Author Topic: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21  (Read 14872 times)

GGR

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My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« on: October 28, 2014, 13:27:58 »
Here are some pictures of my Grendfather's last DS, as delivered the other day in the South of France at my friend's place after a full body restoration. it is a 1967 model with the 2.1L engine and the hydraulic gear shift system. My grandfather took me to see the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in that car when I was a kid. We had the caravan hooked up in the back, and my Grandmother would have a portative radio on her knees tuned on Radio Monte Carlo (RMC) or Radio Television Luxembourg (RTL). The seats were covered with some tartan blankets (kilt looking like). I would be sharing the back seat with Vif, a fantastic English Setter. We would then settle in a camping next to the race track and I would hear all these cars racing around us all night. This was in the very early 70s and I remember Renault Alpines, Porsches and BMWs still looking like production cars racing each other. My Grandfather loved cars and car racing and I guess he passed it on to me. Later, when I was in my twenties, my Grandfather couldn't drive anymore, so he asked me to drive him around in the DS. I was also in charge of maintaining the car. When he passed, I inherited the car. It has been my daily driver for a while and I was then using it every summer when I was coming back to France for my holidays when I was working abroad. It took me to the Citroen gathering in Rome in 2008. The car was in very good working order as I always maintained it properly, but deserved a cosmetic restoration. So I left it with a friend in Switzerland who is a Citroen buff and who slowly brought the car back to its former glory. As one can imagine, this car holds a special place into my heart. It is now safely parked at my childhood friend's place, next to his own vintage cars (including an Opel Commodore Coupe that belonged to his parents), a '72 BMW 3.0 CSI that we restored and own together, and my other '73 Citroen DS 23ie Pallas.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2014, 13:45:37 by GGR »

GGR

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Re: My Grandfather's Citroen '67 DS 21
« Reply #1 on: October 28, 2014, 13:34:29 »
Here sitting next to the '67 Commodore. Also some pictures of the '73 23ie:

« Last Edit: October 28, 2014, 18:01:41 by GGR »

GGR

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Re: My Grandfather's Citroen '67 DS 21
« Reply #2 on: October 28, 2014, 13:41:29 »
And here are two pictures of the CSI taken during a holiday trip in the Alps:


dseretakis

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Re: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« Reply #3 on: October 28, 2014, 14:33:21 »
Nice car and great legacy! Now you need to drive it!

Peter van Es

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Re: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« Reply #4 on: October 28, 2014, 16:29:58 »
Love the DS… I used to sit in the back seat of my father's car as well, with my two brothers.  Very comfortable car for vacations to the south of France... When it finally fell apart he bought a CX that I was allowed to drive occasionally after getting my license…

Peter
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GGR

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Re: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« Reply #5 on: October 28, 2014, 17:56:46 »
Thanks Peter. Of course you must know that Holland is the country of adoption of the DS! Andre Citroen's father was Dutch to start with, and he moved to France only a few years before Andre was born. Dutch enthusiasts bought the best DS when they were going for a song. As a result, Holland is today home to some of the best original DS, but also to some of the best restored ones, as you guys started valuing these cars at a time when they were still considered as beater cars in France.

Where were you going on holidays in the South of France?

The CX is a great car, unfortunately still in the shadow of the DS. Its dynamic qualities are incredible. It saved the life of a close friend of mine once, staying on the road against all odds.

AGT

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Re: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« Reply #6 on: October 29, 2014, 14:43:55 »
GGR these are beautiful cars. I would love to add a DS to my garage.

The first family car I can recall was my father's black mid 60s DS19. After it disintegrated we had a few years of Peugeots and then a 1973 DS23 Safari. Sadly, as we lived by the sea in the West of Scotland, none of these lovely French cars lasted very long. The Safari gave way (literally) to a CX in the late 70s. I still have many happy memories of family holidays with the Safari towing our caravan all over Europe. To this day I love the French autoroute - North to South only!

Every time I drive past Tournus my steering wheel twitches in the direction of Philippe Losson's DS workshops. More pictures of both your DS cars please.

The 3.0CSI is also wonderful. Despite my fixation with modern BMWs I have managed to resist the temptation of a classic BMW. They seem delicate compared with our Pagodas.

Best regards
Andrew

1966 230SL
1976 Citroen 2cv
1989 420SL
2012 BMW 125i Sport convertible
2014 BMW 330d x-drive MSport touring
2014 BMW 640d MSport gran coupe



Andrew

1966 230SL

GGR

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Re: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2014, 15:04:54 »
To this day I love the French autoroute - North to South only!

Thanks Andrew. Here is a song you surely heard in the Safari while touring Europe as a kid. It's about a love story happening on the "Autoroute des vacances": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2UhQAhLc2Y


AGT

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Re: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2014, 15:30:11 »
Brilliant. Thank you.

It does not mention 35 centigrade plus, no air con, legs stuck to the black targa covered seats
Andrew

1966 230SL

Peter van Es

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Re: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« Reply #9 on: October 29, 2014, 16:01:07 »
I have this lovely book (60 voitures des années 60) with drawings by Jidéhem (Jean De Mesmaeker) as shown on the front page of our Technical Manual. Sorry for the bad quality of the iPhone pictures, but you'll get the gist...

See if you can get one. Occasionally they are still for sale on French eBay. Great drawings, nice stories
1970 280SL. System Admin of the site. Please do not mail or PM me questions on Pagoda's... I'm not likely to know the answer.  Please post on the forum instead!

GGR

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Re: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« Reply #10 on: October 29, 2014, 16:14:56 »
Wow! I will definitely try to get one! Not sure if it features Jidehem's famous Turbo Tractions though:




GGR

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Re: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« Reply #11 on: October 29, 2014, 17:43:34 »
More pictures of both your DS cars please.

Here a few more pictures of the '67 interior and engine:


GGR

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Re: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« Reply #12 on: October 29, 2014, 18:17:25 »
And here a few more of the 23:


GGR

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Re: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« Reply #13 on: October 29, 2014, 18:22:11 »
A couple more pictures of the DS 23, and one of my W111 Coupe last winter:

dseretakis

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Re: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« Reply #14 on: October 31, 2014, 00:16:21 »
The engine bay and interior look beautiful!  Are you going to take it to shows when you go back?

GGR

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Re: My Grandfather's '67 Citroen DS 21
« Reply #15 on: October 31, 2014, 10:00:23 »
Thanks. Why not?