Renault 1929 RY1 Monasix

3 minute(s) of a 217 minute read

From an almost completely different perspective, I have just learnt from a very reliable source that the majority of cars to leave the Renault factory prior to 1932 were delivered as Right Hand Drive.

Bj.

6-24-2015

Finally, after much hesitation, I have decided where and how the engine should be installed in the chassis.  The exact location is dictated by only two requirements. Room for the Dynastart at the front while the rear of the engine must line up the front of the gearbox after leaving room for the fly wheel, clutch and short drive shaft (coupling). The replacement (second) front cross member is of doubtfull parentage and comes directly from the scrap pile. It is certainly "Vintage" and possibly French. After some very minor surgery it fits in nicely.

Bj

6-26-2015

Despite pleading with other Renault "enthusiasts" around the globe, no one has been able to come up with copies of factory drawings or even one mobile telephone photograph of what the original engine mounts for both front and rear of the Renault motor looked like.

By hanging the motor over the frame from my chain hoist, I could move it back and forth until it was somewhere near the best position for things like the clutch shaft etc to work. As you can see by going back a page or two you will understand that quite a few parts are/were missing and will have to be fabricated as the work progresses. 

Drawings or no drawings I am slowly but surely using up my stock of scrap angle iron. They may not be exactly as Louis Renault would have done them but the rear engine mounts are gradually taking shape. I am quietly confident that the engine will not fall out onto the garage floor. The good thing is that once the splash pans/cooling ducts are in place no one will see them, except perhaps the victim of a traffic accident who may end up underneath the car.

My friends on the Renault d'Avant Guerre Forum do not like me drawing comparisons but the difference between the information, parts and support available for the Lagonda Rapier with slightly less than 400 cars total production and the Renault with production figures approaching 100,000 is quite remarkable. Given the choice I would restore a dozen Rapiers to just one Renault and probably finish the Rapiers first.

Not only that but the Rapier has a sophisticated 2 OHC engine and the Renault has a primitive (by comparison) side valve. If I had had any idea of what a pain in the Ass the Renault was to be I would have never started.

Bj.