I-Spy Citroen H Vans (aka HY/TUBE etc)

[NewcastleFalcon]

I'll give most things a try I do like this with a Marks and Spencer picnic



and a cool can of this stuff is surprisingly good



regards Neil

[CitroJim]

Now that can of rhubarb drink does look appealing...

I must look out for it.. I like delicious tarts

[citronut]

this is quite a tasty tart also

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/ ... =280805562" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

specially with ice and chilled water

[CitroJim]

this is quite tasty

It does look it!

specially with ice and child water

I think I'd prefer adult water though

[citronut]

specially with ice and child water

I think I'd prefer adult water though

yep it for groan or should that read grown ups

[Infinite Granite]

Ladies and gents

Apologies for the intrusion, but you lot seem to know your H Vans.

My dearest mother in law has just bought a late 40's H Van and deposited it in my workshop. Going to tackle the rust and running gear with no problems, however the engine I'm at a slight loss.

Is there anyone out there I can bug about it? Or an online equivalent of a Haynes manual? I'm after a bit of knowledge on the diesel engines.

Again, I apologise for the intrusion, and thanks for any help anyone can offer me.

Cheers!
Ben

[CitroJim]

Ben,

We'd love to see a picture of your H Van

[Infinite Granite]

Noooooooooooooo I'm ashamed!

There isn't a single panel without some surface rust on it! I'll take a few decent snaps tomorrow and pop them on here if you like? But don't get your hopes up! Lot of work to go.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Lost in the early pages of the thread was this which may be of interest.

Found this link to all sorts of old manuals, parts lists etc

Wonder if IKEA could use them to come up with the Flat Pack Citroen H-Van.

Looks like "dropbox" ,whatever that is is, required for some of the information.

The manual for the bodywork (535 HY Carossserie) pops up fairly easily without registering. A more direct link to the info is here

hvan manuals

regards Neil

[CitroJim]

That's OK Ben, to see the van at the start of your work and then as you progress will be just about perfect. You could even start a blog if you wanted.. Go and look at the Blogs and Galleries are of this forum to see what others have done...

[Infinite Granite]

Lost in the early pages of the thread was this which may be of interest.

Found this link to all sorts of old manuals, parts lists etc

Wonder if IKEA could use them to come up with the Flat Pack Citroen H-Van.




Regards Neil

OK now come up with one of those for a diesel engine and as far as I'm concerned you're Gandalf...

[NewcastleFalcon]

Just edited this in to my post above gives a list of the PDF's apparently available

If you click on the 535 manual it just comes up, the others including the HY diesel seem to require some registratoion with "dropbox"

Looks like "dropbox" ,whatever that is is, required for some of the information.

The manual for the bodywork (535 HY Carossserie) pops up fairly easily without registering. A more direct link to the info is here

hvan manuals

regards Neil

HVAN World give this bit of info about the engines on their website

"The power units for the vans changed little. Just two1911cc four cylinder petrol engines were used over the entire production run, the later one also available as a 1600cc unit. The early engine was based on the engine used in the Citroen Traction, whilst the later cross flow engine with alloy head based on the Citroen ID car engine. From 1963, it was also possible to have a diesel engine, initially a Perkins unit but later an engine from Indenor. The diesel has plenty of torque, but is noisier than the petrol unit. All vans cruise happily at 55 – 60 mph."

This would seem to suggest that if yours is a late 1940's van then the Diesel Engine may have been a later conversion.

[Infinite Granite]

Just edited this in to my post above gives a list of the PDF's apparently available

If you click on the 535 manual it just comes up, the others including the HY diesel seem to require some registratoion with "dropbox"

Looks like "dropbox" ,whatever that is is, required for some of the information.

The manual for the bodywork (535 HY Carossserie) pops up fairly easily without registering. A more direct link to the info is here

hvan manuals

regards Neil

oooooh. Lots of information. But still in French and doesn't have the diesel engine. So I'll have to call you Wonko instead. Hope thats ok

[NewcastleFalcon]

Citroen HY Online has this rather sobering HVan Buyers Guide

Not that complimentary about the diesels!

ENGINE :

Avoid the 3 Diesel engines. They are unbelievably slow, the early ones struggling to reach 40mph. They are very expensive to run in repair costs and only slightly more fuel efficient than a Petrol engine as Diesel engines of the sixties only managed a few more miles to the Gallon. The main attraction being 19% lower cost per gallon at the fuel pump. These days with Diesel costing more per Gallon a petrol van will probably have lower running cost.

Even in the very latest version the Diesels are slow, smelly, VERY noisey, much less powerful than the Petrol (even the 1,600cc petrol is more powerful than the biggest 1,946cc diesel) and horrendously expensive to repair. An Injector pump can cost £1,000+, a Cylinder head (a common failure point with cracking, distorting and porosity issues) over a 500 euros on its own. A Crank will set you back 1,200 euros, if you can find one, etc. A Diesel engine rebuild could set you back as much as £4k.

Don't expect it to start when the weather gets cold. The usual trick back in the sixties on a very cold morning was to light an oil soaked rag and hold it in front of the intake as the Engine is turned on the starter. The theory being that the warm air from the burning rag gets sucked into the engine helping it start. ....

Diesel engines have advanced a huge amount in the last 20 years, the ones in the H van are about as Stone Age as you can get. In the warmth of southern France Cold starting wasn't the issue it is in the UK. That is why you will see diesel vans for thousands less than a petrol. Do not buy a Diesel van if it is a non runner, it may cost thousands to put right. If the owner says, "just needs a new battery..." you know what to do.

regards Neil

[citronut]

But still in French

what you need then is gooooogly translate, and use the bit were you can take a photo of the txt, which it will translate