Citroen 2CV Roadster: Complete (#24 for 2020)

 A push got this done but with a bit of sloppiness.

 I love the long deck, even on a small car.

I hate the new Blogger interface, impossible to get the pictures all left justified or centered without winding up with text wrapping issues. I want to publish, not waste time figuring out some stupid interface designed by an engineer! Gah. Anyway stay tuned.

 

Citroen 2CV Roadster: body and chassis

The suspension, consisting of leading and trailing arms hinged under the floor, can easily be lowered with a bit of cutting. 

The engine now has a small white metal turbocharger, probably from Scale Productions, with manifolding made from brass tube and bits of styrene. In retrospect it could have been set up to allow a shorter exhaust pipe, but it will do. 

Paint consists of Tamiya Light Sand (TS-46) with Linoleum Deck Brown (TS-69) for the fenders. Both paints are flat, so a couple of coats of clear or semi-gloss clear will improve things somewhat. 

Paint now needs to set before the second coat is applied. Stay tuned!

Citroen 2CV Roadster: Overview

I've seen a couple of 2CV customs that look interesting but too many retain the large greenhouse. So off with its head! This was helped by gluing in a beam across the inside of the body, roughly where the back seat would go, to keep it all from wobbling as I went through it with the saw and the back of the #11 Exacto blade. 

BTW I really don't like the new blogger interface, and find it difficult managing photos, for instance alternating text and images, or importing photos without the old drag and drop approach. So the pictures are all in a clump after the text, and will continue that way until I learn how to do it better. I'd hate to switch hosts because both of my faithful readers know where to find me. Ha ha just kidding, I know there are at least 5 of you. So anyway here are pictures documenting the hacking and slashing stage, and early layout of the flatback. (Boat-tail approaches would work really well too as the chassis does not need to extend very far back of the hinge for the trailing arms).

Dutch Mountain Service Rescue Landie: Complete (#23 for 2020)

The Dutch Mountain Rescue Service Vehicle is now complete and ready should any mountain emergencies occur. (Not having any photos of Dutch mountains handy, I have posed it in front of a picture of the Icefields Parkway, looking south from Jasper, Alberta.) It is shown with the Icelandic Icefields Tour Bus previously built. A fun build, and the kit definitely earns its Skill Level 5 rating. 

Dutch Mountain Rescue Service Landie: Chassis

The chassis now sits on a 3" lift, making room for 18" X 34" wheels and mud tires from Scenes Unlimited. And it won't even need fender flares. 

I've used these rims and tires before, on the Icelandic Chevy Suburban.

  

Dutch Mountain Rescue Service Landie: Engine

The engine in the Revell kit of the Series III Landie is an excellent rendition of a very obscure motor: the 3-litre F-head also used in the Rover 3 litre (the so-called P5, for Rover aficionados).



The F-head, more properly known as an inlet-over-exhaust (IOE) design, has the exhaust valve in the engine block driven by a low-mounted camshaft, as in a classic flat head; but the inlet valve is in the head driven by pushrods and rockers.Back in my days in the garage, I encountered this engine only once, in a 109", where the brass distributor drive gear had stripped.



Of course the first question is, if you're going to have 6 pushrods and rockers, why not 6 more and put all the valves in the head? One answer is this allows bigger valves than in anything but a hemi head; and allows higher compression ratios (perhaps) than a flat head.



The key design feature is the mating surface between block and head is not perpendicular to the bores, but at a fairly steep angle; the last photo attempts to show this seam just above the uppermost pulley.

My own Rover, a 2000 TC (or P6 in factory parlance), had the successor to the 3-litre: a 2-litre overhead cam 4 cylinder making 120 hp, an improvement on the 3-litre's 115; combined with significantly lower weight, this made the 2000 a much higher performance car. On the other hand, the full 120 hp only turned up well over 4500 RPM; the twin 2" SU carbs were way too big for the engine, making it unhappy under any condition except wide open throttle; andthe 10:1 compression ratio demanded 100 octane fuel, only available at Sunoco at the time. Not to mention the Lucas electrics ... I traded it for a '72 Chevelle with the 307 and a two-speed Powerglide transmission.

Dutch Mountain Rescue Service Landie: Background

Looking back, I see five of my last six builds have been resin or multi-media kits. So time for some more styrene. A number of years ago I spotted a Land Rover operated by the Dutch Mountain Rescue Service parked outside a pub in a small Dutch town on the Rhine. It was well equipped: ropes and shovels and jerry cans and fog lamps and winches and slightly jacked up suspension. Sadly I did not take a photo, for which I am still kicking myself.



Of course Holland is not known for its heights; the highest point in the country appears to be the top of a TV antenna in Utrecht, notwithstanding the photo taken from the DMRS Facebook page. (The pub in question was actually below the level of the Rhine, on a canal with a lock leading up to the river, and may actually have been below sea level). 

 

But still one must admire the industrious Dutch for being so safety-conscious and selfless in their commitment to the security of the community. In fact I am guessing the driver was on duty that afternoon: "Honey, I'm on duty tonight so I'll be at the pub, er, sorry, Rescue Team headquarters until late. Don't wait up!"



The DMRS have a Facebook page where I have obtained images suitable for making decals, and I have Revell's lovely Series III 109" Landie. I also have the remnants of the Italeri fire truck, mainly all the emergency stuff like fire extinguishers and extra lights after the truck got converted to a rat rod, and I've certainly got bigger tires and the skills to jack up the suspension a bit. So hey, time to build a Dutch Mountain Rescue Service Vehicle! Stay tuned.