I sometimes worry about the future of tinkering with cars. With today’s models, there are so many electronics that anyone without an electrical engineering degree is unlikely to be able to look after their own car. And this is worrying for the next generation of car enthusiasts as the number of cars to work on gets smaller and smaller. But I do think that if you are a young person, and want to get into the hobby of restoration and fixing cars, then today’s car, the ubiquitous (in Europe) Citroën 2CV is the perfect start. Uncomplicated, and with plenty of spares, let’s dive into our example here – available on Craigslist here for $2,500 in Paramus, New Jersey. Thanks to Austin L for this tip!
These 2CV’s were designed to be driven by farmers to replace their horses on the farms – and as simple and uncomplicated as possible to enable farmers to fix them with basic tools. This is why this is the perfect first car to fix up – and especially our example comes with spare parts and engines. The seller states that it is not currently in running condition, but we have a good starting point for restoration. You get what appears to be a decent quality body in white, and with some signs of rust on the inside of the shell – but nothing terminal.
The owner obviously thinks the engine is kaput, so has kindly included an additional 2 engines and transmissions. The spartan interior shows signs of wear and tear – but very easy to fix up yourself or get sent off to restore properly. This would be the ideal ‘running’ project – as once you fix the mechanicals, you could slowly fix up the more cosmetic parts, as funds come available. This really appeals to me, a cheap project to run and fix, without any apparent major issues.
There is talk of car restoration not passing on to the next generation but with project cars like this, it’s easy to get them involved. You could easily prepare this car for going off-road, for rallies, or for cross-country expeditions – the 2CV can fit almost any scenario (even a drag car or EV!). The case with this car is what to do with it – keep it a bit battered and run it around whilst learning how to fix it, or treat it to a full-on restoration. The possibilities are endless with this 2CV.
$2,500? That can’t be right.If it were,it’d be gone right away.
Thanks for finally featuring a car I can afford.
Right on angliant….affordability is the key word! I bought a brand new 1964 2 cv for $1435, in Northern Ontario. Drove it all over the north country and finally down to S W Florida where we stayed until selling it for $400. in 1970. Great car…never in shop….put 80,000 miles on it with the OEM Michelin tires. All that and 45 MPG to boot!
Most of us yanks, had little, if any contact with a 2CV, other than Curt Hendersons in the wildly accurate movie, American Graffiti. His 2CV was one of the “stars”. Lucas is incredibly perceptive, and EVERYBODY knew someone that was a “Curt Henderson”. I kind of was that guy. HS loser, never made it with the ladies, and drove a similar odd car, a Volvo 444. I always wondered why such a tall roof. It seems, French police had those tall hats, and these cars enabled them to wear the hats, anyone?
I truly admire the authors optimism, all the writers, really, can’t have some crabby truck driver at 3am writing articles. Still, these are very popular in Europe, they even have 2CV races, which look comical to us, but they actually handle quite well. However, here, any one that may have any interest at all in this, probably can’t drive anymore anyway, meaning, interest will be limited. Naturally, the “Curt” in me loves it, but I prefer a low profile these days, I have nothing to prove to anyone how odd I am. Wait,,did that come out right? I guess, you’d have to be a brave soul to be seen in this, a red Jeep Wrangler blends in so much better. Cool find,,if French is your primary language.
Ironically I just watched a YouTube video from Hubnut who has owned a cheeky 2CV for over 20 years. After watching I realize how fun these are to own and drive. In some ways they are even more of a marvel of engineering that the VW Beetle. Both definitely have their strengths. $2500 is a steal from what I can see.
Howard,
You need to get out more often – these have a huge following
& usually go for good money.
Nah, I’ve been everywhere, man, like the song says, I just stay at home and pester those that still have to go to work. In my little town, I’ve seen quite a lot, due to the richness of the dwellers, me excluded, of course. Why, just the other day, I saw’r an AutoUnion 3=6, numerous others, and a summer event called the “Colorado 500” comes through our town, stopping briefly( to add oil, I’m sure) and features many cars that are Pebble Beach worthy, for a good cause, but never a 2CV.
You mention an Auto Union 3=6, which was a marketing trick to convey that a 3 cylinder 2 stroke was like a 6 cylinder. An outrageous lie…..
But a 6 cylinder 2 stroke Auto Union did exist. About 50 were built as a skunkworks semi-factory project by an engineer called Múller and a friend here in Madrid has one. There is nothing in the natural world which sounds like that car….
In the late 50’s, early 60’s, DKW was being marketed here in the Great Lakes. They were 2 stroke, 3 cylinder, front wheel drive cars of notable quality.
Model SonderClasse as I remember….yes the ads in various American magazines featured that these cars were the equivalent of a six cylinder, firing twice the times of a 4 cycle engine, smoothly! My neighbor had one….nice car!
Saab sales people used to infer the same message…3 equals 6!
Yeah, I didn’t get to speak to the owner of that 3=6, it did have a chrome lightning bolt on the side, which I thought it may have been converted to electric. If I see it again, I’ll try and get more info. You know, there is a SLEW of neat vehicles in my town, most not running, but I thought of a mini photo tour. Thing about Colorado, it attracts an eclectic group of people from all over, and with that, their unusual taste in vehicles.
Maybe there were some entered,but showed finally up after
the event was over with.
Like Peter Egan once said (or something like this)-
“When you drive a 2CV,you noticed things as you drive,
as it takes a lot longer to get where you’re going”.
Angliagt,
And to quote another well-known person [but who I can’t seem to remember his name at the moment!]:
Ain’t it the truth!
Looks good. If the body and chassis are good, then building engines is relatively easy.
My Chartered Accountant father used to say he’d never buy a used car because you’re buying someone elses headache.
Guaranteed this car is a migrain headache.
Dad was right about puchasing headaches.
Bob
One of the uglier cars in the history of cars….
After clapping eyes on the rusty gas pedal, I want to see the pan.
Don’t need another project at the moment, but this one is less than 60-miles from me.
Tempting.
Don’t even look at the chassis. They’re all rusty after all these years. If you’re going to restore one, plan on a new chassis–neither difficult nor expensive.
IIRC those blinkers on the fenders denote a Belgian-built example. Hergé drew one in one of his Tintin albums.
Have owned an ’86 2CV for 10 years and love it, but since you can buy a decent running one for $10-15K, the only reason to buy this is as a fun project. Chances are the chassis needs replacing, which is not a deal-killer. This car had a 425cc engine, so if one of the spares is a “big block” 602cc, that’s a bonus. Would need to lay eyes on it.
If the price iis correct, no quibbling, tyre-kicking or what-if comments, someone just buy it. The 4 light body was the basic version, so not many have survived and they are sought after.
Because people do want these (not me, particularly)….If the chassis is rusted out, you buy another chassis. All parts available.
Angliagt,
he cannot accept all cars…
Like Angliagt said,
Howard,
You need to get out more often – these have a huge following
& usually go for good money.
Damn, I’ve wanted another 2CV for years, and now that I’m too old and sickly, and no longer have a place to work on cars, this appears for sale cheap, and not too far away.
Nope, nope, nope, not gonna even go see it. No place to store it, much less get it running.
Someone please go buy this car, and even if the chassis is shot, it’s not a difficult job [if you have the place!]. And if you buy it, please let us all know what happens.
The craigslist posting still works,so now I’m beginning
to think this might be a scam.
Angliagt,
I agree, this is 99% certainly a scam, or it’s sold and the poster just never bothered to de-list it.
I sent a message explaining I wanted to buy the car, I lived very close to Paramus NJ, but asked to see a copy of the title before I made the trip over to buy it with cash.
Never had a reply back.
I ran a reverse image search to see if these photos turned up in other locations, but nothing came back. This suggests the listing may be genuine, and it’s simply a case of the car having sold [cheaply!] and the poster not bothering to take the listing down.