Restoring a 1949 Citroen 2CV, Part 1

cazalea · 2018-06-19T16:55:36Z

Join cazalea's multi-part series on restoring a 1949 Citroen 2CV. Discover the challenges, camaraderie, and detailed process of bringing a vintage car back to life in a week.

cazalea

WPS member · Automotive forum

17 replies5193 views9 photos

Cazalea, a seasoned restorer, embarks on an ambitious project to revive a 1949 Citroen 2CV, chronicling the journey in a multi-part series. This initial installment sets the stage for a week-long, international collaboration aimed at transforming a dilapidated vehicle into a show-ready classic. His detailed account provides a rare glimpse into the challenges and camaraderie of vintage car restoration.

Thanks everyone for your supportive comments regarding my Lotus restoration, As requested by a few PuristS, I am offering this next series of posts on restoring a 1949 Citroen 2CV.

OVERVIEW

This project dates back to the early 1990's when I was visiting France frequently. Production of the 2CV had ceased in France. A friend of ours who lives outside Paris (we will call him C) and another friend from Lyon (B) invited me to help give an historic car a makeover. I believe this was from the 1st year of production and the 15th vehicle made. Here are a couple period photos so you can see what the cars looked like back then.

It was the people's car, taking farmers across plowed fields with a basket of eggs and a pig. Or cases of wine - something like that.

So C had come across this car which wasn't in too bad shape after 40+ years, but it hadn't run for awhile either. He proposed that we rebuild it from bottom to top in a week, including full mechanical and body/paint. It was be a sort of camp-out in his house, where we took over the garden and garage and the wives / children stayed clear except to feed and put us to bed at midnight. C brought his cousin from Poland (P) who didn't speak French, B brought a pal from Lyon (L), and I was honorary American observer (A). A motley crew, for sure.

NOTE: I think the photos were mostly taken by my wife, as I am in many of them. I can't remember!

PREPARATION

Here's how it looked when we started, as C gave it a power wash to clear out spiders, leaves and decades of dried grease. Note that in this suburb of Paris we had plenty of space, hand tools, welders, spot welders, torches, and compressed air. And a big wall around the house to keep the nosy neighbors at bay.

The first step in any restoration is to strip down the car as far as you think necessary. In the case of a 2CV, you separate the body from the chassis too. Notice that RUST has done lots of the work for us ... the floor was missing in many places.

Here's an overhead shot to give you a sense of our working conditions. You see P stripping paint off the doors, which are sitting on very nice metal stands. Despite the rustic appearance of the driveway we weren't short on resources.

We used very few chemicals and power tools. The paint stripping involved a gas torch, putty knife, and lots of patience. C explained that P was used to manual labor in Poland, and that this was a "vacation" from much harder work.

Here we are busy dismantling the mechanical bits, each of which has to be cleaned, checked and restored. The body is sitting to the side.

You may notice that the labor force is separated into Manual and Office workers, as revealed by our clothing. A (me) and B are office workers. I was writing repair manuals and B is a cartographer who maps all those tiny roads in France. We wore in shorts and T-shirts. P had his Polish farm garb. Because the other guys worked in factories, they had the obligatory blue jumpsuits handy for this project.

French PuristS, please tell us the precise delineation of social class represented by each kind of attire!

It was clear that C was our host and the boss. He's well known in French Citroen circles as a racer, tourer and mechanic although his day job involves none of these things. At the time we were restoring the car he was also planning major surgery on his 2CV-Cross race car. Here he says "Get back to work, Mike!"

I'm going to split the post at this point, and tackle the body work separately from the chassis and mechanical. Please let me know if this is interesting at all, and I will get strength to keep on going to Episode 2.

Cheers,

Cazalea

Key Points from the Discussion

The restoration aimed to coordinate six workers from three countries to restore a 40+ year old car in one week for an important auto show in Paris.
The restoration process involved stripping the car back to its piping, with a focus on bodywork and mechanical components.
The final product was intentionally not brand new, using old parts with new spot welds and sealant to maintain its vintage character.
The author shares additional photos of a 1964 Belgian-origin Citroen Van (3CV AZAM6) and its camping setup, showcasing the versatility of Citroen vehicles.
A contributor shares a personal anecdote of driving a 2CV van across the Western Sahara and Mauritania over 30 years ago, highlighting its ruggedness and utility.
The author provides additional historical context and images of the 2CV, including its factory of origin and a modern-day owner's perspective.

The Discussion

cazalea

Jun 19, 2018

Thanks for reading and/of commenting on part 1 of this Restoration report. Our goal was to coordinate the efforts of 6 workers from 3 countries to restore a 40+ year old car in one week - in order to present it at an important auto show in Paris. Let's proceed to the bodywork of the 1949 Citroen. Because the prints aren't numbered and I don't have the negatives, I can't be sure of the exact order. I hope no one is taking notes! When C does a restoration, he listens to Van Morrison, who loves to

cazalea

Jun 19, 2018

Thanks for following this rushed restoration - where 6 odd ducks try to get a Duckling ready for a car show in one week. Part 1 is the overview and Part 2 covers the body work. Here we dive into the mechanical bits. The 2CV is undergirded by a platform frame to which are attached the engine, gearbox and brakes in Front, suspensions F & R plus springs in the middle. Here's the bare chassis minus the drivetrain. Brakes are mounted inboard on the transaxle. C has one of the largest stores of old pa

cazalea

Jun 19, 2018

This is the final episode of my Citroen restoration story. Perhaps you are expecting a Pebble Beach restoration with medals and trophy - alas this was not that sort of soirée. And in fact, as we got to the end of our week, frantically chiding the women as they sewed up some seat covers, and cursing the parts counterman for not receiving our expected parts, it began to rain... Here is the body shell with its new floor. It doesn't look brand new, does it? Good, that's intentional. All the parts ar

cazalea

Jun 19, 2018

I don't know if he still does. Maybe I will send him this link and find out. Here's a picture of the car (under the covers) behind the Corvette I bought and shipped to France for him. That's another story ... as you know Corvettes aren't common in Paris!

KamalRostov

Jun 19, 2018

I throughly enjoyed your write up 😃 Here’s hoping that you’ll find photos of the finished car and update us.

Cpt Scarlet

Jun 20, 2018

But we do our best …

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