About ten years ago, my dad found a long-sitting, decrepit old Renault Caravelle for sale on a dealer’s lot nearby for two grand, so I immediately jumped in the car to go see it. It was rough. I would have been on board for maybe five hundred bucks, but even I knew that I would have been better off with a better one, perhaps one like this ’66 that our intrepid barn finder T.J. has found.
It is beyond rare to find a Caravelle in my bailiwick of the Midwest, but maybe the French-car hunt is more fruitful in the Peach State, where this one is for sale. By 1966, all Caravelles being sent to America were convertibles such as this one. What do you mean, convertible (you might ask)?
Yep, as if you weren’t excited enough, this quirky Renault comes with two tops, and the soft top is apparently new! Essentially, you’re buying two Caravelles for the price of one.
Being a fan of slightly offbeat old cars, I like the Renault’s drivetrain setup: It has a water-cooled rear engine, and near the end of its production run it was producing a full 58 horsepower (with a Weber carb). The owner of this example says that it runs and drives well with its rebuilt engine (done by a previous owner), so you could be off fielding questions you don’t know the answer to as soon as today.
The interior is “like new,” according to the seller. With bucket seats and a floor-shifted four speed, this Renault is perfect for imagining a drive through the Alps as a participant in the Alpine or Monte Carlo Rallies of the 1960s. Those closely coupled gauges and sporty wrapped steering wheel complete the fantasy.
The trunk room isn’t too bad for a little car (by American standards), either. As I mentioned earlier, I’m a sucker for a quirky old car, and what French car doesn’t have a quirk or two? The owner says he is selling it for health reasons, which may be why he’s never registered or tagged the car, so it’s still titled in the previous owner’s name. That may or may not be a deterrent to potential buyers, but a rust-free and supposedly (almost) leak-free Caravelle isn’t going to pop up on Marketplace every day. It’s for sale in Georgia right now for $8500, and I’m trying to forget my favorite shipper’s phone number right now.
Love it, this kind of orphan is right up my alley. Finding a nice Caravelle- no, wait, any Renault – is tough; this isn’t the best I have seen but it’s darn close and the price is right.
Beware the sills – these are just dauphine sedan body shells minus the roof. I had 2 Caravelles – one on Ca – , the one in Michigan had the rotted sills filled with Insta foam and covered over plus painted to match the metal, but the car was folding in half. Check the door latches for damage from a drooping door, banging into the B pillar and trashing the latch plate. Whatever you do, first thing is to rustproof those sills as they are the Only thing keeping the cars from folding in half due to rust!
Is the fuel filler in the engine compartment?
Classic 60’s tweak in the fender bodywork aft of the door handles, like on Volvo sports cars.
Metropolitan has it right in middle of window, some have end, still on the door, right behind the ‘door handle’…
How bout the chrome that is real short running back to before door or, well after the door and comes in to form bottom of wheel well lip @ front tire (well goes from round to flat on top/@chrome)?
I’ve always loved these since a friend had one. Such a cool little car.
All right, Jeez Louise, I must, no wait,,,,test 1st.
Okay then, a minor axe to grind, then on to this amazing find. I go back and forth on pulling the plug on this site, then stuff like this comes along. Some of you just must love to pick on a guy named “Howard”, I lived my whole life with that, and quite frankly, I lived to be 70, so you can cramit with walnuts. The site is about some of the most amazing car finds on the planet, stop ruining it by being a buzzkill. I enjoy correction, but insults go too far, so knock it off, or, and I’ve never done this, but you will be reported to the staff. thank you.
Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, a freakin’ Caravelle. I never, EVER thought I’d see one again. My old man dabbled in used cars when I was a kid, and brought home all kinds of eclectic cars. A Peugeot 403, a Triumph Herald, and a couple Renaults. ( He called them “Renultz”) I remember a Dauphine or 2, and a Caravelle, just like this. Nothing German, Italian or Japanese,but Renault was the exception. Having seen what the French went through during the war, I think he always felt sorry for them. I don’t recall a hardtop, but must have had one, I think they may have been standard( anyone) and was a typical northern car, with plenty of rust. We had some friends that were rather portly,(400+) and my dad gave him a ride, broke the poor Caravelle in half. He opened the doors and the car collapsed. He had it structurally repaired, but it was toast for the poor Caravelle.
That is the gas filler under the hood, and gas tank right behind( in front) of the motor, wonder how THIS would do in a rear ender. Hollywood loves quirky, and some stupid ad featuring a newlywed couple, features a Caravelle.
Again, years ago, not many choices for a small convertible, besides British, or Italian, and Renault enjoyed modest sales in the US, just not the Caravelle. Again, it was about price. These were pricey at around $4500 new, almost twice the cost of a Spitfire. These did 0-60 in just under 20 sec. and the 1/4 mile in 19.4@ 58mph, a top speed of a claimed 90,,but realistically, probably 75, maybe, so on par with the Spitfire, but few went this route. Thanks for the memories.
OMG, my sides are aching. Keep them coming, Howard.
In 1960, my 18 year old sister married her 19 year old boyfriend who just finished his service at Ft. Lewis in Tacoma, Wa. He had a few dollars and bought a used Renault Dauphine. They took all their newlywed possessions and crammed them into it and headed off to his hometown of Fargo, ND. Even as a 14 year old, I was skeptical of their chances, but they made it all the way. The Renault proved to be more robust than their marriage which ended a year later.
Early models with the 850cc motors were bog slow. Somewhere around 1964 they went to the Renault R8 engine which boosted HP from 40 to about 60.
My parents bought a new Dauphin in Covina, CA 1960. Died 3 years later going up Kellogg Hill, Pomona. It had the power of a Singer sewing machine.
In 1965, the Air Force decided to send me to Germany. My first wife and I bought a new Caravelle and had it for four years. The BMWs would blow my doors off on the autobahn but we sure had fun running around the hills of Germany. Don’t remember ever having major problems. My second wife would kill (read. divorce) if I ever bought this. Sure is tempting.
I had a Caravelle convertible for the whole summer of 65. I was a junior in HS and it was my introduction to convertibles, which I have owned every year since. It was fun, and my buddies with their Bel Airs, rods , and what ever else they had loved it too and often borrowed it. The main factor was that it was “cute” and the ladies loved it. Sadly, I had to give it back to the friends of our family who wanted me to take care of it while they were gone. I put over 5000 miles on it with nary a blip. I am seriously considering this ride, but I it needs to be inspected for all of the above comments. Good value and a lot of fun.
It looks a bit like a child of a Karmann Ghia and an Amphicar , but the styling works for me – certainly one of the best looking cars the French put out IMHO !
One of the few cars that look better with the hard top. I beleive this year had drum brakes up front, disc came later along with a raised roof. My dad was stationed in Germany at the time and was debating on buying the Carevelle or a 300 SL (they were giving rides to prespective buyers) You could buy two chevy nomads for less than a 300SL. So the Caravelle won.Oh if we would have only known. Very few in this condition, wish I were closer
My dad purchases a 63 Caravele among other sports cars as I was growing up. This was my favorite of all of his cars but it rusted in places you couldn’t see the extent of the damage. Within the boxed unibody frame channels secret rust took over and the car nearly rusted in half. Other than that some rear springs lost their spring and severe negative camber resulted. I had always intended to restore it but was told it was a lost cause. He ended up selling it for $300. I was crushed. Obligations prohibit me from buying this one and unfortunately it is likely my last chance to own a keeper.
We had two of these in the 1970’s. Mine was my daily driver and was sorry right after I traded it in. My sister in law had an even nicer one but it was totaled up in an accident. Mine was a 66 the same color. It had 4 whee disc brakes. Those came about in 1963 I believe.
I bought one of these Caravelles about 12 years ago following a trip to Paris.
They are fun, but believe me they are NOT a real car. I used to joke that if I got into a crash, they’d just bury the car with me in it. The brakes are 4-wheel discs, and let me tell you the technology really stinks.
In summary, the car wasn’t good at going, it wasn’t good at stopping, and if you hit a squirrel, the squirrel would probably be OK, but you probably wouldn’t.
This is probably the nicest Caravelle I’ve ever seen, but these cars failed in America. They were rust-prone, slow, unreliable, and had a terrible reputation. No real car guy would have bought one new–or used. Renault was among the first makers to sell in the U.S., but they were also among the first to withdraw. I go to a fair amount of foreign car shows but don’t recall ever seeing one in that setting.
Here’s my Caravelle story. A neighbor put out his trash, which included an old and tired hardtop. He didn’t know what it fit, but I could have it for nothing. Took me six months to figure out what car it came from. Took me six years to sell it, to a guy in Mexico. The crating and shipping cost him more than the hardtop!
Love it. Close to it. May consider it. Damn no funds. What’s going on with that horn push? The center of the steering wheel looks like a billet cap with three screws?
I wonder if this is the same one I saw at a shop here in
Roanoke,VA a while back? I was surprised,as it’s the only
one I’ve seen that actually ran,& was in really nice shape.
These are a lot better looking than driving. Had one in HS back in 1966… Wheezy motor, and the handling is best described as “odd”. The bad thing is that they have a swing axle rear suspension and they jack up just like a VW. If you want one to take to Cars and Coffee then go for it, but other than parking and looking at it, it’s a bust.