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2CV
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 12:50 pm    Post subject: 2CV Reply with quote

My wife has hankered after a 2CV for some time now, harking back to the late 8o's when we bought one of the final production batch 2CV6's as a second car. It gave excellent service, was pressed into use for a marathon trip around the north of Scotland when our more prestigious car packed up and couldn't be repaired in time, and was used daily for a number of years, including several other holidays.
Alas the arrival of a second child and the lack of suitable anchorages for two child seats, spelled the end, and it was sold on to a colleague who then passed it on to his daughter to take to university, and so it passed out of our lives.
Last year I looked for one, but couldn't find anything that wasn't extremely expensive or at the other end of the country, and so gave up and ended up with a project Renault 4 (which is now about to go up for sale if anyone is interested). I promised, though, that I would try and find one to add to the queue for restoration and kept my eyes open.
Most of the available cars were still too far away, or too much money and then a couple of weeks ago, I saw one for sale just a few miles away, advertised as a project with no MOT. Further investigation showed that the car was a red 2CV6, one of the last Portuguese production cars. It had not moved for 14 years, having been stored and largely forgotten in the back of a large shed, and only came to light after a family bereavement led to the shed being cleared out.
It seems to have spent much of its life in Cumbria and The Scottish Borders, judging from the pile of old tax discs in the car, the last one of which was March 2004, and the sales sticker in the back window.
First impressions were good, given that the car was marketed as a project. It had various MOT patches in the front footwell, but most of the visible panels were straight and rust free, as was the boot floor. A long strip of rust above the bonnet hinge needs attention as does the front end of the nearside cill. I haven't paid much attention to the chassis, since the proposal is to strip the car down to receive a new chassis, but there is no sign at the moment of any collapse. The roof is in tatters held together with duct tape.
The seller had tinkered with the car to see if it would run, he had bought a reconditioned starter motor, some new plug leads, put in some fresh petrol and jump started it, and it ran without smoke or any untoward noises (has around 65k on the clock). So, it engages gear, moves and stops, although one of the rear brake drums binds. Why was it abandoned all those years ago? Possibly the starter motor, it would have been a 14 year old car back then and just a banger as far as being worth a repair is concerned. There is nothing currently visible to suggest that it had failed an MOT catastrophically, and the fact that it had been stored rather than scrapped suggests that there may have been some thought at the time that it might have had some potential life left in it.
All good so far, but given the car's circumstances, it will not come as a surprise to find that the V5 has long gone missing and I have had to apply for a new one. Given the possibility that the car might be called in for an inspection by DVLA, I am reluctant to start to dismantle it yet, and will wait until I have received some kind of response.
So what does it need? Initial assessment suggests:
• Body off and new chassis.
• New canvas roof.
• Both front wings are cosmetically okay, but the inner splash shield needs welding up on one side.
• At some point there has been a snag on the bottom of the A pillar on the passenger side which has twisted the rain gutter , which needs either straightening out or cutting off and replacing.
• There is a small area of rust in the cill below that which will need repair.
• The rusted bonnet hinge mount on the bulkhead will require cutting out and replacing with a repair panel. This is probably the trickiest repair on the car body.
• There are plates on the floor at the front both sides. They appear solid, but are a bit agricultural. These will need further review when the body is off.
• The bonnet lid was a bit caved in at the top, which was a worry since new lids are very expensive, and most second hand ones are either battered or the hinge has rusted off. However, a good shove from inside the lid on both sides and miraculously, the whole lot popped out and now looks almost perfect.
• Inside seat covers look okay, if grubby, but the driver's side seat needs repadding etc.
• Floor mats are good and have scrubbed up after being taken out to allow the damp underneath to dry off.
• A coat of paint. (there is a temptation to just make good the bad areas and leave it as shabby chic…..but alas my wife doesn't do shabby chic!)

So, easy if you say it fast.
My target is to try and get it sorted out by my wife's next birthday, which is April 2019. First job is to make room in the garage to enable a start to be made and order a new chassis.

Watch this space
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
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alastairq



Joined: 14 Oct 2016
Posts: 1950
Location: East Yorkshire

PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 1:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent stuff! Smile



Quote:
Watch this space


I, for one, will do so Smile
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Dellow Mk2, 1951 built, reg 1952.
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2018 8:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A couple of photos of the car as delivered. I am currently going round plying every visible nut and bolt with WD40!






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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
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Location: UK

PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2018 10:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Always nice to read of another project!!

RJ
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Penman



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4748
Location: Swindon, Wilts.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2018 11:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi
Why WD40?

We have had this discussion before on here, you need a penetrating lubricant or if they are badly rusted in something like plusgas.
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Penguin45



Joined: 28 Jul 2014
Posts: 381
Location: Padiham

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Penman wrote:
plusgas.

+1
P45.
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 7:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I started with Plus Gas, but my can ran out after the initial treatment. I find WD40 is passably effective most of the time.
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BigJohn



Joined: 01 Jan 2011
Posts: 954
Location: Wem, Shropshire

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 11:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Red diesel and 10-40 oil mix is cheap enough, and works for me.
But enough of that, I always wanted a 2cv so I watch this thread with interest.
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traction39



Joined: 19 May 2009
Posts: 399
Location: South Wales

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 3:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

2cv themed movie!

Name the other cars etc.

https://www.facebook.com/lionel.ley.96/videos/10202816315353760/
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Citroen Light 15 1953, "12" 1939,
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 10:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A brief pause after getting the car home, due to the lack of a logbook. Having been caught out once before with a dismantled car being required to be inspected by DVLA prior to reissue of a logbook, I was reluctant to go too far initially.
However, a positive response from DVLA and we were off, first taking off all of the easily removable panels, wings, doors, bonnet and bootlid, followed by the roof and seats.
Alas, as a result of the data protection act, the new logbook comes without any information on previous owners, other than to say that I am the 3rd, so unless 2CVGB has some previous history on their files, then I have no way of getting a history together, beyond that previously noted in my introductory spiel.
Now came the disconnection of all of the various pipes and wires, followed by the removal of all of the mounting bolts.
Having anointed these with releasing oil several times whilst other things were happening, most came out quite easily, with only two exceptions which had to be ground off. Removal of the steering column was also a bit of a trial until I realised that the bolt in the clip that holds it on at the spline on the rack, has to be removed completely and not just loosened.
Having recruited my daughter and her boyfriend to help, we rocked the tub from side to side to unstick it and then lifted off the body, and it now sits on the patio under an old car cover
So now I have a separated body tub and chassis, and the next job is the dismantling and refurbishment as necessary of the suspension and other components.
Engine and gearbox I am hoping will just be a case of a clean off and a service, the car only having covered around 65k and the engine being, as far as I can see for the moment, a good starter and runner. It will also get a new clutch and my list of parts needed has been started and will no doubt grow as the weeks go by.




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1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
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Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 10:22 pm    Post subject: Rebuild begins! Reply with quote

Well, I actually started putting things onto the new chassis this evening. Granted it was only the front bump stops, but hey....it's a start.
Several days of wrestling with heat, chisel, plus gas, etc has resulted in everything reusable being stripped off the chassis, and I have cleaned up and painted the suspension assemblies, the handbrake lever and several other minor bits, so the initial reassembly can continue.
I now need to sit down with my list and work out what I need to continue with the build.
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1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Tue Oct 16, 2018 9:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So, this is what a rotten 2Cv chassis looks like. The central boxed in floor section has rotted from the inside out and there are several MOT patches hiding the points at which the rust has broken through. These in their turn are in the process of rotting through and there is actually relatively little structure left on the offside under the A pillar.

A whole shovelfull of rust debris fellout of the chassis whilst I was fiddling around, so that also tells you where the internal stiffening is likely to have gone.
Work has slowed at the moment as I am waiting for a shipment of spares, shock absorbers, various fastenings and suspension parts. So I am cleaning up various other parts whilst I am waiting. I will keep you posted.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV


Last edited by norustplease on Sun Nov 04, 2018 9:50 am; edited 1 time in total
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 12:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Things are moving along now. I have assembled the cleaned and painted suspension components , fuel tank, etc. back onto the new chassis and turned my attention to the engine/gearbox.
Not having driven the car more than a few hundred yards before stripping down, I had no real idea how good the clutch might be, so whilst the power unit was sat on a pallet at the back of the garage, I split engine and gearbox and dismantled the clutch. It was a little worn, would probably have been good for a while, but I put in a new clutch kit just to be on the safe side and reassembled.

This morning, I slung the engine back onto the chassis. Suspension is, as you might expect, up on tiptoes at the moment without any load on it and I had expected the engine to weigh it down a bit more at the front than it did. Setting the ride height when everything is back in one piece again, will be interesting.

Incidentally, the registration document says that the car was registered in 1992. Since production finished in 1990, this must have sat in the dealer system for two years at least before being sold.
Does this make it the last 2CV to be sold new in the UK I wonder? Must be close.
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV


Last edited by norustplease on Sun Nov 04, 2018 9:52 am; edited 2 times in total
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Rick
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 1:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quite the whirlwind rebuild! good stuff, have photos of the Renault 4 surfaced on the forum as yet? I quite like them.

RJ
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Tue Oct 30, 2018 9:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Several reasons for getting cracking.
Firstly a re-chassis exercise means that your one car working space suddenly becomes three, new chassis being built up, old chassis being stripped and somewhere to park the bodyshell. So, space as ever being at a premium, the quicker that you can get the chassis phase over with, the better.

Secondly, we have had a spell of quite reasonable weather for the season, so working in the garage and even outdoors on occasions, has been quite pleasant, and I have been determined to make the most of it and get on.

Today was the day for a swap. The chassis rebuild had really gone as far as possible without being re-united with the body. The main item incomplete is the brakes. The master cylinder sits on the bodyshell, so there is no possibility of recommissioning brakes at this stage.

To move the bodyshell without mobilising the family again, I reconstructed a trolley arrangement with some bits of wood and four heavy duty castors, that I originally knocked up for a Renault 4 reconstruction a few years ago. With a bit of pushing and pulling, I was able to get this under the shell (I got told off by a 2CVGB member for calling it a tub) and then was able to swap positions with the chassis ending up under a cover on the patio, and the shell in the garage.

Welding will begin shortly. I have a supply of steel sheet in the form of an old car roof, plus a couple of repair panels for the more complex sections.
I will keep you in the picture.








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Boring Tucson SUV
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