–By Eric Fantin–
This past summer members of the MN Citroën Club went to the Botham Vineyard car show to celebrate 100 years of Citroën as a car manufacturer. Around 12 cars (many 2cv’s, DS’s, and more) formed a convoy for the seven hour trek along the Mississippi River and the beautiful hills of southeastern Wisconsin. We had only one incident on the trip when the wheel of a DS almost came off! For whatever reasons the lug nuts loosen themselves.
After we arrived and the festivities were under way, it became obvious that one of our crew had a serious issue with his 2cv. The front end was dropping down slowly and worsening every day. We were able the assess the problem… stress cracks in the frame that were obviously occurring prior to current ownership. On the way back a few of us stayed with the driver until he got home. The decision was made to replace the frame.
I have done a fair amount of work of these cars so it became incumbent on me to tackle it before the winter would set in. I ordered two frames. Both from one of our US suppliers (FPS parts). Why 2 frames? Well another club member needs a frame because of rust issues as well! That will dealt with in the spring. The frames are readily reproduced. A crate was sent to me and upon receipt I started diligently on the work. The process is actually quite straightforward.
The body is removed put away on dollies. Then the drivetrain is removed followed by the suspensions and fuel system. The rebuild is also pretty simple! Suspensions, fuel system, drivetrain, and with the help of four friends the body is bolted back on. You will note that the body was removed as a complete unit due to the lightness of the car. Hard to do that on 50’s Buick!!
In the process of dismantling I found out that the steering shaft was about to break with devastating consequence!! The entire process took around 50/60 hours, but it is now a safe car again to be enjoyed next season.
Next spring I will do it all over again. The next car will take more time because of rust issues. In any case, as a Citroën hobbyist, and all around car nut, my interested in cars has no bound!! The frame replacement is actually relatively simple task, time consuming none the less. C’est la vie!