Citroën DS21 EFi Pallas

Citroën DS21 EFi Pallas

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Discussion

OnePaintedMan

Original Poster:

308 posts

197 months

Sunday 15th September 2019
quotequote all
Just purchased this beautiful one owner RHD 1970 Citroën DS21 EFi Pallas. It's only done 500 miles a year for the last 14 years!

Picked it up yesterday and I've driven it 200 miles in two days, without a whimper. Cruises at 70mph on the motorway just fine and everything works (except the main dashboard lights).

Unbelievable comfy to drive and the semi-auto 4 speed box is a delight!

Rust free, but could do with some paintwork.

Very happy with my purchase! Think I got a good deal!


ndtman

750 posts

188 months

Sunday 15th September 2019
quotequote all
That's a cracking looking car. I hope the tyres are not 14 years old. Enjoy.

Simes205

4,661 posts

235 months

Sunday 15th September 2019
quotequote all
Beautiful and with EFI one of the last.
We had one as our wedding car, it’s my favourite (affordable) car of all time!
Well I should have bought one 15 years ago.

OnePaintedMan

Original Poster:

308 posts

197 months

Sunday 15th September 2019
quotequote all
Just finished unloading all the spares that came with it!



Edited by OnePaintedMan on Sunday 15th September 22:14

Simes205

4,661 posts

235 months

Sunday 15th September 2019
quotequote all
Spotted a couple at revival today.
So so effortlessly cool.

FiF

45,528 posts

258 months

Sunday 15th September 2019
quotequote all
Nice one OP, little bit green with envy here.

OnePaintedMan

Original Poster:

308 posts

197 months

Sunday 15th September 2019
quotequote all
FiF said:
Nice one OP, little bit green with envy here.
I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, when it became available.

FiF

45,528 posts

258 months

Monday 16th September 2019
quotequote all
OnePaintedMan said:
FiF said:
Nice one OP, little bit green with envy here.
I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, when it became available.
For some reason I've always had a hankering for a DS19 Pallas like the one below. If you watched the restaurant series with Fred Sirieux he was driving one round Paris with Michel Roux Jr.



FlatTwin

27 posts

111 months

Saturday 28th September 2019
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Hello,

Got a Citroën ID19 for about 30 years now, never get bored of it.



The ID is a simplified version of the DS.

It was easier to run in the 90's due to the difficulty to find spare parts. Only suspension and brakes are hydrolic.

OnePaintedMan

Original Poster:

308 posts

197 months

Monday 6th January 2020
quotequote all
FlatTwin said:
Hello,

Got a Citroën ID19 for about 30 years now, never get bored of it.



The ID is a simplified version of the DS.

It was easier to run in the 90's due to the difficulty to find spare parts. Only suspension and brakes are hydrolic.
What a beautiful example!

sjabrown

1,972 posts

167 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
quotequote all
OnePaintedMan said:
Just purchased this beautiful one owner RHD 1970 Citroën DS21 EFi Pallas. It's only done 500 miles a year for the last 14 years!

Picked it up yesterday and I've driven it 200 miles in two days, without a whimper. Cruises at 70mph on the motorway just fine and everything works (except the main dashboard lights).

Unbelievable comfy to drive and the semi-auto 4 speed box is a delight!

Rust free, but could do with some paintwork.

Very happy with my purchase! Think I got a good deal!

Best colour. One day I'll have one in that metallic green

Miserablegit

4,171 posts

116 months

Monday 27th January 2020
quotequote all
They are lovely - I’ll have one in the stable one day...

I seem to recall wheels can be changed without the need for a jack and all panels just bolt on don’t they?
It’s one of the few cars I think that might be better with an electric power plant rather than the engines they had as they seem so majestic.

Dave Brand

936 posts

275 months

Tuesday 28th January 2020
quotequote all
Miserablegit said:
I seem to recall wheels can be changed without the need for a jack
Just raise the suspension, place a stand under it & drop it back onto the stand. Simple, unless. . .

. . . as happened to a workmate a long time ago. Came out of work, found he had a flat tyre. He boasted how easy it was so, in front of a big audience (well, half a dozen of us) he set about the job. Starts the engine, moves the appropriate lever, car starts to rise majestically. Then. . . POP. . . car sinks majestically as a pool of hydraulic fluid spreads under it. The car was old, the pipes were rusty!

Miserablegit

4,171 posts

116 months

Tuesday 28th January 2020
quotequote all
That’s the kind of thing that would happen to me!

chopper602

2,253 posts

230 months

Wednesday 29th January 2020
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Miserablegit said:
That’s the kind of thing that would happen to me!
Thats the kind of thing that used to happen to me all to often with a Citroen CX . . .

FlatTwin

27 posts

111 months

Wednesday 5th February 2020
quotequote all
I made this a few years ago :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX6oe10fdq8

My rims had rust in it so with tube type tires it was regulary deflated...

I sold the problem by respray them.

Funny that the DS always had these tube type tires whereas the little 2cv passed to tubeless during production in the 60's.

The "klong" you can hear is the pin adjusting when the car goes down.
https://webimg.secondhandapp.com/w-i-mgl/58a1bacc9...

There are also 4 standard jack stands, because the firts months of production there was no level lever, so the car was comming with a standard jack. And it also allows it to be lifted by a lift for maintenance.

A good website for informations about ID/DS : https://www.nuancierds.fr/DT%20levier%20hauteur.ht...

The 2 first pictures are about this first type of jack, for cars producted between October 1955 and January 1956.

Edited by FlatTwin on Wednesday 5th February 19:04


Edited by FlatTwin on Wednesday 5th February 19:04

OnePaintedMan

Original Poster:

308 posts

197 months

Thursday 6th February 2020
quotequote all
FlatTwin said:
I made this a few years ago :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX6oe10fdq8

My rims had rust in it so with tube type tires it was regulary deflated...

I sold the problem by respray them.

Funny that the DS always had these tube type tires whereas the little 2cv passed to tubeless during production in the 60's.

The "klong" you can hear is the pin adjusting when the car goes down.
https://webimg.secondhandapp.com/w-i-mgl/58a1bacc9...

There are also 4 standard jack stands, because the firts months of production there was no level lever, so the car was comming with a standard jack. And it also allows it to be lifted by a lift for maintenance.

A good website for informations about ID/DS : https://www.nuancierds.fr/DT%20levier%20hauteur.ht...

The 2 first pictures are about this first type of jack, for cars producted between October 1955 and January 1956.

Edited by FlatTwin on Wednesday 5th February 19:04


Edited by FlatTwin on Wednesday 5th February 19:04
Excellent. Thanks for posting the links.

Thankfully I haven't had need to jack the car yet but I'm sure that day will come!

After 2 months of refusing to start (after the engine cut out during a run and I had to call for recovery) I finally identified and fixed the issue and have been using my DS for the daily commute to the railway station this week.

It turns out that the previous owner had mended a break in the wire from the coil to the condenser by twisting the bare ends of the broken wires together. This join wasn't insulated and the wire had fallen down onto the alternator where it was grounding.

Thankfully all of the wiring is being replaced mext month so no more electrical gremlins after that I hope!


Edited by OnePaintedMan on Thursday 6th February 13:22

OnePaintedMan

Original Poster:

308 posts

197 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
Well.

My DS ended up having more of an overhaul than anticipated and spent 2 months in COVID19 'Lockdown' at the specialist!

Main Loom
2x injector looms
Upgrade to 1-2-3 Electronic ignition
New coil
New fuel pump
New pump heatshield
All new fuel lines
New injector seals
Radiator power flush
2xrear suspension spheres
Replacement of missing parts for swiveling long range headlights
2x replacement ventilation blower motors
Repair to dashboard instrument circuit board (backlights and warning lamps now all work)
Reconnection of sensors that had been mis-wired
Replacement of front disks and pads (6 hr job, as the disks are inboard)
Full service inc. consumables (inc new LHM)

50+ hrs of labour!

It runs and drives beautifully now though and those swiveling headlamps on main beam at night, Wow! Mesmerising.



Edited by OnePaintedMan on Tuesday 19th May 22:41


Edited by OnePaintedMan on Tuesday 19th May 23:09

tonyb1968

1,156 posts

153 months

Wednesday 20th May 2020
quotequote all
I really do like these, stunning motors and a real futuristic car when they came out biggrin

V-spec

773 posts

258 months

Wednesday 3rd June 2020
quotequote all
OnePaintedMan said:
Well.

My DS ended up having more of an overhaul than anticipated and spent 2 months in COVID19 'Lockdown' at the specialist!

Main Loom
2x injector looms
Upgrade to 1-2-3 Electronic ignition
New coil
New fuel pump
New pump heatshield
All new fuel lines
New injector seals
Radiator power flush
2xrear suspension spheres
Replacement of missing parts for swiveling long range headlights
2x replacement ventilation blower motors
Repair to dashboard instrument circuit board (backlights and warning lamps now all work)
Reconnection of sensors that had been mis-wired
Replacement of front disks and pads (6 hr job, as the disks are inboard)
Full service inc. consumables (inc new LHM)

50+ hrs of labour!

It runs and drives beautifully now though and those swiveling headlamps on main beam at night, Wow! Mesmerising.



Edited by OnePaintedMan on Tuesday 19th May 22:41


Edited by OnePaintedMan on Tuesday 19th May 23:09
Sounds like an expensive experience, are you still happy with your purchase? I guess 500miles/yr wasn’t enough to keep the car running, I keep reading that these cars need regular use. Sounds like you’re doing that now though thumbup

I’ve been following the prices of these, they seem to be all over the place considering their importance in the history of car design. Currently tempted by a fully restored DSuper, which is the same as an ID, meaning manual clutch. It’s a bit pricey but looks immaculate. The only sticking point is that the owner has no history for the car before he bought it.

Edited by V-spec on Wednesday 3rd June 17:50