Veteran/Vintage owners ?

well....... I would buy one but only with the intention of chopping it to bits and dropping a V8 in.......
www.irish-customs.com

Silvera wrote:

Ok, that's settled then ........... nobody here is old enough yet to go and buy a veteran or vintage car

My friend in Clontarf drives a '51 Traction Avant. Does "designed before '45" make it a vintage? We drove home from a Blessington classic rally through the Sally Gap last year - I drove the TA, he drove my DS. The Traction is spectacular in every respect. The road holding and general handling are if anything better than the DS - a design 20 years younger. I also drove his Traction around Howth village one evening - I have never drawn such attention in any car.

When in France last year, the owner of the Gite let me drive around in his '53 11B Legere that he owned from new. It was pretty special.

Having said that, if I were to own a vintage it probably wouldn't be a TA. The DS was the pinnacle of Citroën engineering. No, it would have to be an early Tatra or maybe something from the US, but also from the streamlined '30s. Like a Lincoln Zephir.

BTW, I'm 35 and my friend is about the same. There are people out there who like vintage and not just to polish and gaze.

A guy around the corner from me has an old Ford which is 38 D XXX !

Anyway these Citroen's are truely amazing cars. I think those 20 year production dates are possibly due to the fact that the War intervened and as with a lot of other car companies they just took up where they left off !

Ohh and by the way the Mercedes W107 SL had a 17 year lifespan, and that wasn't too long ago !

MercMad wrote:

A guy around the corner from me has an old Ford which is 38 D XXX !

Anyway these Citroen's are truely amazing cars. I think those 20 year production dates are possibly due to the fact that the War intervened and as with a lot of other car companies they just took up where they left off !

Ohh and by the way the Mercedes W107 SL had a 17 year lifespan, and that wasn't too long ago !

Lots of Traction Avants were made during the war - they were the favourite of the occupying forces, being much lighter and faster than the equivalent Mercedes. Ditto Tatra in Czechoslovakia.

Also, the DS was a 20 year product run, with no war. Personally I think it's down to the basic excellence of the designs, but I am biased.

Silvera wrote:

Foreign plates don't really interest me - I just dislike shabby plates on Irish cars (which is all too common an occurence!)

The plates on the DS above wouldn't be my first choice for a classic - but as they are 'french spec' plates - they don't look out of place on the DS.

.......Cool car BTW !!

Thanks - it's my (mostly) daily driver and I love it. I hanker for an older one, maybe a '61. They were a lot more special, but trickier to find right and I don't have a correctly sized garage.

Re the numberplate, you'd be amazed at how many people still ask what year it is. I had a LOT of fun at the Internation Classic Citroën Car Rally in Switzerland this year. All the french guys kept coming up and scratching their heads trying to figure out which department 914 was. One guy asked was I from Réunion, but that's 974.

I'm not too happy with the plates either, but probably not for the same reason. There's supposed to be a 3/4 circle cutout for the starting handle right where the D is. I was too stupid at the time to get the D offset so I would have to unscrew the plate to crank start.

Do you prefer ZV on a classic? For me, they're a little anonymous. I was hoping to land on 520 for the plate, so it could read 72 D5 20 but it didn't pan out. Only scobie BMW drivers seem to have personalised number plates, so I'm glad in retrospect.

What do you drive [hoping it's not a blinged out beemer ;-)] ?

Are you thinking of a vintage? Which one? Someone mentioned parts supply as a problem - the network of suppliers for old Citroëns is amazing - pretty much every mechanical or interior part is available new or refurbished. Lots of body panels too. I understand that Jaguars and Mercedes are similarly well supported, is this your experience?

Silvera wrote:

Do you mean Irish people ask you what year it is ???

All the time. It baffles me.

Silvera wrote:

I'm thinking of getting a vintage car at some stage in the future. I like some of the larger 1940's saloons, like the CS.

CS? Do you have a good garage?

Silvera wrote:

Parts supply is v good for Jags and Mercs in my experience.
Have you sourced Citroen parts in Ireland or do you have send to the UK for parts ?

Yeah, I sometimes trade parts with other owners, but generally I buy from the Netherlands, Germany or France. UK is a no no because of exchange rate, but there's lots of suppliers there too. The Web makes sourcing parts a doddle.

Silvera wrote:

BTW, what do you mean "scobie BMW drivers" ? 'Souped up' BMW's ?

Sorry - Scobie is a word out our way for Chavs. You know, blacked out 2 door '93 316is with 4" exhausts, rubber bands for tires, lowered seats and suspension, "Lexus" lights and a front splitter that also doubles as a parmesan grater. Generally, a scobie has a predilection for white tracksuits, baseball caps, waaay too much aftershave and hair gel. They tend to communicate in a series of one or two word sentences "Story?" "Happening?" "Dedly" "Rapeh" and so on. House music emanates loudly from gaudy woofers. They have a very strong sense of community, but are generally feared and loathed in equal measure by the rest of the motoring public.

Silvera wrote:

Any suppliers in The North ?

I haven't used any - there a rumour of a guy in Newry who has a huge cache of Citroën parts. I believe there's a couple of Jag/Daimler specialists up there too. Oh, and there as an online breakers in Belfast - can't remember the name.

BTW: What is a CS?