To restore or not to restore?

QMy parents’ 1970 Citroën 2CV has been in a barn for 30 years. Time has not been kind to it. The bulkhead and floors are full of holes and the engine’s seized. How do I assess its suitability for restoration? Jasper Chubb, Margate

AFirst, assess whether your ancestral 2CV is really the car you should be aspiring to. It could take years to rebuild – whereas you can buy a working 2CV tomorrow. You’d instantly have the joy of bombing around and reliving happy memories for a fraction of the expense of a ground-up restoration. If you fancy the idea of a restoration, though, don’t let us put you off. Here’s a general checklist.

We’ve kept it non-2cv-specific for the benefit of other readers, so it can be used to assess any crumbling heirloom or ‘great project’ advertised on ebay.

Body and underbody condition is the most important consideration. You can repair or replace mechanical components – and, indeed, you’ll probably be doing this to almost everything during the restoration. If you have nothing left to bolt the parts to, though, you’re taking on a lot more work. Beware of anything that’s been standing in long grass or scrub – or under conifers, which drop acidic and drain channel-clogging needles. Cars such as the 2CV, Mini and MGB are more salvageable in this respect, as there’s nothing you can’t buy for them, including complete bodyshells.

Inspect the sills, floors, bulkhead, structural underbody members, suspension mounts and, if the car has a separate chassis, the body mounts.

Frilly bolt-on wings are easier to remove than welded ones – but in either case you might find a catalogue of disaster hiding in the body beneath. Rust around front and rear screens will be a glass-out job and will probably have led to knockon corrosion lower down if holes have allowed water in.

The doors, bonnet and boot are the least of your worries, as solid replacements are usually widely hoarded. Assess whether the interior can be salvaged by cleaning or reupholstering – or whether it needs to be replaced completely. Plastic or PVC trim and furniture such as the dash and doorcards will probably clean up unless they’re cracked or warped. Your 2CV will need a new hood; many cars will need a new headlining. Carpets or mats may be beyond saving and it’s a safe bet that the sound insulation will need replacing.

If the wiring loom isn’t corroded or mouse-chewed, it may be reusable. Switches and instruments will benefit from cleaning inside and out, but it may be better to replace them if they’re full

of festering verdigris. Bleary headlamps and faded tail lights will need replacing. Bulb sockets may be badly corroded, so just changing lenses isn’t the end of the matter.

The brake and fuel systems will need overhauling completely. Transmissions often weather lay-ups well, but engines often seize as damp air penetrates.

It and the gearbox will need new oil seals and a clutch, at the very least. It’s likely that a full engine rebuild will be required. Ball and roller bearings hate being at a standstill, so anything that contains them – hubs, dynamo, water pump, etc – should be considered iffy.

Now: here’s the conundrum. If you replace or recondition all that on the cherished car that you remember so fondly, is it really the same car?