very useful thanks will hoover and marinade tomorrow...how do you turn it anti clock? the hole on the front doent let the hand crank turn that way?

that pic rocks..kind of!...different steering wheel...and I was hoping for the sky finish seats but they were just cloth with sky on the back

2 of the plastic door handle trim things have broke also...I was thinking of knocking them up in steel painted, plastic just disintegrates in our sun ..super brittle after a while

Forgot that I usually have the advantage of having a bare engine to run on the bench.
This one was sold for next to nothing as the original owner assumed that it was seized and useful only for parts, so the guy who'd bought it 'recommissioned' it by painting the manifold and rocker covers silver, plus the fan in Dulux yellow, then burned out a starter motor trying to beat it into life.

With the engine still in the car, you could try using a 14mm 3/8" drive socket on the fan pulley bolt, or grip the fan with gloves.
For a bit more leverage, remove the air filter box and use a screwdriver on the flywheel's starter ring teeth to ease the engine backwards.

As it turned out, that particular engine ran very well after it had been 'marinaded' and freed off, although adjusting the valve clearances, cleaning out the carburettor and replacing the carburettor insulator block plus setting the timing probably helped as well...

ken

I have a feeling we´ll be having a few conversations like this ken thanks a lot...if it wasnt dark I´d be out there now

today was the first time I actually looked properly at a 2cv engine, aswell as loads of other things, never been in one, no friends or family ever had one!, so steep learning curve ahead...so as such thanks for all the help so far folks

this is what your likley to find in the top end

DSC00065 by Sean602, on Flickr

*IF* you get it to start it all gets blown out the exhaust

wow! I wouldnt want to work covered in all that crap either!...oh there´ll be some mashed mouse shit in there also, the air filter was full

ok so quite a productive day I think
cylinders are marinating in the oil/petrol mix, its freed off a little bit and I´ve managed to turn it about an eighth of a turn on the flywheel with a blunt screwdriver and a rubber hammer....still stuff to go though

the chassis...thats a weird one, its like a straight break, no rust involved, i clamped and levered it back into position and it was literally like fitting pieces of a puzzle, so I did a quick road side arc weld and it now holds until I can get closer with the mig, I´m pretty sure the old lady lived up a dirt track with many pot holes...the first silencer is well bashed underneath...maybe she just overdid it on a pot hole???

I´m loving the 4 child safe nuts for the wing removal..I thought people were exagerating...instant all around access to the engine in 10 minutes complete with bonnet sun shade whilst working in the 35 degree sun

rear drum!..not so easy, undone the back 2 bolts but they don´t seem to do anything, tapped it around the drum and loads of black dust and bits fall out...I´m assuming a leakage with has rotted the pads or something...but how to get at the damn interior?...I´ll do some searching I´m sure I saw a thread somewhere.

so its all go, and I´m getting to find my way around the car a bit more ..its fun so far

one question...I´ve got loads of yellow paint daubed on various parts, brake lines, steering rods etc...like as if its a final check over kind of test mark..anypone else seen this..or is it just an over consciencious spanish mechanic??

cheers for now sig

see the yellow cross...well there all over the car rear brake lines, front steering adjuster weird??

Sounds like ya having fun mate,

Chassis doesn't sound good, possibly fixable, but most of the responses on here will say replacement one required!!

The rear drums can be a bit of a pain in the arse, u can get a drum removal tool which is very handy, otherwise a big hammer and screw driver are probably required

Lots to do but you will probably have yours up and running before I do!!!!!

Umm,
a Haynes manual or equivalent is needed, I reckon.

In which publication you should find that those 'bolts' are actually the snail cam adjuster heads, so they need to be backed off in the correct direction, not 'undone'.
If you wind them too far, or in the wrong direction, you'll be doing the opposite of what you need, which is to allow the shoes to move away from the drum to make it possible to remove it.

ken

+ 1 for Haynes it has its faults but its by far the best way to get to know your car, the cumulative knowledge on here will keep you right.

if you lie under the car and fit a spanner on the 14mm bolts pointing away from the central arm then its push upward to losen off the snail and down to bring it in contact with the brakes - irrespective of side, front or back as its not a thread. Once they are backed off you have to undo the unfeasibly tight 44mm nut in the centre as the drum and bearing carrier are all one - its not like a normal car.*

There is an online PDF of the original factory manual somewhere but i cant find the link perhaps someone will post it up for you as its a start( and has some of the stuff you will need for the older single choke carb)

* thats possibly the most pertinent bit of advice when working on a 2cv