I have often considered the similarities of Sir Archibold David Stirling,founder of the SAS and Ignatious Loyola,founder of the The Society Of Jesus Order: The Jesuits....

Both men,though of course in different periods of history,had the vision and strength to create a brotherhood of elite men to combat the evil forces of the time.

One of the most memorable teachings of The Jesuits is the quote:"Teach us to give and not to count the cost" and it was this along with the wise words of Jake Thackery : " If in doubt..pull out" that finally ended my troublesome dilema...


I had decided that it was the right thing to do:..to release the 54 2CV to its rightful custodian,,the grandson of the original owner...after all he seemed like a decent chap and it was the moral course of action.

I made contact and laid out two conditions:

I would be given first refusal if the car ever came up for sale

I would not profit from the transaction and would only take my original purchase price plus shipping costs to its new home.

My only acceptable currency is good red wine and Cadburys chocolate !!!

Needless to say the grandson was overjoyed ,monies were transferred and I arranged transportation.....

As soon as the car was delivered I received a call to say all was well and he was forever grateful for my decision to sell..


Two days later a courier turned up at my leaky shed in the Forest with a large box.....

What a nice unexpected surprise from a very decent chap !!!!!!



only one thing...where was the Cadburys?....some people eh? !!!!


FIN

Post Script.

This left me without a winter project so I was on the search for something suitable which I found in a field in deepest Southern France:




A 50 year old Citroen AK350 abandoned and not run for 8 year with rotten floors.!!!!

Briefly,for this will be of no interest on a Morgan Forum, I purchased the van and had it moved to UK

A new battery,fresh fuel and new plugs,some Easy Start and it fired up and ran !!!!...after 8 years!!!!..zut alors !!!


So new floors,bit of fettling to electrics and brakes and it passed the MOT and was duly issued with a UK V5 and registration as an Historic Vehicle....Hurrah.

I am well on with its revival...conserving the patination of 50 years but rebuilding everything else..remarkably the original chassis is like new..preserved by a covering of Sahara Dust..sand blown in from the Sahara Region.

It is to be built as a replica of the Michelin Tyre Service trucks that followed the 1972 Citroen Raid event ..a race across the Sahara Desert of Citroen 2CV...this goes against the grain having worked for Goodyear Tyres for 35 years but it was Michelin that supported the race.

Even so the application of Michelin Decals ( see James BW..there is always room in the World for more decals.stickers !!!) was painfull !!!







THE END

Nice one Kev!
I hope the grandson of the first owner of the '54 car will take you out for a run in it once the restoration/rebuild is complete?
Very practical van - lots of room for hounds!

Or wine & chocolate.

- nice job Kev.

Also, well done for doing the decent thing and releasing the original 2CV; must be some good Karma in the making there....

James

Kev ..... "this will be of no interest on a Morgan forum" .... I think you may be somewhat premature old chap!! ..... in the right sub-forum there'll be plenty of interest ....there's a lot of love for the old 2CV here .... not least myself

K

But three wheel nuts just doesn't seem right...........................