Ring me if you need a hand

Thanks J-Dub. Well it's mended now, I borrowed a couple of sockets and a ratchet from Mike and put the points box from the spare engine on it and now it goes again. It's raining outside.

Mike also gave me a CD of pictures from before I got the car, and some before he got the car.

That's interesting - I wondered why you had the wrong headlamps on Friday. In those pics it's fitted with Marchals with the big chrome band and tell tales in the shell. Its got standard lights at the front now hasn't it? I guess the previous owner had the same issue as me with not being able to find good reflectors. Wonder what happened to them though?

Was a shame you couldn't make it. Was looking forward to a ride out in this old beast

Not as much as I was looking forward to the beer festival.

I'm not sure what's happened to this car over the weekend. Friday morning, my life was simple and pleasant, there I was toodling about in my little 425 and I was a happy man. Then, fieldhouse pointed out that my brake lights didn't work on Friday night. So, after a sketchy drive home where numerous other motorists probably had winking brown spider moments after almost hitting the back of my car. I went out in the FUCKING rain and fixed that on Saturday morning, and assumed my life would be simple and joyous once more. Then Saturday afternoon I jump in the car to head off to Daves and the beer festival when the car coughs, farts and splutters out of the parking space and then won't go any further. The beer festival went out of the window and as the only tools I had were a small screwdriver and bit set the only thing I could change was the carb and that made no difference, which I sort of knew anyway. Sunday morning dawned dark and wet and windy, so once again I headed out to borrow a couple of tools, knelt in the gutter changing the points box for one off the spare 425, got it going and went indoors to dry out.

Thinking life was finally good I've just had a bath and sat down with a beer when there was a knock at the door and a lady pointed to the 2cv and said to me "is that your....'car'...there? Did you know the red lights on the back are on?". So, I've just been out and adjusted the brake light switch, which for no reason at all has moved since I put it back on.

The cars been absolutely fine since I got it and this weekend it's just fallen apart!

Have faith

Have a beer

Poxy car. Yesterday I noticed a noise when turning that sounded just like a driveshaft knocking. It got so bad I pulled into a layby/dogging spot and it suddenly disappeared. I had a bit of a look and nothing was obvious. It didn't do it again until this morning when it became obvious the noise was at the back. I whipped the drum off and both shoe linings have fallen off, they've whipped round and round and smashed the pins that hold the shoes on so one is broken and one bent. One nut was in three pieces and the other about to come off. Thankfully, ECAS had not only the shoes but the two weld-in studs on the shelf. £40 odd quid later and hopefully it should be sorted.

The brake bits turned up today, anybody ever removed the two captive bolt/pin things that the shoes pivot/mount on and changed them? I don't fancy taking the arm off and I assume they are resistance welded to the backplate?