Restoration of my Citroen 2CV

This should be entertaining. I'll be watching your progress.

Ideeman:

My son and I "did" a '69 Citroen DSM in the late eighties and what a senationally great driving car it was! The hydraulic system itself was a engineering wonder to behold. Problem was that it used brake fluid to motivate all of the hydraulics. Brake fluid has in an affinity for water which caused the system to rust badly causing the hydraulic sysem seals to leak requing a quart of more fluid for each hundred miles driven. Otherwise no brakes, cluch or suspension!

The DSM "Cit" was the "Batmobile of the times but we sold it (son was in college at the time) rather than redo the hyraulic system to a more begneign fluid which would have been very expensive.

The one in your pix is the lesser version and the French equivilent of the Model T Ford intended for purchase by the everyday working man on French farms. The CV could be converted for any number of gricultural purposes and then reassembled to be driven to town on weekends.

Good luck and get ready to spend some serious bucks on your restoration. You'll need lots of both!

To me the 2nd is a French equivalent of a VW beetle,fiat 500 or mini all are great cars.

Pretty neat! How did those compare to the LeCar? LeCars were sold over here up untill the early eighties, so I know a little about them, but this thing is totally foreign to me, pun intended.

Are the LeCar referring to the Renault 5? If yes, the 2CV was first manufactured in 1949, and changed a lot during the 41 years for productions (ended in 1990)...

The R5 was the successor of the Renault 4, direct concurrent of the 2CV... With the more "recent" technology they had (R5 started in 1978 i think), you can't really compare... It had of course an in-line 4 engine, much more powerful, whilst the 2CV had a much simpler (which means less problems ) 602cc twin flat (air cooled, by the way) engine.

SuperDave:

You were lucky to have had one of those dream cars! I wish i could just get in one of those... The masterpiece of Citroen, with the 2CV But you're right, they had a few flaws, the complex hydraulics system caused lots of issues...

The first design of the Deux Chevaux is from 1935 (first car sold in '49, 15 years of studies ), while the DS was designed in the late '50s... Citroen realized afterwards that they were selling only two cars: the simplest one, and the most complex (and luxurious) one, nothing for the "middle class". They started another model, less complex than the DS, more comfortable than the 2CV, the ID: same body as a DS, but a smaller engine, mechanical clutch, and another "gadgets" present in the DS they had to remove...
My grandfather had one of those, but I never was able to see it, he passed away 37 years ago, the car was sold in 1975.


Thanks for all the encouragement, I'm looking forward to have it disassembled before January - then the game will REALLY begin

ideeman:

Your biggect problem with the Cit will be rust shown in the picures. There is no better solution than to cut it away entirely and replace it with new metal which is something available in the aftermarket as formed "patch panels" or you might be able to fabricate them yourself if you are skilled in working body metal. Be sure to get parts catalogs from the various Cit partss vendors so that you'll know was parts are available and what is not.

Covering rusted metal with body filler or fiberglass will surely disappoint when the rust comes through once again in a matter of a short time.

The sad reality of "restoring" an old car, in terms of economics, is that they may usually be found less espensivily fully restored that restoring one yourself.

Ask anyone who has ever done a full restoration themselves.

(I know this from many of my own old car restoration work) In short, you WON"T be saving any money doing one yourself. But just the "fun" and "challenge" may be worth the effort to you.

SuperDave wrote:ideeman:

Your biggect problrm with the Cit will be rust shown in the picures. There is no better solution than to cut it away entirely and replace it with new metal which is something available in the aftermarket as "patch panels" or you might be able to fabricate them yourself if you are skilled in working body metal. Be sure to get parts catalogs from the various Cit partss vendors so that you'll know was parts are available and what is not.

Covering rusted metal with body filler or fiberglass will surely disappoint when the rust comes through once again in a matter of a short time.

The sad reality of "restoring" an old car, in terms of economics, is that they can usually be found less espensivily that restoring one yourself.

(I know this from many of my own old car restoration work) In short, you WON"T be saving any money doing one yourself. But just the "fun" and "challenge" may be worth the effort to you.

Yeah, I was prepared to all of that before buying an old, rusty car... They didn't die with the engine, but with the body... The fun will be in the restoration process, not only on driving it.
I've already compared the prices, and it appears that the best dealer I found lives a few kilometers away from me. He sells all the replacement panels I need, and I'm going to replace everything rusted with new metal.. What's great about the 2CV is that ALL the parts of the car are made again: I can buy a brand new frame today!

I really can't repair it with fiberglass: it won't hold long, and I can't pass the technical control with those repairs: it has to be perfectly welded metal to be ok

I'm going to take my time, doing with the skills and the money I have, step by step

Dave:
What you say about restoring a car not being cheaper etc.
Is a true point but it is a good alternative to hire purchase.
If you cannot buy a car outright it is not a good idea to get it on hire purchase as if you cant keep up te payments you lose it.
Whereas if one month you don't have enough to buy your parts you can wait as long as you need to before starting again.

SuperDave wrote:ideeman:
Covering rusted metal with body filler or fiberglass will surely disappoint when the rust comes through once again in a matter of a short time.

I saw a '68 mustang with Bondo all over the place, looked terrible.

microflitedude wrote:

SuperDave wrote:ideeman:
Covering rusted metal with body filler or fiberglass will surely disappoint when the rust comes through once again in a matter of a short time.

I saw a '68 mustang with Bondo all over the place, looked terrible.

Oh man IMO that crime is punishable by Hanginng.

Hi everyone,

Just a message to say that I'm still around, and I got my 2CV disassembled:

Nice one Idee
Happiness is an SM

Idee:

Good to see you back!

Fiberglass fenders? (If so, good choice.)

microflitedude wrote:

SuperDave wrote:ideeman:
Covering rusted metal with body filler or fiberglass will surely disappoint when the rust comes through once again in a matter of a short time.

I saw a '68 mustang with Bondo all over the place, looked terrible.

A 6 gallon car. Older Mustangs usually are.

Keith:

Not one that I'd ever buy. I'd rather pay for a good one up front and skip the Bondo overdose.

Besides, PINK isn't my "thing". That's for "Girlie Men".