2CVs aren't all that lethal. Friend who had one years ago had a head-on at the bottom of Cleeve Hill in Gloucestershire - I imagine he'd wound it up to 75 or 80, his foot was permanently on the metal - with a Ford Consul if I remember correctly. The Citroen looked like a fly on a windscreen afterwards, nose well flattened, but he was all right and I imagine the other driver too. Still, he was alone in the car at the time, no rear seat passengers ramming him up against the steering column (one of those tubular steel steering wheels the early 2CVs had).
Not that one would particularly want to have a crash in anything, especially with an airbag mashing your stogie up your nose...
2CVs suit a gentle, rhythmic driving style, mature so to speak. They respond badly to 'sporting' treatment and aren't all that economical driven with a very heavy foot. Pity I had mine, and my Dyane, long before I was capable of driving properly. It's something that only comes with age (with some people anyway).
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Oh and, typically Citroen at its traditional best, you could get them with a centrifugal clutch that was a boon in traffic, indeed Citroen called it a traffic clutch. It disengaged at idle speed, so you just put the car in first and press the loud pedal when it's time to go. Once engine was spinning, that clutch stayed engaged all the time, and you used the conventional one in series with it for gearchanges. Brilliant, and not expensive.
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Sorry to go on and on, but I notice that my post two above can be taken to mean my 2CV friend hit another car head-on at 75 or 80mph and survived. Obviously that can't have happened. I imagine there were long black lines leading to the point of impact from both sides...
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Because 2CVs were equipped with the sort of powerful brakes they sometimes really needed...
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each to their own, obviously........but £7,500 for a 2CV ?.........who on earth would pay that when you could have a TR6 or something similar, for that sort of money
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Spotted today on the forecourt of a factory/warehouse near the A30 south of Heathrow: 1985C 2CV in white with galvanised chassis and new soft top. 40k miles. MotT March 2008. Asking £3,250. Tel 077757 15755.
HJ
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Ex-moderators having comments deleted? Shame on them ;-)
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>>Ex-moderators having comments deleted? Shame on them ;-)
I know, and all I was doing was talking mostly of the porn that DD sends out by e-mail. {Sshhh, or everyone will want adding to the mailing list - DD}
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>>Ex-moderators having comments deleted? Shame on them ;-) I know, and all I was doing was talking mostly of the porn that DD sends out by e-mail. {Sshhh, or everyone will want adding to the mailing list - DD}
If anyone is thinking of asking to be added to DD's Distribution List, I cannot begin to stress how bad an idea that would be. I'm still having therapy.
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One of the most enjoyable cars I've ever owned and you could really annoy XR/BMW/lowered Peugeot owners when the road surface got bumpy!
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No FM2R
I am off to France this Friday on business / pleasure, if I see anything of interest for sale I will let you know.
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Avoid the last built (1988-ish on). They were built in Portugal and the quality took a nose-dive(!).
On all of them the chassis and floors rust, but both are easy to repair. The body unbolts and is £500 for a new galvanized one (less than some car windscreens?). The floors are flat and easy to weld. The necessary repair panels are easy to obtain. The vent flaps under the screen also goes (but not mine - it's flooded with Waxoyl) but aluminium replacements are again easy to come by. Wings unbolt/unscrew in a jiffy. All mechanical parts are easy to get. In this respect they are an ideal starter classic.
As noted above they are great fun but are an entirely different experience from driving a modern car (remember it was basically designed in the 1930's).
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Another thing: you won't enjoy one with a 425cc engine, let alone the 375cc original... They are quite slow enough with the 602cc. The ones with 'corrugated iron' bonnet panel should therefore be avoided, despite their gritty authenticity.
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You can get new galvanized chassis,also tubular chassis;in fact the 2CV was always available to order with an "export"(heavy duty) chassis but very few were ever ordered.
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;in fact the 2CV was always available to order with an "export"(heavy duty) chassis but very few were ever ordered.
Not surprised, it would have been even slower!
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The only really serious ones are those old ones with one headlamp, on the driver's left.
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