[Spridgets] Renaults...

[Dean Hedin]

That is funny.  
My older brother and I once drove a Renault R17 Gordini across the country.
It was a most amusing trip.  The car was a piece of crap.
But it was a fun trip.   

A few notable memories.. 
Walking off the turnpike into Amish farmland to get gas (broken gas guage).
The little gears broke in the accordion sun roof, struggled with the roof the whole trip.
Leaky rear bleed screws discovered in Chicago
Loose wires on the ignition coil discovered in the middle of the Arizona desert.
K-jetronic lost it in the Rockies...power just dropped off,  trucks were passing us,
but we made it.

And then on the downside of the Rockies I ended up racing two chicks in a hot pickup
up to around 120 mph.  The whole time my brother is sound asleep in the passanger seat.
 
And you don't see many surviving R17's R5's or Fuegos on the road.
They all rusted away...Thankfully.  

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Billy Zoom" <billyzoom at billyzoom.com>
Subject: Re: [Spridgets] God must not want me to convert to wire wheels.


>I love the trash bag solution. In my youth, I once had a...how shall I put
> it, this is embarrassing...I had this Renault Caravelle, and of course,
> French wheels don't have holes in the center, except for the little threaded
> one where the hubcap bolts on. That means you can't put them on a tire
> mounting machine, unless you're in France. I had to hand mount tube type
> Perelli Cinturatos with a long screw driver and a crowbar. I managed to
> pinch holes in three out of four inner tubes. Eventually, a friend who had
> motor cycles took pity and helped me remount the three with the patched
> tubes. It was a horrible experience, especially since a Caravelle with
> Cinturatos, a weber carb, Koni shocks, and an Abarth exhaust was still only
> faster than very old VW's and other Renaults. I also have vivid memories of
> risking my life wandering around in the middle of the road during rush hour,
> trying to find whatever bits had just fallen off of the Renault. It was
> especially amusing when there was lots of snow and slush for little parts to
> get lost in. I'll never forgive the French for either that Renault or
> Vietnam.   
> BZ