Published monthly since 1978, 2CVGB News is the official magazine of the Deux Chevaux Club of Great Britain, Sarona, Beacon Road West, Crowborough, E Sussex TN6 1QL
Editor: James Duffell editor@2cvgb.co.uk Design: Yellow Dog Design Advertising: advertising@2cvgb.co.uk
Membership of 2CVGB is by annual subscription: UK £34, Europe £80 (£34 with Emagazine), Worldwide £100 (£34 with E-magazine). You can join or renew online at www.2cvgb.co.uk where you can also download the membership application form. If you do not have access to the internet please forward membership enquiries to the membership secretary (contact details on p60).
BONJOURÀTOUS
Welcome to the last issue of 2024. No matter how cold and wet it is outside, remember that our cars (and vans) work better if they’re used regularly. Hide them away and you’ll probably suffer niggling little problems when they come out of hibernation.
If you do have problems, our registrars are our experts for the models they represent and some of them are the leading experts in their field. All of them, however, rely on contributions from you, our club members, including hearing about the vehicles you own.
Crossmember has made the membership secretary’s job a lot easier. Keeping your information up-to-date on Crossmember helps the club in many ways. However, it is not the place to register your vehicles. For that, you need to contact your registrar or download, complete and return the pdf registration form from the register section of the website. Just click on the registers tab on the menu bar on the home page; a drop-down menu appears with all the different registers. Click on the one who looks after your car and download the form. There is a link on the same page to email them, or you could even write a letter. They all appreciate photos too.
If you haven’t already registered your car, please do it now. It helps all of us and quite possibly you as well!
See you in a field somewhere, although probably not for a few months.
THE DEADLINE FOR THE JANUARY 2025 ISSUE IS THE 10TH DECEMBER
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this magazine, the reader should read and understand the following:
Whilst every effort is taken to ensure accuracy of information and advice given in any articles in this magazine, neither the Deux Chevaux Club of Great Britain (2CVGB) Limited (the “Club”) and its officers, nor the members and authors of such articles, accept any liability whatsoever for such advice. The Club makes no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content in this magazine is accurate, complete or up to date.
The content in this magazine is provided for general information purposes only. It is not intended to be advice on which you should rely. You must either satisfy yourself as to the accuracy and completeness of the content and/or obtain specialist technical advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the
content in this magazine. You are responsible for checking any applicable manufacturers’ instructions, safety manuals or any other relevant instructions before undertaking any alterations to your vehicle.
In particular, the Club does not give any warranty, representation or undertaking:
• as to the efficacy, usefulness, safety or commercial or technical viability of the technical information (“Technical Information”) and/or any products made or processes carried out using the Technical Information;
• as to the volumes or quality of the products which may be manufactured through the use of the Technical Information;
• that any of the Technical Information is or will be valid;
• that the Technical Information can be freely exploited in all or any parts of the world; and/or
• that the Technical Information will not infringe the intellectual property or other rights of any third party.
The views or opinions expressed by our contributing writers should not be interpreted as the views and opinions of the Club.
Where the magazine contains links or references to websites and/or resources provided by third parties, these links or references are provided for your information only. Such links should not be interpreted as approval by the Club of those linked websites or information you may obtain from them.
If you have any questions please e-mail compliance@2cvgb.co.uk
PLEASE NOTE PLEASE NOW SEND YOUR EVENTS INFO TO: webmaster@2cvgb.co.uk BEFORE the deadline of the 5th of the month
Also, for further info on any event listed here please go to the events tab on www.2cvgb.co.uk
DECEMBER
1 COMMITTEE MEETING. Online meeting, All members welcome to attend. Please contact the club secretary for the link
5 AIRE COOLED ALLEY CATS DARTS AND JACOBS TABLE, The New Inn, East Bierley
7 CHESHIRE DRAGONS BAR SKITTLES AND CHRISTMAS DINNER at the Bickerton Poacher near Malpas, Cheshire. The skittles alley is booked for 5.30pm and the carvery dinner for 7.15pm.
12 TROY CHRISTMAS PIE AND MASH SUPPER. The Plough Inn, Shearburn Terrace, Snaith, East Yorkshire DN14 9JJ from 19.30. A hearty pie and mash style meal for fifteen quid! Vegetarian and vegan option available. Limited numbers. For full details please contact David Eden on 01405 813640 or davideden1951@gmail.com
28 BATH TUB CLUB RAID IMBER. Annual mud n puddles run across Salisbury Plain to the lost village of Imber. Contact Gary on 07888 998776
29 TROY TWIXMAS MEET An informal afternoon in the company of TROY at the Little Black Dog Brewery Tap Room & Bar near Carlton Towers! A wide range of excellent ales, pizza and other food available - From 14h00 onwards. Dress warm ‘cos its reeyt parky. Details: David Eden on 01405 813640 or davideden1951@gmail.com
JANUARY 2025
1 LES FILS DE VITESSE/POMPEY PUDDLEDUCKS NEW YEAR’S DAY BARBIE. Hollycombe Steam Collection Museum GU30 7LP. 12 noon. Barbecues provided. Hot and cold drinks free, but bring your own food and picnic tables/chairs. Please contact: Tony White (Les Fils) 01276 34518/07803 143311 tonyshirley2cv@btinternet.com
5 LES HIBOUX LEEDS RAID TAN HILL Contact: Alan Murphy : 0113 274 1015, alanmurphy50@hotmail.co.uk
FEBRUARY 2025
2 COMMITTEE MEETING. Online meeting, All members welcome to attend. Please contact the club secretary for the link
MARCH 2025
21-23 NEC RESTORATION SHOW, National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham.
30 COMMITTEE MEETING. Online meeting, All members welcome to attend. Please contact the club secretary for the link
18-21 2CVGB NATIONAL Martha’s Down Campsite, Hindon, Wiltshire.
MAY 2025
8-11 TROY BREIGHTON RIVERSIDE CAMP. Four days of relaxed camping at a riverside camp site on the banks of the river Derwent near historic Howden. Riverside pitches, with plenty of facilities -toilets, shower block, play area, and the Breighton Ferry Inn, all on site! contact David Eden on 01405 813640 or davideden1951@gmail.com
22-27 NORTH SOMERSET TIN SNAILS NSTS CAMP on a site near Wells. Further information to follow
28-1 FRENCH NATIONAL For more information please refer to their website – https:// nationale2025.fr/
JUNE 2025
8 COMMITTEE MEETING. Online meeting, All members welcome to attend. Please contact the club secretary for the link
JULY 2025
11-13 CITROEN FESTIVAL, Abbots Ripton. 2CVGB members pay the same rate as CCC members
29-3 25TH WORLD MEETING OF 2CV FRIENDS, Slovenia. For more information please refer to their website – https//2cv2025.Si/
AUGUST 2025
3 COMMITTEE MEETING. Online meeting, All members welcome to attend. Please contact the club for the link
29-1 REGISTERS DAY Gloucestershire.
SEPTEMBER 2025
4–7 LANCASTER BOMBERS CELEBRATES THE 25TH SILLOTH CAMP. To book camping (tent/trailer tent/motorhome etc) go to:cove.co.uk/Solwayor phone 01697 331236. Please book in advance, even just a couple of days if possible and mention "Citröen 2cv camp". If you don't need an electric hook up, please state "grass pitch - no electric". If you've ever been to our Silloth camp - or thought of coming - please come as it is our 25th year
28 COMMITTEE MEETING. Online meeting, All members welcome to attend. Please contact the club secretary for the link
Hello all. Well at the time of writing this there has already been a few frosts so winter is definitely on its way. Soon we will have the shortest day and then the winter camping season starts.
For those not keen on camping the 9th Revival Winter Meeting of the 2cv Club Letzeburg in Luxemburg could be something. It’s on the 244h to 26th January and is held at the Scout Camping “Toutschemillen” in Wiltz. Costs are €80.00 per person and that includes heated bedrooms with beds, showers, dinner on Friday, three course dinner on Saturday, breakfast Saturday and Sunday, drinks and coffee & cake. The meeting is open to other vehicles, not just A series so if you don’t want to take your 2cv you’ll still be welcome. Pre registration is essential and a non refundable deposit has to be paid in advance. For more information contact: www.2cvclub.lu or contact@2cvclub.lu .
France 75015
years). It can be cold, so take thermals, the coldest I witnessed there was -16! I’ve been to this meeting a few times and can definitely recommend it. For more info go to www.2cvfriends.nl.
If camping either indoors or out is not your thing in January or February then below are some events that may be of interest.
JANUARY2025
31.01 - 02.02 Germany 28215 23rd Bremen Classic Motor show (Citroen-Kai) Bremen, Buergerweide exhibition centre
FEBRUARY2025
05.02.25 - 09.02.25
Retro Mobile 2025 in Paris, 1 Pl. de Porte de Versailles, 75015 Paris.
08.02.25 Belgium 2220
For those who do want to get under canvas tho, other tent materials are available, then the 23nd International Dutch Winter Meeting could be something. It’s held over the 7th to 9th February at “De Veenkuil”, Hopweg 21, 8314PX Bant, The Netherlands. There will be a campfire, convoy/treasure hunt, which can be muddy, and there may even be an English breakfast on the Sunday (There has been in previous
Party De Heistse Bokkerijders 2cv club. Zaal Ter Molen, Happy hour 21:30 till 22:30. Entrance 8 Euro. Address: Pastoor Mellartsstraat 26, 2220 Heist-op-denBerg. Contact: Anita Van der Jeugd, anitavanderjeugd1965@gmail.com
27.02.25 - 02.03.25 Germany 79629
24th Retro Classics (with Citroen marketplace) Stuttgart, New Trade Fair Centre
With that I best say have a good Christmas when it comes and stay safe. I’ll have more Overseas News for you next year.
Drive on the right
Once again, Royal Mail appears to be holding up the delivery of our magazines. November was the second month running and it will probably be the same this month. Please be assured that I send in the list of members to the printers on time and they print and send to Royal Mail on time, it is then up to them to deliver to us.
We have had some great months this year where only an odd mag didn’t turn up, so we have been used to receiving the mag very early on. From now on, could you please leave it until at least the 10th/12th of the month before you notify me of non-receipt. I will usually pop something on the 2CVGB facebook pages if we appear to be having an issue, but I do realise not everybody does FB. Please don’t be a FB warrior and have a rant about the mag being late, I do my very best to get it to you on time, but sometimes shit happens.
If you need to contact me, firstly can you email as I pick those up every day? If you do not do email then a phone call is fine but please leave a message. If I can’t pick up with details of your call, due to a lot of spam calls, I won’t call a strange number back. That’s it for now, have fun and take care out there
2CVGB CLUB INSURANCE DECEMBER UPDATE
by Dave Youngs
This month, Dave Youngs has been out meeting many of you at the NEC Classic Motor Show.
The NEC Classic Motor Show seems to get busier every year. It's the clubs that make this show and it was great to see so many of you paying the 2CVGB display a visit in Hall 5.
For me, events like this are hugely valuable. It is great to meet so many enthusiasts in person, and it’s instructive to circulate amongst the fans and understand what potential new members might want from your Club's insurance offering.
This month, I thought it useful to review some of the common questions we receive from members.
The first relates to our self-repair option, a special feature of your club insurance scheme. Put simply, this allows you to repair your own vehicle following an accident instead of sending it to a restorer or repair workshop. This is an ideal option if you restored or customised your car and would like to return it to its former condition with the same level of finish and detail that you previously applied. Your settlement will cover the cost of the parts required to carry out this work and your labour at a rate we agree to when you make a claim. If you rebuilt the car and have done all your repair and maintenance to a competent standard, this is the ideal option.
Your concerns mainly revolved around how this covers the price of parts. Essentially, you
will need to provide an evidenced estimate of how much the parts will cost and how many hours we will need to cover at our agreed rate. Don't forget that if you try to claim an estimate that is too high, you risk categorising your car as a total loss!
Luckily, the 2CVs have superb backup and it's great to see just how many parts are available through the 2CVGB club. It is a testament to the enthusiasm of all the members that these vehicles receive such amazing parts backup and support.
If your vehicle is declared a total loss, you can keep the salvage for parts or potential restoration for free. We like to always clarify that this is entirely free under your club scheme. While other insurers may also claim free salvage retention, they often deduct the salvage value from the settlement amount before payout, which is not truly free! We do not do this; you will receive the total agreed value plus the salvage every time.
So, keep your questions coming; the more we hear from you, the better we can tailor the scheme to meet your needs. It's always great to hear from you and receive your enquiries and I wish you all the best for the upcoming festive season. We’d love to hear from you.
To speak to a friendly team member and request a quote, please call our club’s dedicated insurance lineon0121 506 6034 .
The Complete Catalogue of the Citroën 2CV (book review)
In the pre-internet days, anyone with a passion for 2CVs had to rely on a very small number of books available and spend hours poring over the photos, absorbing what was then assumed to be the definitive history of the 2CV. One of those books was The Citroën 2CV and Derivatives: A Collector's Guide by James Taylor, published in 1983. You can still find copies online.
A little over 40 years later, a new book by James Taylor has been published - The Complete Catalogue of the Citroën 2CV.
It’s a lavishly-illustrated book with more than 280 photos and illustrations, some of which I’ve not seen before. The main focus is, of course, the British market and vehicles produced by Citroën in France and its main subsidiaries, but it also has sections covering other countries that produced 2CV-based vehicles.
The title of the book is a bold claim indeed and it only takes a skim-read to see it falls short. In the Dyane section there’s mention of both the Capra and Edelweiss, which were limited editions
produced for the Spanish market only, but there’s no mention of the Côte d’Azur, which was a UKspecific special edition (and the only A-series vehicle I bought new).
The section covering the Charleston claims the first limited editions had round headlamps (RHD versions had rectangular ones) and also claims that the yellow and black Charleston (and in another section the 007 limited edition) was not available in the UK, which are much less forgivable errors. The first 2CV I ever drove was a brand new RHD yellow and black Charleston in 1982 and there are still several around now!
The overview section claims the Méhari was made with a GRP body (which is contradicted in the section covering the Méhari) and the 2cv-based vans were replaced by the Acadiane in 1968 (again, the book contradicts itself later).
I was also amazed to read that one of the Royal Marines AZPs from HMS Bulwark had not only survived, but had
A GOOD READ
HAPPY MEMBER
Just to say - Thanks for a good read. The October Issue was just that. Not to say the previous issues weren’t of course - it’s just that I found this month’s mag particularly interesting.
So, thank you and your team for all your hard work and effort in putting the magazines together month by month. Very much appreciated.
2CVGBNEWS
Thank you, Paul. It’s really helpful to get feedback - and lovely when it’s good feedback!
been restored. Unfortunately a little further digging (that the author plainly did not do) revealed it was Hooky’s modern replica.
These faults are annoying, but shouldn’t detract too much from the overall quality of the book.
There’s a section on overseas variants, such as the FAF, Baby-Brousse, Pony and Dalat, as well as a brief section covering some of the variants made at Citroën’s factories in Belgium, Britain, Spain and Yugoslavia. There’s even a section covering models from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Iran.
2CVs have always been modified by owners, sometimes as one-offs and sometimes with accessories made by
aftermarket producers. The latter would fill a book much larger than this one (and new discoveries are still being made), but the author has covered some of the more popular ones, such as boot lids and windows. There’s also mention of the Barbot special and a couple of the re-bodied versions available in France in the 1950s.
It’s a lovely book to own and pore over the pictures, but just take its title with a big pinch of salt (and resist the temptation to have a red pen in your hand).
At £40, it’s not cheap, but if you’re quick, there’s a special pre-launch price of £30 from www.herridgeandsons.com or 01409 281990.
ConcreteCarParking
The annual Concrete Camping in Dumfries (SW Scotland), orchestrated this October by the Manchester Ducks, was a very successful weekend as you will no doubt be able to read elsewhere. It is based at the traditional family-run and recently renovated Cairndale Hotel and Spa. This was our third visit so if you plan to go next year, we can give you some tips.
Firstly, you need to remember to book and pay. I didn’t.
We arrived at the hotel from Edinburgh after a rather fraught drive (locals telling us, wrongly, that we could ignore ‘Road Closed’ signs near Moffat) to be met with rather baffled expressions at the hotel reception as they shuffled through all the booking forms.
Of course I always pay as soon as I receive bills. To demonstrate this I presented them with two emails on my phone showing that I had sent them the money. Unfortunately, as they pointed out, one was for 2022, and the other for 2023. “Well,
does that not count?” “Er, no, not really”. The hotel was able to book us for the Friday and Sunday, but they were absolutely full on the Saturday. They went above and beyond the call of duty, contacting every known hotel and B&B in Dumfries (except one with creepycrawlies), but no luck. We also trawled around the town ourselves, but not a bed to be had. Online, there was only one available Airbnb, “in the centre of town” which had a sofabed. Unfortunately the “town” turned out to be Castle Douglas, about 20 miles away. Dumfries was full, especially the pubs, due to golf and hockey tournaments, a couple of hen parties, a large group of shooters and some major weird Halloween music festival. The word spread that we couldn’t get a room. Tony Kehoe and the other Manchester Ducks were most solicitous, other members of the group were very concerned and we were even offered the floor in another couple’s room. The hotel
receptionists continued to work overtime contacting any other possible options, both public and private, hoping for a cancellation, and they even suggested, obliquely, that if we were found later to have passed out in the bar they would put us on a sofa with some blankets. Keen to enjoy the Saturday night dinner and post dinner drinks, I didn’t want to drive. So I planned ahead for the worst case scenario, and moved my 2CV to a secluded corner of the hotel carpark, party hidden by bushes. The plan by now
HEREAREOURTIPS FORSLEEPINGINA2CV.
● Don’t. It is too small.
● There is nowhere to put your left leg.
● Leave a window slightly open if you have a 5 litre can of petrol in the boot.
● Half a bottle of Shiraz is not enough. Use the whole bottle.
● It gets very cold.
● There are no toilet facilities (see bushes above).
● Have a very understanding wife.
was to sleep in the car. We just didn’t emphasise that this was to be in the hotel car park.
The next day the hotel came up trumps again when they learnt what was going on. We got a free breakfast and early check-in to an upgraded room. “You’ll like the bathroom.”
Yes, we did. It had a Jacuzzi bath with a TV on the wall!”
Thank you Douglas, Anthony and Janet for all your efforts. You should get a pay rise!
Here are some photos of my nearly done Dyane restoration. I have also included a picture of how it was painted when I bought it in 2000. It needed a new chassis, so I stripped every part off it and redid all the body work. I bought from the club and other suppliers every rubber gasket I could and updated it with a digital ignition, voltage regulator, coil, etc. so that it is like new again! I drove it last year from Cleveland to the Citroën Rendezvous in upstate New York and back. It ran fantastically!
I bought my first Citroën which was a DS when I turned 16 and never looked
back! I was importing them for a time during the grey market as witnessed by the article about me that appeared in the local paper.
I also attached a picture of me perched on the top of one of my many DSs after having a major accident in one on my trip to Chicago. I live in Cleveland Ohio. I bungee corded it back together and made it home!
At some point I will get back to the UK and have a chance to meet some of the club members there!
I really enjoy the great publication that the club puts out. Very nicely done!
Modestine Goes
to Ireland
I am probably getting soft in my old age, having attained sixtyten years last October (so sixty-eleven by the time this is published), but if you are looking for a country not far away, that is simply perfect for a pensioner and a deuche to explore, can I recommend the Republic of Ireland? Deserted roads twist and turn through stunning scenery, with every corner bringing another treat for the eyes. The drivers that you do meet seem to have all the time in the world, pulling over to let you past with a friendly wave and there are plenty of pubs along the roads for you to pop into for a restorative, and surprisingly realistictasting pint of Guinness 00.
After our circumnavigation of l’Hexagone last September, but with less time to spare this year, I decided that Modestine, Puffin the collie and I would
take a long overdue look at the northwest coast of Ireland, dipping in and out of the northern section of the well-marked 2,500 km Wild Atlantic Way. I last went there in 1991, when the weather was pretty dire, so – with zero expectations – we piled the car up with books, waterproofs, boots, wellies, hats and gloves, and lots of towels for the dog. Fortuitously, we left the sun cream and a bathing costume at home, thus guaranteeing ourselves ten days of perfect weather with more or less wall to wall sunshine.
Driving up to Cairnryan in monsoon rain was not an auspicious start, and we were promised a rough crossing, which luckily didn’t really materialise. We spent the rest of the day visiting the Giant’s Causeway, where I kept the dog on a lead in case she blew away in the howling gale. We stayed the night in an old cottage with the wind and rain battering the windows, hoping that it would have blown over by the morning.
no one asked to see it. That’s £140 I will never see again, but at least she is well wormed!
“ Driving up to Cairnryan in monsoon rain was not an auspicious start, and we were promised a rough crossing, which luckily didn’t really materialise ”
The road south west through the Donegal mountains knocked our socks off. It was stunning and almost empty, with towering mountains on every side and vast swathes of purple heather. Stopping to fill Modestine up with petrol invariably provoked a reminiscence from someone in the garage about how they had had, “one of those Citroën Dianas,” when they were young, in fact we definitely encountered more enthusiasm for the car in Ireland than we ever did in France last year.
Donegal gave way to Sligo, where we saw another 2cv coming the other way. I always regret not stopping to say hello on these occasions, but somehow the moment is never right. I wonder if other drivers think the same?
And it had. The following day dawned bright and sunny, so after a quick visit to Londonderry Marks & Spencers for provisions and to see the Derry Girls mural which is just behind the shopping centre, we drove across the border into the republic. I had forked out a fortune to obtain an export certificate for Puffin, Ireland being in the EU, but – predictably –
Leaving Yeats Country, we called into Letterfrack where we found a man with a caravan, selling fresh crab sandwiches with garlicky French beans and home-made sourdough. I washed down this feast with a (small) glass of chilled white wine, sitting at a picnic table beside the sea. It was becoming increasingly hard to believe that we hadn’t been magically transported to the Cote d’Azur, so gorgeous was the weather.
Ian Hudson had kindly cannibalised a condemned 2cv to provide
Modestine, who had spent the winter having what, in Colombia, they call “aesthetic treatments”, with a replacement roof, mine having shrunk with age. The new one looks very smart indeed, sitting atop her newly rust-free bodywork and has the added advantage of having working straps to hold it in place – no more need to borrow the dog’s lead to tie it down.
After two blissful days near to Westport, and a visit to Clare Island, we reluctantly turned our silver nose for home. It was sad to leave behind the rolling roads and the mountains, for the less inspiring N roads, although driving the N17 from Tuam northwards had me singing along to the Saw Doctors, my favourite Irish band, who wrote a song all about their desire to be back on the “Galway Road.”
Pete Sparrow had added some USB ports when he was working on the car, probably for serious navigational purposes, but I am just happy that I can plug in my iPhone and my portable speaker, so that I can actually hear the music, or the book I am listening to at the time. He added various dials too, relating to oil, and cylinder head temperatures or something, all of which I try to ignore as I find it less worrying that way. I apply the same rule to noises – I find they usually go away again if I take no notice of them – but that particular turkey came home to roost in Norway, when I refused to acknowledge the rattle that turned into the
push-rod failure, that led to Modestine being brought home 2,500 miles on a breakdown truck, leaving Ben and me with a load of baggage and an unhappy collie in a huge, newly-purchased dog crate, to get home by whatever means we could find.
Thankfully we had no such problems in Ireland and the final day of the trip saw us up early, to reluctantly leave our little white cottage deep in the misty Sligo countryside to catch the midday ferry from Larne. Naturally we crossed the unmarked (so far as I could see) border back into the north without anyone wanting to see Puffin’s expensive paperwork, which reminds me of another thing that I noticed about the Republic of Ireland, and that was the state of their roads. Not one single pothole!! When I remarked on this I was told it was, “because we are in the EU.” (Just saying…)
I often think that we overlook what lies on our doorstep in our quest to see the world – I know I am definitely guilty of this – but the west of Ireland was as impressive as anywhere that Modestine and I have been and that includes Patagonia (although the Andes were, undeniably, an amazing backdrop). It is only 24 hours from home but it feels a world away. Go!
But don’t be tempted to patronise Michael O’Leary. Get yourself on the ferry, and take your “Citroen Diana” with you. I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.
These are member prices (inc P&P and VAT) You can purchase parts from SPOG via the
plastic h/light adjustment sockets - set of 3 ( 2 short + 1 long) £14.66 216204 Dyane/Acadiane/Mehari plastic h/light adjustment sockets - (4 short +2 long) BOTH Headlights £26.02
Dyane/Acadiane/Mehari 216202 x2, PLUS 216204 X2 - complete both headlamp adjuster kit
Dyane/Acadiane stainless steel air vent bolts and washers (pk of 5)
Dyane/Acadiane stainless steel air vent bolts and washers (pk of 10) (BOTH VENTS)
REAR door rubber sliding window channel (pack of 2)
Ami 8 Fuel Filler flange gasket
van FRONT drum brake stainless steel eccentrics (set of 4)
WANTED: 1981 – 1984 (early) disc brake 2CV Must be road worthy and have original engine, gearbox and upper bulkhead. Prefer car with good history. Contact Damen on 07530 759542 or damenbennio@yahoo.co.uk
Ami 8 Break ‘72 South of France car. Re-Spray. New floors/sills/waxoyled. 4 nearly new Toyo tyres. Re-built G/box ( Pembo ) O/hauled carb. New fuel pump/ sender/filler pipe.123 ignition. Re- covered front seats. Seatbelts. Not used enough. More photos. £7000. Chris Godwin South London) 07850 881596
Hi Guys! First off, we’ll return briefly to the September Filles de Levallois meeting. The highlight of which was of course the Citroën test centre and the chance to get close up and personal with one of the 1939 cars. That wasn’t all however, and another surprise newcomer to the party was a beautifully restored, early Belgian Type A, owned by Bart Willaert. When the decision was made to produce the 2cv for the Benelux countries, the Citroën factory in Forest, a suburb of Brussels, was initially unable to build the car for one reason or another. As a short term measure therefore, and in order to meet the pressing demand, the very first Belgian examples were virtually nothing more than ‘re-badged’ cars that had been pre-
assembled at the Levallois plant in Paris. The Belgian 2cvs being distinguishable from their French sisters, only by the somewhat curious looking additional light units to the rear and on each side of the lower windscreen frame, fitted to comply with the then current, Belgian vehicle legislation.
Brought to the meeting by Bart and his family, the car left the Forest plant on the 20th October 1952 and is a perfect
Bart Willaert’s 1952 Belgian Type A
example of an early Belgian 2cv. Interestingly, the production records have survived, which show that the car’s original owner was a Dr Ernest Stumper of Ettelbruck in Luxembourg. As only the 11th 2cv to come off the production line, it is believed to be the oldest known Belgian 375cc Type A still in existence. Doing some number crunching, I was rather surprised to find that out of roughly 3000 Belgian Type As and ALs (a
slightly higher spec version) which were produced between October 1952 and October 1954, only five Type A and two Type AL cars are known to have survived. Less than 0.25%. Comparing the Belgian cars with our own early
1950s Slough production, out of only 186 Type A cars produced, about 17 (roughly 9%) are thought to still exist. I wonder why the disparity.
Moving along towards the other end of the ripple era now. Joseph Ashwell of Lincolnshire has been in touch to tell us about his recent acquisition of an early 1957 AZL (serial number 335969). I’ll let Joseph take up the story.
“My grandfather had been thinking of owning a Citroën 2cv, but never actually got around to buying one. So, my father and I began searching for one instead.We have always loved 2cvs, but we had never owned one before. Initially, we were looking for one of the later disc brake models as our first 2cv, and we came across a 1986 Plums & Custard car. After driving and enjoying it for a few months, we decided to look for a 2cv Fourgonnette to add to our collection. On an Italian car website, there was an AZU advertised for sale. We instantly fell in love with it and arranged to drive to Italy to purchase and bring it back home. When we arrived after a long journey, we discovered that the man we were buying the van from was a 2cv enthusiast. As well as the van that he sold us, he also had an AZL, an AZAM, a Dolly and another AZU. He
even had in store, a large quantity of 2cv parts for all ages and variants. We had a good look at the AZL in his collection, and noticed how clean and solid it was underneath. We would have bought that as well, but we had no space on our trailer…
“After returning home and examining the van more closely, we realised we needed many parts for it and the parts we needed were particularly rare. However, we now knew having rummaged through the seller’s sheds of 2cv bits back in Italy, that all of the parts we needed were there. After liking the AZL on our last visit, we decided that we should purchase that. Our initial plan was to bring the car back to the UK, where we would sell it to pay for our trip to Italy to fetch the parts. However, and perhaps inevitably, we fell in love with the AZL and we have decided to restore and keep it for ourselves.
“We plan to start stripping down the
AZL next year after we have finished restoring the van. The search has already begun for some of the parts we need.We plan to keep it as original as possible. We are unsure at the moment, but we may paint it in an original Citroën green or blue colour with contrasting seats and hood. The engine will be completely refurbished and the car kept the same as it was nearly 70 years ago. The AZL will not be treated just as a museum piece, and will be used as much as possible, and taken to classic car meetings and shows etc. It will never be alone either, as it will be part of our growing Citroën collection.”
Many thanks Joseph for sharing your AZL with us. There was a little bit of confusion over the build date of Joseph’s car initially, as being fitted with the later type of rear panel, it should indicate a car built after the end of September 1957. Close inspection however revealed that the rear panel had been retrofitted, presumably in order to be able to fit a metal boot lid to the car.
That’s it for now Gang. I wish you all a very happy Xmas and I’ll see you next year.
Joseph Ashwell’s 1957 AZL
DISC-USSIONS
Hello all. If you have any questions about registering your car(s), drop me a line on the email address at the end of this column. I do try and give coverage to every car added to this register. I will use pictures sent to me when space allows, but the newly registered cars and their owners get first dibs. Therefore, please could Janice Twidale, Liz Morse and Gemma Morse, get in touch and complete the registrations you started by sending me pictures several months ago. Thanks.
NEWREGISTRATIONS
Against all odds, I actually got three this month! Firstly, we have a rather cheerful looking ex-green and white 1987 Dolly (top & middle) named “Tart Au Citroën” which has been greatly enlivened by repainting the green bits yellow, with matching seats. E2 CVJ, which was originally E378 CAP, has been owned by Jason Burton since 2021 and is the first time it has appeared under either identity. A nicely individual car and Condition C, according to Jason. I do like cars in non-standard paint schemes, as I may have mentioned once or twice.
The second entry is making its third appearance. Ian and Bernadette Funnell have now owned their red and black 1986 Spécial, D694 POD, named “Poddy” for just over a year. Ian said, “The previous owner, Andrew Watkinson, had provided a wonderfully comprehensive set of records including a DVD with the restoration photos. The front seats had already been ditched for something a bit more
E2 CVJ Dolly
POD Special
868 TEE Special
comfortable and not being one for maintaining originality, the rear one has also gone, to be boarded out for use as our transport to and from the allotment. (below left) So in a way, Poddy has gone back to the land as originally designed. As well as the hatchback conversion, I have also added USB power for sat nav, an oil temp gauge, more interior lighting and electronic ignition. (above) Poddy has also had a make-over with fetching black wings and boot. (below right) Next job is to provide a more modern fuse box and rewire a few bits. We are now looking forward to filling up the boot with sprouts and cabbages for Xmas.”
We first became aware of this Spécial when Keith Cook of Plymouth added “Pod” to the register in February 1998. He was, I think, the second owner, buying it from a doctor, also in Plymouth. Keith described Pod as “Good” and noted it had a new chassis and handily jotted down the RP
(ORGA) number, so we know Pod rolled off the Paris production line on 27th October 1986. Then in 2015 Andrew Watkinson in Fulford registered the car. He had bought it as project from somewhere in Lincolnshire, updated his entry in 2017, where it looked like he had replaced the engine, or had discovered that what was fitted wasn’t the one in the logbook. The next time he contacted us was 2018, the car was back on the road and MoT’d, he’d put in the front seats with headrests it still sports and in December 2019 we published his story of how he’d done it all himself. He had to let the car go in 2023 when he lost his storage for it and had a new project to work on. I wonder if Andrew ever guessed the 2cv he so lovingly restored was going to be a mobile allotment shed? Our cars lead some interesting and varied lives. Ian judges Poddy to be Condition B. Lastly, hiding in my Spam box, for no good purpose as far as I can see, was “Evette” a rather tidy looking 1988 ex-
Plums & Custard Dolly, F868 TEE, now painted in Buttermilk Yellow and owned since September by Jill and John Twigge. (right)
This is Evette’s second visit to the register, she was first added in 2007 by Helen Elliott in Bangor, which is how I know she was originally a Dolly and according to Helen and the photos she sent, she was bought in 2005 from Newcastle, stored for a year unused then painted Sky Blue when Bill Gale and her husband did the car up prior to her passing her test and driving it in late 2006. She also recorded the RP (ORGA) number, so we know the car was built on the 19th February 1988. Jill says the car is in very good condition inside and out, rates it to be Condition B and should consider upping its insurance value considerably, in my opinion.
until next year too, if I ever find it again.
UPDATES/ CORRESPONDENCE
Tom Richards sent me a splendid story about “Pippin” the 1988 green and white Dolly he has owned from new. I’m not sure how I am going to use it, it’s quite long, needs a degree of careful editing as it as much about Tom as it is his about his car and there is no way I can paraphrase it here. It’s on my ‘work in progress’ list. If nothing else it is great piece of history for the records. One of Tom’s hobbies is taking pictures of Pippin next to hulking great vehicles, I am particularly fond of this one. (below)
I did get one more registration come in as I was writing, but the 5th of the month is my deadline I’m afraid, so Steve De’ath’s 1988 white Special will be in the next magazine, it sounds like a very interesting car. I may have mislaid another registration, I think I was awaiting pictures… That will have to wait
John Gray is still plugging slowly away at his mammoth task of getting five barn-found 2cvs back on the road, with arthritic knees not helping much - tell me about it, John. His Plums and Custard Dolly, E591 VKR, is nearly done, has a Rick Pembro reconditioned gearbox, new rear suspension arms, brake pipes and Burton dampers and much more. He hopes to use it to get to next year’s French National. The last two in the queue are E514 TKL and E907 EMY, pictured here in a friend’s garden (above right) One’s on a not too rusty original chassis, the other on an ungalvanized replacement, although both need the usual floors and sills and a few other odds and ends. Keep at it, John!
My regular
correspondent Alec Knight had Celeste, his Florida based blue Special suddenly die on him shortly after returning from the UK. Back to diagnosing ailing 2cvs via email. Despite the red herrings the car threw up, it was a completely wornout ignition drum all along. Alec isn’t the first to have suffered this, they are not the best made component, they tend to get wet when the car leaks and nearly all 2cvs leak at the front and now at well over three times their designed lifespan this is something we all have to look forward too if we are still using the original. My personal opinion is that if your car is getting tricky to start, fit a new drum before condemning all the other possible components. It is easy to test too. Switch the wipers on, they should start when the ignition is switched on, if they do but stop as you are trying to start the engine, or if they don’t work with the ignition on either, it is the ignition drum at fault or one of the push-fit wiring connectors has fallen off…Roy at ECAS has a good photo on the item’s listing of what happens to them inside.
Richard Wigfull asked a good question, has anybody ever carried a lightweight wheelchair on a boot rack? Answers please to the usual email address. My gut
feeling is why not, provided you use suitable fixings for the rack and don’t mind a wet chair… Having seen a monkey bike mounted on a carrier on the back of a boot-box, yes Neil, I hadn’t forgotten your car loaded up for Salbris, I just wish I had a picture of it, and a paramotor on another, I don’t think there is much you can’t carry on or in a 2cv, whether it is a good idea to is another matter. Richard, I can’t help noticing you have not registered your green and white Dolly yet, just saying…
FLEETNEWS
Well, the fleet has grown to three, I was not enjoying being carless, especially on days Mrs Goat needed to go into the office and with winter rapidly approaching I thought an old banger to save getting the Charleston all salty would be justified, so I bought myself a 2007 Fiat Panda, the smallest 1.1 litre petrol engined model. It’s blue, not quite the same shade as Mrs Goat’s so we now have twins. I am warming to it, although the jury is out until I have had it in the garage to see just what is going on underneath.
The Goatmobile is mended, brakes and indicators working, new fuel system installed and a fresh MOT with advisories for rough and noisy front wheel bearings, so I asked Will to do them as well. It’s one of those jobs I have never attempted, not got the tools for and I can wait another week or two for him to fit it into his busy schedule now I am mobile again. And that’s it for this month, hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year and with luck I will be back in 2025!
REGISTERS: DYANE
DYANOTES
Welcome to another edition of Dyanotes! Apologies for my absence from these pages for the last few months; there always seems to be something else occupying my time, and the deadline date seems to approach out of the blue! Someone remind me how long I have been doing this job an why that should not come as a surprise to me after all this time…
Anyway, here’s some news that a few of you “old hands” may find interesting. Those of you who have been in the club long enough may remember Eddie King and his immaculately-kept Dyane from Registers Days past. Well, it was recently offered for sale on Facebook, and Lee Horsley subsequently became its new custodian. Lee takes up the story…
XRC991M…
“…is a 1974 Dyane 6 which I bought on 12th October 2024 after seeing it advertised on a 2cv Facebook page. It was only about 20 minutes away so I went to take a look. What a beauty! It’s a drum brake, brake fluid, single choke carb car in an ivory colour, but is it Ivoire Borley or Ivoire Djibouti? There’s a Citroën colour chart (from the Press Office at Slough) amongst the history which says
AC 084 Ivoire Borley was a 1973 and 1974 Dyane colour and a tin of paint in the boot saying Ivoire Djibouti. Sadly any paint code on the bulkhead has been sprayed over (I can confirm that it is Ivoire Borley. Ivoire Djibouti was never a Dyane colour: MD). It has bench seats front and rear. The rear is non-folding.
“The car was in Derby, where it’s been all its life and I’m the 4th owner.
Originally bought by an Edward King on 1st February 1974, and kept by him until he sold it to Brian Gilchrist in October 2014. Mr Gilchrist kept the car until November 2020 when he sold it to Glenn Brammer who subsequently sold it to me.
Eddie King, the Dyane's original owner"
XRC 991M's second owner, Brian Gilchrist
“Mr King paid for the car on 21st January 1974, purchasing it from G W James Citroën agents in Derby. It’s my understanding that Mr King maintained the car with a passion – for instance the pipes to the airbox and heater tubes are all secured with Ligarex bands and not jubilee clips or cable ties. He apparently bought something for it every time he went away in it. He’s said to have been quite active in the CCC and I’ve had contact from some members of 2cvGB who remember him and the car. There are trophies which he won with the car from various CCC events.
“There’s quite a bit of history with the car from Mr King’s
ownership. There’s a service book with the first stamp from 25th August 1982 by which time the car had covered 42,341 miles. The last stamp is from 12th July 1996 by which time the mileage was 111,000. Mr King was clearly not afraid to use the car. One invoice from EuroCarCare dated 12th July 2007 mentions that the car had received a replacement galvanised chassis, but there’s no records of what
type or who did the work.
“The car came with 5 boxes of spares –headlights, rear light units, front indicator lenses and units, chrome wheel trims, rocker covers, spark plugs, grille muffs, brake lines in Citroën packaging, door handles and locks; the list goes on. It also came with five brand new road wheels and Michelin tyres; sadly the tyres are all about 20 years old so can’t be used.
“Mr Gilchrist also took maintenance and upkeep seriously. There are more receipts from EuroCarCare Derby, where the car continued to be taken for work, servicing and MoTs, the last of which expired in November 2018. That’s also the last dated item of history I have before an ECAS receipt for a purchase I made. The receipts from EuroCarCare alone add up to over £7,000.
“The car has clearly had paint, and it appears to have been reupholstered (the seats are like sofas)again with no records present. The bodywork presents really well with just the odd blister. It’s the first drum brake non-LHM A series I’ve owned so I was a bit wary and sought some advice. Jono at Peak 2cv wasn’t available so I spoke to Graeme at 2cv Tools who put my mind at rest. It drives beautifully. It’s a bit slow, though I haven’t extended it properly yet and braking needs a bit more time and can ‘snatch’ so the system
Quite a collection of tax discs!
probably needs looking at. It’s booked in with Jono in November for a thorough going over and MoT – for peace of mind.”
Many thanks Lee for providing that history and bringing things up-to-date on what was a wellknown vehicle to many (and still is to some of us!). Lee has provided some photos, some of which are a few years old so I don’t know if Eddie or Brian are still around. I hope you enjoyed this write-up as much as I did. Until next time!
Part of the collection of spares
FOURGONNE CONCLUSIONS
Hello again, the last issue of the year. It’s a cliche but it’s true, every year seems shorter than the one before. Time’s rushing by so let’s hurry on. Further to last month’s discussion of VilleVans and vans that could or should be considered to be ModCons, just to add to the confusion there is actually another group of odd bods on the Van Register. These are the Acadianes that have a 2CV bonnet and front wings. There’s no denying they have been modified but every part is genuine Citroen van. The picture (right) shows a typical example. It’s an old picture but chosen because the owner said at the time that he was going to convert it back to the Dyane front end. Would that make it more or less modified?
It might be a bit of a pain for the purity of registers but looking on the bright side, any car with a chassis has the potential to become like Trigger’s ancient broom that’s had three new handles and four new heads, but that’s an advantage in that it
means it’s potentially immortal. The rest is basically just paperwork.
NEWREGISTRATIONS
Joseph Ashwell was looking for an old van, what he found is something special. Joseph’s story-
“We were looking at purchasing an AZU and we began looking at all of the usualplaces, we came across this 2CV in Italy on a European car sales website.
(far left) On the description, it was listed as a 1957 AZU. My dad and I travelled down to Italy to fetch this very rare vehicle. Once we arrived, we were amazed at theconditionof the van, considering it was over 70 years old! The gentleman who was selling the van had three sheds full of 2CV parts in his garden! Once we returned home again with the van, I checked the serial numbers with a
classic Citroën website and this is where it got exciting.... We had actually purchased an ultra rare 2CV AU model. This was the earliest model of the 2CV van, featuring the very rare 375cc engine. (above right) We were so excited and felt lucky to have managed to find an AU in such good condition! Even more
Here & below: Joseph Ashwell’s van
importantly, we had French documents confirming it was an AU. After this, I called up the Citroen car club, who gave me multiple people to speak to. One of which checked it over and confirmed to us that it was indeed an AU.
“What are our plans?- Since we purchased the AU, we have completely stripped it down. We have powder coated the chassis and we have completely overhauled the friction dampers. (right) In terms of the shell, we have had it dipped to remove the old paint and we have had it red oxide primed as a protective layer while we prepare it to go to the spray shop.We plan to restore the AU back to how it was when it was new in 1954. We want to have it as close to how it looked originally as we can possibly achieve. Also, we plan to restore
it to a concours condition, so we can take it to shows. We also plan to use it and not just treat it like a museum piece.”
Thanks Joseph, that’s quite a story so far. To find a van of that vintage and for it to still have original paperwork is
unusual and very encouraging to know there are still some out there. Hopefully that wasn’t the very last one. Also encouraging is that Joseph is a relatively young member and the van is not his only old 2CV. It will be interesting to see his progress.
TOBESEENOR NOTTOBESEEN
As Shakespeare almost said, that is the question. It’s an important question to anyone intending to actually use an AU. If, like me you
were struck by the beauty of Lucy’s AU in the October magazine you may have observed how very sleek the back end of an AU looks. It looks so sleek because the pristine panels of its rear end are uncluttered by lighting. The one and only light is the single tiny number plate/rear light. (left) The only other concession to after dark safety is a small reflector. Why were Citroen so parsimonious with their lighting products, was glass in short supply or did the French not venture out after dark in the early 1950s? Things improved when the AZU (introduced in 1954) was upgraded in 1955 to include a tail light, a pair of side mounted indicators and a 2nd reflector. (below) Things went a bit mad between July ’58 and November ’61 when vans sported two new red tail lights and a single orange brake light. (right) The more usual arrangement of red stop/tail lights
and indicators followed and was carried over to the AK350. Finally the indicators were moved from the sides to the back with the AKS400.
Going back to Joseph’s AU, it’s been retro fitted with the final layout (right) so restoring originality will mean losing a degree of safety. Driving with no brake lights
would be inviting danger but fortunately there is a partial remedy. Lucy tells us that the Filles de Levallois (international club for A and AU models) have produced a very clever LED unit which fits neatly and virtually invisibly inside the rear light lens cover, and it produces a brighter rear lightand a very bright brake light. Both Lucy’s 375cc car and van have them and she says they work very well indeed.
GUESSTHEGUEST
Yes GTG is back but this time you don’t need to guess the vehicles as they are all Citroens. A few months ago we saw the Acadiane Bivouac and Simon followed this with a matching 2CV saloon. Now Chris James has been in touch to tell us more. Chris went to the 1983 Paris Motor Show which featured a large simulated desert on which were
displayed a whole family of Citroens featuring the same paint scheme, plus a Visa which was black but had seat covers matching the rest. The set of vehicles were displayed under the heading ‘Croisière Jeune’ or ‘Young Cruise’ a play on the ‘Croisière Jaune’ expedition of the 1930s. It was all intended to exploit the youth/ adventure market.
Fortunately Chris picked up a brochure so we can see for ourselves. The Acadiane which I criticised earlier actually looks pretty good on the inside (below) and it was joined by an Acadiane pick-up. (right) There’s no information on whether this vehicle or the body kit were actually available to buy. Also present was the 2CV (below right) equipped with the familiar ‘Adventure Kit’ accessories. Looking
more at home in a desert environment were the Mehari and what’s described simply as a 4x4 and looks like a FAF. (next page) The Mehari looks like a 4x4 but the text say it’s made from a 4x2 using parts of a 4x4. Presumably it was just cosmetic, ie a bonnet transplant, otherwise
why base it on a 4x2? In support is a useful looking C25 (right) and finally a very odd Visa (middle). They seemed to have run out of paint or enthusiasm by the time they got to that, or perhaps it was showtime and they ran out of preparation time.
I didn’t see these in ’83 but I did fit our 2CV Club with an Adventure bumper and headlamp guards partly in the hope of deterring people who kept pulling out in front of us. The 2CV Club is long gone but the headlamp guards are still resting in the garage, just in case I ever get called to the desert.
MANMAINTENANCE
If you’re one of 2CVGB’s many blokes over 50 and you’re wondering what would be a good New Year’s resolution to make may I suggest one of the best would be to resolve to get yourself a PSA check. You don’t need a doctor and you can keep your kegs on. Take a look at info@psatests.org.uk. This is a charity that does free prostate tests all over the country or for a small fee will send you a home testing kit. It takes seconds and is just a simple blood test. It’s easy and it might just save your life.
With that it just remains to wish you all a Happy Christmas or as this image from Doug Cunningham (right) says, Joyeux Noel.
MODCON
Hello All.
Thank you for the messages through the Modcon email address. I’ve been able to edit the template so responses now have my name on them.
Some pottering around this month avoiding the downpours and flooded roads. I usually get some comments, but my favourite is “that’s a cool car, but it’s only got 3 wheels…!!!”.
Sometimes when parking or
engine which was used in many light aircraft. I asked the stall holder if he knew if any made it into cars; he did not know. Interestingly similar historical timing to the start of BMW’s boxer engine.
departing young kids show an interest and if the weather is good and I’m not in a rush, with parents’ permission I let them sit in while the parents take photos. One mum exclaimed “we’ve come to see Cheddar Gorge, but all my son is going to remember is sitting in the small car”. Who knows, but one day when grown up they may make or get a Modcon.
I did manage to go to the Midland Model Engineering Exhibition to see some amazing model steam engines. I came across a model of a 1921/3 ABC Scorpion 2-cylinder 30hp boxer
Recently, whilst stuck in traffic, I was suddenly surrounded by white smoke, mainly coming from the exhaust and under the bonnet. A general check found no visible oil leaks and the engine still revved ok with less smoke so I coaxed the Lomax home. I suspected a tappet issue. Taking the head covers off I found a little adjustment required, but not enough to explain the smoke. However, to adjust the tappets the head bolts need to be loosened and retorqued and I found one head stud to be loose. I cleaned the threads, put thread lock on and re-torqued which is very low at only 3.5lb/ft and repeated for the other head studs. Now no smoke - phew…!!!
Happy motoring.
HY THERE!
Well, well well. Correspondence from not one, not two, but a number of you! Thank you all so much; not only does it make the life of the column writer easier, it also makes the magazine so much more interesting for everyone to read. After all, there is only so much that I can tell you about my own collection! I have held over some items until next
Boot's 'walk' van
Brands van
month so don't worry if I have not mentioned your contribution yet. Before we start though, my first picture this month was taken by my eldest sister whilst walking with her husband from Salisbury to Lyme Regis.
This van looks lovely in what appears to be its original paint and signwriting, but looking closer it looks to have been lowered and fitted with widened 'banded' wheels......which begs the question "what is under the bonnet?"
The second picture shows a black H van that is based permanently at Brands Hatch and a regular stopping point for me as their coffee is better than most!
The following four pictures show H catering vans that were at the local Shere (near Guildford) Hill Climb this yearsome of which were originally imported
and built by my old company.
The next picture is a greetings card sent to me by Richard Vance;
"Hello Alan, My name is Richard Vince, a Dyane owner but writing to you as (possibly) a guest contributor to your HVan pages. The photo below shows a greetings card that I recently sent to a friend, like-minded both in terms of gin and van.
“The card had been in my possession for about a year, and I felt it to be a pretty good piece of artistic interpretation, but after reading your September article which featured the ’Zone Bleu’ van edition, I can see that perhaps the artist had actually depicted one of those models, with its backwards-sloping front panel. I have always liked the H van, since my first This plus both on right: Shere Hill Climb
family holiday in France in 1967. Before that, I had only seen a Dinky model of the van bearing the ’Gervais’ cheese
company logo, both van and name of cheese seeming outlandish to a littletravelled primary-school boy. On arriving
in France for the first time, as a 14-year old I remember being quite awestruck at the manner in which H van drivers seemed to fling their funnycorrugated vehicles around the provincial roads with abandon. They probably weren’t going that fast, but their trick was not having to slow down for corners, which heightened the sense of drama. My father explained that Citroën’s frontdrivedesign and a wheel at each corner provided good roadholding as well as allowing for a low rear floor; as a motor engineer he could see these features as an advantage over topheavy bulbous British vans (Austins, Commers, etc.) but I think heretained an opinion that French drivers were a bit mad anyway. I’m afraid that is the limit to my H van offering to your columns, and you are welcome to share all, any, or none of it with the H van cognoscenti. I wouldn’t mind owning an H van oneday, but would determinedly not convert it to a food-wagon! Your pages are always interesting. I know you have “been there, done that,” etc. with H vans, but I’m sure there is still much to fascinate newly-joining club members. Kind regards, Richard"
My final contribution this month is from Colin Hughes, as is the picture of the fabulous green H van;
"Hi Alan,First of all, Thank you for
taking on the role of H Van Registrar. I can understand the frustration of trying to find articles to fill a space in the magazine.
“I do wonder if the fact that so many vans have been adapted for commercial purposes is part of the problem. The cost of restoring a van for personal use is not altogether viable, when it could used to earn a living. The size of the van also means that they cannot be garaged, unless you are lucky enough to have a large undercover area, or as I do, pay for storage. This is the reason my van has stayed reasonably well, since being restored 22years ago.
“It would be interesting to know how many are on the register for noncommercial use. When I purchased my van KAS 922 in 2001, there did not seem such a demand for them.
“Previously, I had restored my first 2cv and the first event I attended was Citroën
Richard Vance's card
2000 at Breamore House in Dorset.
“I was amazed all the different vehicles at the show, but my eye was immediately taken by a strange looking van crossing the field. I had never seen an H Van until then and fell in love with its quirky styling.I was smitten and decided I would look for one.
“A year later, I learnt of a van in Christchurch, that had been brought back from France after being found in a barn on the Swiss border, where it had been used as a veterinary vehicle. Once back in England, some mechanical work had been carried out to a high standard, but the owner decided that the bodywork was too much to take on.
“At that time, I owned a vehicle bodyshop and so it was the ideal project for me to take on. Over a two-year period, with the help of the lads that worked with me, the van was stripped to bare metal and wherever possible new or good second-hand panels were fitted. Obviously, I had the benefit of the workshop tools and equipment,
plus a spray oven.
“However, there was an enormous amount of hard graft involved and looking back, I wonder how I ever kept the enthusiasm up. At the weekends, I was working on the van from 6.00 a.m until midnight as I could not afford to have it taking up space during the working week. After the bodywork was completed, my own trade as a paint sprayer was put into service.
“This was made harder, as the corrugations meant that the primer could not be blocked down as normal. I had to cut down a rubber block to the width of the corrugations and then block the whole van down by hand.I did not want to convert it into a real "camper" and so I made a basic lift out bed, with storage underneath.
“Since then, we have had wonderful times visiting vehicle rallies both in France and England. Touch wood, in all that time, it has been very reliable, with no major problems.
“I look forward to many more camps and weekends away. Best wishes, Colin Hughes”
Thank you so much once again for all the contributions and now that you can all see how easy it is (!) and how good it is to see a picture of your van in the magazine, I can only imagine that I will be flooded with contributions!
Colin hughes van
BIJOU-ITIS
Hey up, due to very little (nothing) being submitted, you are being subjected to an update on 937 FRX.
Back to February 2023 you will remember I picked up the Bijou from Peak 2CV after Jonathan had serviced it. Twenty miles into the trip home I was rammed up the rear end by a white van man!
Our car has been in our ownership since 1976 and has been lovingly maintained over the years. It has had very little use, so still low mileage, just local car meets basically and 2CVGB events, where unfortunately it is usually the only Bijou to turn up.
I was always proud of the fact that the car was kept as original as possible, an electronic ignition and respray being the exception. When
purchased in 1976 by me, when it was 12 years old, it was in a very sorry state, off the road and an MoT failure.
After the accident it necessitated a complete new chassis and rear end repair. The 60-year old chassis had to go and an original specification one was sourced in France.
Obviously the insurance company wanted to write the car off but after protracted negotiations some time in May the car was off to Option 1 Sportscars, Bromsgrove to be repaired. It was a very slow turnaround, problems galore, bumper bar fiasco, first new chassis (and long-wheel base van it was in) stolen, just to name a few.
Eventually by November 2024 the MoT was passed and the car was running as it should.
Friday 8th November we travelled to Option 1 to look the car over before delivery. We were very pleased with the final result. Delivery is expected next week and the Bijou should be back in our garage by the time this goes to print. We are looking forward to all next year’s events, August 2025 in particular
could be busy. There is Registers’ Day, The British Motor Show and Silverstone Classics Weekend.
P.S. I am eagerly awaiting three progress reports on three separate Bijous! Don’t be shy - let me know what’s happening.
What’s Cooking?
What do a white wedding dress, the practice of hanging baubles on a fir tree, a three-tier cake and the sending of greetings cards to everyone in your address book have in common? These were all traditions introduced by the Victorians, by copying Queen Victoria and Prince Albert themselves, some of which come from Prince Albert’s German heritage. A number of these customs have become so engrained in our culture, we still practice many of them today. Fortunately, dressing all in black and pretending to be widowed fell out of fashion quite quickly. Equally, talking openly about death but not about sex has also been reversed over the course of a century since, so as we all know, not all fads and fashions stick. However, when you decorate your Christmas tree this advent, or pull a cracker at the dinner table on Christmas day, you can thank the Victorians for their legacy to the people of our nation!
SAFELYBRINGINGHOMETHEBACON
Of course, another thing that became the norm in Victorian times was the expansion of travel with the industrial revolution and all modes of transport that expanded with it. Folks migrated to work in cities and, for me, not much has changed there, since I can often be found peregrinating about these islands of ours and others, as well as continents further afield. This year, I will be ‘driving home for Christmas’, properly so to speak, and will be preparing my vehicle for the long drive.
I recently embarked on a long road trip only to find I had left my emergency bottle of engine oil in the garage, which was not so helpful, but also not such a big deal since it was easily replaced en route. Also, the clocks hadn’t changed, and the car was running well, so with travelling in the daylight and the cold not setting in yet, it would not have been such as problem, had I broken down. That said, it is always a good idea to be proactive when preparing for a long journey, unlike my mother who was always led by the car letting her know when something had gone awry. I will never forget her telling me that she knew when the floor of the 2CV needed welding because the rainwater would splash up the back of her legs! Well, those days are gone, and I will think more carefully about driving home for Christmas so that, in case of any breakdown or diversion, I will be better prepared.
Checking the vehicle is at the top of the list, otherwise I will be going nowhere. Engine oil levels, screen wash and tyre pressure are the obvious checks along with wiper blades and lights. Plotting routes is so much easier these days with GPS to our phones, all
updated continuously in real time, but it is important to give oneself enough time, especially if the weather is bad. I always get frustrated when folks don’t slow down in the rain, as if doubling your stopping distance were not enough to frighten you, let alone the consequences of not being mindful in ice and snow. It is important to be realistic and take a decision not to travel if weather events are prohibitive. Even if I am in the middle of nowhere (or halfway to somewhere), I am always prepared to find a hotel or similar if I really must.
Emergency kits are often a lifesaver including, but not limited to, first aid, puncture repair, spare lights and fuses, a foot pump, a pressure gauge, engine oil and ways of keeping yourself fed and watered whilst you are on the road. I also keep a couple of cushions in the car and it is wise to carry a blanket or two. I recently purchased a cushion from Ikea that folded out into a sleeping bagesque quilt with two arms like a jacket. I snapped up a few since they were such a genius piece of design and would be perfect for keeping warm if one became stranded for whatever reason. Ideally, if you can travel with more than one driver, so much the better, but if you are alone, it is important to take regular breaks and keep fresh air coming into the car so you are kept alert on your journey. If you can keep yourself entertained, that will also help. My father had a habit of listening to Radio 4 in the car, complete with the shipping forecast and, whilst this might have a beautiful poetry to it, it is also hypnotic and sleep-inducing and does not come recommended if you are at the wheel. Ideally, something more upbeat to keep you engaged!
FESTIVENOSEBAG
One of the German traditions that Prince Albert did not bring to the UK as a result of his marriage to Queen Victoria was the baking of Plätzchen throughout advent. These are a huge variety of biscuits and cookies which make up a ‘Bunter Teller’ (colourful plate) should anyone drop by for a hot drink (or stronger) and a chat. I learnt about these recipes when I was a student living in Berlin and I have been following the tradition ever since, trying out new recipes whenever I can. Since these biscuits are intended to last the whole of advent, the yield for each recipe is around 100, so just creating two or three different bakes will give you an assortment to last some weeks, unless you are yours are particularly ‘gourmand’, or you have a lot of unexpected guests.
When this magazine hits your mat, my baking days will have already begun, and I will also be preparing to drive home from Dublin (with the help of Irish Ferries), saying goodbye to my accommodation that I use during the working week, which will also include saying farewell to the neighbourhood pets. One of the neighbours here is a greedy pony named Chester who roams
around the paddock next to my apartment. I know nothing about equine matters, but apparently horses are prone to chomping away without stopping on any pasture or nosebag, seemingly like locusts, leaving nothing in their wake. The owner enlightened me that Chester must be brought in at night to stop him from eating. Chester is obviously an allor-nothing guy and I like his style; he’s definitely a kindred spirit! I will be prudent to only feed him the usual carrots and apples in the run up to Christmas and offer any Plätzchen to his owners, as would be the neighbourly thing to do.
As 2024 draws to a close I will reflect on the last twelve months to assess the good, the bad and the ugly as I often do at this time of year, however, a friend recently encouraged me not to look back in regret by gifting me with the photographed fridge magnet! I would encourage you to do the same as the year turns. Wishing everyone at 2CVGB a wonderful Christmas and New Year too. I look forward to seeing you in a field in 2025. And remember, no matter what Santa says, it is actually always about the food.
IAATF!
The Cambridge Legless Frogs have been around for over 35 years. Although we’re all active on the national and international scene, we fell out of the habit of meeting as a local group since lockdown. This needs to change!
We’re having a ‘reboot’ meeting in January to plan for 2025. We’ll meet in a Cambridge pub, then plan where, when and how often we should meet going forward.
If you’d like to get involved, please email annahalfpenny@gmail.com or text 07801 812 546 with your contact details by 31 December. Thanks to everyone who’s already responded via the post on the 2CVGB Official Facebook group – no need to contact me again.
Looking forward to meeting some new faces then. We know you’re out there! Hic!
