I knew you'd know.

First car was a yellow drummer V or W reg - parents helped me to select it, though I paid for it. I can't remember anyone family or friends who had one back then. Nearest thing was an eccentric great aunt with white Renault4. I think they steered me that way for cheap insurance and to keep me from going fast! That backfired then! Went all around the country in that visiting friends as I was working a shift pattern that allowed 4 days off every 2 weeks. Did some major bodges with fibreglass to reinforce the floor, red hammerite on all wheels, sills and wing edges and sold it after only 18 months to head off around Australia. Got a r&W D*lly when we were first married for a couple of years, but never really liked it as much. Then my brother got me into BXs as being practical ( He was driving H vans, a lovely 69 DS with single headlamps and battered leather interior and a groovy white CX prestige with black Vinyl roof and tan button leather interior). Got another yellow drummer in the early 90s with a desert themed roof and camels, oases and pyramids stencilled all over. That was never reliable despite an engine change. Broke down everywhere. Traded it against first new car, a preregistered Clio mk 1 diesel. Very cool & very fast - it had a 1.9 lump opposed to PSA 1.4s. Continued to hanker after 2cvs and Alphonse was unearthed by a friend in the autumn of 2004, though it took until summer last year to get it on the road after a 15 year rest. I have since done about 11K miles and have now got a Dyane to compliment it. Sold my luxury French barge and am enjoying the purity of the A series!

Regarding the policing of meetings - we did have a problem at Helmsley, but would rather go and talk to the people concerned than call the police! First camp with whole family and was not made aware that there was such a thing as a family/quieter area when we checked in. All the people around us were great - no problems there.

Rob

one of my scout leaders had one briefly and i spotted it a few times. thought it was cool. a few years later after getting a job and being paid abit i decided i needed one as a 2nd car. my dad thought this was a bad idea so i bought one that week!

actually... i may have voted incorrectly as i remember my mates mum had one and a friend of my brother and Sarah had one also but i only really found that out after getting one!

Now ive had a few and will continiue collecting and rescuing!

Some time way back when my dad was watching Top Gear review the CX and said to himself I'm gonna have me one of them or summat. Anyway, he did - several in fact. Most were built from rubbish, but the dark metallic green pallas was a beauty. Anyway, as a result I spent a lot of time down at David Hiams in Birmingham, and enjoyed playing in the 2CV's while he sorted out the CX.
When my 18th was coming up, a 2CV seemed the obvious choice. As it happened, an mot failure Dyane - YRW 459S - came up cheap, and became a project for me Dad. Resprayed in glourious Red & White D*lly colours (yes I know, but it looked ace!), it was mine for several years untill it finally died. One day, i'll dig out some old photos and get em scanned in.
The rest is history. I've always owned at least one A series for 22 years now, and J for the last 10. No longer a daily driver, but cherished and enjoyed none the less. Would love another Dyane or Acadiane, will one day own an Ami, and enjoy the scene as much now as ever before. I love the cars, but I love the people even more.

Back in the '90s I was into Morris Minors,(my grandfather had a Traveller in the 70s, I can remember sitting in the load area and going for picnics). I had a 1960 Minor 1000 Tourer(Convertible) and used it every day to go to work. A lad who worked with me had a 2cv and always asked me to go for a spin in it to see what I thought, I always refused, I hated 2cv's with a passion!!

Well one day I went into work and this lad was again trying to persuade me to go for a spin, so I thought "What the hell, at least it will shut him up!!" So after work he took me round the block and I was hooked!!!! I wanted one.

The first 2cv I bought was from a second hand car dealer in Bearwood,Birmingham and was promptly returned 3 days later as the chassis had had it!!(I had no idea at the time that the 2cv had a chassis) . The plus point of buying that car was that there was a Haynes manual in the boot with a flyer for WASPs 2cv group, so I rung the number and popped along to a meeting. It was very educational . Well I got to hear about Darryl Stokes who owned the Birmingham 2cv centre and popped round to see what he had in stock. That lead to......

D916 VNH (Vibration,Noise and Harshness), a 1987 red Special. I owned that car for two years before it finally succumbed to the tin worm. I then replaced it with a "plums n custard" for a year and then sold it on.

I had 2cv's out of my system by then and fancied a change, so I bought a K plated Mini 1.3. After a year I wanted another 2cv,so..........

Hello Daisy!! A 1988 reg'ed 1989 2cv D*lly in Vertastic Green and Blanctastic White!! But that's another story...............Which you can read in "MY 2cv".

Can I take this opportunity to thank Spanners for not only helping me out of many situations with 2cvs over the last 10+yrs, but for also being a very good friend. Cheers Mate.

When I was 'ickle, my old man had a brand new Cortina company car every other year. Wooo. Exciting. Then we went on summer holidays to France, and it was like another planet...

These big smooth cars that got up off the ground before driving away.
Strange mobile garden sheds that bounced across fields.
The village mobile shop, a big corrugated thing that parked up and was unfolded before opening.
Oh, and a pair of Army officers that flew through the village morning and evening in a cat litter tray.
Wow. Bit better than 1970s suburban Sheffield.

So, fast forward to the mid '80s, and a 15yo me looking to spend the hard-earned £1.50/hr wages from panwashing in a local hotel, and flicking through the local paper's car ads.

1978 2cv, red, no MOT...

The rest is history. I've not been without at least one A-series since.

As a ps to my 2CV history - J also came through Daryl Stokes in Brum. He imported it, and I bought it off him - at the time partly so John Marris didn't buy it to go green laneing in, but also coz it was so cool. Shame Daryl isn't doing 2CV's now - good place he had there. In fact, I bought my first Acadiane off him too.

well was on a scout camp , and Steve page was there with his 2cv , he let me hav a drive round the field in it
, then did a few ferkin camps , went along to the grasshops international in london with the page's ,went to some madcaps nites
then in 2003 need a car to get to work in , it had to be cheap and something i could hav a laugh in ,so thought il get a 2cv ,spoke to steve page and his sister had a red special for sale , had a look and it was mine.
was the best thing i ever did love the car ,the camps and the people i meet

oboe x

awwww OREO, what a lovely story! Grasshoppers International was a good one!

Rumble, what happened to Daryl? He sold up didn't he? Is he still around, what's he up to??

How did i get into 2cvs?

well, it was purely a childhood thing! when i was about 5 or 6, my mum brought my dad this huge car encyclopedia, and oneday i sat there and started flicking through the pages, as you do when your a little kid, the writing meant nothing i just liked the pictures, i remember getting to page 3 of the citroens and this cutaway of a red 2cv6 club was just staring at me! little did i know it was the same cutaway from the haynes manual! anyway after seeing this i wanted to know everything about them, found out that my grannie had a charleston and used it as her wedding car, and that my dad's first job was a juni salesman at the local citroen dealer and before he left he had a D*lly as his company car! i grew older, and learned more about them, we had, and still have one of them eccentric family friends who happens to be a classic car restorer and seller, and he often had a few of them, i remember once he let me out to sit in one at night, i know it was an ak van, but cant remember how big it was, all i know is that it was white with light blue front wings - at the time, this was a few years ago!

there was a woman who lived up the road who used to own a red/white D*lly, it was always on her driveway untill a few years ago, now its not there and she doesnt have a garage so i dont know whats happend to it!

i love them, my dad does, and so does my grannie, so its almost like one of the each generation has had one kinda thing, but i didnt know about my grannie or my dad having one when i first fell in love so maybe its a gene!

i feel like the luckiest person in the world when i sit in my red special, start her up and enjoy her wobbling side to side when she idles, no modern car will ever give you the thrill and satisfaction a 2cv/A-series will!

anyway guys/girls, thats my story hope i havent bored u all!