| Will the craziness never end? I bought a GTA! How I fixed my broken headlight switch Automatic transmission wiring diagrams from factory manual
Welcome to my webpage devoted to the 1983-1987 AMC/Renault Alliance, and specifically the convertible model. I've always been fond of these underrated and overlooked little cars. My first car in high school was an 83 Alliance sedan. It was comfy with an excellent ride and completely computerized engine. Unlike most people I liked the quirky Euro-features of this Americanized French design. The Alliance was Motor Trend car of the year in 1983. After learning they made a convertible version from 85 to 87 I always kind of wanted one. Although my Alliance finally died at age 14 (and I got a 91 Mitsubishi Galant VR4, portions of which can be seen in the pics) I never forgot about the drop top. I had been thinking about starting a car project, and I decided to look for an Alliance convertible. I found a 2-owner red 87 DL in August 1999 only a couple hours away. It was well equipped with the 1.7 engine, automatic, and power options, but was desperately in need of some TLC so the price was right. I've been restoring and reconditioning it since then, and anxiously awaiting its return to daily (summertime) driving. There's not much here to start, but I have put up some digi-cam pictures I took, and I've also created an animated .GIF of the top going up and down- probably the only such graphic on the entire Internet :-) The compact Alliance, despite being the lowest-priced ragtop on the American market at the time, came standard with a power top! Here is the animation, its about 1.1 megs. I stitched together still photos, but I have access to a digital camcorder and video editing software so I may re-create this as a quicktime movie sometime soon. When I bought it I believe the top was original (12 years old) as it was discolored with numerous gaping holes & tears. The plastic rear window was yellow and literally hanging by a thread. The wheels were the cheapest 13" steel rims available and were bent; the tires were bald and the plies were seperating. The pictures show a new top I installed last fall (what an ordeal to do it yourself!) and new alloy wheels with tires. I've never cared for most aftermarket wheels, but the originals needed replaced and I think these really look appropriate on the car. They were only $50 each new, plus I moved up to 14" wheels with 185/60 Dunlops. I've redone most everything under the hood, except for actually rebuilding the engine and transmission. When I brought it home the vacuum hoses were rotten, the water pump was failing, the timing belt was worn (if this belt breaks the engine is effectively destroyed), the drivebelt was shredded, many wires were mysteriously cut/spliced/hanging free, and *everything* in the engine compartment had a thick coating of baked-on engine oil. The former owner drove it once without the oil cap; that careless mistake cost me dozens of hours scrubbing with a toothbrush and engine cleaner. However, the engine is now about as clean as the day it left the production line. The car has 98000 miles, but the engine and transmission run as good as new. Renaults generally worked great and lasted a long time, *if* you did the preventative maintenance. Too many owners neglected them, though, and they developed a lousy reputation. Next steps in the restoration include replacing most everything in the braking/steering/suspension systems and redoing the interior. After that I will have the dings hammered out and get it repainted. In spite of all this, the car is perfectly roadworthy, and I take it out every few weeks to keep it running. I've just decided to replace most wear items now so I won't have to do it (hopefully) ever again. I'll add more pictures as I take them. June 2002, 1000 x 500 (139k), side shot Summer 2004
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