looking really good, Bertie! the front panel treatment has made a massive difference.

Thanks Neil, I'm so glad I got rid of the old front and I'm quietly confident that she'll be at the National Meeting next month

new nose looks ace! definately be seeing you there bertie

I didn't intend doing a lot last night as I usually go out for a few pints on a Wednesday so I began by addressing the problem of a passenger door that wouldn't open from the outside. I had initially assumed that the key provided didn't fit all the locks and hence the passenger lock door was permanently locked as the handle was just spinning. When I took the barrel apart it became apparent that it WAS unlocked, but the whole unit was slipping internally. Luckily there were a couple of spare centre spindles in the spares box so I replaced one of those and the door opens fine now.

The rest of the evening was spent wiring in the front auxilliary lamps through a relay activated by a feed from the light switch so that they can only come on with my headlamps. I didn't quite finish it before beer o'clock so I'll complete that tonight.

Not at all. I'm not sure it's the option I'd have taken, given how difficult decent square 2cv lights are to obtain these days - I think I'd have done something completely different, ditched the shells, and gone for some more normal panel-mount lights such as those from VWP or Europa or similar.

If the Meh thinks it's getting Dyane lights back, it's got another think coming, not least because the shells don't fit around the engine cowling and were badly hacked about in an attempt to make 'em fit...

I had thought about alternative lights for a while, believe me. When I was first told how rare rectangular lights are nowadays I immediately thought about seeing if I could make standard 7" round headlamps with square surrounds fit as I've seen 2 other Beds with those. I'd also investigated some aftermarket rectangular lamps as well. It may still be worth looking at in the future but as someone came to the rescue with some rectangular 2CV headlamps in return for good old fashioned booze, it seemed a good idea.

Again, not a lot done last night as there are only a couple of little jobs needing doing before MOT.

The first job was to get the car up on axle stands so that I can get a set of new tyres fitted.

As I didn't want to be clambering around in the car in this state I finished off wiring in the front aux lamps. With everything wired in, I switched on the side lights and ...... the aux lamps failed to light. I checked everything through and narrowed the problem down to the relay not switching. After scratching my head for a while I decided that a new relay (obtained from our transport servicing flight) MIGHT indeed be broken but I wanted to make sure I had got the connections right. It was only when I looked at the diagram on top of the relay that I noticed the numbers "24" and the letter "V" next to it - Doh!!!

Annoyed with myself for making such a basic mistake, I thought I'd have a go at remedying the overly fast indicator flash rate. I'd seen the post about adjusting the metal strip found inside the flasher unit and took the can off. Oh dear, my internals were different to those on Uncle Ken's photo but actually the principle is the same. The flash rate is governed by the tension of the thin metal wire inside and whilst it's adjusted by bending the strip on some units, it was apparant that mine is adjusted by a small grub screw. A clockwise turn tightens the wire which increases the flash rate and anti-clockwise slows it down. So, that's sorted now as well. I just wish my V5 would get a move on.

Sods law says that if I mention that I'm still waiting for the V5 to arrive, it will have got here that very morning!! To those who don't know, Belinda originally had a 1220cc engine which I've swapped for the (I believe) correct 602cc lump. As the DVLA website states that certain types of documentary evidence must accompany a change in engine details request, I decided to write a covering letter to explain that the 2CV was never officially fitted with an engine larger than 602cc and I photocopied the specification page from the Haynes manual. Just to make sure, I wrote myself a receipt as I'd bought the engine through ebay and any transactions over 90 days are not printable. Yeh I know it's a bit naughty but I'm not trying to deceive anybody and if the DVLA really wanted to look at my ebay history, they'd be more than welcome. It took about a month but the V5 now says "602cc".

I got a set of new tyres fitted as well today so I'll be booking Belinda in for MOT either for the end of next week or the beginning of the week after. I'm not going to let you know when exactly as I don't want to tempt fate

Really enjoying your restoration. Its a great looking machine!

Good luck getting the MOT

MOT time is almost upon me so I've been doing more tidying up. I hadn't bothered with the heating so far, electing to just lock the heat exchangers to "vent" with some wire until I could get round to it proper, but I did have a couple of "heating control units" in my spares box so decided to get on with it last night. I didn't have the necessary clamps to attach the control cables either but Ken Hanna came to the rescue (I don't know what I'd do without that man, I really don't). The way it works is hardly rocket science but I did have to make an additional double clamp to hold the primary and secondary cables in place and it took a while for me to decide where to feed the control cable through the bulkhead.

Another little thing I had noticed was the fact that using 2CV wiper arms & blades (10"?) with the Bedouin windscreen doesn't make for an awful amount of forward vision. A colleague of mine had suggested sourcing a pair of classic Mini blades as they were a) a different blade fitting, enabling the use of different and longer blades and b) they are kinked so they park better and provide a more suitable sweep. I managed to get a pair of arms and blades from ebay for the grand sum of £6.75 and they do seem to work better than standard 2CV ones. The blades are still a little short I think, so I'll try some longer ones at a later date.

I've recently purchased a new set of tyres as well so I took Belinda out for one of her increasingly regular test runs. The tyres have definately made a difference now and I'm getting used to the sounds & quirks etc of an A series again. Most notable is the amount I have to press on the brake pedal. She stops quite well but I guess the brakes are still bedding in. A final bleed is in order I think and I keep having to tell myself that there is no servo, so the required effort is bound to be more.

I've even started to get a bit braver into the corners