09.21The French Connection… Rescuing a Renault R10
It’s a weakness or possibly an illness but when I see something like this by the side of the road I absolutely have to stop and check it out, if you suffer the same symptoms or just enjoy funky little European cars, then please, read on.
A couple weeks ago my friends Scott, Keith, and I took a motorcycle camping trip out near Prineville Oregon. After rounding a corner I saw this beauty sitting in the sagebrush with a sign bearing the magic words, “for sale”. I must admit that at first glance of the boxy shape I took it for an Alfa , no grill meant rear engine perhaps a Fiat? Closer examination showed it to be French! I didn’t know that Renault made these!?
The car was unlocked and though it was dirty and dented it was surprisingly complete with good glass, an engine seemingly in one piece, most of the trim intact, and aside from the front doors even the paint was original, (there must be a story here but I don’t have it yet). I of course called and left a message for the seller.
Fast-Forward three weeks. I had almost forgotten about the little Renault when the owner finally called and we worked out the details, he needed the car gone and I for some reason needed the car, we settled on a price of free so I was left with no choice but to go rescue the poor little voiture!
After borrowing a truck from a generous friend and a trailer from work we were set to go. Scott and I headed East for another weekend of adventure. Surprisingly the Renault still had air in the tires, no stuck brakes, and working steering, I was fearing the worst but we had it loaded-up in no time.
The proud new owner enjoying the moment… and a beer!
Almost done…
Safely loaded the work was done, time to enjoy the outdoors. We had a great view from our campsite of Chimney Rock
After a long drive Sunday I had my prize at home in the driveway. Excited and eager to check it out I decided to see what it would take to get her running again. The license plates expired in 1988 and I suspect that it has been sitting for most of these last 21 years. I removed the spark plugs and sprayed a generous amount of WD40 down each hole, changed the grimy old oil, and replaced the battery. The engine rolled-over smoothly by hand…now my excitement was growing! After only a minute or so of cranking the starter the car developed oil pressure. I poured some fresh gas into the tank, installed some new spark plugs, and gave it just a small shot of ether down the carburetor throat, what followed was pure magic!
The engine sounded good and ran for 30 minutes without leaking a drop, the project is just beginning though. Brakes, clutch, and gearbox all need assessment and attention.
The interior is “rough” but mostly complete and original.
1.1 liters of dirty French fury
A good sign for sure!
Stay tuned for project updates and please add your comments. I’m hoping to have this little car back on the road soon but I’m new to Renault so if you have experience or know of parts sources please don’t hesitate to post them up.
Congratulations,
The spares for these cars are not expensive here in Europe and stuff like brake pads, clutches and evenused panels can be found.
Basically this is the Renault R8 with a modified front and rear end, but the doors and many other parts are similar. The seats are very comfortable but you need to take out the radiator and flush it with hot water and a chemical like caustic soda. For parts in Europe look at
MECAPARTS.
I just bought an R8S(port) in Italy which is also totally original.
The achilles heel is rust with these cars.
The 1300 Renault engines are trouble free and run like a purring cat.
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:10 am
I have some R10 parts leftover from the 3 R10′s my dad and I used to have in the 1980′s. Some are new and some are used. Send me an email and I will forward you some of the pictures. We had a yellow one, a white one, and a blue one that we drove during the 70′s and early ’80′s. I am in Raleigh NC. Your video brings back memories.
December 4th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Tim, I’m glad that you enjoyed the video and I really appreciate your parts offer, I will be in touch! -Paul
December 4th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I found your site by accident. had to write to tell you my history with Renault.
Started with a 1961 3-speed Renault Dauphine…Robin Egg Blue, with a dark blue interior. Very comfortable seats..they had to be..the car was inoperable more than mobile; might as well be comfortable…lasted 1-1/2 years and about 30,000 miles.
Now I know that I am intelligent because I went and purchased an R-8 (like the R-10). Some people never learn; at least I knew that I would, once again, be comfortable while waiting for “AAA”.
At least now, 40 plus years later, YOU can have some fun getting it going. Just don’t leave home without it.. I mean your cell-phone!
ENJOY…life is too short otherwise!
April 5th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Hi – I also came across a Renault R10 parked in a garage. It has a few minor surface rust and missing side indicator lens but overall seems like in good shape. I’m trying to get a hold of the owner to see if he/she wants to sell.
Since you have owned your R10 for a few months what should I look out for?
Thanks for your help!
Eric
May 17th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
I’m interested in R10 parts. Any thoughts, websites,etc that could help? I welcome any advice. My email is suntimes@Att.net. Thanks
May 24th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Wow! My father used to drive one from 1980 until 1997 in Romania. This is the car of my childhood. Lots of great memories…. Good luck!
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:13 am
Paul,
I just obtained almost identical ’69 R10. Same setup on dash (ie, choke on dash, left hand key ignition, etc. etc.). Mine is fairly fresh except for idle – which is non-existent. I’ll be putting pix up on facebook soon.
Congrats on yours. I wish mine idled like your find. Will fix that soon.
Regards,
Ed
June 27th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Hi! I owned a R10 from 1971 until some time in 1984, I think, when it finally went to a junk yard. I actually loved that “toy car”, even with it’s very strange Jaeger push button automatic transmission. After a while I really wished it was a 4 speed stick. Good luck with your project. It’s really a unique car, and the pictures bring back memories. Bill Holt
July 1st, 2010 at 4:10 pm
i had a 69 r10 in the seventies. paid 250.00. immediatley loaded the car up with gear and people took a trip from pa to north carolina. the car got 51, yes 51 miles to the gallon at 65 and 70 mph. prius gets what 40 years later? so much for progress. and make no mistake about it , the r10 with 1150 cc would love to run 100 mph all day. i always tell people that when the car got up past 80 or so it had a real attitude. if it weren’t for politics this car really had made the beetle obsolete. really look at the technology.
September 1st, 2010 at 9:45 am
Roundeye 10′s are quite rare in europe as they were only made ’65 to’67 then the square eye came out. Their build quality was probably average for a European car of the time ,but not up to the rigours of American motoring (most old american cars appear as light trucks wearing car bodies to us Europeans, not that thats a bad thing)with a bit of sympathetic modification it can be made into a great fun car capable of high cruising speeds in comfort and good enough handling to be entertaining. Have a look at my site. There are plenty Ideas of ways to waste a big part of the rest of your life on this. Have fun and enjoy
September 5th, 2010 at 12:29 am
I had two different R10s, a ’69 that got wrecked; and a ’71, which I bought very cheaply with high miles, and sold cheaper still when it spun main bearings far from home (plan was to get her home and overhaul, but no joy).
Funky but fun, I liked ‘em. But 100 mph? An honest 85, yeah, but never 100.
September 24th, 2010 at 9:31 am
hi all have just purchased a r10 (square lights) for a project. it’s in good condition in and out apart from a bad section of rust in the front compartment and around the headlights. have heaps of spares to go through but no front ends suitable. out of all the spare car bodies available, not one with a good rust free front.
now i’m on a mission
November 6th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Sounds like a great project Stephen, I wish you luck! -Paul
November 6th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
lottsa fun. My Dad bought an R8 on a trip to Europe in 1966 (replaced his Hillman) and then shipped it back to the states. When he was late to work in the New York City suburbs, he would jump the curb and drive on the sidewalk. That pushbutton model eventually became mine in about 1971. By that time he had gone back to France and bought an R10 and shipped that one back too. I drove the piss out of the R8 (we would race Datsun 510′s on the Mass Pike – 95 mph downhill, standing on the gas with a good tailwind). Eventually, I slid into a Chevy Impala at about 15 mph on a snowy road. 4 big guys got out and looked – no damage AT ALL to the Chevy but the trunk on the R8 crumpled like tin foil. We hammered the trunk so it would shut and I continued to drive the piss out of it until it finally rusted out and fell apart.
Last year I bought this car off of ebay (http://bringatrailer.com/2008/11/30/clean-french-sedan-2-owner-1970-renault-r10/). Trailered it to Virginia from Florida. Have had a mechanic playing around with it for too long but hits the road again this week.
Love that car!
December 9th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
I found this doing a Google search… My first car was a ’67 R-10. It was passed down to me after being used by both of my brothers. The thing was a horse… Always ran no matter how long it sat, but we never tried 21 years! I saw where some implied you would have trouble, but that was not the case with mine. My oldest brother drove this from our home near Dallas/Ft. Worth back and forth to Texas Tech in Lubbock (about 330 miles) and found out recently the other brother drove it on several ski trips to northern New Mexico because it got such great mileage and the rear engine/rear wheel drive plowed through the snow! I bought a Chevy Nova after a couple of years to have a/c in hot Texas, but parked that thing any chance I got to drive the R-10. Congratulations & thanks for reviving great memories!
January 21st, 2011 at 12:04 pm
It’s been great to hear all the stories and memories that others have shared in response to this article, Thank you all for your comments!
January 21st, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Long time since any updating on the R10 project… I just recently ran across the opportunity to grab one of these and have been thinking about it. Years of driving the Dauphine (2 1959s) and the Fiat 124 sedan (a 1969 and a 1971) has me hankering to get my metrics out again!
September 27th, 2011 at 7:28 pm
I got a ’69 R10 for free in ’84. Other than damage to the rear fender it was perfect; 37,000 miles!
Once I had it out on the road people would stop me and offer me the one they had in the barn, shed, garage, backyard, etc.
I ended up with three runners, one a beautiful burgundy with a canvas roll top and alloy wheels! I loved the funky (but very slow) push button transmision. Vacuum servo operated with an electromagnetic clutch.
Alas, they are all gone now. What was I thinking?
I’m sure that anyone with any sense of humor at all will love one. Cruising all day at 75 while getting 50 plus mpg. It just took half the day to get going that fast;)
October 24th, 2011 at 3:30 pm
I had a blue R-!0 ,67 brand new. Best car I ever owned. It was great on long trips. From Boston to Chicago cheap on gas. Great in winter time. My wife broke second gear, so we traded in for an 68 automatic. This one was a lemon. Assembled in Quebec, poorly put together. It had a new dual carburetor for emmision. Ran poorly, spent more time with AAA towing. I was so disapointed that the dealer would would not trade it in for a Peugeot 404. But today I still miss that wonderful R10 that had 50,000 miles in two years.
It was a better car than a beetle I had, but could not convince anyone. The beetle was noisy and old fashioned.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:36 am
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December 1st, 2011 at 5:50 am
Good luck
my dad had one in the 70s and miss that car
U can hand crank it with the jack and is below the tag- that came in handy but leave it in neutral since ours rammed into our garage
Kevin
December 17th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
I had a 69 R-10 for about a year in the early 70’s I drove it over 80,000 miles, with the total mileage when I sold it well over 100,000. I paid $495 for it and sold it for $475. I still consider it one of the better cars I have owned. (I have driven well over 2 million miles with 42 different automobiles). This car was advanced for its year. For example, it had four wheel disc brakes and hand holds at all four doors. When I had it, gas was $/35 per gallon, and it gave me a consistent 35 mpg. The most difficult job I did on it was to repair the master cylinder. It was very good in snow. I went from Richmond to Washington one day when I95 was down to one lane, and when I got there, there were no cars in the motel parking lot because of the snow. I parked in front of my room.
January 24th, 2012 at 7:46 am