Renault 1929 RY1 Monasix

5 minute(s) of a 217 minute read

As I told my French friends on the RAG Forum I will continue to do small jobs on the Renault up to the time it is sold.

Bj.

9-27-2015

Thank you Roger; I can understand what you are saying too but I imagine that parts for your Cadillacs are readily available and not available only from a strange secret society as Renault parts seem to be. As a direct contrast as I see it, the cars that you are "playing" with are of comparative recent (Post WW2) manuafcture and sold in numbers that would have made Louis Renault dizzy in 1929. Also I believe that American parts dealers are much more ready to converse with people from outside the USA. For example, in my own experience, the French people who put 1920s parts on LeBoncoin make absolutely no attempt to reply to any queries from ourside France. This too is a rash generalisation but I have found to my own cost that when they do reply, the description of the part is far from acurate and very often deliberately dishonest. ie. When someone tells you an engine has been "turned over" you automatically think that the crank has been rotated indicating that the engine is not seized or rusted solid. Not so! what was implied was that the engine had been rolled over to allow the rusty water to drain out and that in fact the engine was completely rusted solid. If I had been told that in the first place, there is no way I would have 1. Bought it and 2. Thrown good money after bad to the tune of more than 1,000 Euros having the pile of absolute junk air freighted from France to Australia.

QED

Bernie j.

Hi Roger

I must admit finding a buyer for the Renault comes fairly low on my list of priorities. We have just returned from two days of fairly rapid motoring in the Lagonda on a highly competitive Navigation Rally. About 400 miles on relatively unused country roads at times maintaining 75+mph to meet some very tight timed sections. Field of about forty Pre-1939 cars including nine Bentleys a couple of Bugattis, an Aero engined Hispano Suiza, two or three Delage, just one other Lagonda.

Bj.

9-28-2015

Last weekend Helen and I attended the VSCC Two Day Rally which was centred at the central Victorian city of Ballarat. We had left the finish mid afternoon for the drive back to Melbourne. Arriving home after a rapid run down the Western Highway and Ring Road, I noticed an unfamiliar noise coming from under the Rapiers bonnet as I drove into the carport. We had been sitting very comfortably on the "Legal Limit" 110 kph, 65-70 mph, between 3,200 and 3,600 rpm, for most of the two hour drive. Next morning I did not restart the engine but decided to have a look first, removing the inlet side cam cover. Straight away it was obvious that I had broken a timing chain tensioner. But where had the "other" half gone. First I drained the oil and removed the sump. Nothing there, so next step was to remove the radiator and place a jack under the engine. I could then remove the bolt from the front engine mounting and proceed to remove the timing case. Fortunately I had previously heeded the recommendation in the Register Technical Notes and replaced all the studs with bolts so it was a relatively simple matter to remove the timing case from the front of the engine without having to remove the engine. At first I could not see anything untoward but then looking more closely, there it was, the other half of the Weller blade sitting comfortably on top of the half time gear held in place by the dynamo drive gear. At this point for the benefit of those unfamiliar with the Lagonda Rapier engine. The timing chain tensioners are slightly curved strips of spring steel anchored at one end. This one had broken quite cleanly across its width about half way along its length. The "leg" had slipped down behind the half time gear and had not fortunately been drawn into the mesh between the two gears. There was no sign of damage or  debris anywhere. Both the timing gears and the chains and sprockets were entirely undamaged and it will now be a simple task to replace the broken tensioner from my personal stock and replace the front cover  and cam covers and refit the radiator. As a precaution I will refill the sump with fresh oil. Looking at the centre photograph you can see the "highlight"where the timing gear had been rubbing ever so lightly. I shudder to think what may have been.

Bernie J.

Below is the drawing of the Lagonda Rapier timing gear-chain arrangement. The tensioner I broke was the left hand (inlet cam chain)

The broken half fell down and was stitting on top of the main (half time) gear. I do not use the coil spring additional tensioner.

Bj.