a quest to save the 2cv from rust and the scrap yard
It all began one fateful day when I was driving to Stonehenge. Coming up to a roundabout the
steering on my faithful 2cv became very stiff to the point where it was hard to drive.
I called out the AA and was assured that the problem was somewhere in the column (probably the
bearings or nylon sleeve) and that it'd be ok to drive home and take it to a garage. I
eventually took it to a garage to be told that the chassis had rusted through, and the vehicle
was not only unroadworthy, but should probably be scrapped.
After sulking for a couple of days, I was telling my tale to my friend Ross whose response was
"So, are we going to fix it then?" - an offer he hopefully hasn't regretted ;)
Since that fateful day, Ross put a deadline on the work - his wedding day in August. He
wanted Dolly to take him to the church, and his fiancee Amy agreed to it being the wedding
car to take them from the church to the reception! This resulted in a frantic July and early
August, as we worked on the car to try get it ready and MOT'd. Did we make it? Read on.
This site charts our progress...
Diary (oldest entry first):
Towing Dolly posted on Wednesday 8th of December 2004 by Mark Warner
Cleaning up the garage posted on Sunday 9th of January 2005 by Mark Warner
Rust check posted on Monday 17th of January 2005 by Mark Warner
Dismantling and disgfiguring posted on Saturday 29th of January 2005 by Mark Warner
Let the men see the rust posted on Wednesday 16th of February 2005 by Mark Warner
Patching and cleaning posted on Saturday 16th of April 2005 by Mark Warner
Inspection posted on Wednesday 27th of April 2005 by Mark Warner
Strutting about posted on Saturday 30th of April 2005 by Mark Warner
Summer evening fun posted on Tuesday 24th of May 2005 by Mark Warner
New Footwells posted on Thursday 16th of June 2005 by Mark Warner
More Patchwork posted on Wednesday 22nd of June 2005 by Mark Warner
Not getting mucky posted on Saturday 16th of July 2005 by Mark Warner
Welding For the First Time posted on Saturday 20th of August 2005 by Mark Warner
Grinding, Drilling and More Spitting posted on Tuesday 23rd of August 2005 by Mark Warner
I'm Now The Proud Owner Of... posted on Sunday 4th of September 2005 by Mark Warner
Getting to grips with my MIG posted on Tuesday 13th of September 2005 by Mark Warner
What Have the Mice Been Up To? posted on Thursday 5th of January 2006 by Mark Warner
Welding Weekend posted on Sunday 22nd of January 2006 by Mark Warner
Why Not Say Hello? posted on Thursday 26th of January 2006 by Mark Warner
Some Neater Welding posted on Wednesday 1st of March 2006 by Mark Warner
Shiny Patchwork posted on Thursday 16th of March 2006 by Mark Warner
Turning It All Around posted on Thursday 30th of March 2006 by Mark Warner
Ready For Inspection posted on Wednesday 12th of April 2006 by Mark Warner
Missing Delivery posted on Sunday 21st of May 2006 by Mark Warner
The Chassis Has Landed posted on Monday 22nd of May 2006 by Mark Warner
Patching is Second Nature posted on Tuesday 23rd of May 2006 by Mark Warner
Stripping One Chassis, Painting Another posted on Monday 29th of May 2006 by Mark Warner
New Sills posted on Saturday 3rd of June 2006 by Mark Warner
Box Sections... No Problem posted on Wednesday 7th of June 2006 by Mark Warner
Summer Evening posted on Wednesday 14th of June 2006 by Mark Warner
At Last... posted on Monday 19th of June 2006 by Mark Warner
2006-06-19 posted on Monday 19th of June 2006 by Ross Clewley
One Sill Is Replaced! posted on Thursday 22nd of June 2006 by Mark Warner
Starting The Second Sill posted on Wednesday 28th of June 2006 by Mark Warner
Second Sill Sorted posted on Thursday 13th of July 2006 by Mark Warner
Coming Together posted on Sunday 16th of July 2006 by Mark Warner
Boots and Bonnets posted on Thursday 20th of July 2006 by Mark Warner
Weather? posted on Sunday 23rd of July 2006 by Mark Warner
A Mammoth Effort posted on Wednesday 2nd of August 2006 by Mark Warner
Failed the MOT posted on Thursday 3rd of August 2006 by Mark Warner
Tring To Fix The Failures posted on Sunday 6th of August 2006 by Mark Warner
MOT II - Failed Again posted on Monday 7th of August 2006 by Mark Warner
Third And Final MOT posted on Tuesday 8th of August 2006 by Mark Warner
The Wedding posted on Thursday 10th of August 2006 by Mark Warner
You Thought It Was Over? posted on Saturday 7th of October 2006 by Mark Warner
Let There Be Cake posted on Saturday 9th of June 2007 by Mark Warner
Another Year... Another Test posted on Monday 30th of July 2007 by Mark Warner
Another Pass posted on Tuesday 31st of July 2007 by Mark Warner
No Smoke Without... posted on Monday 26th of May 2008 by Mark Warner
New Brake Discs posted on Saturday 21st of June 2008 by Mark Warner
Stopping Power posted on Sunday 13th of July 2008 by Mark Warner
Flying Colours posted on Wednesday 23rd of July 2008 by Mark Warner
New Fuel Pump To Start? posted on Sunday 14th of December 2008 by Mark Warner
Purring Again posted on Sunday 11th of January 2009 by Mark Warner
It Was So Simple posted on Saturday 24th of January 2009 by Mark Warner
MOT 2009 posted on Wednesday 22nd of July 2009 by Mark Warner
Another Big Day posted on Saturday 31st of October 2009 by Mark Warner
Fuel Again posted on Tuesday 5th of January 2010 by Mark Warner
2CV 1 - 0 Polo posted on Wednesday 11th of August 2010 by Mark Warner
It's Been A While posted on Sunday 7th of August 2011 by Mark Warner
Baby Met Dolly posted on Sunday 2nd of October 2011 by Mark Warner
Fatter King Pin posted on Sunday 15th of July 2012 by Mark Warner
MOT That Pin posted on Friday 27th of July 2012 by Mark Warner
Tell The Tale posted on Wednesday 7th of August 2013 by Mark Warner