1961 Renault Dauphine Second Drive
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- Опубликовано: 27 май 2023
- Truth be known, I have a love / hate relationship with this car. I admire some of the engineering which went into the manufacture of the Dauphine, but the build quality is not even close to VW of the same era. That said, the Dauphine did have four doors, was water-cooled, and it was advertised in 1961 as able to deliver up to 40 mpg! Most difficult part of ownership is the lack of parts availability. Unless one sources parts directly from France, South America seems to be the next reliable source. If you purchase a classic Renault (or any classic for that matter), DO NOT buy parts from China. Not a political statement, rather, a reality, as my dealings with parts and tools from this country has been hit or miss--mostly miss. The item may look the same, but the quality is inconsistent and generally a waste of money.
Even here in France we don't see many of these on the road. They come out only during the nice season when the weather is nice. Watching Americans taking care of these tiny French cars is rather unexpected and surprising. Thanks for your interest in these models and regards from France.
Thank you for your kind words. I have always gravitated towards unusual cars as I find them interesting. Many folks do not know Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot invented the world's first full-sized self-propelled vehicle in 1769 powered by steam. Or the fact the Citroen 2CV was designed to carry four people and 50 kg of goods at 30 mph across a ploughed field without damaging the eggs in a basket! Years ago in was in a suburb of Paris on business meeting with a company which manufactured pressure transmitters. Had the opportunity to be driven around France in a Peugeot 604 (?) diesel at 100 mph...very comfortable and solid car! We went to Aluminium Dunquerque (spelling?) where the precision pressure transmitters were utilized for burner (natural gas) control...they could measure in the 0.001" of water column range! I thoroughly enjoyed myself in France! However, I made the attempt to speak French and was very thankful and respectful to everyone. In return, the French people were equally polite to me.
@@cobrasteve414 any person making the effort to communicate in the language of the host should be rewarded for the challenge. If you met well educated people, it cannot be any different and people will logically strive to protect a nice contact person on the long run. Especially when it comes to business relationships and even more when these can go beyond. Thanks!
@@tonerotonero1375 You are absolutely correct. Dale Carnegie book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" has been translated into many languages. The book is full of wisdom and common sense. Several quotations from the book include "Talk in terms of the other man's interest." and "The sweetest word a person can hear is his/her own name." Sincerity is paramount.
My interest in European cars goes back to my childhood. I always marveled at how efficient their engines were and most especially, how well they handled compared to their American counterparts of the same era. Today's cars are of little interest to me as I believe they do not have the same "soul" as the classics...not to mention I truly enjoy the relative simplicity of classic cars since I perform 100% of my own maintenance.
Que hermoso está el Gordini
Que maquina
I sat in one of these when new.
Very plush carpeting inside.
Rather like ladies Paris Salon of the 1800s was the interior ambience.
The gear shift was like a spoon in a rice pudding. Terrible
My father said it was the worst car imaginable for handling and was as slow as a snail.
Not many sold in the UK in early 1960s.
Oddly the same company Renault produced the class leading front wheel drive Renault 12 around 10 years later. A gem of a car.
The father of a classmate while I was in high school drove a red Dauphine and I always thought it was an interesting car and better than the Volkswagen equivalent as it had a water-cooled engine (BETTER HEATER). I have the correct shift knob for mine but have not installed it yet. The shifter does not appear to be any better or worse than a rear-engine VW.
I have had several Dauphin's. They're fun little car's when they run. Which sadly was less than half of the time. I always kept three or four of them, just to have enough spare parts to keep one running. Back in the 70s u could pick up running versions for $50. So spares were cheap.
It is indeed an interesting and unique vehicle and was the French equivalent of a VW Beetle. I like the fact the engine is water-cooled and has four doors and when I get the parking brake operable, it will be the only one at a "cars & coffee" event!
Cool little car. To bad you had some bad luck with it, dishonest people are the worst.
That is life...good and bad people. However, I am a firm believer in Karma...what goes around comes around.
daamn thats great car.
Thanks! Once I rebuild the front suspension I will likely put it on the market to make room in my garage.
Nice car. Chinese carburetor? Is there any thing the Chinese don't manufacture?
I had a '59 model Dauphine about 50 years ago, back in my hippie days. I once hauled a goat in the back. Mine even had a crank...the car not the goat.
Cool story about the goat! Yes, I do have the hand crank for my car, although it is best used for setting the ignition points gap. Regarding the Chinese, I used to represent foundries for castings years ago when the Chinese were trying to penetrate that market. In the time it took one of my American foundries to quote, usually 4-6 weeks, the Chinese would not only offer a quote, but also send a sample part!
Problem with China is it is made up of numerous "kingdoms" where there are various leaders in charge of each area. When you think you are dealing with one foundry, you are not. They will send you dimensionally and metallurgically-sound parts at first, but then, they will move your tooling without your knowledge to a lesser-quality facility to cut costs. Many American companies were screwed over by this practice...I saw it firsthand. Cast metal parts were having various porosity and machining issues so one of my foundries performed a spectral analysis on the Chinese part only to reveal the chemistry of the part was NOT in spec! Very dangerous if it is a critical component.