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Doodle's Progress ReportbyPete WillminGenerally the build continues well though at a slow pace. I’ve been playing around with a number of ideas, some of which I’m quite happy with. |
ArmrestsI’ve had armrest in mind for the longest time and have finally got round to sorting them out. The knock-on effect of course, is that the fairing/scuttle over the dash had to be re-thought. The armrests are both comfortable and practical. They prevent the arm reaching the exhaust pipes; provide a placing for my indicator stalk (more later), I’m able to run the electric cabling from the back of the car underneath it and it’s somewhere to sit! They’re made from the same mahogany as the other parts of the car so provide a visual continuity. |
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This had to be remade, as it is wider than the body of the car. It took two goes and lots of stuck together templates to get it right, but has finished up pretty much as I wanted. The hands and arms should be well protected from the wind – hopefully! The aluminium edge has been finished with micro-bore copper tube – it took two goes to get that right too! The tube was split down its length using a 1mm cutting disc in a small angle grinder in a rather Heath Robinson style set-up. Rather hairy to do but possible. I heated the tube up to get it as malleable as possible that also got rid of the rather garish shellac coating. Bending round the fairing was a bit of a nightmare as half way round the tube just collapsed on me. Second time around I worked from that difficult corner outwards VERY slowly and the tube went on a treat.
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Steering wheel/steering lockThe steering wheel in from an old Dyane (ebay). I stripped the rubber from the central spoke but kept it on the circumference. I welded a plate with a large hole in it into the central spoke for the steering lock. The binding is not too difficult but takes up way more cord than you might imagine! It’s really a fourhanded job. Having someone passing the cord through and through as you attend the tension and straightness of the wrap is invaluable. The steering lock is a rather crude but effective fix. A length of tube welded to the underside of the steering lock; the lock has been disabled as the car ignition is in a different part of the dash. A long piece of octagonal brass rod slides into the tube and then is manoeuvred upwards through the back of the steering column (a cross piece through the brass rod prevents it from passing through too far) and a lock is slipped through a hole in the end of the rod to prevent it slipping back through. The steering wheel moves about 20mm in each direction with the lock fitted. |
I found a Scimitar indicator stalk on ebay that had the complete set of functions I needed. The only problem was that the steering column of the 2CV had a much greater diameter than the Scimitar. I spent quite some time thinking of ways to fix it to the steering column then I had one of those ‘light bulb’ moments in the shower (a great place for finding solutions!) – why fix it to the column? It now sits on the armrest, pointing vertically just beyond the steering wheel where it falls easily to the fingers. The wiring passes through a hole in the armrest and thence to the dash. I fitted a rubber gaiter to it to keep it weather proof.
Back panelI‘ve change the shape of the side panel at the back preferring a curve to the straight cut bottom of the plans. It will need some support as it doesn’t have the flange that the original has. And that’s about all for the moment. I’ve altered the back top of the car but it’s very much work in progress at the moment. Hopefully I’ll have finished photos by next ePAG. I must say I’m having the best fun building Doodle and can see why all you folk out there building away are so passionate about your builds. I think I’ve really caught the bug too!!! |
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Best to all,
Pete W.
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