Advice wanted Renualt Alpine A110

Hello

I am hoping to find out some information on A110, I should warn you that I know absolutely nothing other than I had the opportunity to sit in a A110 the other day and instantly fell in love with it. I live in Bristol England and would like to start researching the car so would appreciate any advice such as a good reference book or local club meets. I have owned a number of classic cars over the years but am now looking for something really different, I think the A110 is exactly what I have been looking for. I would like to restore a car as I have found in the past that this allows me to really learn how a car works and also gives me the confidence to use it once finished. I could also do with some advice around values, how much would a restorable car cost and am I likely to even find one? Anyway, as you can tell I only have questions but if there is anyone out there that would be interested in helping me it would be very much appreciated.

Many Thanks in advance for any advice

[BIG_MVS]

I'm no A110 expert but I do know you will struggle to find any projects for sale.

In the last 10 years ebay trawling I have seen only one (an A108) which I think went for around £10k. It was a complete basket case though.

I guess you must be looking at £20k upwards for anything that runs upto £50k + for a minter. Then you can get into Rally and Race cars which are mega Francs.

Have you seen this one? I think it's been up for sale since I left school in 1994.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... New&page=1

It's a Spanish built one which is less desirable from a Dieppe built car. It gives you some sort of idea I guess.

Prices are strong on the continent and again they don't come up for sale very often.

Sorry to burst your bubble but in short I think you are going to struggle to find anything for less than £50k.

Values are very dependant on what model it is, some being worth double other very similar cars. The models worth most are the genuine Gordini cars and the 1600S. The later cars built in Spain have a standard 5 Gordini engine and are worth less than half a 1600S in equivalent condition, despite being very very similar to the untrained eye. Also lots of dodgy ID cars out so be very careful buying. Parts availability is still pretty good in France although everything is expensive.

Hi

Thank you for the advice. Having spoken with the guy who had the A110 I had a feeling that prices would be strong. I have a starting budget at the bottom end of what you are suggesting which I am hoping might buy a worthwhile restoration project (if there are any!!). I will keep looking and hopefully something might come up if I'm lucky.

[simontaylor]

there are a couple of french "alpine-enthusiasts" magazines.
"Berlinette" might be worth subscribing to, but you will need to speak French.
Come on some of the club European Tours, there is always plenty of A110 cars about at French events.
You will need to join the RAOC club "only £25" and you will get swift access to the members area, where the next trip is being promoted.

[johnb]

I agree with all said above, finding one in restorable condition will be the challenge.

R.A.O.C. does cater for the A110 but I think A110 ownership is greater in C.A.R. (Club Alpine Renault). I'm a member of both clubs and find it beneficial as the more Alpine exposure the better.

I would suggest that you contact the membership secretary of C.A.R. as sometimes the cars change hands without being advertised. He may know of any available cars but don't be surprised if none are known. At least he can register the fact that you have an interest in finding one. If you google Club Alpine Renault his contact email is there.

I think your preferred approach of finding a car in need of restoration is a good way to go. The cars aren't complicated and, if you've had previous experience, not too difficult to work on. That's what I did with mine 27 years ago and in the process now of doing an 'inter-life' restoration of everything I did in the past. This time though I've built a 5 Gordini engine to replace the original 1289 cc engine.
Rather than just install the engine I've taken the opportunity to take the rest of the car apart and bring it up to scratch.

Good look with your search.

Hi

Thank you for your reply that's really good advice. I will contact the membership secretary of CAR as you suggest. I'm happy to invest some time in looking for a car, I hope ultimately something will come my way. In the meantime can you recommend any good literature that might allow me to build a greater understanding of some of the configurations?
Thanks
Jason
Ps, hope the rebuild goes well

[johnb]

As a starter have a look on this website under the heading 'The cars'. Also when you google Club Alpine Renault there is a link to 'The Club' which then opens another link to 'The cars'. These give the basic model breakdowns.

There are several French books on the subject but one in English is this, pricey but I think you'll find any books on the subject are. The author is a member of C.A.R. and R.A.O.C.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alpine-Renault ... 1845844041

[stephendell]

The Chelmsford car MVS linked to is probably the cheapest one for sale in the UK.

Although he has it advertised at £54995 it clearly says £45995 in the window lol.

If it was French it would have sold ages ago. That's the Spanish effect sadly but gives you more bargaining power.

[johnb]

The Chelmsford car MVS linked to is probably the cheapest one for sale in the UK.

Although he has it advertised at £54995 it clearly says £45995 in the window lol.

If it was French it would have sold ages ago. That's the Spanish effect sadly but gives you more bargaining power.

I also think that it would have sold ages ago if it had been priced more realistically when first advertised. As BIG MVS said its been on the market for ages and as Stephen notes that the sticker price in the windscreen is 46K not what the advertised states, maybe a typo. Might be worth an enquiry with it having been on the market so long. The bumpers aren't mounted and might be missing. Originals will be hard to find and expensive although fibreglass copies can be found. The car will also probably need recommissioning if it's been sat in that showroom window all those years.

[Alpineandy]

The cheapest one on Mobile.de is €40k and is a Spanish one that looks like it's been converted from a 1300 to a 1400, plus it's had the bodywork messed with. Autoscout24 has more but the cheapest is €50k.
You could try searching through the various European alpine clubs web-sites and could find a real basket case but anything on the big sites (or more likely at auction) is likely to have been polished well to get the price up.
There are a few Mexican and Brazilian cars appearing in Europe now but they do have some differences from French and Spanish cars so you'll either need to have great contacts in mex/brazil for original parts, or be prepared to modify slightly to use French/Spanish parts. Bulgarian ones are very rare and oddly extremely expensive.

Books-wise you'll need to read French (or spend hours with google translate). Look for books by Dominique Pascal (they come up on Ebay occasionally) especially but there are quite a few others available. Most of them have some mistakes but Mr Pascals books seem to have less than most.

If you do speak/read French, German or Spanish then it's definately worth checking out their Alpine clubs.

Good Luck.

[stephendell]

Originals will be hard to find and expensive although fibreglass copies can be found

Over £1000 for a brand new set in mirror polished stainless.

I have fibre glass in stock and carbon available too

[johnb]

Originals will be hard to find and expensive although fibreglass copies can be found

Over £1000 for a brand new set in mirror polished stainless.

I have fibre glass in stock and carbon available too

Do your fibreglass sets have the three bumper sections at the back plus the two overriders and, at the front, the four bumper sections and two overriders?
Out of interest what is the price of a full set?

[stephendell]

No the new fibre glass sets are just the 4 quarter bumpers for the older cars.

I do have a second hand set though complete with overiders for the front.

[johnb]

No the new fibre glass sets are just the 4 quarter bumpers for the older cars.

I do have a second hand set though complete with overiders for the front.

The only reason I was asking was because some of the sections of my chrome bumpers have the odd dints and markings. Ideally they need re-chroming.
Is your second hand set chrome plated steel or fibreglass?