Comments on: In memoriam : Dacia Denem

By: Graeme

Graeme — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 23:06:42 +0000

I remember the Dacia very well. My Dad was the second ( I think) owner of RTF 610 Y, a yellow estate, back in the 80s. The brochure cars were 611 and 612 Y and Dad’s car was badged a 1310 not a Denem. Lovely car and I was gutted when he swapped it in for a Cavalier- noisy with rotten suspension in comparison.

By: cosmin

cosmin — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:23:29 +0000

Dear Nigel,

I would also be intersted to know a bit more about the dacia denem.my email address is cosmin18430 @ gmail.com

Kind Regards,

Cosmin

By: Tony Evans

Tony Evans — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:11:32 +0000

One of my flatmates had a Renault 12 in the late 80s in that odd green colour. I remember that it was reliable but a bit stodgy.The Denem build quality (or lack of) was legendary and I can recall on of my acquaintances more or less tearing it apart and then screwing it back together properly.

OEM spark plugs were notorious for snapping electrodes and ceramics cracking. Also I recall snapping hose clips (especially radiator hoses) and various other bits falling off. Unfortunately, none of the above mechanical blandishments would stop the rust endemic in the cheap Russian sourced steel used in the Denem (even worse than the stuff Fiats used on the Strada and Mirafiori).

I doubt that many (possibly not any) tears will be shed for the demise of the Denem – which was a bit like a Primark T-shirt – looked good until the first wash.

Now the Renault 12 estate was a really useful car in the French mould of the time. Went well, road well and generally all round useful.

By: Jon T Pierce

Jon T Pierce — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:19:57 +0000

Blast from the past! A neighbour of ours in France died, he had a garage (for car repairs) and workshop adjacent to his house, when the family were clearing out (and having a sale) a yellow Dacia like the one pictured was “for sale” I don’t think they sold it, as far as i am aware it was put back in the garage!

By: ron richardson

ron richardson — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:39:22 +0000

My dad bought a new 12tl in 1973 after test driving a Marina and an Allegro. No contest, the Renault being smooth ,quiet well equipped and those big comfy seats!
He replaced it after 5 years with a Renault 14 which was an inferior car sadly.

By: volganeagra

volganeagra — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:44:42 +0000

Nige, I’d be grateful if you could drop me a line about the dacia. ap493 @ cantab.net . Certainly of interest. Many thanks, Adrian

By: nigel moore

nigel moore — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 15:23:51 +0000

There is one 1984 Dacia Denem base saloon surviving, I have it in my shed in Northern Ireland. It’s an A reg that I bought in Bolton 13yrs ago. its in complete original condition and I would consider selling it to someone who would be willing to put it back on the road as it is super rare!

By: volganeagra

volganeagra — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 23:32:59 +0000

Apparently only 700 or so Denems were sold. Shifters (the pickup version) lasted until 1990, and a couple still exist, including one limited edition Shifterossa (none on the road though). The Welsh Denem in a scrapyard made it until 2011, at which point environmental directives made the owners clear that part of the scrapyard. It was David Kelly’s place, near Wrexham. A few Dacia 1310s have already made their way over here – sadly, though, the Denem had several features unique to the UK so there are not going to be any failed exports still around in Romania ready to revive the Denem name.

There used to be a handful of C-reg Axels around – alsmot definitely no survivors though. An Oltcit import does exist, however, as does an original ARO sold here in 1980.

By: Boo

Boo — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:00:02 +0000

I remember plenty of Denems around in Britain when they were new… .then in scrapyards during the last half of the ’80s.
From what I remember they were of inferior build quality to the R12 so didn’t last long.

The person above asking about UK survivor Citroen Axels and Oltcits will be disappointed.. They were certainly never sold here and as far as I know never made in RHD. If any got here they would have been secondhand LHD personal imports.

By: rpw366

rpw366 — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:46:05 +0000

Hi folks,
I’ve been to Cluj-Napoca (in the Northwest of Romania) and there were lots of Dacia 1300 in all different kind of shapes (YES, also the PICKUP Version with or without hardtop and also as limousine or caravan.
Some of them are in well condition, others stand unmoved for a long time with flat tires along the roadside…

By: volganeagra

volganeagra — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:59:31 +0000

The denem was a UK-only model so it is, technically, extinct. Sam Glover’s is a 1310 Sport but not a Denem. Photos of the last one are here: http://volganeagra.blogspot.com/2011/10/ultima-dacie-denem-last-dacia-denem.html . The last one I saw in the flesh was in a scrapyard in Wales in 2003 – a green A-reg saloon.
However, rumours of an estate stashed away in a barn since new persist so it is – just – possible that one day, a new Denem will rise from the ashes!

By: Richard 16378

Richard 16378 — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 18:52:32 +0000

The last time I saw a Yugo in the UK was in 2007 and that was the first one for a few years.

The sanctions againt Serbia in the 1990s probably caused a lot to be scrapped because of a lack of spares.

By: Ian

Ian — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 17:03:14 +0000

There are a lot of Renault 12s still on the road here in Galicia, Northern Spain. The new Dacias are quite popular at the moment too.

I will try to take a few photos and post them on your Facebook page.

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 14:04:47 +0000

Here, in Hungary, the Dacia was considered the worst of the Eastern Bloc choices. The indestructible Lada was seen as the best – though anyone who had some DeutschMarks would buy a secondhand Golf.

A friend told me that when you bought a new Dacia you had to literally rebuild it again if you expected it to run. However, there are still a few Dacias left but they’re all looking sad these days

You can still see some Trabants and Wartburgs (later types with VW engines) and there are also quite a few Lada 1.2s and 1.5s to be found but no Polskis…

By: JH

JH — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:48:42 +0000

It looks like Zastava are going the same way (YUGO 45 etc). An old school friend brought one new in 1990. It lasted about five years before he had to scrap it because it had became too expensive to maintain in relation to its value.

By: Eugeny Demin

Eugeny Demin — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:29:02 +0000

I remember that a lot of Dacias came to the USSR in 1990 or so. However, these cars were even worse than the fwd Lada Samara and disappeared in a couple of years.

By: Richard Kilpatrick

Richard Kilpatrick — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 08:54:22 +0000

@Mark Pitchford
Actually, to be honest, there’s not much on the Cabrio to cause headaches. The main rust spots are the sill seam under the door, which is usually unbelievably obvious, and the rear arches (they all do that sir). The roof mechanism is generally tough – new roof covers/windows are about the same price as any other cabriolet – the pump is nothing exciting, the wiring is straightforward and the seals are still currently available.

I’d look for window issues (make sure they go up/down properly and are lined up), missing trim on rear quarter windows, dampness in carpets for potential rust issues in the floor/sill strengthening. The roof should open smoothly and fairly quickly (I started making a video but I’m not good at video!) and seal properly when closed (it closes fully, you just latch it – if it needs pulling down something’s not right). Rear seatbelts should latch on the wrong side. Boot struts are NLA but should be possible to get recharged.

The engine is as per the Metro, so a clogged radiator, blocked thermostats, failed fan switches and a badly bled cooling system are the order of the day and the thing that does most of them in mechanically.

Additional nuisances are the Metro’s cheap central locking system, rear radius arm wear/lack of maintenance.

What I’d be wary of are inflated claims of rarity or history. Most of them seem to have done low mileages, presumably because they go wrong with lack of use – and a low mileage car which has been neglected will invariably be a world of pain unless you properly clean out the cooling system. That’s probably going to apply to any K-Series-engined Metro.

Gumtree seems to be a good source of them as well as Auto Trader and eBay.

The conversion was – tall folded roof aside – very well executed indeed. I don’t see how they could have dealt with that apart from sending it into a parallel dimension or using the entire boot.

I may be selling the red one as my girlfriend doesn’t like it, but I do. It was supposed to be a car for her but, in the event, she’d much rather have had a normal one or a Morris Minor.

By: Will101

Will101 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:51:48 +0000

Another early make and model of car which I remember appearing in UK newspaper adverts twenty one or so years ago is the Proton MPi or MOPPIES as they latter became known.

This Proton model was based on the old 1980s Mitsubishi Lancers and they were quite a common sight on UK roads until the new Proton models replaced them. The Proton badge was funny looking – it looked like a fried egg had stuck to the front of them.

This was the start of the invasion of the UK and Europe by Korean and Malaysian car manufacturers – even Hyundai, the first one here, expanded its range after the Pony and Stellar.

However, it’s possible that the numbers of surviving early model Korean cars are higher than the Eastern Bloc models becuase they successfully managed to force them out of the market.

Anyway, what of Proton today? I have not seen any newly registered models on the roads up here but they still own Lotus.

By: DeLorean's Accountant

DeLorean's Accountant — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:53:07 +0000

I (think) I can remember CAR Magazine’s GBU summary of the Dacia Duster:
For: In Romania, this is a luxury.
Against: So is bread.

By: Mark Pitchford

Mark Pitchford — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:50:03 +0000

@Richard Kilpatrick Well, if you do such a thing I'd be very interested in it. I know roughly what to look for with regards to Metro/114s generally but nothing about particular nasties to be wary of with the Cabrios. Indeed, failing a formal Buyers' Guide, a few pointers would be appreciated!