Reply With Quotevery cool!
Citroen H-van
ross asked to see the citroen. here are a couple of pics (that's my barn in the background, where i live and work).
citroen designed this van in secret in 1945 while the nazis were still occupying paris and the automobile factories. after liberation, they set out to make it in earnest, with first production year 1947. this van and the 2CV were the mainstays of the feeble french economy as it got back onto its feet. the chief designer, pierre franchiset, knew that metal would be in *very* short supply so borrowed an idea from the junkers plane and used corrugated sheetmetal to gain a desired panel strngth with less steel consumed.
my truck is a 1976 but it could stand next to a 1956 with almost no differences visible. in fact, the design remained essentially uchanged from june 1947 until they stopped making h-vans in december 1981! i guess they figured if it worked that well -- and didn't have to impress anyone with "the newest lines" the way a facel-vega had to -- why change it?
most of 500,000 they produced were enclosed vans powered by a cast-iron 4-cyl gasoline motor. (think of inspector clouseau being whisked off to the police station in one painted black-and-white. the french slang for those police vans was "salad baskets")
mine is quite rare even in france because it is a pick-up body (most were enclosed) and it has an indenor 1.9 diesel motor (quite a bit more expensive than the gasoline, so very few sold). the truck has a payload of 3500 lbs, gets 27 mpg, and goes about 50 mph when floored.
3-speed tranny. first is only good for pulling stumps. second let's you drive away smoothly from a stop and goes up to maybe 20 mph. thrid does everything else and as you aqpproach 40 you keep reaching for the shifter to go into fourth except . . . it's not there!
we think there are about a dozen h-vans in north america but noibody knows the exact number. there's one in waterville, maine; one in philly; one in ottawa; a couple in montreal; several on west coast of u.s., and supposedly a few in florida.
mine was bought new in 1977 by a "pepinier" (fruit tree nursery) near clermont-ferrand in the center of france. he used it for 26 years and drove it just over 100,000 km. never spent a night outside and was always kept scrupulously clean because of the baby trees it transported. i bought it from him and had it shipped from rotterdam to baltimore, where i picked it up in october of 2001.
it's a really strong, dependable truck. the bed was designed to be very low so that oxen could walk into it up a low ramp, or large wine casks could be rolled up into the bed. the french call it "le nez de cochon" -- "the pig snout" -- for obvious reasons.
over and out.
Big, Big Time Poster
very cool!
one more pic
i also have wooden sides for the back but they weren't fitted when i took these pictures.
Big, Big Time Poster
i also enjoyed your little write-up.
Green Beret Special Ops
I have never saw anything like that, Thanks!
95 E34 530I V2.37
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Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
John F. Kennedy
Super Moderator
Very nice, i gather that you also have a ds19 and 21
I've always wanted an SM but now that i can afford one ,they just don't have the same appeal that they did.
Originally Posted by Bruce Kennett
Grand Master
Wow!!!
EuroLux:. Private Detail
E34 1/'89 ///M20 2.5i: Lachsilber
Grand Master
Wow... Thats HIDEOUS!!!
Looks like the bastard child of a 2CV and a garden shed!! HAHAHHAAA!!
Amazing piece of machinery, I bet it pulls the looks too!!
Gone but NEVER forgotten. :'(
And then...
Big, Big Time Poster
That is an awesome little truck!
SOLD!
Super Moderator
My 2 CV from the last production year. Bought it new in Japan, was only registered 2 years and has now 1.200 km only on the clock.
Did not drive it for years, but engine runs fine when I start it with the starter crank handle
Should clean it sometimes at least
http://bmwe32.student.utwente.nl/shogun/CIMG2623.JPG
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