The real joy of this job is that I’m endlessly learning something new. Like about this Renault Estafette van, shot by Roger Carr and posted at the Cohort. Roger lives in the UK, although this was obviously shot in France. Until I did a bit of nosing around, I had no idea these were sold in the US too, as the Renault Hi Boy. With a name like that, there must have been some hippies somewhere that found one and turned it into a name-worthy rolling party-mobile. Just needs a Further-worthy paint job.
Here’s the proof. Apart from that, the Estafette has an interesting story in its own right. The full-on version is here, but the short story is that in a repeat of so much of what Renault did in the fifties and early sixties, it essentially copied Citroen, which had developed the advanced FWD H-Van, with its very low and continuous load floor, unlike the rear-engined VW Transporter.
Renault used the 845 cc engine from the Dauphine, and created a new transmission to adapt it to front wheel drive. Later versions used the larger 1108 cc engine from the R8. The Estafette enjoyed success, and a long life, being produced in France from 1959 through 1980, when it was replaced by the Traffic. In Mexico, it was built through 1986.
Thanks to Google, here’s an ad from Kentucky Motors. Wonder how many they actually sold in Kentucky? Oh wait; I just remembered that Kentucky was a pioneer in pot growing on a large scale even back in the sixties, so hence the connection?
Its mile per gallon of gas “is the most”?
Huh?
I like the “Le Mutant” sign in the back….
A Renault Petit-Panel in Kentucky. Cognitive dissonance if ever I have seen it. In my experience, Kentuckians are nothing if not traditional. Of course, throw in enough cases of good Kentucky Bourbon in the back, and you can sell even a funny looking French van. 🙂 Seriously, I doubt that sales of these got into double digits in that part of the country.
I have no memory of these in the Bay Area (San Francisco) in the ’60’s, even when Dauphines weren’t uncommon along with the occasional Caravelle, less common 4CV and later the R8.
I remember seeing the odd (and I do mean odd) Dauphine as a child, including one belonging to our Latvian neighbors, who also had a Beetle.
At one time, Renault’s stateside ambitions for the cherubic, rear-engined Dauphine were optimistic enough to shell out for the back cover of the Aug/59 Playboy mag. This ad may have been the first-ever use of the words “Le Car”!
“No unnecessary chrome, fins, etc.”
And only $1645 POE!
Actually……better driver and much more practical then the VW T1 vans (but you’re not supposed to say this)
I hated the old VW vans, stirring in oil (instead of shifting) and freezing your balls of in winter time.
And that roof ventilation thing, always getting freeziing cold air in, in wintertime.
These were much, much nicer, heating was so so but thanks to the fwd the loading platform was low and roadholding was good.
Ok doors and hinges were flimsy, but the slding driver’s door in summertime was a blast !
And do not even talk about driving this with a side wind or a VW.
Ok they rusted and engine access was not great, that is true
Looks like an improvement over the transporter but did they last. In this country I don’t remember a reputation for durability.
Le Mutant and a Van? Could this be the French version of Bob and Doug’s Canadian Classic “Mutants of 2051?”
Hi,
Glad you like the photo – I got the shot on the pre-brekfast croissant run (thoise who havent had fresh croissant from a French boulangerier for breakfast need to try it!) last weekend. The alignment of the van and the Le Mutant (a supermarket actually, I think) sign is complete chance, honest 😉
I’ve just posted some photos to the Cohort.
I can’t imagine the Estafette as a hippie dream car. It simply was too much of a straight-forward, bare-bone delivery car. Outside of France even in Europe this car was a pretty rare sight, as far as I remember.
It’s ironic that hippies didn’t take to French cars, as they were more avante-garde than most, & didn’t have VW’s unsavory political origins either. Plus, their political fellow-travelers in Congress effectively put Ferdinand’s “Austrian-school” boxer 4 out to pasture.
Well, hippies did love the Citroen DS, but there weren’t many around in the US then. Or many other French cars, for that matter, although I had friends who would pick up old Renaults and Pugs and such.
Frankly, I can’t remember anyone in my generation sweating the issue of the VW’s origins. When you’re young, thirty years earlier seems like an eternity.
Anyway, who really cares? Once the was was over, the VW was rescued out of the rubble by the British. Then it became a new German company. I can’t quite wrap my head about folks who wouldn’t get in a Japanese or German car because of what happened decades earlier.
During the war, the Allies were very happy to drive all the VW Kubelwagen they could get their hands on!
“The real joy of this job is that I’m endlessly learning something new”. Well, reading CC isn’t my job, but you’ve summarised the reason I love CC: endless new things to learn! Very cool van too 🙂
I get paid money to cruise around unlikely places and I find cars of all sorts and now Ive found an agency that will rent you a classic car you drive yourself google:www,hooters-hire.co.nz and have a look check the cohort Im allowed back to photograph anything they have the lady said shes heard of curbsideclassic. If I get a passenger service licence she said I could drive them so ride and comfort road tests, I doubt the performance figures of a 1920s Buick would thrill anyone but tryiing to drive a crash transmission is beyond most people today, I told her I drive roadranger Hino and she seemed happy, they need drivers for the cruise ship season to ferry tourists around the vinyards and scenery, Id pay money to drive some of these cars never mind be paid.
That would be a cool series for CC Bryce: CC Test Drive! Or CC Chauffeur.
When I was 19 or so…
I lived out of one for about a year.
Bought for $500 and had a blast with it.
The little Dauphine 28hp front wheel drive was a trucker that
got about 28 mpg!
The only problem I had was that the wheels where a 3 lug affair.
One of the front wheels spun an axle nut and I had to take the entire dual U-joint assembly to a machine shop. His declaration was, “Very rare/very expensive part”.
License plate “JOE373” in California and I’d love to know if this old puppy is still on the road or in someone’s collection 40 years later!
Before they made it illegal to trace vehicles for the common man, I found it residing in Hercules CA (East SF Bay).