My 1974 Citroen D Super 5 – Fulfilling the Childhood Dream

After the Citroën ‘A’ series cars with which I’d started motoring life, the BX’s which had provided our daily transport since 1986 and the CX itch that I had been able to scratch in 1988 at my employer’s expense, the next letter in the Citroën lexicography undoubtedly began with a ‘D’. Teenage memories of riding in a D Super 5 still chimed loud bells in my mind. That was exactly the model I wanted: 2175cc, five speed manual gearbox. I didn’t want the complication of fuel injection or hydraulic gear change, that would all add to the cost and complication of maintenance and there was a budget to consider as this was to be very much a discretionary purchase. My friend Nigel Wild in Yorkshire (now Chairman of the Citroën Car Club) let me know of one he’d found and URB 225N joined the family.

URB 225N had belonged to a farmer’s wife. She’d had it from new in August 1974, but it had endured a scrape or two and after she died her husband had put it away in a barn at the end of 1983 with a view to fixing it one day. That day never came and eventually he decided to sell. Nigel got it roadworthy and we went north to fetch it. I was pleased as it was just what I wanted.

The D Super 5 was the successor to the ID series rather than the more technically complex DS models but it had the five speed column shift gearbox, which was the one to have, plus the swiveling headlights without which a D Series is not really complete. Otherwise it was as simple and straightforward as one could get, dressed in a flat colour with black ‘targa’ (vinyl) upholstery and no extras, not even a radio.

I knew it would need a bit of bodywork and some permanent welding underneath to make good the patches that had got it through its inspection, but that was OK; I could budget for that in due course. Most importantly it drove well and we enjoyed it over the following year even though the consultancy of which I was now a Partner was beginning to be stressed by the growing recession in the building industry. My wife Janice found it very comfortable now she was pregnant with our impending firstborn.  Meanwhile I spent time researching who best to entrust the work of body repairs to and joined the queue for workshop time at B.L. Auto’s, (sic) Barry Lowdell having been trained on D Series cars in the 1960s.

Then the world began to cave in. In September 1991 when Barry took the car in and began to dismantle it, he found some serious rot in the rear structure – if that isn’t sound, a D Series will literally fall apart. We knew the car had suffered a rear end shunt when it was young; that had let corrosion into the rear bulkhead. I’d started spending money and there didn’t seem to be any choice but to carry on spending it. The trouble was, Janice had just produced our daughter and was on maternity pay, business was getting worse to the point of three months with no income at all and it took ages to get my company Citroën CX repatriated from East Germany and get the gearbox fixed. Everything went on hold.

Barry built a jig, bolted it to his workshop floor, cut the whole back end off the car and waited until I could afford to pay another bill.

I left to start my new business in September ’92 and it was a while before I had any money for cars, which is why URB 225N was not finished until August 1996 at a price almost four times the original quote. But it was good. By goodness it was good! The new metal was better quality and thicker than ever it was from the factory, and Barry wasn’t putting his name to paint that wasn’t perfect. We kept the original colour and despite temptations to upgrade with things like a new windscreen to eliminate the scratches that look like they were caused by the original owner’s wedding ring, we kept the car exactly as it was. The only thing we added was a tow bar. By ’96 we had two children and it meant we could take the D camping and not be reliant on the Citroën Ami Super.

So has begun a 30 year love affair because, Spoiler Alert: of course the D is still a member of the family today. Like the Ami Super and the 2CV Van it predates the children and we all have memories of camping in France and trips to the Alps, car shows and excursions.

Every year I have tried to pick a week and use it as my daily drive no matter where that might take me around the country. It has also been a favourite for weddings, providing transport for best friends, business partners and most recently our new daughter in law.

By 2018 there was a problem that it was clear I was going to have to solve. In short, the roof had started to leak and you cannot drive far in Britain without encountering rain. The roof of a D Series sits on a perimeter frame and is removable. It’s not a simple nut and bolt job but it’s not impossible. I knew it would be that frame which had corroded and would be allowing water to get into the structure as well as into the interior. I booked the car in with Citroen Classics and took my turn in Darrin’s lengthy queue until at a Citroën Car Club meeting, he casually mentioned he was ready. It was a summer day in 2019 when I delivered the car to his workshop. Naturally it was pouring with rain. His bodyshop man got into the driver’s seat and a gallon of water emptied itself from the cant rail above the windscreen into his lap. That’s the problem! It required no further explanation.

It wasn’t going to be simple though. There was corrosion in the rear wing that had not been replaced in the ’90’s and the first signs of rust coming through in the front wings under the headlights and in all the door bottoms – all the usual places in other words. I knew it was going to be a full bare metal respray; I knew it was going to be expensive, but I figured if it gave me another 25 years then I’d be getting on for 90. Besides, whilst D prices weren’t flying away, the increasing number of French left hand drive imports meant that the cars that were likely to be worth something would be genuine UK market, right hand drive, one previous owner cars, regardless of specification. However much I told myself it wasn’t financial suicide, I was going to go ahead anyway.

Seven years on you wouldn’t know the car hadn’t just come out of the spray booth. That is not through lack of use or meticulous care, it’s because the work was done well. The D has never let us down. There have been the odd hiccoughs such blocked jets in the carburetor cured by refurbishing the fuel tank and a charge warning light that is permanently on due to a blown diode in the alternator but I’d grab the keys and head for the furthest corners of Europe tonight if I had any excuse to do so.

In recent years I haven’t kept the car completely original. After swapping out the original black ‘targa’ upholstery for an identical set, that too went the way of all such seats, splitting along each and every seam in the squab and backrest. The seat foam was also turning to dust so I decided that comfort might outweigh originality for once. Whilst keeping the targa seats in store, I invested in a complete set of period and material correct blue brushed nylon upholstery as fitted to a top of the line Pallas trim cars, together with matching door cards. I outsourced the trimming to our favourite upholsterer and went full hog adding an armrest and headrests too. The new seat foam is disappointingly unsoft; it’s better for my back but not as luxuriously foamy as it should be. Maybe it will settle down over the next 20 years?

Although Janice prefers the modernity of our Citroën CX, I love my D. There really is nothing quite like it and it always attracts admiring attention – more so than any other car I’ve ever driven. The engine remains like a boat anchor – there are those rushing to convert D series cars to electric and maybe I can understand why – but in my mind that’s half the point. A D Series should challenge you to drive properly, smoothly and not necessarily at top speed all the time – not that any D should be left behind by modern traffic and you are more likely to find me in the outside lane keeping up with the fastest.

When the D went away to be fettled we were a young couple looking forward to the beginning of our family and trying to ignore impending financial meltdown. By the time it reached the road our family was complete and my new business was beginning to thrive. The world really was changing for us and whilst we entered the 90’s as a five Citroën family that too was about to change.

 

Related CC reading:

Curbside Classic: Citroën ID – The Goddess Storms The Bastille Of Convention

1970 Citroën DS 21 & 1974 Citroën DS 23 – The Goddess Is In The Details

CC Outtake: Citroën DS Cabriolet – Spotted in Southfield, Michigan

CC Global Outtakes: Citroen DS Cabrio and Sedan Lorraine Spotted Together – A Chapron Convention

CC Driving Review – 1970 Citroen ID19 Familiale – Yes, You Can Meet Your Heroes

Cohort Capsule: Pallas Is Citroen For Brougham