Mystery car collection thread..... It’s a 2CV!!

[gadgetgricey]

On 11/15/2022 at 11:43 PM, Lankytim said:

I've got a V62 all filled out and ready to but I'm expecting it to take a while to hear anything back. As far as I'm aware there's still huge backlogs at the DVLA and they need to wait 6 weeks after writing to the previous owner. It's going to make months and months. 

Double/Triple check everything is filled in correctly (Including the VIN), and take a copy.
Also send it recorded delivery.

Not wishing to worry you, but took 6 months to get the V5 on the scrap Audi I purchased as a spares car.
When it finally turned up the car was scrapped within the week. Every delay that could happen did.

Even suggested that they have some form of priority system if they ask you for more info (even when it was not needed), so when you get back to them you jump to front of queue. Sorry no, back of the queue you go.  As you can probably tell. V62's are somewhat of a trigger for me

 

[Lankytim]

Today the 2cv was sadly evicted from its nice warm garage. The house it belongs to is completing tomorrow so it’s been moved back home, unfortunately out in the open.  It’s not so sad for the new owners though, the fellas into classic Minis so the garage will soon have another old motor inside it. 
 

I took what I thought was a charged battery but it turned out to be flat so “The Pickler” had to be man handled onto the Dolly. It was at this point I noticed fuel pouring from a perished fuel line behind the OSF wheel. This was easily remedied with a new piece of hose and a couple of clamps. 
 

Don't ask me how, but I managed to rip the hood. I’m pretty annoyed with myself but I had anticipated that a new hood would soon be part of the equation as this one looks badly faded and appears to have shrunk, it’s pulled taut on the roof press studs so much I can imagine the whole body going “ping” and collapsing. The small hole has been repaired with some tape but I’m now on the hunt for a new hood. 

On the V5c front I received a letter from the DVLA last week. How thrilling! Upon picking up the prized brown envelope I could instantly tell it didn’t have a logbook inside and sure enough it contained my initial application for a V5c  complete with the cheque for £25 and a letter explaining that it had been rejected because the cheque had been altered. I’d written the incorrect month in error but had changed it to the correct month, adding my initials. I can only think it was this that prompted the application to fail, although the post mistress saw it and said it was fine. I wrote out a new cheque and returned it the same day. Fingers crossed it goes somewhere this time. 
 

[gadgetgricey]

16 minutes ago, Lankytim said:

How thrilling! Upon picking up the prized brown envelope I could instantly tell it didn’t have a logbook inside and sure enough it contained my initial application for a V5c  complete with the cheque for £25 and a letter explaining that it had been rejected because the cheque had been altered. I’d written the incorrect month in error but had changed it to the correct month, adding my initials

Swear to God they have a list of reasons to reject applications.
I'd be contacting bank to see if they would have honoured it and they make a complaint.

It'll get you no where but would make me feel better
Yes, I am still pissed off with them.

[Lankytim]

1 minute ago, gadgetgricey said:

Swear to God they have a list of reasons to reject applications.
I'd be contacting bank to see if they would have honoured it and they make a complaint.

It'll get you no where but would make me feel better
Yes, I am still pissed off with them.

You can't beat the DVLA, they're just too powerful. I need to let them have their depraved fun and maybe they'll eventually get bored and let me have my logbook. 

[High Jetter]

IIRC you need a signature, not just initials, to alter a cheque.

[Ghosty]

Hood was probably rotten given how you describe it, I wouldn't feel too bad about it. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

https://matts-soft-tops.co.uk/products/

[Lankytim]

On 12/10/2022 at 3:45 PM, Noel Tidybeard said:

https://matts-soft-tops.co.uk/products/

These look very nice. I've been offered a good used hood though for good deal less than a new one. The seller won't post it from the south coast though which could be an issue. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy new?

I've just opened a letter from the DVLA and apparently they're processing my application for a V5c and should post one out to me on the 22/12/22. Maybe they've given up on me and have moved on to torturing another motorist. Fingers crossed there's no hiccups this time!

 

Lisa has a slightly sinister job title, it makes me think of the Child Catcher but instead of catching children, she catches motorists… “Come on motorists, free SORN declarations here, come and get some replacement logbooks, just look inside my van”

[Rust Collector]

1 minute ago, Lankytim said:

The seller won't post it from the south coast though which could be an issue. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy new?

Whereabouts on the South Coast are they, possibly a job for Shitely if one of us friendly Southerners is near enough to the seller?

[Lankytim]

11 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

Whereabouts on the South Coast are they, possibly a job for Shitely if one of us friendly Southerners is near enough to the seller?

It's in Pulborough, West Sussex. 

[Lankytim]

The V5C turned up yesterday. Another hurdle dealt with!

[Lankytim]

I got so upset seeing this 2cv sitting out in the rain that I bit the bullet and bought a Halfords all weather car cover. After doing a bit of research these seem to get generally positive reviews. It was recommended I get a small cover but it seems slightly too big, maybe extra small would’ve been better. I know many here don’t like car covers but hopefully it’ll keep the interior dry at least! 
 

The long term aim is to get a decent garage sorted one way or another. This might involve landscaping the garden and replacing the existing shite garage which will obviously cost ££s, better get saving. 

[Lankytim]

This has taken a while…. 
 

A nerve wracking MOT resulted in a pass! Plenty of attention from the garage mechanics as apparently they haven’t had one of these in in over 20 years. To celebrate we went to the pub a few miles away but it seems to develop a bad misfire when hot and is difficult to start. Something to look in to but hopefully straightforward. 

[bezzabsa]

a 2cv missfire is just the automotive Gaellic shrug !!

[Lankytim]

Theres been some minor tinkering since I last posted, the misfire and lack of power felt like it was electrical so I took a gamble on the parts cannon and replaced the coil and HT leads. The new coil is a new style resin type rather than the older oil filled variant. When I removed the old coil I found the underside soaked with oil, maybe the oil has leaked out and it’s causing it to overheat and break down in use? Who knows. With the new parts fitted the 2cv immediately started and idled without choke. Out on the road and it’s 2000% better, no misfiring and it can actually scale hills while hot, I felt so confident in the Pickler’s abilities I drove it down the local dual carriageway for a few miles and back even experiencing  the giddy thrill of 70MPH. It keeps up with modern traffic fine although you get to become an expert on energy conservation to keep the speed up. Dawdling motorists in modern cars are really irritating as they force you to choose between overtaking or losing speed which can be hard to get back on a hill. All very good fun though! 

[bangernomics]

That’s just wonderful.


Gzongenflatch
In memory of Phil.

[Ian_Fearn]

I had so many niggly problems over the years with 2cv coils. Hot start, cold start, misfires etc.

I used to have 2 coils zip tied in position such that I would swap between them when a problem came up.

I must admit though I think that was during an era of limited coil availability and a bad batch of aftermarket ones.

[Stinkwheel]

19 hours ago, Ian_Fearn said:

I had so many niggly problems over the years with 2cv coils. Hot start, cold start, misfires etc.

I used to have 2 coils zip tied in position such that I would swap between them when a problem came up.

I must admit though I think that was during an era of limited coil availability and a bad batch of aftermarket ones.

Remember the time well, I think a lot of 2CV’ers used to have a couple of coils to hand in the boot for swapping between as they overheated (or was that just me?) 😂

[barefoot]

I remember swapping hot coils on my VW T2.

[Lankytim]

Hi all.

I’ve  been slowly increasing the distances travelled in this contraption while I iron out any bugs and get more confident in its reliability. I’ve driven the 8 miles or so to work and back a few times but today I took the plunge and drove the 60 miles or so to see my Dad in Birmingham and show him how far  “The Pickler” had come since we dragged it out of the garage.

The drive down was done on A roads, which all went fine other than the traffic being utterly infuriating and every set of lights seeming turning red as I approached. 
 

My sister was visiting Dads with her husband and we took the Pickler out for a spin around the block at their insistence, they loved it! Unfortunately Dad wasn’t feeling 100% so was unable to join us but had a good look around.

As the journey down went so well I took a risk and drove home on the M6! After 20 minutes or so I settled down into the journey and the colour returned to my knuckles. The 2cv seemed happiest at 60-65 but did occasionally hit 70 and never felt stressed. I don’t know what the cruising speed is but 50 felt a bit strained. I think it’s only running at its best when the second choke opens in the carb. There’s also the occasional “surging” felt. I think the carb needs a little more fettling. 
 

Overall, more than impressed, although the old hood is really showing its age now so I need to fit the replacement ASAP.  At speed rain gets under the front edge and sprays me in the face! 

[Lankytim]

Finally got around to replacing the hood this weekend. It’s a 2CV city hood I’d had in the loft for a year or so and had been putting it off for a while as I thought it was going to be a bit of a mission to fit.   It turned out it was only  a 20 minute job thanks to the Hubnut guide on YouTube. The only issues I ran into were the screws breaking off on the boot hinge corner trims which will need to be drilled and tapped at some point. 
 

The old hood had perished and shrunk and was full of leaks, the front bar was rotten too, well overdue replacement! 

[brownnova]

They are remarkably quick to change, I thought it would be an arduous job when I did the yellow one on mine… Great to see the progress and the increasing confidence with your CV! 

[somewhatfoolish]

On 16/07/2024 at 12:26, Ian_Fearn said:

I had so many niggly problems over the years with 2cv coils. Hot start, cold start, misfires etc.

I used to have 2 coils zip tied in position such that I would swap between them when a problem came up.

I must admit though I think that was during an era of limited coil availability and a bad batch of aftermarket ones.

That's interesting; I had a consistent misfire on hard acceleration on my Lomax which I never got rid of despite swapping carbs, HT leads, plugs and coils and finally out of frustration fitting an lumenition optical breaker unit. I must have spent hundreds failing to get rid of it, I never knew there were bad coils on the market.

[Lankytim]

Mrs LT had the great idea of attending a classic car show this bank holiday Monday at the nearby Apedale country park in Newcastle Under Lyme so off we smoked. It was the first show I’d taken the 2CV to and it went down very well. The show itself had a great selection of old motors and the organisers were all really friendly.  Quite a fun day out! 

[Stinkwheel]

On 10/08/2024 at 21:49, Lankytim said:

The 2cv seemed happiest at 60-65 but did occasionally hit 70 and never felt stressed. I don’t know what the cruising speed is but 50 felt a bit strained.

I can reliably inform you the cruising speed of a 2CV on the motorway is 70, give or take 5 mph for gradient or wind assist.

every 2CV/Dyane/Ami/Mehari/Acadian etc I’ve ever driven has been perfectly happy for many miles with the foot firmly flat to the boards. In fact, they seem to thrive on it. Pied au plancher, as they say in France 
You can’t really hurt them either, because of the way the manifold is designed there isn’t really anyway to over rev them. 
Remember the speedo has little dots to change gear at, again, they tend to like it best when you change at those points 

[Lankytim]

It’s been a busy (and wet) few days since the last update. Last Sunday we took the run up the road to Cholmondeley castle for the classic show and met up with a few shiters. It was great to catch up with everyone! The rain was pretty bad which meant that many exhibitors at the show stayed at home but a good time was had. These 2CVs aren’t exactly watertight are they! 
*pic stolen from whoever took it, Brownnova maybe*
 

The corner trim pieces from the boot hinge were taken into work and in exchange for a box of celebrations were drilled and tapped out by the engineering department and are now held on with stainless screws so they shouldn’t seize up again. 
 

I’ve also ordered a new dealer sticker from DMB graphics, I sent in a photo of the sticker from the old rear window which was swapped along with the hood and they made a new one! Amazing! It hasn’t arrived yet but I can’t wait to get it stuck in the back window. 

[dollywobbler]

I filmed you driving into the show without even realising it was you! Brain fail...

2CVs just leak. Leave the mats up so the floors dry out. Standard process!

[Lankytim]

23 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

I filmed you driving into the show without even realising it was you! Brain fail...

2CVs just leak. Leave the mats up so the floors dry out. Standard process!

I used a window vacuum and left the rubber carpets up to help with the process. The window vac is pretty nifty for drying the outside of the car too, and me. 

[Lankytim]

We’ve had our first FTP, and potentially it might require a new gearbox!

we were planning on going to a local car show this morning but as I took the 2cv out of the garage and reversed onto the drive there was a buzz from the gearbox area and then a horrible clunk and the engine stalled. It seems I’ve “unwound” reverse gear which is apparently quite common and perhaps even a rite of passage for every 2cv owner. The box might be fixable in situ but the worse case scenario is a replacement box which isn’t the end of the world and gives me the opportunity to clean everything and learn more on this 2CV learning curve I’m on.  
 

It’s just fortunate it didn’t happen at Cholmondley or when I was out and about and happened while I was still at home. 
 

 

[Lankytim]

A bit of a photo dump from Biddulph today. The show is organised by the council and I believe this is its second year. It’s a very good turn out and I’m gutted I couldn’t take “The Pickler” but there we go. There was one 2CV in attendance which looked really nice. I’m sure if I’d removed the gearbox and left a note on the screen thanking the owner then they would’ve understood. Unfortunately I left my Halfords tool kit at home.