Citroen GS crashed in Artane

BrianD3

In todays Irish Indo there is a pic of a car that crashed into a roundabout in artane. But it isn't just any car - it's a Citroen GS (with an MZD reg) which is a very rare car on Irish roads these days. I have not seen one on the road for around 15 years so it is quite bizarre to see one involved in a crash. Hopefully the damage is not too bad

mustang68

Ouch! It looked bad, nice gold colour too.

Max_Damage

Dammit man, we need pictures.

I haven't one in years either. What would be worse if it was the ultra-rare rotary engined version.

spidersonmars

I saw that picture too! I hope the damage isn't too bad!The car look in great nick overall. To be honest I was surprise that the GS didn't bounce over the roundabout instead it got stuck.

3ps

pics on octane.ie

mike65

Unfortunate. Looks like the front left suspension is in for a rebuild anyway and its balanced on a steel pole which may have creased the floor pan. Could be expensive.

Mike.

cxcully

Well gentlemen......thanks for your kind words of concern.I am the owner of that beautiful GS.
Anybody that's had a tip will know the feelings running through me at the moment-the memory of those unpleasant few seconds when you realise you've misjudged something completely and will crash....the relief of not harming anybody else or yourself....the reminder of how quickly it can all be taken away from you.
I've had the GS Pallas(top-spec) two months.It was dry as a bone,immaculate and beautiful in metallic gold and a time-warp 70s interior with sun roof.It's only got 50000 miles on it and rare as hen's teeth in that it's original Irish-I'm only the second owner on the logbook.it was bought in Bursey Peppard Citroen dealership on a June day in '78.I'm probably still a bit shaken and irrational-I'm well aware the damn thing is only a car but I do feel I've let the car and previous/owners down.
I take it on the chin-it was speed and arrogance and a false sense of security-it has been a fantastically handling car.Rushing to get to the airport to get to London for the Spurs-Man U match (not my weekend there either).6.30am,extremely heavy fog and on unfamiliar roads-up from Galway and staying with the inlaws in Malahide.I didn't anticipate the roundabout went into it at 30 MPH and skidded all too easily on the skinny 70s tyres.Two young cops came out,were dead sound and even offered to drive me to the airport but had to answer a call.
Returned from the match and went out to the recovery place this morning to see the damage.Both front suspensions have collapsed and there's a small dent on the bumper.The subframe looks superficially OK but I ain't no mechanic.I'm being screwed by these guys in Donaghmede-the bill already is 375 bucks and counting at a rate of 40 more per day for storage.Has anybody else had a similiar experience?I was hoping it would be an oul fella with a winch but this a big company.Ah well.
I will do what it takes to get it back to it's previous state.Again,thanks for your kind comments.Completely surreal to find my mishap in photos in the National Papers-I'll take it as a tribute to the beauty of the car.But it's a Punto from now on.
Mike C.

BrianD3

Completely surreal to find my mishap in photos in the National Papers

Crash a Citroen GS into a roundabout, get 15 minutes of fame

Good to hear that you are alright and that the car doesn't appear too bad. Even if the suspension etc. is damaged at least items like this pretty much bolt on and off.

And congrats on owning the car in the first place. A one owner original Irish GS with timewarp interior and 50k on the clock is pretty special find. Is the paintwork original on it BTW?

peasant

Ahhh that brings back memories ...

The sound of the boxer engine, the way you could regulate your fuel consumption by keeping your foot just above that point where the second stage of the dual carb kicked in, the stopping power on those breaks, the magnifying glass speedo, the single spoke steering wheel ...and the ride of course.

Getting stuck in a snow storm once and ploughing my way through that snowdrift (on the highest suspension setting) for all the other cars to follow ...

Was a class car, the GS


Feck ...I really, really miss it now

cxcully

peasant wrote:

Ahhh that brings back memories ...

The sound of the boxer engine, the way you could regulate your fuel consumption by keeping your foot just above that point where the second stage of the dual carb kicked in, the stopping power on those breaks, the magnifying glass speedo, the single spoke steering wheel ...and the ride of course.

Getting stuck in a snow storm once and ploughing my way through that snowdrift (on the highest suspension setting) for all the other cars to follow ...

Was a class car, the GS


Feck ...I really, really miss it now

Well peasant,if everybody gets their **** togethere and organises a meet for late spring/early summer-you'd be more than welcome to take it for a long spin.It's great to hear someone running such a fantastic car "back in the day".My father had a GS and GSA but I was never let near them.Maybe he was right:)

peasant

It's great to hear someone running such a fantastic car "back in the day".

The "day" was '86 ...I was young, the Citroen wasn't ...bought it for 1500 DM (750 Euro) drove it for a year, then the hydropneumatic system gave up the ghost completely and the rust holes were getting bigger and bigger ...so I had to scrap it. Wasn't that "fantastic" really

but ahhh ..the memories (the good ones:D )

My parents had two in succession (the estate version) ...practically grew up in them.

G Luxel

rare GS? I dont think so. Ive seen two of them in the last year. Both of them were Original irish reg GSA. The last ones would have been built in Spain in I986. These two were still on the road and in very good condition.

BrianD3

G Luxel wrote:

rare GS? I dont think so. Ive seen two of them in the last year. Both of them were Original irish reg GSA. The last ones would have been built in Spain in I986. These two were still on the road and in very good condition.

Well IME they are very rare. I drive around 35-40k miles per year on all kinds of roads and keep my eyes open for interesting cars. Haven't seen a GS or GSA for over a decade. Even the BX is disappearing fast, have seen about 3 of them in the last year.

I see more 1950s Austins about than Citroens from the 70s and 80s

cxcully

Yeah,I'd have to second that regarding GS (and BX) rarity and I'm not just saying it because it's my car.I'd do 25-30K all over the country,particularly in the summer and I've only seen one red one on old Irish plates ironically zooming past my parents house in Ballinasloe on the N6.
ds20prefecture is yer man here.He'd have a rough idea-he has one in from the UK as does a man in Enfield.There's a BX Van running around Castlebar where I work and two farmers have BX's in the very obscure part of west Roscommon where I live.

mike65

The BX dissapearance is notable for a car that was largely fancy plastic! I see a few on a regular basis - both late dark green TD estates.

Mike.

2cv

I do about 40k mls a year and i haven't seen one in years!!!!! Glad to hear you're ok, cxcully.

ds20prefecture

cxcully wrote:

Yeah,I'd have to second that regarding GS (and BX) rarity and I'm not just saying it because it's my car.

Ditto - I know of about 40 to 50 DSs in regular use in Ireland and about 5 GS/GSAs. They are a class wee car, and cxcully's is one of the best I've ever seen.

richardsheil

Brian D3 wrote:
Well IME they are very rare. I drive around 35-40k miles per year on all kinds of roads and keep my eyes open for interesting cars. Haven't seen a GS or GSA for over a decade. Even the BX is disappearing fast, have seen about 3 of them in the last year.

Funny you should say that, presumably you live in Dublin 3. I drove my GSA every day for the last two years and I live in Clontarf. A pity we didn't meet.

Richard

2cv

Hi Richard,

Did you manage to fit that door to the GSA???

:-):-):-)

richardsheil

Yes- bought it off you in Galway on the Sunday

Fitted to my car the next day.

Car crashed the next year- sold on to be repaired.

BrianD3

Nah, I don't live in or near Dublin 3. The D3 part of my username is meaningless and was just picked out at random

pwee

Hi i saw ur gsa in castlebar outside a house near the first roundabout on the balla side, well thik it was it, yer mans house always citroens outside it.

It has to be your car? it was same colour and mzd reg, i had a look she's a beauty.

junkyard

There's a GSA on E-bay at the moment for around 300euros, it would be worth considering for parts to repair your car.

Eric318

23 years ago, my mate had a GS "Break", an estate. I was at University in Lyons (France) and we would pack 5 humans and one dog in it to drive to Nice (home) every month or so. It turned out to be just about cheaper than a train ticket. At the time my every day car was a Citroen Traction (picture somewhere on this Forum). I would NEVER have imagined then that the GS would EVER tickle the fancy of car buffs so many years later.

To save on fuel on the motorway, we would choose an articulated lorry that would do about 110km/h, sneak behind it with our lights off, stick the front of the GS about 1m behind its bumper to be "sucked in" by the air draft and drive for as long as we could before getting noticed... At times, a whole hour!!

Needless to say, we saved no fuel, but only risked our lives like idiots...

For the little story, a better way to sdave money then on the toll motorway, was to find one of the service exits opened by maintenenace staff and exit the motorway before the toll... he he.... some students developed that art to a habit and carried bolt cutters in the boot of their 2cv to cut the gate padlocks open...

Eventually, there was such a haemorrage of students cars on the motorway on Sunday nights (going back to school) that the police started to clamp down on escapees... My mate got nicked: fine, PLUS esc orted byack to the motorway to pay the toll fee

What youngsters would do...

Back to another GS 20 years ago: I ... ab-used it in Normandy when vaccinating cattle, driving from farm to farm with my wares in the back: I finished that one alright and abandoned it on the side of a road with no clutch. Never heard of it again...