document and send off the £25 and they will send me back a V5/Logbook!!

WIN!

So now I will be able to road register the car and it gives me the ability to test it's running correctly before I take it to the Trackdays.

You can see the information from the DVLA confirms that it should be RED so I'm now swaying back towards a full on replica of Martin Sadler's car shown in Picture number 5??

[bod 182]

WOW good man thats a touch,are taking as it is to National day?lunchtime you know what a possibility still

[THE MASTER]

fantastic Steve good bit of finding out there .... i told ya it was orginaly red

now your next quest is to find out it's racing history and find out who it was that drove it in the cup series. and who drove it after

you can borrow my coupe pickys

[THE MASTER]

Wonder if Sadler's got any Cup wheels going spare?

What d'you reckon Bill?

Mart, as far as i know all the parts got sold on .. think it was somone like mark fish or radbourne.

[Tony Walker]

IMO... keep it as it is. every stickers there for a reason and gives the car its history? New different stickers as much as they would look ace wouldnt show you the life its had.(i know pictures allways look better than in person) The cars meant to be tracked not show and shiny. i say go and rub up against a few other cup cars and make it more authentic

[The new Bill J]

IMO... keep it as it is. every stickers there for a reason and gives the car its history? New different stickers as much as they would look ace wouldnt show you the life its had.(i know pictures allways look better than in person) The cars meant to be tracked not show and shiny. i say go and rub up against a few other cup cars and make it more authentic

They're not the original decals. They are the decals that the cars had to wear in the Championship, but they're replicas that I had done about six/seven years ago. When Mart and me originally got the car it was all white, with the yellow checkers, and blue MOTORSPORT stickers down the sides

The car's not even the original colour. As already said, it's original colour is red. I think it's also been blue before it was white.

[Big Steve - Raider]

Quick update on the V5/Logbook situation.

Had a letter from the DVLA today telling me that they are processing my request and I should get the new Logbook late July!

[westy94]

Brilliant steve what a great read.