This blog will (hopefully) follow the restoration of my 1973 Citroen DS21 Super 5.
Sunday 31 July 2011
Waiting...
Well Thursday is the day, really looking forward to giving the car a good run out. Not going to be sleeping much for the next few nights...
Tuesday 26 July 2011
Red is the colour of my love...
Well things have been cracking on and it looks like the car will be finished in time for the Hebden Bridge Vintage Weekend which I have entered the car in...
So, to begin the exhaust is on, the carb fettled with (including new DS23 jets - c.10% more fuel mix). It looks and sounds absolutely incredible. Combined with the bored out exhaust baffles in the front box it now revs so easily and loses those revs like a real racer. Graham has done some top work on this and I'm happier than I thought I was going to be (which was pretty bloody happy...)
This is how it looked before with the twin downturned pipes. They looked pretty but would be absolutely buggered if they took a hard knock when racing.
Above is a front to back shot - the original flexi metal bead hose is now welded onto the fully bespoke system. It is straight through from the front box to the tailpipe and has been mounted as close to the underside as is practical for racing. More shots below...
Next up is the improved ventilation/airflow on the front. At the moment it looks like this:
The pair of intakes at the bottom feed air directly to the inboard front disk brakes. The one above it is a general radiator intake (I think) and the black metal with the single circular hole is where the registration was mounted. On that piece Graham will be drilling some auxilliary ventilation points and also feeding through the mounts for the front spotlights.
Next the chassis. These photos give a good view of the nearside renovation/strengthening that has been done:
So now onto the colour. I changed my mind so many times about this over the first 4 weeks but after seeing the bodywork today I know I made the right decision. The pics below are still wet and have had two coats (for the paint visible on the interior. The exterior is being painted later today/tomorrow and will be three coats. The colour is absolutely perfect in my opinion and I can't wait to see it all back on the car...
(These pics were taken under odd lighting while paint was still wet)
Interior and shut of front nearside door:
Interior of nearside door:
Well that is about it I think. 11 days and counting until she's ready, I am finding it hard to think about anything else at the moment...
So, to begin the exhaust is on, the carb fettled with (including new DS23 jets - c.10% more fuel mix). It looks and sounds absolutely incredible. Combined with the bored out exhaust baffles in the front box it now revs so easily and loses those revs like a real racer. Graham has done some top work on this and I'm happier than I thought I was going to be (which was pretty bloody happy...)
This is how it looked before with the twin downturned pipes. They looked pretty but would be absolutely buggered if they took a hard knock when racing.
And this is how it looks now, upturned with a skid plate...
Above is a front to back shot - the original flexi metal bead hose is now welded onto the fully bespoke system. It is straight through from the front box to the tailpipe and has been mounted as close to the underside as is practical for racing. More shots below...
Next up is the improved ventilation/airflow on the front. At the moment it looks like this:
The pair of intakes at the bottom feed air directly to the inboard front disk brakes. The one above it is a general radiator intake (I think) and the black metal with the single circular hole is where the registration was mounted. On that piece Graham will be drilling some auxilliary ventilation points and also feeding through the mounts for the front spotlights.
Next the chassis. These photos give a good view of the nearside renovation/strengthening that has been done:
So now onto the colour. I changed my mind so many times about this over the first 4 weeks but after seeing the bodywork today I know I made the right decision. The pics below are still wet and have had two coats (for the paint visible on the interior. The exterior is being painted later today/tomorrow and will be three coats. The colour is absolutely perfect in my opinion and I can't wait to see it all back on the car...
(These pics were taken under odd lighting while paint was still wet)
Interior and shut of front nearside door:
Interior of offside rear wing:
Interior of nearside door:
Well that is about it I think. 11 days and counting until she's ready, I am finding it hard to think about anything else at the moment...
Sunday 17 July 2011
Josephine helps
ben.williams@bjjw.com
Sent using BlackBerry®
Wednesday 13 July 2011
And they are go, go, go
Genesis
Just digging around in some old photos and found the wedding pics where my obsession with DSs began...
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Fantastic day...
Fantastic day...
Change of mind re colour
Everyone at the garage thinks that the Rouge Massena paint is a little dull for the UK weather. The original Citroen chart said it was a red for sunny climates so I've had a think and made a decision.
I love red cars so it needs to stay and when I think of red cars my mind is drawn specifically to a certain thing...
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The red of the classic racing Ferraris is called Rosso Corsa (Racing Red) and I think it is pretty much the best red out there. Not too dark, not too orangey.
We have located a supplier of the paint (code FER 300) and I've decided we're going for it. The roof will remain black and the bonnet, wings, doors and boot will be finished in the Ferrari colour. I think it is going to look pretty damned good.
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I love red cars so it needs to stay and when I think of red cars my mind is drawn specifically to a certain thing...
The red of the classic racing Ferraris is called Rosso Corsa (Racing Red) and I think it is pretty much the best red out there. Not too dark, not too orangey.
We have located a supplier of the paint (code FER 300) and I've decided we're going for it. The roof will remain black and the bonnet, wings, doors and boot will be finished in the Ferrari colour. I think it is going to look pretty damned good.
On the final stretch
Ok, had a great visit to the garage yesterday. Lots has been done and, although it doesn't look like it from the photos, things are all starting to come together.
Firstly the interior is back from the vinyl magician. They look like new and I'm delighted with the finish.
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Next up is the body work. All panels have now been welded, taken back to bare metal, primed and are ready for the spray booth.
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Onto the exhaust. The front box has been sorted out and been worked on. It originally had two (small) outlets from the box. These have been taken off and a new wider, faster breathing single outlet fabricated and welded. All it needs now is the fully bespoke stainless middle and back box fabricating and fitting.
Firstly the interior is back from the vinyl magician. They look like new and I'm delighted with the finish.
Next up is the body work. All panels have now been welded, taken back to bare metal, primed and are ready for the spray booth.
Onto the exhaust. The front box has been sorted out and been worked on. It originally had two (small) outlets from the box. These have been taken off and a new wider, faster breathing single outlet fabricated and welded. All it needs now is the fully bespoke stainless middle and back box fabricating and fitting.
Friday 8 July 2011
Another day another rally
I've now entered the car into another rally - this time a winter race through the Champagne region of France into Germany and back over 4 days in November.
Called the Alpen Run (website http://www.15-50ac.org/) it looks like a great challenge. We'll be up against a Morgan V8, Volvo 1800S, MGB, Hillman Imp and MG Midget amongst others, lets hope the DS is ready for a thrashing...
Called the Alpen Run (website http://www.15-50ac.org/) it looks like a great challenge. We'll be up against a Morgan V8, Volvo 1800S, MGB, Hillman Imp and MG Midget amongst others, lets hope the DS is ready for a thrashing...
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