Description
H&H Classic Auction @Pavilion Gardens | Buxton, Derbyshire
27th Nov, 2024 13:00
1978 Renault 16 TX
Estimate
£9, 000 - £11, 000
Lot details
Registration No: TAO 917S
Chassis No: 0141372
MOT: Exempt
Top of the range TX example with five-speed manual gearbox, central locking, and electric windows
Imported by the vendor in 2020 from France
Benefitting from some £8, 600 worth of restoration and recommissioning in 2022
Offered with a collection of invoices and a CD of renovation images
Launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 1965, the Renault 16 was the first French car in its market sector with a hatchback body. After almost ten years of production, in 1974, the TX joined the line-up as the top of the range model and was fitted with a 93bhp 1, 647cc engine and a five-speed gearbox. It was the first French car with central door locking, electric front windows, a sports steering wheel, laminated windscreen and inertia-reel front seat belts. The R16, a comfortable car with good roadholding, proved very popular and sold exceptionally well, with some 1. 8 million cars built.
Chassis ‘0141372’ was manufactured in 1978 and is one of the desirable range topping TX examples and is understood to have resided in its home market of France from new until spotted by the vendor advertised on Le Parking in early 2020 while he was searching for a R16 after owning several previously. Acquired the car for some €8, 000, he subsequently had the TX transported to the United Kingdom and later that year was road registered as ‘TAO 917S’. Thereafter, ‘0141372’ was entrusted to the very highly regarded Renault specialist Renault Reborn for restoration and recommissioning as required.
Benefitting from bodywork renovations and repainting; an engine overhaul; engine bay restoration; radiator refresh; new rear brake shoes, brake hoses, handbrake cable and master cylinder; new gearbox seals; set of replacement seats and door cards; undersealing; and new tyres, the work with Renault Reborn totalled c.£7, 000 with some £1, 600 additionally spent on parts and other improvements, bringing the renovation cost to a total of approximately £8, 600. Further benefitting from an engine tune and brake system bleed earlier this year, the Renault started readily and ran well during our recent photography session. The R16 is accompanied by a history file that includes a collection of invoices, documentation relating to the UK registration, a CD with images of the restoration work, and a current V5C document.
