I'm very tempted to make a 4x4 conversion this year's project, and so I'm staring at le bon coin for all the 2CVs. Strikes me there's three price ranges. Under €1000 seems to get you a total resto job with plants growing out of it. Around €3000 gets you something that's used every day and has a CT, but would need work and then total restos seem to be anything fro €5000 up to one I saw for €12,000 !!!!

Given that the conversion will mean replacing a whole bunch of stuff, and a bit of chopping, and then no doubt me drving it into a bottomless ditch, what's the best place to start? Seems silly to go for something too good (although I guess it'd leave bits to sell) but then again a total resto plus a conversion might end up as one of those half finished prjects you see for sale.

So as there's a bunch of 4x4 owners here, what would you recommend?

somthing that is not a total wreck but not too shiney either, with me being very small when mine were built I dont know the condition on the blue 4x4 when it went in to be built (I assusme completely screwed) and big louis said the pick up was a really perfect D*lly. how it has changed

EDIT: would you build it your self or get it built, if you are going to do it your self it depends howmuch your willing to take on.

What are you after at the end of it?

Something that you'll be happy to throw off the side of cliff into a swamp?
Or something that your wife won't refuse point blank to get into?

There's 4x4s which fit at each end of the spectrum. Cars that are shiny inside and out, and cars which you need a tetanus jab to go near.

Apart from the bolt-on stuff, all you're really using of the "donor" is the shell. The chassis is brand new. The suspension that isn't brand new is completely rebuilt. Same with the gearbox.

Since you're in France, you need M le Controle-Technique to not run screaming when he's shown it. That's all. That's easy...


The rest is up to your preference.

If you use it properly, it WILL get lots of mud and water and sand and salt and _everything_ in the box sections of the floor, in the sills, in everywhere - and, of course, that causes rot. If you use it properly, it WILL get battered and bent and scraped and rolled...

Mark - are you on your third or fourth shell now?

if i were you i would buy a louis barbour kit and put it together yourself saves the labour cost which costs!!

Years ago I re-chassis-ed a 2CV, so I was thinking of putting it together myself, and hey if the worst comes to the worst I only live an hour or so from 2CViking. I guess the aim isn't to have it as a purely off-road machine, as soon as the sun comes out I want the roof rolled back and off to the beach.

Looks to me like the best thing would be something decent mechanically, not too many body bodges, but tatty round the edges.

As for the CT-man, I recently discovered mention of a recent Euro-ruling standardizing the equivalent of the SVA test in the UK which means at last the endless paperwork to register something unusual in France has been simplified - although do the DRIRE know this? Of course buy something over 30 years old register it on a Carte Grise de Collection and it'd only have to visit the CT-man every five years. I get the feeling he might still notice the extra diff though.

When I registred my fathers newly imported Mehari 4x4 the CT man checked the car. When he had finshed an was to sign the papers,he noticed that I had marked a box in one of the papers which told that the car had four wheel drive. He saw it a asked" is it four wheel driven" . He had seen nothing even though another guy a the place had asked what all the shifters where for. I had just answerd him that you should be abel to go both forward and backward.

Hahaa, that saved my day

Shell 1 joined the roll over club after modified bodywork by Jack Daniels! Later not helped by driving into a tree which took out the driver door.

Shell 2 suffered general abuse and eventaually would not pass an MOT

Shell 3 been on the car the last 3 years.

And then there are the 21 rims and tyres that I have. 6 tractor, 6 ice, 5 green laneing, 4 off road

I think when your bootend from the bodyshell is gone it doesn't matter because you have to modify it anyway to fit a barbour chassis.