Yugoslavian Ami.., continuing on from 'now-autoshites-flimsy-bodied Shitroen'

[Bfg]

Just wanted to share a great resource for all classic Citroen owners.. This website unselfishly shares..

 

Workshop and Parts Book manuals :

http://www.classic-citroen-tech.co.uk/index.htm

 

In appreciation I wrote to the site's compiler & webmaster expressing my thanks :

 

"Gentlemen,  I just wanted to thank you for the time and dedication you've put into scanning and uploading these manuals & parts lists.
 

I've recently bought a 1974 Yugoslavian built Ami-super, and finding information on this model is less than straightforward. Thanks to yourselves I can now look at the Ami-8 parts book (for example) to see how the car was put together - in this instance whether the plastic headlamp adjustment struts were a separate item (they are not),  and again - this model's seating options, as mine have fixed backresst - which I'd like to change to adjustable backrests for the front and folding backrest for the rear. < http://autoshite.com/topic/23665-yugoslavian-ami-continuing-on-from-now-autoshites-flimsy-bodied-shitroen/ >
 

Exploded diagrams are fantastic resource.  Your mission statement "Our purpose here is to help you enjoy your classic Citroën to the full."  is indeed being fulfilled - And I for one extend a Big Thank You..

 

Peter - Suffolk "

[CaMIRO]

He writes  " Jugoslavija was not in Soviet block,  as well as it was not in Western block.  It was open to both sides . In that time we didn't see us as Soviet or Western ... We were just Yugoslavs from Yugoslavia And we had happy life until nationalism powered by western/east interests exploded in 90`s ...  Anyway... it is an old story that some of us keep remember on sunny days drinking beer and enjoying real Balkan BBQ "

 

 

Yep. That's a pretty good summary.

 

Great CIMOS photos, I hadn't seen those.

http://www.cimos.si/index.php?page=zgodovina&item=87

http://www.nuancierds.fr/DT%20Slovenie.htm

They built the 2CV, Ami, DS, and GS, while IMV/ REVOZ (Renault equivalent in Slovenia) did the R4, R16, R12, R18, R5. REVOZ these days is a subsidiary of Renault and builds the Twingo.

http://www.revoz.si/en/index.cp2

http://www.revoz.si/en/inside.cp2?cid=50A1DC36-A564-8F6D-AAEF-BB43A84AB644&linkid=inside

 

IMV also built Austins.

http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/bmc-cars/11001300/11001300-international-variations/around-the-world-yugoslavia/

 

TAS in Bosnia built the VW Beetle and Golfs I and II. There was a more recent attempt to restart assembly with Skoda Octavias, but as far as I know it is no longer in operation.

 

Then, of course, Kragujevac in Serbia built Zastava/ Yugo cars from parts sourced across Yugoslavia.

[Bfg]

If I understand this correctly.., the Citroen garage Neruda-Servis Shop  in CZ recently entered an Ami Super in this year's / the sixth  Rallye Prague Revival . That would have been fun !

 

Start was on Friday, April 8th  "160 crews will start Rally Revival Prague. At the start will be truly world motorsport legends from both the Czech Republic and abroad. The ceremonial start is on Wenceslas Square."  ..here are a couple of snapshots of the car ..

 

 

 

Again 'if'  I'm correct the results  suggest that car number 123 (above) came 3rd in Class 1 of the event.

[Bfg]

More bureaucratic arsing around.. 

 

My passport is due to run out in mid June,  so I need to get another now  as it takes 3 weeks.., and I can't book travel until I know that I have a passport in me hand.  OK so, I'll download the application form off the .gov website ? .. NO !

 

I can apply on line,  fill in the form and pay for it,  then print it off..  attach old passport & two new photos,  and then send it off.  But if I want to use the 'recommended' Post Office 'Check & Send service'  which they say is a little quicker, then I'm not to pay on-line.  I'll need to pay for that at the Post Office. 

 

Problem is that I can't download the form without first paying for the application. !  I called the passport office (which they charge for) and listened... press 1, press 2 , press 1, press 1 ..and I'm told NO.., they'll have to send me the form.   So much for being firkin' quicker. 

 

I think the illegal immigrants have won - The country is so fck'n scared that someone might break in and earn a living, and God forbid ..possibly even do something efficiently - which would just show the bogging pre-Victorian bureaucrats up for being the damb arsed twits that they really are ! 

 

Now where do I find a post office that hasn't been closed down ?

 

..rant over

[Bfg]

.

Hi Gents,  Thought that its about time I posted an update..  which I'd hoped would have been from Slovenia again... but restorations are a thing unto themselves.. and the 2cv Charleston plus other cars that Janez (2cvKeza) was working on ran over. 

 

Having taken my Ami Super across to him on 24^th March and paid a deposit for work to be done, I'd naturally written to Janez asking for an update.  On the 1^st and then again on the 9^th April he writes ;  "I will start next week".      After several further emails I get the reply back on 29^th April  "After 9^th May I am starting with Ami".

 

Clearly my plans to go to Vienna (to a Paraplegic Association conference) and then go back to Slovenia to get the car ready to drive home were screwed up.   I knew that the car wasn't going to be ready in time.   I cancelled my attendance to that conference as I simply cannot afford to go back & forth every month. 

 

I follow up with another email on the 19^th May and get four pictures showing the car moved into the workshop and the bonnet & front wings off - but no cleaning up or repair work started.  I had re-hung these with only a couple of loose bolts in each panel and no front bumper, wiring, lamps, nor cables - so this  is less than an hour of work !

 

On the 23^rd I get a further series of pictures showing the doors being removed and the body lifted.  Rear wings are still in place despite they also having just a couple of loose screws in them.  2 months after the car was delivered to the workshop no remedial work had yet been started.   He's now saying: "As soon as I dismantled all components of Ami and chassis we have to meet and see about money arrangements. This is now looks much more bad as it was before".

 

I'm sure many of you have felt that disappointment tinged with frustration that nothing can be done about it.   Summer classic car and Citroen club events are well under way and no car.   Later this month my friend Jani has house guests and then in July is away on holiday, so I really don't know when I can now get it done.. 

 

I've asked Jani to drive across (2-1/2 hours either way !) and meet with Janez this coming week to try and resolve whatever the issue is.. 

 

Anyway..,  I attach a sequence of photos he's forwarded me to date,  some of which are rather nice shots..

 

 

 

.. as delivered

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's all Folks !  (..for now) ..beep beep

[RayMK]

Updates are welcome, even if only to vent your frustration.  It must be disappointing to see your contingencies on schedule and budget being eroded.  Supreme patience, resilience and determination will get you there........ eventually.

 

If it is any consolation (probably not), my Peugeot 205 went in to a garage to have its head gasket replaced a month ago.  Since then, similar messages of "we'll start the job tomorrow" have ensued.  It is rumoured that it was up and running again on Friday and may be ready on Tuesday.  

[2CVKeza]

I am sorry to read this ... We are talking here about extremly corroded AMI Super that needs a lot of work and needed a bit of preparation before start.

 

Peter, I will not talk about this here. As it looks like we dont understand each other (yes, my english is bad...) please call Jani to come to visit me so I can explain him in our language about it. And he can than explain to you.

 

lp Janez

[Bfg]

Thank you, yes it's frustrating,  but to rub salt in the wound it's a little more galling still when my friends bust their balls in helping me scrape and clean, to strip the car out and cut out the shitey patches, grp and underseal..,  and then the pictures are on < Facebook >  as if 2cvKeza had done all that preparatory work and everything was going swimmingly ...without our summer plans having been fok'd up. !

 

In fact this evening I see that the Facebook followers are kept better informed than myself (...the paying customer) as it now shows photos of the motor having been lifted out.   

 

Must admit that when I was restoring the post-war Sunbeam motorcycles - my customers were always the first to be kept informed of what was happening and any delays or issues.   And only after their bike was done, delivered, and the customer was happy would I post a photo or two of that bike or it's repair on my own website..  And even then - never on a social media website.

 

Having been in the trade myself - I understand many of the delays in restoration work and those caused by suppliers ...and how one customer's vehicle can over-run its schedule - and how that in turn pushes everyone else back down the line..  but I do feel there's a bit of misrepresentation going on here.. showing photos on Facebook under the company banner, and then to write to the customer to say we need to discuss money..   or is it just me being an ass ?

 

RayMK .., sorry to hear about your 205 being delayed in the shop. I've got a lot of respect for those little cars.  Great fun,  good lookin'  and surprising comfortable for a lightweight.  Hope for your sake that 'Tuesday' means this coming week !

[forddeliveryboy]

I've a customer who sells bike parts all over the world, on the back of being a British-based company (and honouring his word). He's not the cheapest, but people trust him.

 

I don't think Janez is behaving disgracefully, just getting on with life as he does. What matters most is that he does a good job, when he eventually finds the right time and space to tackle your car. Perhaps if you feel you're being led along, buy a cheap flight and go and see what the problem is.

 

Surprise him, help him want to see your car finished and away. I doubt he's short of cash, so see what's not motivating him to do your car. Perhaps he's got regular customers who need his attention for their everyday cars, someone in the UK with a big project isn't no1 priority in his eyes?

[Bfg]

Think you're probably right,  but as it is as soon as the car's done - it's for sale as I can't afford it..   Unless someone want to buy me out * right now ?   Perhaps that's something Janez doesn't understand. 

 

* if serious ..send me a PM

[Bfg]

.

Further to my frustation and concerns vented the end of last month  (re. photos of my car on Facebook, and my plans for this summer having been well & truly scuppered),  the intent was for my dear friend Jani to personally visit Janez  to identify & resolve whatever were our differences. 

 

Unfortunately that couldn't happen as planned,  due to his (Jani) stopping breathing in the middle of the night and being rushed into hospital.   Having suffered an anabolism in his lungs (possibly a long term side effect of the car crash in which he broke his spine some 30 years ago)  he was in intensive care for a week.  But.., Thank the Lord - Jani is now at home and doing well.  He now has just 6 more lives to go - meow ! 

 

In the circumstance, Janez kindly took the time to write a very long letter of explanation and clarification to me.    He apologised for the misunderstanding and removed the photos of the work on my car from Facebook.  No under-handed commercial advantage had been intended. I replied with an equally long letter thanking him and clarifying my position.  The crux of the various matters  seemed to have been : 

           He is doing my car (a Slovene built Ami super) at a concessionary price and therefore that work is fitted in between other jobs  (..which I did not realise nor was something I had agreed to).  He emphasises that no completion date was given.  Of course a months work which you're told will start around about 7th April does sort of imply !

 

           He mistakenly assumed that while I had experience of other classic cars - I knew nothing about A-series Citroens  ..and so he could not explain what needed to be done.  In fact I'd completely stripped,  recommissioned,  and built several kit-cars on both the twin and four cylinder chassis,  albeit many years ago.

 

           2cvKeza corporate objective is to do an exceptional job in A-series restoration.  He is working hard and thoughtfully to build a great reputation.  And while that is admirable to us all - I had asked for an excellent job in structural repair & mechanical recommissioning, but from the outset emphasised that I couldn't afford anything like a full restoration, nor do I even want a concourse car. 

           Naturally Janez is concerned that repaired structural panels will not be as good as replacing with new  ..in particular the pressed front door-hinge panel.   And that when finished ; people will look at my car and think " 2cvKeza did a poor job on that one !"  …without those critics realising the 4000+ euro budget he is working to, or my brief to rebuild the car as a safe,  reliable  and durable 'driver'  ...and that I'll have to do any work on the exterior panels and interior trim myself. 

 

I'm glad those points have now been clarified and are understood on both sides.  In my reports (here & through the 2cvGB club) I will further emphasis the limited extent of what I asked 2cvKeza to do.

 

On the 1^st June,  Janez sent me a link to a Dropbox file which shows the rolling chassis, the engine being lifted off and details of the A-series chassis / suspension mechanicals.  Here are few of those...

 

 

As cleaned of crud with the jet wash : showing common-place gorilla-mechanic damage to the hub (having been peened with a centre punch to take up vertical free-play of the steering trunnion).  Janez tells me that both this upright and the steering rack are fck'd.., but that as they are different to all other models they are also not available to replace (very rarely available even in used condition).  These he says may prevent the car from being roadworthy any time soon. 

 

I'd wiped this corner of the chassis when I inspected to buy the car - to check the VIN # stamped into its top face - just under/behind where the drive-shaft normally sits (just forward of its gaiter in this photo) .  Subsequently I jet-washed it as best I could around the flat-four cylinder engine and gearbox with inboard disc brakes.   

 

Rear axle with anti-roll bar (top right corner) and suspension components, together with the rear brake's compensator valve. 

 

Thankfully no further surprises here. 

 

 

 

Latest : on the 8th June Janez sent an email note :

 

Hi,  Some new photos in album on dropbox... Chassis is cleaned of all rust, grease and oil, welded and ready for first coat of paint. ."

 

..unfortunately the link he sent showed only the same photos as above.  I look forward to seeing the chassis painted and back to be a recomissioned rolling chassis

    

[RayMK]

Glad to hear that your differences were resolved and explained in a gentlemanly way.  Are there any viable machining routes to rectifying the steering swivel problem e.g. modifying a more readily available 2cv component?  I have no idea whether the geometry of the 2cv suspension arm is the same as an Ami's but it would have made sense for the basic form to be the same.  Sorry, I momentarily overlooked 'Citroen.'

[forddeliveryboy]

What's wrong with the steering rack? Usually it's just the hardened steel bush ring which guides the rack inside the rack tube, a bit of a dismantling job to replace, but not exactly major work if the axle's already out.

 

I don't know if the dimensions are different for the Super, but if a google search doesn't turn up the answer, it's only likely to be an email away. Pleased that things are good with the workshop.

[Bfg]

Glad to hear that your differences were resolved and explained in a gentlemanly way.  Are there any viable machining routes to rectifying the steering swivel problem e.g. modifying a more readily available 2cv component?  I have no idea whether the geometry of the 2cv suspension arm is the same as an Ami's but it would have made sense for the basic form to be the same.  Sorry, I momentarily overlooked 'Citroen.'

 

Honestly don't know without doing the job myself.   Janez says he will look into it.  As an engineer I look at things rather simplistically as lumps of metal that can be re-sleeved and shimmed, but I'm not on the spot to do so.  There's also a matter of anything being possible if your pockets are deep enough.  ..whereas mine feature ventilation holes !

 

I'm assured the Ami twin arms are different to those of the super ...as indeed I would expect them to be in-so-far as needing additional strength / load bearing for the heavier four cylinder motor and drive train,  more powerful braking forces,  and the cornering / suspension forces at higher speeds.  Citroens are generally well engineered to do the job being asked of them within lightweight constraints.  I'd be surprised if even the vans would have been built as strongly.

 

What's wrong with the steering rack? Usually it's just the hardened steel bush ring which guides the rack inside the rack tube, a bit of a dismantling job to replace, but not exactly major work if the axle's already out.

 

I don't know if the dimensions are different for the Super, but if a google search doesn't turn up the answer, it's only likely to be an email away. Pleased that things are good with the workshop.

 

Don't know..  Again Janez will have a look but he's more than hesitant to touch steering components. 

[Bfg]

Time for a quick update ..as I'm glad to free-trade with restoration and parts supply businesses in the EU !  

 

       ...here are some nice photos showing Janez's excellent work on my chassis.  The quality of 2cvKeza's work speaks well for itself, but if you should have any questions regarding Citroen chassis' design ..feel free to ask.  

 

 

Not at all bad condition for what is now a 42 year old chassis ..previously unrestored ..in original paint  ...of a lightweight & economy car ...from a coastal region and otherwise adorned with numerous ski resort stickers ! 

 

 

Citroen's A-series chassis design really only becomes clear when the top or bottom skin is opened up. You can see that it's a 5" deep box with vertical sides & also x2 vertical inner longitudinal webs, plus its transverse cross beams. You can visualise the load paths..  It's equally clear that the top and bottom skins are structural component of the box.  Surely any replacement chassis without these firmly attached is missing out !? 

 

At at time when most other manufacturers used 1/8" (3mm) or thicker chassis steel made up of numerous component parts - the A-series chassis used less the number of pressings ...and these were made in steel of less than half the thickness (weight and cost).  It was brilliantly done - like a bridge's span, design fabricated to resist twisting or buckling.  

 

 

 

Janez writes :

            " Chassis was opened, cleaned inside and treated with antirust (..don't know English word).  No need of welding inside on cross members. Closed back on top with minor repairs done on sides & around. I decided not to paint on outside right now and will work on body first. Body is now bolted on chassis. You noticed before that I didn't take off rear wings.. They are still on, as now I have to assembly car on chassis first to see about body lines and gaps between doors, wings, etc...

 

 

^ ....pictures of left A-post... "On right A-post we had noticed that it was welded & in wrong position, so door hit roof. But also this A-post - a new one had been fitted. The floors and pedal panel were also repaired - changed in same time. All these were welded at that time with gas/oxygen - brazing. And it was not nice or good job done back then.  A-post on right side is also in bad condition, smashed on bottom and misplaced...

 

So, now first I have to get A posts back to original positions, cut out pedal panel, floors and side sills. Then I will take off body from chassis and continuing with all other repairs on body. I will have to dismantle dashboard and electric wiring to make access to panels on top ...

 

About steering ... I will dismantle steering pinion to see if I can do anything without another spare parts from AMI Super (I cannot find any old spare parts for it). And I will take out kingpins to see damage and to find solution for that.

 

A few days ago I received a big order for replacement panels I make... so I'll have to jump from one job to another... "

 

...excellent work Janez - 2cvKeza. I'm delighted to see it 

 

 

That's all Folks !  (..for now) ..beep beep

[RayMK]

Nice work.  Unfortunately for the funding authority, quiet a lot of it!  It will be worth it (chant this 20 times before bed - it may help).

[Bfg]

I'm chanting !

[Bfg]

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progress report  : 29th June

 

/\   Note the bottom of the bulkhead

 

/\   The  lower section of the bulkhead (which is structural cross beam) went in first because it was needed to support the body tub at the A-posts - at the right height before the floors and sill were fitted..    \/

 

/\   Note the Ami / Ami-super floors have a canister shaped bulge in them, to clear the larger diameter springs mounted in-line along the chassis sides. 

 

 

/\   LHS sill and floor replaced with new panels - Nice job Janez.

 

And then again..  on the 2nd July

 

/\   The LHS A-post hinge panel had been replaced previously using brazing and rivets. To regain structural integrity and to ensure correct alignment ..that corner had to be rebuilt.

 

/\   The top outside corner of the bulkhead on both sides had a rust hole adjacent to where the inner wing bolts to it. Here Janez has cut that rust out and plated over the hole.  The outer bottom corners of the bulkhead had also perforated which likewise had to be cut out and new metal fitted (seen clearly in the first & second pictures above).

[Asimo]

Blimey what an epic job! Just goes to show that you don't know what you have got until you take it to bits.

 

Thanks for sharing, stories like this stop me jumping into projects I can't cope with.

[Bfg]

Yes, it is interesting to compare the sunny photos near the top of this page with these 

 

Fortunately as myself and helpers jet-washed,  stripped,  and scraped the car until we could see what was hidden..,  no surprises have subsequently come to light..   But, as you correctly say.. by that time you've paid your money and you've taken it to bits... oh fok !

 

I think the lesson for me to learn is to never again buy a car that has been black under-sealed, as both the dull black and its thickness hides more than I could possibly have imagined (..admittedly though - I am an optimist).     

 

p.s. I'm still chanting !

 

.

[forddeliveryboy]

Not at all bad condition for what is now a 42 year old chassis ..previously unrestored ..in original paint  ...of a lightweight & economy car ...from a coastal region and otherwise adorned with numerous ski resort stickers ! 

 

Citroen's A-series chassis design really only becomes clear when the top or bottom skin is opened up. You can see that it's a deep box with 5" deep vertical sides & also x2 vertical inner longitudinal webs, plus its transverse cross beams. You can visualise the load paths..  It's equally clear that the top and bottom skins are structural component of the box.  Surely any replacement chassis without these firmly attached is missing out !? 

 

 

 

There are so many subtleties to the chassis design it makes the aftermarket ladder-frame ones look cruder than a nun's bad habit. They only developed problems in the mid-late 80s when the quality of steel went through the floor - rather than rechassis those cars (which had bodies, axles, bearings, engines and gearboxes made from the cheapest material possible) they should have been disposed of. 

 

Those semi-circular bits were designed to feed stresses from the axles into the chassis as evenly as possible, it's almost engineering art - Cray supercomputers have been unable to come up with a design as strong for the same weight, let alone the subtleties of managing stress flow or the progressive twisting movements under increasing twisting loads - aftermarket ones are all over the place, in this respect - the sweetness of the handling of an original car is always lost when that shiny new galv chassis replaces an original.

 

Many are so horrid they can only sell on price - beware, anyone who buys a 'restored' little Cit. Often the only restoration worthy of the word is an MoT certificate.

 

It's telling this one has lasted the best part of half a century, whereas late-80s 2cvs were having theirs replaced for the first MoT. And even better that the car is being rebuilt by someone who appears to know their stuff backwards, unlike so many. Double check it's the steering pinion/bearing which is fubar - usually it's the rack bush which is worn, they're only a few quid.

[dollywobbler]

To be fair, my 1980s 2CV managed a full 16 years on its original chassis. It was only the really late ones that failed their first MOT on chassis rot. Turns out they were storing the chassis outside before fitting them to the cars. It even rains in Portugal...

 

Can't deny that Janez is doing a good job though. He definitely knows his way around them!

[Bfg]

Thank guy's..  I thought for a moment there that only two other persons were reading these posts !?

 

How's yours coming along Dollywobbler ?

 

..photo from 4th July showing : the body tub sitting on it's chassis (athough that is resting on a cradle) with the LHS panels & doors temporarily refitted to check their alignment...

 

 

5,434 views

[Bfg]

.

Update : 7^th July

 

Good work and progress (with photos) from Janez (2cvKeza) this morning.   Despite having received further big orders for replacement A-series panels from Germany and Holland - he seems to be getting on well with our old Ami-Super. 

 

I am sure that much of this is a little frustrating, when he has to dismantle and correct someone else's inaccurate or otherwise poor work.  I certainly felt this when I was restoring the post-war Sunbeam motorcycles professionally,  and likewise often as I now restore my old boat - but of course that's just part & parcel of restoring anything that been used and kept working for years.  

 

In this case ; Janez had to drill out, so as to reposition the RHS door hinge pressing. Apparently the whole panel, when previously replaced, had been positioned 15mm too high - which of course left the driver's door too sitting high.

 

 

\/  Trial fit of the body panels with doors of the RHS  ..looking good

 

 

Nice job Janez

 

 

..more piccies of his having replaced the RHS sill and floor ..coming later.

 

5,500 views

[Bfg]

.

as promised, following on ..Update : 7^th July :  I didn't have the time on Friday to upload these, but thought you'd like to see the following photos showing Janez's (2cvKeza) replacement of the RHS sill and floor... 

 

 

 

 

 

/\    Don't know why the floors at their rear end don't reach back to the step - but there was a join here beforehand.  I don't know if this is the same as its original / Citreon's construction, but that gap seems to be filled by an extension of the underside skin of the transverse rear cross-box beam - see below.   It would of course be easier to make the floor joint here rather than at the cross beam.  Note also below, the previous brazed joining of these panels - suggesting they'd already been replaced once before..

 

 

 

 

That's all Folks !  (..for now) ..beep beep ..

.

5,591 views

[Bfg]

Aug 18th : received a few more photos from Janez (2cv Keza) who has otherwise been busy fulfilling orders for replacement A-series panels to suppliers in the (UK, Holland, Germany, ?)..  Below : show the RHS bulkhead perforations & repairs.

 

the rhs horizontal rail is where the battery sits. It's a folded sheet panel and the upright was perforated. The upstanding studs are where the inner wheel-arch bolts on.  NB the body number stamped into the bulkhead (LHS of photo).

 

panel cut out (showing the new grey coloured ribbed floor through the hole)

 

new metal fitted

 

and the battery carrier replaced (why just the rear half ?)

 

a clearer photo of the battery carrier

 

Cheers Janez

 

 

That's All Folks ! (..for now..) beep beep

..

[Bfg]

Aug 29th :  And today Janez sent me more progress photos..

 

This is as far as my dear friends Barbara, Matej, Jani & I cleaned the arches up before giving the car over to Janez.  Previously, (as bought) it had under-seal (inside and out) hiding fibreglassed over riveted on patches - cunningly 'discreet', watertight but without bump stops..

 

And with the offending cut out..

NB the box-section cross beam supporting under the boot floor is an older 'restoration' replacement.  Janez will replace this with the correctly top-hat sectioned cross beam.

 

 

The floor being rebuilt first..

 

and then the inner wheelarch..

 

before being welded up and a bump stop bracket added..

 

Very Nice job Janez

6,344 views

[Bfg]

01st September - Latest from Janez (2cvKeza)..

 

LHS rear wheel inner arch - seemingly not nearly as bad as the RHS was..

 

 

chassis now in primer..

 

..body rolled to clean up, inspect and weld from the underside.  The previous (home made) boot floor transverse cross bar has now been removed ready for its new replacement.   Janez adds that a few more taps with the hammer have revealed other places that require his attention.  I see in the first photo where he's ringed such an area near the bottom rear of the car.  But of course that was anticipated on such car of as this.  I'm sure we've all had to deal with worse..  I certainly know that Dollywobbler has with < his 2cv > !

 

Thankfully, the 2cv / Dyane / Ami / Ami-super bodies all lift off the chassis for restoration access very easily.  And then of course compared to other marques, with double or triple skinned unitary construction with suspension mounts, and their crows-feet to front and rear valances ..especially those cars that have lived in our climate when the winter roads were salted so heavily - the Citroen A-series is pretty straight forward to rebuild. 

 

I'm sure you'll all agree that it's really good to see things moving towards structural completion.. 

 

Keep up the good work Janez  

6,490 views

[somewhatfoolish]

I had mistakenly assumed from the fears of my friend - Jani's Christian family, regarding the country's former communism and of neighbours reporting to authorities any dissension - that Yugoslavia had been part of the Communist Walsall Pact (cold war counterbalance to NATO).

 

 

Hehe The cold war would have been much less fraught if the red team had been run from the Black Country. great thread!

 

The wear at the trunnion; is it the hub that is worn or the suspension arm? Given the trunnion is a press fit in the arm I would think that it could be sleeved somehow, the same should apply to the hub although neither would be easy to set up for machining given their awkward shape.

[dollywobbler]

Bit confused by trunnion talk, as 2CVs don't have them, but kingpins instead. The pins themselves wear, especially newer ones it seems, but the arm holes can wear too. They can sometimes be tightened up by applying a crafty weld in the right place, and I think oversized kingpins are now available too.

 

Good to see more progress. Getting a car restored is ALWAYS a frustrating business. It will ALWAYS take far longer than expected. My own 2CV project has been held up because we've changed the scope of the project along the way - ie I had more funds available, so could consider getting other panels repaired and painted as well as the basic shell. I've also been a bit difficult about paint, so that has delayed things too.

 

The biggest issue is always that a good specialist is always going to have more work than they can really cope with. They need several projects on the go at once, so that if one hits the buffers (waiting for parts or even just for paint to dry) there's something else to get getting on with. The work done on my 2CV has held up the restoration of a friend's 2CV van, because it's never easy balancing several projects. He was ahead of me in the queue though, and his van is now coming on a treat.