Hmm,2CV tall tale

[daveb47]

• Emile Leray broke Citroen in Moroccan desert 20 miles from nearest village
• He engineered own rescue by rebuilding the damaged car into a motorbike
• His hastily-made vehicle included the car's bumper as a seat
• He put car's engine and gearbox in middle of vehicle and shortened chassis in rebuilding job which took 12 days

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2168061/French-electrician-stranded-Moroccan-desert-rebuilt-wrecked-car-motorbike-drove-civilisation.html#ixzz2jZG5uszN

 

Only 20 miles,would have been quicker to walk...

 

 

At first sight there doesnt seem to be connection between gearbox and back wheel,steering looks unworkable,and no sign of a battery.

[richardmorris]

I wrote that up for a copy of the Citroen Car Club Mag a while ago (I'm the 2CV correspondent). Obviously the mechanics and engineering are plausible enough, but how many spare discs for his angle grinder did he have and how long was the extension lead? It would have been quicker to push the original car to town. Sounds more like a tall tale in the pub that's just grown and grown.Not to mention the issue that if the daily mail's printed it; it can't be true.

[Des]

Yeah I once bought a Mk 1 Escort off of that ebay, got a puncture on the way home and that's when I found the key for the locking wheel nuts was nowhere to be seen! Luckily I had £3 in my pocket and there was a Robert Dyas nearby so armed with my freshly aquired hacksaw blade with a bit of tape wrapped onto one end and bottle of superglue I did what I had to do to get home and converted the Escort into a Robin Reliant Robin at the side of the road, made it home for tea in spite of a stop at the Post Office on giro day to get the logbook amended.

[HillmanImp]

I got stuck in the desert on my way home from work and turned my motorbike into a 2cv using my testicles as extra wheels.

[Jim Bell]

What was "Broke" about the car that he "fixed" by doing that? 

 

*edit - Hang on, Ive just read the link.

 

Why is there a pic of him wearing womans underpants?

 

And why didnt he just walk 20 miles?

 

Must have expended more energy rebuilding that thing, than he would have just walking on for help.

[KruJoe]

Hold on a minute, it's nearly possible.

 

 

The battery can be seen just behind the fuel tank, the steering would be at least as effective* as those ridiculous trike things, and it looks like the power comes via direct drive onto the back tyre from the stub on the gearbox.

One drawback: four gears backwards, and one forwards, massively geared down.

VERDICT: Quicker to walk, even at full chat.

[KruJoe]

I just found this page:

 

 

Hope you can read a bit of French. More pics and explanations:

http://www.autoviva.com/slideshow.php?element=post&ref_id=3516

[dieselnutjob]

wouldn't it have been easier to remove the broken corner and pile rocks into the opposite corner to get it off the ground?

I guess you would have to lock up the driveshaft some how so that the diff could transfer power to the other side