Started some work at the weekend on a car belonging to Toomany2cvs, its a mehari Jim, but not as we know it!

Changed front and rear frames, and steering rack (it had a bodged RHD conversion) and put some less-damaged plastic on it, more to come, but here's the man himself at the wheel of what is probably the most dangerous car I've ever seen. Ace!





And here's an artists impression of the finished article:

put this in the your a-series surely?

i think it will be fun!

Fun? definately!

And Fast, too. It's so light I can pick the back of it up. On my own. And put it on axle stands.

With the FI on it, i reckon it'll be knocking out something like 200bhp per ton. that's fast. especially for something which has closely related roots to a design from 1948, comparing that to ferrari's 1948 race cars, and it's not far off the same...

Hmmmm

Have i driven meharis? yes. Did i feel slightly scared on the open road in an open mehari, yes.

Have i driven several sidewindered a series, yes.

Does the idea of this mehari make me very afraid? yes,

do i want a go. Oh blimey o crikey yes.

JESUS!

To be fair, we were putting the front end onto the axle stands by hand, too, because some pillock(s) had forgotten the trolley jack...



Ooh, but you're a drama queen, Higgs. 60bhp from a standard 1220 lump, mebbe figure up to about 70 with the megasquirt on it.

A standard 2-pot Mehari weighs in at about 550kg, compared to a 2cv at 570kg.
A 2-pot Ami 8 weighs about 80kg less than a Super - so we're looking at about 630kg for a four-pot Mehari - which would tie with the "600kg unladen weight" that's on the V5 for some bizarre reason. So that's not much over 100bhp/ton.

Mind you, if the Mini Cooper supercharger idea does end up being implemented... Hmmm. Let's find out how lethal it is normally aspirated, first.

No, I do NOT want a flamin' roll cage on it. Honestly, if I get one more text message with thoughts & ideas for whether to fit a cage, just a hoop, a pair of loops like on a Cobra (a COBRA, ffs?!?)... At this rate, we're going to have to start calling you "WendyHouseSpeed".

Mr Sparrow reckons a pair of Webers on a flat4 will produce 85bhp, with the rest in standard form, he gave me that figure from his past experience rolling roading stuff. You're on about making a fuel injection system which I assume will be suited to the engine better and more tractable than large carbs. I reckon it'll be more. If that weighs 500kg I'd be very suprised indeed, a standard 2cv weighs 570 something doesnt it? I can't pick the back of one of those up, not even close. Its way more than 100bhp per ton.

Chapman, it will kill somebody. A cage is a really good idea. Even if it's just a rear one.

Russ 'getting soft in my old age' Higgs.

Only one way to find out...



Only one way to find out...



Only one way to find out...

<fx: evil "the-world-will-be-mine" type laugh>

Quite. My thoughts with a cage of some sort is merely that if you scrape your head up the road it hurts. If you do it with a car on top of you it hurts more. If you do all that at over a ton. it might need hospital treatment, and I can't afford the parking charges to come visit you while pointing/laughing/saying 'I told you so'...

To be honest, if/when I stuff the Mehari at <eeek> speed, I can't help feeling that "strawberry jam" is probably a preferable outcome to "drooling vegetable".

Your concern for my well-being is touching, and - I'm sure - nothing whatsoever to do with your day job manufacturing equipment for kid's parks. The Mehari might look like a sandpit, but I don't need a climbing frame on top. Nor do I want swings, a see-saw or a roundabout. Although some of those funky springy thingies in the back might be fun.

What d'you think?