Taskos, Sam, Edce:

the brakes have been noisy like this since they were professionally relined by the local Citroen garage, who deal frequently with A-series cars. That was about three years ago, but it's a car that doesn't get a lot of mileage, though it is used regularly.

Even the old shoes weren't too bad - they showed me out of interest. So I don't think it's that kind of problem. If I take them apart I'm likely to put them back together worse than they are now!

And as I said, on the French 2CV site - Forum2Pattes - even people who have meticulously reshaped the shoes and set up the eccentrics have subsequently said it made no difference.

I think I'll give the extra metal a try. It can't do much harm. And I'll let you all know, too.

And in case it looks as if I'm claiming no-one ever cures it any other way, quite a few people do report that their cure has worked perfectly.

By the way, do you also have the symptom of brake pedal to the floor
or an initial long pedal stroke followed by short ones?

Well, it may be a bodge, but for me at least it was an effective bodge. Not having any 8in nails handy, I used a 20cm length of 8mm reinforcing bar. My welding doesn't seem to be improving much, but I will shortly spray on some black paint to cover it up. This will never look pretty, though.

Normal braking is now completely silent.

If you jam the brakes on there's a noise, but even that is much less than normal braking produced previously. And I can't help but feel that's OK, as you usually want to sound the horn when you're skidding to a stop.

And Taskos, thanks for the concern, but the brakes aren't even a little bit soft/spongy. The fluid was changed when the back brakes were done, and the circuits were bled properly afterwards.

I'd have done the same .

Now you can move on Den .

Or possibly come (quietly) to a halt.

Always nice .

I did exactly the same and have never heard a peep out of them since.
(Crikey, first time I've posted on here for years!)

Could you please describe this legendary effective bodge?
Seems simple, hasty, effective... pure 2CV.

I welded a length of steel bar (about 8mm thick and 5 inches long at a guess) from the front edge of the back plate to the suspension arm.
I'd post a photo but the great British summer has arrived and it's slashing it down out there.