I bought this nice little Dauphine from a gentleman in Portland, Oregon. The car belonged to his late wife and he kept it in his garage, covered for many years, for its sentimental value. My parents used to own one just like this when I was a kid, and I couldn’t resist it. The engine would not start and the brakes were seized when I bought it. The paint appears to be original, and there are quite a few dents all around the body, but what surprised me the most is that there’s literally no rust on this car. The trunk (forward position) and the engine compartment are in excellent shape. All decals, identification plates and painted references are still present and intact. The car comes with a few spare parts, and a very useful (in english) Renault Repair and Tune-Up Guide.
I had the headliner and the 2 front seats upholstery replaced professionally at a cost of $1450. (Ouch!… All custom made, since no aftermarket replacement was available).
We replaced the batterie, the distributor, spark plugs and wires, and the fuel pump.
We rebuilt the carburetor with a Solex carburetor rebuilt kit.
We removed the gas tank and had the interior cleaned-up and treated. We replaced the fuel sending unit and fuel lines.
Finally, we just replaced the master cylinder, the 4 brake lines and all 4 wheel cylinders. (That was no fun…)
The car starts, runs, and drives just fine. It looks incredibly nice down the road.
It brakes and steers with absolutely no issue. The little 3 speed manual transmission and the clutch work perfectly.
All gauges and lights work. Even the old original radio works.
The horn is the only equipment that doesn’t work.
Equipped with 5 Michelin tires (4 + spare). The 2 back tires should be replaced soon. (The car would look awesome with 4 white wall tires, but as I’m concerned, I’m stopping the bleeding…)
Spare, jack and crank are in place. (You can start the engine with the crank).
I spent countless hours locating and ordering all the parts from France.
Drive it as-is, and watch people’s reaction when they see you, or take it the next stage and own a very rare and unique collector.
This Dauphine is an “Export” model, built exclusively for the US market.
I will provide more pictures if asked, mostly from the undercarriage, to show how dry and solid this car is.
I don’t have the use, not the space, for this little Renault unfortunately. Pure nostalgia is the reason I bought it, and I’m quite proud to see it running again today. I’m just looking to get my investment back.
I’ll do my best to answer all the questions you may have.
A video of the car running: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NFkhhRLqO4
