I saw some of its spot welds and knew I was going to buy the car. It’s strange, but sometimes you see a certain detail on a car that immediately gives you a good feeling, in this case about the originality. This 70-year-old 2CV was lying in pieces in a garage, but it made me happier with every place I inspected and every part I looked at and confirmed that I had not come for nothing.

In 1954 it was delivered in the Marne department, it was not until 2004 that it moved to another department, a little further west. Information from the French license plate that is present. The new owner got to work on it and completely dismantled the car. He only repaired a bit on a part of the floor board, otherwise the body and the panels were in perfect condition and original, with the first paint still on. That is why the spot welds in question were still so beautifully visible.

He neatly repainted the chassis, the panels were sanded and prepared for a pinch of filler, the technical parts were dismantled for overhaul. Then the project came to a standstill, until in 2014 a Dutch enthusiast bought the car and took it to the garage where I came to look at it. Because he also had to keep an AZU and other cars on the road, the 2cv A was gathering again. Due to a move, we were given the opportunity to take over the 2CV.

At first I responded not too enthusiastically on the invitation to come and have a look. A project, a ripple bonnet, but a 9hp, and not from the unique very first years. Well, usually there is not much honor to be gained from that, so would it be interesting for us? Well, this turned out to be the exception that confirms that you should always go out and check. You don’t often come across them this honest, unmolested and original.

It invites you to give it a thin and matt layer of Gris Foncé, preferably only on the outside, so that the text with its load capacity is preserved. No more welding to be done. Technically you do have to get to work. Brakes, tires, exhaust, they all need attention or renewal. A nice detail is that it already has homokinetic drive shafts from Glaenzer Spicer, which saves a lot of shaking when accelerating.

The 9 hp engine can be rebuilt, but perhaps you would prefer to do some oldskool tuning. We would prefer that over ultimate slowness. In the unlikely event that no one signs up for this sympathetic project in its current state, we will get started on it this winter. But until then, you still have the chance to fall in love with it.