John, no need to thank every peep individually - as you say, it'll take too long...

Of course the 2CV is going to be completely different to a Ka. Noise, power, handling - everything. It'll take a while to get used to, and if you settle into a more 'relaxed' way of driving, you'll soon appreciate the difference.

Eg, if you worry about setting off from the lights quickly enough not to hold people back, then you'll just stress yourself, and that's exactly what the 2CV is not about. And, because they are almost universally loved, no-one will mind (much) being held back a little and shown how to chill...

Yes, the steering is heavy compared to modern power-assisted types. And not only at parking speed - what really amazed me when I first drove a 2CV (a 200 mile homeward journey with the one I'd just bought) was how stable it was on motorways; the self-centring was pretty powerful. For such a light car, it's surprising how much you have to haul the steering around sharp bends.

Just throw back the hood whenever you can - even if there's a drizzle -, settle back in your seat, remember not to start off in reverse, and enjoy

(You may have paid a bit over the odds for your car coming from 'that' place, but - hey - it'll hold its value which is more than a Ka ever did...)

Finally, just remembered they usually come with a "sports steering wheel" as part of the upgrades from that particular neck of the woods ....there was a reason they came out the factory with Bus sized steering wheels.

John
if you look at the bottom of this little window that contains the message at the bottom on the left there are [profile] [pm] buttons find a post by me cnd click the pm button you wre then given a page to reply to my message but only I can see it....that's the theory anyway!

cheers ,

Welcome! Everyone else seems to have covered everything, but I'll add my bit anyway ...
I've been driving these things since the late 1980s and, since the demise of 4 star, have never put anything other than standard unleaded in. They run fine on it as long as the timing's set correctly. You should be able to hear it pinking under load: try accelerating up a hil in 3rd gear at around 50 mph and it'll be all too obvious.
If you've serviced motorbikes you'll be right at home with a 2CV. It's basically a bike engine with cowlings to help it stay cool. Just don't rely on the torque settings in the Haynes manual when tightening up the cylinder head oil feed pipes.
As others have said, don't bother comparing it to your Ka. Completely different animal. If it has a tuppeny bit steering wheel, fit a proper one as soon as possible.
And post some pictures of it in the "Your A Series" bit of the forum!

Right, let's see if I can cover all the points that have been made. In no particular order; -

No, it didn't occur to me to take a magnet to 2CV City. As a matter of fact, Mr 2CV City made a big point of showing me a car that had been built by one of his competitors, and how much filler had been used. Pot, kettle, black apparently. When I pluck up the courage, I'll check the car with a magnet.

The general consensus seems to be that it's ok to run my car on standard unleaded, so I'll do that.

I drove the car 200 miles up the A1 after I'd picked up, and I thought the steering wandered a bit; a bit vague. I hadn't noticed whether or not the self-centring is powerful. I'll take it out to check later. And I'm beginning to think it's a bit heavier than what I've read here would suggest.

No, it hasn't got a sports steering wheel; it might be more comfortable to hold if it did. I find the one that's fitted uncomfortably thin (making a comparison with the Ka again; difficult not to.) I'll get used to it.

The car I bought hadn't made onto the 2CV City website yet; I bought it when it was in the last stages of being prepared for sale (allegedly), so no, it's not the blue one or the red one.

The comparisons I want to make concern the general performance and the steering rather than anything visual. I tried to post a picture last night; the attempt failed, and every key I pressed after that made the upload start again and fail, so I ended up having to leave the forum to regain control of my pc. Is there a size limit or are only certain formats acceptable? I expect this info is probably somewhere on the site, and I'll have a look later.

Right, I think I've covered pretty much everything. If I've missed anybody's input, apologies.

Thanks to everyone.

John

upload photos to photobucket or similar, and then paste the direct link in the {img} bracket things.
I think its a case of how bad the car was before restoration. If it was full of holes and dents, some specialists will replace metal and knock out dents whereas others with plug it with filer. therefore i think him comparing to a different car is a bit short of the point for it might have been a nice car to start with.

Time was that the steering would be heavy because the original chassis was rusting away faster than you could say "but it's only three years old". The chassis would bend and all the weight of the cab would settle onto the steering column leaving you with increasingly unmanageable steering ... However, as yours has had a rechassis I'm sure it's nothing quite so serious.

I hope not.

Seriously, I don't think it'll be anything like that; it's definitely got a galvanised chassis which I'm told is 3mm thick as compared with the original 0.8mm (according to Mr 2CV City). It's probably the obvious; lack of grease around the kingpins and possibly some additional wear and tear that wasn't dealt with as part of the rebuild.

John

Im sure it wont be anything that bad! It might be worth checking tyre pressures too while you are greasing the king pins. Lets see some photos!

I checked the tyre pressures; they were pretty much right.


Photos will be on the way soon.


I can only hope that that's the case. I'm not sure whether I'm better off not knowing or not.

John

to be fair, mine has some pretty awful repairs to the floor using filler that the previous owner had done. but ive had it 4 years now and its still in one piece. Its only when you look at an immaculate car that you tend to not appreciate yours. I wouldn't worry too much. if it has a ticket on it then it must be safe-ish!