Modestine in Arras

Eight hundred cars and thousands of collectors and admirers gathered in Arras, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, from July 10-13, to mark the 75th anniversary of the Citroën Traction Avant.

More than 2m of these cars were built in the long production run from 1934-57. The car found favour with a wide variety of customers including French gangsters, General DeGaulle and Francophiles everywhere. There are thought to be as many as as 200,000 still in some form of existence, in more or less every corner of the globe. The car is a symbol always quintessentially French, even when built in Slough, which some were, and even though the designer, Flaminio Bertoni, was an Italian.

Amidst the foule of  Tractions in the great squares of Arras, Modestine was not put to shame, attracting more or less constant attention and hundreds of questions and compliments.

Although hundreds of pictures were taken of the car I was pre-occupied speaking French comme une vache folle anglaise and grabbed only a handful of shots on my iPhone, one of which I share above, albeit this is not the greatest camera of all time. You can see the top of my head, and the iPhone, at the bottom of the picture!

It shows a fairly typical scene as Modestine exhibited herself (topless, of course – that is to say with her bonnet up) revealing her two big carburateurs and alternator. Boys of all ages were seduced. And some girls, too.

There were especially complimentary comments about her immaculate Vert Olive paintwork.

There were one or two old boys who muttered grimly of Modestine that she was “pas originale“.  Mainly, I think, there was admiration for a well-tailored performance. CTA Holland has done a great job with Modestine. She arrived in England this morning after roaring through France, had a nap through the tunnel and passed her MOT this afternoon.  Yes, you can hear the stereo when she’s moving. Yes, she is more powerful with the twin carbs. The CTA power steering is amazing – it 90% removes fatigue from driving the car, especially manoeuvring. The seat belts are great. And yes, like the French, elle a toujour soif.

Why Modestine? I have named her after Robert Louis Stevenson’s donkey.  From a behaviourist’s analysis, Stevenson’s initially troublesome relationship with Modestine only improved, once he began to understand her character. And thus, also, might a driver come to terms with the demanding character and lust for attention of a Traction.

Illustration by Walter Crane for Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, London, C. Kegan Paul, 1879.

Pictures: The Traction 11BL ‘Edition Spéciale’ from CTA Holland

The 75th anniversary ‘2009’ special edition Traction in Brabant, Holland this week.  The car is built from a Paris-built 11 BL that was manufactured 58 years ago this month, in July, 1951.

Here is another shot of the restored car on a road test.

Above is the donor car before restoration. In the pictures that follow, you can see what CTA did to it, to create a ‘new’ Traction out of an old one.

There was a lot of rust.

Where to start? As the project went forward and the car was dismantled, the extent of the problems was revealed and the program of work expanded.

There was serious rot to the underneath and the rear, the engine was leaking at both ends, the electrical system looked as if it has been nibbled by mice, and that was only the start. The door hinges were rotting, the seats collapsing, the brakes wonky and it only started when it felt like it. What to do? With its pre-war body panels and ID engine, nothing would ever make it worthwhile to restore this car to original so instead a decision was taken in certain respects make it radically modern.

When this picture below was taken, the car had already been extensively rebuilt.

Above is a view of the front suspension. The Pilote wheels were later replaced because of safety concerns.

A lot of work had to be done on the floor pan and at the back of the vehicle in the boot/trunk area including fitting a new fuel tank.

Preparation of the cabin before re-installation of lining, upholstery & seats…

A replacement 11D motor is installed for the 11D unit leaking at both ends…

The bottom of the car was in poor shape and this is what replaced it…

Here is the new engine with a good view of the twin carbs. These were installed to give the car some additional horsepower. Performance details will be released after the car has been tested.

Leather door lining has been installed to match upholstery. Note early Jaeger instrument panel.

All these pictures are by kind permission of Marcel Smits at CTA Holland.

Some more Traction pictures

2009 Citroën Traction 11BL Edition Spéciale (CTA Holland Photo)

La Traction Edition Spéciale (CTA Holland Photo)

La Citroën Traction 11 BL de ‘2009’

Edition Spéciale (CTA Holland Photo)

Finally finished – the 75th anniversary ‘2009’ Citroën Traction Avant BL. The vehicle is currently being road tested in Brabant, the Netherlands, and will be at the 75th anniversary Citroën re-union in Arras, northern France, this weekend.

The car is the culmination of 10 months work at CTA Holland. In the 75th anniversary year of the Traction, the intention has been to make a car fit for the the next 75 years. The emphasis has been on useability rather than slavish authenticity – a restoration decision that may provoke some mutterings of disapproval among some Traction collectors.

The basis of the car is a monocoque Paris-built in 1951. Nothing is known of the early history of the car although the vehicle subsequently became the property of a Belgian general/Traction enthusiast who attempted to restore the car backwards to a superficially 1936 appearance (though fooling no expert).

The general fitted pre-war body panels, lights, seats and in a deviation forwards in time, an 11D engine – the same engine fitted to the early Citroën ID. By 2005 as the car passed from his family to eBay to me, this engine was leaking at both ends and the gearbox was on its last legs.

All this restoration may or may not have been well-advised at the time, but judging from the norm, there are very few cars with unblotted claims to originality and the general did create an attractive vehicle (although an expert will notice, for example, the post-war rear-window molding) but with the power of the later performance versions of the Traction.

Because the car was not original in any case, the restoration was not inhibited by the requirement for preservation. Nevertheless, visually, modernisation has been done as sympathetically as possible, with the intention that the car should still superficially appear as a pre-war vehicle, albeit with 21st century technology where it could hardly be seen.

As the car was dismantled and deterioration was revealed, the decision was taken to profoundly restore the extensive body deterioration underneath the car. To achieve more power, the nominal 60hp 11D engine was replaced with a CTA re-built 11D unit with twin overhead carburetors.

The car was entirely re-wired with a 12v electrical system enabling a largely invisible updating of the vehicle’s communication, entertainment and navigation systems to 21st century standards. An electrical power steering unit added directly to the base of the steering column transforms the driver control of the car eliminating all fatigue associated with the Traction’s notoriously heavy front end.

The 12v system also powers LED lighting which is fitted to the rear for improved evening and night-time visibility.

The car is compatible with GPS, iPhone/iPod and similar devices. Bluetooth hands-free telephony is available through an Alpine head unit under the glove box. Seats and interior have been finished in leather. Inertial seat belts have been added for driver and passenger.

The colour scheme uses a 1936 paint colour named Vert Olive with the fenders in black.

CTA Holland did the work.

Vive La Traction! Vive les 75 prochaines années!