HubNut Blog

What’s on my mind?

Project 2CV: Slow going

Life has been conspiring against the 2CV project lately, with tinkering time very hard to find, the engine still away in Lancashire and then me smacking myself in the face with a minibus…

Yes, having split my head open on a Peugeot Boxer (sharper than you think), I’ve had a frustrating day on the sofa, not allowed to go near the 2CV until my head stopped bleeding.

So, not a lot has changed since my last report. However, a lot of thinking has been done. I’m still yet to decide what the paint scheme will actually be like. The body is now brilliantly white, but the front wings are mostly red with patches of grey primer, while the rear wings don’t really exist yet. Not sure I want to put the manky plastic ones back on, but maybe I will.

2CV door through roof

Elly during one of her many ‘dogeared’ phases. Solid body here, but scabby panels. Perfect!

One key thing I need to point out is that the finished car will NOT look immaculate. That has never been my intention. She has been nice once, but it was a surprisingly brief interlude in her 30-year history. Mostly, she’s looked a bit dogeared, and I like that. These days, 2CVs sadly seem to fall into just two categories for the most part – restored (or original) immaculate condition, or so knackered that they’ll seen be in restored, immaculate condition. I want to tread the tricky gap between the two. I don’t want ‘ratlook,’ because it seems silly to restore a car and then make it rusty again deliberately. But, I want a car that I’m not scared to use. One I’ll leave in a supermarket car park without worrying. One I will use every day if I want to.

So, I’ll be painting the wings myself. She may go red and white again, she may not. I may go complete ‘hippy art attack’ or I might not. I suspect she will be red and white, initially at least, because I’m reluctant to fart about with paint to the level that it delays the project. If I really am going to get her back on the road for 8th January, then I’ve got some serious work ahead of me.

Here’s hoping I make it.

New ZX: More issues

Having successfully managed to get home in my new, £4 Citroen ZX, the problems didn’t end there. I headed out to get supplies on Sunday morning, and the tensioner noise I’d noticed when we first saw the car seemed even louder. At least, I hoped it was the tensioner. Preferably the auxiliary belt one.

I decided it made sense to investigate. After all, this is not a good noise.

First step was to remove the alternator belt. That would confirm whether I was dealing with a minor issue or a major one. In other words, if the noise didn’t go away, then it was likely there was a cambelt tensioner or water pump failure. Not much fun. Of course, access was pretty horrible. Citroen are the specialists in awkward access.

I've missed Citroen engine access...

I’ve missed Citroen engine access…

Removing the tension was difficult, as the bottom bolt holding the tensioner was very reluctant to move. In the end, I opted to remove the alternator instead.

Alternator removed, there's the problem pulley.

Alternator removed, is that the problem pulley?

With the belt now removed, I started the engine again.

Yes, that’s pretty conclusive I’d say. I then gave the alternator and power steering pump a spin by hand. Nice and quiet. The tensioner for the auxiliary belt was another matter entirely. It was grumbling even at slow speed. There we go then. Nowhere to buy one on a Sunday afternoon, so an online order was duly placed with GSF Car Parts.

Given I couldn’t drive it anywhere, I spent some time on Monday giving the ZX a wash. It really is a fine looking motor.

A fine looking motor.

A fine looking motor.

I like how it’s unmistakably a Citroen, despite being very conventional, and very Peugeot under the skin. Like the XM, Bertone had a hand in the styling, though Citroen’s own stylists were very hands-on at this time, producing their own proposals that influenced Bertone’s work. Mind you, a different design language was on its way, and the ZX was the last Citroen introduced with a single windscreen wiper. Well, until the Toyota-based C1 and Mitsubishi-based C-Zero, and they at least had the decency to have a pantograph single wiper. This means no unswept area right in front of the driver’s face.

I digress. Today, the new tensioner arrived. I thought fitting it would be easy, so did some page-proofing before heading outside with the new part. Straight away, there was a problem. Unbeknown to me, the bottom mouting bolt had actually sheared off as I removed it on Sunday. Oh dear. A proper solution at this stage would have been to drill out the remains and tap the thread out to something larger. That probably meant removing the bracket for the alternator and power steering pump, which meant disconnecting the latter. Sod that.

So, I came up with a bodge. Applying tension to the tensioner left space above the bottom right angle to get a nut in. I used washers as spacers as the bolt I had was too long to start with. It would have been trying to apply too much tension. My first attempt failed, with a squeal disiplaying the lack of tension quite adequately. I reduced the washer count and had another go. Success!

Fantastic bodgery.

Fantastic bodgery.

Incidentally, I couldn’t get the new belt to fit, so the old one has gone back on for now. Perhaps I’ll replace it at some point. Perhaps I’ll do something better than my bodge. Perhaps I’ll never get around to it, the belt will snap and it’ll take the alternator belt with it…

Until next time!

A tale of four Citroens – new car!

I’ve sold several cars via the raffle system on a favoured car forum – members only deals linked to the Lotto bonus ball. A dreadful Volvo 740, the Honda Prelude and a Mitsubishi Colt were sold by this method, with a great deal of success. I’ve also taken part in a few raffles too, as a hopeful buyer. Without luck. Until now! EDIT – Video now available here.

When a Citroen ZX was offered up for just £2 per ticket, I had to have a go. In fact, I had to have two tickets. Value! £4 spent, with two lucky dips. Now, following the Lotto draws is annoyingly difficult, so I wasn’t really paying attention. Then, the forum thread was updated to reveal that I was the winner. Oh dear. I then had to break the news to my wife…

Surprisingly, Rachel was sufficiently interested that she decided to accompany me on the collection caper. Perhaps it was because I said I’d sell the RAV4 to make room for the new arrival, and she wanted to make sure that I really did…

That itself went very smoothly, when a friend agreed to have it as it seemed ideal for his needs. I don’t doubt that. It’s a great little car, albeit one that isn’t very comfortable for long journeys. Which was unfortunate, as I agreed to deliver it most of the way to him, by leaving it with his dad in Sutton Coldfield.

So, that’s what we did yesterday morning, timing our run to perfection to avoid the hideous traffic chaos of both Newtown and the M6/M5 interchange. Remarkably, we got there in 2.5hrs. That’s an impressive average of 48mph!

Bye bye RAV4. First Citroen of the day next to it.

Bye bye RAV4. First Citroen of the day next to it.

A lift to the train station, in Citroen number 1 of this adventure, was much appreciated. We got a slightly earlier train into Birmingham, so I foolishly decided we’d have a quick nose about the City Centre. This required us to walk very, very fast, and occasionally run back to the station, where we got to the platform with minutes to spare. We hopped aboard a Cross Country Trains Voyager, where the catering chap was making apologies for the lack of service previously – the exact same thing happened the last time I travelled on Cross Country. Thankfully, we had beef sandwiches and drinks with us. Nae bother.

After some time, we reached Reading, and eventually managed to find our way out of the station and down to a subterranean car park hidden beneath. There, we found Citroen number 2.

Olympic Blue! A favourite colour, on this BX14. Citroen number 2.

Olympic Blue! A favourite colour, on this BX14. Citroen number 2.

The owner promptly delivered us to Citroen number 3, which is the one we were driving home in. That was meant to be all the Citroens on this trip, but it turns out we’d meet one more…

Citroen number 3 - my new £4 car.

Citroen number 3 – my new £4 car.

There was a bit of a wait while I sorted out bureaucracy – change of owner, vehicle tax and insurance. I also did a few videos, most of which were rubbish. After a check of the levels, I declared the car probably alright, and we headed straight onto the M4 motorway. I did notice a bit of a droning noise at speed, but thought it was probably due to cheap tyres. In this, I was quite wrong.

Still, we covered over 100 miles without issue, other than slight discomfort due to the seats. I need a bit more lumbar support than these seats provide, though I say that about pretty much every car, so maybe the problem is me. After over three hours of driving with only a brief stop for fuel, I’m probably not being very kind to my back.

Hereford was horrible – traffic everywhere. At least I could be glad that the clutch is fairly light and the gearchange remarkably pleasant. I’m used to PSA diesels being a bit rubbish in this regard. At 112,000 miles, it’s pretty much run in for one of these.

Herefordshire would not get any better. It started raining, and then the car began to feel very wayward. As we drove, pretty briskly, through the enjoyable curves of the A480, I felt the car begin to move in unexpected ways. Its progress began to feel interrupted, and it was feeling as if the rear end was steering. ZXs do indeed have passive rear wheel steering, but this was far stronger than that. As we limped towards Kington, it stepped slightly out of line while I was driving on a straight. Already, my speed had dropped. It now dropped further, especially as the tired wiper blade was making vision rather tricky.

We pulled in to a car park and I quickly assessed the car. Neither front wheel had play detectable in it, and the nearside rear was ok. The offside rear? Bloody hell! No, that was not right at all. Rocking the top of the wheel back and forth, I could feel the hub moving in a way that hubs should not. I could see the hub nut dust cover moving with the wheel, so that ruled out loose wheel bolts (though they were checked anyway). We were tired and hungry, and went in search of food while pondering our next move.

Handily, we had friends a few miles away, and they very quickly offered to put us up for the night. We could limp there, down a largely single-track road, in relative safety. We’d investigate in the morning.

And, this morning, investigate we did.

Investigating the rear wheel bearing on the new ZX, while Citroen number 4 looks on.

Investigating the rear wheel bearing on the new ZX, while Citroen number 4 looks on.

Well, if you’re going to break down, break down near a friend who owns the same car, has a load of tools for them and knows where to get parts!

It didn’t take long to form a diagnosis. On removing the hub nut dust cover, we could see metal fragments. We dashed off in Citroen number 4 to see if we could purchase a solution. My friend Adrian let me drive his ZX, which is a much later, turbo diesel version of my new car. This was an unexpected pleasure, even if it did remind me of the turbo lag my ZX does not have. Mind you, this ZX also didn’t have a horrible droning noise…

We found a garage that was open, were just about in time to request a ZX wheel bearing be added to their van delivery for that morning and agreed that they would fit it to the drum. Back to the car, off with the drum and sweep up the wheel bearing parts…

Yes, that wheel bearing is pretty knackered!

Yes, that wheel bearing is pretty knackered!

We think one or two of those rollers had broken up completely, with the heat generated from the failing bearing them removing any grease as it overheated, leading to it pretty much destroying itself. This causes a droning noise… It also causes the wheel to try locking up, which might explain why it felt like the car was occasionally losing power the night before. It also allowed a huge amount of play at the wheel, hence the curious handling.

With the drum off, we went back to the garage, who had now received the new bearing. It was pushed in, money was handed over (and I bought a new wiper blade) and we returned to the car, refitted the brake drum, put the wheel on and pretty much drove straight to a local gig that we were very keen not to miss. Thankfully, we arrived ten minutes before it was due to start. It was rather enjoyable, and THEN we finally made it home.

Home at last!

Home at last!

I’m very thankful to our friends Adrian and Ellie for helping us out when all seemed rather bleak. That truly is what friends are for. Now the editor has helped me out so selflessly, perhaps I should join the club whose magazine he edits…

A full review on the car itself will be forthcoming. Suffice it to say that I think it’s a good’un. It even managed to liven up an otherwise rather boring collection caper!

Project 2CV: The build-up begins

Since the 2CV returned to my garage, I’ve not done a vast amount to it. Partly, that’s as intended – fresh paint is quite soft, and I thought it’d be better to leave it to cure for a bit longer before starting work. Secondly, I’ve just been really busy.

Before today, I’d managed to refit the vent flap and fit the door seals to the, er, doors. I also roped in some willing volunteers to help me lift the body off the chassis, so the proper chassis tape (a foam layer) could be added. Alan at Citwins didn’t have any in stock when I went to collect the body. No bother. With the body still nowhere near built-up again, it was easy to lift off and on again. It also gave an opportunity to soak the rear seat belt ‘saddle’ in anti-corrosion wax.

This morning, I could look forward to an entire day of nothing but working on the 2CV. I donned many jumpers and headed to the garage. Pretty much the first thing that needed to go in was the wiring loom. Even on a 2CV, it’s surprising how many wires there are!

Spaghetti, this morning.

Spaghetti, this morning.

Then it was time to refit the gearlever. This passes through a rubber grommet on the bulkhead. Getting that to go back was a bit of a challenge, and I had to seek advice from friendly 2CV folk. A soak in a pot of boiling water softened it up nicely, and then it went back with only gentle persuasion from a flat-bladed screwdriver.

Doesn't look like it'll fit does it? It did in the end!

Doesn’t look like it’ll fit does it? It did in the end!

I’m not sure how it happened, but I found a spare gearlever in the back of the garage. That was handy, as I needed to rob a few parts from it. The end result is that I have my rifle-bolt gearchange back. Happy days.

After refitting loads of minor parts, that took absolutely ages, I decided I needed a larger sign of progress. So, now the wiring loom was in place, I refitted the rear lights.

Looking much more car-like.

Looking much more car-like.

I spent quite a lot of time cleaning up the rear lamp units, even taking them apart to wash out any muck. I have a brand new, large-font number plate to fit at some point, but will leave that for now.

Finally, it was in with the wiper motor so I could refit the wipers! It feels like she’s coming back to life now, even if she is still missing her engine and most of the bolt-on body panels. Still, it’s all progress!

Wipers refitted. Looking much less bare!

Wipers refitted. Looking much less bare!

I’ll keep plodding away, not forgetting to pump cavities full of wax as I go. I’d really like to be able to do Raid Tan Hill on January 8th, but there are some bigger jobs to sort out before then. I need to paint (and possibly decorate) the front wings, work out what I’m going to do about the rear wings (probably fit new ones) and strip and paint the headlamp bar and headlamp shells. Still quite a lot to do then, and that’s before collecting a few parts I forgot from Citwins, and getting the engine back!

Before I depart, do have a nose at my Patreon page. Here’s hoping I can push HubNut a bit harder in the New Year. Once the 2CV is finished, of course!

A new way to support HubNut!

Hi everyone. I’ve set up a Patreon page for HubNut – here.

Patreon is a platform that enables you to support my endeavours, on a regular basis. You don’t have to give a lot, but by giving a little, every month, you can help HubNut produce more content and offer more variety.

I have a couple of projects running on there. If my first target is reached, then I will be taking Elly the 2CV on a grand tour – the distance covered is directly related to how much I can raise. The more that comes in, the greater the adventure! Naturally, that will be fully covered in the form of blogs and videos.

Patreon allows you to fund further adventures for this car!

Patreon allows you to fund further adventures for this car!

The second project is rather more ambitious. I have long dreamt of finding a Citroen Ami 6 in France and driving it home. With your help, this exciting prospect could be a reality! Again, there will be blogs and videos to fully cover the adventure.

J'adore the Citroen Ami 6. Bonkers.

Could an Ami 6 be on the cards?

Even if neither target is reached, your input helps keep HubNut running. Like buying a magazine, you’re investing in the time and creativity used to make something that you hopefully enjoy reading.

Naturally, no-one is forcing you to hand over cash, but with your help, HubNut can become bigger and better. More variety, greater adventures and hopefully more of what you like to see!

Use your handbrake!

If you keep your foot on the brake pedal while in traffic, then you’re seriously irritating. Don’t do it!

Brake off!

Brake off!

Seriously, I see a LOT of this, and the prevalence of super-bright LED lamps just makes an annoying problem even worse. It’s seriously dazzling, which is bad news for night vision.

I really don’t know what the problem is. I mean, even my ropey old vehicles have decent handbrakes. It’s a fairly important MOT requirement. That includes the automatics that come and go on my fleet – the S-MX has a fantastic handbrake (drum rear brakes help), so I always use it.

Some modern cars will even automatically apply the parking brake (horrible, problematic electronic things. Awful). I’ve often heard the whirr of the brake being applied by the car, yet the driver has kept their foot on the parking brake nonetheless, blinding me in the process. Cheers!

There’s one exception here, which I’ve talked about before. If you’re the last vehicle in a queue, then it’s much safer to keep that foot on the middle pedal, even if you’ve applied the handbrake. But you can move your foot once someone has stopped behind you. Don’t dazzle them!

It seems everyone has forgotten their driving test, where such blatant disregard of the handbrake is very much frowned upon.

By the way, the same thing applies to fog lamps. Too many people either don’t use them at all, or stick them on, and then LEAVE them on. WRONG! The fog guard lamp is to warn people you’re there. If there’s a car behind you following at a safe distance, then you do not need to use your fog lamp. Similarly, even if it’s quite foggy, if you’re stuck in traffic with a car inches from your rear bumper, then you don’t need the fog lamp. Keep an eye on your mirrors, because the only time you really need a fog lamp (unless it’s SERIOUSLY foggy, which is rare) is when you cannot see another vehicle behind you. In short, FOG OFF! Mostly.

As for front fog lamps, they also should only be used when conditions dictate. They’re not posing lamps. Not all cars have dazzling fog lamps, but many do – Renault Scenic Mk1 especially. Just don’t bother. Frankly, it annoys me that some cars won’t let you use the rear fog lamp without having the fronts on. I currently don’t own a car with front fog lamps. I like this.

Rant over. Thank you.

Project 2CV – body is back!

Yesterday was the day I’ve been waiting a long time for. Various distractions about paint, and Alan’s need to get a few more jobs out of the way meant it’s taken a while for Elly’s body to be painted. The welding was all finished back in June, but finding a big slot to prepare and paint the body has taken a while.

Firstly, the underside and the floors insider were treated with U-Pol Raptor. This is the stuff used for pick-up bed liners, but it is increasingly common to use it during car restorations. After all, the 2CV has a lot of bare, painted surfaces, and so the floors and inner rear wings have a tough time of it. The Raptor should protect the underside too, effectively acting like a stonechip. Outside, it has been left white, but Alan has covered it in a top coat inside to keep it the same colour as the bodyshell. U-Pol’s Sean Lewis came up to Bradford to demonstrate the process to Alan, though it seems it just sprays on much like any normal paint.

U-Pol Raptor gets applied to the 2CV's underside.

U-Pol Raptor gets applied to the 2CV’s underside.

Then there was a discussion about final paint finish. I’d wanted cellulose, as that’s what it would have been original. However, Alan talked me into giving two-pack another go. I wasn’t very happy with the two-pack used last time, as it seemed to crack very easily on every body seam. Given how flimsy a 2CV bodyshell is, I thought that perhaps this was not the ideal paint.

However, I’ve been talked into giving it another go, so we’ll see how that stacks up long term. One downside is that the car was only painted on Friday, so I really need to wait a few more days for it to harden properly. I should point out, this isn’t the normal way of doing things. Alan would far prefer to let the paint harden, then spend several days giving it a good polish. I’m going to have to do that part myself, as part of my need to keep costs down.

Anyway, to the journey itself. I managed to borrow a lovely car trailer from a friend, so the RAV was tasked with firstly dragging the chassis up to Bradford and Citwins HQ. I must say, the RAV really did surprise me, taking the task in its stride. I mean sure, it struggled a bit up the M62 (the highest motorway summit in the UK), but that only meant dropping to fourth gear. I’d estimate the total weight to have been something like 1200kg hanging off the back of it, so it did really well (towing capacity 1500kg). It certainly felt very stable at all times, so much for looks! I will concede that the RAV doesn’t look up to it at all, with a mere 88″ (2200mm) wheelbase, you’d expect it to be horribly unstable. That said, a Land Rover 90 only has another four inches of wheelbase, and that can tow more than twice as much…

I set off, enjoying the RAV’s abilities, and only slightly infuriated by some pillock in a Range Rover Sport, who pulled straight out in front of me while I was doing my legal top speed of 50mph. Thankfully, the trailer sports rather good brakes. I was not amused. The cockwomble then proceeded to faff about in front of me before making a last-minute decision to turn right. Cheers mate!

If he's really a spy, he's a rubbish one.

If he’s really a spy, he’s a rubbish one.

The route up to Bradford became problematic around Llangollen, because the A483 was closed for a section. This diverted everyone down a small road, with parked cars blocking the flow. I lost over half an hour here. Once past that, the journey was fine though, and I arrived at Citwins at around 2pm, with a brief stop for a fantastic chicken burger at Keelham Farm Shop.  I shall miss those chicken burgers!

A pause at Keelham Farm Shop, Thornton-le-Dale. Recommended!

A pause at Keelham Farm Shop, Thornton-le-Dale. Recommended!

On arrival, we pulled the chassis off the trailer, and then pulled the engine out. That’s going to Ernie Larton for a rebuild, which should extract a few more horses from it. We spotted a missing clutch finger, so it’ll be having a new clutch too. I bought this engine in 1999 out of a scrapyard, and fitted it to my Acadiane at the time (on my 21st birthday!). When the Acad came off the road later that year, the engine found itself in my aunt’s shed for a decade. I’ve no idea what state the clutch is in really, but the engine has done many thousands of miles in the 2CV now with no bother.

With that done, it was time to get the bodyshell ready. That largely meant fitting the doors, which meant fitting the door furniture. With such a tiny tow car, I had no room in the RAV for all of these panels, so the doors were fitted (sans seals) and the bonnet carefully stashed inside the body. Alan also kindly fitted the windscreen for me. Again, the easiest way to transport it was fitted in place. I just then hoped I didn’t kick up any stones on the way back…

Windscreen safely fitted.

Windscreen safely fitted.

Dropping the body onto the chassis was a nice moment. I had something looking like a 2CV again! With that done, and the RAV filled with what 2CV bits I could get into it (vent panels, bumpers and quite a bit of glass), we could roll the body/chassis onto the trailer, strap it down and I could finally head home. Well, after a cup of tea. It was gone five by now, no point in rushing into rush hour traffic.

Getting ready to lift the body.

Getting ready to lift the body.

The tea strategy worked well. I grabbed a sausage roll at the farm shop (too late for cooked food sadly) and headed home, encountering very little traffic. Apart from poor lane discipline (all the more frustrating when you cannot use the third lane), the motorway section was pretty stress free too. Fog threatened to make life annoying once back onto Welsh roads, but it mostly cleared.

By Welshpool, I needed to fill up again. This is a thirsty little tow car! I calculated that it was doing about 24mpg towing, which perhaps isn’t that bad. It was certainly having to work hard on hills, but it never really felt like it was struggling. I also grabbed some much-needed fruit. Healthy eating can be a struggle on the road.

Welshpool achieved.

Welshpool achieved.

The final hour was hard going, but I finally arrived home just after 10pm, a mere 11 hours after I’d set off. I barely managed to stagger into the house, so the 2CV had to spend the night on the trailer. It was removed this morning and installed in the garage, where I set about trying to dry it off with a dry microfibre cloth. I won’t be rushing to get it back on the road though. The engine is now many miles away, and the paint needs a chance to harden up a bit. Rushing makes one rather clumsy, so I’ll take my time. Not too much though, as Elly should be on display at the NEC Restoration Show in March. Cannot wait!

Many, MANY thanks to all those who’ve contributed to this project so far, whether actual donations, parts, advice or just the support from knowing people are actually interested! Great to meet complete strangers at shows who ask how the car is coming along. I appreciate every bit of it. I’m still planning how to say thank you to everyone, but first of all, I need to get it finished!