Nostalgia – Renault 12TL

Here is a great story from Andy Maddams, in his own words, about his Renault 12TL:

Back in about 1985, I purchased a red Renault 12TL for the princely sum of £90. 

I had, and still have, a high regard for the 12. They were tough, reliable and reasonably economical to run. The estate was HUGE with the seats folded down, and the saloons were nice, comfortable, competent, if a little bland.

The red car needed an exhaust valve, hence the price, and although it was very solid underneath, it was cosmetically challenged. A visit to the local scrapyard garnered a gold bonnet, blue front wing and yellow rear door. My plan was to spruce it up quickly and move it on… except, I had been chatting with one of my brothers about going road rallying. We had joined a local club and competed in one event with my equally ghastly Audi 100. Suddenly, the solid reliability of a 12 made sense.

I bought a £40 scrap Renault 5TS for the seats and go-faster bits off the engine, and over a couple of weekends, the plot took shape. My father contributed with a tin of John Deere yellow and David Brown white, and a decent paintbrush made a respectable job of tidying the multicoloured horror. My other brother did a nice job of adding the Renault scripts and diamonds, and we were ready to go.

The 12 did its first event in the autumn of ’85 and carried on until late 1987, finally coming to rest on a concrete block one frosty night, rallying in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in Suffolk. With the front of the engine damaged, it was time to update our game, and for 1988, a slightly more appropriate Chrysler Sunbeam took over, but that’s another story.”

Share Your Story

If you have memories of a special vehicle, we’d love to share them. Simply email rob@bridgeclassiccars.co.uk with some photos and why your vehicle means so much to you.