May 2024

2CVGB NEWS

Specialist insurance for 2CVGB club

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

Editor: James Duffell editor@2cvgb.com

Design: Yellow Dog Design

Advertising: small.ads@2cvgb.com

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).

BONJOURÀTOUS

I know it’s not even two years yet, but it seems I’ve been writing these for ages. In that time, I’ve had very little feedback and would be very interested in hearing your thoughts about 2CVGB News. What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? And what would you like to see continuing just as it is?

Personally, I’d like to see more about our cars being the gateway for adventures. It doesn’t matter whether it’s to a camp in a neighbouring county or driving to a country most people have never heard of, our vehicles are machines designed to be used - and being used is the treatment that suits them best. The next time you return from an adventure, big or small, please write and tell me about it. With hi-res pictures too, please. See you in a field somewhere.

THE DEADLINE FOR THE JUNE ISSUE IS THE 10TH MAY

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.com

1–5TH 47TH INTERNATIONAL WAGGELMEETING (WAGGEL-2024) by the CCNL in Tienhoven aan de Lek, Netherlands 4235 VM. For more information please refer to http://citroenclubnederland.nl/de-waggel-meeting/

8–12TH FRENCH NATIONAL The biggest annual event in the 2CV calendar. This year it takes place at Brazey-en-Plaine, not far from Dijon. For more information, please refer to https://2cv-legende.com/decouvertes-sur-la-deuche/ historique-nationales-et-mondiales-2cv/nationale-2cv-brazey-en-plaine-2024

9–12TH TROY BREIGHTON RIVERSIDE CAMP, Breighton Ferry Inn, YO8 6DH. Four days of relaxed camping at a site on the banks of the river Derwent near historic Howden. Riverside pitches, toilets, shower block, play area, all on site for just over a tenner per unit! Booking essential - Details from David Eden on 01405 813640 or at davideden1951@gmail.com

12TH CHESHIRE DRAGONS TRIP TO THE WIRRAL CLASSIC CAR SHOW, laremont Farm, Wirral. For more information, please refer to the Cheshire Dragons Facebook page or https://wirralclassiccarclub.co.uk/wirral-classic-car-show-3/

18–19TH 2CV RACING CROFT (YORKSHIRE). Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2024 2CVParts. com Championship. Two 15 minute sprint races. Other racing series will also be present over the weekend

24–27TH REGISTERS DAY. Martha's Down Campsite, Hindon, Wiltshire. Fromnoon on Friday 24th May to noon on Monday 27th May.

JUNE

2ND CHESHIRE DRAGONS VISIT TO BODNANT GARDENS, North Wales (National Trust) to see the lovely laburnum arch and stunning gardens. Cafes 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 2CVGB COMMITTEE MEETING. (Online)

6TH AIRE COOLED ALLEY CATS JIM’S TREASURE HUNT. Venue TBA

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

21–22ND BROADLAND DUCKS DUCK POND CAMP at Scarning near Dereham Camp the weekend or just drop in to be sociable and enjoy the company and a drive out. Contact Chris Farnham for more details on 07836 675858

23RD 2CV RACING Lydden Hill (Kent). Rounds 5 & 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

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 2 miles from Carrog. There will also be a drive to Pontcysllte Aqueduct through the beautiful North Wales countryside for lunch. Contact Catherine Beardshaw, cath.beardshaw@gmail.com or 01824 780 673 or 07740 041 037

12–14TH CITRÖEN FESTIVAL 2024. Abbots Ripton Village Hall, The Green, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, PE28 2PF. For more details please refer to their website - https://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

31–4TH DET2024. 10th German International in Gedern. For more information, please refer to https://www.det-2024.de/texte/seite.php?id=660591&lang=en

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 please refer to their websitehttps://icccr2024.pl/en/

1–8TH 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

23–5TH 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.

PLEASE SEND ALL YOUR EVENTS INFO TO: events@2cvgb.com BEFORE THE DEADLINE OF THE 5TH OF THE MONTH

We 're doing the National differentlyin the heart of the beautiful Cotswold countryside

30th

August

- 1st September 2024

The Fire Service College, London Road, Morton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 0RH

• 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

Please note: Entry by ticket only, no pay on the gate Tickets will be available via 2cvgb.co.uk after 1st May

Hello all, and apologies for the lack of overseas news of late. My last piece got stuck in the editor’s spam folder. Not quite sure why, but this month hopefully it’ll make it into 2cvGB News.

Some meetings of note are the Dutch Waggel meeting on 1st to 5th May. Entry is €60 for non CCNL members. There will be music, rocker cover racing, BBQ and more and more info can be found on http://citroenclubnederland.nl/dewaggel-meeting/

Next national meeting is the French National on the 8th to 12th May in Brazey en Plaine. More

JUNI

PROGRAMM

DONNERSTAG 20. JUNI

10.00-17.30 Ankunft und Unterkunft

17.30 Das Grill ist an für Fleisch und Brot der Teilnehmer.

FREITAG 21. JUNI

07.30-10.00 Gemeinsame Frühstück.

10.00-17.00 Ankunft und Unterkunft.

17.00 Offizielle Eröffnung des Fanø Mini-Træf 2023.

17.30 Das Grill ist an für Fleisch und Brot der Teilnehmer.

19.00 Hoffentlich Musikunterhaltung

SAMSTAG 22. JUNI

07.30-10.00 Gemeinsame Frühstück.

11.30 Verkauf von Grillwurst mit Brot, Bier, Sprudel- und Mineralwasser Parade - wir stellen unsere Autos an. Oldtimer Mopede und das Oldtimer Autoklub besuchen uns Convoy-Fahrt den Insel herum

17.30 Das Grill ist an für Fleisch und Brot der Teilnehmer Wir sind dankbar für musikalische und andere unterhaltsame Angebote

SONNTAG 23. JUNI

information can be found at https:// www.deuchenbrazey.com/.

For those of you who want to go north then there is the Fano Meeting in Landevejen 43, Sonderho, DK-6720 Fano Denmark. Entry is DKK 50 per day per person including breakfast. If you are planning to go then best to book early as there is a kite festival at a nearby campsite. For more information and to register contact Erik Olesen Tel. +45 4028 6474.

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

16.-19. JUNI für alle CITROËN-interessierte

Treffen- DKK 50 - pro Tag pro Person Gebühr incl. Frühstück mit dunkles Brot, Brötschen, Butter, Aufschnitt, Käse, Marmelade und dazu Kaffee, Tee, Juice und Milch erbietet Bier, Wein und Wasser für freundliche Entenpreise Anmeldung und weitere Informationen wenden Sie sich bitte

Erik Olesen Tel +45 4028 6474

07.30-10.00 Gemeinsame Frühstück. ALLES GUTE - UND AUF WIEDERSEHEN während des Tages.

Treffen-Adr. Landevejen 43, Sønderho DK-6720 Fanø Dänemark

Let’s hope by the time we are reading this magazine at the start of May the weather has drastically improved. However much I love Chilli, my golden retriever and our morning walks together, I am so fed up of the daily bathing ritual when we get home – he is a typical goldie and a mud magnet.

The final details are being ironed out for the National in August, which is going to be an amazing weekend, as is Registers at the end of May. Both events are so special to our club and it would be amazing if we had more local clubs coming forward to organise and hold the events.

My local club, the Cheshire Dragons have hosted two Registers weekends over the last five years so I can speak from experience that it is so rewarding to do this. It may seem a daunting task to take on, but we do have a detailed brief that will help with this, and I for one am very happy to help any club/person who wants to do this and talk you through it. So please don’t leave it up to the few people who always seem to come forward, the club is for us all and volunteers are always warmly welcome. You don’t have to be a long term member to do this, just have loads of great ideas and enthusiasm. That’s it for now, have fun and take care out there

The news is that we have parted ways with the company that built the new website because it fundamentally didn’t work and no matter how much time James, the previous webmaster and I put into it, we were never going to be able to fix it. I know a lot of you struggled with it.

At the committee meeting in February, I got permission to build a new, new website and this was launched at the end of February. So, if you gave up on logging into the website, or navigating your way around it please go and have a look at the new one - you should find it much easier to use and find your way round.

The website is updated regularly and there are links to the new insurance scheme and club shop. You will also find downloadable forms for the different registers.

Now that the website is done, I can once again focus my attention on getting the old forum back up and running. Hopefully I’ll be able to update you on that next month.

FRENCH DAY IN KENT

Otford village near Sevenoaks, Kent is holding a French themed village fete on Monday 27th May and are looking for French cars to put on a display. The village is twinned with Neufchatel Hardelot, in the French départment of Pas-deCalais. You will get free entry and the event features live music, food and drink etc. If you are interested in attending please contact Simon featherstone by emailing simon@otfordsociety.org.uk

MILITARY 2CVS

Hi... writing in the 'Van register' column of the April magazine, Mike Good says that he is 'sure that 2CVs were not used by the military'. I beg to differ... aside from the well-documented pick-ups that were developed for the Royal Marines, there is no doubt at all that 2CVs were used by the military, at least in France.

Over the years, the Armée de Terre has used many 2CV saloons and vans, as well as both two and four-wheel drive Méharis... and we should not forget that the air-portable LOHR FL500 and FL501 were based heavily on the 2CV.

I have attached scans of pages from official French army documentation ('Catalogue des vehicules automobiles en service dans l'armée') giving basic dimensional and performance data.

CARS GALORE

I just thought I'd send you a few photos of some 2cvs that I took last year, in case you would like to use them in the magazine.

These photos where taken on a 'wild campsite' in Essex. I was made aware of them by my auntie who had seen them on a social media post. After some searching and google maps research I found where they were and decided to drive down there to see them (all the way from Liverpool). I went in my 2cv of course and camped in the car, mine is the red and white Dolly with blue roof and doesn't look out of place with the other 'abandoned' cars. While staying there I spoke to the owner who was a long time 2cver and former 2CVGB member, having used some of the cars on the site up to about 6-7 years a go. I did ask if he had plans for the cars and if he might be interested in selling any and he said he

was in the process of restoring them one at a time, with one currently in his workshop. I got the feeling he was unlikely to get round to fixing the cars as he seemed to be very busy with many other things, I hope I'm wrong and they don't just rot away in the fields.

NOTICEBOARD

YES!it’sthe2024TROY

Breighton Riverside Camp

Thursday9th –Sunday12th May

Fourdaysofspringcampingatarelaxedcampsiteonthebanksof the Derwent near historic Howden. Riverside pitches, toilets, showerblock,playarea,andtheBreightonFerryInn(Y086DH),all onsiteforjustoveratenner!

Bookingessential-DetailsfromDavidEden on01405813640ordavideden1951@gmail.com

TROY–TheRidingsOfYorkshire

THE BRITISH MOTOR SHOW

Exclusive offer for all Car

Club members, friends and family.*

2CVGB alongside CCC and TOC will be running our award-winning stand with up to 60 Citroëns on display at the British Motor Show this August 15-18th (Owners Club of the Year 2022 and 2023).

We are looking for all models of Aseries from concours to barn find and everything in between! The rules of display are quite simple, you can either bring your car to Farnborough on Wednesday 14th August, set up day, and leave it on the stand for the duration of the show (secure site) or arrive in it any show day before 08.30 and leave after 18.00 (when no public are walking about) or any combination to suit. There is a local recommended campsite if you’re staying over / local hotels / B&B but book early as it’s a busy show.

Marian and Dave Blackmore, our local club members are helping me coordinate the 2CVGB stand this year so please email Marian if you are able to display your car marianbmore@hotmail.co.uk.

Volunteers to help man the stand are always extremely welcome! Two free adult four-day tickets are available for each car displayed plus discounts for family and friends.

Looking forward to seeing you in August!

I have already informed you in a previous magazine that I will not be re-standing for the position of Secretary, as I will have served over ten years on the Committeeby the end of my term and I'd like to invite one of you to come forward to take this role over when my current term ends on30th September. The role is quite simple and includes preparing the agendas for the Club's Committee Meetings, taking notes of the meeting and then writing the minutes of the meeting and then publishing them online. It also involves keeping the Company records of 2cvGB Ltd held by Companies House up to date and advising the Chair and Committee on procedural matters. If I can do it, it can't be that difficult.

If you would like to know more about it or discuss it further please contact me by email or on my published mobilenumber. I look forwardto hearing from you.

www.thebritishmotorshow.live @thebritishmotorshow

www.thebritishmotorshow.live

Today I’m delving back 20 years to take a look at the May 2004 issue of 2CVGB News.

The club was definitely ahead of the digital curve back in 2004 with the announcement in the magazine that online membership renewals could now be done via the website.

Member contributions this month included an advert for a SAGA campaign for car insurance for the over 50s – and yes, you guessed it, the car featured in the campaign was a plums and custard 2CV.

Member Arthur Fleming sent in a photograph of a Jawa CZ motorbike with a 2CV engine that he had spotted. He thought it to be a neat fitting job until he spied the gear lever sticking up between the rider’s legs – and

commented that he hoped the rider never had to stop in a hurry!

Having just acquired a set of BX seats for my Ville van (yes, keeping it original and all that), my eyes were drawn to an 85 Spécial advertised in the classifieds with BX front seats. I bet they were easier to find then than they are now!

Talking of classifieds, there was a whole section devoted to accommodation, mainly featuring holiday lets in France, with a discount to 2CV owners. I must have missed Citroën’s ‘Buy a 2CV and get a gîte for free’ campaign.

Two pages of the magazine were devoted to the 16th World Meeting of 2CV Friends which was due to take place 15 months later in Kelso, Scotland. One page contained job adverts for a Medical Team Leader and a Catering Manager and the other page was a form where volunteers could apply to help with the event, including being on site five days before the event and three days after. It just shows how much work goes into organising events and how lucky we are

that people put themselves forward to volunteer for the greater good of the club.

To finish, the Bijou Registers, Dave Shove and Bob Cutler get the most excited Registrars of the month prize. What a month May 2004 was for them. Not only did 5 Bijoux join the register that month but they, along with editor David Hinds discovered the very first production Bijou … and that rightly justified the gratuitous use of capital letters in their write up.

In March, 2CVGB organised a stand at the Restoration Show. We had a range of cars on the stand, with some as static displays and others being worked on.

Julie Neeve’s green 2cv Club had the most work to do, having been purchased as a pile of parts, with some major parts missing, including the wings and hood.

During the show, we fitted the exhaust, brakes and bumpers as well as put the body back on the chassis, installed the suspension and fitted the wiring loom.

Dan Fletcher brought his part-rebuilt orange Dyane to the NEC and fitted the

wings, trim and windows at the show. The three cars on static display were Andrew Gold’s Acadiane, James Robbin’s Dyane and Tim Steel’s white 2CV. Forge Motor Company lent us their ripple 2CV in barn find condition.

Having different vehicles at different stages of restoration attracted a lot of interest. Having the body off the chassis created a lot of attention and questions about how the suspension works. For the younger visitors Claire

Howarth supervised activities, including 2CV-themed colouring with crayons. I would like to thank all those who gave up their time and cars to make this year’s stand a real success.

STEVE BEALE’S DRUMMER

Registered in June 1978, AFK 560S is a rouge géranium 2CV6 with single choke carburettor and rod-operated organ pedal accelerator.

The first owner from new until 1981 was a Citroën main dealer in Wolverhampton, so perhaps a courtesy car for the first three years. It spent some time in London with the third owner during the 1980s before returning to Wolverhampton.

It can genuinely be described as a "barn find". It was last taxed and on the road in 1989 before then being put to use as an off-road farm vehicle. I bought it in 2019 after it had been left unused in a barn for 25 years, a little worse for wear.

Having never restored or recommissioned a car before, I knew that assistance would be required to fix it. I really wanted to save this one! Fortunately I know a local 2CV expert who was willing to help me get the car back on the road without all the extra holes!

broken/perished parts.

Due to COVID restrictions any planned bodywork repairs had to be postponed for a while. I continued the fun task of locating all the missing/

I installed new pistons and barrels [seized engine], replaced the front to rear brake pipe [broken] and fitted a new master cylinder along with various other bits and pieces that were required when recommissioning it.

Upon removing many years' worth of grime the brighter shade of rouge

géranium paintwork began to appear. At this point my aim was to keep the patina and retain its originalappearance of being a well used and slightly scruffy 1970s 2CV, just like those I remember seeing on the way to school in the 1980s!

Eventually the structure was made goodwith a new O/S floor panel, sill and pillar repairs and a bit of tricky work on the original chassis. The lower end of the bulkhead area was quite bad, as you can see in the comparison photographs of old and new toe board panels. A fewother sections were renewed to prevent the car looking too shabby, such as the outer skin of the rear light panel and some new metal in the rear inner wings near the bump stops.

New front brake shoes were found to be essential as they had completely worn away. New rear brake pipes were fitted to prevent potential issues in the near future.

Then, after I had applied a bit of paint and underseal to the new metal, it was ready to be driven.It had covered around 69,000 miles when laid up 25 years previously and it's so far done 3,000 more.

It's now a usable 1970s 2CV6 preserved

as it might have looked in the late 1980s. It made its first tentative 2CVGB outing to the National at Orleton Court Farm last June and, once some final tinkering resulted in it running nicely at last, my wife and I took it on a long blast to Registers Weekend 2023 in The Wirral. That's the story so far!

2CVGB CLUB INSURANCE MAY UPDATE

by Dave Youngs

In last month’s 2CVGB News we announced our new partnership with the club and the launch of ‘2CVGB Insurance.’ This was the result of months of collaboration designing an insurance product that also included additional benefits. The launch has been a hugely positive one with an encouraging number of enquiries received to date.

One of the questions I get asked the most is about the retention of the salvage if your 2CV is written off. There are lots of myths and inaccuracies out there about how this works out, should the unthinkable happen. So, let’s explain…

Firstly, we should define what it means when your car is a write-off, sometimes referred to as a total loss. This is where your vehicle has been damaged beyond economic repair or deemed unsafe to be driven again. It is the engineer who inspects the car after the accident that determines whether the vehicle is written off or can be economically repaired.

With 2CVGB Insurance, your policy includes FREE salvage retention which means that you retain the vehicle should it be deemed a ‘write-off’. In this case, you would receive a full settlement and retain the vehicle’s salvage with no deduction, other than policy excess. This could provide a valuable supply of parts which might keep another car on the road, or you might even be able to rebuild the car yourself if you’ve got the skills and available parts.

Other insurers may advertise ‘salvage

retention’ in their marketing material however, this is not usually FREE. Salvage is of high value at the moment so, whilst another insurer might offer you the option to purchase the salvage back, you will often have to pay up to 35% of the vehicle’s pre-accident value for it. Another quick reminder of the key benefits that 2CVGB Insurance offers you:

EXCLUSIVERATESFOR 2CVGBCLUBMEMBERS

● Additional discount based on length of membership.

● Member-to-member cover – club members are insured to drive each other’s A-series vehicles with fully comprehensive cover at no additional charge.

● Cover for tools, spare parts, and accessories.

● Self-repair – the option to receive an equivalent cash settlement.

● UK & European breakdown cover included.

● Agreed value from the Club recognised.

● Multi-vehicle cover – insure all your cars on one policy.

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

Hi Gang! Straight into Register mode this month with an ownership change notification from Robert Blessington Dudrenec of Stratford upon Avon. Robert, who has recently acquired a 1958 Slough type SAZ (chassis № 8581138) tells us about his previous Citroëns and how he came to be the owner of a Slough 2cv.

“I've been into Citroëns and the A-series in particular since I passed my test back in 1973, with my first Citroën being a blue 1967 (I think) Ami 6 estate. Even at just six or seven years old, the driver's side "B" pillar had rusted itself away from the sillno wonder there are only two right hand drive ones left in the country! I then had a 1961 rhd 2cv, not a Slough, so I don't know where it came from. Its registration number was 654 GYE and can still be seen on YouTube in a Dave Allen skit about getting coffins to the churchyard before the competition. Look it up, it's very funny*. “Anyway, the years go past, and I treat myself to a huge variety of Citroëns from

the all the A-series variants (with the exception of a Slough & Bijou) thru the GS, DS, CX, SM, H-vans etc, etc. I then leave the Citroën fold for many years, but have just returned when I managed to purchase the 'other' rhd Ami 6 estate from its owner in Finland. It was a great drive back! This then totally rekindled my Aseries interest and last year I owned a 1959 AK250 - just fantastic; slow, but totally charming! I sold that to someone locally who has since sold it on, so I have

now unfortunately lost contact. Anyway, I was chatting to Graham Morton earlier this year, and he said that he was going to collect three cars from the estate of the late Roger Griffiths - a Slough 2cv, a Bijou and a Lomax. I questioned him on the Slough and a badgered him to sell it to

me. He brought it down to me in Stratford-upon-Avon and I have been having a great time removing all the previous owners 'personalisations' such as glass fibre roof and rear 'raid' wings, tow bar etc, and replacing them with more age-appropriate items. As you know, she is a real mixture of parts. An early body, but with late floor & bulkhead, running all Dyane mechanicals on a galvanised chassis. Regrettably, I am putting her up for sale for two reasons. Firstly, I prefer the drive of the Ami. I took them both out for a drive the other day and that confirmed it, so the 2cv might as well find someone who will love it more than me. Don't get me wrong, it drives really well, but we all have our favourites, don't we? The other reason is that I still have a hankering for a 2cv van - maybe not a 425cc version, but I need to make room just in case..!” *I did look it up and yes, it is very funny. A typical Dave Allen skit. For the record, the first, and in fact only time that I have seen this car, was during the 2005 World Meeting at Floors Castle in Scotland and I remember chatting to Roger Here and both on right: 8581138 now in Robert’s care

8581138 at Floors castle in 2005

Griffiths about his Bijou, although I don’t think that we talked about the SAZ at all.

The Slough was heavily modified (by Roger himself I believe), in order to make it much more practical and useable as a daily run-about. A galvanised, ladder construction chassis, with a 602cc engine and disc-braked gearbox were fitted together with later type upper and lower bulkhead panels complete with suspended clutch, brake and accelerator pedals. Various people have commented

that Robert’s car isn’t really a genuine Slough built and which does raise the interesting question of how modified does a car have to be before it’s no longer accepted as what it was originally. I take the view quite simply that if it started life as, in this case a Slough, then a Slough it is and always will be irrespective of any modification. Certainly, as far as the Slough Register is concerned. Incidentally, as registrar my aim is to try to create an archive for each Slough 2cv. If you have any photos of Sloughs whether you actually owned one or not, please do email them to me.

Moving on. I’m sure that I don’t have to remind you all about the French National meeting, to be held this year at Brazey-en-Plaine in the Burgundy region, from the 8th to the 12th of May. In fact, some of you are probably on your way there already! Being located roughly in the centre of France, it should attract a good attendance, and is without question the best place to find spares for our beloved ripples. Definitely not a meeting to be missed. While we’re on the subject of French meetings, the 2025 French National will be down at Cap d’Agde on the Mediterranean coast, and quite near to the massive naturist colony. So no need to bring your swimming costumes for that one then!

That’s it for now guys. See you next month.

DRUM BRAKE NEWS

Hi there drumbrakers!

Following on from last month’s article, and to coincide with this year’s Registers day theme, I thought I’d take a quick look at the ‘new’ UK market 2cv of 1974, and how it arrived.

production ceased and the UK would see no 2cvs officially sold here for fifteen years.

In the 1950s, Citroën assembled 2cvs in their factory at Slough and then followed on, briefly with the Bijou. However, the success of these models was limited and relatively few were sold. Maybe it was the traditionally conservative British public being wary of this fancy foreign upstart, or simply it was just too strange and unusual to really catch on. The introduction of that great British success story, the Mini in 1959 was the final nail in the coffin of the British 2cv, the Mini being cheaper to buy too. So Slough 2cv

Things began to change though in the early 1970s. In the aftermath of the energy crisis the focus swung towards cheaper, more economical cars, which were cheap to fuel and run. In response to this, and buoyed by the (relative) success of the Dyane and Ami models in the UK, Citroën decided that the time was right to cautiously test the water with reintroducing the 2cv. By cautiously, there was only one model made available at launch, the 2cv6 with the larger 602cc engine. It was assumed that the smaller 435cc variant would be a step too far or confuse the offering.

So, in October 1974 an ‘official’ RHD 2cv6 was launched in the UK. This wasn’t an ad-hoc conversion, but utilised

Here and above: 8581138 now in Robert’s care

the existing RHD upper bulkhead pressing that the Belgians were already using, albeit in small numbers, at the Forest plant in Brussels. This was previously reserved for special order 2cvs such as Belgian and Jersey post office vans, and a more primitive version used earlier for the RHD AZAMs destined for Sweden.

The first RHD 2cvs were, therefore, also built in Belgium, which continued from launch to around October 1977. These Belgian built RHD 2cvs differed from your ‘standard’ later ‘80s RHD 2cv in a number of subtle ways. The most notable observation was the single demister arrangement, with the

original left hand vent deleted and instead moved across to the tight of the driver. A new dashboard cover moulding was utilised to accommodate this change. However, the bulkhead heater nozzles remained in LHD guise, necessitating a long, meandering demister pipe to wind its way from the left hand outlet across to the right of the bulkhead. The first UK models also had a single choke carburettor fitted, operated by a rod control. This required an extension bar to be fitted to the outer toeboard to take the linkage across from the right and align it with the carburettor. Other detail differences also featured, such as the location of the flasher

relay and screenwash bottle. The brake master cylinder was of course mounted on the right hand side.

For 1974, all 2cvs had received a fairly radical update inside, with the previous dash, door card and seat trim largely unchanged since the late sixties. In its place was a new brown dash binnacle, housing a redesigned speedometer (again on a brown background with revised lettering, and the UK cars of course had it calibrated in MPH), and the familiar twin spoke ‘Quillery’ wheel was replaced by an elegant padded single spoke wheel, possibly to reflect the family ties with the larger G and D models. New, full

width door cappings were introduced, as well as a new brown targa seat covering option, to go with the existing anthracite offering. Door cards were available in either, to suit, depending on body colour.

For example, orange 2cvs got a brown interior, while blue ones got a mixture of brown dash and anthracite seats/door cards. The roof was of the newlyintroduced internal closing type.

Outside, the new ’74 2cvs adopted the slightly controversial rectangular headlights, plastic grille with integral chevrons and simplified bumpers without separate trim, plus a neat aluminium bootlid badge that simply says ‘2cv6’.

The 435cc engine was never offered in

the UK, and even the 2cv4 SPOT of 1976 came to the UK with a 602cc fitted. Mechanically, the UK market 2cv reflected that of its contemporaries, with its M28 602cc 8.5:1 compression engine, heavy flywheel with coil spring clutch, single choke carburettor, inboard front drum brakes, rear shock absorbers and front batteur/friction damper suspension set-up.

The 1974 2cv was launched with a handful of colour options: Orange Tenere, Bleu Petrel, Vert Tuileries, and Rouge de Rio. For 1975-6, this varied and enlarged to include Rouge Soleil, Bleu Myosotis, Vert Bambou and Jaune Cedrat.

Belgian UK 2cv production continued until October 1977, when it then moved to the Llevallois plant in Paris, with one of the first modifications being the addition of a passenger side demister, and associated dashboard/bulkhead modifications. But we’ll go into that another day…

There’s a handful of very early UK market 2cvs on the register, by early I mean N reg (Aug ’74 –Jul ’75) and P reg (Aug ’75 to Jul ’76).

We have 17 N reg cars listed and 18 P reg. What proportion is currently on the road is unknown, but there is at least a handful of both that have been seen at recent events. So hopefully we’ll see a showing at this year’s Registers day!

Of course, all ’70-81 drumbrake 2cvs are welcome, the more the merrier, but I’ll be properly excited to see a good turnout of these early ones to celebrate the 50th anniversary of re-introduction to these shores….

Register’s weekend runs from 24th 27th May, see elsewhere in the mag for booking info!

See you there – I’ll be in something with rectangular headlights and drum brakes….. will you?

DISC-USSIONS

Hello everyone. For various reasons, I left it until I was writing this before even looking at the correspondence. My apologies for the tardiness of my replies to a lot of you. But you know, life has a habit of getting in the way of the fun stuff.

As I have said so often, this section is primarily about you and your cars and unless you send me pictures and write something about your latest purchase, I don’t have much to write about; a completed registration form is a good starting point.

In the meantime, if you want to register your car download the form on

the disc brake register page of the website or email or write to me for a copy of the form.

If you give me your address, I will post one to you if you don’t have the means to print out the double-sided form at home.

Amongst all my complaining and this endless rain, there are some quite (dare I say?) heartwarming stories that have come in recently.

PENDING

I am awaiting forms, more information and photos to register and write up these potential new additions and I will deal with them properly next month. Ian Hudson now owns a 1988 exPlums & Custard Dolly, F916 CKW, a low-mileage car and would love to find out its history. As would Michael Allen with E143 XAW, another 1988 2cv which he says is a yellow and black Charleston now, but what was it before I wonder? Janice and Jonathan Twidale also want to register their two beautiful 1985 2cvs, C2 CVX and C12 CVX and I am awaiting registration forms before doing so.

John Lowndes’ red and white Dolly

VRN MODEL YEAR COLOUR(S) NAME TOWN/CITY

MIB 6905 Dolly 1989 Red/White John Lowndes Newtownabbey

MTF 729X Spécial 1981 Lagoon Blue Martin Hamilton Spencers Wood

E878 DUF Spécial 1988 White Lee Horsley Blackfordby

NEWREGISTRATIONS

Right, the first new addition to the register is MIB 6905, a tidy-looking 1989 red and white Dolly, owned from new by John Lowndes. John says he bought his first 2cv in 1988, but his daughter, who had just passed her driving test, wrote it off. This Dolly was its replacement. He said the car ended up off the road for a few years until he retired in 1998 and decided he wanted to use it again and started getting her roadworthy. A local body shop checked it over and repaired the chassis. He discovered that garages who can work on a 2cv are rare and by last December, after his local garage gave up trying to sort out a kingpin problem to get it through another MoT, he almost sold the car for a bad price, but phoned up ECAS first for advice and they suggested he contact Andy Adair. Three days later he had a new MoT and now he knows he can get the car repaired; he is determined to keep it on the road. He said he never knew of the NI Tin Snails (NITS)

and that there were so many 2cvs in Northern Ireland. Other than 123 ignition the car is pretty much original and Condition C.

And that would have been it for the month, when two more new registrations arrived at the eleventh hour. So, in second spot is Martin Hamilton with his very pretty Lagoon Blue 1981 Spécial, MTF 729X, named “Dudley” who is still looking good after his 2020 Covid lockdown restoration when Martin decided he wanted him back on the road so his nephews could learn to drive in him.

Martin is the fourth owner, buying him in 1987 and was used

mainly by him while he was at school and university, although has been used by his mum, brother and partner at times, generally when their own transport had let them down. Dudley was put into Martin’s dad’s garage in 2004 for a rest until the rebuild in 2020, where Martin took care of the engine, gearbox and interior. The door cards are covered with the family tartan and really suit the colour scheme. Dudley lived in Glasgow with Martin’s brother and nephew for a couple of years, but was suffering with damage from on-street parking, so Martin took him home in 2023 and is now using him as daily transport. Now sporting LED lights, 123 Bluetooth ignition, a decent coil, a dualtone Mercedes horn to scare off anyone pulling out in front of him (a common problem we all have) and vinyl seat

Lastly, we have Lee Horsley and his 1988 white Spécial, E878 DUF which he bought in January. Having taken a long train ride to look at another 2cv he intended to buy, which turned out to be not worth the effort, Lee found himself without transport a long way from home. A quick online search found this 74,000-mile, one previous owner 2cv for sale at a garage in Stoke Mandeville and within reach by rail, so he caught another train to view it. It appears to have had a quick and dirty blow-over to make it look more presentable, some of the paint fell off the front wing when he pressure washed it and rust is breaking through in places, although the car appears to be pretty solid. It also has a rather badly fitted bonnet hinge panel and the join hasn’t been sealed, leaving a rather unsightly gap, although from a few feet away the car looks fine. As the owner of a 30/50 (from 30 feet away at 50mph) 2cv, I know exactly what he means. Lee is perfectly happy with his purchase, which is the main thing. It has fibreglass bumpers

covers courtesy of Matt’s Soft Tops means he goes as well as he looks. A lovely Condition B Spécial. Thanks for the pictures and info Martin.

Left: Martin Hamilton’s Lagoon Blue 1981 Spécial, Below: Tartan door cards in Martin’s Spécial

John Lowndes’ red and white Dolly

Lee Horsley’s white Spécial

front and rear which at least won’t rust like the steel ones do. Condition C Lee says, I think I would agree.

UPDATES

Alasdair Layland, sent in some better pictures of his blue Spécial that was the only new entry last month and was indeed a project. It was intended to be a rolling restoration but the floors and

chassis were worse than expected and we had a long conversation about restorers and chassis choices. Long story short, his two preferred 2cv specialists were either booked-up for at least a year or didn’t know when they could fit it in. I suggested Pete Sparrow and within a couple of days Alasdair went from quite gloomy with the loss of his car’s storage imminent, to very happy. Pete, being keen on getting started, had a customer go and collect the new SLC chassis Jeff Colmer had already acquired for the job, and delivered it to Hereford. Alasdair says he was lost for words when Pete phoned him. It shows what can be achieved when you belong to a national club.

Chris Wilderspin got in touch about some major improvements he has made to “Miss Scarlet” his 1986 red Spécial, C800 XDC. He wrote, “Living up here on

the North Wales coast takes its toll on older car bodies, and while I love a 2cv with patina, in late 2022 I bit the bullet and booked her into our local (new) classics garage for a "light restoration". Unfortunately, it turned out that things were worse than expected and most of the body behind the rear doors was rotten as the proverbial pear. So new rear panels courtesy of ECAS and three second-hand wings from eBay were fitted and she was given several new coats of Sunrise Red. Her red roof was badly faded and a new black roofwas orderedfrom

Matt - I thought this would be more "factory spec" and wouldn't fade like the two previous red roofs. A last-minute decision to paint the boot lid blackwas madeas a nod to the original canvas lid, although now I think it should have been matt rather than gloss... Oh well! There are a few bits of interior trim to replace which I will do slowly over the next few months, but I'm very pleased with the results. I believe 2cvs should be used, so I'm looking forward to putting more miles under the wheels this year.”

Thanks Chris for the beautiful pictures, she looks absolutely splendid and I think the gloss black boot lid looks fine. Matt black panels, like 1970’s vinyl roofs have, I think, had their day.

My friend John Gray, who after having his beloved 2cv written off in September 2021, pulled off the barn find of the century and picked up five project 2cvs and ever since has been getting them into shape and selling them on, which is

Alasdair Layland’s project car

Chris Wilderspin’s Spécial in the garage

Chris’ Spécial afterwards

in my opinion an epic undertaking. He has sold two and the third, a Plums & Custard Dolly, E591 VKR, will soon be ready and John hopes to have it on the road for Registers Day at the end of the month. You can see the bug has well and truly bitten him because a somewhat careworn looking Charleston parked nearby had caught his attention as it never seemed to move. One morning on his way to work he noticed a For Sale notice on it and immediately snapped it up, because when you have three 2cvs to rebuild what you really need is a fourth. The Charleston is known to the register, and when John sends me some more info I hopefully will be adding it officially.

Lastly, Derek Amey, one of my regular correspondents and owner of a stunning Plums & Custard Dolly named “Blossom” has sent me this picture of her new front overriders, he might even tell me where he found them and that lovely elegantly curved front bumper, although not yet. We are going to have to do a special feature on this car one day.

REGISTERSDAY

OK, Registers Day is nearly upon us, but as usual I have no idea whether we will manage to get there. Please try and go, it is my favourite event of the year and with Gary Dicks and the Bath Tub Club organising, it should be a good one. We have always strived to be an inclusive club and your

better; it gives a much better overview of what 2cvGB is about. I always get depressed about the number of good, usable cars that are hidden away in the camping field instead of being proudly displayed with the shinier examples.

DEADLINES

any good at being brief.

Our previous editor, Tony, once said “It’s a deadline, not a target,” a view I share. It is really difficult when everything comes in at a rush at the beginning of the month, presumably prompted by the latest magazine landing on the doormat. You are reading the May issue, if you want something in June’s Disc-ussions, it needs to get to me by the 5th of May.

A-Series Citroën does not have to be a show car to attend, even if this is the nearest thing to a ‘Show & Shine’ that we do. The more daily ‘beaters’ and rolling restorations in the Sunday show, the

I have a deadline of the 5th of the month for the inclusion of registrations, pictures and interesting stories for Discussions in the following month’s 2CVGB News. This gives me five days to get it sorted out, written and sent off by the 10th, which is my deadline for copy. As almost every registration requires answers to questions and requests for pictures, five days is not always enough. I get a lot of email traffic because there are so many late 2cvs within the club. It all takes time and I am not a quick typist or

Incomplete registration forms, with most of your car’s details missing, nothing about its known history and no pictures is unlikely to appear in the next issue, if at all, unless like this month, they were all I had to write about and their owners got back to me very swiftly. I would rather you just gave me all the info and pictures in one go, If the car is unavailable or you haven’t got the V5 back, to complete the form, why not wait until you can register it properly? Hopefully by then you will have seen what Disc-ussions is about. I can’t always go chasing for this, I do have other stuff to do. ‘Nuff said?

And that’s it for now, fingers crossed I will meet some of you at Martha’s Down Campsite, but there are current outstanding health issues to be dealt with first which could make it impossible.

Keep on using and enjoying your cars, it’s only rain after all…

The lovely, arcaded market square at Mirepoix

John Gray’s projects

New overriders for Derek Amey’s Dolly

DYANOTES

Hello and welcome to this month’s edition of Dyanotes, and we start off on a sombre note.

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Andrew Minney, who started this Register back in 1982 as reported in this column back in

November 2022, with a contribution from Andrew himself.

Andrew was also one of the earliest members of 2CVGB, and amongst other things was the club’s contact as events co-ordinator for the club’s very first International back in 1978. Thank you Andrew, and rest in peace.

NEC

Late March saw the Practical Classics Restoration Show at the NEC. This has become a regular and popular event on the calendar, which 2CVGB has supported by its continuing attendance. This year saw an excellent display

with several A-series present, which included not one, but TWO Orange Ténéré Dyanes, that of James Robbins, and Dan and Hilly Fetcher’s Orangina which was shown in a state of disassembly following a respray, and which was gradually refitted over the course of the

Dan's bag. How many Dyanes can you spot?

weekend; although not completed, good progress was made, leaving Dan with a few jobs to complete before a planned trip to France a few weeks later.

EPILOGUE,OF SORTS.

In the previous edition of Dyanotes I described the new Dyane HO-

James Robbins' Dyane on the stand

Practical Classics' James Walshe pays a visit

...Dan's Dyane after Dan's Dyane, before...

scale model from Brekina. However, due to miscommunication on my part, the flyer illustration I had intended to accompany the article was missing.

However, this has turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I can now report that since then the

company has launched a further four Dyane models, this time in open-roof form and including Caban and Côte d’Azur special editions! For the Acadiane fans there are also several of those available, modelled in various colours and liveries.

Don’t forget that Registers Day is just a short time away. I hope to see you there!

FOURGONNE CONCLUSIONS

As I write this the clocks have just changed and we have another season ahead. People will buy vans and do things with vans, they may even tell us about what they‘ve bought and done in this column. Someone already has, so let’s start with a new registration.

NEWREGISTRATIONSANDUPDATES

This month we actually have one! Well worth the wait and something a bit out of the ordinary. Also with an exceptional history. Alan Lloyd tells the story –

“Yes, I have bought another, and this time from about as far south in France as it is possible to go - virtually on the Spanish border, from a classic Citroën dealer. Why? Easy answer; it has covered just 38,000 miles (61,000 kms) from new with one owner and is just so original. One of the nicest things about this van is that it comes with all its original sale documents and it is still on its original number plates, meaning that it never moved out of its original district in France.The paperwork shows that it was ordered from Montpellier Automobile (who were Citroën and Panhard dealers) in 1958 by a Monsieur Herman Griou who lived in Montpellier. The price of the van was 4841.40 francs. M. Griou requested that it be fitted with a full length rear sliding glass conversion with two extra seats, so in May 1960 when the van arrived at the dealership (so 2CV AZU delivery 'wait' was still a lengthy two years), prior to delivery, the van was taken to Paris for Carrosserie Commerciale to fit the side windows at an additional cost of 519.30 francs plus the transportation costs etc for taking it to Paris of 287.35 francs. The van came back to Montpellier Automobile in July 1960 for its 500kms

first service - this cost the grand total of 11.04 francs! Fascinating.

“The van is absolutely lovely, with an almost perfect dashboard and all its original panels, including the floors and

chassis.Of course, lots of French dents are present! I wonder if perhaps it was only used for family outings and holidays which would explain why it had the extra seats from new, why the mileage was so low and why it is in such a sound condition?

“At present, the van has no brakes other than a handbrake, but all the parts have been obtained from ECAS and Rick Pembro is coming to do a total brake overhaul very soon. UK registration is underway though of course this is so much more expensive and complex than it was pre Brexit. Yes, I would have preferred it without the rear side windows, but the history and the uniqueness of it more than makes up for that. Incidentally, the roof rack is made by Provac.”

Thanks to Alan and hopefully we can look forward to seeing that, although as he is now the H Van Registrar he may have something different to bring to Registers Day. Alan is well known for buying vans that are ‘keepers’ or the last one he will have. Luckily they usually end up being shared around. One of his former ‘keepers’ is now for sale and it’s the very picturesque ‘Pscttitt!’ van 685 UYX - a very late ripple from 1961. If you think this might be for you then contact Alan whose details are given on the H Van Register pages.

Alan Lloyd’s AZU

REGISTERSDAY

It’s May, the month of Registers Day and the weekend camp. Time to meet up with old friends or to make some new ones. See some great vehicles, browse the stands and just enjoy spending time with a crowd of like-minded people. Then go home and wait to see your van or van substitute in this very magazine.

BOXINGDAY

A caution about Registers Day, seeing the vans may well arouse a strong desire to have one of your own. Why wouldn’t it? Fortunately, despite their age and never having been sold in the UK, apart from a few Slough builds and personal imports, there are always some available, advertised in 2CVGB News or any number of online sites. These days when you’re used to clicking on Amazon and a box arriving the next day it may seem overly complicated to actually have to leave the sofa. If only you could just order your fourgonette, put

your feet up and wait for the delivery to arrive. Well in the past you could, almost. The pictures (all four pictures below) show workers at an early Amazon equivalent packing up vans for lucky buyers. These were actually destined for SKMA in Cambodia but Citroën dispatched similar loads to four continents. Boxes contained vehicle parts for local assembly so presumably this is how all the Slough built 2CVs arrived. Detail fittings were often locally sourced and varied from country to country so if you were fortunate enough to find an unopened box it wouldn’t necessarily contain a complete inventory. These pictures are from 70 years ago but it is actually possible to

order a 22nd hand van and wait for it to arrive, just ask Registers Day organiser Gary Dicks.

GIRLWITHAPEARLOYSTERBAR

Thanks to all who directed me to the Drama Channel on TV which is showing tales of an amateur detective. Here’s a picture of the star of ‘Whitstable Pearl’. It also shows an actress. In the story I watched the AKS400 make only two fleeting background appearances but hopefully it will be given more to do in future episodes. Maybe it will get a spin off series of its own. Not literally as it looks too well finished to go over a cliff, which used to be the inevitable fate of any 2CV featured in a seaside drama.

GVAN

Another month and another electric powered 2CV/H Van inspired vehicle appears. This time it’s the turn of the G Van. Designed in 1948 the G Van was a reduced size H van that used parts of the still to be released 2CV. Although it looked like an H it was shorter than the AU but because of its forward control seating and cube like body it had a greater load capacity. It was a design ahead of its time and never went into production.

One was made and still exists. Caselani who already make an H Van and an AZU inspired van have now unveiled a reinterpretation of the Type G. Designed in collaboration with David Obendorfer and it does look cute. No more details yet.

HOMENEWS

When our children were young we were hard up and every breakdown was a fairly calamitous occurrence. We’d take the ailing 2CV/AK/BX/ZX to Louis Barbour’s workshop which was always interesting but often frenetic, not ideal when you’re having a credit card crisis. Luckily our anxieties would be soothed by the welcoming presence of Doug Webb, an oasis of calm in a slightly mad place. It was great to see him featured in the March magazine downing a drink in his drive accompanied by the latest of his 2CVs. Mention of his daughter reminds me of his story that she joined the RAF to see the world but got posted to RAF High Wycombe, just minutes away from their home. It would be good to see more profiles of people who have helped make the 2CV world what it is.

See you all at Martha’s Down.

‘Pscttitt!’ van currently for sale Star of ‘Whitstable Pearl’

Caselani’s G Van-inspired creation

G Van

MÉHARI MISSIVE.

Has it stopped raining, yet? Welcome, one and all. I hope you are well and enjoying the longer daylight hours, wet as they are. .

I am delighted to inform you that I have finally finished my latest Méhari restoration project. If I include Rufus, that’s now four. There’s an increasingly less rarefied group of Méhari owners who are linked by owning and driving a car that I’ve helped to save from languishing in a garage or under a tarpaulin. . .

Early last year, Julian Taylor, from near

Colchester, asked me to restore ‘Cassie’, the Méhari that has been part of his life for the best part of two decades. You may remember ‘Cassie’, who surprised Julian and Ali, en route, by throwing a spark plug at Registers at St Ives, in June 2022. I’d never been commissioned before. The previous two projects had been my own cars, restored and then sold, so this was a new departure for me.

Now, finally, Julian has joined Marc King, in Weymouth, who bought ‘YCU’, Dominic Aldington, in Winchester, who bought ‘AVS’ and myself and Rufus in this little band. Those cars are now, once again, carrying out their intended function; giving joy to their owners when they take to the road. It’s difficult to put into words how much satisfaction I have gained from going through these restorations and sending the Méharis off into the world once more, better than when they came to me. Those of you who take pride in the restoration of our cars and bringing them back to life will know what I mean. It is, I believe, a genuinely good and worthy thing to do and I salute you.

When I think about it, causing anything of value to return to working order is a statement. It’s never easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is, they say. I do believe though, that it quietly, but firmly, puts a stick in the spokes of today’s throwaway culture that seems to me to have become all pervading. Mending things has seemingly gone out of fashion.

I became intrigued in all things Méhari when I took receipt of Rufus in 2013. I learned about Méharis and gently restored him. I eventually built enough confidence to embark on other Méhari restorations and now can’t imagine not having an ongoing project. I have a couple of Méharis in stock. . .

You probably know that I’m an architect, specialising in houses. I enjoy working with clients in designing their new homes, but best of all, I love breathing life into old buildings. Architecture is a practical art form, but it’s mainly about imagining things for other people to build and make. I’ve always been a ‘maker’ at heart, so I have found that restoring these quirky, plastic cars satisfies that need.

As always, ‘Cassie’ proved to need a thorough restoration. I am very grateful for the help of a number of experts, one in engine work, another in gearbox, steering rack and mechanical knowhow, another in vehicle wiring and my skilful and patient son, Tom. We got there in almost exactly 12 months. I must also thank my lovely wife Kate for putting up with my shenanigans.

So, Tom and I drove to near Colchester, with ‘Cassie’ on the trusty trailer, behind Tom’s workhorse Honda. ‘Cassie’ was home once more. Thank you for entrusting me with her, Julian. It was a pleasure and a privilege to bring her back to her best life. .

MÉHARINEWS

Paul Levine. Paul Levine posted on Facebook the other day. He wrote: “I don't seem to have had time lately to visit my Méhari, let alone drive it, so with its MoT

Cassie and Julian Taylor Cassie

Rufus in 2013

Tom making some final touches to Cassie

Cassie, on the trailer, ready to go home

Cassie, ready for her new life

Paul Levine’s KTH. Tibesti Green and a shiny engine

due and booked in, I took a couple of days off work to get it ready, with the plan that I would stop and have the MoT done on my way to work in it that day. The Méhari has had other ideas. Obviously upset by its neglect, even after its usual oil and filter change and general service, it first demanded a new battery, then we refuelled it, after which it finally agreed to start, but then decided to leak fuel everywhere from a crack in the metal fuel tank, plus a battery light that wouldn't go out.

“The MoT has been postponed, and an ECAS order eagerly awaited, but the engine bay looks nice after a clean. . .” Thanks, Paul. Hope you can get a new fuel tank and a new MOT soon.

Shane Rooney. Shane posted on ‘Méhari UK’. He wrote: “A chip off the old block. . . “As any Méhari owner knows, the access to the fan, points or ignitions are somewhat destructive.

‘Sonny Jim’ had some starting and running problems,a while back. These were beyond my ability, so my pals Vinnie, Andy & Rocco at ‘French and Italian Cars’ had to come to help. I was there to witness this. I still marvel at a car that came with a timber chock. . . Can you spot ‘Sonny Jim’s’?

“Keep up the brilliant work, Paul.

“Best wishes, Shane.“

Thank you, Shane. The Méhari also came with a specific, Citroën part chock holder, a piece of bent metal that attaches to the offside inner wing, which your car clearly still has fitted. I love how forlorn and downcast ‘Sonny Jim’ looks, with his headlights, in their early, metal boxes. . .

Dave Fearnley. Dave has been out and about in France. He wrote: “We had a day out at Retro Passion, in Rennes. It’s an annual, weekend event and I heartily recommend it, if you’re ever in the area when it’s on and you like your classic cars… There was a good selection of Méharis, from a mint, ex-military 4x4 to an odd looking red one. It could have been American spec?”

Giles Owen replied to Dave Fearnley:

“The red one is a very early car, not a USA spec. They are cool cars. Even the orange one looks good with the hard top on.”

Then I chipped in: “Gilesis right, Dave.

“The Rouge Hopi one is a Series 1, 1969 car. I would love a Series 1. They are, pretty much, how a Méhari was designed to be.

“They have Belgian spec 2CV front indicators, Seima 413 rear side indicators, which are the original reason for the 'ailerons' at the rear of the side panels. They have a fancy

tailgate and the front and rear panels have specific 'chins' for the number plates. The tub has a bulge between the front seats. “They all have steel, rounded corner windscreens.

“I intend, at some point, to have a go at replicating Series 1 front and rear panels.

“I have no idea why Cassis don't make them; I think they'd sell well.. Great Photos, Dave. Thank you.” Lindsay Porter. Lindsay posted. He wrote: "Paul Brice gave me a pair of the early spring clips that fit to the insides of the tub on my 1970. Here is one of them with its new, 6mm bend-it-yourself, full door latch and handle. Believe it or not; they work!

“Thank you, Paul!”

Joolz Smith replied: “Maybe we could install a pair at the top rear corners of the doors too? Later door tops need something there, to stop them slapping against the ‘B’ post when in motion. I've used

Above: Shane Rooney’s Méhari, Sonny Jim, having ‘front off’ work

Paul Levine’s steel petrol tank has decided to give up

Retro Passion Rennes; Series 2, Orange Kirghiz Méhari with an ENAC hard top

Lindsay Porter’s handmade door handle and early body tub catch

Retro Passion Rennes; Series 1, Rouge Hopi Méhari

Retro Passion Rennes; Shiny, 4x4 Méhari in Vert Montana

elastics on mine, hooked onto the roof bars.”

Calvin Bradley. Calvin wrote in from Corfu. No dogs this time: “Here’s a photo of one our French student volunteers, Marin, who was desperate for a try at driving my Méhari before he leaves next month. We had a drive down to Paleokastritsa. . .”

Germany, because of the perceived fire risk of the ABS. About 250 units of a GRP version, the ‘Fiberfab Sherpa’ were made and sold by ‘Kuhnle’, in Dietzingen.

FAMOUSPEOPLEIN,ON ANDAROUNDMÉHARIS

Bet you can’t wait. . . I told you they were getting increasingly obscure. . .

HY THERE!

Interestingly, Méharis were not sold in

This month, it’s Regitze Christensen. Born in Denmark in October 1994, she is based in New York. She has size 5 shoes and is the co-founder of Ethos and Eros, which is apparently an invitation only, boutique matchmaking and dating service for individuals and couples in New York City.

ANDFINALLY

It’s not only Méharis, you know. I’m not really a pudding person. I’m apparently, more of a ‘savoury boy’. However, please do yourselves a favour and try ‘Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding’. It’s a remarkable thing.

Here we are again, hopefully beginning to see some signs of better weather after what seems like the wettest (though certainly not coldest) winter ever. I write this the day before Easter, so belatedly I hope that you all had a lovely Easter break with plenty of eggs!

We start with my only contribution this monththe rest of you hold your heads in shame, and fire off an email and pictures to me for next month……please!

Doug Cunningham sent me a picture of his old service H van -

"Hello Alan, I didn’t really know what sort of things you want for the magazine, but any use of the attached picture is welcome! In the days of running two Hs I was in Sudbury, Suffolk servicing the Charleston when London John with the white one was passing and stopped for a natter, probably over 20 years ago now. Sorry about the quality of the picture (a photo of a blown up photo). It was quite smart looking but only because we rubbed it right down and re-sprayed it replacing some panels BUT as you know the last ones (82 X reg) were not good and Jeff (Winterman) had it back for scrap in the end. As a plus it was lovely to drive and work from and I have to say, it was very reliable. Cheers. Doug."

I look forward to seeing you in a long line of Méharis at Registers Day, on Sunday 26th of May, at Martha’s Down Campsite, Hindon, Wiltshire, SP3 5SU.

Thanks Doug, such a pity that the van got scrapped, but yes, the metal quality of the early vans was far superior to the last ones (production actually stopped in 1980) and yet the last of them drove so much better than the early split screen vans.

Over the last month, I have been a little busy.....not intentionally, but I can't seem to help myself! Two purchases, both from the very far south of Franceone AZU (which I can't possibly talk about in this column!) and an H. The H van is a 1979 long wheel base diesel and I found it in Flayosc which is just inland from St.Tropez, so a long way down. The AZU was even further, right on the border with Spain.

So, let me try to explain why I bought the H, hopefully a little better than I explained it to my poor long suffering wife! Finding a sound, original paint, unmolested H van which has not been Doug’s service van at work

My newly-imported van

turned into a camper or a sales outlet of some sort is now incredibly difficult, and to find a long wheel base.....well, it's unheard of - you try! I fully realise that I am to blame for turning hundreds (literally) of them into food vans, but let's gloss over that for the moment. The important thing is that we now have a long wheel base van in the UK which is still simply a van.

Citroën themselves did not, of course, build the long wheel base vansthey were converted by various coachbuilders, this one by 'Carrosserie M.Gruau & Fils'how do I know this? Because, as well as having the Gruau plaques on the exterior of the bodywork, amazingly the original paperwork from Grau is

present! Laval, where Gruau was based, is west of Paris.

So, the next three pictures illustrate the van as it arrived home in Surrey recently. Sadly, as so often is the case with the French (and in fairness not only the French), the seller was not totally honest - the running engine certainly does not run! We have

replaced the remote fuel pump, but still fuel delivery is not happening which means that the big pump attached to the engine is not playing ball. This is a pain as these pumps are very awkward to take off. I tried to get the primer pump rebuilt when we realised that it wasn't 'sucking', but apparently there are no parts available to rebuild these pumps. However, a few moments searching the internet and I found a suitable pump which was actually for an Isuzu and quite inexpensive, really, I think. I was told that the brakes didn't work, and they certainly don't, but that is not a major issue. I will update further next month. UK registration is currently underway, but sadly, since Brexit, this is now expensive and painful to do The good thing is that the chassis is absolutely solid as is the

bodywork, even if there is a very small amount of insignificant rust.

Over the years that H Van World existed, we sold a huge number of H vans all over the UK and all over the world, but on a recent visit to my local main hospital, East Surrey, I found a van that we sold some years ago doing excellent trade selling coffee and snacks. The van is now permanently based outside the hospital entrance and I have to proudly say that it still looks very smart! My final picture shows it looking pretty busy. That's it for this month, sorry for talking about my van, but unless you all write in and tell me about yours, which is what I really want, I have no choice. It's up to you!

Kind regards,

Classic Citroën Specialists

Ex-H Van World van

My newly-imported van

The first of our national events is now clearly on the horizon. Registers Day will take place this month and will be a longer event than is traditionally the case, being three days instead of the original one. I would like to draw your attention to the advert on the back page which tells you all you need to know about Registers, how to book, and what to expect when you show up.

Registers is organised around the classic 2CV green-field-event scenario, organised by volunteers, making savings, bargain hunting, blagging and good oldfashioned value of the type that existed before the financial crisis of 2007-2008, Brexit fallout, the Covid pandemic, despots’ decisions to invade countries upsetting the fuel economy, as well as politicians’ shenanigans and other business leaders’ frolicsomeness (think

What’s Cooking?

Mr Bates vs the Post Office), culminating in the cost of living crisis that we know today. You may ask yourselves why I am highlighting the status quo, which is 2024 and which is not that much different from 1974 (for those of you who remember the high budget deficits, the oil embargo and stagflation), 1974 being the theme of our Registers Day event. I mean, it makes for an authentic experience, right? Well, not only that, but it sets the scene for our latest new experiment which will be our National, planned for the end of August.

FROM‘CHEAPASCHIPS’ TO‘ÀLACARTE’

As indicated, we are doing the National a bit differently this year. Please check out the advert on page 9 to assuage your curiosity and see what is on offer, as well

as reading what I have outlined below in an FAQ-style information piece:

Why is the National an experiment this year?

Since no one came forward to volunteer to organise the event this year, the committee was left scratching its collective head and rapidly running out of time. We decided, since we are all volunteers ourselves, and have finite resources, we would need to outsource a lot of the organisation and administration to a third party, and managed to find the perfect partner in the Fire Service College in Moreton in Marsh, where the event will be held.

What are the advantages to this arrangement?

For the first time ever, this situation gives us a unique opportunity to explore a venue which has the facilities to cater for those who would rather no longer camp at our events. The Fire Service College has hotel-style accommodation on site giving us the flexibility of both camping and bricks-and-mortar accommodation rolled into one, so we can see if this is something that the membership actually wants for the future. Both camping and hotel accommodation are in the same price bracket as those amenities offered locally in August in Moreton in Marsh itself, being pegged to the local economy.

Are there any challenges?

Traditionally, the 2CVGB National has always been driven by low costs, however, with no volunteers and having to outsource a lot of the infrastructure this is not attainable. The committee has thought long and hard about the event and the only other option was not to hold a National this year. The prices will

be £50 per person for the weekend with an extra £15 per person for camping. Day visitor tickets are £25. Rooms are priced by the college at £95 per night for two people. When making your choices, please check your thought processes as if you were buying a ticket to a music festival (e.g. Glastonbury) or booking your passage on a ferry to attend the events in neighbouring France. Sometimes a change to the familiar, or the club culture, will feel like visiting a foreign country, but we know a lot of our members already do this with ease, so please keep an open mind.

How do I book?

You will be able to book through our website (see the advert on page 9 for details).

How can we enjoy ourselves?

We have put together a packed programme of entertainment, some of which will not have been experienced by any of us ever. I personally have never been to a drive-in cinema, nor have I had the privilege to drive along Britain’s only secret motorway, the M96, which is probably the only private motorway in the world. For the first time we will have the magic of a drivein movie and all the fun of a silent disco. I hope you, the membership will get behind this new style event. Whatever happens, we know that it will guide our decisionmaking for next year. The future of the National is in your hands.

THEBESTMEMORIESARE THEONESYOUCANEAT

Enough about the future, I recently took myself down memory lane. Since I am partial to roaming around the Iberian Peninsula for both work and leisure, it is always splendid when another

opportunity arises, especially when in coincides with a time of year offering the best of tasty treats!

In a combined bleisure trip (yes, this is a newly coined word for mixing business and leisure travel), I made my way from Barcelona to L’Escala, for a quick visit to see my friend of skull-cake fame (now known to Belgian 2CVers as Mr Spicy), returning to the Catalonian capital to make my onward journey by rail to Madrid, where I spent another few days enjoying the delights which come from being in the centre of the communities of Castille-León and Castille-La Mancha. It is some twenty-odd years since I lived in Madrid, and some memories are quite hazy, so it is always a delicious surprise to rediscover them, and in some cases quite literally. There is a fleeting two-week window before Semana Santa

when ‘torrijas’ go on sale, but you must be quick, because if you blink, you will miss them and so will your taste buds.

Think bread and butter pudding, or French pain perdu, combined with a cinnamon syrup of the baklava kind, which is on sale in cafés and bakeries in the lead up to Easter (the aromatic syrup must be down to the Moorish influence and Middle Eastern links from centuries gone by). Back in the day, I used to make a daily visit to the bakery to get my fix before Easter, but this time I only had 48 hours. The most delectable torrija was consumed in a café, but one was just not enough and they had already sold out when I returned to the counter. No matter, a lovely stroll from the Puerta de Alcala down to Cibeles, through to Sol and the Plaza Mayor, meant I could check the counters of the cafés and bakeries on the way past until my search was rewarded. The first was definitely the best, not because of the quality, however, but as neuroscientist Tali Sharot will tell you, studies have found that the first of anything on holiday is the best. IAATF!

P.S. Any other questions which can be added to the FAQs above are welcome, please email me at the usual address!

Registers’ Weekend 2024.

To celebrate 50 years since the return of the 2cv to Great Britain, it’s FREE ENTRY for UK (RHD) ‘N’ reg 2cvs, and our overseas visitors.

Sunday 26th May 2024. Make a Bank Holiday weekend of it! Camping is available on site from 12pm, Friday 24th until 12pm, Monday 27th May.

Organised by The Bath Tub Club on behalf of 2CVGB—The Deux Chevaux Club of Great Britain Limited.

Saturday.

• Scenic drive

• Bar and discothèque

• Party like it’s 1974!

• 2cv Coffee Van on site

• Flea market/autojumble

Registers Day (Sunday).

• Concours d’élégance

• 2CVGB archive displays

• Voting and trophies!

• Wal's Raffle

• Trade stands

• Flea market/autojumble

Booking information.

To book, email Conrad at 2cvbathtubclub@gmail.com for bank details, or you can pay on the gate.

Registers Day with camping: Car + driver: £25.00

Car + passengers: £35.00

Registers Day only (Sunday): Car + passengers: £10.00

Free entry for children under 17 years with a paying adult. Dogs are welcome.

Martha’s Down Campsite, Hindon, Wiltshire. SP3 5SU

Six Figure Grid Reference: ST912344

What Three Words: cackling.lollipop.dried