2CV Registers Day 2023

 

2CV Registers Day 2023

 

I was not sure I was going to make it this year. This year I have been dogged by ill health and the ups and downs of feeling good one day and not the next it has been difficult to plan anything. On a good day I took the initiative and made the booking. To the Wirral in the Burton and camp overnight and come back after the prize giving. Two hundred and twenty miles equating to five hours of travel time each way. I was not sure I was up for it but I was with my faithful co-driver so I had the confidence to give it a go. We were going to go up the M1 but a section was closed so Tom diverted us to the M40 which was a little longer and slower but got us there in the end. Arriving around five in the evening we set about making camp. It was a welcoming experience meeting people again.

We had been to the Wirral Rugby Club before in 2018. It has a nice club house that includes a good bar and kitchen. Food available from five thirty and by the time we got there it was closer to six thirty. We ordered and were served with our food quite quickly along with a pint we settled in to see old friends arrive and enjoy the live music.

Up early for a Full English in the Club House and then to join the display. This is when I discover a deep scratch in the left front wing. I didn’t do this!  The car is no longer perfect. I am not best pleased but there is no one to rant at. Stay calm and have a pleasant day. No sooner on display there is a continuous stream of punters asking about all sorts of things from the trip meters to does the power tube work, the ambient air diverters and why so many dials? Late in the morning I did a walk about to see my best in show and cast my vote for the best car. After voting I went to the 2CV to talk about their Burton on display which is still work in progress. They have an AK 250 electric van on display. Looks good and is also a kit. The day rolls on and the Judges announce their decisions. This year I don’t win the prize. I won it last time. A couple did come up to me to say that I should have won the category I entered. Hey ho it’s not all about winning but meeting old friends we had not seen since 2CV meetings in 2019.

We packed up the tent and left about four and made our way back by the M1 and home by eight thirty. It was a long way for just one night but the Burton was doing well with 54 mpg on the way up and 56 mpg on the return ( downhill with a following breeze).

 

 

July 2023 bits and pieces.

 

July turned out to be a washout after the Brooklands show I took the El Cid to Whitchurch for some stitching and renovation by 2CV Mehari wizard Coops. That was a nice day out but left me only the Burton to play with and finding that the trip meter was not working properly I had to investigate. This was an upside down job with my head in the footwell to get to the wiring.

 I even contacted Brantz, the trip meter people to get advice. After a bench test the meter was shown to be OK so the problem was the wiring in the console below the gear lever. A dodgy earth was the problem and fixed by soldering on a new earth tag also done in the footwell. Another fix were the mirrors finding replacements for ones I bought with the kit in 2014 were not so much a problem as I had been lead to believe and were still available from Europa Spares. I was beginning to tick off the list of bits to do. The Buell had problematic tick over and the cooling fan was seizing up and needed to be replaced before complete failure, replacement of the faulty neutral indicator switch and a check on the gearbox oil. In a day it was done and I had my smooth running Buell back again.

I did a bit of DIY at Ivy’s flat with removing the kitchen work tops one at a time, sanding them down with a belt sander and coating them with a hard wax oil to keep the water out. If it not done regularly it all goes black and doesn’t look nice. That job was very dusty and I needed hosing down after each session. Not a job to do in one go. I also made a support bracket to hold the worktop at the sink where one should have been fitted but wasn’t.

I had my Facebook account hacked. Been on a demonstration for the Kucki women who were abused in North East India. Walking from Indian High Commission to Parliament Square and posed by Ghandi’s statue. Finishing off that week with a visit to the Royal Albert Hall having afternoon tea before the performance of Bollywood at the proms. Finally with repairing the corroded switch on a Unicorn bubble generator.