The new adventures of Brownnova. Ups and downs of multiple 2CV ownership

[Bear]

18 hours ago, brownnova said:

You’re thinking 90s estate/Dustbuster swap deal: round 2.. 🤣🤣🤣

Aftermarket immobiliser… 

Joy. 

Immobiliser shouldn't cause a drain per se, but if there's a backup battery over 8 years old in the module...

Interior light is my bet. Also the door lock modules if they are not fully disengaging, but the interior light is prone to capacitor leakage and PCB damage as a result 😕

[brownnova]

Made some small progression on some 2CV related things this week.

First up was the Yellow one. It hasn’t run properly since it threw its spark plug on the way home from the AS meet at the Truckers rest. Having done helicoil, inserts and failed to get any of them to stay in the engine more than 10 minutes before being unceremoniously ejected. Fast forward to the Volvo MoT where my tester (a very experienced mechanic) suggested that as the head was likely junk anyway putting some heat resistant loctite on the helicoil would be a last resort that might just work. Long story short, it didn’t. The Helicoil came out after about ten minutes running on the drive despite having been rock solid when it went in and having had plenty of time to cure. So with all easy solutions exhausted we’re either looking at a new head on that side or possibly a replacement engine.

Talking of which… 

One of the two projects I picked up almost two years ago (where the fuck has that time gone?!?) has a complete and free turning engine, but so far I’ve failed to get it running. It was last on the road in 2008, and I believe it’s been laid up since then undergoing some welding work until the owner passed away and it just sat.

I’ve changed the leads and plugs and coil to no avail, so today I changed the condenser and points. Fan came off relatively easily, and the change was straightforward. I’ve not actually done the points on a 2CV before as my main one has electronic ignition.

Fuel into the carb and no dice, persistence maybe? And we get a cough and a splutter. Then eventually it runs… well… sort of. Spluttering on one cylinder.

It was at this point I realised I had only put one spark plug in…. Doh!

The next lot of fuel in and we have running! And not only running, but very smooth and nice running! It’s not run in many many years so this was really exciting. It’s had an aftermarket electric fuel pump fitted, so I want to check the lines before putting fuel into the tank.

Started the green one too. It’s not been run for a while, but the children interrupted any attempts to dig into the brake maladies which are preventing it from being on the road. 

Cobwebs galore! 

I’m torn now between taking the Pontiac to the local show in the next town I am booked into or whether to stay home and tinker! 

[brownnova]

On the engine front there is now a decision to take.

a) swap the engine from the white D Reg to the Yellow one as a temporary measure 

or b) as a permanent swap

c) work on getting the D reg white one up and running again… and either source another engine/pay to have the original rebuilt. 
 

I’m supposed to be leading a 2CV run in a few weeks… no pressure.

 

[Sunny Jim]

Some good progress has been made but you've left it rather late in the school holidays to start your homework young man. 

Isn't getting a new head for the yellow one (which is otherwise working?) less work than an engine swap? When you move onto the white one it will at least be able to be moved about under its own power which might be handy during recommissioning. The yellow one is also a known quantity, the white one won't be until you start digging into it.

[Floatylight]

Glad you've made some progress amd hopefully found a bit of mojo.

if its just the head on the yellow one i personally would get that swapped in situ with a replacement, get the brakes on the other one sorted and have a long think about whether to move the two projects on as is, at least one is now running, or make the white one a winter project..

Bon chance!

[brownnova]

1 hour ago, Sunny Jim said:

but you've left it rather late in the school holidays to start your homework young man

Very very true! 
I do this every year, leave it I’m until it’s too late really. One of the reasons I’m on a self imposed project buying ban! 

1 hour ago, Sunny Jim said:

Isn't getting a new head for the yellow one (which is otherwise working?) less work than an engine swap?

With a 2CV engine swap not being over complicated (or so I’m led to believe by 2CV racing friends) I’m not sure it is that much more work. The Yellow one’s engine could do with some other fettling, it leaks oil increasingly and idle can be hit and miss….

I had contemplated swapping a head off the other white one but that engine looks somewhat crustier… 

[brownnova]

1 hour ago, Floatylight said:

hopefully found a bit of mojo.

I hope so too… 

[dollywobbler]

I think a 2CV engine swap is actually easier for the home mechanic than a head swap to be honest. I've never buggered up an engine change but I've definitely made messes when fitting cylinder heads. You can knacker up the oil feed pipes, strip the threads of the oil feed pipes, ruin the pushrod tubes, strip the manifold threads...

By comparison, an engine swap is four bolts, disconnect wiring and cables and off you go. (Don't even have to disconnect many wires if you just put the headlamp bar to one side).

EDIT - I did forget you've still got the exhaust battle with an engine swap. Getting five clamps to line up is always an arse!