Buying a 2CV
The 2CV and all the A Series designs consist of an air cooled horizontally opposed twin cylinder four stroke engine linked to a conventional gearbox and differential. This feeds drive shafts for front wheel drive via inboard drum or disc brakes via constant velocity joints. The four wheels are mounted on swinging arms pivoted on knife edges and connected on each side by linkages and springs inside cylinders which give a measure of both pneumatic and mechanical connection front to rear. The linkages are capable of adjustment to vary ride height. The soft suspension, large narrow tyres, and sump guard give a very great off-road capability.
These notes are principally for first-time buyers of the cars.
Since unlike most recent cars the 2CV is of the traditional rather than unitary construction, some care has to be exercised when buying what will now always be a used example. The car depends entirely on its chassis, indeed it will drive without any body being fitted. The original chassis quality also varies. 2CV examples built after 1988 were built in Portugal. It is generally considered that older examples had the best chassis, but of course these now have the ravages of normal use and time.
When first viewing the car, look carefully at the chassis. Chassis tend to corrode from the inside outwards, resulting in weakening of the structure. The chassis consists of two side rails, and lateral bracing struts, along with top and bottom cover plates. The mode of failure is normally for the side rails immediately forward of the front doors to weaken due to internal corrosion, and stress to cause this weak section to bend. The result is that the steering rack and wheel will move backwards, and the bonnet will not close.
Chassis replacement is not technically difficult, but is a great deal of work. The alternative where the chassis is corroded, but not likely to collapse, is to weld in plates to the affected areas. Most chassis not replaced will have been welded at some time. If well carried out this is not a reason to reject the car. Chassis replacement does not require welding. At present the cost of a chassis and fitting kit is about £330. Add to this the labour cost.
Moving on to other areas to look for. Since the integrity of the vehicle is not dependant on the body structure beyond the chassis and floor panels, corrosion to the external panels can be disregarded apart from the aspect of ingress of water. Look to the sills, particularly the inner sills. Look at the bonnet hinge. This often rusts badly - the answer is a repair panel. Look to the base of the A pillar. Rarely bad, this may need welding if very bad. Look to the inner rear wheel arches. Look very carefully at the floor panels, particularly at the front of the footwells. If there has been a water leak in the past, water can collect here causing serious corrosion. Lift all the floor coverings and go over all the various floor areas carefully. Any areas of bad corrosion can be repaired woth new panels, but this does involve welding.
Mechanically, the 2CV, being essentially a very simple car, tends to show its faults openly. Engines and gearboxes tend to have a long life, and providing the engine starts and runs well, and does not show smoke, all should be well in that area. Gearbox operation should be smooth, the synchromesh should operate quietly (but note no synchromesh on first). Some whine from the gearbox is normal due to straight cut gears. Test all four shock absorbers for oil leaks and damping, These should be effective, and rarely give trouble.
Moving on to the steering. Steering Racks rarely give trouble, but there are two areas to check on the steering. Kingpins often wear, and have to be repaired with a kit. This can be done by improvisation, but really does involve a special press to fit. They are not expensive to fit. More expensive are the track rod ends. These are special steel, and are quite expensive. They are however fairly easy and quick to fit. To check these points, jack up each side of the car in turn, either using tha car jack, or better, a trolley jack placed under a front suspension pivot. Check for fore and aft play, and top and bottom play on the wheel. But beware, there is always some play normally. Note that greasing all parts liberally will materially reduce play.
The A series cars are insured under Class 1 (the lowest) in the UK. The fuel consumption is very good, but not as good as one would expect from such a small engine. This is because it is working hard. Parts availability is very good, the only exceptions being body parts for some of the rarer variants and the Bijou, but this is improving. The 2CV is not really (yet) considered a classic car by the motor trade, and therefore residual values vary greatly. Some of the older well restored cars command higher values. However, one has to remember that the 375cc and 425cc cars are barely able to keep up with modern driving conditions, and so great changes in driving style are required.
None of the A Series cars have airbags, catalytic convertors or computer controlled systems, so the often costly replacement of these items is avoided. All 2CVs built since 1986 will run on unleaded fuel. There are indications that earlier models will also run safely on unleaded fuel, but this is at the owners risk. All 2CVs built before 1980 have drum brakes, which whilst effective given the weight of the vehicle, require a substantial amount of work to replace shoes.
Lastly, it has to be remembered that the design is basically 1930s. Therefore regular competent servicing is vital to the reliable running of the vehicle. Against that the non-unitary construction, and the bolted rather than welded nature of the vehicle structure, along with the easy and cheap availability of mechanical spares, mean that the vehicle effectively "recycles" itself, and therefore the life of it, given financial and labour input, is potentially infinate.
The flight deck - no acres of plastic, no walnut panelling - not at lot of anything, really.
Under the bonnet - what could be simpler?
The A Series design does not have: radiator, water hoses, thermostat, antifreeze, water pump, distributor, heater matrix and pipes, heater fan and motor, central locking, window winder mechanisms, ABS, turbocharger, revcounter, Catalytic convertor, airbags, reversing light, temperature guage, electric windows, electronic engine management, clock. Since it does not have them, they cannot go wrong. It does have a starting handle and a piece of wood.
Technical Specification (602cc. 2CV6)
Front - wheel drive; two cylinder; air-cooled; o.h.v.; 74 x 70 mm.; 602cc.; 29 b.h.p (21 Kw.); Torque 28 ft.lbs. (3.8 mdaN); 8.5 compr. (Dyane 32 b.h.p; 9.0 compr.)
Solex carb; 4 speed; fascia gear lever; suspension front and rear coils in horizontal cylinders; 4 door
Disc inboard brakes (drum prior 1980) ; handbrake via extra pads on front brake calipers
Heating via exhaust heat exchangers
Wheelbase 7`10.5" (2.40m); track front and rear 4`1 3/8" (1.26m); length 12`6 3/4" (3.83m); width 4` 10 1/4" (1.48m); Height 5`3" (1.60m.); turning circle 36` 9" (11.2m)
Kerb weight 1.289 lb (585kg.).; Gross weight 2,050 lb. (930kg.)
Fuel tank 5.4 gallons (25 Litres) ; 12v; 36 Ah.
Maximum Towing weight unbraked 595 lb. (270kg.); Maximum Towing weight braked 881 lb. (400 kg.)
Tyres 125 x 15; pressures Front 20 p.s.i. (1.4 bar) Rear 26 p.s.i. (1.8 bar) Spare 29 p.s.i. (2 bar).
Performance (!)
Maximum speed - 71 m.p.h. (no speeding fines on the motorway)
0 to 60 m.p.h. - 30 seconds. (so - whats the rush?)
Fuel consumption 42 to 50 m.p.g. (city to sustained open road)
Towing - a 2CV will tow a small to medium trailer tent (up to Combicamp size) or the lightweight Freeway 2 berth mini-caravan.
Webstyle produced NavBar
Music Player - to stop/replay use panel below
