racing duck 2CV racing with car #48: round the clock again...

[chaseracer]

Back in early 1992, I needed a headlamp for the Dyane, and bought one from a local mechanic with a sideline in A-series Citroens who shared garage space with the chap who in time became 'Tame Mechanic'.

We hit it off, conversation flowed, and I discovered that Laurence was about to start building a car to enter the 2CV 24-hour race to be held that summer at the Mondello Park circuit not far from Dublin.  Despite advanced levels of mechanical incompetence, I was soon helping* him by stripping down a 1975 Dyane to use its strengthened PO chassis for the racer.

With other members of the team, we built up the car in our spare time over a period of approximately two months.  In those early days, competition 2CVs were not the track-focused machines the frontrunners have become; our bright yellow racing duck was taxed and MOT'd, bearing the registration of the scrapped beige 1981 Club that had happened to donate its bodyshell.  Shakedown for the 24-hour involved a test day at Mallory Park, a sprint race at Lydden Hill and Laurence's daily commute across Cannock Chase.

Come June, come the 24-hour.  WRE938X was driven to Ireland in convoy with its tender, an ex-Citroen UK press fleet BX that had been used at the model's introduction nine years and 150000 miles earlier.  Mondello was then little more than a strip of tarmac winding around a couple of fields in County Kildare.  The 'pits' were constructed from scaffolding and tarps the day after we arrived, in a lay-by off the main straight.

The car ran well - up to third place for several hours.  We lost our main race engine in the closing stages, replacing it in less than twenty minutes.  There's a photo in an article on the race in the September '92 edition of Cars & Car Conversions of a carburettor igniting spectacularly: that was us...

We finished just outside the top ten, but we were pleased at that for a first outing in the 24-hour.

[chaseracer]

We rebuilt the car for '93, with Laurence doing almost the full season, sprint races as well as the 24-hour.  He was T-boned at Mallory Park, necessitating major repairs to the shell which we have recently rediscovered and cringed at.

 

[strangeangel]

But... but... where are the pictures??

 

[brownnova]

Oooh... *watches with interest. 

 

I drove a 2CV racecar (pictured below) a few weeks ago, it was ace!

There’s talk of my friend who owns it running it next race season and maybe at the 24 hour.. 

[centre patrimoine le auto]

Are there any forbidden mods ? Tampering with the suspension and ride height on a 2cv always seemed odd to me- they are what they are and a big part of their character and indeed raison d’etre (pardon the french)

[brownnova]

My friend was telling me that they check if your alternator is connected to stop you from getting an extra sneaky 1 bhp or something... 

[chaseracer]

2 hours ago, strangeangel said:

But... but... where are the pictures??

 

SOZ M8, bin in Brum collecting Musical Offspring!

Anyhoo, because he was a pretty useful wheelman, Laurence started driving other people's cars so XDH149S (as it had become - don't ask...) was tucked away in a lockup and rather forgotten.  

This sounds familiar, doesn't it?

At one point, the garage was broken into; as well as a lot of racing gear being stolen, the car was badly vandalised, rolled down a hill and left in a drainage channel.  We had fun* getting that back.

Eventually, circumstances were such that Laurence could consider rebuilding the car to go racing again, this time with his two sons and his son-in-law.  Here's what came blinking into the daylight...

[chaseracer]

Work started in earnest in mid-September, with the body separated from the chassis.  It wasn't pretty.

That's going to need a lot of new metal.

More tomorrow...

[Skizzer]

It’s already tomorrow! 

Looking forward to this

[dollywobbler]

7 hours ago, HMC said:

Are there any forbidden mods ? Tampering with the suspension and ride height on a 2cv always seemed odd to me- they are what they are and a big part of their character and indeed raison d’etre (pardon the french)

This is my main objection. If you stop a 2CV rolling like a ship in a storm, you remove some of the key hilarity. I don't think suspension is optional now - I think you have to use the race-spec springs, which are bloody stiff. 

[chaseracer]

In another place...

50 minutes ago, shedenvy said:

Personally can't wait for @chaseracer new content on his racer resurrection, nudge nudge.... ?

I've been a bit slack reporting on this lately, but much has been achieved.

The chassis was repaired where necessary; it was pretty sound but the n/s front corner was a bit grim, necessitating some nifty metalwork, and there was some straightening to be done to where Laurence landed it on its nose at Mallory.

We were careful to replace steel in the correct form and in the right gauge, retaining the internal shapes and strength which Citroen went to such lengths to develop.  To achieve this, we used a folder, a joddler, a recently-acquired spot-welder and a good deal of Binky-style CAD!  

Once the chassis was repaired and painted, it could become a jig for the build-up of the floorpan, using all-new panels from ECAS.

With the floorpan completed and primed, Simon took some time out to construct a second workbench, seen here mid-build.  This now supports a vice and my pillar drill, and will have wheels so it can accompany us to races.

 

 

[chaseracer]

And so to the shell.  It's not pretty, but it looks worse than it actually is.  A lot of metal - mainly various oxides of iron - will have to be cut out, but what we have is made up of at least two bodies already so...

The screen surround/bonnet hinge area is a notorious grot spot on 2CVs and this was no exception.  An excellent full replacement panel is available, so off it came.  The shell was then braced using timber and brackets before the boot floor, main floor panels and lower bulkhead were all removed - with varying degrees of persuasion - by judicious use of cutting disc and human foot.  It didn't take long.  For extra temporary support, the old seat pan was left in place.

With a large hole where the floor used to be, we removed the roll cage and placed it on the new floorpan/chassis.  This is the original cage from the 1992 build and will be re-used in a modified form, positioned slightly further back in the car, for reasons of extra strength and safety and to allow better harness location.

More soon!

 

 

 

[richardmorris]

On 10/6/2019 at 12:05 AM, brownnova said:

My friend was telling me that they check if your alternator is connected to stop you from getting an extra sneaky 1 bhp or something... 

It makes a big difference. Many, many years ago i was driving back down the m40 from my parents with the speedo being held up by the stop near the R in jaeger. Then I had to put the wipers on and they were ever so slow.

[richardmorris]

I’m liking like mad. But would you let me put all this in the ccc mag?

[chaseracer]

I'll check with Laurence, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind!

[richardmorris]

Entirely up to you - I won’t pinch anything from here, but it would be a good article.

[chaseracer]

Take what you need, Rich!  I'll try to keep it updated a bit more regularly.

[richardmorris]

Mucho grazziaas.

[chaseracer]

Shiters: follow the build on the Book of Farce, if you indulge in such things - https://www.facebook.com/SL-Racing-120789385980967/?epa=SEARCH_BOX

[richardmorris]

Liked and following,  now pm me your surname for attribution as I’m having a senior moment/ brain fart and can’t be bothered to search though old citroenians,

[chaseracer]

Can we please have a copy, or do I need to rejoin CCC...? ??

[richardmorris]

4 minutes ago, chaseracer said:

Can we please have a copy, or do I need to rejoin CCC...? ??

I shall ask Anna for a pdf of the column, otherwise I shall scan it in myself. Rest assured, no contributor goes home unhappy.

[chaseracer]

This weekend, we're planning to get the roll cage modified and fitted to the floorpan.

Hope it stops raining...

[richardmorris]

Holy thread resurrection Batman! I'm about to write this month's CCC column. With nothing else sent in, I'll put together some of your words and pics.

 

Richard

[doug]

Aye , dated 22 nov 2019 "hope it stops raining" !!!!!!! Not stopped yet.

Sent from my SM-J330FN using Tapatalk

[richardmorris]

Bright and sunny here for a few days. I’ve just written all dave’s posts and pics up for my ccc column. It looks great so far, so looking forward to the rest.

[chaseracer]

I have been a bit slack...  I'll write some more, Rich, then you can do a 'part deux' next month!

[Faker]

Watching with interest 

[richardmorris]

9 hours ago, chaseracer said:

I have been a bit slack...  I'll write some more, Rich, then you can do a 'part deux' next month!

Thanks, I did label it part one - 16 photos, so hope there's room for them all.

[chaseracer]

OK... while I hone some more words on the build, let's take a closer look at the cage.

As noted, it's the original 1992 cage - made by veteran 2CV racer Royce Grey - of welded construction and bolted to the floor at six points.  Current regs sensibly allow - indeed, encourage - extra lateral steel members between the foot plates to form a stronger survival space.  We also decided to reposition the cage slightly backward and to the right, for better access at driver change.

There will be another short bar between the diagonal and the straight tube rear-right, for securing the belts at the correct angle.

As we're moving from yellow for the first time in nearly 30 years and the new colour for the car is a Jaguar blue, we decided to match the cage; this isn't the final paint - that will be done professionally when the shell is complete.  Looks good, though!