So a bit about me, im 21 and have always been a huge Citroen enthusiast, having been brought up on a whole host of Citroen models, my parents have always had a good number of Citroens, ranging from 2CVs, to Cxs, Bxs, Xantias, xms etc and even an Activa too, they are all i have ever known.
My first car was an Ax, perfect little car but it was a bit unsafe and getting quite unreliable. So for my next two cars i went away from Citroen and drove two Seats, one after the other. This was mainly because nothing small enough for me to insure took my fancy in the Citroen range. However now insurance is better i thought a change back to Citroen would be great and bought a C5, from bencowel on here. It’s a 2002 52 C5 2.0Hdi 110 SX hatch.
I always attend Citroen events with my dad, and now im a Citroen owner i feel more apart of the club. However I have always used our other Citroens, if I didn’t they would only get very very occasional use indeed! They are there to be used I say. So nope not all mine, although i do drive them all and help keep them going and looked after. My dad isn’t into forums, but enjoys reading what I write on them!
So then, a little about the cars in our household now …
Some of you might have seen one or two of my dads cars at Citroen events, so the first is a RHD 1955 Citroen Traction 6H, which my dad has had for over 28 years now. Its very rare being one of only 74 RHD cars ever converted by Citroen to have hydropneumatic rear suspension, as a test bed for the DS. Our car was used as a road research car for the early part of its life. It was equipped with a water tank mounted on the roof and a fifth wheel in the middle of the car. This wheel could be raised and lowered using a tap from the hydraulic rear suspension. Water could be sprayed in front of the fifth wheel from the above water tank and brakes applied to the wheel to test the skid resistance of road surfaces. The first picture below shows our car in its working life.
Its now fully restored and back to a normal car, without the fifth wheel, water tank etc. Unfortunately it ran No6 big end bearing almost 3 years ago and its still waiting to be put back together. Parts have been sourced and we are on the way with it but not done yet. Hopefully it will be in time for the summer season.
Next is a 1995 Citroen C15D 6 Wheeler. Which is the only RHD 6 wheeler C15 made by Citroen. My dad ordered it new in 1995 from a french Citroen dealer, the conversion was done by a company for Citroen, which was called Chauson Leotard. They made 101 6 wheel C15s. The last one is ours and the only RDH version. It has the rear seat option with seat belts for three in the rear, with side opening door and optional power steering.
Thats quite a rare thing, and certainly gets some odd looks. Its done 107K miles, but now gets very little use and is kept in as good condition as possible. We had it at last years classic car show, on the Citroen stand if anyone saw it?
We also have two Xms, one we have owned for over 7 years, its a 1996 2.0 16v SX XM Auto in white. It has only done 22K miles in the time we have had it, giving it a total mileage of 86K miles. Its a hobby car for nice weekend days, rather than an everyday car. In my opinion its the best colour for the S2 Xm, it also gets quite a lot of admiring views. Its quite possibly the most reliable car we have ever owned, even though it can often sits for a month in between use it starts every time with just on turn of the key, never used a drop of oil or coolant, however it is serviced regularly, it has never ailed anything (touch wood!). Its in very good condition for its age, looking good on its recently acquired Xm wobbly web wheels. We usually use it for long distance runs, you can guarantee to just jump in it, drive 500 miles in a day, return and leave it for a month until next time. A really dependable, comfortable car, that started both me and my dads fondness for Xms so much, they get contagious.
Recently we picked up a 1994 S2 2.0 16v SX Xm Manual in silver, its quite a gem having done only 31K miles from new! It had been standing for over 3 years, when the elderly owner passed away it was left sitting in a garage for 3 years. A few things were needed to get it back on the road, it still had its original tyres which were pretty cracked so they had to go, the cambelt was original so that was one of the first things to be replaced – didn’t want to risk that going! Along with the water pump and tensioners. A new battery, good service, new front brake pads, new exhaust and new spheres had it MOT ready.
It sailed through its MOT last week, I taxed it for the 1st April and ive now done 250 miles in it and going superbly. It has the odd scratch to its bumpers but that’s to be expected and will be sorted soon. Overall its in fantastic condition, underneath and under the bonnet are like new, not a hint of rust around the wheel arches, just shiny silver paint everywhere. Everything works, its superb inside, basically in as new condition as Xms get. This is our 3rd Xm and I cant see us ever being without at least one.
The C5 Estate was bought recently, which is a 2002 52 2.0HDi SX, very nice car, ideal for transporting our two dogs in comfort and luxury
Its currently getting a new rear radius arm bearing as its making cracking noises.Its always seemed much slower than my C5, even though they are both identical, albeit one is a hatch and the other an estate. So after a few experiments we swapped over the MAF to the estate from the hatch and it transformed the car. Much more lively and easier to drive as a result, not having to work it hard to get anywhere. The hatch now had its own MAF back on and the estate will need a replacement.
It did actually have a new MAF just before we bought it, however it’s an unbranded cheap version, which doesn’t even look the same, so I think a Citroen one is needed.
There are also three non Citroen cars in the household too, but we wont mention those! So that’s 9 all together, which is a little too many, it takes me for ever in a day to park them each night. Something will have to go! Its deciding what is the problem.
Sorry for going on a bit, I hope the post is not too long :S
Chris.
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