Colorale 1953 Pick-up 85 (R2091)

grantee

grantee

Member
Tadpole
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
Messages
45
Location
Ballarat
Life takes many interesting turns. After planning to restore a couple of early 16s in retirement I find myself suddenly starting the restoration of a Renault that until nine months ago I had never heard of. The poor old 16's will have to wait a bit.

I am still in the investigation and planning stage but thought I would put it out there now as I'm sure I'll be after plenty of advice, support and ideas.

My car was acquired from South Australia and is a 1953 Colorale Pick-up 85 (R2091) and like all good Renault projects came with a spare (parts only) car.

It was last registered in 1972 in Victoria and was used/owned by an electrician in Dandenong. The odometer has 84,000 miles/kilometres (?) on it. Not sure what condition the motor (603W type) is in yet but it does turn over.

The cars are complete except for a few lights and the previous owner had only started to dismantle a few external parts. The good car has some rust under the front of each door but otherwise looks okay.

This will be a slow project as I'm finding information hard to find and I can't read french; yet. I intend to keep it as original as possible.

Will be interested to see if anyone else is doing or has done a restoration on a Colorale?

200040.jpg
150339.jpg
145143.jpg
120332.jpg
191238.jpg
181800.jpg
164633.jpg
 
What a unique car!
Looking forward to updates.
All the best with it.
 
Great looking car and a good project. Us armchair restorers are looking forward to this already.
 
i saw a panel van on a trailer at the french car day in bris ,someone from the Renault club ,had brought it in, un restored ,i seem to recall seeing pictures of a 4 wheel drive version in a rural museum in ,i think it was York .W.A. supposedly left behind by a french mining company ,it was in rough shape .pugs
 
There was an estate version of this at the tractor museum near Inverell which we visited on the 2019 muster

I think that it was rescued by somebody in the 4CV register, but may be wrong, as if I am it may be of value to you

Andrew
 
Andrew Watkins said:
There was an estate version of this at the tractor museum near Inverell which we visited on the 2019 muster

I think that it was rescued by somebody in the 4CV register, but may be wrong, as if I am it may be of value to you

Andrew
Click to expand...
The Inverell car and the one at the Grand Display in Brisbane, I believe to be the same car. The owner has done some work to make it mobile, but I don’t know if it is on the list to be restored at this point. The owner is a very talented restorer, but has many vehicles on his plate, plus some paying jobs to complete along the way. The car lives in Stanthorpe, QLD currently.
 
Great find and best wishes for the restoration.

I can't get FIVEDOOR's link to work unfortunately.

Here's the Inverell car, at Inverell....
Prairie rear view.jpg
Prairie front view.jpg
 
alan moore said:
The Inverell car and the one at the Grand Display in Brisbane, I believe to be the same car. The owner has done some work to make it mobile, but I don’t know if it is on the list to be restored at this point. The owner is a very talented restorer, but has many vehicles on his plate, plus some paying jobs to complete along the way. The car lives in Stanthorpe, QLD currently.
Click to expand...
Testing new software! I've replied with a couple of photos of that Prairie at Inverell, but I'm told it is awaiting Moderator Approval. He's going to be busy if all responses with photos are going to be the same... We'll see.
 
JohnW said:
Testing new software! I've replied with a couple of photos of that Prairie at Inverell, but I'm told it is awaiting Moderator Approval. He's going to be busy if all responses with photos are going to be the same... We'll see.
Click to expand...
Aha. It's gone up. Things seem to be working. Excellent.
 
Thanks for the comments on my ute project and great to see at least one other one out there and with the same patina as mine. If the other Colorale is in Stanthorpe, Qld I would be keen to get in touch with the owner as I will be going very close to there at some stage soon (?) i.e. when the borders are open, to pick up a camper trailer in Caloundra. If anybody is in touch with them please let them know I can be contacted through Aussiefrogs.
 
I'm not quite sure who owns it. You could contact the Renault Car Club of Queensland - active Facebook page for example - and ask there if no one answers here. Equally, 59Floride (or is it 59floride?) here might know so you could message him.
 
I did have his business card somewhere but the mystery would be where did I file it. Someone from Brisbane will know.
 
Last edited:
Drake12321 said:
Are you planning a full restoration?
Click to expand...
I'm grappling with that decision at the moment. There is so much I don't know about the car at this stage i.e. condition of the motor, gearbox, diff. I have been over the chassis and body and, so far anyway, that all looks good. The only two rust areas I've found are at the bottom of both doors around the bottom hinges but I have a metal fabricator friend organised to get those repaired.
I actually like the patina of the 67 year old ute and in some ways would like to keep it looking like a 67 year old ute that has seen lots of work (which it has) but with all the mechanicals restored to original. The metal work needed around the doors may make this option impractical. Its rarity is also a consideration and a full resoration may be more appropriate to ensure its doesn't deteriorate further.
I haven't restored a car from scratch before and my expertise is somewhat limited (done plenty of work on R16s over the years) but I would like to do as much of the work myself that I am capable of. This is certainly a very different beast to a R16.
I don't plan to have it as a show car as I want to drive/use it without having to worry about getting it dirty or wet.
Happy to hear people's opinions on which way to go.
 
In case anyone is wondering about my Avatar which I updated yesterday, yes it is backwards/upside down, but that is the way it is mounted on the Colorale. Did the french have a sense of humour and do this for all the cars sent to Oz?
 
grantee said:
I'm grappling with that decision at the moment. There is so much I don't know about the car at this stage i.e. condition of the motor, gearbox, diff. I have been over the chassis and body and, so far anyway, that all looks good. The only two rust areas I've found are at the bottom of both doors around the bottom hinges but I have a metal fabricator friend organised to get those repaired.
I actually like the patina of the 67 year old ute and in some ways would like to keep it looking like a 67 year old ute that has seen lots of work (which it has) but with all the mechanicals restored to original. The metal work needed around the doors may make this option impractical. Its rarity is also a consideration and a full resoration may be more appropriate to ensure its doesn't deteriorate further.
I haven't restored a car from scratch before and my expertise is somewhat limited (done plenty of work on R16s over the years) but I would like to do as much of the work myself that I am capable of. This is certainly a very different beast to a R16.
I don't plan to have it as a show car as I want to drive/use it without having to worry about getting it dirty or wet.
Happy to hear people's opinions on which way to go.
Click to expand...
Good you are having those thoughts! There's a thread here that covers Project Genevieve by 59 Floride - it certainly shows a full and very good restoration in detail of a contemporary of your vehicle. He had no real options given the state of the car if I recall. Maybe you could selectively repair and clean? My 1950 4CV has never been restored, just progressively sorted out as necessary over the years. To be honest I wasn't prepared for a full restoration anyway, time being an issue, not to mention concern that good intentions would turn into a pile of parts for years.... I got mine roadworthy and tidy enough to pass inspection so I could use it and then worked progressively to fix things as desired. There are Renault folk in Ballarat I'd add. Ballarat... Hmm. Better get its heater working, if it has one.
Good luck with it. If you message me your email address, I'll send you a scan of a brochure.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top