Renault 12 Memories

In my early childhood the family car (back when families only had one car) was a Renault 12. It looks ancient now, but it was a very practical car back in the day which was quite modern in its fundamentals. Amazingly, it was produced internationally until 2000. Later on the main car became company-car Cavaliers, but the Renault 12 was kept-on so I could learn to drive in it.

It took us a lot of places, most memorably a trip to France on the ferry where it broke down in the rain at the docks. Mum and dad pushed it onto the ferry. On arrival, the sight of a broken Renault stung the national pride of the French dockers who fixed it with a piece of old pipe to replace the split hose going to the fuel pump.

Finding the Haynes Renault 12 Owner's Handbook/Maintenance Manual in a second-hand bookshop recently I couldn't resist picking it up and scanning for posterity.