Always love the unique and educational content put out on tflclassics. Personally my favorite channel on TH-cam. Keep putting out the great Content Tommy!
@@TFLclassics I did a deep dive on Pierre - Jules Boulanger because of your 2CV videos and have shared them with my mother. Her mother lived in the Nazi occupied French countryside during that time and the stories are quite sad. Its great to hear a story like Pierres resistance of the nazi's or that mans escape from the desert. Thanks for bringing them to my attention
Great review! Thank you so much. You make the French car industry proud. Your passion is intoxicating - in a good way. The Citroen DS had hydraulic suspension back in the 70's and could run on 3 wheels, with one of the best coefficient drag in the world. Unfortunately, the country that gave birth to the "automobile" along with many splendid engineering feats, did not always come on par with brilliance in its marketing, sales and production. My dad was a trained mechanic and machinist in the French Army, and joined the resistance. As a kid I kept asking "how many nazi did you kill?" One day he finally answered "I don't know son. But if I were paid a nickel for every rounds I fired directly at the enemy, I'd be multi, multi millionaire!" His life was spared by the nazi when finally captured, and made to work on U-boats. He managed to skew the sophisticated aim of the 88mm deck gun (used most of the time on troops and cargo ships. instead of torpedoes) on quite a few subs, until they caught up with him, beat him up really good, and finally put him back to work - then watched by a dedicated armed guard. At the end of the war, he took a patent on a clever hydraulic transmission for cars "see son, oil into hydraulic pipes is almost un-compressible - unlike air - so you can move or turn anything with it!". There were too few of these magical moments with dad, but right after his passing, I enrolled in a physics curriculum in college. I currently do R&D in renewable energy. You at TFLclassics also convey the pride and passion of Research and Development through your viewers and their children. Thank you for keeping that flame alive! Merci beaucoup mon ami !
Not sure what your plans are Tommy, but these classic vehicle walkthroughs and history episodes are amazing! As high quality as any leading car history show. I hope you get sponsors and people bring their historical cars to you to feature! Honestly, my favorite of the TFL channels!
Buddy ain't lying about how fun it is to shift. It works really well, smooth but not slow either, with satisfying clicks. I drove my dad's to a car show where they interviewed the driver on entry on the loud speaker. "3 on the tree or 4 on the floor? FOUR IN THE DASH!!!". Most people ask you to open your hood to look at the engine of your muscle car. With a 2CV people just want to see the transmission move.
I have been told the 2CV was originally designed to carry four French peasants (farm workers) a dozen eggs and two bottles of wine across a ploughed field.
Did you spot the knurled section on the shifter lever that is *just* visible when in neutral?! You can tell at a glance whether you’re in neutral or not (if you get confused!!). Love these classic videos!!
Back in 1977, my 2CV started life as a Belgian made 1964 2CV, with the sam,e dash mounted gear lever. However, mine had another clever feature, it also had a centrifugal clutch, which allowed the car to idle with engine running at the lights, first gear engaged , the car would move forward only giving it gas on the accelerator pedal. Very handy in traffic, because there was no need to press the clutch pedal to move the car forward. Only Citroen would dare to include this feature on their 2CV .
I have one like that! I bought it from a gentleman who had a disability that made him unable to drive manuals. Back then automatics weren't very much available so he got a centrifugal clutch swapped into his 2CV. The clutch however does tend to smell and is rather noisy so when it's time to replace it (soon I think) I may swap a regular one back in
@@souheib9343 The ones from the factory are just made to start from standstill in first or reverse, ideal for stop and go traffic, but you still have to press the clutch to shift (both ways). That probably explains why it slips and smells (either from wear or from modification to use differently as intended).
Love your car, wish I could afford one. A few notes: The shift pattern on the Peugeot 404 you showed with a column shifter is the same one as the 2CV up until 1966 or 1967 when they switched to a standard H pattern. The Renault 16 had a very positive shifter, the column shift went down to the transmission and was connected at the base with 2 short linkages. And the Renault R4, R5, and R6 had the same type of dash shifter as the 2CV. When the R5 was shipped here they switched it to a floor shifter for the US market - not as direct IMHO.
I had a 1979 Renault 5 here in the UK and it had a regular floor-mounted gearlever as well--not sure if they were always like that but I can definitely say the later models did it that way.
Back in the day I used to work with a guy that drove a 2cv every day, he even went to the Paris plant. He used to tell us stories about the production of these cars, like men employed to wear a special boot to kick the bonnet so it closed correctly at the end of the line.
Great video tommy. I'm from Colombia and here there's thousands of Renault 4, with pretty similar gear shift. You should buy one because are still cheap to buy and easy to keep running.
Even early Renault 5 had the same gears solution as the R4. The story goes it was somewhere women could hang their handbags in, so a handbag holder and a gearstick. French engineering in a nutshell. Hahaha
I used to sell them new in the UK, not hard work you couldn't get enough of them. On test drives with people new to the car biggest problem was trying to stop trying too hard, they would try and over twist and end up all over the place, the secret is that it self centres and 1st to 2nd is just push forward it will jump across itself. Add twist action and you end up in 4th.
Hi Tommy, I know it is a bit off topic, but I really recommend you to find a DAF passenger car. DAF is the inventor of the CVT. They called it the 'Variomatic'. That's the most clever drive train EVER designed! I enjoy my 2cv every summer here in Canada, and unfortunately we did not ship our DAF 66....
Hi Tommy Great video! I rebuilt numerous manual transmissions over the years. You’re correct in it’s simple design. Reverse and first on on one cluster, 2nd & 3rd on another and 4th is by it’s self. If they made a 5th gear it would be on the 4th cluster. Just like a Porsche 901 gearbox in in simplicity and very direct linkage too! Well done!
Is there enough space to put a 5th gear in? I dont want a (not Sure if higher or lower) gear ratio, I love the 1st gear how it is. Less speed and high torque.
@@derfacecrafter1869 it may be possible. On an older Porsche gearbox yo can convert 4 speed boxes to five speed ones. You need a fifth gear and lay shaft. I used the internals from a 5 speed 914 box and put them in a 913 4 speed box. Made for a nicer driving 912!
I ran a 2cv here in the UK, back in the 1980s, wonderful machine. Not great at going up very steep ice hills, ie until I 'converted' it into a beetle, reversing it up the hill instead. The weight transfer to rear that made life difficult going forward really helped with driven wheels and engine in the back. Received curious looks. Love your 2cv and your interest in different cars.
Iced hill cannot go up better with a beettle without winter tires...and on ice you did transfer nothing to the rear because no acceleration...i did climb all iced MOUNTAINS of France with the 2cv but with winter tires...rear drive wheels are dangerous in curves on ice...
I must point out that Citroen first did a similar shifter to this on the Traction Avant many years prior, and Renault did something similar, albeit with a more conventional pattern, on the Renault R4, a direct competitor and third best-selling automobile in history. Yes, it drove pretty similarly (worse braking, but much faster because its engine was quite a bit bigger and with a tighter turning radius). The two cars were remarkably similar as they had similar (though not identical) design briefs.
I've owned R4s and 2CVs (+ Dyanes). Both designs are different and both brilliant. I think the R4 would just edge it over a 2CV for me, but my favourite was the Dyane - same 2CV characteristics in a very slightly more modern design. In truth, I'd have any of them again, just for the fun I had.
@@souheib9343 The Renault 4 isn't 'a lot smaller' than the 2CV. It looks it but there about 20cm difference in length and the same in height. Inside, it feels a wee bit smaller, but there's really not a lot in it.
Always loved the 2CV, only wish I had the space for it. The content and your enthusiasm for the subjects of your classic reviews make them really enjoyable to watch.
On a previous video, you struggled to climb your icy track to your ranch. Just try it in reverse. All the weight will transfer on your front wheels and this will ease keeping the efficiency of your driving wheels. As your are fond of little nicknames for your 2CV, it was also called « deux pattes » (two paws instead of two horses). « Pattes » is to be pronounced like « pat » in chess.
Hello from 🇫🇷 😊 What a pleasure to watch this video to see an American enthusiastic about "our" simple engineering. 2 CV's were the exact opposite to... everything. Especially DS for example, and survived exactly because of that : simple and clever. I can't wait to see your review of the motor/brakes/transmission. And mabe a trip in the mountains "top down" . Peace.
11:01 I wouldn't say "anymore", rather "not a lot". in my country there's still a lot of them left. When I was very young, there used to be a 2CV on my street.
Cool vid! But when you shifted gears under the hood, you missed fourth gear twice. You pushed the rod to the cabin of the car instead of towards the front. 😜
My grandmother had a brand new one in the 60’s. She was a school district principal and a rural teacher, so, her Job was about moving between small towns in the rural area/country (we are from argentina so, big flat-slightly slopped ground withouth much population. And, for what my father tells everything in this video nailed up. Cheap, every “gaucho” knowed how to repair it, easy to drive, high milleage and, this was fascinating: it was a great off roader! (Very light, excelent suspention, great attack angles My father used him to go on vacations with his friends to the coast: 60 mph chill cruising Then they changed the citroen for a 74 i.k.a Torino (bad idea for the bad roads) and then, the second most reliable vehicle that the family had after the 3cv= 79’ rwd-low body Hilux pick up (400.000 miles when sold)
In 1974 a friend told me: my 2CV is dead. I'm fed up. The gearbox is stuck and I have no more brakes. I left her on the curb. I give you the keys of the wreck for 100 usd (it happened in Brussels). In reality ? The shifter control rod slides in two rubber seals. Due to lack of silicone lubrication, one of the dry seals had sunk into the control tube and was blocking the movement of the control rod. One bolt and a small locking pin later, the shifter was replaced. Of course, the gearbox was intact... I topped up the dot 4 brake fluid level in the master cylinder. After 10 minutes of work I left with a pretty 2CV AZAM6 at the cost of 100 usd which kept running in a very decent way for 2 more years. The same (lubricated) historical shifter control is still alive and well on my 1984 2CV6.
I was thinking I will never remember this shift pattern while driving but then you showed me the linkage and now it clicked in my brain and I understand it easily.
The shift pattern is also represented in the instrument display in front of the driver, for reference. And you can see, when in 1st or 3rd, the small textured part of the shifter rod. When this is right next to the pipe coming from the engine bay, it's in neutral.
I'm sure there was a three engined six wheel 2cv built for Sahara crossing,orange ! And the unique rail type gear change enabled easy connection between all engine's, if any engine failed could be easily disconnected, maybe brilliant simple light vehicles,go anywhere.xx
Very much enjoyed the video on the 2CV. My ‘93 Honda del Sol has a very similar shifter design, only upside down from the 2CV. The del Sol has a conventional-looking shifter sticking out of the hump between the seats (no flat floor, unlike the 2CV). The opposite end of the shifter is beneath the floor where it attaches to a single rod that is secured to a single stub shaft on the transmission. That rod does the exact same push-pull and left-right rotation to actuate the stub shaft sticking out of the side of the transmission (the del Sol has a transverse engine/transmission arrangement and the stub shaft is parallel to the centerline of the car). Great explanation on the operation theory. The French were WAY ahead of everyone else. 👍
Fairly straight forward if you don't look at it... Remember reverse is behind first and second is center and forward third is a fluid line and after third you naturally transition to a more standard gear alignment and continue with standard progression to the right and forward.
“ … completely out of the way … “ Yes, in fact that’s the reason it’s a “dog leg”. Fourth is out of the way for a clutterless dash when up to speed on the open road . By the way it’s also sprung so that from first to second you simply push it forward and the lever goes straight to the next gear. You only have to pull it off centre for first, reverse and fourth. The Renault 4 had a similarly placed gear lever but as first was forward so fourth would remain sticking out into the cabin.
Citroen unique feature: a traction control system (ESP) that malfunctions when wheel RPM sensors collect corrosion. Somehow causing the engine to misfire and not run on all the cylinders and also causing the automatic transmission to not be able to control what gear it's in manually. so the car only goes 20 miles an hour or less... Short shifts itself until it stalls... and can't be driven to the mechanic when the engine is running perfectly fine. Citroen.
That's my point. They should have never put traction control or or anti lock brakes or that centralized brake/hydraulic suspension master cylinder contrivance. The car I'm talking about would have been running perfectly like a champ still. It was a 2004 Xsarra Picasso. It's still sitting there way out in the country side of some small foreign country with actually an engine that had very little wear and tear on it for it's 224K. It still sounded and ran like new. R&D sabotage from shyster Citroen dealership mechanics forged upstream to the factory.
a great idea first and reverse being in line, he likes old French cars so do I, I once drove a Citroen Traction Avant in Australia with a dash mounted gear lever.
It would be interesting to see what engineers would come up with today if you told them to design a very inexpensive, reliable car. Of course the first problem these days is that safety requirements put a fairly high floor on the cost of a vehicle.
@@flight2k5 I never claimed that modern cars are not reliable. To the contrary, they are very reliable. They are also very complex. Learning how to work on them doesn't reduce that complexity. I do most of my own repairs, but it can be a real pain to get to things. All one has to do is change the plugs in a Ford V8 to really understand the word frustration. It would be interesting to see what could be done if the goal the engineers were given was to build a very simplified car as opposed to telling them to cram as many systems as possible into the car.
Wonderful story telling. Hugely joyous demented fun. Delightful gear change for flicking cogs while keeping motor revving at ear busting levels to charge through corners at demented roll angles. If you are really in for a thrill, keep your foot to the floor downhill in overdrive 4th with the wind behind you and see the speedo needle off the end of the dial at over 80 mph.... And.... no synchro of 1st gear. Fun double declutching or learning to time your change.....
I think it’s so funny to hear some sort of surprise in you describing something that here in Europe is só common. Manual transmission!! shift pattern!! Woo woo, how special is thát (not!) 😁😁
Perdu un jour la goupille qui reliait la commande de vitesse au levier. 10cm de fil de fer, et hop, on repart. Cette voiture est à peine plus compliquée à entretenir qu'un vélo. And to drive one of them gives the same difference between cooking or eating fast food.
A little note beside the nazi occupation of the Citroën factory during ww2.... The german commander who was in charge of ruling Citroën, was not a typical nazi and was not a fan of Hitler, he was helping or closing an eye or two on the Boulanger's sabotaging... After the war he opened a Citroën's dealer!!!!... Initially he bringed a new Volkswagen prototype (the beetle) to impress the french.... Boulanger was strongly unimpressed and he made cover the vw with a blanket, the germans took it away....
ça ne concernait que les anciennes 2cv dont les fenêtres étaient maintenues par un embout caoutchouc, ensuite il y a eu un petit verrou à ressort très efficace et la fenêtre ne tombait jamais..
It's as if you took a regular RWD manual car and tried to rig it up to shift from the back seat. "Oh crap, we put the transmission too far forward....hold my champagne" ~ Some French Engineer (probably)
Is gear lever pattern wired in 2CV? Not at all. It is pretty standard those days. Renault 4 had much more modern one with first to the left and forward. But if you are looking something wired try to guess how to change gears in DDR's Trabant 601. Good luck.
Instead of pushing forward to neutral and then twisting right and continuing forward you can just twist right while still in 3rd and then push straight to 4th.
Always love the unique and educational content put out on tflclassics. Personally my favorite channel on TH-cam. Keep putting out the great Content Tommy!
Thanks for the kind words! -Tommy
@@TFLclassics I did a deep dive on Pierre - Jules Boulanger because of your 2CV videos and have shared them with my mother. Her mother lived in the Nazi occupied French countryside during that time and the stories are quite sad. Its great to hear a story like Pierres resistance of the nazi's or that mans escape from the desert. Thanks for bringing them to my attention
@@BullittKid08 Pretty interesting guy!
Great review! Thank you so much. You make the French car industry proud. Your passion is intoxicating - in a good way. The Citroen DS had hydraulic suspension back in the 70's and could run on 3 wheels, with one of the best coefficient drag in the world. Unfortunately, the country that gave birth to the "automobile" along with many splendid engineering feats, did not always come on par with brilliance in its marketing, sales and production. My dad was a trained mechanic and machinist in the French Army, and joined the resistance. As a kid I kept asking "how many nazi did you kill?" One day he finally answered "I don't know son. But if I were paid a nickel for every rounds I fired directly at the enemy, I'd be multi, multi millionaire!" His life was spared by the nazi when finally captured, and made to work on U-boats. He managed to skew the sophisticated aim of the 88mm deck gun (used most of the time on troops and cargo ships. instead of torpedoes) on quite a few subs, until they caught up with him, beat him up really good, and finally put him back to work - then watched by a dedicated armed guard. At the end of the war, he took a patent on a clever hydraulic transmission for cars "see son, oil into hydraulic pipes is almost un-compressible - unlike air - so you can move or turn anything with it!". There were too few of these magical moments with dad, but right after his passing, I enrolled in a physics curriculum in college. I currently do R&D in renewable energy. You at TFLclassics also convey the pride and passion of Research and Development through your viewers and their children. Thank you for keeping that flame alive! Merci beaucoup mon ami !
Not sure what your plans are Tommy, but these classic vehicle walkthroughs and history episodes are amazing! As high quality as any leading car history show. I hope you get sponsors and people bring their historical cars to you to feature! Honestly, my favorite of the TFL channels!
Thanks!
Drove a 2cv for a few years, the gearshift becomes intuitive very quickly. Such a fun car to drive :).
Buddy ain't lying about how fun it is to shift. It works really well, smooth but not slow either, with satisfying clicks. I drove my dad's to a car show where they interviewed the driver on entry on the loud speaker. "3 on the tree or 4 on the floor? FOUR IN THE DASH!!!".
Most people ask you to open your hood to look at the engine of your muscle car. With a 2CV people just want to see the transmission move.
I wish we could go back to the times when car and trucks were simple machines. I used to do a lot of work on them in my driveway.
I have been told the 2CV was originally designed to carry four French peasants (farm workers) a dozen eggs and two bottles of wine across a ploughed field.
Did you spot the knurled section on the shifter lever that is *just* visible when in neutral?! You can tell at a glance whether you’re in neutral or not (if you get confused!!). Love these classic videos!!
Back in 1977, my 2CV started life as a Belgian made 1964 2CV, with the sam,e dash mounted gear lever. However, mine had another clever feature, it also had a centrifugal clutch, which allowed the car to idle with engine running at the lights, first gear engaged , the car would move forward only giving it gas on the accelerator pedal. Very handy in traffic, because there was no need to press the clutch pedal to move the car forward. Only Citroen would dare to include this feature on their 2CV .
I have one like that! I bought it from a gentleman who had a disability that made him unable to drive manuals. Back then automatics weren't very much available so he got a centrifugal clutch swapped into his 2CV. The clutch however does tend to smell and is rather noisy so when it's time to replace it (soon I think) I may swap a regular one back in
The centrifugal clutch was useful only with a very small motor.
@@souheib9343 The ones from the factory are just made to start from standstill in first or reverse, ideal for stop and go traffic, but you still have to press the clutch to shift (both ways). That probably explains why it slips and smells (either from wear or from modification to use differently as intended).
@@HenriBourjade Daf 66 with 1300 cc engine had centrifugal clutch and cvt, I wouldn't consider that 'very small'.
@@ottonormalverbrauch3794 Small power.
Love your car, wish I could afford one. A few notes: The shift pattern on the Peugeot 404 you showed with a column shifter is the same one as the 2CV up until 1966 or 1967 when they switched to a standard H pattern. The Renault 16 had a very positive shifter, the column shift went down to the transmission and was connected at the base with 2 short linkages.
And the Renault R4, R5, and R6 had the same type of dash shifter as the 2CV. When the R5 was shipped here they switched it to a floor shifter for the US market - not as direct IMHO.
I had a 1979 Renault 5 here in the UK and it had a regular floor-mounted gearlever as well--not sure if they were always like that but I can definitely say the later models did it that way.
Back in the day I used to work with a guy that drove a 2cv every day, he even went to the Paris plant. He used to tell us stories about the production of these cars, like men employed to wear a special boot to kick the bonnet so it closed correctly at the end of the line.
If you like that kind of 'adjusting' you might want to look into a Trabant factory documentary.
Great video tommy. I'm from Colombia and here there's thousands of Renault 4, with pretty similar gear shift. You should buy one because are still cheap to buy and easy to keep running.
Even early Renault 5 had the same gears solution as the R4. The story goes it was somewhere women could hang their handbags in, so a handbag holder and a gearstick. French engineering in a nutshell. Hahaha
Your classic channel is by far my favorite one. Please keep them coming.
Renault had the same shifter in their R4 , R5 (first 2 years only) and R6.
Brilliant video Tommy, these are just the coolest little cars ever, very clever yet never brag about and they do exactly what it says on the tin.
I used to sell them new in the UK, not hard work you couldn't get enough of them. On test drives with people new to the car biggest problem was trying to stop trying too hard, they would try and over twist and end up all over the place, the secret is that it self centres and 1st to 2nd is just push forward it will jump across itself. Add twist action and you end up in 4th.
Great job Tommy. 👏
Hi Tommy,
I know it is a bit off topic, but I really recommend you to find a DAF passenger car. DAF is the inventor of the CVT. They called it the 'Variomatic'. That's the most clever drive train EVER designed!
I enjoy my 2cv every summer here in Canada, and unfortunately we did not ship our DAF 66....
Love your passion for unusual cars Tommy! Kind of fitting that the original French farm car is now living on the ranch.
Hi Tommy Great video! I rebuilt numerous manual transmissions over the years. You’re correct in it’s simple design. Reverse and first on on one cluster, 2nd & 3rd on another and 4th is by it’s self. If they made a 5th gear it would be on the 4th cluster. Just like a Porsche 901 gearbox in in simplicity and very direct linkage too! Well done!
Is there enough space to put a 5th gear in?
I dont want a (not Sure if higher or lower) gear ratio, I love the 1st gear how it is. Less speed and high torque.
@@derfacecrafter1869 it may be possible. On an older Porsche gearbox yo can convert 4 speed boxes to five speed ones. You need a fifth gear and lay shaft. I used the internals from a 5 speed 914 box and put them in a 913 4 speed box. Made for a nicer driving 912!
I ran a 2cv here in the UK, back in the 1980s, wonderful machine. Not great at going up very steep ice hills, ie until I 'converted' it into a beetle, reversing it up the hill instead. The weight transfer to rear that made life difficult going forward really helped with driven wheels and engine in the back. Received curious looks. Love your 2cv and your interest in different cars.
Iced hill cannot go up better with a beettle without winter tires...and on ice you did transfer nothing to the rear because no acceleration...i did climb all iced MOUNTAINS of France with the 2cv but with winter tires...rear drive wheels are dangerous in curves on ice...
The Renault 4 has a similar transmission setup as well. Your Citroen looks to be from the 1980s maybe assembled in the city of Mangualde Portugal
I must point out that Citroen first did a similar shifter to this on the Traction Avant many years prior, and Renault did something similar, albeit with a more conventional pattern, on the Renault R4, a direct competitor and third best-selling automobile in history. Yes, it drove pretty similarly (worse braking, but much faster because its engine was quite a bit bigger and with a tighter turning radius). The two cars were remarkably similar as they had similar (though not identical) design briefs.
Traction avant shifter system was different, a dual bar push/pull system but it was operated from the dashboard.
I've owned R4s and 2CVs (+ Dyanes). Both designs are different and both brilliant. I think the R4 would just edge it over a 2CV for me, but my favourite was the Dyane - same 2CV characteristics in a very slightly more modern design. In truth, I'd have any of them again, just for the fun I had.
And the Renault 6
The Renault is also a lot smaller. The 2CV is not actually as small as it seems
@@souheib9343 The Renault 4 isn't 'a lot smaller' than the 2CV. It looks it but there about 20cm difference in length and the same in height. Inside, it feels a wee bit smaller, but there's really not a lot in it.
There something really charming & fun about French engineering for the masses.
Always loved the 2CV, only wish I had the space for it. The content and your enthusiasm for the subjects of your classic reviews make them really enjoyable to watch.
I like that they put a diagram behind the steering wheel so you know where the gears are.
If you look really really closely you can see how the Chiron pulled inspiration from this car.
Top speed? Hold on to your hat, mom!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 love the tin snails 🐌
2CV Is one of the engineering master piece of a car.
So far unbeatable!!
Love the simplicity and ingenuity of the Citroen 2CV.
On a previous video, you struggled to climb your icy track to your ranch. Just try it in reverse. All the weight will transfer on your front wheels and this will ease keeping the efficiency of your driving wheels. As your are fond of little nicknames for your 2CV, it was also called « deux pattes » (two paws instead of two horses). « Pattes » is to be pronounced like « pat » in chess.
The 2CV was quite a success for Citroen in Germany. We still call it affectionately "Ente" (Duck in German) 🦆🦆😁
Nice man, as a french guy in US, I really appreciate and specially because you know history
Educational and interesting. I like you enthusiasm- luv the way it shifts- it is fun.
Watching this made me want to get into my Méhari, drive it and go through the gears. Well explained, well demonstrated.
Fascinating. Thanks for that detailed look.
Hello from 🇫🇷 😊
What a pleasure to watch this video to see an American enthusiastic about "our" simple engineering.
2 CV's were the exact opposite to... everything. Especially DS for example, and survived exactly because of that : simple and clever.
I can't wait to see your review of the motor/brakes/transmission. And mabe a trip in the mountains "top down" .
Peace.
Love tfl classics!
11:01 I wouldn't say "anymore", rather "not a lot". in my country there's still a lot of them left. When I was very young, there used to be a 2CV on my street.
Fun fact, you can take the crown gear and place it on the other side inside the gearbox, then you have 1 forward gear and 4 reverse 😂😂
I could consider using this shifter on any fwd car. Very ingenious!
As a presenter of auto information in a unique and enjoyable way, Tommy, you are the best! Great job!
“Simplicity is the mark of a genius” Plato
Cool vid! But when you shifted gears under the hood, you missed fourth gear twice. You pushed the rod to the cabin of the car instead of towards the front. 😜
It is a really positive and slick gearchange that would put many other cars to shame
My Renault 4 has a very similar shifter but not dogleg, and the rod goes all the way over the engine as it is a transaxle gearbox
My grandmother had a brand new one in the 60’s. She was a school district principal and a rural teacher, so, her Job was about moving between small towns in the rural area/country (we are from argentina so, big flat-slightly slopped ground withouth much population. And, for what my father tells everything in this video nailed up. Cheap, every “gaucho” knowed how to repair it, easy to drive, high milleage and, this was fascinating: it was a great off roader! (Very light, excelent suspention, great attack angles
My father used him to go on vacations with his friends to the coast: 60 mph chill cruising
Then they changed the citroen for a 74 i.k.a Torino (bad idea for the bad roads) and then, the second most reliable vehicle that the family had after the 3cv= 79’ rwd-low body Hilux pick up (400.000 miles when sold)
the other car with a similar kind of shifter that I know of is the renault 4 L also a piece of revolutionarry french design
Actually Honda had a similar set up in their 1970-72 600 (pre civic)
In 1974 a friend told me: my 2CV is dead. I'm fed up. The gearbox is stuck and I have no more brakes. I left her on the curb. I give you the keys of the wreck for 100 usd (it happened in Brussels).
In reality ? The shifter control rod slides in two rubber seals. Due to lack of silicone lubrication, one of the dry seals had sunk into the control tube and was blocking the movement of the control rod. One bolt and a small locking pin later, the shifter was replaced. Of course, the gearbox was intact... I topped up the dot 4 brake fluid level in the master cylinder.
After 10 minutes of work I left with a pretty 2CV AZAM6 at the cost of 100 usd which kept running in a very decent way for 2 more years.
The same (lubricated) historical shifter control is still alive and well on my 1984 2CV6.
Rural roads test would be cool to see
Great video. Much appreciated
Thanks for another GREAT video Tommy!
the Renault 4 had a similar way of changing gears
Beat me to it I was going to bring up the Renault 4 my father had one and I also had the Renault 4 for the wife cheap economical and bullet proof.
Also some of the early versions of the Renault 5 and Renault 6 and Citroen Dyane and citroen Ami8 had the same type of gear changing
I was thinking I will never remember this shift pattern while driving but then you showed me the linkage and now it clicked in my brain and I understand it easily.
The shift pattern is also represented in the instrument display in front of the driver, for reference. And you can see, when in 1st or 3rd, the small textured part of the shifter rod. When this is right next to the pipe coming from the engine bay, it's in neutral.
A few Renaults had same gear change, Renault 4
I'm sure there was a three engined six wheel 2cv built for Sahara crossing,orange ! And the unique rail type gear change enabled easy connection between all engine's, if any engine failed could be easily disconnected, maybe brilliant simple light vehicles,go anywhere.xx
Very much enjoyed the video on the 2CV. My ‘93 Honda del Sol has a very similar shifter design, only upside down from the 2CV. The del Sol has a conventional-looking shifter sticking out of the hump between the seats (no flat floor, unlike the 2CV). The opposite end of the shifter is beneath the floor where it attaches to a single rod that is secured to a single stub shaft on the transmission. That rod does the exact same push-pull and left-right rotation to actuate the stub shaft sticking out of the side of the transmission (the del Sol has a transverse engine/transmission arrangement and the stub shaft is parallel to the centerline of the car). Great explanation on the operation theory. The French were WAY ahead of everyone else. 👍
Love the car. Love the explanations! Merci!!
Fairly straight forward if you don't look at it... Remember reverse is behind first and second is center and forward third is a fluid line and after third you naturally transition to a more standard gear alignment and continue with standard progression to the right and forward.
The Renault 4cv/ van had the same shift idea. Seemed odd at first but it worked.
“ … completely out of the way … “ Yes, in fact that’s the reason it’s a “dog leg”. Fourth is out of the way for a clutterless dash when up to speed on the open road . By the way it’s also sprung so that from first to second you simply push it forward and the lever goes straight to the next gear. You only have to pull it off centre for first, reverse and fourth. The Renault 4 had a similarly placed gear lever but as first was forward so fourth would remain sticking out into the cabin.
I do love your enthusiasm! ;o)
Nice video and good explanation!
Tommy, let’s build a modern version on the Ranch. We will call it Tumble Weed Speedy 1.
Citroen unique feature: a traction control system (ESP) that malfunctions when wheel RPM sensors collect corrosion. Somehow causing the engine to misfire and not run on all the cylinders and also causing the automatic transmission to not be able to control what gear it's in manually. so the car only goes 20 miles an hour or less... Short shifts itself until it stalls... and can't be driven to the mechanic when the engine is running perfectly fine. Citroen.
such complicated features did not exists on 2cv...
That's my point. They should have never put traction control or or anti lock brakes or that centralized brake/hydraulic suspension master cylinder contrivance. The car I'm talking about would have been running perfectly like a champ still. It was a 2004 Xsarra Picasso. It's still sitting there way out in the country side of some small foreign country with actually an engine that had very little wear and tear on it for it's 224K. It still sounded and ran like new. R&D sabotage from shyster Citroen dealership mechanics forged upstream to the factory.
a great idea first and reverse being in line, he likes old French cars so do I, I once drove a Citroen Traction Avant in Australia with a dash mounted gear lever.
It would be interesting to see what engineers would come up with today if you told them to design a very inexpensive, reliable car. Of course the first problem these days is that safety requirements put a fairly high floor on the cost of a vehicle.
Cars are reliable today. Just because you think it’s difficult to work on, doesn’t mean it’s difficult. You just refuse to learn how to work on it
@@flight2k5 I never claimed that modern cars are not reliable. To the contrary, they are very reliable. They are also very complex. Learning how to work on them doesn't reduce that complexity. I do most of my own repairs, but it can be a real pain to get to things. All one has to do is change the plugs in a Ford V8 to really understand the word frustration. It would be interesting to see what could be done if the goal the engineers were given was to build a very simplified car as opposed to telling them to cram as many systems as possible into the car.
An incredible little car! I have owned one myself, once. Now I long for another.......
I believe mythbusters did an episode featuring the conversion of the car into a motorcycle.
Wonderful story telling. Hugely joyous demented fun.
Delightful gear change for flicking cogs while keeping motor revving at ear busting levels to charge through corners at demented roll angles.
If you are really in for a thrill, keep your foot to the floor downhill in overdrive 4th with the wind behind you and see the speedo needle off the end of the dial at over 80 mph....
And.... no synchro of 1st gear. Fun double declutching or learning to time your change.....
I love mine and drive it on the freeway all the time!
Interesting. I've never seen that and I'd like to try it. The mini has to be more fun to drive though.
I think it’s so funny to hear some sort of surprise in you describing something that here in Europe is só common. Manual transmission!! shift pattern!! Woo woo, how special is thát (not!) 😁😁
Absolutely new, we can't find any more. But there are two companies in France that sell reconditioned ones that are like brand new.
I want one now, just so I can try driving that wacky manual transmission. Love how unique it is.
Renault 4 had the same gear lever
Time to do the suspension test on the ranch
Perdu un jour la goupille qui reliait la commande de vitesse au levier. 10cm de fil de fer, et hop, on repart. Cette voiture est à peine plus compliquée à entretenir qu'un vélo. And to drive one of them gives the same difference between cooking or eating fast food.
10:32 This was on “Mythbusters”. They turned a Two CV into a motorcycle.
The story of the man in the desert is like the real-life version of Flight of the Phoenix.
Genial car. Like the DS a few years later...
Very beautiful car
I like your dog!
Perhaps honda was inspired by this in the ep3 civic si and other products with the dash mount shifter
Like the Honda Element, Honda uses push/pull set of cables.
I looked up the price for one of these secondhand and was shocked at the price they’re fetching . €11,000+, madness
La Deuch, a great car.
Thank you, now I genuinely want one lol.
I really enjoyed this video. Thanks for the info on what I thought for sure was going to be some weird setup, that just turned out to be super simple!
A little note beside the nazi occupation of the Citroën factory during ww2....
The german commander who was in charge of ruling Citroën, was not a typical nazi and was not a fan of Hitler, he was helping or closing an eye or two on the Boulanger's sabotaging...
After the war he opened a Citroën's dealer!!!!...
Initially he bringed a new Volkswagen prototype (the beetle) to impress the french.... Boulanger was strongly unimpressed and he made cover the vw with a blanket, the germans took it away....
The one and only James Bond Car I have driven too 😂😂
Ma mère avait la même en Bordeaux, la charlestone. Les fenêtres ont les appeler "guillotine", à chaque trous, elles tombée sur notre bras. Super video
ça ne concernait que les anciennes 2cv dont les fenêtres étaient maintenues par un embout caoutchouc, ensuite il y a eu un petit verrou à ressort très efficace et la fenêtre ne tombait jamais..
It's as if you took a regular RWD manual car and tried to rig it up to shift from the back seat. "Oh crap, we put the transmission too far forward....hold my champagne" ~ Some French Engineer (probably)
Some Renaults like the 4 and 6 have that feature as well.
I love 3 on the tree.
I haven't caught the recent videos. Enjoyed it, and... you look as weird as me without your glasses, haha. :)
stanley kubrick used a 2cv with the engine and most of the body removed and a crane welded to it pushed by crew for long “steady cam” shots
Is gear lever pattern wired in 2CV? Not at all. It is pretty standard those days. Renault 4 had much more modern one with first to the left and forward. But if you are looking something wired try to guess how to change gears in DDR's Trabant 601. Good luck.
Instead of pushing forward to neutral and then twisting right and continuing forward you can just twist right while still in 3rd and then push straight to 4th.
So Tommy, if you could only pick one, 2CV or Mini, which one would you pick ?
Ep3 civic si also has a shifter in the same location
That shifting pattern is breaking my 🧠. I guess that happens when I've been used to regular stick shifts 🤯
You find the same shift pattern on most older tractors with three speed transmissions (or variations there of).