A310 4cyl Restoration

Couldn't see the photos - but I think this used to be my A310 - I bought it in about 1986 from Nick Mason but I sold it after about 3 years to buy an A110. If so, it's a 1600VG, one of the last four-cylinder models, and one of the rarest A310s.

Because of the fuel crisis, this was a sort of economy version with engine & gearbox from the 16TX, I think it had a few other changes like solid rather than vented brake discs, no ally rocker cover, and the dashboard had a few less gauges and stuff like that. It did have a electrically heated windscreen though - maybe they had a lot in stock at the factory to get rid of. It was a nice car when it worked and I hope you have fun with it,

Nick

[Alpineandy]

Couldn't see the photos - but I think this used to be my A310 -

Hi Nick, This one is red No L*M390Y.
Wasn't yours light met blue?

Hey Andy,

Its got quite a few under the red! My dad dug out some old pics when he realised it previously belonged to Nick and that he'd been to Croix in it. Now its sitting in the workshop, small world!

Cheers, John

Mine was light metallic blue, don't think this was the original colour but can't remember now what that was. There's some photos of it on my Renault website at http://www.wsom.co.uk/renault.htm It was Tony Law driving it around the Croix circuit.

I had to remove all the captions to the photos - people on a certain other Renault message board complained that I was giving away secrets about who owned what car in what year - funny old world isn't it?

Nick

[BIG_MVS]

I had to remove all the captions to the photos - people on a certain other Renault message board complained that I was giving away secrets about who owned what car in what year - funny old world isn't it?

Nick

When you say Nick Mason do you mean The Nick Mason (the one on the left of Pink Floyd fame)?

[stephendell]

Car was originally gold, then light metallic blue, then red.

No, another Nick Mason, he was a farmer near Bath. He had bought it from the Chequered Flag, probaby not long after it was registered in the UK. He said they had a 911 Carrera and the A310 for about the same price and he couldn't decide between them - what would you have chosen, boys and girls??????

No, another Nick Mason, he was a farmer near Bath. He had bought it from the Chequered Flag, probaby not long after it was registered in the UK. He said they had a 911 Carrera and the A310 for about the same price and he couldn't decide between them - what would you have chosen, boys and girls??????

Both! Ever seen a poor farmer?

[Alpineandy]

As we haven't heard anything about this one for a while I thought I'd tell you a story about it.

Around 87 I was off work on a Friday due to a stinking cold. Around lunchtime there was a knock on the door which turned out to be Nick who said 'fancy coming with me to Spa this weekend for a trackday?'. Well that's not an easy offer to refuse so I said yes.
Early evening he picks me up and we head to the dover ferry.
A couple of hours later we approach the outside parking area to get the ferry ticket but in the last 5 yards the gearbox has a hissy-fit and loses all drive. After some light fiddling we decide we're going home on a tow truck. Nick calls green flag making it clear we need a low loader as the front wheel only pickup drags the exhaust on the ground. An hour and a half later a front wheel pickup truck appears and is then sent away. Two hours later a low loader appears with a very jovial driver. Half an hour later as the truck sends the permanent cones on the A2 flying, we realise that the driver had spent most of the evening in the pub.
An interesting return journey included him hitting a big (BIG!) curb as we exited the blackwall tunnel, where we had to check the car hadn't bounced off the bed.
We estimated a 50% hit ratio for the A2 Perma-cones, plus I thought my cold had cleared up, although it turned out that the adrenalin of the truck drive had just over-ridden it.
Finally we pushed the car down the small back roads to Nicks place in Maryland (Stratford) at silly O'clock in the morning before he dropped me home.

[stephendell]

and its remained broken down ever since lol

Now sporting new alloys and front seats courtesy Howard with the silver 4cyl

[Alpineandy]

I can't remember what the actual problem was but it was on the road within a few weeks.
I also remember that the windscreen demist didn't work and would be such a big job that it was put-off for quite a long time.
Not sure it ever got fixed but as Nick got a reputation for driving around with a car full of used Kleenex (he swore it was from wiping the screen) I think he may have been embarrassed into doing it eventually

I remember it well... I worked some Saturdays on a rota and I was due to be busy doing nothing for BMW on the day of the Spa Francorchamps circuit day, and had to bribe someone by offering to work three of their Saturdays in return for one day off, as it was such short notice. For some bizarre reason we were to meet Ian Anderson in Wimbledon first, and we'd head for Spa together. We drove there from Essex to find he'd already left, doubling our journey time to Dover for no reason at all. There was thick fog all the way, and the A310 had a a rear-foglamp switch under the steering column, which lit up the inside almost as brightly as the foglamp on the outside, and also got red hot worryingly close to my knees. When we got to Dover and met Jeremy Haworth in his A310 and Ian in his A110, my gearbox was rattling so noisily that we decided not to take the chance of being stranded in France or Belgium.

The recovery driver must have spent his evening in the pub - he was a bit erratic but better after he'd stopped on the hard shoulder for a pee, and mostly stayed on the road by listening to the sounds of traffic cones under his wheels.

The gearbox problem was a bit of an exception, and in general it was more likely that the water system would blow a hose or the exhaust would fall off. I replaced the driveshaft oil seal and put some oil in the gearbox and it was fine after that. The heated screen never worked, but the heater/demister fan was also very reluctant to get going. If I switched it on, opened the bonnet, and poked the fan blades with a screwdriver to get them spinning they usually consented to to work, and now and again this could even got the screen demisted before I'd reached the end of my journey.

happy days...

Is that yellow 386 French racing yellow?

[stephendell]

Following a full body off chassis restoration and a little hiatus I have now bought the car back from Trevor and am gathering the suspension parts to try and get the car rolling again.

Everything that is not new has been blasted and refurbished.

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Not the easiest of cars to source parts for. Waiting on front suspension bushes, rear roll bar rubbers, rear sway bar links and a few other small parts.

Suspension bolts need cleaning up and sending for replating then it can all be bolted back together.

Unfortunately it looks like there is no where you can buy brake disks off the shelf that fit directly they all need machining first (even from GBS etc) and they have to be done first as they fitted before the wheel bearings. I hate that!

[stephendell]

Here’s the gearbox casings back from the vapour blasters (courtesy JL Engineering) and trial fitted together.

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