2CV6 Project Thread

[dern]

Hopefully this is of interest to some of you but I'm quite happy chuntering away to myself.

I bought this yesterday...

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It's had all the rot cut out and replaced with new panels and then blown over with some pretty good paint. It sits on a galvanised chassis and underneath looks amazingly clean. These cars definitely require looking after which I didn't do with the one I had 30 years ago which probably explains why it's no longer on the road. This one was used as a wedding car before it was taken off the road to sort all the rust out. I posted up a picture on the 2cv facebook group and the previous owner got in touch telling me about the car and telling me good things about the guy who did the car.

I drove it home yesterday afternoon and the current to do list is...
- Car pulls hard to the left when braking hard which is pretty scary. I can't yet tell if it's the front discs or the rear drums but I'm going to guess that it's the front given how hard it pivots. All the hardware looks pretty new so I'm guessing I'm looking a seal (can't see any oil), contaminated pads, stuck piston, something like that. The pedal feels hard so I don't suspect air at this point.
- The revs sit high sometimes when I come to a junction and when I got home I found that the choke cable had disconnected so the choke is just wandering around on its own so that's an easy fix.
- The indicators are very slow so I'll check the voltage and wiring.
- It leaks in heavy rain but that's just the way they are.
- The windscreen washer 'system' is shit and needs upgrading to a pump rather than a plunger.
- The hose from the air filter box to the carb is perished and needs replacing.
- I need to make a platform for the back for the dogs.

I suspect this list will grow faster than it shrinks.

Good times.

[cheb]

It is of interest. I fancy one of these converted to a diesel engine that can run on chip oil. And with the back chopped off and a pick up bed fitted.

My test for the brakes would be pull the handbrake when driving and see what it feels like, that's based on the handbrake working on the rear wheels.

[dern]

Handbrake is on the front discs as I found out on my last one trying to do a handbrake skid in the snow and just succeeded in sliding forwards and embedding it in a snow bank.

If I do an engine swap on it (I'm in two minds) it'll be for a BMW twin but that's pretty low on the list of things to do.

[cheb]

That the handbrake works on the front not the back doesn't surprise me.

I need to fight down the urge to browse for one, I need to shift on all the other tat first.

[Horse]

Always liked the look of them. Actually most Citroëns - I'd love a Traction Avant but don't have space to store it and skill to maintain it.

When I moved to Newbury (1983) there was a guy lived in Shaw Crescent (this will mean something to Dern, the rest of you just ignore it) who, for several years, had a TA as his daily driver!

However, a song of welcome

[dern]

I lived in Kiln lane in Shaw for a while, tried to buy the house we were renting but they wouldn't sell it to us. Probably dodged a bullet.

I've never seen a TA IRL but I do love the look of them. I think their earlier cars were way better than their later ones. I swapped the 2cv I had first for a BX and that was absolutely shite. I worked with a guy who had an AX GT and I said I'd drive the the garage with him for it mot and give him a lift back. On the way it was going really well... right up to the point where an entire wheel hub and assembly came off the car.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

We had a Citroen Ami, it was a bit shit

[Horse]

Acksherley, I was thinking up to DS, Maserati, etc. latest. Not *all* Citroëns

[mangocrazy]

I've always had a soft spot for 2CVs, partly for the way they look and partly because they defiantly do everything differently to everything else (pretty much). In the early 80s I took my 350LC down through France, through the middle of Spain and into northern Portugal as far as Porto, spent a few days there, then headed back. A quarter of the way through Spain the bike made a funny noise then went 'duuuuuh' and stopped. My worst fears were realised when a mechanic undid both spark plugs, produced a long piece of welding rod and poked around in the bores. In the LH cylinder the welding rod suddenly went down much further than it should have and the mechanic sagely said 'piston perforada'. I didn't need the translation.

I needed to get back to Santander for the ferry back to Blighty and the recovery service's transport of choice was one of those 2CV vans that look like a corrugated garden shed on wheels. The bike was somehow shoved in the back, with the front wheel wedged into the back of the passenger seat, and the driver (who spoke no English) and I set off on the long journey to Santander. Some of the roads we traversed (this was in 1981) were little more than cart tracks and I remember seeing a really big pothole coming up and wondering why the driver didn't avoid it. The suspension just went 'ba-doomp' and carried on as if nothing had happened. That pothole would probably have wrecked the suspension on any other car of the era.

I had a new-found respect for 2CVs after that.

[KungFooBob]

I can't see a 2CV6 without being reminded of the film 'Deadmans Shoes".

The full thing is on YouTube, but it's crap quality.

[David]

Wrth checking Hubnut on FB...
I had one that pulled viciously on braking...the front "horn" had seperated from the chassis.......

[Horse]

.

I remember seeing a really big pothole coming up and wondering why the driver didn't avoid it. The suspension just went 'ba-doomp' and carried on as if nothing had happened. That pothole would probably have wrecked the suspension on any other car of the era.

I had a new-found respect for 2CVs after that.

IIRC the original design brief was to carry two farmers a pig and a sack of spuds across a ploughed field.

They have some sort of interlinked front and rear suspension.

[Horse]

Edit: eggs

[dern]

Cool video, thanks.

[asmethurst99]

I had a Dyane - they all seem to leak in rain- we went all over the place in it for a year until it dissolved -
Nice one.

[dern]

I had a Dyane - they all seem to leak in rain- we went all over the place in it for a year until it dissolved -
Nice one.

Plenty of leaks. I drove the last one I had through a road wide puddle as a bmw went the other way. All my windows and vents were shut but I still got a face full of water. I arrived home yesterday with one wet leg. On the plus side, they're so drafty they dry our pretty quickly.

[David]

We fetched an mgf from pembroke one weekend...swmbo'd decided the mg was hers....she couldnt keep up with me on the m4....the 2cv hit 82 after a couple of days and stayed there...it was just a question of finding a gap and going for it.....

[David]

Wrth checking Hubnut on FB...
I had one that pulled viciously on braking...the front "horn" had seperated from the chassis.......

In fairness, the brake problem will be a stucky caliper....

[dern]

Small update today. The great thing about these cars is that it's possible to do simple stuff very easily over a lunch break.

Jobs done today were...
- Install a new positive battery lead. The old one was frayed and definitely going to cause a problem at some point. It simply runs from the battery to the starter motor and then onwards to the loom from there. The starter motor end was frayed so if that had snapped the car would stop and the lead would just short out on the engine.
- Install a new hose from the air filter to the carb. The old one was cracked and falling apart. It didn't cause a huge issue with running but pulling all the air through the air filter is always a good plan.
- The choke cable came adrift on the way home so I reinstalled and secured that.

2cv engine.jpeg (776.52 KiB) Viewed 757 times

I can't see any immediate issues with the brakes so need to do more digging. I can push the pads back and they all move freely back to the callipers and then back to the discs when the pedal was pressed. I was expecting one to be stuck but that doesn't seem to be the case. I'll have a closer look at the weekend if I get time.

The rear view mirror vibrated but there doesn't seem to be a way to stop it as the adjustment ball joint is a bit loose so will order a new one. I fixed it in the short term but turning the mirror upside down and it doesn't vibrate in that position. The dip switch no longer works but it'll do for now.

[ChrisW]

That looks very clean!

Good luck with the brakes. Could be anything, maybe even a tired flexi-hose.