QU’EST CE QUE C’EST? ( WHAT IS THAT?)

Sacré bleu, look what they’ve got here. At R3 Fabrications in Papakura, John is busy bringing a 1964 Citroën H longwheelbase, split-windscreen van back to life. Originally from France, where it did service for the national sheep breeders association, the vehicle has found its way to New Zealand via Holland. In France, these vehicles are more than ubiquitous; they were absolutely everywhere, and, to this day, every French market remains full of them. They are usually doing service as a mobile shop selling cheese, fish, meat, roast chickens, pizza, or a host of other things. It’s not that long ago that they were still doing duty as police vans either. But, like so many vehicles that were everywhere once, they are now becoming increasingly rare. Most are absolutely worn out, like this one was.

Greg and Glenn at R3 have done a great job bringing back its Gallic flare, with the thin metal either having been repaired or even re-fabricated in-house. It’s not the first Citroën H that they have restored so are accustomed to this work.

Dave and Linda at Auto France also worked some of their magic on those advanced-for-theday French mechanicals. The Citroën H was 40 years ahead of the competition with this design: unitary body construction, lightweight, all independent suspension, and a low floor in the back because it was front-wheel drive — the ads of the day boasted that the floor was so strong that you could transport a horse. The side-opening doors and the three-part rear doors were, and still are, almost unique. It could carry almost twice the load of its competition and was much more powerful. Even so, its top speed in 1947 was only 78kph. It hadn’t risen by much when production finished 33 years later.

Today, the van is only waiting for Kris at Fleet Image to paint it back to the grey that was the only colour option the year it was new. After that, it will be ready for any Yves, Pascal, or Marie-claire who wants to drive it or set up shop in it, so to speak.