R5GTT Project - Off the road since Sept 1998

[Lowiepete]

Hello Folks,

Well, I've finally got round to it. Lurking in my garage for the past 15 years,
almost to the day is my old R5GTT. It had served me well for several years
before I bought myself a brand new Megane Alizé in September 1998.

Of course, the intention of keeping it on the road was always there, but I got
overtaken by events, not least with my health, progress of my disability, etc.
Anyway, after a very long while of not even setting eyes on the car, simply
because the path was overgrown on the garden side and an old tree stump
blocking the outside garage entrance, I finally regained access.

What I found was relatively surprising! The car was in far better shape than I
had imagined it might be. The restoration will be done by the guy who looked
after this car for me when it was on the road. He came round to give the car
a quick survey today and he even got the engine turning over.

The oil was still remarkably clean and the coolant was still bright green! It
seems that I've been hugely lucky that the car hasn't just disintegrated. I
guess that was partly because it was well looked after when it was road
worthy. It looks like that's paid-off handsomely for me!

Now that the thread has grown to such a size, you might prefer to watch
these compilation videos of the restoration progress. They should look quite
good full-screen..

This is part #1. So pour yourself a suitable libation and enjoy...



This is part 2 which takes us up to 20 January 2014

R5GTT Restoration Part 2

...and this is part 3 which brings us to 24 April 2014

R5GTT Restoration Part 3

... Part 4 sees the engine started for the first time, the revamp of the car's home
and its triumphant return complete with brand new MOT

R5GTT Restoration Part 4

Part 5 sees the car get a basic detail, visit Snetterton Racecourse and get taken
back into the workshop to get its glass and body-trims removed...

R5GTT Restoration Part 5

Otherwise, I'll let the photos take up the story...





















So, that's the body not looking in too bad shape. The main worry was the
scuttle below the windscreen, but that only seems to be showing light
surface rust. We'll be taking the screen out to have a better look in due
course, but there's no cause for concern :thumb:

The wheels will want a refurb...





The biggest surprise was under the bonnet! That completely belies 15years
of neglect. I suppose that betrays me as a long-term detailer





I could not believe how clean the battery terminals were! I was expecting
them to be furred-up completely...





Something decided to nest in the sound dampening pad below the bonnet,
though not much damage caused...



Here's the scuttle close-up! That's probably the most expensive bit to get
repaired if the tin-worm gets its way - phew!!



It looks like a cat has been after the nest-building mice...



So, now to the clean-up. The following photos are showing nothing more than
a very quick clean, using ONR from the QD bottle, some Serious Performance
cleaning QD and a half-bucket of water with 2 capfuls of CG Hose-Free Eco
in it. A noodle mitt and a small selection of MF cloths for wiping and drying.



The door window cleaned for a first glimpse of the interior in I don't know
how long...



Then 4 views of the interior. Not bad, bar the few cobwebs :thumb:









Now 3 views of the passenger side door-shut. Some minor tin-worm evidence!







The bit that I'm still very cross about. I parked the car in a council car park
and when I reversed out caught part of the footing of an ancient ice-cream
stall. WDC denied all knowledge!:wall:



So, I've got the door clean...



Now the front wing. Thats just an ONR / HFE combination clean - honest!









A cheeky 50/50 :lol:



...and now the bits I was really dreading. Of course, the exhaust system is
going to need replacing, but otherwise, things under there don't look too bad.
Nothing was falling off when the door got closed. The floorpan is remarkably
solid, so it's not going to be an horrendously expensive restoration.











I'll be updating this thread over the coming weeks. The next stage is to put
in a new battery, plugs, some new petrol etc., and get the engine started.
It'll then be moved to a new location for work to begin.

If anyone can help, I'm looking for a genuine front air-dam to replace the
broken one and a driver's side door...

Regards,
Steve

[robx1r]

jammy git! i can hadly get away with a car layin up 1 year! this will be another one to watch!

[mingblus3]

Excellent thread. So original.

[Flight666]

That's pretty cool seeing the car as it was after being stood after 15 years as you say doesn't look bad at all the underside looks very good especially. love the 50/50 shots where you have cleaned parts of the bodywork..Nice to see the engine bay looking tidy and original and complete.will check out your progress nice to see another original GT uncovered and brought back to life cheeky little red pin stripes as well best of luck looks a nice project especially as you owned the car beforehand sure that will be very rewarding for you when she's all done and you are boosting along on a summers evening....

[jesus in the seat of a 5]

That's pretty cool seeing the car as it was after being stood after 15 years as you say doesn't look bad at all the underside looks very good especially. love the 50/50 shots where you have cleaned parts of the bodywork..Nice to see the engine bay looking tidy and original and complete.will check out your progress nice to see another original GT uncovered and brought back to life cheeky little red pin stripes as well best of luck looks a nice project especially as you owned the car beforehand sure that will be very rewarding for you when she's all done and you are boosting along on a summers evening....

totally agree with nic.... love the stereo tooo...

[Lowiepete]

...love the stereo tooo...

It's a pure 1980's Philips tape deck and I still have the tape box that jams twixt the
front seats, with its fold-down flap...



You might guess I have a Bose sound system in the 205GTT Coupe

[fat roofer]

How jealous am I!!!! It really wouldn't take much to make this such a lovely crispy oe minter! I hope it gives you as much joy as it did the first time round!

[Chris Beer]

I dream of finding something like this one day and getting hold of it ...

Yours has aged remarkably well

Look forward to seeing it live again, whats it's mileage?

[Pigsnake]

Love this thread..Looking forward to keeping an eye on this project.

[LeeR5GTT]

This is fantastic

[Lowiepete]

Look forward to seeing it live again, whats it's mileage?

69K in 8 years. I only took it off the road because I fancied the Megane
and its much smoother ride. Being disabled, the R5 was jarring on longer
runs. I do feel very lucky though; None of the rubber pipes look to have
perished, though that might become a different story once the engine
starts and things warm up again.

I'll be replacing the braking system. New lines, disks and pads, etc. I've
been looking at various options, as I guess the Renault originals are long
gone, or hugely expensive. The EBC brakes with greenstuff pads work out
at about £166 with the RTOC discount. As the car won't be tracked, are
the GS pads overkill? Should I go for Brembo's instead or are they overkill + ?

I'm guessing that I'm gonna have loads of questions like this. Has anyone
else done a similar resto? If so, do please point me toward your thread.
Cheers

Regards,
Steve

[Nunnsy]

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

Excellent project. Looking forward to seeing this progress

[TNT ANDY]

Steve - I popped some EBC yellows up front and Exeleiums at the rear and both grip well. If you're not tracking her I'd go with the exceliums all round, cheap and effective stopping (too effective in my case )

[Trevhib]

[Lowiepete]

Hi Andy,
Cheers for your reply.

Steve - I popped some EBC yellows up front and Exeleiums at the rear and both grip well. If you're not tracking her I'd go with the exceliums all round, cheap and effective stopping (too effective in my case )

Do you have a link?

Someone on the Detailing World Forum suggested that I get _all_ my spares from Mike
at GTTS, including the brake parts. Sounds like a simple solution. It would certainly save
me hours and hours of chasing my tail on t'interweb...

Regards,
Steve

[scratcher]

Good to see you and the project on here Steve

I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

[Lowiepete]

Good to see you and the project on here Steve

I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

Well, it's gonna be expensive!

Regards,
Steve

[Mattv6]

Watching this closely. Great project,

Link to my thread here if its any help

https://www.rtoc.org/boards/showthrea...ghlight=Johnny

[Mr Raider]

Great thread Steve, looks in good shape after a 15 year rest!

[Lowiepete]

Hello Folks,

As November 1st approaches, the day the car gets moved, I'm quite quickly
building quite a cache of parts. So, my first haul was a carb kit and a couple
of OEM oil filters...



The next challenge was an exhaust system at a reasonable price. For a mild
steel OEM I was quoted £450 - so I set to and scoured t'interweb
to find this in stainless steel for just £175 delivered...





Yeah, you _can_ laugh! 3.5" bore, while not OEM it _was_ all the rage in the
early 1990s - that's my excuse anyway!

Then it was a trip to an Alladin's Cave down south to purchase lots of little
niggly bits, various cables, OEM fuel filter, dizzy cap, rotor arm etc. The
braided cables were a group buy on RTOC for £35 delivered.



What's not pictured is the replacement front bumper, in tungsten, and a
complete set of brake disks with new rear bearings. That lot came to £370.
The remaining brake parts will be ordered once we remove what's presently
there.

As the suspension is being fiddled with, I've decided to replace the shocks.
No point in doing a similar job in two parts if the existing bits decide to fail.
Finding front shock absorbers at an affordable price was quite a task. Found
these for £52 delivered...



There will be another instalment later in the week. I've now assembled most
of the replacement bits that are needed. Including the bits ordered today,
the parts bill so far comes to over £870 :doublesho

A bit more to add to the haul...


took that picture and remembered that I should have added the wipers. I
got some proper retro ones, as I'm not counting on using them too often...


With the cost of the battery, I've now got no more than a few pence change
out of a grand :doublesho With luck, the car should be getting moved this
time next week. I can't wait!

Even though I've spent so much so far, I've got some bargains. I have some
Bougicord HT leads coming from France, £18 instead of £87! I can barely
believe I paid the same price for the front suspension bearings as I did on the
surplus stock front shock absorbers - all de Carbon products.

The other savings have been in sourcing a front bumper. I remember my local
Renault dealer quoting me the best part of £400 +vat, unpainted. The 2nd
hand one, painted in tungy grey, cost me £150 :thumb:

Regards,
Steve

[Lowiepete]

Hello Folks,

So, for the first time in 15 years, the car has moved. Most pleasing of all was
to see all 4 wheels turning within inches of its first movement by the winch.
So, at least the handbrake hasn't siezed.



How about this for security? That stump came from a huge eucalyptus tree
that got brought down in the 2001 storm and was pulled out of the ground
earlier this year...







The pattern of rust left off the exhaust...







Once cleaned, this car looks like it'll come up a treat. This photo is almost a
bit of a cheat...







With the front tyres almost flat, the front bumper took a bit of a beating.
Luckily, there's a new one to fit in its place. Indeed, most of the parts are
now to hand, other than fiddly bits for the brake calipers.





As you can probably imagine, the excitement is growing! :buffer:

Regards,
Steve

[mingblus3]

This is such a good post. Well done mate.

[Dre5gtt]

that has aged very looks solid underneath to
look forward to the progress

[Lowiepete]

Hi Folks,

Here's an image of my expenses so far. Have tried exporting this
to a .csv file but it still looks untidy



Regards,
Steve

[Gttnutter]

Before the front bumpers became obsolete they were around £120 from Renault. If costs like £400 were out there for 1 body part then there must of been a fair few gt turbo's scrapped/not worth the repair after having an prang.

[gtmatt]

Epic thread love it , good work all round

[Mr Raider]

Great thread mate, nice stash of all the essential replacement parts for the project jigsaw. Car originally from Norwich with 'PW' on the reg

[Trevhib]

A great read. Keep this thread flowing!


Judging by some of your posts, it looks like you're doing the same thread on another forum?

[Lowiepete]

Hi Trev,

Thanks for your kind words.

Judging by some of your posts, it looks like you're doing the same thread on another forum?

I've been a member on the other forum a long time and spend much more
time there than I do here. Is there a problem with that?

Regards,
Steve

[Goobie]

Got to love the 80's design on the tape slot flap.

[Trevhib]

I've been a member on the other forum a long time and spend much more
time there than I do here. Is there a problem with that?

Not at all! I was just curious to know which one it was. Always good to see RTOC being mentioned in other places.

[Trevhib]

Got to love the 80's design on the tape slot flap.

Reminds me of Mastertronic from the 80's

[TNT Tricky Nicky]

Not at all! I was just curious to know which one it was. Always good to see RTOC being mentioned in other places.

Second line of the first post, massive give away

Nice to see another 'local' car pop up, good luck with the restoration

[phase i 16 v turbo]

Good to see it coming on Pete!

[Trevhib]

Second line of the first post, massive give away

Grace without truth is foolishness, truth without grace is cruelty. Thanks

[Coops]

great project and an awesome base to work from, will watch with interest

[Lowiepete]

Before the front bumpers became obsolete they were around £120 from Renault.

Wow, if I had been quoted that price, I'd have got it replaced. That of course was
their unpainted price; t'was the prep and painting that hit hardest. I think plastic
primers have probably come a long way since.

Mind you, the £400 quoted was cheap compared to £78 for a couple
of 4Control badges that go on the Laguna Coupé.



If anyone knows of a cheaper source, do please let me know. Apparently,
my GT missed the application of these badges by just a few weeks

Regards,
Steve

[Lowiepete]

Hello Folks,

The car hoisted in its temporary new home...




Under driver's side rear arch. Any patches that look like oil leaks are just
where some WD40 has been sprayed. I cannot believe how good and solid
the fuel tank is.







It's still a bit of a job for me to get photos of the underside, but the
omens look good...



Under front wheel arch...









I think that the rather rusty pulley wheel will need a visit to the powder
coaters too.

I can't wait to see this all cleaned up and painted...




The carburettor has been removed and dunked into a soak bath to help it
release. The coolant pipes to and from the carb are also in soak as they're
blocked by dried-up coolant.

Regards,
Steve

[Mr Raider]

Good work mate, paint work looks in great order after a wash! gtt's have plastic fuel tanks

[LukeRobbo]

Good project!

Im also restoring a G reg tungy on a budget thats been sitting a while.Check out my project.

[DaveL485]

Lurking in my garage for the past 15 years,
almost to the day is my old R5GTT.

Good luck man

If I can restore this



You can restore your five LOL

[Alex]

Wow, how have I missed this thread? This is fantastic!

[gtmatt]

Great thread love it ,makes me want to restore another one

[Lowiepete]

Hello Folks,

I went round to see Karl today, mostly to pay him some money for the work
he's done so far. We also discussed strategies for how the ongoing work
would be done. Earlier in the week, he'd taken the tyres off and brought the
bare wheels round for me to do some cleaning.

The upshot of that is that 2 wheels definitely need a refurb, so all 4 are going
off to AeroCoat, early next week. I've also placed an order for 4 ZIEX Falken
tyres. Unbeknown to me, Karl had made some further progress. The tell-tale
sign being this...



Oh, what joy! For weeks, ever since that new exhaust arrived, I've wondered
what that tailpipe would look like in its bumper slot. I was a bit concerned
that it might be overkill, a tad "penile-extension" - thankfully not! To my
mind that looks the part. The remaining bits are not yet attached, hence it
being a tad off-centre.

Then came the bigger surprise. Being a man of few words, all I got from Karl
was: "You might like to look round here..."

...where I found this





...and this





The almost total absence of rust is just astonishing! One of the guys round
there said that if it had been a Ford Escort of that vintage, it would have
needed fully stripping back to bare metal, and he spoke from experience.
If anyone reading this has doubts about French cars...

A few more pictures...









Old versus new flexible brake pipes...



I'm just thrilled to bits. There's no question that Karl is putting a lot his own
personality into his work. I feel very privileged to have access to his craft

With Season's Greetings,
Steve

[Dre5gtt]

Great stuff

[Trevhib]

Exhaust looks fantastic. Hope it sounds as well as it looks

[Alex]

Brilliant work

[TNT Tricky Nicky]

It was a pleasure to meet you tonight lowie Pete Steve!
Thanks for the lift home.

If you have any question or need a hand with your build, feel free to drop me a pm and I'll try my best to help out

Nick

[Lowiepete]

Hi Nick,

It was a pleasure to meet you tonight lowie Pete Steve!
Thanks for the lift home.

If you have any question or need a hand with your build, feel free to drop me a pm and I'll try my best to help out

T'was good to meet you too

Once I get the wee beastie back home, there'll no doubt be the occasional question.

I enjoyed meeting the EA crowd too - it's been a long while since I curried the innards

Regards,
Steve

[gtmatt]

Wow wow ,great work again , where did yoy get rear shocks from ?? Thanks matt