On the 13th December 2009 myself and my mate Jim will be attempting to drive The Walmington from the UK to Cameroon. This is not an independent raid as such but a charity rally set up by The Adventurists who also organise the Mongol Rally.

As you may or may not know I have been on the look out for a left hooker for this journey (Cameroon Government will not allow RHD vehicles) and my search has finally ended with the Walmington. Thanks to the wonderful Doug Webb from Mr Barbour's garage I am now the proud owner of the following:

1982 Citroen 2CV6
Frome chassis
Pretty good 'shed' condition
Soon to be LHD
Done out in a Dad's Army homage style - Matt green and lime trim.. stunning
Suspension a little worn but works.
Union Jack boot - been replaced with old bootlid with rather fetching UDAC 1985 sticker





Modifications - sump guard already fabricated and in place. Fuel tank guard soon to be fitted.

The Africa Rally is first and foremost a way of raising important funds for the designated charities. On this trip we will be fundraising for Ape Action Africa and The Rainforest Foundation UK: essentially that covers our past (apes) and our future (trees). The Walmington will be raising money for the much needed orphanages in Cameroon when it is auctioned off at the end of our trip.

Our journey will take us through France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon. We have 34 days to cover around 8000 miles.

The Walmington will be taking on roads such as this one in Mamfe, Cameroon:



We hope to meet some African 2CV people enroute.. there are clubs in Mali and Burkina Faso:

http://wagues.net/2cv-afriq/

And they have a good time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR6x-hqjPMg

Apparently the emperor of Mosse, Moro Naba Baongo, who reigns over more than half of Burkino Faso is a big fan of 2CV's and the locals often parade their 2CV's in front of him... we will try anything to get in this parade over Christmas and all being well its where we will be.

So that's the Walmington and my plan for this excellent machine. If you would like to know more we have a small blog/website:

http://africarally09.theadventurists.co ... utecitroen

That's it really.. please get in touch if you want to know more. We are after sponsors (serviceable bits and stuff you may be able to donate) and we can give you branding on the car, website advertising and hopefully national press after the event.. my co-pilot Jim is a travel journalist and quite in with the newspapers.

Cheers
Ru

Nice, this was at the international wasnt it?

It was.
Still owned by Doug then

Ah ok. Love the colour scheme. Do you have a better picture of that udac sticker?

Looks like its going to be a great journey. And the best bit its all for a good cause.

Nice one Ru.

(Fancy spreading the word to african 2cvers about the forum? )

Thanks Max, and of course we will advertise the forum throughout the whole trip.

Udac close up:

Ah its just a sheet of stickers. (I think)

Cheers.

Africa Rally prep update:

On Saturday at 9am after a strong coffee and a bacon butty, myself and Mr Barbour started the conversion of the Walmington to left hand drive. The Africa Rally stipulates that all vehicles taking part have to be left hand drive so that they can be legally imported into Cameroon.

Thanks to Graham Wilson at the 2CV workshop for cutting me a piece of bulkhead and a huge thank you to Neil who met me on the M4 on his way to Spa to deliver it.. I now had the jigsaw piece required to swap the controls over. Together with a LHD rack we dived in..

Dash and loom comes off



Cutting of bulkhead



Hole ready for scrap bulkhead



Welded up and painted



Hey presto new dash



Wheel and column swapped over



Finished (bar a few bits and pieces)



Apart from a few hiccups I managed to drive the car home for midnight. It still needs a bit of a tidy up but essentially I now have a perfectly usable left hooker. Thank you Louis for another stunning effort... next job engine change.

Looks good,
How come you need an engine change??

Will you have a passenger? What about a dummy steering wheel with a squeaky horn to keep them entertained?

Bloody hell, you guys work quick! Glad you've managed to get it sussed & that the lump of metal was the correct bit!