Bought this off french ebay a little while back- it's currently my only roadworthy Citroen. Bit of an adventure to drive it back from some rural backwater somewhere south of Paris, but it made it all the way back up to Lancashire without a problem- except in headwinds when it's 652cc twinpot lump almost ran out of puff near Coventry.
Fortunately, it is structurally very sound- no fist-sized holes in the sills like many cars in France- just needed a driveshaft gaiter and a bit of plate to strengthen a rear bumpstop that was being kept in place by carpet to pass the mot and get the UK registration sorted out.
So here it is in all its glory shortly after arrival in the UK- as you can see, it dates from the period when Citroen first discovered the delights of textured black plastic and lobbed it on everywhere. Hadn't cracked open the T-cut at this point.
Sleek and sexy sideview
The front:
Pert behind:
Sewing machine:
And to finish, the vast and spacious interior:
Of course, I soon discovered it was a sod to start- the 652cc LNA and Visa have an electronic ignition system. Which is fine, except it was designed by Citroen, so it is temperamental and annoying when it goes wrong. It also started cutting out randomly, so I replaced the ignition sensors and coil, which seemed to cure the problems.
Until it started cutting out again in really inconvenient places. Like half way up Wrynose Pass in the Lake District. So I ignored it for a while.
Some time later, after flicking through a Citroen LN owners handbook that came with the car, I finally worked out the best cure for the ignition problems- bin the system and fit points then it would be as reliable as my Dyane (before that came to grief against a tree one winter).
The slight snag in this plan was that you can't fit points to a 652cc engine as there is nowhere for them to attach to (unlike your regular 602cc 2CV), and the wiring loom is different. And the dashboard. However, a trawl of french scrapyard sites soon found a complete LN, so another trip to France got all the bits I needed to convert the car to full LN spec (gearbox, loom, dashboard, wheels, bumpers, steering column and all the lighting controls etc.). A spare Dyane engine was pulled out of my bits shed, and the car was gutted of the LNA bits and the LN bits put in over a weekend. I also stripped off all the plastic trims to get the LN look just right.
After a few teething troubles it is now running reliably, albeit it more slowly as the 602cc motor has 25% less torque than the 652cc motor. A few more ebay purchases have got me some mint seat covers from an early LN (tasty black and white houndstooth check) and some spare headlamps- they are unique to the LN/A, so a stash will come in handy when they go rusty.
Why do I have the feeling that I might be one of the only people to have ever done an engine swap and gone down in engine size...
Fortunately, it is structurally very sound- no fist-sized holes in the sills like many cars in France- just needed a driveshaft gaiter and a bit of plate to strengthen a rear bumpstop that was being kept in place by carpet to pass the mot and get the UK registration sorted out.
So here it is in all its glory shortly after arrival in the UK- as you can see, it dates from the period when Citroen first discovered the delights of textured black plastic and lobbed it on everywhere. Hadn't cracked open the T-cut at this point.
Sleek and sexy sideview
The front:
Pert behind:
Sewing machine:
And to finish, the vast and spacious interior:
Of course, I soon discovered it was a sod to start- the 652cc LNA and Visa have an electronic ignition system. Which is fine, except it was designed by Citroen, so it is temperamental and annoying when it goes wrong. It also started cutting out randomly, so I replaced the ignition sensors and coil, which seemed to cure the problems.
Until it started cutting out again in really inconvenient places. Like half way up Wrynose Pass in the Lake District. So I ignored it for a while.
Some time later, after flicking through a Citroen LN owners handbook that came with the car, I finally worked out the best cure for the ignition problems- bin the system and fit points then it would be as reliable as my Dyane (before that came to grief against a tree one winter).
The slight snag in this plan was that you can't fit points to a 652cc engine as there is nowhere for them to attach to (unlike your regular 602cc 2CV), and the wiring loom is different. And the dashboard. However, a trawl of french scrapyard sites soon found a complete LN, so another trip to France got all the bits I needed to convert the car to full LN spec (gearbox, loom, dashboard, wheels, bumpers, steering column and all the lighting controls etc.). A spare Dyane engine was pulled out of my bits shed, and the car was gutted of the LNA bits and the LN bits put in over a weekend. I also stripped off all the plastic trims to get the LN look just right.
After a few teething troubles it is now running reliably, albeit it more slowly as the 602cc motor has 25% less torque than the 652cc motor. A few more ebay purchases have got me some mint seat covers from an early LN (tasty black and white houndstooth check) and some spare headlamps- they are unique to the LN/A, so a stash will come in handy when they go rusty.
Why do I have the feeling that I might be one of the only people to have ever done an engine swap and gone down in engine size...
and keep it looking like that.
