[Paul Burridge]

Thank you Julian. That’s embarrassingly generous of you.
I’ve often said that my aim has never been to re-create a concourse car by simply shoving on loads of repro parts. The car will go downhill. All i’ve tried to do is to raise it to an initial position/ standard that makes that a longer decline 🙂 I have fag-burnt carpets, dents on the sills and on the bumper and cracked leather. but i feel a car that’s nearly 60 is entitled to those battle scars and – if I may say so – looks like the historical vehicle the log book says it is.

From my perspective, there are people out there quietly doing some great work on Ds. Perhaps i only come into focus because i write a blog about the journey. And maybe because i’m just an owner-driver, not a mechanic. Anyway, the proof of the pudding will be in the driving and i’m really looking forward to that.

Here’s an under-bonnet photo from September 2026, and a link to one of my posts with a video of how it was went i first went back to it in September 2014.

https://ds-restoration.blogspot.com/2018/04/resurrection_1.html

[Paul Burridge]

Hi
I did this job a couple of weeks ago. This parts drawing might help.

This is what you should have under each plastic light pod.

The ends of the long and short wires/ cables you can see when you take the spare wheel out, clip into the slots of the brackets under the lights. The spring in the photo (one one each pod, provide some resistance and limit to the turning motion. the actual turning is controlled by the stiff hooked rod connected to the steering relay at the rack. Possibly the rod you’re referring to? (Parts 4,5,12 and 13 in the drawing above?)

[Paul Burridge]

Thanks Colin. I converted them from ‘white light’ to yellow. They still take standard white light H4s, but the lamps have yellow covers inside them.

[Paul Burridge]

Thank you Chris. There were times when i looked at the car in it’s worst state and could not ever imagine getting it back on the road. I seemed to spend years removing, cleaning, fixing and painting parts but then one day i found i was starting to put bits back on – and that gave me a lift.

[Paul Burridge]

If they are new to your car, then if it’s convenient (if you can find a tyre place that can handle centre hole wheels) i would get them checkout out for peace of mind. Partly to make sure they’re balanced and partly to make sure they run true.

[Paul Burridge]

Short term it will be fine but worth getting it looked at. Some people add ‘dyna-beads’ inside the inner tubes instead.

Have you just started to get vibrations? Have you checked the tyres for splits or bulging? Wheel nuts tight? You could try taking the wheels off and either swapping sides or rotating them to a different position – if only to see if there is a difference. I had a high speed front wheel blow out in a DS. Quite scary (though a D is probably one of the best cars to be having that kind of emergency in). Left me with a damaged wing, lost hubcap and urine stain on the drivers seat 🙂

[Paul Burridge]

Hi Steve.

I recently bought some Michelins for my DS at Longstones. Longstones are up between leeds and Sheffield. from where I am, that’s pretty north, if a little east. I’m sure they’d balance your wheels even if the tyre’s weren’t from them.

Alternatively, contact the CCCs Northern section. Colin Smith is Chair and a DS owner and may see this thread. if not, his phone number will be in the back of the Citroenian. Also in the back of the Citroenian is a number for David Joyce of the North West Group. If he’s not a DS driver, he can maybe put you in touch with other local DS owners.

[Paul Burridge]

Sure. if you are still thinking of doing it, get the job all planned out and get your supplies in and it shouldn’t take long at all.

[Paul Burridge]

No, I can’t see how you can use them on their own. The big, heavy body of the kit provides the stop that the die presses against as well as clamping the die body down. If you are thinking of using a vice to compress the die parts, there would not be any obvious route/ channel for the pipe to sit and nothing holding the die body down in the correct position.

You can borrow my tool and dies (4.5mm and 6.35mm). It would need to be a short term loan of a few weeks as i may find I need to use the tool once my car is back on the road. It’s heavy: 5kg. And you’d need/ want postage that has insurance for the value (as you say – about £250+). I’m going along to the Chevron’s rally at little Horwood in September. I could take it there? If you’re going, that would at least save you postage costs in one direction.

[Paul Burridge]

Thanks for the update.

If you had the luxury of choice, it would be good learning to put it back together with the original seal design. Could you try that and then – if it doesn’t seal – strip it again and think about an alternative seal?

[Paul Burridge]

I avoided it on Aussiefrogs but gave it a go here. I got about a minute in. It really is some of the sloppiest slop i think i’ve ever chanced across.

[Paul Burridge]

Thanks all. I’ve got a few good ball-park figures now so will ring around and see what they say.

The true test of an insurance company comes when you make a claim – something we all hope not to do – and then you find out if the money spent was worth it.

[Paul Burridge]

So that’s two votes for Peter James. From elsewhere, i’ve also had recommendations of Adrian Flux. Any thoughts/ experiences?

[Paul Burridge]

What a combination….there seem to be so may possible points of possible failure. Some of the mechanics – the seal carriers and springs – remind me of the insides of the hydraulic pump. They are also prone to shaft seal failure and a bugger to fix even if you replace the shaft seals.

[Paul Burridge]

I managed to access Andy’s site by taking the ‘s’ out of the ‘https’ part of the web address in my browser.

If you do the same, you can find his photos of his pressure regulator by clicking on the ‘hydraulics’ link on the LHS of the screen.

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