Chassis

INTRODUCTION
The Renault 4 is constructed with a separate floorpan and chassis, rather similar to a VW Beetle, onto which the main body shell is bolted. Front inner and outer wings are also bolted together and onto the bulkhead and front chassis, as as are rear wings, and doors are, in effect, lift off, on older models with exposed hinges, after removing a retaining nut. The bonnet can be removed by unbolting two hinges from the front cross member and disconnecting the wiring to the lights and two steel cable safety stays.

Stripping off the outer panels in this way leaves you with the main body tub, which is secured to the frame with a series of 7mm bolts retained by captive nuts in the structure. The body can then be lifted off to leave a bare chassis.

Renault were not big on rust proofing and the chassis contains a number of rust traps which makes it rather prone to rust, being constructed out of a series of pressed steel box sections, rather than the heavy gauge section that was traditional in pre and immediately post war cars. Most UK cars in 'original' condition will have some rust repairs and any new purchase requires careful inspection in several key areas.

New replacement chassis are not readily available at the time of writing, although there are several initiatives under way with European suppliers to start production of an after market item. Watch the Renault 4 Forum for updates on this. If you are offered a salvaged chassis in good condition, make sure that it is not a long wheelbase van chassis before trying to drop your saloon body tub onto it.

Several specials were also produced using a GRP tub on the steel chassis, most notably the open topped Rodeo, a Mini Moke type utility car, which was produced by Renault themselves and fitted to a long wheelbase van chassis.

Slightly more offbeat was the Dallas, a WW2 Jeep lookalike on a Renault 4 chassis, manufactured for a short while in the 1980's.