matthewsons

[Steve kay]

Good lord, you are a braver man than I am. Never had the courage to raise a rear wheel, but then last week it was either carrying coal, Austin Seven parts or had dogs in the back, all of which discourage demented cornering. Original car, mate, just like it left the factory. Well, apart from galvanised chassis, new shell, Belgian front suspension arms, bigger bore barrels and appropriate pistons.........

[AustinWood]

The 2CV suspension is very sophisticated and soaks up uneven surfaces. The steering geometry is perfect and with 'centre point' steering there is no interaction between steering brakes and suspension. This means it goes where you point it regardless.
Having had several, the thing I enjoyed most was crosswinds on a motorway. The car goes straight but rocks from side to side in the wind. Very stable.

[Tony Griffiths]

Yes, they do lean. On holiday in France, a few decades ago.

[Ruairidh Dunford]

We too have owned and loved 2CVs.

The first was a saloon that I inherited from my mother - she bought it brand new in 1986:

   

The second was a two seater special built by Tom and David Abernethy - it was about 3" off the ground, cruised at 80mph and cornered at 60mph as though it was on skates, so much fun!

   

   

We sold them both to buy a 1974 Commer Highwayman camper van...

[Dave Wortley]

Our friend had a 2cv. She parked it outside our house when she visited us on one occasion. We were busy chatting when I looked out of our kitchen window to notice it was almost imperceptively rolling down our hill. We dashed outside and managed to halt its progress. The handbrake was on its last millimetre of adjustment and she hadn't left it in gear. I adjusted it somehow afterwards and tested it round the block and thought hmmm very A7-like. Never bought one but ended up buying a Renault 4 van which was abused and overloaded when restoring our house. What a rotbox but held together for a number of years with pop rivets and Denso tape. Apologies for the ramblings!

[Duncan Grimmond]

I'm surprised anyone got a wheel off, I have driven all the ones I had at their limit on all sorts of roads and never managed it, maybe I'm chicken! Citroen used to offer 1,000,000 francs to anyone who could roll a 2CV and I gather there was an annual try somewhere. The only way to do it was in reverse and running up a wedge to start the tip, apparently...
Strangely, I had two which absolutely "sang" when flat out and would have the needle "bending on the stop" (pre GPS days). I put it down to a coincidence of engine balance by pure chance.

[Reckless Rat]

It takes some hard cornering to lift a wheel on a 2CV. I managed it, just, with photgraphic proof!

   

[Duncan Grimmond]

Ramblings? About the finest of vehicles a 4L? Keep them coming! My other favourite car, if only we didn't put salt on our roads in winter the 5 examples I had would have lasted forever...I carried a Fender-Rhodes 88 piano, a DX7 synth, Carlsboro amp with a full drum kit and drummer in my Quatrelle to a gig in Manchester one time...

[Mike Costigan]

I'm surprised anyone got a wheel off, I have driven all the ones I had at their limit on all sorts of roads and never managed it, maybe I'm chicken! Citroen used to offer 1,000,000 francs to anyone who could roll a 2CV and I gather there was an annual try somewhere. The only way to do it was in reverse and running up a wedge to start the tip, apparently...

Interesting! I think it was around 1963 when I went on a school trip to northern Italy, involving a coach journey across France and Switzerland. On one of the Swiss passes we came across a 2CV on its side, with people milling around. One of the teachers was a qualified St John's Ambulance guy, so he got out to see if he could help, to be greeted with 'Oh, we're fine, it's always doing that!'

[John Gould]

I love this digressive thread, a pal and I took a borrowed 2cv to Monaco in the 70s with a blast round Le Mans on the way. It was packed to the roof with tents etc and had to be driven flat out most of the time but what a fab machine. Even the seats lifted out - wonderful when camping. My present motor is also a 2 cyl machine, a 5 year old Fiat 500c with a roll back roof and a wonderful Sport button which turns it into a wee Ferrari (with the correct noise). A car with character quite different to the 2cv but just as much fun in its own way which, for the first time for many years, makes me just want to go for a spin. Says it all really.