April 1st, 2025
Another update from Michal, my shock absorbers have arrived. The shock absorbers that Michal normally supplies are the standard GAZ GP shock absorbers. I would have preferred to have monotubes, but they are not available for the Renault 5 Turbo. So I opt for the GAZ Gold coilovers. At least I have more robust shock absorbers than the standard shock absorbers.
April 5, 2025
The Zuiderzee Rally is being held today. 3 stages have been set out on a few beautiful dike roads. In the morning we visit the service area, after which we go to the ceremonial start. Then we look for a nice spot along one of the stages. There is also a classics class in the championship. Do I have to have the roll cage made according to the classics regulations??
April 13, 2025
The reinforcement plates that need to be welded onto the crossbeam are 1.5 mm thick. The crossbeam itself is made of wafer-thin sheet, I suspect 0.8 mm. I first make a few test pieces on the piece of floor that I cut out of the car. As soon as my welder is set to my liking, I weld the reinforcement plates onto the crossbeam. First I weld through the holes I made earlier, then I weld the plates along the edges to the crossbeam. The post-processing is almost more work than the welding itself…
April 20, 2025
The headliner in my Renault 5 is glued directly to the inside of the roof. It takes some effort to get the headliner out, and unfortunately part of the headliner remains on the inside of the roof. With a sharpened putty knife and a lot of patience, I remove all the residue. What remains is glue residue. I have to find something to dissolve the glue. There was insulation material glued to the bulkhead. Now that I’m at it, I’ll remove the residue of that too. Then I focus on the floor. At the rear right, a plate has already been welded into the floor. Unfortunately, it’s a piece of flat plate, not a repair panel. At the rear left, the floor looks better, but this too has been repaired with JB Weld. I order two repair panels from France.
Finally, I remove the fixed parts of the parcel shelf on the inside of the C pillars. The engine compartment will be covered with a plate that rests on two similar parts that continue much further forward.
April 29, 2025
The parts I ordered from Gemini Racing are ready to be shipped. In the picture above the control arms of the rear suspension. These control arms will be attached to the longons.
The longons are also ready, In the picture above also the new shock towers that provide space for the coil over shock absorbers. Hopefully the parts will be shipped soon so that I can continue with the construction of the body