Renault 4

Make	Renault
Years of production	1961 to 1992
Production	8,135,424 made
Class	Motor car
Engines	Billancourt engine : 603  cm 3 747  cm 3 782  cm 3 845  cm 3 Cléon-Fonte engine : 852  cm 3 (Spain) 956  cm 3 1 108  cm 3
Engine position	Front
Gearbox	3 and 4 speeds
Unloaded weight	R3, R4: 540  kg R4L: 570  kg R4 TL, R4 GTL: 720 kg
Bodywork (s)	Sedan 5 door Van and Pick-up
suspensions	independent by torsion bars
Direction	rack-and-pinion
brakes	drums or disks
Length	R3, R4: 3609  mm R4L: 3656 mm
Width	1,485 mm
Height	Sedan: 1 532  mm Van: 1 710 mm
wheelbase	right: 2,438 (2,558 for F6 minivan) left: 2,400 (2,520 for F6 minivan) mm

The Renault 4 is a small popular mass-market car of simple and practical design first built in the 1960s.

History

The Renault 4 was so designated because it was equipped with a motor of 4 horses bracket; the Renault 3 which shared the same bodywork, had a motor of 3 tax horses tax .

The standard R 4 model which was presented at the 1961 Frankfurt Motor Show is the typical example on the international level of a low-cost utilitarian
vehicle with more than adequate performance. Its layout, as is always the case with Régie cars, is extremely original and, besides the advantages of the car for everyday running which will be mentioned later, the suspension deserves a special word of praise. It has exceptional powers of absorption obtained by  means of torsion bars which are longitudinal at the front and transverse at the rear where the wheels are carried independently on single trailing arms. As a result, the riding comfort over all types of surfaces right down to earth tracks is well above the average, and one of its finest points is the way it holds the road.

It is built from August 1961 to December 1992 in 28 different countries , initially with the Dauphine on Seguin Island in Boulogne - Billancourt and at the Renault plant in Flins , Spain by Fasa - Renault , in Argentina. by IKA-Renault, in Italy by Alfa Romeo , in Morocco (under license), in Madagascar, in South Africa, then in Slovenia for the last years of its production.

The R4 was a great success.In France, the R4 was at the head of the sales from 1962 to 1965 (succeeding the Renault Dauphine ), then in 1967 and 1968 . It is the second best-selling French car with 8,135,424 units behind the Peugeot 206 .

Technical details

The chassis of the car is made of sheet steel, with a thickness varying between 0.8 and 1 mm . The various elements that compose it are welded by points, the jointing being carried out by the application of cords of mastic type polyurethane . The chassis consists of a front crossbar on which is fixed the cradle receiving the engine / gearbox assembly and the front axle; the floor is surmounted by two side rails and three cross members; two rear extensions support the rear axle and the boot floor.The steering is rack and requires 3.75 turns of steering wheel from one stop to the other.

The engine is of the longitudinal front type. The first four engines to equip the R4 had a displacement of respectively 603, 747, 782 and 845  cm ³ , they were three types "Billancourt engines". The latest models were fitted with five-stage  956 and 1,108 cm ³ "  Cléon-Fonte engines "  , designed by René Vuaillat for Renault Floride S and Renault 8 .These motors rotate clockwise (distribution side), while the rotation direction of the Billancourt motors is anti-clockwise. To obtain the same direction of rotation to the wheels, the differential of the gearbox is returned.

The water cooling of the engine is provided by a sealed circuit with expansion tank; the radiator (placed above the rack on the first models - type Billancourt - because of the internal reinforcements of the bonnet) was then placed just behind the grille on the front cross with the arrival of five-stage engines. The gearbox is located in front of the engine at the front end of the vehicle. Initially it had only 3 reports, the first models having a perfectly straight front cross; on 1968 models restyled, a fourth box report was added, imposing a new design of the front cross member of the chassis to allow the passage of this new box. The gear lever is located on the dashboard, the control is of the "sliding" type. On the other hand, the box nose of the first R4 was round, while the 4-speed boxes are called "square boxes", because of the shape of the box nose box. The transmission architecture is specific: the gearbox is arranged in front of the engine, the gearshift lever, on the dashboard, is a long bar coming over the box.

Engines used on the Renault 4 over the years  :

• 603  cm ³ (49 × 80): power of 23  hp and torque of 4.3  kg m . Mounted on R3 (1962 models)
• 747  cm ³ (54.5 × 80): power of 27.6 to 30  hp and torque of 5.1 to 5.6  kg m  
• 782  cm ³ (55 × 80) from 1972 models: power of 30  hp and torque of 5.4  kg m  ;
• 845  cm ³ (58 × 80) with optional 5  HP  : 30  hp and 5.9  kg m . In series for 1983;
• 956  cm ³ (65 × 72): power of 34  hp and torque of 6.2  kg m . Mounted on the latest TL Savane models from May 1986;
• 1,108  cm ³ (70 × 72): power of 34  hp and torque of 7.5  kg m . Team in series the 4 GTL from the beginning of 1978 .

• PERFORMANCE: 747 cc
• Engine capacity: 45.58 cu in. 747 cu cm
• Fuel consumption: 47 mlimp gal, 39.2 m/US gal. 61 x 100 km
• Max speed: 68.3 mph. 110 km/h
• max power (SAE): 32 hp at 4,700 rpm
• max torque (SAE): 42 1b ft. 5.8 kg m at 2.600 rpm
• max number of engine rpm: 4.800
• specific power: 42.8 hp/l
• power-weight ratio: 41.2 lb/hp
• acceleration: standing 1/4 mile 27.1 sec, 0—50 mph 34.2 sec
• PERFORMANCE: 782 cc
• max speeds: (IV) 68 mph, 110 km/h
• max power (SAE): 30 hp at 4,700 rpm
• max torque (SAE): 37 1b ft, 5.1 kg m at 2,600 rpm
• max engine rpm: 4,800; 38.4 hp/l
• power-weight ratio: 46.5 lb/hp, 21.1 kg/hp
• acceleration: standing 1/4 mile 27.1 sec, 0-50 mph (0-80 km/h) 34.2 sec
• fuel consumption: 47.1 m/ imp gal, 39.2 m/ US gal

For maintenance, access to mechanical parts is much simpler than with the Renault "berlinettes" with rear engine (4 CV, Ondine, Dauphine, Alpine, Renault 8 and 10, Florida and Caravelle), requiring total extraction rear power train, during heavy mechanical work.

The general design of the chassis will remain the same throughout the career of the R4, it will, however, receive some minor changes as technical developments or new safety standards imposed by legislation:

• the front crossmember, right on the first models equipped with a 3-speed gearbox , will be notched forwards, to allow the installation of a new 4-speed gearbox ;
• with tapped holes and reinforced, allowing the installation of seat belts 
• the side members, and rear cross member, will receive oval or round holes - closed by plastic caps - to be able to inject a protective treatment in the hollow body of the chassis, sensitive to water infiltration
• a support on the central crossbar, allowing the mounting of a handbrake lever between the front seats

The front suspension of the vehicle consists of longitudinal torsion bars on which the lower front arms are fixed (the ends of the bars are equipped with splines for possible adjustment). On the lower arms there is a front pulling hunting, allowing on some models the setting of this value; an anti-roll bar (or stabilizer bar) is also attached to the lower suspension arms. Upper triangles, fixed to the cradle, as well as telescopic dampers complete the system.

The rear suspension has telescopic dampers as front and transverse torsion bars placed one in front of the other. On these are fixed the rear arms supporting the wheels, they can be made of cast steel, with a support provided for an anti-roll bar; or mechanically welded (photo below), note that they are very sensitive to corrosion if they are not maintained properly. The torsion bars one behind the other are a unique example in automobile production, resulting in a different wheelbase between the left and right sides : this characteristic does not affect the road holding, it was taken over on the Renault 5 then on Renault 6  and Renault 16.On certain van models a stabilizer bar may also be present at the rear.

The braking of the car is hydraulically controlled. It consists of an unassisted master cylinder acting on the wheels via hydraulic lines of 4.75  mm diameter. The front and rear brakes are drums , except some versions that will receive front disc brakes  : GTL models from 1983 , Savane from 1986 and F4 from 1984. A mechanical brake distributor is fixed on the left stretcher of the vehicle, connected to the rear suspension arm via an adjustable rod. Its purpose is to adjust the braking force on the rear axle according to the load of the vehicle.

During his long career, the R4 does not change fundamentally, however, many improvements are made over the years. In September 1963(1964 models), the blade bumpers are generalized, advantageously replacing the fragile tubular model and aeration of the rear passengers is reviewed through sliding windows on the rear doors causing in return the removal of pivoting ice cream.Models 1967 receive a new dashboard with an integrated storage compartment and a passenger side gearbox four speed . For 1968 (1969 for the van), a new enlarged chrome grille allows the R4 to approach the 1970s with a new look .

In September 1974 (model year 1975), a black plastic grille replaced the aluminum grille mounted until then . For the 1977 model year , the Renault 4 also loses its small round indicators at the front, as well as the position lights placed on the front fenders, in favor of rectangular turn signals integrating the position lights and adopts a grid of black plastic ventilation under the windshield.

 In 1983  the new dashboard hosts a larger display much more readable (from the Renault 5 ). Outside, the gray plastic grille is widespread throughout the range (previously, it was reserved for the only model GTL appeared in 1978 ). On this occasion, the R4 also loses its totally flat floor.

R4 In Motorsport

In 1979 and 1980 , the R4 of brothers Marreau , Claude Bernard and their names, took part in the Paris-Dakar by finishing respectively 3  and 5 ^th .This powerful R4 had a "  motor Cléon-Cast  " of R5 Alpine Group 2 , a transmission 4 × 4 Sinpar, but also lower triangles of R5 Alpine Coupe (stowed on a third point), combined-threaded springs-dampers in the front, as well as a pair of additional dampers on the rear axle. Unlike the original R4 with a pair of quasi-horizontal dampers, it also has a pair of vertical dampers, fixed in place of the suspension stops on the rear arms, and back in the flanges of wings in chapels of specific dampers, and welded on the roll bar. Other tips come to stiffen the structure of the basic R4, such as the specific opening hood, whose front is bolted. The weld preparations of the chassis will give. Note also the exhaust line and its silencer, fixed on the roof.

She also participated in the Paris-Dakar in 1981 in the hands of Anthony Granja and Roger Caillaba. The second R4 remade Paris Dakar 1982 in the hands of Louis Andrieu and Jean-Loïc Gassier.

Promotional formula created with Elf and Kleber . For a decade from 1974, pilots gather on weekends to run on an earth circuit with their old "4L". These are cleared of their windows, headlights and bumpers while a rollbar is installed because on the track the "touches" are numerous.A rather muscular version, the Renault 4 Rally - Raid of 1978, crossed Africa from end to end; it has a motor reinforced with more than 1L of displacement.