Spotted - 1971 Citroen DS

A beautiful sample of the Goddess in my nick of the woods! Swiveling headlamps and all. What a treat! First time I've had a chance to examine one in detail. Love it. The highlight however was the great conversation I enjoyed with it's new owner who was also gracious enough to open the hood so I could take a closer look. Thank you!

Citroen SM at the 1974 Chicago Auto Show

Two gorgeous Citroen SM are the focal point of the Citroën stand at the 1974 Chicago Auto Show. There is a lot more to see at the Chicago Auto Show site...

An Article About the Citroen SM on Automobile Quarterly

My recent visit to the library resulted in another cool find. An article about the Citroen SM published during the Fall of 1970. Back in the day when these cars where brand new. The pictures and diagrams are not exactly anything that we have not seen already elsewhere on the Web, but it is an interesting read nevertheless. If you go looking for it you will find it on the second issue of volume nine.

Citroen DS - Hydropneumatic Suspension - Diagram

Just for kicks... Here is my English language rendition of a classic diagram depicting the hydropneumatic suspension system of the Citroën DS. Excuse my limited understanding of the French language. ;-)

Engines - Citroen DS Series

The Citroën DS demonstrated many innovations in styling, materials, and hydraulics. Originally conceived to be powered by an air-cooled flat "six", cash flow problems at Citroën resulted in the cancellation of that program leaving the DS to soldiered on till the 1970's powered by an ancient design that dated to the 1930's. Originally displacing 1,911cc (75hp), it continued to be developed with changes in displacement, different carburetors, an Aluminum cylinder head, and eventually even Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection (2,347cc). The advantage? It is pretty sturdy making it a pretty reliable engine that is relatively easy to maintain.

Cutaway drawing showing engine internals (source).

Citroen DS Cutaway Drawing

The Citroën DS is a fascinating vehicle. It packs a lot of innovation for a car that was introduced in the mid 1950's. I have been searching for old technical drawings as you may have seen on other posts on this blog, especially cutaway diagrams. Looks like I finally found a decent one for the Goddess. Actually, it was right under my nose on the Citroënet site. It looks like it is of the initial version of the DS. I have sharpened it a bit to improve the contrast to highlight the details. Enjoy!

Source

Citroen Coupé Le Dandy by Norev

Around 1958 the French coachbuilder Henri Chapron started building coupes based on the iconic Citroën DS. In 1960 Chapron came out with a two door hard-top coupé named Le Dandy. The French diecast maker Norev made a nice 1:43 scale model of this car. I came across one during my visit the Citroen C_42 store a few years ago. Mine is the Bordeaux version (réf: 158053). I think it has lovely lines. There is more information about the Chapron cars at the Citroenet site...

Engines - 1938 Citroen Traction Avant 11CV B Legere

That is a 1991 cc four cylinder, wet liner engine with single downdraught carburetor. Three speed transmission sitting ahead of the engine as this is a front-drive car. Just check the two rods connecting the shift lever all the way from the firewall Amazing.

Great looking restoration...

M35 - Citroën's Experimental Wankel Powered Coupe

It was the late 60's and Citroën was exploring the viability of rotary engines for future models. Enter the M35. Now this one is one that has been peeking my curiosity for some time. This interesting little coupe served as a test bed for a number of systems planned for future models in the range. In a "Beta test" of sorts, Citroën ended up producing 267 cars during the three year period between 1969-71.

I think that the very angular "fastback" profile is part of the attraction.

Citroen SM Engineering Drawings

My search for Citroen SM documentation continues... This time the search lead to orthographic projections. Here are a few variations found across the web. One good source for these can be found  @: SMCars.net

The Weber 42 DCNF Carburetor on the Citroen SM

The Weber 42 DCNF downdraft carburetor. A trio of these on top of the Maserati C114-1 V6 makes the Citroen SM sing. Carburetors are a fascinating mechanical solution to fluid metering. When they are tuned properly, they are awesome but it only takes one little thing to make you beg for mercy. Keep them clean and tuned for maximum enjoyment :-)

Source: Weber Technical Manual

The Michelin Résine Renforcée Wheel

Available as an option on the Citroen SM after September of 1971, Michelin's advanced Résine Renforcée (RR) wheel is one of the most unique automotive wheels ever placed on the market. Weighting in at 9.5 pounds, these fiberglass-reinforced resin wheels are 11.5 pounds lighter than the standard steel wheel. Metallic inserts on the studs prevents damage when tightening the nuts. Cars with this option also came equipped with special wheel hubs and nuts. Although at first glance these wheels may appear fragile, their durability was well established by Citroen rallying efforts. Until the recent introduction of Carbon Fiber aftermarket wheels these were probably the most sophisticated non-metallic wheels available.

Note: This set of wheels went for $7,798 USD (5,736 euros) at an auction.

All these photos appear to be a set of "version 2" wheels denoted by their rounded outer rim.

Engines - Citroen SM C114-1

In the late 60's Citroen was designing it's one and only entry into the GT arena, the SM. It is hard to understand how a company like Citroen could build such complex cars like the DS but could not develop advanced power plants that matched the rest of these advanced automobiles. The SM was going to need a sophisticated engine in order to compete in the market. Their solution? Get their newly acquired subsidiary (Maserati) to build them an engine that would complement the SM platform. The task of designing this engine went to Giulio Alfieri and by the spring of 1968 it was ready for testing.

Front View

Sunday Drive - French Style

You can easily imagine yourself on the road to the South of France on this one...

Citroen SM Police Cruiser

This Citroen SM prepared for the Gendarmerie (French police) must have been the coolest police interceptor of the 1970's!

Photo Credits...

Citroen Factory or Blacksmith Shop?

I don't think a car factory can look more industrial than this. Looks more like a blacksmith shop...

Citroen SM Cutaway Diagrams

Tonight I have been catching up on reading about one of my favorite cars - the Citroen SM. I have seen a lot of information but so far I have only come across a couple of good cutaway diagrams for the SM. I have always been fascinated by cutaway diagrams and how they reveal the inner workings of a machine. You can learn a lot about the interrelationship of the parts at a single glance.

Engines - Citroen GS Birotor

We are all familiar with the well know Mazda Wankel engines but did you know about the Citroen GS (GZ) Birotor? Between 1971 - 75 Citroen built 873 GS equipped with a twin rotor Wankel engine. The setup produced 107 hp and pushed the little GS to 108 mph. Rotary technology was in its infancy back then and in the end high fuel consumption, high oil consumption and low reliability killed it. It was a brave effort on the part of Citroen to give it try. A C+ for Citroen for putting it into limited production... :-)

There is more information about this jewel at the Citroennet site...

Galvanized Citroen DS Chassis

How do you get rid of the rust problem on old Citroens? With a fully galvanized chassis of course...

Very impressive. A bit expensive too...

Source

Apparently in the old days, building a Citroen was a family affair...

Citroen SM Cam Chain Tension Adjustment How-To Videos

I was searching for Citroen SM information on the Web this morning as I do on occasion and came across a couple of great videos on how to adjust the timing chains on the Maserati C-114 engine. Timing chain failures are the Achilles heel of this engine as they suffer from poor lubrication and require regular adjustment. Failure to do so will result in a major break down I am told. It is great to see the experts sharing their knowledge and I am hoping we will get to see more from rlbatch1.  If you are a fan of the Citroen SM make sure to visit rlbatch1's YouTube channel to see more...