1959 4cv Restoration in North Carolina USA
- Thread starter Stan W
- Start date
The golf course may already be being mown with a mower using a Ventoux motor - the Toro ride-ons used it
About the only value of a golf course - somewhere to drive Renaults
Andrew
I haven't done the doors or roof - there is still time. I might feel like cutting the roof off when I start working on all the little dents it has.Someone had to make that suggestion!
We haven't even touched on the subject of making a new headliner either. Making a resort special replica would be a LOT of work and might cost a lot of money, but it wouldn't be impossible. However, I will want the roof, doors and heater in the winter. I am still going to see if it is practical to put hitch pins in the hinges so I can take the doors off easily.Looks more like a clown car!Just doesn't look like a golf buggy to me.
But great that it can improve your game.
I actually asked about this (before I had my block welded) and checked all the "retired" mowers that have not been hauled off. Unfortunately, there weren't any with Renault engines. Some Toro groundsmasters had the ventoux engine - so it would not be that unlikely. Most of the mowers with the ventoux engines have long since been retired from commercial use in favor of newer mowers with diesel engines. The ventoux engines used in the mowers turned the opposite direction from 4cvs and Dauphines - they were derived from the R4 engine.
Hey, Stan, what if you made it a hard top convertible? I mean you've gone so far, and you want to fix the roof too (I would have driven it with all the sheet metal as is maybe just covered in undercoat or rustproof, definitely would not even think of doing anything with the roof, and tell you what, I think it looks very cool the way it is right now, as you say, clown car), why not go the whole eleven meters? Make a detachable roof. Cut at strategically chosen points, make some sort of clamping system so you can clip it on and you have the best of two worlds!
Strangely enough, I am not joking.
Strangely enough, I am not joking.
A removable top similar to the Caravelle - intriguing idea. If I were going to try that, I would start on an extra body shell in case it did not work out. Definitely possible, not nearly as hard as a lot of custom body work I have seen. My current project has the goal of being exactly like it was when new with a few very minor modifications. If I ever happen to get an inexpensive 330 four speed, I would modify the suspension crossmember. I might also eventually install Dauphine brakes. For now, I will look into the possibility of quick removal of the doors.
can recommend the Dauphine 4 speed ,particularly on hills ,pugs
What's wrong with the suspension crossmember?
The better 330 gearbox doesn't fit the old tubular cross member. Standard practice is to bold in a Dauphine/R8/R10 crossmember which has identical bolt spacing, allowing better rear suspension and much quieter operation.
What he needs is a decouvrable. You used to be able to get kits for them.
You want one of these.... 1953 decouvrable.
douphine has fabricated cross member like a 8 or 10 ,4cv has a pipe cross member that recesses into a channel in the 3 speed box , the fabricated x member can be mounted to the 4cv chassis rails after a couple of brackets are removed ,bolt spacing is the same , although as the shock towers of the fab x member lean in and the 4cv inner guards lean out so the guards have to be cut to allow it to be fitted ,it is no drought possible to fabricate a x member that is, a cross between both ,that would alleviate the body being butchered ,pugs
Hi
Do the early Dauphines have the same box as the 750s and/or fitted with a higher diff ratio ? I thought I remember that, back in the day, I fitted a Dauphine motor and box to my third 750 with no real mods required and the round cross member. Possibly fake memory
hard to remember after all these years and lots of cars later. But I do remember it was a good stepup in performance and speed.
Jaahn
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Well not exactly. There is the odd example in Oz of a 330 box being fitted to the completely different engineering of the tubular cross member, but I'm inclined to think that the fabrication involved is less satisfactory than just bolting in the later cross member and improving everything. It isn't necessary to cut the 4CV guards but I've seen one example where the inner panel was beaten in a bit to accomodate the towers. There are several 4CVs around with those later cross members fitted.
The attraction of the 4-speed, all-synchro 330 box is obvious! You don't get much more in the way of top gear cruising than the 8x35 diff of the Dauphine 289 gearbox (fitted to the 4CV with the 7x33 diff) but it's a more modern and robust gearbox.
It really depends whether you are customising your car or keeping it original isn't it? They are quite different philosophies. You can do a lot without it being apparent to the casual observer, if that's your wish!
You are correct. The later 750s and Dauphines had the 289 transaxle with modern synchromesh. 750 kept the 7x33 diff and the Dauphine had 8x33. There were variants on the 289 top casting where it bolted to the tubular cross member or hung from the fabricated one.Hi
Do the early Dauphines have the same box as the 750s and/or fitted with a higher diff ratio ? I thought I remember that , back in the day, I fitted a Dauphine motor and box to my third 750 with no real mods required and the round cross member. Possibly fake memory
Jaahn
It is possible to fit a 330 box to a 750 cross member. Bruce S's car has had it done. We did it a few years ago but it hasn't been driven since and now the rego has run out. We cut the gearbox so it would fit the round bar and used epoxy metal to make a wide pad on top of the box. The 4 bolt holes are the same so a top plate can be made to fit the existing studs. Just remember that a 750 motor has a 7 mm offset and I think the 330 box might need a 15mm offset. Any how the motor is not in the middle of the engine bay to allow the drive shaft to pass the crown wheel and at the same time keep the axles the same length.
The ammount of offset for the 330 could be checked by measuring the centre of the Sierra engine to the side rails assuming the side rails are the same on both sides..
Never thought about that offset!! Live and learn eh. Pity about the rego and what goes behind that..... I drove Bruce's car once and it was really nice with the 330 box.
well yes ,its great to get some of this stuff down for posterity ,i did my mod some 40 plus ears ago on my first car ,back when they weren't so precious ,and of course ,i was in a hurry ,so the angle grinder was a lot quicker ,and more dramatic than gentle massage
Chuckle. You wouldn't have been the only one either!!