Is this the Dyane for me?

[Fabergé Greggs]

I really really want a ULEZ exempt Dyane or Ami and there's a special place in the project queue for the right one. This one has come up for £1500 or offers delivery would probably be £200 or so. Should I make an offer? Do you reckon it's all patchable rust or is it body-off new chassis time? How hard can that actually be for a noob welder? It starts and runs I'm told and the last MOT (in 2016) was thus... 

Tagging all the citroenheads I can think of right now: @chaseracer @Stinkwheel @dollywobbler @barrett

Pretty ain't it. 

[Mally]

I've had a few bodies off.

It doesn't look bad bodily but from the amount of rust mentioned, to do it right it needs a new chassis,

Might be weldable, but without seeing it..?

[Fabergé Greggs]

2 minutes ago, Mally said:

I've had a few bodies off.

It doesn't look bad bodily but from the amount of rust mentioned, to do it right it needs a new chassis,

Might be weldable, but without seeing it..?

Thanks I'll add you to my mental map of Citroen botherers. There seems to be a few types of chassis available... Is there wisdom as to which type? 

[RayMK]

Mine was nowhere near as bad as that but I did not have the skill to fix it (can't weld), so I reluctantly drove it to a local scrappy. Someone rescued it and I used to see it near work for another 5 years.  Back then in the early 1990s they were not worth much.  Now, looking back on the cars that I've owned, it is near the top of the favourites list above my 2cv6 but not quite displacing a Skoda Estelle 105 which sits at No.1.  If you have the time, patience and budget, try to knock the price down a bit then buy it.

[Mally]

Delete me from the botherers list, was a long time ago.

Got a photo in a Three wheeler book by Chris Rees though.

[Surface Rust]

Reading that failure list I'm not convinced the chassis is the rotten bit, it looks like most of the rust is in the body, which is arguably tougher to sort out. For a novice welder the bodies on these are quite challenging to weld due to the wafer thin steel* used so approach with caution. 

You will also find a lot more rust than you expect as the seam sealer used tends to trap moisture between it and the metal as it ages and cracks. I am currently engaged in a battle of wits with my Acadiane whereby a 50p sized hole in the floor has mushroomed into both front floors, toeboards and part of an inner wing. 

Most panels are available though, and they are a tonne of fun on the road.

[BorniteIdentity]

I can offer no insight as to whether or not it's viable or worthwhile - but this one made me smile

It doesn't need one - so has he failed it because the arm is there but there's no mirror on the end of it?!! "Already failed it ten times over but I'll stick it down anyway".  

Thorough.

You should definitely get a Dyane because they're a million times more attractive than a 2CV yet seem to be a bit rarer and more special.  I love them.

[Mally]

Thinking about it,  if it did need a chassis, it's almost 2k for new chassis, 2k for the scrap Dyane by the time you fix the MOT jobs.

Pile of work swapping all the bits over. You can buy one for around 5k maybe?

I  prefer 2 CV's for the looks.  I used to buy Dyanes for the chassis. Because no one wanted them, they were cheaper.

[barrett]

I can't say which of the various chassis options is 'best', but I'm sure new chassis are available for about £700-800, probably cheaper if you shop around. The fact that this Dyane still has floors suggests it's not a total rotter, and I wonder how much rot those MoT failures relate to - could it be the hole in the boot floor, the two in the vertical panel and one in each inner wing, each getting its own mention? If so, that doesn't seem like a terrible amount of grot, and they can all be MoT-able with plates welded in if you're not fussed about how it looks. I've never seen an Ami that didn't have plates on the inner wings.

As above though, what is your budget, and could it stretch to something less rusty? If you want to DIY it all then it doesn't look unrealistic as a project, but I reckon getting £5k together and buying a nicer one is a better option. Just finding one is the trouble, I suppose. This one sold recently for £2500 and looks ostensibly fine: https://www.easyliveauction.com/catalogue/lot/354439042443ec7771d2a425186b6878/0af8d24542e81eb9357e7ef448a6646f/collective-sale-of-antique-and-other-furniture-and-coll-lot-1/

[dollywobbler]

I know prices are on the rise, but that still looks like £800's worth of Dyane to me, not £1500. Inner rear wings look good, as that's a key rot spot, but it could be a right ballache chasing rot out of the floors, sills and lower bulkhead. 

Right-hand drive Dyanes used a stronger chassis, so they can actually last better than equivalent 2CVs of the era, but it's still plenty old. Caution advised.

If you want to go ahead, there's no better chassis than an SLC Chassis. Not the cheapest, but cheap chassis will destroy the driving experience.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Where's @brownnova?

[brownnova]

28 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Where's @brownnova?

Here... 👋👋

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Just now, brownnova said:

Here... 👋👋

Just the fella this thread needs....

[brownnova]

My Citroen bothering reputation obvious not quite where I thought it was 😆😆

I was just reading this thinking, none of those fails seem chassis related so the chassis may be ok. That’s the major expense I’d say, and it might be worth getting the seller to send you some pics of that if possible. If the chassis is solid I would say the rest is doable. Not that I could do it mind, I can’t do welding yet!

Sills are the biggest bit on that I think, but as DW says if you’re patching it’s the cutting back to good metal which will take the time replacement may be better. My green 2CV has similar rot at the back on the boot floor, replacement boot floor panels (as well as other replacement panels) are easily available from ECAS for the 2CV, I think they are for the Dyane too.

For me, one concerning bit is the bonnet hinge, as I believe they are notoriously difficult to repair.

Money wise, Dyanes have shot up recently, (I’ve been casually looking) £1500 is a bit strong, but possibly not as strong as it was even 6 months ago. I can’t believe some of the absolute basket case 2CVs advertised for four figures! This doesn’t look like a basket case at all, and looks doable for someone with the time, skills and money to do it. 

[richardmorris]

Doesn’t look bad, but needs to be less than £1000.

mot tester could be on a mission, as @BorniteIdentitysays, it doesn’t need a nearside mirror and shouldn’t even have one at that age. Bonnet hinge could be £1500 or so as the dyanes do have a rust trap worse than 2cvs there.

 

[2flags]

Simple questions, can you weld? Do you love welding old French cars that have steel thinner than bakebean tins? Have you got the skills, tools, facilities and time to be able to repair this or are you going to have to pay someone? If the former, then if it's cheap enough and you really want to, then go for it. If not, save your money and get a good one.