I think it is the pastel/soft colours, the simple lines that wrap around you and the minimalism that do it. No intrusive gearbox hump, no unnecessary trim, no invasive plastics and thin pillars that allow for lots of light.
Not all the Gordinis so much as the last version of the Dauphine, the R1094 (and the last Gordinis, the R1095), for the last years 1965-1968. See "la Renault Dauphine de mon pere".Couldn't you go front discs? I remember the Gordinis had all round disc brakes. I would be very tempted to get my hands on a set of those.
Totally agree. The difference between my rear Dauphine drums on the 4CV and the R8 discs in handbrake effectiveness is just huge, I agree. If you get the disc handbrake adjusted right and lubricated (almost none....) it's more or less OK but it's no accident that the handbrake lever is a lot longer on the disc brake cars! Trouble was mostly poor maintenance and infrequent adjustment, which of course we all inherited from earlier owners!!True, that. I had a hell of a time doing the brakes on my 11966 R10 (my first car) when I bought it in 91 for the same reason. Luckily I wasn't the first to have this problem and by then others had already figured out what parts fit from other cars. The handbrake mechanism was the worst offender but I did manage to get it working properly in the end. It would have been a lot easier with drums on the back, I agree but boy oh boy how that car stopped. Didn't accelerate very much, but I could outbrake pretty much anything else on the road back then.
Sounds normal for a neglected car! You can see why I use silicone fluid. The point of water absorbtion is just where you don't want it, where the seal bears against the alloy calliper. And in my view, changing the fluid regularly simply doesn't help as it doesn't flush behind the 'o' rings. It's easy AFTER you've sorted the car out and know what to do. Not easy before as you (and I) learned what was going on.When I took the handbrake system apart in my R10, I found the cable was stuck on one side (after it splits to go to either wheel). Fixed that, then found the levers didn't operate. Freed those, found the pistons stuck. Freed those, found they leaked. Took calipers out, found corrosion under the seals. Pistons pitted. Cleaned, replaced seals, got some s/h good pistons, new seals, still had small leaks on both sides because the seal couldn't cover the pitting in the bottom of the channel. Eventually I found a pair of s/h clean calipers and that fixed it. A real mess and it took forever. Luckily the R10 doesn't really need much rear braking. In fact if you live in a cold snowy country you'd be better off if you could disconnect the rear brakes in winter.
Yes, water definitely not miscible!! I just lube the o-rings with silicone brake fluid. The trick is polising the bottom of the grooves as most old callipers show some corrosion in there. I hadn't thought of the water freezing, but of course you are right there. Happily not my problem.I think one can just use some sort of rubber lubricant or even silicone grease under the seals. You only need the tiniest film to make sure there's no water ingress. Modern silicone grease is miles ahead what was (not) available to the average person back in the sixties and even in the nineties. Still not cheap but for our use one tube should last a lifetime. Back then, finding silicone grease was not even imagined, let alone the price (today) for a tube equaled my monthly wage.
Problem with silicone fluid in cold climates is that any water that gets in is not absorbed (does not mix) in the fluid and you can have water drops freeze inside the system, who knows where.
Looks just great! Congratulations on the work.I have finally got the 4cv to the point I intended back when I purchased it. Everything is complete and installed (except the front mudguards). The interior panels are all complete and fitted. It was a bit tricky stretching the vinyl around the wheel wells to get a wrinkle free fit. I purchased a very good quality vinyl from an automotive upholstery supply (Albright's). It makes a big difference to have good materials - the vinyl has a wonderful soft feel (what you would expect from a good leather), is extremely durable, has good UV resistance and stretches well when installing.
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While the original front seats and front door panels look fairly good, I will be making new door panels and new front seat upholstery. Since I get in and out of the car a lot, the original thread will eventually break. I repaired a split seam on the passenger seat already. The other item I was not completely satisfied with is the gearbox. It was worn from lack of oil changes. I now have a very good 318 four speed gearbox from a 1962 Dauphine Gordini (thanks to Marvin McFalls). My plan is to replace the door panels, re-trim the front seats one at a time and then tackle the gearbox replacement. I would have preferred a 330 gearbox, but the 318 will be plenty strong for the 4cv. All the primary shaft teeth look very good.