Work is seriously underway

DOWN TO THE BARE NECESSITIES

2. The work has begun

We took the water pump off and I brought it back with me to East London to have it checked out for defects. On advice from Noel Wium here in EL, I took it to Mr. Pringle who has restored a few Citroen's in his lifetime, and he is of the opinion that it is in good condition, but one would only really know if it doesn't leak oil and if the fan turns once the engine is up and running again.

1. The work has begun

Meet Stephen who is doing the restoration. Here he is with the mudflaps.

Dating the Citroen

Robin Dyke has fed the information derived from the various places in the Citroen's engine (see blog entry dated Monday, February 12) into his database and sent me the following information:

• The 11CL means a Light 15 from Slough and the 6 indicates something like a minor change, e.g. the position of a brake pedal.
• The chassis number 9/532120 gives a probable build date of Friday 23rd April 1954. He said that he can not name the exact day, but there is a margin of about 10 working days. I think that is pretty close!!
• The BPVS mean Berline (Saloon), Petite Voiture, Sport (ie Light 15). Unfortunately it was not possible for us to read the coque number that follows on this, but as soon as the plaque has been cleaned up, I will send him the number.
• He thinks that from the photo, that the engine number is probably AN 18862,
  and it looks like a French "1" and he agrees that the 6 looks a bit indistinct.
• The 4MPVB78 (it's a B not an 8 as i initially thought) means the car is a 4 cylinder Moteur, Petite Voiture, Bore 78 mm.

Another photo of trip to Bloem

The trip to Bloemfontein

The Citroen is now in Bloemfontein and in the process of being restored. As mentioned in earlier postings, I needed to get to the farm to check on the numbers that Robin Dyke advised me on. The following numbers refer: - 11CL6 9 532120 (As I understand, that means it is not a ’48, ’49, but rather a 50's model.) - BPVS (This also show that it is a Light 15?) - AN48862 (# on the engine) and the number, - 4MPV878. I have e-mailed Robin the #'s and look forward to hearing back from him about my car's model. I will write more about the trip up later on - work calls, but I post some photo's so long.

Reg Taylor’s Citroen Light 15

See pictures of Reg Taylor’s (KZN) Citroen Light 15. He wrote that it has a pre-war body (1939), but was registered in 1946; being the 5th car to be released by Citroen on Monday the 6th May 1946 when Citroen resumed production after the war. The car was stored during the war in underground tunnels that linked the Citroen factory with a power station. He further said that his car is 100% original and has been restored with no cost spared, everything has been done to perfection, also that the engine, gearbox and under the car is immaculate.

Research done

It seems that the Traction / Light 15 owners all over the world are a kind and very sharing group of people. On my enquiries, my first response was from Robin Dyke in Oxford, UK, who sent me valuable detailed information and served to make me even more excited than I already am about this restoration project. He owns a 1953 Light 15 - isn't it beautiful? (see photo - the blue car is a French Normale). He also informed me that there are quite a few Traction owners in SA, incl. in EL; Reg Taylor from Pinetown, KZN and Peter Hall (SOUTHERN AFRICAN VETERAN and VINTAGE ASSOCIATION / VETERAAN MOTORVERENIGING vir SUIDER AFRIKA) from Pretoria (?) have already responded and offered advise and information. Amongst the rich pile of information that Robin Dyke sent, he suggested the following methods to date my car - and I add his own words here, albeit slightly edited (see next blog for more info that he sent):

To open the left-side bonnet and look at the "firewall" or "bulkhead" as if one were looking at the passenger's knees through the bulkhead. There should be a small rectangular plate - about 8cm by 4 cm at a guess. If it is a Light 15, it should read 11CL (perhaps 11CL4 or 11CL6 or 11CL8), and the chassis number should be a 9 then 6 digits. And if it is a Big 15, then it might begin 11C. (If the car was 1947 or 48 then the number would not have a 9 and would be around 125000). Then close the bonnet and open the other side. One should see the exhaust manifold, with the exhaust pipe curving down. In front of this is the dynamo (driven by the fan belt) and lower down there is another black electrical unit - the starter. One will see the wiring leading from both these units probably taped down to the part of the bodywork we call the "horns". There is another body number here; it is on a small plate welded to the "horn". It looks up at you as you peer down at the back of the dynamo and starter.
At a guess the plate is about 10cm by 2 cm. It is probably painted over and covered in grease, and it may be hidden by electric cables and/or the speedo cable. The B stand for Berline (saloon), the PV for Petite Voiture and the S for "sport” (ie a Light 15). If you car is a Big 15 then the code would be BPVL (I think L is for large). The coque (shell) number 1257 might help date the car. There is a number plate on the engine, about the same size as the chassis number plate (perhaps bigger). I would expect 2 letters and 5 numbers. There is a possibility your engine number could help date the car (unless you have had an engine swap). There are also numbers cast on the engine block, ditto on the gearbox - but here you can usually find a date. All the body parts were made in Paris, and the engines, and the gearboxes. Then they were shipped to Slough for assembly. An engine and gearbox might have been made in the Spring, assembled in the summer, then delivered to a dealer, then sold, and the new owner might first register the car in the autumn.

I have unfortunately not yet had a chance to apply this new knowledge, since the car is at the farm (see photo for a farm scene), more than 4 hours drive away, but my father said as soon as he goes out again he will try and find all the numbers. Robin Dyke however thinks my car might be (because it has a "big" boot) an after late-1952.

Furry passengers

I think there are mice living in the roof.But otherwise the upholstery is remarkably well-kept.

The model?

A 1947 or '48 Light 15 model (???) - British manufactured, not French. Need to study up a lot more on the technical details of my car.

The start

All cleaned up (the Citroen) and ready for its restoration trip to Bloemfontein on 8 Feb. 2007.