Time to hit the NEC stage but will the 2CV be ready?
By the time you read this, we’ll have either finished rebuilding my car on stage at the NEC… or it’ll still be a pile of parts. At the time of writing, I’m really not certain. The sheer amount of work left to do was giving me some sleepless nights. Sure, an accident assessment was done and further probing took place afterwards but as you know, it’s only when the stripping down takes place that you discover there’s always more to be done. Either way, it was set to be one of the stars of the 2022 Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, having survived a near-death experience at the hands of a speeding BMW this summer (PC, October 22).
The chaps behind ‘Operation Tupperware’ is a team of three, led by father and son team Barry and Peter Annells. They just happen to be the previous owners of the car they still refer to affectionately as Tupperware. Citroën specialists their whole lives, they were joined by a third member: me. As their largely unskilled sidekick, I was able to source all the parts, do some of the scrubbing and other simple jobs in preparing the car for its revival.
With the shell hoisted to one side for now (PC, December 22), the focus was on swapping all the good bits from the old chassis to the brand new one. The suspension is tough as old boots so suspension arms or axle bearings never need replacement. The 2CV’s rack and pinion steering system, pretty much unchanged from 1948 to 1990, is cunningly built into the front crossmember that supports the arms. I cleaned all the grease and muck from the bolts while Peter followed me around, unbolting everything. Part by part, we shifted items across to the replacement chassis and with a bit of a scrub and a lick of paint here and there, it all slotted into place.
Sweeping statement
Trigger’s Broom, I hear you say? Well, like the rest of the car, a 2CV chassis is a bit different. The identity of the car is defined not by the chassis it sits on, but by what’s written on the engine compartment bulkhead. It’s viewed almost as something disposable, in fact. As with most 2CVs out there, the one on my car wasn’t original. The first chassis having been replaced in 1990, the one you see here was fitted in the Noughties and is from a used Charleston model. It had served its purpose for a couple of decades with the need for just a few patches here and there. Having recently
