For the last couple of months I have been busy with something I like to call: project revive 2CV. It's basically just my dad and me fixing my dad's old car (which I got from him as a gift for passing my drivers license).
What it is, is a 1981 Citroën 2CV6. This car has many nicknames in many countries. In mine it's called Eend or Lelijk Eendje (meaning Duck or Ugly Duckling), in the UK it's commonly known as a Snail, and I heard from someone in Portugal that it's called Goat there. For those of you that are not familiar with this car, it's a French automobile which was produced from around 1948 until 1991 with minimal changes to the styling, making it one of the, if not the longest lasting production car of all time. It has a 28 horsepower, 2 cylinder, 600cc boxer engine. Which will make it go at a top speed of 115 kph or 71 mph. Well, officially at least. Mine only goes around 60 mph. It's a simple, slow, but very comfortable and charismatic car. And in the summer you can just roll up the roof and go for a spin with the wind in your hair while listening to that amazing Porsche-like boxer sound.
Sadly, ever since my parents got divorced and my mom got her own house and own car, my dad has had 2 cars. Which is fine, if he didn't only drive his modern, 2013 DS3. The car has been standing still outside in the rain, unused for about a year and a half now. I was a college student at the time in Utrecht (which is quite far away from where I live) and didn't have the time or the money to get a drivers license, so I couldn't drive it. My dad was about to sell it, and I couldn't let that happen. It was my dad's first car, and I have lots of fond memories of it from when I was still a little kid. It is basically a family member. So I made sure to pass my driving tests quickly and he decided to give it to me instead of selling it.
So now, because I have quit school, temporarily live at home again, and only work part-time, my dad and I started this project. On my days off I sell lots of my dad's (and my own) old stuff (he's a bit of a hoarder) and all the money I make from that go towards restoring the car to its former glory. We started the project a few months ago, but we haven't done anything yet on the car. We decided to make some good money from selling stuff before we do anything. As the days go on, we are getting closer and closer towards that starting point.
What needs to be done:
-Brakes Check. It stood still a long time, and they're not working properly.
-Reupholstering of seats. The front bench has a massive tear in it, and needs to be replaced.
-Fitting new doors. The current doors have rust holes at the bottom and at the windows (actually goes through to the inside, so waterproof it is not)
-Fitting hubcaps. My dad and I were never a big fan of the original wheels, but at the last mandatory service they replaced the wheel nuts with smaller nuts, so now we can put some original classy chrome hubcaps on.
-Fixing fuel gauge. That's not working properly and makes driving the car really scary.
-Respray. The car is not in an original color, and nobody knows which color it is. It needs a respray because of a previous bad paintjob and the new doors. The paint is peeling off in some areas and it doesn't stay shiny for very long either. A fresh coat of paint will have no trouble staying shiny.
-Deciding color for respray. Probably need to do this first. My dad and I are both big fans of dark red, but we actually want it darker than it is currently.
-New roof. There's an aftermarket roof currently fitted, which cannot be opened halfway and is leaking. In a 2CV you usually open the roof halfway for shorter drives because you can do it quickly and pretty much from inside the car.
-Fixing trunk lock. It won't lock... And sometimes it won't close either.
-Maybe fit a powertube. A powertube is a tube that sends excess air from the fan back into the engine for more power. So it's like a simplified turbo. It's said to give a 15% power increase and loads more torque. This is not something that has to be done right away, nor is it very important. However the car will do better in modern traffic and get a top speed increase. If I decide to do this, the car will need additional carburettor modifications.
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