DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

I don't plan for this to be a particularly detailed thread but thought I would show you this little beauty....

Unrestored, unmolested and never registered in the UK, I purchased this some time ago from leading early 2CV enthusiast Alan Lloyd...





Which was promptly stripped, replacement panels obtained and parked in a corner of the workshop ready for restoration...



...where it's sat gathering dust for the past 18 months looking rather sad



However recent events have meant it's now all systems go - so a bit more stripping and body off...



Although obviously rusty in areas the van is incredibly solid underneath with the original chassis.



A quick blast off all round...



...which revealed many original factory chalk marks The box chassis was full of straw, I thinks it's spent all it's life on a farm in the South of France...



Oh yes, the Porsche content - well it's not that the AK400 is air cooled but...

...a few weeks ago a certain body restorer mentioned that he had some spare time in between jobs Although not his usual thing after a little persuasion (lots actually!) and as a one-off he agreed to take on my little project

I had made plans to visit him anyway so took my little van along - I'll share his handiwork with you when it's done





Do you think he's wondering what the hell he's been talked into



Cheers,
Darren

Bet he enjoys it.

Sometimes a little change from the "usual" makes things a bit more fun.

But.... He won't do another one

Darren65 wrote:


I thinks it's spent all it's life on a farm in the South of France

Acording to the plate number, these 2cv comme from Britanny not the south of France
If you have the french title you have the date of the registration.

jim2l2S wrote:Acording to the plate number, these 2cv comme from Britanny not the south of France
If you have the french title you have the date of the registration.

Britanny is cool and well below the Watford Gap so kinda counts

I have no french title or any other history so any information is very much appreciated.

Cheers,
Darren

Collected my AK400 from the Master Craftsman Mr Barry Carter today who's completed this latest task in double quick time.

As ever he made the difficult appear very easy; this project involved the stitching in of new panels, fabricating some of his own and even a little back dating. A few before and after photos...

A slightly worn out floor pan...



the sills he made himself...



the back end tidied up very nicely...



and the b-post areas will be indistinguishable from the original...



2CV's are wonderful projects - this ain't the postage cost ...



As always, an absolute pleasure to deal with Barry and a joy to see his handiwork. I expected him to be all smiles seeing this one gone although I think he may have got quite attached to it



For those who are interested I'll post a few photos of this one when it's finished and looking new. Thanks for looking.

Cheers,
Darren

I love it. It looks superb. Barry always such an outstanding job.
I got lots of lifts in these in France the 60's
But it is a shame they are so flimsy and I am not sure I would want to be in one in any impact

Darren, this looks great and you've clearly got the resto bug!

I was sent details of this 1976 "truckette" that was for sale back in January. There were lots of detailed pics online but no longer there, if it helps I can see if they're still available? It looked perfect, to my untrained eye anyway From the info I was sent...

"The Chairman of Citroen stated "it should be able to carry 110 pounds of potatoes, or a small cask of wine, while providing a comfortable ride over the most atrocious roads. It should be capable of transporting a basket of eggs over a plowed files without a singe egg breaking. " These Truckettes were mostly used for French bakers to deliver their products to the local shops. Therefore needing to be small yet versatile and reliable."

Looking forward to seeing this progress...

Mitch wrote:These Truckettes were mostly used for French bakers to deliver their products to the local shops.

Nice work Darren.

Barry, how do you find French tin? Any different to German?

Ferry Man wrote:Barry, how do you find French tin? Any different to German?

C-rustier?

Hmm... but isn't that a Renault 4 Paul? Nice pic tho!

Great work Barry, impressive as ever.

Ferry Man wrote:

Mitch wrote:These Truckettes were mostly used for French bakers to deliver their products to the local shops.

Another great vehicle - Renault 4 van ... had a few of those (& the 'saloons') in the past.

Mitch wrote:Hmm... but isn't that a Renault 4 Paul?

I knew there'd be one geeky, French bread van specialist on here....

Thanks for the comments chaps .

I have to say, it made for a really nice change, and as the panels are so cheap (not cheap and nasty mind you: I would say that the pressings were of a higher quality than even genuine new Porsche panels), we could remove an awful lot of metal and replace with new very economically. This certainly gives it an impressive acreage of shiny stuff.

In all a nice little diversion, and I'm now all ready for the next three 911's due through before the Autumn.

Thanks again to Darren, who was, once again, the perfect client.

Oh yes, one little thing. During the loading I was standing next to Darren's Transit, but looking back to the 2CV. Casually, I asked Darren (inside the Ford, organising parts storage) how many horsepower it had (nodding towards the French one). 'Oh, not sure: around 90', he said. 'It'll sit on the motorway at 85 all day'. This was amazing: must be the lack of rear seats I thought cleverly, it's the weight-saving you know. To sound intelligent, I suggested that it must have the four cylinder 'GS' engine. 'I'm not too technical', said Darren (seemed he didn't know what a GS was, which struck me as being a bit odd). Impressive I thought, I didn't think even a GS would pump out that much.

Needless to say, eventually my own fog cleared, and Transit engine specs were put back to where they belonged: in the Transit. The 2CV returned to a 25 odd horse putterer, and my fleeting vision of a wibbly-wobbly French hyper-van blowing away M3's and the like returned to the dusty recesses of my imagination. That's why I'm not a brain surgeon I guess ....

Ferry Man wrote:

Mitch wrote:These Truckettes were mostly used for French bakers to deliver their products to the local shops.

Nice work Darren.

Barry, how do you find French tin? Any different to German?

Thin, Paul, very, very thin. As an experiment I held up a rather dim torch inside of the van. I swear you could just make out the beam from the outside ....

It was all rather charming actually: I'm sure Darren will detail some of the erm, details as it goes together, but no front door gaps as such, just bloody great covering seals. No rear door hinges really either, but a clenched full height strip, with one tiny, tiny clip that stops the door sliding down to the ground. Remove one screw and the clip, and the door just slides upwards off of the clench. Brilliant stuff, and a wonderful andedote (sp?) to BS-rich modern cars.

I wouldn't want to hit, say, a stale baguette in one though.

BTW, look at the state of the back of that van: yummy .

That Barry chap is very like Mark Slade i find....

Thanks for all the comments guys.

Mitch wrote:Darren, this looks great and you've clearly got the resto bug!

Thanks Nigel - you could say that, I've 'done up' a few over the last couple of years. 2CV's really are a pleasure to restore, sensibly priced to start with, a plentiful supply of good quality parts, no one gets too bothered about originality and they're worth a few quid when you're done here was the last project...

From this - Looking quite presentable but fairly rotten and the 'GTi' badges weren't strictly period correct...



To this - nothing wrong with adding a bit of sunshine...



Barry was really good for taking on this latest project although a little apprehensive as he doesn't want to divert from his proper (Porsche) work.

I think he might have muttered something along the lines of not telling anyone and keeping things quiet although I doubt my praise and his details being plastered all over my resto thread on the Deux Chevaux Club of Great Britain forum will attract much attention

Cheers,
Darren