1971 Renault 8 Auto Red
(Featured on 15th November 2010)
Make: Renault
Model: 8
Year: 1971
Sellers original description:
Exterior:
This Renault 8 still has its original 39 year old paint! It has clearly been stored in a garage for all its life and appears rust free and unwelded. It is fantastic to see a car of this age still without repair or paint. All the rubber seals look fresh and without sun damage. We have carefully treated the paintwork to bring it up to as best condition as possible however it still retains an age related patina.
Interior:
Having covered only 26K miles in its life the interior remains in immaculate condition. The seats are incredibly soft and comfortable, with a bench seat in the front. This is a very rare automatic version that has push button controls on the dash to operate the gears, we understand only two of these are left in existence. The original main dealer plaque still remains on the wood dash. The boot is in the front of the car and has plenty of room for your weekend luggage. Another neat piece of design is the spare wheel's location, at the pull of a leaver the front number plate drops down revealing a storage container for the spare wheel, or a space for those extra duty frees!
Engine & Transmission:
The rear mounted 1.1 engine still fires into life on the first turn of the key and purrs like a kitten, its by no means fast but more than up to the job of pushing this little Renault around with 4 passengers. The gear box is great fun and what I would describe as semi automatic, the gears can be selected by using some push buttons on the dash and there is no clutch, but be warned the gearbox does not hold the car on a hill so the handbrake is still needed for hill starts. As a treat for this quirky 8 we flushed the gearbox oil and put some fresh stuff in and at the same time we did the coolant system too.
Wheels, tyres & Brakes:
We have just had the car fitted with some brand new Michelin 135 SR 15 tyres. These were alarmingly expensive considering the amount of rubber you get. The good news is that the tyres we took off where the originals so the new owner should get another 39 years motoring out of them. The car still has its original steel wheels with some very smart undamaged chrome centre caps. The brakes work well pulling the car up in a nice straight line.
History file:
This little R8 was first registered in June 1971, and was in regular use by its first owner for the first 8 years of its life. The original document holder is still with the car including a stamped up service book, driving and maintenance book, original V5, and all the original service receipts. Unfortunately she became too old to drive the car in the late 70's so it was stored in her garage until the current, second owner purchased the car last year. Amazingly the bodywork has remained rust free so with a little light mechanical recommission work she was back on the road with a fresh MOT.
Photos:
