Has anyone done or considered doing an engine swap with one of
the light weight air cooled 25hp Chinese diesel engines.
I'm intrigued with such a project since 2cv parts are so expensive
in the US considering the exchange rate and shipping.
The engine that I'm considering is a Winsum aluminum twin V 25hp wt
is 60 kilos. My first thought is that is probably too heavy and the
extra torque would be awfully tough on the tranie.
Thanks for your help

Maybe look closer to home, for a 25-hp, 800-cc engine with two cylinders (90 V), air cooled aluminium block?

< http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/109701.html >

Got good ol' Briggs and Strattons running my rotovator, lawnmower & hedge cutter year after year...

ken.

Welcome Utah Rider

Are there many 2cvs in the states?

Thank you Ken very interesting article, just tells me
Citroen was way head of its time with the 2CV one of
the finest autos ever made. The issue over here in the
states is there is no dealer support and one must rely on
local clubs for help, not that is a bad thing west coast is
very active but Utah not so good. As far as the engine swap
is concerned I probably should stick with tried and true reliable
602cc and learn to work on it myself. In the future would very
much like to get into some European and North African raids.
By the way does anyone know the actual weight of the 602cc?

Liftable i'd say 45kg at least, maybe more with starter alternator etc bolted on thats a guess tho

Thanks Harry, looking also at 1/2 VW engines which we
have been flying in ultralights for yrs reliability is reported good
parts are cheap and plentiful. Wt is about the same 45 kg.

It does seem like a lot of work for little gain to me. Although my experiences of 2cvs with different engines is limited to my old GSA engined dyane, the extra weight in that spoilt the handling and despite the power on balance I'd say it wasn't as nice to drive as a standard car. Whatever engine you use I'd really try hard to keep it as close in mass to the original as you can.

Are you purely looking at this swap as a way to make getting spare parts easier? I ask that because I'm sure some of the European spares suppliers will ship to the states (although maybe not cheaply) and how often do you need spares anyway? Is it not easier to order service parts in bulk (ECAS in the uk sell a service kit for about $25) maybe ten service kits, a Harley coil, a few other commonly required items maybe all at the same time. Obviously you can't cater for every eventuality but I'm sure it'd be easier than putting a different engine in (and having to deal with the problems that may throw up)

anyway, that's just my thoughts, have you got any pictures of your 2cv? I'd love to see it.

And to add to Russ post,
the ecas full service kit is ridiculously cheap for what it is

the 2cv engine when set up right and maintained will go on for years, more reliable than the supposedly relaiale VW engine.

Most of the major components are manufactured in Argentina anyway, so they are closer to you than us in the EU

Sean

Thanks Russell and Sean
you both make a compelling reason to keep the original engine
in the 2vc. I failed to mention my dream is to go on a few
Raids, sit around the campfire with you good old blokes have
a few beers. I'm thinking having a unique 2vc with a non standard
engine would be a bad idea in that situation if I had a break down.
Better to travel with like minded People with some standard spare
parts if need be.I don't have any pics yet, my project is junk yard body parts on a new gav chassis, I'm going for the Sahara look but a 2fwd.
Regards
Dale

You guys probably think I'm whacked, trying to save
a couple hundred dollars on an engine but will probably
end up spending thousands transporting the car to
different countries.