June 2024

2CVGB NEWS

THE BRITISH MOTOR SHOW

Farnborough 15 - 18 August 2024

*all displaying vehicles will receive a ticket free of charge (2 adults & 2 under 17's)

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 © The Deux Chevaux Club of Great Britain Ltd

MAGAZINE TEAM James Duffell editor@2cvgb.com Yellow Dog Design small.ads@2cvgb.com

BONJOURÀTOUS

Well, last month’s plea for feedback fell on deaf ears. Not one solitary response. Either everyone is happy with things as they are or they’re too apathetic to do anything. Let’s hope it’s the former.

We moved home a few weeks ago. We now live in a small off-grid stone ex-shepherd’s hut between vineyards and the Mediterranean. Access is through the vineyards.

Imagine my surprise when, after some heavy rain, the track turned into a slurry-like substance and the Caban got stuck. In 45 years of driving Dyanes, it’s the first time I’ve ever got stuck in mud!

After waiting for the sunshine (and wind) to return and armed with a spade and using the jack, the Caban was freed, but it was a lesson learned.

Membership of 2CVGB is by annual subscription: UK £34, Europe £80 (£34 with E-magazine), 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).

In other matters, the insurance renewal for my Dyane and AK250 that are in England came up for renewal recently. I phoned Peter James, the club’s new insurance partner and managed to save over £100. Price might be important, but nowhere near as much as the quality of cover (I spent 20 years working in insurance, some of it as a motor claims handler), so was delighted to find the cover with Peter James is better too.

See you in a field somewhere.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this magazine, the reader

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

JUNE

2ND CHESHIRE DRAGONS VISIT TO BODNANT GARDENS, North Wales (National Trust) to see the lovely laburnum arch and stunning gardens. Cafe on site which opens at 09:00 or picnic if preferred. It will get busy so it’s preferable to book sooner rather than later. Admission is £16 per person unless you are National Trust member. For more information, please refer to the Cheshire Dragons Facebook page

6TH AIRE COOLED ALLEY CATS JIM’S TREASURE HUNT. 19:00 start from the entrance of Fire Clay Business Park (Citwins), Thornton Road, Bradford, BD13 3QG. The finish is at a pub

16TH POMPEY PUDDLEDUCKS VISIT TO HOLLYCOMBE STEAM MUSEUM

CLASSIC CAR DAY. (Father’s Day), Iron Hill, Midhurst Road, Liphook, Hampshire. GU30 7LP (https://www.hollycombe.co.uk/events/classic-cargathering). Join us in your classic vehicle to exhibit for £10 per car. Price includes token cards for all car occupants to use on the rides as they wish. Further details can be found at https://2cvgb.co.uk/events-2cvgb/

21-23RD BROADLAND DUCKS DUCK POND CAMP at Park Farm, Park Lane, Scarning, Dereham, NR19 2LD. Camp the weekend or just drop in to be social and enjoy the company and a drive out. Contact Chris Farnham for more details on 07836 675858

23RD 2CVGB COMMITTEE MEETING online only from 10:00. For further information please contact the Secretary 23RD 2CV RACING Lydden Hill (Kent). Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2024 2CVParts.com Championship. Two 15 minute sprint races forming part of the unique Historics On The Hill event. Up to two spectators arriving in any pre-1990 car can get half price entry. Other racing series will also be present over the weekend

JULY

4TH AIRE COOLED ALLEY CATS CELEBRATION BBQ AT JIM AND LIZ’S HOME.

Fire, salads and buns provided. Please bring something to incinerate. All welcome. Phone 07939162960 for more information

5-7TH CHESHIRE DRAGONS 9TH CARROG CAMP at Carrog near Corwen, North Wales. This coincides with the Llangollen Transport Festival incorporating the Glyndyfrdwy car show two miles from Carrog. There will also be a drive to Pontcysllte Aqueduct through the beautiful North Wales countryside for lunch

12-14TH CITRÖEN FESTIVAL 2024. Abbots Ripton Village Hall, The Green, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, PE28 2PF. For more details please refer their websitehttps://citroencarclub.org.uk/

26-28TH SOUWESCARGOTS DARTMOOR CAMP at Martins Park, Whiddon Down, EX20 2QL. There will be a Devon flag outside. Camping available from Thursday to Monday. To book please contact either Justin on 07891274547, justinjamesrowe@aol.com or Ant on 07890 950290, awallis@email.com. Further details can be found on our website

AUGUST

4TH

CHESHIRE DRAGONS TRIP TO CROSBY BEACH to see Antony Gormley’s Another Place followed by lunch at the Bus Yard pop up bar. For more information, please refer to the Cheshire Dragons Facebook page 14-18TH ICCCR TORUN, POLAND. For full details https://icccr2024.pl/en/ 15-18TH BRITISH MOTOR SHOW Come and display your A series on the 2CVGB stand which will be part of the award winning Citroën Village created in conjunction with CCC and TOC where we will be celebrating 90 Years of Citroën Front Wheel Drive. All models and conditions welcomed! For more details contact Jim Gibson on 07594 232602

22-27TH NORTH SOMERSET TIN SNAILS NSTS CAMP on a site near Wells with views across the levels to Glastonbury Tor. The campsite has toilets and showers and is within walking distance of three pubs, village shop & cafe. Scenic drive on Saturday and a camp tea party on the Sunday. Email Liz at nsts2cv@gmail.com for details and booking form. For those wishing to stay longer and travel direct to the National extra nights can be booked at the site’s normal rate

23-25TH 2CV RACING Snetterton (Norfolk). Round 7 of the 2024 2CVParts.com Championship, the legendary 2CV 24 hour race. Come along and experience this amazing round the clock event, as 2CVs battle it out with the equally impressive Mini Grands. The 24 hour race begins on Saturday 24th

30-1ST 2CVGB NATIONAL The Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire. Please note pre-booking only

SEPTEMBER

1ST CHESHIRE DRAGONS NORTH WALES CASTLE TRIP AND LUNCH. Further details to follow.

5– 8TH LANCASTER BOMBERS SILLOTH CAMP (No beer festival). To book camping (tent/caravan/motorhome) go to cove.co.uk/Solway or phone 01697 331236 (no need to mention the 2cv camp). Mourn the end of the beer festival!

20–22ND POMPEY PUDDLEDUCKS “CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY” CAMP. Wicks Farm Holiday Park, Redlands Lane, West Wittering, Chichester. PO20 8QE. Full details can be found on our website

OCTOBER

3RD AIRE COOLED ALLEY CATS FISH AND CHIP NIGHT. Venue TBA 12TH CHESHIRE DRAGONS VISIT TO OULTON PARK. For more information, please refer to the Cheshire Dragons Facebook page 12TH 2CV RACING OULTON PARK (CHESHIRE). Rounds 8 and 9 of the 2024 2CVParts.com Championship. Two 15 minute sprint races. Other racing series will also be present over the weekend

27TH HUDDERSFIELD TWIN POTS BI-MONTHLY BREAKFAST & BANTER at The

Oil Can Café at The Carding Shed, Washpit Mills, Green Lane, Holmfirth HD9 2RD. See Facebook group for additional events. Contact Tim Jones on 07926 272437 (trwjones500@gmail.com)

NOVEMBER

3RD

CHESHIRE DRAGONS LUNCH AT THE DRUID INN, Llanferres, North Wales

DECEMBER

7TH

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 29TH

HUDDERSFIELD TWIN POTS BI-MONTHLY BREAKFAST & BANTER at The Oil Can Café.

Hello all, I’m going to keep this short as there are so many Overseas Meetings to tell you about they won’t ft here. The rest you can find, hopefully, on the 2cvGB website: 2cvgb. co.uk/events-overseas2cv

JUNE2024

14.06.24 - 16.06.24 Germany 77963 21st Rhinschnogge meeting in Schwanau / Ottenheim at the sports centre with swimming lake, snacks, great food, drinks, campfire. Info: Petra and Martin, Tel.: 0157 72104109 or riethmuellerpm@web.de 20.06.24 - 23.06.24 Denmark 6720 Fanoe Mini-Traef 2024 on Fanoe, in Soenderho, Landevejen 43. For overnight stays, please register early (kite festival) at one of the neighbouring campsites. Or rent a holiday home, possibly longer. Meeting registration: Erik Olesen tel. +45 4028 6474.

contest, drinks, sandwiches and much more. Please pre-register: www.a-typen-treffen.de/ voranmeldung. Contact: Anke Meisen & Ella Philippi, e-mail: team-atreffen@gmx.de, http:// www.a-typen-treffen.de

28.06.24 - 30.06.24 France 53600 Le Woodstock of Kitcar 2CV 2024 in Voutre (53) Meeting for kitcars based on the 2CV. Registration list available soon. Info: on FB at "Kitcares 2CV et derives"

JULY2024

05.07.24 - 07.07.24 Germany 95326 2CV meeting at the Moenchshof brewery museum in Kulmbach Info: Igel, Mobile: 0179-9722425

11.07.24 - 14.07.24 I-24038 3rd Raduno Nazionale Italiano 2CV e derivate in Sant' Omobono Terme Club Italia bicilindriche Citroen, https://www. bicilindrichecitroen.com

MONTH

21.06.24 - 23.06.24 Netherlands 8474 16th Lindetreffen in Oldeholtpade, Hoofdweg 169b. Programme full of surprises, lottery, flea market, bike/car search, no electricity, price 17.50 euros. Info: lindetreffen@outlook.com, phone Marko +31 (0)6-11258595, Ruud +31 (0)6-52181677

28.06.24 - 30.06.24 Austria 3252 8th Erlauftal meeting in Kendl near Petzenkirchen in the Mostviertel region

Info: Josef Nestinger, Tel: +43 (0)664 73 91 88 60, E-Mail: nestinger.josef@aon.at

28.06.24 - 30.06.24 Germany 54568 11th A-Type meeting in the Eifel with campfire, reading, market place, beauty

26.07.24 - 29.07.24 Luxemburg-9576 Toujours vivant, Toujours debout - 2CV meeting of the 2CV Club Devil Ducks Letzebuerg: Fri 26 July from 15h!, Rue du Village, 9576 Wiltz/Weidingen, Luxembourg. Available are: Idyllic. Location in the Luxembourg Ardennes, showers, toilets, scullery, campfire, wifi, convoy to the 10th DET, Gedern. 31.07.24 - 04.08.24 Germany 63688

10th German meeting of the friends of the 2CV DET 2024 in Gedern. Info and registration www.det-2024.de

That’s it for this month, Drive on the right

Hi all, finally, at last the sun is out. In my last write up I was praying for sunshine and for the rain to stop (along with thousands of others I know), so that I could stop washing Chilli after our walks, and it’s happened, he stays a clean little puppy and it’s great to get the shorts out, roof down on the car and dry walk in the sunshine.

If you need to contact me regarding any memsec matters, missing mags, change of address details etc., could you please make email the first course of action. I check my memsec emails every day and if I can will answer straight away, also I can check at the same time I have the correct email address on the system for you. Obviously if you do not use a computer, then a phone call is fine but please leave a message if I don`t answer as it is my personal phone not a memsec line and I cannot always answer, and unfortunately my 2CV didn’t come with hands free so I can’t answer whilst driving.

That’s it for now, have fun and take care out there

FORUM UPDATE

Last November when I took over the role of webmaster, I quickly became aware that a number of people thought that it was a great shame that the existing forum couldn't be used alongside the new website.

The old forum was created in 2010 and had not been upgraded since. The programme actually stopped being supported by the creators in 2014 so, basically, it wasn't compatible with the new website or membership system and could have crashed at any time losing all the of valuable technical help that had been posted over the years.

It has taken many failed attempts but I am now pleased to report that the old forum is now back up and running on a new cloud based platform with ongoing support from the developers.

You can access the forum via the Forum button in the Member's Area of the website. This forum will replace the 'newer' style, and little used forum that

we had been running for the last six months. When you get to the forum you will need to register separately for access. It cannot be linked up to your Crossmember membership. If you used the 'old' forum previously you can login with your old credentials. The forum is meant to be a benefit to club members only but it is apparent that many non-members had access to it. Over the coming months we will be closing down the non-member accounts. If you previously used the forum and want to retain your old profile you need to let me know.

When you click the Forum button in the Member's Area, you will be able to fill in a form to retain your old profile. You will have until 30th June to do this. All accounts not claimed by this date will be permanently closed.

If you have never used the forum please take a look. There is a wealth of knowledge within our membership and now we are able to share it with current and future generations of A-series owners. Unlike social media where technical help posts disappear quickly, forum posts are retained and are searchable so let's make this a vibrant and active feature of 2CVGB again.

THOUGHTS ON INSURANCE

I was interested to read the article in the April edition of the magazine, about the link-up made by the club with Peter James insurance. As it happens, my insurance was coming up for renewal at the end of April so I thought, why not try them. This, more especially since the renewal premium quote on my Dolly from my regular broker, had leapt up alarmingly, despite no claims having been made. You are correct in saying P J has a friendly team if you telephone them and they do go through in detail all of the information one needs to have to hand on the phone, which must have taken about half an hour to do. At the end of it, however, I was surprised and somewhat disappointed to find that they were even more expensive (some of those ‘free’ covers have seemingly been built into their basic quotes) than my regular insurer, who was already too expensive! I therefore decided to look elsewhere and turned to one of your regular

Everyone's circumstances differ from an insurance quoting perspective and it didn’t suit John in this instance. We have never said that it will be the best option for everyone but we would say its certainly worth our members getting a quote. In some cases you might get a cheaper quote elsewhere but you have got to look at it on a like for like basis. I assume from John’s letter that what he got from Footman James wasn't the same as the package he was offered by Peter James. Perhaps he didn’t want all the other benefits included in the higher price and if so that's fine. Already a number of other members have made reported savings by going with the

advertisers, Footman James (I assume not related to Peter James?) and was able to easily fill in all the information online, that had taken so long and been more difficult to do, over the phone. I was also pleasantly surprised to find the instant quote that then came up instantly on my screen, was significantly cheaper than your ‘partner’ company, as well as my current insurer, so Footman

James now has my business

One footnote to all this which comes to mind, is whether it is wise, for 2CVGB to link themselves up as a club, with any one insurer? For a start, Footman James (amongst others) have been regular fullpage advertisers in the club magazine, so wouldn’t they expect the club to remain totally impartial as far as members making choices as to which insurer to use, rather than promoting in editorial content, just one company in particular?

Food for thought perhaps.

Yours sincerely

2cvGB insurance, myself for one, with a scooter, modern Citroën and three A series all going onto one policy and saving me about £300 on insurance and breakdown cover I previously bought separately. Another one of our members (Tim Sidaway) has reported on the 2cvGB Official Facebook group that the quote he received would save his family about £700 and allow the younger drivers in the family to be able to get cover to drive an A series. This ability to offer cover for younger drivers under 24 is something we couldn’t find with other insurers. If we are going to get new people into the club and driving A series cars they need to be

able to get insurance. This cover for younger drivers under 24 is only available under a solus agreement and was one of the main reasons for the committee's eventual decision to enter into this agreement with PJ.

Other notable benefits are the retained salvage, your own agreed value accepted without the need for written submissions and photos (which if you have a few vehicles as many members do, is a real pain each year) also member to member cover is another benefit you don’t normally get with other insurers. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I think that this was something we had to try to see how much take up there would be, to get that younger driver cover and offer the members another

ANOTHER VIEW ON INSURANCE

I just wanted to say how pleased I was to read the announcements in April's 2CVGB News about the club's new arrangement with Peter James insurance.

The difficulties younger drivers have faced insuring their classic cars has been an issue for many years, I remember Sam Fieldhouse mentioning the subject during his tenure as editor. I was peripherally involved with some of the preliminary discussions with Peter James as a kind of 'test case', with a 22 year old family member who had found it previously impossible to get proper classic insurance for his Acadiane despite having travelled all his life in the family's A-series Citroëns and having restored the van himself. I was pleased to discover that a classic car insurer finally seems to understand the difficulties faced by younger drivers and

option. Our arrangement with FJ was a commercial one with them paying for advertising and paying commission on policies they sold. The guaranteed minimum commission payments we will receive annually from PJ under the agreement will more than cover the lost advertising revenue and commission received in recent years from FJ, so the club has lost nothing in terms of income. All our members still have the option to go with any insurer they wish if what they offer (or don’t) suits and so does the price, but we wanted to put another new option out there for our members and increase the range of people that could get cover and the agreement was the only way to do it.

the consequent ageing demographic of classic car clubs in general, including 2CVGB. I believe they have similar arrangements with some other classic car clubs which are working very well. It has been pointed out that insurance works differently in most of Europe, in that if a car is insured and owned by a parent or grandparent the younger drivers in the family are free to use it. I'm sure this is partly why the 2CV club scene in France and elsewhere is much more vibrant than it has become in the UK, another issue which has been mentioned by Paul Brice and others. It seems that at last this could be a possibility here.

The additional benefits such as automatic retained salvage rights and the provision to allow paid self-repair in the case of an accident will also come as a relief to many of us who have had

protracted discussions in the past with other insurers who insist on quotes from 'approved repairers' who may know nothing about our cars and won't factor in the availability of used parts when quoting for repair. Making it appear 'uneconomical' to fix a cherished classic is a shame if it could be easily and cheaply returned to the road if the network of local club specialists could be used to provide the necessary parts and assistance and properly paid by the insurer.

I have had my moped collection insured with Peter James for many years and have found them very helpful and competitively priced for the level of cover they offer. Although my renewal date is not until the Autumn I will be contacting them for a quote with a view

to insuring our cars with them too.

Of course there's nothing to prevent club members sticking with their existing insurer or getting quotes elsewhere, but it's worth properly comparing the benefits offered by each rather than just the price and I must say that from my communications with Peter James they would appear to be offering the club pretty much exactly what we have been saying we needed rather than just dressing up a standard insurance policy as a 'classic' policy with few if any of the benefits offered as standard here.

I have no commercial interest here, I am just speaking as the father of a very relieved 22-year-old classic car owner!

All the best,

LUNCH MEETING

A nice little line-up at The Swan, Abbots Langley, on 18th April as the S.T.A.G.S. met for lunch.

COMMITTEE POSTS FOR ELECTION 2024

Below is the list of posts up for election this year. As you can see, Matt and I are not re-standing for our positions (I’ve served over 10 years on the Committee and Matt has served a lot longer) and the posts of Risk & Compliance and Registrars Co-ordinator are vacant. Nominations for any of the posts, whether someone is standing or not can be submitted. Nominations can be sent to me at Secretary@2cvgb.com or by post. The nomination just needs the person’s name and membership no. plus the names and membership no.s of the

two other members proposing and seconding them. NOMINATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 30th JUNE 2024 Why not come forward and join the Committee? Meetings now are either online or hybrid with some members physically meeting and others online, so location or mobility should not preclude anyone. If you are interested in any of the posts, contact the current holder or contact myself or Vanessa at chair@2cvgb.com regarding the posts currently vacant.

AGENDA FOR THE MEETING OF THE DEUX CHEVAUX CLUB OF GREAT BRITAIN (2CVGB) LIMITED TO BE HELD ON SUNDAY 23RD JUNE 2024 AT 10.00AM ONLINE

NOTICEBOARD

RAID HELMSDALE AND RAID LOCH NESS

Once again, 2cv Highland hosted Raid Helmsdale and Raid Loch Ness 2024 on the 6th and 7th April. We had a turnout of 12 A-series Citroëns on both days. Quite a few folk made the effort and came from afar and it was nice to see familiar faces return for another year. This is great considering we are so far north in the Highlands of Scotland! A few new cars too which is always lovely to see. Luckily Storm Kathleen didn’t stop us despite some heavy winds and the weather turned out to be mixed with sunny spells and some showers. A few route changes this year were received well

and added some different scenic roads and some extra distance. RH was 109 miles and RLN was 119 miles, mostly on singletrack roads.

We had one breakdown, a car that wasn’t charging properly and running

poorly. Of course, we all stopped and pitched in to get it back up and running. The issue turned out to be a fan belt which was too long and slipping and a carburettor full of dirt. A quick strip down of the carb, clean of the jets and a

different alternator belt did the trick! It ran fine for the rest of the raid.

Once again everyone’s highlight was the Corkscrew section on Raid Loch Ness, a very narrow and very steep section of tight hairpin bends. 1st gear all the way up and huge amounts of fun! A big thanks to Lawrence and Anne for their help in organising the lunch stop hall on RH with tasty treats and hot drinks! The Sunday night meal was enjoyed by all. Next year might see a few changes and maybe a different raid all together.

Provisional dates are 5th and 6th April 2025, make sure to save the dates!

Hopefully see you then,

Photo credits: Emma Garden, John McNaught, Nathan Martin

Oh dear, the club doesn’t seem to have been in a happy place in June 2013, with complaints about the membership fee, no-one stepping up to join the committee or to organise events and one member complaining that 2CVGB had become a camping club!

The need for members to put themselves forward for committee positions came up in a few articles in the magazine. At this time one committee member was doing two of the essential roles-secretary and treasurer, the membership secretary was doing the role in an acting capacity and there were eight positions coming to the end of their term within a few months. There were discussions about having to employ and pay qualified people or outside companies to take on these roles. One article contrasts this situation with the ‘old days’ where there were several people standing for each position and they were expected to do a presentation to explain what they thought they

could bring to the role!

Another recurring theme in this month’s mag was discussions on fitting Smart car tyres to A-series cars. Overwhelmingly, it was suggested that it wasn’t a good idea.

The magazine had a distinctly foreign theme this month with a feature on

Janez Kezmah’s 2CV workshop in Slovenia, a comprehensive feature on the Cimos Dak written by Mr Kezmah and an article from Nick Fitzpatrick detailing his participation in the Touareg Trail the previous year. The event, which featured 15 2CVs, 2 Dyanes and a Méhari, involved driving from Brussels to Benin in West Africa, a distance of just under 6000 miles. It’s a fascinating read and not for the faint hearted as one section involved crossing a mine field!

Back to the Cimos Dak. Cimos were born out of Tomos, a hugely successful company in socialist Yugoslavia that made motorbikes.

In 1961 they started to produce Citroëns and formed the new company Cimos. Over the years they figured out how to make cheaper and easier to build versions and in 1982 launched the Dak, a Dyane on an AKS400 chassis

a series specialist based in west yorkshire

All works undertaken from maintenance and servicing to restorations no job too big or too small

with a van or pick up back. All the cars were hand-made and no two were the same. Sadly increased taxation of ‘cargo vehicles’ and the introduction of the C15 meant that the Dak was only built for three years, so is a rare beast today.

The classifieds, as usual didn’t disappoint. The ad that caught my eye was someone offering knitted items featuring the Citroën chevrons, including striped cushions, striped scarves, reversible hats, fun socks, children’s hats and polo neck inserts (yes, I’ve no idea what they are either). If you have any of these items tucked away in your wardrobe and fancy modelling them, please, please send in a picture.

Contact Alan Rogers 07580728847 citwins@hotmail.co.uk

23 Years Ownership and Counting…

I was given B872 KUY, a rather poorly Charleston, in September 2001 and when the chassis split in half a year or so later it was a case of love her or bin her. In those days it would have cost money to scrap her and to be frank, I only became besotted later. Fortunately, I chose the former option and started to rebuild her from the ground up. I did all the work myself including teaching myself to weld after a fashion. The first MOT following restoration apparently came in 2011, something I find hard to credit looking back, but I have the evidence! Nearly a decade of amateurish faffing about, though in mitigation I was limited in

having no undercover work space as well as doing a demanding job and having other priorities on my income.

I joined 2CVGB in July 2015 and my car’s photo appeared in the October issue of the magazine that year. She was listed there as a Club, whereas she is actually a red and black Charleston, according to the 1985 V5.

Over the years I’ve continued to do my own thing, interspersed with expert input, of which more later. I’ve even had my reversing light solution featured in mag 510. I’ve enclosed a few sample DIY welding pics to illustrate some of my other efforts. (both below) During the

initial restoration I bought two new front wings and prepared them both in the same way. The offside is still on the car but the nearside rotted through in what seemed like days and ended up held together with gorilla tape. Pictures show the rescue of the original nearside, on the car for many years now, and also more recently of the original offside which will be ready when needed. (both below) I’ve not thrown anything salvageable away, even if it seemed too much trouble at the time. More sheds needed.

About 10 years ago I was able to buy an engine and transmission unit from a former member. After a trip to a 2CV meeting in Brittany in 2017, the original engine was feeling very tired after 128,000 miles. I rebuilt the spare forensically and fitted 9:1 pistons and barrels in the process. The new engine

has now covered 23,000 miles and seems to get better all the time.

Once I’d dismantled the original engine, I discovered that the front main bearing had moved off its dowel which had gouged a track along a third of its circumference. I sent the crank off to VGS in their Belgian enclave for reconditioning and I’ve now rebuilt the whole engine, again with 9:1 pistons and barrels. Pete Sparrow and his team have bench-tested it, and it now sits in my shed like a sleeping dragon.

The spare gearbox has been reconditioned by Rick Pembro. I dismantled and cleaned it and sent it to him for reassembly noting that I couldn’t see much wrong with the components. His response (he was kind enough not to laugh) was to wonder about the reason for the Dyane differential and who could

have abused the box so cruelly (it wasn’t me!). He rebuilt it with all the correct gubbins and, like the engine, it is stored in my shed should it be needed. (above)

Back to the expert input. Pete Sparrow and his team at Sparrow Automotive have totally transformed my car for the better over the past four or five years. Larger jobs have included fitting a replacement clutch and exchange gearbox (before I got my own spare ‘box sorted), fettling the kingpins and fitting ‘Belgian arms’, fitting a new windscreen surround, fitting a new nearside sill, fitting new quarter floor panels and a new bulkhead up to battery height. Of course, I had done some of this work myself back in the day but that was over 20 years ago and, in all humility, not to their standard. In any case nothing lasts forever.

At MOT time the car goes to Pete for a pre-test check, hopefully to ensure a smooth passage through the test itself which he organises with a testing station familiar with the model. This has got round the problem of testers

who tell you, for example, that your handbrake is non-existent until you point out that it operates on the front axle, not the rear.

I still have no undercover working space so while servicing and small jobs are OK for me, any bigger jobs have to be seasonal, or, if urgent, delegated with confidence.

My car would definitely not win a beauty contest, being largely hand-painted in what I call black tractor paint. While by no means pretty, it does make maintenance easier, and if she was better looking, I’d probably be scared to take her out. (below)

As to cost, despite my heroic DIY efforts, I reckon that I’ve shelled out about £20,000 over 23 years on a car that’s worth less than a quarter of that sum. It sounds a lot, but on reflection, over time and especially when taking the pleasure I continue to get from the car into account, it’s probably excellent value.

Classic Citroën Specialists

FULLY FETTLED FOR FRANCE

In preparation for our first ever road trip to France in our 1984 Acadiane, we arranged to book in for a “full fettle” with Jonathan Holmes (aka Peak 2CV), in Wirksworth, Derbyshire.

Having recently posted a plaintive plea on the 2CVGB members Facebook page for some practical mechanical tuition and

an induction as to what mysteries go on under the bonnet, Jono had kindly responded, suggesting that we take the opportunity of the service to hang around and watch what he was doing while the van was on the ramps.

I don’t think I’ll be getting my NVQ any time soon, but it was certainly a fascinating and very useful session. Three and a half hours of tinkering later, the van had a new spring in its step, although to be fair it hadn’t needed much doing, the engine and the bodywork was sound. Oil changed. Once the sump plug had been persuaded to shift, it had become rounded and wouldn’t fit the spanner. The sump plug and washer were replaced.

• New oil filter.

• New spark plugs.

• King pins greased! This needs to be done every 1000 miles or so.

• Suspension fed vegetable oil

• Passenger side back wheel replaced with spare (better condition) and a new tyre purchased for front driver’s side which was worn and would have failed an MoT. Learned you must align the dot on the new tyre with the valve for balance. I later passed that knowledge on to the local tyre fitter who did the honours.

• New brake pads fitted.

• New clutch ordered and existing one adjusted (with instruction to go easy on it!)

• Handbrake adjusted so it no longer has to be pulled almost to my ears and then still unreliable on a slope, a short tug is now enough.

• Gear stick given a quick spray of silicone spray and now feels like a greased eel (in a good way). I’m told talcum powder also works wonders on sticky gear lever bushes.

• Learned not to use anything other than LHM green brake fluid, will now discard the stuff I had on standby for any potential brake fluid emergency. The clutch will be sorted when the parts come and Jono has a

window available to do the work, but for now I can honestly say the van is running like a dream and is a total joy to drive. I hope that our trip to my sister’s farm in France will be the first of many and that the van will enjoy the adventure as much as we will.

A bientôt.

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2CVGB CLUB INSURANCE JUNE UPDATE

by Dave Youngs

As I write this, it feels like Summer has finally arrived, with some stunningly sunny days. So, I hope you’ve all managed to get your cars out on the road and make the most of it; we waited long enough!

Legendary racing driver Sir Stirling Moss was a loyal and valued supporter of Peter James for many years. We have fond memories of him being present on our stands at various motor shows and he always enjoyed touring the clubs with us. In early May, a Service of Thanksgiving for his life and achievements was held at Westminster Abbey.

Tributes were made during the service by Sir Jackie Stewart and Simon Taylor, with a reading given by Sir Stirling Moss’s son, Stirling Elliot Moss, Duke of Richmond and Gordon and Charles Shields, and Derek Bell said prayers. At the start of the service, Damon Hill,the racing driver’s godson, led the procession with Sir Stirling’s white helmet, ten British Racing Driving Club Gold Stars and the Monaco 1961 trophy.

I’m not sure whether Sir Stirling ever sampled the delights of driving a 2CV, but some of the most famous racing cars piloted by Sir Stirling Moss were

positioned outside the Abbey. Because he passed away during the first lockdown of the pandemic, this was the first chance we had to commemorate his life correctly, and it was a unique occasion. See the Peter James socials for some pictures of the event.

As we start to consider our holiday trips, don’t forget that there is no need to pay the often sizeable additional breakdown cover costs – especially if you are heading into Europe to take your 2CV back to the motherland of France. Standalone cover for recovery and repatriation can be expensive, but if you are insured through your club’s scheme, you have UK and European breakdown cover included in your premium. This will ensure your vehicle reaches a suitable place of repair if abroad, or indeed, if it cannot be repaired, then we will repatriate the car for you and take care of your onward travel. This will usually be through the provision of a hired car. It’s one less cost to worry about and a lot of peace of mind when venturing on holiday in the UK or Europe. Of course, your insurance covers you for travel in Europe fully comprehensively for 90 days. Another weight off your mind, we hope. Now you can focus on packing and which hotels to book!

We’d love to hear from you. To speak to a member of our friendly team and to request a quote, please call our club’s dedicated insurance lineon0121 506 6034 .

Lucy Cutler 59 Roundle Ave, Felpham, West Sussex PO22 8LJ 07787511877 49-60register@2cvgb.com

POSITION VACANT

Please contact registrarscoordinator @2cvgb.com for information

Will Waldron 31 Chequer Street, Fenstanton, Cambs PE28 9JQ drumbrake@2cvgb.com

Simon Mackett 19 Railway Road, Wisbech, Cambs PE13 2QA discbrake@2cvgb.com

Mark Dunmore

The Moorings, Cross Keys Lane, Coningsby, Lincs, LN4 4RT 01526 342246 dyane@2cvgb.com

Moss Foster 59 Haysman Close, Letchworth SG6 1UD 07914155917 ami@2cvgb.com

Mike Good

37 Rupert Avenue, High Wycombe, Bucks HP12 3NG 07375 852546 vans@2cvgb.com

Paul Brice

Lower Barn, Rockfield, Monmouth NP25 5QD 01600 715810 and 07887 845810 mehari@2cvgb.com

Andrew Teverson

19 Prestwood Road, Weoley Castle, Birmingham B29 5EB 07899 076018 modcon@2cvgb.com

Alan Lloyd

The Willows, Horsham Road, Dorking, Surrey RH5 5LF hvan@2cvgb.com

Garry Whelan

Killiney House, 108 Sandy Lane, Hucknall, Nottingham NG15 7GP 01159 536716 or 07814321556 bijou@2cvgb.com

RIPPLE RAMBLINGS

Rather a short Ramblings this month as I don’t have very much to write about. I do wonder whether social media plays a part in this. If someone has a question to ask about their car or simply wishes to show off their new purchase, it’s so much quicker and easier to post it on Facebook for an immediate answer or comment, rather than email your friendly registrar. I’m certainly not against the use of social media and frequently use it myself, but I do wonder if it’s making the role of the registrars somewhat redundant.

Moving on, we’ll start this month’s report with a quick follow up from Ben Middleton, whose father Dave used to own the ’52 type A which we featured in the April Ramblings. Writing on behalf of Dave, Ben says how delighted his dad was to see the pictures of his old car, especially the shot of it on the back of the transporter, which was of course the last time that Dave actually saw the ripple. Ben, who has promised to send us any photos that he comes across of the car, mentioned that there is rather a good video clip of it on YouTube, which

includes a couple of excruciating moments when the cameraman slams the doors. Ouch! Just type the link into your search engine and if you’re of a sensitive nature, stick your fingers in your ears! https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=J9QQx368kBA0

Going now to Drive it Day, and a joint Pompey Puddleducks/Club Clouseau outing around the lanes of West Sussex. Organised and led by the indefatigable Bob Brotherhood in his well-used and well-known 1952 Type A, the outing attracted about 25 assorted A series vehicles in all, including a beautifully restored AZU ripple van owned by Barry Davies and making its first appearance at a club event, a splendidly patinated 1959 AZLP in Bleu Glacier owned by John Parker. As with so many ripples these days, the original 425cc engine/gearbox unit has been replaced by a bigger (Visa 652cc) motor and disc-braked gearbox. A bit of a shame perhaps from a purist’s point of view, but whatever, it’s just so nice to see cars like this out and about. Many thanks John for letting me ‘crawl’ all over your ripple. Loving the

Drive it day with Bob’s ’52 Type A

Barry Davies’s AZU

registration number by the way!

While we were having lunch, Marc Fenner mentioned that he used to own a ripple as well, a 1957 AZ painted in Gris Clair (light grey), and having long since sold it, wondered if it was still in existence. The reg number is/was VSL 241. I’ve checked the DVLA website, and it shows that the car is on Sorn so presumably resting in someone’s garage somewhere. If anyone out there owns the car or knows of its whereabouts, Marc would love to hear from you (contact via the Ripple Register please).

Going South now. All the way down to Australia, where Jake Ricketts has reported two 1957 Slough SAZs, which he spotted for sale on the Aussie Frogs website. Unfortunately, I don’t as yet have the chassis numbers of this pair, so I know nothing of their history. The first car is an unfinished restoration project, which doesn’t look like it would need a lot doing to finish it off and to turn it into quite a respectable example of a Slough 2cv. The second car however, is much more of

a collection of bits and pieces, but there are a lot of parts there and, although a large amount of work would be necessary to rebuild it, all in all it could be a very worthwhile project for someone. To be sold together as a job lot, at a price of Aus$ 9,000 (£4,700), the cars seem quite a good deal to me. The only snag of course would be the shipping and customs costs, which would at least double the price I should think. Any

thoughts on importing a couple of Sloughs from down under Alan Lloyd? Update from the Home Front now. I’ve just about finished re-commissioning the AU van, with just paint retouching left to be done. Françoise the ’61 AZLP is fully operational and almost back to her correct original spec, with just a few little odds and ends to find with any luck at the French National. After that, I really do need to get back to working on Sandie the Slough! That’s it for now Gang. See you next month.

John Parker’s AZLP

Aussie Slough for sale # 1

Aussie Slough for sale # 2

DISC-USSIONS

Hello everyone, I don’t want to jinx it, but summer appears to making a tentative appearance. We had sunshine and warmth for two (!) consecutive days at the beginning of May when I started writing this, which was welcome. It is looking even more likely that I won’t be able to do Register’s Day. However my daughter Emily has offered to stand in for me, although of course by the time you read this it will have already happened. I hope it went well.

NEWREGISTRATIONS

Ian Hudson, a well-respected 2cv specialist in Millom, Cumbria, whose new 1988 ex-Plums and Custard Dolly, F916 CKW, I mentioned last month, came up with pictures and a registration form for his latest 2cv as well as the initial letter. He wrote: “A long-standing customer, aged 89, asked me to source him a good 2cv up to the value of £10,000. His old 1986 Dolly was totally knackered. I asked him why at his age he thought this was a good idea? His answer: “My wife has had to go into a care home with dementia and I need to spend some money before the authorities relieve me of it all for her care!” Through the trade, an old friend of mine came up with a suitable vehicle, which my customer agreed to buy and asked if it could be delivered straight to me and if I could arrange for the wings to be painted as he didn’t want a twotone car! Plums were off the menu, other than the door decals, and it is now Custard. He also wanted it to have a thorough service and general fettling before

delivery. He registered the vehicle in his name and I carried out his instructions and arranged an MoT. Unfortunately, before he could take delivery, he died…”

Ian said although his friend had told him that the mileage of just 21,000 was genuine, he was rather sceptical as the car had, in the last few years, passed through the hands of three different owners, none of whom had used it and came with no history. But, while recommissioning the car, he changed his mind when he discovered the rocker covers had never been off, the rear brake drums had no wear and the linings were original and perfect, even retaining the original bleed screw covers. He said the engine was sweet too. Which makes it a bit of find to put it mildly. Sadly, the car was not stored very well during the long period laid-up and needed a lot of new parts to get it looking this good and usable again (below) Ian would be very interested to hear if anyone knows anything about this car and said it is up for sale for £9,750, firm. If anybody is

F916 CKW Dolly 1988 Buttermilk Yellow Ian Hudson Millom

E733 RYG Spécial 1987 Yellow/Black Richard Wardhaugh Melton Mowbray

E247 VGJ Bamboo 1987 Pale Primrose Keith Thomas Long Eaton

E143XAW Dolly 1988 Yellow/Black Michael Allen Durrington

D709VTW Dolly 1987 Blueberries/Cream Loraine Jerrard Great Yarmouth

C559 JGO Charleston 1985 Black/Red John Gray Bexhill-on-Sea

E591 VKR Dolly 1987 Plums/Custard John Gray Bexhill-on-Sea

interested in a genuine low-mileage, 1988 Spécial Dolly, with perfect bodywork and mechanicals, put back on the road by one of the most highly regarded specialists in the north of England, please get in touch and I will forward you Ian’s contact details. It is on a galvanised chassis and has 123 ignition and a plethora of new parts under the bonnet as well as reupholstered seats, new roof and new wheels and Michelin tyres. You could do a lot worse. Ian rates the car to be currently B+, which sounds about right.

Last July Richard Wardhaugh made an offer for E733 RYG, a 1987 yellow and black Charleston lookalike that had been stood locally for around for five years; a non-started project. It needed a lot of new panels, including the upper front bulkhead, (below) although the doors and rest of the bodyshell are still original. Engine just needed a service and the gearbox is untouched. Helpfully it was

already on a galvanised chassis with a decent roof and Richard’s finishing touch was to have the rebuilt seats reupholstered in black with yellow piping which matched the carpet set and quite subtle matching treatment of the doorcards. (above) Being new to the register, I had no idea what she was originally, Richard says a Spécial and judges her to be condition B. (below) Lovely job.

Michael Allen, also mentioned last month, finished his registration of E143

XAW which coincidentally is another yellow/black Charleston lookalike, but this one started off as a 1988 Dolly, original colours unknown. He bought “Charles” from one of the Manchester Ducks in January, showing 71,000 miles and with 12 former keepers. The car is on a galvanised chassis, has an oldstyle grille, towbar and removeable boot-box and he judges the car to be condition B/C (above)

The fourth new entry this month is E247 VGJ, a very fetching looking Spécial from 1987 which, as is the trend this month, started off as a Bamboo. Owned by Keith Thomas since 2016 the car is painted in Jaguar Pale Primrose, which I have to say suits it very well indeed. Pictured here at Crich during Drive it Day. (right) Keith rates this pretty car to be condition B. In fifth spot is Loraine Jerrard with D709 VTW, the first car this month that has appeared on the register before. Loraine said her husband bought this 1987 Blueberries & Cream Dolly and has

just finished restoring it to superb condition, which makes me very happy. I have known of this 2cv since 2009 when I first met the previous keepers, Brian and Maureen Akred, when the Cambridge Legless Frogs put on the first St Ives National. Looking through the history, the Akreds were the second owners, buying it in August 2002 and they used the car a lot. A picture should appear next month.

John Gray has added the details of the two cars I mentioned and pictured last month. C559 JGO is the 1985 black/ maroon Charleston he discovered for sale in a nearby village, its owner had to

give up driving because of cataracts, although it would appear that she didn’t use it much at all. Before that it was owned from 1986 by Irene Dyson of Sutton, who lavished much love and money on her daily runaround, having it fully restored in 2001 and fitted with Adventure bumpers and air horns. She kept in regular touch with her registrar until 2012. From what John told me the last (and third) owner must have bought the car sometime in late 2016/early 2017. Although it had suffered cosmetically from being parked on the street for a while and had some damage to the rear bumper and wing, it was on a galvanised chassis and with refurbished seats and a long MoT. John has replaced both rear wings, exhaust and various service items to make it run properly and might well have taken it to Register’s Day, if the other car he’s working on wasn’t ready in time.

Which brings us to E591 VKR, another

of the five ‘barn find’ 2cvs he has been getting back into use, a 1987 Plums & Custard Dolly, new to the register, which is going onto the sturdy looking galvanised chassis of unknown make (left) he picked up from CMS (an excellent Citroen specialist mechanic who works close by). Hopefully some more pictures will be forthcoming before they are both sold. Thanks John!

UPDATES

Thanks go to Loraine Jerrard who let me know that F241 BEX her 1989 red and white Dolly was sold in March, presumably to make way for their newly restored Blueberries & Cream replacement mentioned in New Registrations. Got the pictures Loraine, just too late for inclusion here.

It was only when seeing the photo in last month’s mag that I realised I didn’t show Martin Hamilton’s glorious tartan door cards very well. I gather his mum was heavily involved in their making. Here’s a better shot of the driver’s door of his blue Special, Dudley. (above) Our Membership Secretary, Colette, forwarded me some pictures of this very

smart Charleston (above) that was sent to her by Phil and Linda Fortune. I gather it was fully restored by Pete Abbott. If you are reading this, please email me, this car is not on the register and I would like to add it.

Lastly, Rob Higginson wrote a very pleasant article about his 1985 exCharleston, B872 KUY, which got only the slightest mention back in October 2015 and was one of the lucky four that got pictured. It was a bad month from my point of view with sixty-six cars to add to the register, the backlog from my predecessor’s untimely and unexpected demise. (right) Rob’s story of his twenty-three years with this car is on page 24 of this issue.

OTHERSTUFF

Two out of the three partial registrations mentioned last month got back to me, thank you Ian and Michael. I’m still awaiting the registration forms from Janice and Jonathan Twidale, who have sent me pictures of their two beautiful cars and promised me the completed forms weeks ago and I only realised I

hadn’t seen them when checking through this month’s prodigious pile of emails, far too late to chase them up. There might be others that have been forgotten about, it was a bit of a rush job this month to get Disc-ussions written by the deadline. No particular reason; I just didn’t feel very motivated and kept getting sidetracked by the email traffic, (and, as Mrs Goat just pointed out, watching far too many YouTube videos) which, as ever, ate up almost all the available time I have to do this. Such is the lot of this registrar these days. I’m not complaining, the regular correspondence more than makes up for not being able to get out and about so much, please don’t stop!

Pictures from Register’s Day will be greatly appreciated, just in case Emily forgets to take any and keep your registrations coming in, I have forms if anyone needs one. Enjoy the summer!

DYANOTES

Hello and welcome to this month’s edition of Dyanotes.

DYANISSIMA!

One of the Dyane’s lesser-known variants, if you can call it that, is the Dyanissima, sold only in Italy for a short period of time during 1968. This was, from what I can deduce, merely a re-badging exercise based on the 602cc M4engined Dyane built from January 1968 to September 1968 (with the addition of Italian-spec items such as clear front indicator lenses, repeater lamps on the front wings and additional rear number plate lamps to go with the square plate), hence my reticence in describing it as yet another variant.

My main source of information is a thoroughly comprehensive (16 pages!) road test article in the July 1968 edition of Italian motoring magazine Quattroruote where it is mentioned on the cover, and although the light-coloured car used for the actual testing is unbadged, the dark-coloured car pictured clearly has a D6 badge on the right of the tailgate opposite the incongruously screwed-on rectangular Dyanissima badge. The D6 was only produced from January 1968 to March the same

year, which suggests the Dyane pictured was a few months old at the time, although magazine scheduling may have had a bearing on that delay. It would be odd to test a car that had already been superseded, especially considering the prominence given to the Dyanissima name in the test article, although the M4 engine would not be replaced until September 1968 so I can confidently conclude that the Dyanissima nameplate continued to be applied after the D6 had been discontinued, probably up until the M4 engine was replaced. Further evidence can be seen in two similar adverts of the period, one of which includes both Dyane 4 and Dyanissima, the latter with a stated top speed of 110km/h, the other advert replacing Dyanissima with Dyane 6 with an increase in top speed to 114km/h which suggests the new, improved M28

engine. Two earlier adverts where the car appears as a line drawing show a progression from the original single model with 425cc engine (100km/h top speed) through to the introduction of the new-style 435cc motor (105km/h top speed, launched in March 1968, just a

short while after the M4 602cc unit).

One final random thought for you etymologists out there: Dyanissima is obviously a play on the Italian word “bellissima” meaning beautiful, and is the feminine form of the word bellissimo.

In the Quattroruote road test there was naturally both praise and criticism. Economy and comfort were appreciated, engine noise a minus amongst other things. It also has to be remembered that this model was referred to as a Dyanissima, not a Dyane, which was a term reserved for the smaller-engined models. An earlier brief test appeared in the April 1968 edition of the Italian l’Automobile magazine, in which there is further photographic evidence to suggest that the Dyanissima started off as a D6, although at least one of the photos used to illustrate the article is of a French-market model, and the Dyanissima badge isn’t shown at all… Although the original Quattroruote road test includes a number of photos, they are not of the highest quality. However, there is a review of the piece on the website of Ruoteclassiche magazine, a classic car publication from the same stable as Quattroruote, which includes excellent quality photos taken from the original negatives. Find it here https:// ruoteclassiche. quattroruote.it/ citroen-dyanissimail-bellodellessenzialita/ or try using the QR code accompanying this article. That wouldn’t be the end of the Dyanissima name though. It would reappear a few years later, this time applied to a Portuguese-market Dyane, but that’s another story…

FOURGONNECONCLUSIONS

Hi all, it’s June and across the country vans are being gently baked in a heatwave we could only dream of back in the cold days of April. Actually I’m still dreaming of the heatwave because I’m writing this in April. Nevertheless spring has got things stirring and this time we have some vans to look at, let’s get looking.

NEWREGISTRATIONS ANDUPDATES

Nick Yeoman has an Acadiane and it’s not beige! Here’s his story –

“At the end of March, I purchased a Citroën Acadiane, INOX, the first two-cylinder A series I have owned for 12 years and my first van. Built in 1983, this Acadiane is adorned with the livery of the previous French owner, a mechanic who lived in the 81 region of France, Tarn in the south. Imported in 2020, I am the third owner in the UK.

Amongst its notable features is the number plate light. Usually, the number plate and the corresponding light were placed on the nearside rear door. “Presumably because the owner adorned the nearside rear door with his logo, the number plate was placed on the panel above the rear doors, and an old style 2CV light was used. My first longish journey in INOX was a return journey from South Yorkshire to the Brooklands Easter gathering, where INOX returned 48 mpg, and used no oil.” (both above)

The Brooklands Nick refers to is not the Revival Festival but the Museum in Weybridge, home to the famous banked racing track which was a world first

when it opened in 1907. Later the site of aircraft manufacturing, including the Wellington bomber. It houses everything from a bicycle to a Concorde. Back to vans, it’s really good to see Nick’s van still displaying its French livery.

Meanwhile in Derbyshire Tim

Sideaway’s 1973 AKS400 displays his own livery advertising his pop up dining events. Two pictures of his van, (both on right) which show it displaying different headlights. Did someone at Citroën really think a 2CV van would look more modern just because it had rectangular lights? Bought from Jono at

Peak 2CV, it has a 602cc engine and disc brakes. Currently awaiting a new chassis, floors and sills. Tim will need to sell a lot of dinners to pay for those so take a look at his website www.timsbistro.co.uk and find a venue to tuck in. A recent one was at the Feather Star in Wirksworth, a pub I know well due to having friends who live nearby. Great choice of beers and interesting paraphernalia which includes a

2CV door. On the last visit two beardy blokes were having a heated discussion about pay scales in the Roman army, it's that kind of place.

Tim is no newcomer to vans. For the November 2009 issue of this magazine he wrote an article about vans that are/ were still working for a living in which he described using his H van to transport his rare breed pigs. An entirely appropriate use of an H van but it went to a new home in 2014, probably just as well as it looked far too lovely to be used as a pig bus. (above)

A reminder that you don’t need to currently own a van to write for the Van Register, in fact you don’t need to have ever owned one, you just have to like them!

Shane Rooney once owned an AZU 250 and shares some memories –

“Rooting through some old photos after the April magazine and thought I’d send you some photos of the AZU 250 I imported from

France way back in 2015. (both above plus on right) I do love the short overhang on the 250 and the stub light bar as well. It had work done on it in France when I bought it, the plan being a very leisurely drive back which never materialised. The part of France I bought it in was pretty hilly so I reckon it was an early 602cc conversion - it looked like a 70’s version due to the air filter and drum brakes.

mystery, especially when the AZU is so good looking but there we are, it gave some other lucky person the chance to enjoy it. If you are the lucky current owner perhaps you’d like to send an update?

MUSCLERIPPLES

giving a can of spinach to Popeye the Sailor Man. The bucket was full before the ripple gave out. Very impressive!

that more people are rebuilding vans that would once have been scrapped.

REGISTERSDAY

GUESSTHEGUEST/ FAFFINGAROUND

“It was on its original Tarn (81) plates. I registered it and kept it about a year but couldn’t manage to keep both my 2CV ‘Obelix’ and ‘deVan’ (as he was known) so he headed to Scotland. The UK reg is SFJ 150N it’s still registered as taxed. I sold it to a guy from outside Edinburgh but no record of his name sadly. It was in pretty good condition and had a respray and mechanical restoration when I bought it. Funny circular as well - when I sold Obelix I bought a Méhari … Sonny Jim … who came from Scotland proving there is always symmetry in a 2CV.” Thanks to Shane for that. Why anyone would sell an AZU and buy a Méhari is a

In a recent episode of ‘Car SOS’ the team renovated a 1960s H van for a well deserving family. During the course of this they explained why Citroëns had rippled panels and demonstrated in a simple but very effective way the difference a ripple can make. A rectangular piece of steel was clamped to a bench at one end. On the free end they hung a bucket into which was placed a small metal object. The steel immediately gave way under the weight, flexing downwards so the bucket fell off. The rectangle of steel was then put through their ripple making machine. The test was repeated with the same piece of steel but it now had a single ripple. Inserting the metal object now had no effect, they added more bits and pieces, nothing happened. They added more and more including a power drill. That single ripple had the same effect as

Registers Day will have happened by the time you read this, a report next time. This is a day when details are scrutinised more closely than usual. It can be more complicated than you might expect. It’s not always easy to even identify which model a van is. Take this very attractive example. (above) What is it? At first glance it appears to be an AKS400 but with a lowered roof. Citroën did make such a thing, the rare ‘Caisse Basse’ but this van was built in 1967 and so predates that. It’s actually an AK 350 but retrofitted with large ripple panels, possibly to make it look newer or maybe just because small ripple panels weren’t available at the time. We’re fortunate now to be able to buy replacement panels that weren’t easily available even a few years ago. Look at the ECAS or 2CV Shop websites and there are scores of van panels on offer. There must be a market for them which hopefully means

The May magazine just arrived in which Pat Ware gives details of some standard 2CV types used by the military. In the April issue I said I thought standard vans weren’t used so this is good to know. Pat, please tell us more. It would be interesting to see photographs of standard vans in service, I’ve never been able to find one. I did also say that some specialised derivatives were used and as the article generated a bigger response than usual, i.e. someone responded, this month’s guest is one of those derivatives, the FAF. (below) This was a 2CV based utility vehicle designed to use Citroën parts but with a locally made body. The idea came from the privately built Baby-Brousse which was produced from 1963 by two Frenchmen living in the Ivory Coast. This was a successful project with

thousands sold. The Baby-Brousse also inspired other 2CV based vehicles such as the Namco Pony (Greece), La Dalat (Vietnam) and the Yagan (Chile). FAF stood for ‘Facile a Fabriquer’ and ‘Facile a Financer’ (Easy to Build, Easy to Fund). So should really have been the ‘FAF, FAF’. Production ran from 1973 to 1981 approx. (sources differ) and six body styles were available one of which was a van. They were mainly produced in Portugal (810) and Indonesia (600). In 1979 the Armée de Terre contracted for a batch of a 4x4 version for trials as they would be light enough to be air portable. This had the 4x4 system from the Méhari and the 652cc engine from the Visa which had arrived in 1978. The French army received ten from Portugal but following trials the type was not adopted and the Mercedes-powered Peugeot P4 was chosen for general ground use. Some sources say fifty 4x4 FAF were built, so presumably the others were used in Portugal. The French army did have an air portable vehicle, the LOHR Fardier, that used 2CV mechanicals fitted to a

skeletal body. (left) The picture is of one that was owned by John de Lorean who had plans to develop something similar as a commercial vehicle but that’s another story.

Airborne infantry are regarded as elite and better than standard, but that’s not the case with vehicles which are simply engineered to be lighter and they are often inferior to the earthbound equivalents. The performance of the Royal Marines 2CV pick-ups, for example was considered inferior to contemporary Land Rovers but they were used because the helicopters of the day lacked lifting power. Also airborne forces are usually expected to be in action for only short periods so some compromises can be accepted in their vehicles.

HOMENEWS

Drive It Day was challengingly cold but we enjoyed it anyway and this time were joined by several beautiful Traction Avants. (above) As if that wasn’t enough of a treat, van owner James rolled up in his stunning SM. Despite being built from 1970 to ‘75 the SM still looks like a car from the future, a real life case of ‘Back to the Future’.

MÉHARI MISSIVE.

Well, yes. It did eventually stop raining.

Welcome to June. I hope you are all well. I hope that all of you that made the effort to get out in your cars for ‘Drive it Day’ had a lovely time.

As I write this, on Friday 10th May, the 29th National Meeting of 2CV Clubs of France, in Brazey en Plaine, in the Côte d’Or, is in full swing. I have yet to attend a French National, but would love to do so at some point.

Last month, I told you about restoring and delivering ‘Cassie’, Julian Taylor’s Kirghiz Orange Méhari to his home near Colchester.

Julian has very kindly written about a recent Méhari escapade of his in ‘Cassie’. I’ll let Julian take over. . .

‘Cassie’, ready (and dried) for her big day

“It was a lovely warm, early May day. This was especially welcome, after all the rain we’ve had, and I took the opportunity to hoon around the north Essex countryside in ‘Cassie’ for the better part of the day. . .

“‘Because we’ve an early start tomorrow’, I wisely said to Ali, ‘I’m going to park the Méhari outside this evening, around the back of the house’. Sensible, I thought; It’ll save us at least twenty minutes tomorrow morning. . .

“We’d booked to take part in the 52nd, Ipswich to Felixstowe classic car run. This is an annual event, with up to 500 cars taking part, which is organised by the good folks of the Ipswich Transport Museum. We had been told about it by a group of Model ‘T’ Ford-owning friends, who asked if

we would like to go along with them.

“‘Lovely idea’, we thought; we’d never done anything like it before and, seeing how ‘Cassie’ is now, to all intents and purposes, brand new, it seemed the perfect opportunity to do something new and show her off a bit. . .

“I drew back the bedroom curtains that next, cool and misty morning. After the warmth of the day before, I realised the utter stupidity of my decision the night before. ‘Cassie’ was absolutely drenched in water. Every panel, the seats, every bit of the weather gear, both inside and out, was covered in huge fat beads of dew! She had pools of water in her roof panels and there was so much condensation inside that it was actually raining. . .

“After a frantic 20 minutes of swearing, elbow grease and a whole bale of towels,

we were once again in a driveable state and thankfully, still in time to rendezvous with our friends for the drive to Ipswich.

“A Model ‘T’ Ford is a wondrous thing. This was the first mass-produced car. At the peak, in 1925, they came off the production line at the rate of nearly 10,000 per day, or around 2 million in a year. In the end, some 16.5 million cars were produced. This record, for a substantially unaltered car, was only surpassed by the VW Beetle and the AvtoVAZ Lada VAZ 2101, known as the ‘Riva’ in the UK.

“The 2.5 litre four cylinder engine in a Model ‘T’ spins lazily at 1000 rpm and throws the car forward at a leisurely 40 mph. Nowadays, Model ‘T’s look like they should have a pair of horses in front of them. They’re quite lovely though, as it’s all about the journey. It’s also a phenomenal testament to their build quality that so many of these hundredyear old cars not only survive - but are still driven today. . .

(Back to the plot, Julian).

“‘Cassie’ is a Citroën ‘Dyane 6 Méhari’. The Méhari has the distinction of being the world’s first mass-produced car with plastic panels. Remarkably, nearly 145,000 were produced between 1968

and 1987. ‘Cassie’ is 51 years old and looking very good on it, I must say. I love her.

“We parked up, in bright sunshine now, at Ipswich. For the first time, we realised the scale of the event. Hundreds and hundreds of vehicles; Cars, Motorcycles, Buses, Commercials, all there for the simple pleasure of people coming together and driving their pride and joy to the seaside. . .

“We were the only Méhari, and we attracted a lot of attention. I spotted a couple of ‘Deuches’, a gorgeous, powder blue DS21(cushions in the back; very cool) and a GS, which was parked up in ‘Stilt’ mode. What an innovator Andre Citröen was. . .

“We set off towards Felixstowe, along a lovely route of B-roads.

There were crowds lining the roads, cheering and waving.

‘Cassie’s’ Fiamm air horns got well and truly used and abused.

“Parking up on the seafront at Felixstowe, I was in no way prepared for the tidal wave of curiosity, interest, love and affection for my modest little orange car. So many people, so many photos. I was talking for the whole afternoon.

‘Cassie’,

.

Fuel stop. Why are more modern cars so big?

‘Cassie’, in full flow

‘Cassie’, amongst friends

‘Cassie’, parked up at Ipswich, next to one of the Model ‘T’s

with her passengers; Ms Fortnum and Ms Mason. Not really. .

Arriving at Felixstowe

“We had an amazing day. It was characterised by great weather, lovely people and gorgeous cars. Wonderful, characterful vehicles.

“Two best stories from the day were:

“a) a French lass, who was almost in tears as she remembered her Godmother having a Méhari and her having rides in it as a girl… She insisted on having her photo taken with the car.

“b) a Spanish girl, who stopped by and asked ‘What’s this doing here? Surely it should be in Ibiza’? Which is where she was born. Turns out her parents own one of the better seafood restaurants on the island, on a quiet cove in the South-West.”

As I write this, Julian and Ali are in Ibiza. Guess which sea food restaurant they’re going this week? I messaged Julian today. They’re apparently renting a Méhari on the Island for two days @ €100 a day and they have their itinerary ‘coming together nicely’. . .

Thanks for writing that, Julian. I’m so pleased that you’re sharing ‘Cassie’s’ new lease of life with your loved ones and with strangers that you meet in her. It really is what driving a Méhari is all about.

MÉHARINEWS

Lindsay Porter. Lindsay’s been restoring his 1970 Méhari. He posted on Facebook the other day. He wrote: “I feel so fortunate to live within 15 miles of that A-series sage, Pete Sparrow, seen here today having a look and a listen to my almost-finished 1970 car.“It has a beautifully built Rick Pembro engine, in original non-oil-filter form. It ticks over with musical sweetness. But in spite of two goes at setting the engine up from

scratch, it has no pick-up power and knocks when you try to rev the engine.

“So, it's over to that great Sparrow team, near Hereford. Pete said that he’d previously come across a rogue electronic ignition system, wildly over-advancing the ignition timing, leading to a banging sound.

“Now I think about it, this could result in spark-and-ignition taking place well before the piston reaches TDC so that, in its final millimetre or two of travel, the engine's momentum is pushing the piston up, while the way-too-early fuel ignition is trying to push it back where it came from leading to horrible, noisy internal stresses in the engine.

“I would never have identified that as the potential problem in a million years. You really can't beat Pete Sparrow's ASeries skills.

“Luckily, way-back, I remembered Paul Brice's wise advice and fitted the front panel with screws and not rivets. It'll still be a pain to remove and reattach but far less horrible than having to drill out countless rivets.

“Pete is planning on replacing my new Boyer Bransden electronic ignition kit with a 123 ignition to see if it fixes the problem.

“In the end, Pete

‘Cassie’, parked up on the ‘Prom’

‘What a lovely, sunny day

Pete Sparrow with ‘NJT’ Lindsay’s lovely, early Orange Kirghiz Méhari

sorted out the engine problems and changed both jets on my carb as well as replacing the Boyer Bransden ignition with a 123 unit.

(There was actually nothing wrong with the BB but now, there's not even a visible 'black box' to show its ignition is electronic).

“The Méhari I owned as a pile of parts for a quarter-of-a-century has now left the Sparrow's nest and is taking its first trip on the road this millennium.

moment!”

Paul Edwards replied:“Or maybe there is… (as long as you’re happy to get there at 28 mph!!)”

Alex Manessi.

Alex posted. He wrote: “Surprisingly capable on the sand! Still some work to do, but good to get it driving again.”

Nick Lake. Nick got in touch. He wrote: “Back to work.

Fired up with no issues after five months in the container!”

“Thanks to Pete for an engine than runs, pulls and sounds like a dream. (Although you have to be capable of dreaming what an air-cooled, flat-twin should sound like. . .)”

Thanks, Lindsay. It’s great to see you are finally able to enjoy all your hard work. It’s a credit to you.

Louis Tyson and Paul Edwards. Louis posted on ‘Méhari UK’. He wrote: “It’s sunny, so there’s no better car at the

FAMOUSPEOPLEIN,ON ANDAROUNDMÉHARIS

‘Here we go again’, they all chorus. . . This time, it’s two people; It’s the Mambo Brothers.

Christian and Alan Anadon, who are better known as the Mambo Brothers, were born and raised amongst the Club Culture of Ibiza. They are the sons of the ‘Cafe Mambo’ founders, they have been

exposed to the world's best DJs from a young age. The brothers started out as DJs at Cafe Mambo’s sister bar ‘Savannah’, where they warmed up for legends like Roger Sanchez and Carl Cox. As always, you are very welcome.

ANDFINALLY

It’s not only Méharis, you know. I’ve recently got Xavier, my lovely, Dyane 4 back on the road after a long sojourn. I took him shopping. He didn’t fancy anything, so I left him in the car park. Modern vehicles really are big. I hope I saw you at Registers. If I did, it was lovely to see you. If I didn’t, I missed you and until next time. A bientôt. . .

The Mambo Brothers

Louis Tyson, out and about in ‘OKH’

Paul Edwards has an exFrench Army, Lohr ‘Fardier’, which shares an engine and many other ‘A’ Series parts

Alex Manessi, Méhari in the sand

Nick Lake, putting his Méhari to work in Kos, Greece

Xavier and a Big Volvo

HY THERE!

Hello again! I write this at the end of what could be the first real day of summer - absolutely glorious and apparently above average temperature for this time of year (May), but this is all tempered by the news that rain returns on Monday!!

By the time that this appears in print, Registers Day will have come and gone, and I regret that I will not have been there as I am already committed to the historic race weekend at Brands Hatch over those dates. I hope that it all went well and that the rain stayed away, the right vehicles won and so on.

My first two pictures this month show a new truck and van book that has just been published and which includes a number of pictures of my short wheel base ambulance. The publishers came last summer to take the pictures and I think that they have done well, assuming that you like vans and trucks, of course! They spent a large part of the day taking a huge number of pictures, some quite bizarre to my mind, but they have come out well in the book and the van gets above average coverage.

The saga of my long wheel base diesel van that I introduced last month continues, but slowly unfortunately! The diesel pump on the van would not pass fuel through it no matter what we tried, and the diesel specialists who had the van for two weeks couldn't get it working or find anyone who could rebuild it. A phone call to Richard at Dragon Classics in Wales, and he kindly put me on to a customer of his who had an old diesel indenor engine, knackered, but with a good diesel

pump attached. I took my short wheel base H van (actually the aforementioned ambulance) down to the Brighton area to collect the engine, and then (another) Richard, a local mechanic, swapped the pumps over. This is not an easy or quick job as anyone who has ever been unfortunate enough to have had to do it will tell you. I finished off a few details and now the van is running and driving well....but not stopping! The brakes have still yet to be piped up. I have subsequently found someone who will rebuild the pump, so if anyone else has this issue, let me know and I will put you in touch.

Good news is that the registrations for this H van and my AZU have at last been completed, so in theory they can both be driven on the road.

Since last time, I have been to the Goodwood Members Meeting and Drive it Day at Brooklands, and the next five pictures show vans that were at these events. I hate the huge signs on the roof as I think that they are ugly, but I suppose that needs must for these traders. Sadly at Goodwood I actually bought my lunch from an old Peugeot van as his food look the most appealing.

I do try to get my coffee from an H van if nothing else, and I did get a very fine coffee on this occasion, quite a rarity actually as I am a bit fussy with my coffee!

The final picture is from Paul Dimond "Nice to see this in the sunshine in Monmouth at the Wye Valley River Festival on Saturday 4th May." Thank you Paul, good to hear

from you......but where are the rest of you? To stop me going on about my own vehicles, you have to tell me about yourssurely you would like to see a nice picture of your van in these pages?

Finally for this month, I have bought another H van. I know, I am not buying anymore H vans.... .this one is for sale though if anyone wants a split screen original camper, short wheel base,

very sound. Just needs to be tidied as it has not been used for some while - very sensibly priced as I really do have far too many vehicles. That is it for this month, enjoy summer now it is (sort of) arriving!

What’s Cooking?

Welcome to my rude edition of What’s Cooking? which comes with a parental advisory notice carrying an 18 certificate for its content of nudity and themes of an adult nature, along with my usual kitchen capers. Please do not read any further if any offence might be triggered and I will see you next month.

The 21 April dawned bright and sunny for us in Wiltshire, which was the perfect weather for Drive It Day, in spite of the persistent cold that we have had to tolerate this spring. Our local group took a trip to Dorset as planned. Four cars took off from the services on the edge of Warminster, stopping at Nunny services to pick up two more cars, finally congregating at Haynes Motor Museum, Sparkford, to meet the rest of the group. After a coffee in the motor museum café, we headed off towards the National Trust’s Cerne Abbas Giant viewing point, where we could appreciate the chalk carving in all its

glory. One of our members (no pun intended) was overheard explaining to his wife ‘it’s like a penis, only smaller’! My favourite myth preserved with the hill figure is that he had to cover up during the war, since enemy pilots were using his manhood as a compass pointing them towards Bristol. Indeed, we even have some of our own Giant lore enshrined in 2CVGB mythology, because I seem to recall that the Dorset Dipsticks have been asked (at international events gone by) to take down their local club flag sporting the iconic man. This came about because folks did not understand the significance of the image that was causing such offence, being ignorant that this was a piece of Dorset heritage and not something intended to upset anyone. We continued our journey to the Saxon Arms near Dorchester for a hearty Sunday lunch, before wending our way home along the backroads. It was a lovely day! I have since heard that there

were other successful trips out for Drive It Day, some of which you can read about elsewhere in this edition.

TURNINGUPTHEHEAT

In recent years, I have begun to appreciate museum architectural design, lighting and curation to an increasing extent, as part of the experience of visiting museums, exhibitions and galleries, just as much as the exhibits themselves. This is thanks to an American friend of mine, Marvin, who has worked extensively in this area. Because of the wonderful way the Haynes Motor Museum has created an alluring space when you enter the building, I vowed to return to find out what lie behind the lobby and, when I did, it didn’t disappoint! There are so many layers of intrigue to this museum, I was delighted to find that the ticket price allows me to return again and again for up to a year, so I can take my time discovering its secrets. It ticked a couple of my boxes immediately, not only because of the cars on display, but also because of the publishing history that it boasts, with its relatable stories (I used to work in publishing for a chunk of my career). It also proved to be a multi-sensory experience with interactive displays everywhere, covering themes such as ancient history, culture, fashion and textiles, colour theory (our treasurer John will tell you I know a lot on this subject), health and safety, female empowerment, engineering, lessons in nomenclature, and more besides. The Red Room was the museum’s equivalent of Viagra (I almost needed a cold shower on exiting that area), and the testosterone in the F1 section was so palpable, you could almost bottle it. The motorbike mezzanine was a lesson in physics and pop art, and the endless display of shiny vehicles was

beckoning you to return. On exiting the exhibition area, I completed a significant part of my Christmas shopping (yes, I’m organised) in the museum gift shop, then rounded off the whole experience with a Somerset cream tea in the café. It was a perfect way to spend a number of hours.

SIMMERINGINTHEBACKGROUND

By the time this edition hits your doormat, the ticket sales to our National should be well underway via our website. Some members have been in touch since last month’s magazine, asking for more details about the arrangement for this year, so here are some more FAQs to add to the list:

Can I bring a motorhome?

Yes, and we will be using some of the carparks as hardstanding. Please note there are no electric hook-ups and no chemical waste disposal, so bear that in mind when planning your trip.

Are dogs allowed?

Yes, but on the condition they are registered before the event and you bring proof of worming. The dog form is available for download when you book your tickets.Dogs will be restricted to the areas they can access and there will be a special area for exercising and disposing of their waste.

Can I turn up on the day?

No, all participants must book in advance, both overnight and day visitors. Booking will end two weeks before the event.

RHUBARB,RHUBARB

After an exceedingly wet few weeks, with rain of biblical proportions, our healthy rhubarb patch started looking distinctively like the costumes from The Little Shop of

Horrors, just ready to take over the garden and devour us all. This became a discussion over dinner and, since Siri is always listening, a heap of rhubarb-related ‘noise’ started being suggested on my internet feed. Siri must have also been listening into any German phone calls I was making, since one push notification on my phone was a German rap song by Bodo Wartke and Marti Fischer all about Barbaras Rabarberbar (Barbara’s rhubarb bar), a tongue twister style song which wouldn’t be out of place at après ski drinks. The story is a clever piece of silly rhyming nonsense about a girl called Barbara who bakes a bombastic rhubarb cake (their words, not mine) that is so magical to all who have experienced it, she opens a rhubarb bar the following year, which is then visited by some barbarians who happen to be living in the same town. Barbara befriends the hairy barbarians but sends them to the local barber because their beards are too bushy. The clean-shaven barbarians then return to the rhubarb bar, with the barber in tow, to enjoy a beer and of course a slice of rhubarb cake (or two). The song is ridiculously funny, and also sticky, so the earworm (Ohrwurm) went around and around in my head for days to the point where folks were asking me why I kept chuckling to myself. Anyway, this was all the inspiration I needed to bake an Erdbeer Rhabarbe Sonne, a delicious Austrian breakfast tear-and-share bread, which we enjoyed for brunch. I will definitely be making it again as I didn’t even make the slightest dent in the rhubarb patch.

IAATF!

To update your local group contact details email Liz Rogers –localgroups@2cvgb.com

Hi all, I'm looking into resurrecting / reforming Leic-CarGo, a Leicester based local group that seems to have fallen by the wayside. My partner Karina and myself were active in the group a few years ago but work commitments and indeed Covid put paid to that! If anyone is interested in being part of "The New Leic-CarGo" it'd be great to hear from you. It will hopefully be an informal, lighthearted group with a get together in a local pub that is centrally located for everyone's convenience once a month. I look forward to any response with anticipation. Andy Missen andymissen58@gmail.com

30th August - 1st September 2024

• Choice of camping or double/twin en-suite rooms

• Drive on the secret M96 motorway, not open to the public

• Drive-in movie with the UK’s largest screen

• Silent Disco

• Live music

• Drive out

• Visit to the Classic Motor Hub

• Secure site

• Dogs allowed

• Trade stands

• Connections restaurant

• Members’ meeting

• Bar

• Raffle

The Fire Service College, London Road, Morton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 0RH Please note: Entry by ticket only, no pay on the gate Tickets will be available via 2cvgb.co.uk after 1st May