HMC- Return of the Cheeky 500

[Guest Hooli]

My Land Rover 90 V8 with the twin-carb 3528cc and manual box could never better 15mpg, so I'm pretty sure this'll be horrific. 

 

I had a RR 3.5 V8 in a S2 Lt/Wt even with RR diffs it never topped 14mpg.

[HMC]

This old c class has been great, in that it does everything you'd expect a car as an appliance to and is an undemanding thing to drive and own. At the weekend (and after delivery of the LDV V8, more of which anon) we are off to Germany to stay with the in laws near Dortmund/ Cologne. I've given it a precautionary basic service and it wears some all season tyres to satisfy German regs. Probably around 2000 miles ahead of it all told.

 

Right now though it's doing the just as important a job of transporting me to my fave pizza takeaway.....

 

[Six-cylinder]

In 1998 I went to Germany in a 1996 C-Class, the owner was having trouble finding clear motorway to max it out, C230K manual!

[HMC]

This cropped up locally at a great price.......

Left hooker, recent French import, waxoyled from new.

 

Better pics when I collect, but even with low res images, the BEIGE on BEIGE action hits you between the eyes.

[dollywobbler]

Oh hello!

[bramz7]

Cripes! That's immense.

 

 

I'm also going to semi register interest in that when you're done. I suspect it'll be outside my measly budgets but hey ho.

 

I genuinely envy your car escapades.

[dollywobbler]

Drat. I should have registered my interest. I'm an idiot for not yet owning a GS/GSA.

[hairnet]

hnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng

 

 

 

sploot

[holbeck]

Jeez, you're on fire at the moment HMC!

 

Can I pop round and inspect the fleet?

[D Spares & Tyres]

[SiC]

1 litre engine?! Classic engine downsizing

[Six-cylinder]

1 litre engine?! Classic engine downsizing

 

Not GSA, 1129cc or 1299cc

[Mr_Bo11ox]

WTF its exactly the same colour as this forum

[320touring]

Excellent effort HMC!

 

happy days:)

[forddeliveryboy]

Every French-market old Citroen I've ever driven (scores of) has driven better than 19 out of 20 rhd ones, especially in the engine dept. Why? I think the maintenance standards are higher there than here, plus go back 20 years and the smallest independent workshop knew the cars well. Then there's the roads - the cars were more likely driven as intended. And not to forget the assemblers went out of their way to save all the marginal-tolerance parts for the rhd versions.

 

Good purchase? Hope so. I had a gf booked for doing 110+ in one of these on the M1.

[wuvvum]

Alcyonegongtanabe will be along shortly to tell you what fun these are to sell.

 

I'm ashamed to say I've never driven a GSA but Leonard Setright liked them so they must be nearly as good as a Honda Prelude.

[Six-cylinder]

Every French-market old Citroen I've ever driven (scores of) has driven better than 19 out of 20 rhd ones, especially in the engine dept. Why? I think the maintenance standards are higher there than here, plus go back 20 years and the smallest independent workshop knew the cars well. Then there's the roads - the cars were more likely driven as intended. And not to forget the assemblers went out of their way to save all the marginal-tolerance parts for the rhd versions.

 

I think the French can neglect their cars just as well as we can, I think the difference in the driving pleasure is because the pedals, controls and dash were designed for LHD and RHD has degraded that, especially the brakes on a Visa!

[dollywobbler]

I think the French can neglect their cars just as well as we can, I think the difference in the driving pleasure is because the pedals, controls and dash were designed for LHD and RHD has degraded that, especially the brakes on a Visa!

 

Indeed. Still annoys me that the handbrake on the 2CV never moved for RHD. The wipers are ever so slightly off-centre, again for better clearing in LHD form. Mind you, on RHD 2CVs, you get TWO windscreen demisters. How's that for posh?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

....Good purchase? Hope so. I had a gf booked for doing 110+ in one of these on the M1.

Given that the GS/GSAs were only designed for 98mph tops, I wonder what she was running hers on?

[Zelandeth]

GSA has one of the best of Citroen's wacky instrument panels doesn't it?  Huge backlit diagram of the car up top with the warning lights, then rotating drum readouts for everything else below?  Of course the pods with everything else on flanking it.

 

Photos please...this *definitely* needs to appear in the Dash at Night thread.

[mk2_craig]

That's brilliant! The luxury of two mirrors but not of a rear wash wipe.

[doubleyeller]

Fook me, that's ace. Only up for sale @ £550 too! Moteeeed and everything

 

Can't fail to enjoy it at that price.....

[BorniteIdentity]

I thought these were way out of reach by now, but I was wrong!

 

Well done HMC. I hope relations at home aren’t beginning to, err, ice over (!)

[dollywobbler]

Is this the one a friend has spotted still on eBay?

[HMC]

^ yes that was the one, the vendor is mid house move and it had slipped his mind, now gone!

 

Having a quick pee stop on the m4 somewhere en route to Germany in the 1998 c class. I love the cruise control on mercs, a single column stalk, so simple. The stalk design on this was identical in my 86 560SEC and my 2008 E220, a design classic Amongst switchgear. Can you tell I'm bored? Better get on I've got a ferry to catch.

[tooSavvy]

I drove my B-i-L GS, beigee...

 

I had a MM1000 van >>> drove it at night = Those Lights!

 

 

Comfy IIRC [42yago]

 

 

TS

[Tadhg Tiogar]

GSA has one of the best of Citroen's wacky instrument panels doesn't it?  Huge backlit diagram of the car up top with the warning lights, then rotating drum readouts for everything else below?  Of course the pods with everything else on flanking it.

 

Photos please...this *definitely* needs to appear in the Dash at Night thread.

[Zelandeth]

That's the one!  Had forgotten some of the indicator lights were actually on the left pod too.

 

As a kid I was fascinated by instrument panel design, so have always wanted to get a proper look at a GSA dash.  Just so utterly bonkers - yet at least according to my uncle who had one for several years, actually works just fine once the initial wtf reaction has worn off.

 

Nothing like that would make it off the drawing board these days!  I miss wacky Citroen dashes.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

That's the one! Had forgotten some of the indicator lights were actually on the left pod too.

 

As a kid I was fascinated by instrument panel design, so have always wanted to get a proper look at a GSA dash. Just so utterly bonkers - yet at least according to my uncle who had one for several years, actually works just fine once the initial wtf reaction has worn off.

This was repeated on the Visa.

 

The CX had a similar setup, but the bathroom scales speedo and rev counter were only on the Series 1 cars from 1974 to 1985. My CX is a 1988 Series 2, so I have the same fingertip controls but conventional dials. Those dials include an electric dipstick gauge which tells you the oil level in the sump - quite accurate.

 

The fingertip pods on each side of the steering wheel really do work if you keep your hands at 10-to-2: everything falls instantly into place.

 

Nothing like that would make it off the drawing board these days! I miss wacky Citroen dashes.

In many ways, today's dashes are all wacky - LCD / LED monitor style displays, sat nav screens, etc.

[forddeliveryboy]

I think the French can neglect their cars just as well as we can, I think the difference in the driving pleasure is because the pedals, controls and dash were designed for LHD and RHD has degraded that, especially the brakes on a Visa!

Yes, so often rhd cars have awkwardness which isn't there when lhd but it's a noticed difference in performance I was on about, not pleasure - not something perceived, but measured and checked with instruments.

 

The French traditionally treated their cars pied a plancher from stone cold, the agricultural classes were poorer and more miserly than any of ours (that's one reason Citroen marked so many parts on 2cvs, since they'd buy a new one then swap over broken mechanical bits from the old and try to have them replaced under warranty). A base 1 litre 205 would serve as daily commuter as well as the family transport from Paris to the South for the summer holidays. Fully loaded and flat out.

 

Perhaps the engines wear smoother when used like that, perhaps the greater distances covered mean a car wouldn't go 2 or 3 years without an oil change as they often do here? Look on Leboncoin and see all those 400k+ km 406s, even today anything more than 200,000 miles is seen as moonship in England.