17 Resurrection

Fireblade

Fireblade

Active member
Fellow Frogger
Joined
Mar 22, 2012
Messages
562
Location
Melbourne
And so it begins...

Some of you will have seen Ian of Bannockburn fame's R17 project - here's how it looked in the back corner of the shed:

R17 Shed.jpeg


And loading onto a trailer

IMG_1801.jpg


Many thanks to Ian - a lot of work has been done on this 17 to remove rust and prepare for painting - but still it is not a project for the faint-hearted! There is pretty much a complete car, but after all these years and a couple of moves, and bit of raiding and pillage - not all of it can be guaranteed or serviceable.

Many thanks to @angru for helping out with a missing bonnet. You are a legend! The only other bit of body work required is a drivers side front guard - I do have one, but it will take a bit of work to make good.

Also thanks to @Jensen for an R17 parts book - without the book and this R15 I picked up in Kaniva - there is no way I would tackle this project! And thanks to @putuguq for helping with collection and storage of said R15 and other bits from the Kaniva auction. It is a great community to be part of.

Attachment-1.jpeg


So begins the journey. It's now to be put on a rotisserie and sent off for painting via a sandblast shop. My aim is to get it up to a painted rolling chassis ASAP as it will then be much more manageable and arrest any potential deterioration.

George :)
 
Fireblade said:
And so it begins...

Some of you will have seen Ian of Bannockburn fame's R17 project - here's how it looked in the back corner of the shed:

View attachment 134683

And loading onto a trailer

View attachment 134686

Many thanks to Ian - a lot of work has been done on this 17 to remove rust and prepare for painting - but still it is not a project for the faint-hearted! There is pretty much a complete car, but after all these years and a couple of moves, and bit of raiding and pillage - not all of it can be guaranteed or serviceable.

Many thanks to @angru for helping out with a missing bonnet. You are a legend! The only other bit of body work required is a drivers side front guard - I do have one, but it will take a bit of work to make good.

Also thanks to @Jensen for an R17 parts book - without the book and this R15 I picked up in Kaniva - there is no way I would tackle this project! And thanks to @putuguq for helping with collection and storage of said R15 and other bits from the Kaniva auction. It is a great community to be part of.

View attachment 134681

So begins the journey. It's now to be put on a rotisserie and sent off for painting via a sandblast shop. My aim is to get it up to a painted rolling chassis ASAP as it will then be much more manageable and arrest any potential deterioration.

George :)
Click to expand...
Good onya George
 
Fireblade said:
And so it begins...

Some of you will have seen Ian of Bannockburn fame's R17 project - here's how it looked in the back corner of the shed:

View attachment 134683

And loading onto a trailer

View attachment 134686

Many thanks to Ian - a lot of work has been done on this 17 to remove rust and prepare for painting - but still it is not a project for the faint-hearted! There is pretty much a complete car, but after all these years and a couple of moves, and bit of raiding and pillage - not all of it can be guaranteed or serviceable.

Many thanks to @angru for helping out with a missing bonnet. You are a legend! The only other bit of body work required is a drivers side front guard - I do have one, but it will take a bit of work to make good.

Also thanks to @Jensen for an R17 parts book - without the book and this R15 I picked up in Kaniva - there is no way I would tackle this project! And thanks to @putuguq for helping with collection and storage of said R15 and other bits from the Kaniva auction. It is a great community to be part of.

View attachment 134681

So begins the journey. It's now to be put on a rotisserie and sent off for painting via a sandblast shop. My aim is to get it up to a painted rolling chassis ASAP as it will then be much more manageable and arrest any potential deterioration.

George :)
Click to expand...
How bad is the 15? And what do you intend to do with the shell?
 
schlitzaugen said:
How bad is the 15? And what do you intend to do with the shell?
Click to expand...
In my view, the 15 is quite bad - certainly unsalvageable from an economic point of view. All bolt-off panels - doors, guards bonnets require work and I drew the line at the body shell itself as the roof was rusted through - I'm not used to seeing sky through the top of the car unless there is a sunroof! It has had a colour change at some point in its life.

I have no plans/use for the shell. In fact, the main value to me is that I know I have a complete car - when you pick up a "project" you are never sure of what you have or don't have.
 
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Thank you very much. I asked because I like the 15 body shape a little bit better than the 17. I think the rear quarter windows are much better for the feel inside the car and the curve at the back just above the rear top corner of the windows is prettier. I wouldn't need any of the bolt on panels but a sieve roof is something else.

How are the front seats in the 15? Are the frames good? I could use a matching pair of good front seats. And by good I mean with good frames. Everything else is (relatively) easy to make.
 
Wow. Lots of work. Think you’ll find the r15 to be invaluable for parts. Have to work out how to get that bonnet to you.
and schiltzaugen, I have those seats I have disassembled. Just haven’t got to do anything more with them. I’m only getting home one or 2 times a week now. If these ones are better for your needs, go with them.
 
schlitzaugen said:
Thank you very much. I asked because I like the 15 body shape a little bit better than the 17. I think the rear quarter windows are much better for the feel inside the car and the curve at the back just above the rear top corner of the windows is prettier. I wouldn't need any of the bolt on panels but a sieve roof is something else.

How are the front seats in the 15? Are the frames good? I could use a matching pair of good front seats. And by good I mean with good frames. Everything else is (relatively) easy to make.
Click to expand...
I too think the R15 has a lovely line. In my youth I fell in love with it so much that, as uni student, I bought a 1975 R15 that had been in a roll-over. I suspect it was rallied as it had Bilsteins all round. Exposed putty in the roof and most panels - but I bought it anyway. Took it to a panel beater for what I thought was a spray job to be told (not surprisingly) the car was rooted!

Renault Australia to the rescue! I had a friend who was an ex-Renault mechanic - still with connections at the factory. It was 1980, and RA had a complete painted R15 body shell they had been holding on to for about 5 years (same colour as the roll-over) and decided it was time to let it go. $500 later, they popped it into a plywood 'container' and lifted it on to our hired tandem trailer with a forklift. Just my brother and I manhandling it off the trailer at the other end. I think we used a chain block tied to a tree. I have some B&W photos (in storage) - when I get to dig them out, I will post for amusement's sake!

What I miss about my youth is the way you launch yourself blindly into a project for the love of it, without a safety net and think nothing more of it. It just seemed to work out in the end.
 
Oh - and the advantage of being a uni student - you didn't have much money, but there were vast tracts of time from about November through to March at your disposal - so while it was a big project, it was all done in a matter of months.
 
schlitzaugen said:
That is a story to tell. Where's the re-shelled car?
Click to expand...
That's a story for another day - the short version is that it was stolen from a panel beaters holding yard waiting assessment for a rear-ender. It was driven through cyclone fencing to exit the yard, joy ridden for a while before being abandoned in a park. The insult to the front of the car compounded the rear damage to make the car a write-off - R15/17 bonnets/bumper bars/grills were rare and expensive in those days. Insurance paid out on the car and I bought the wreck back and converted a 17TL auto into a manual and wrecked out the rest. Such a shame.

I knew there was something dodgy at the time - with the panel beaters being culpable. They either left the keys in the car, or one of the workers came back at night for the joy ride, because Renaults are hard to move without the key. They convinced me to just take the payout and let things rest at that. I was very naive at the time.
 
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So frustrating, eh? That industry is full of shysters.

I had a 12 that I found was full of bog too, like one of your other cars. It'd been prettied up for a quick sale and given to granny to flog. I was desperate for wheels after a holiday and bought it. Ended up giving to to Schlitzaugen for nowt after some years as it got pretty bad.

Good luck with the 17; I really like the Renaults from that era with that chassis design. I too prefer the R15 shape! But, that blue 17 above is a cracker and inspirational indeed.
 
Jensen, first time I've seen the 17G finished! wow, might have taken a while but it looks fantastic! Well done.
 
I also think the 15 has a cleaner look than the 17. I had a yellow 15TS back in the 70's....great little car....loved it
 
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