Help to identify an ID19?

[CarNut]

Hi guys,
Am looking to pick up an ID19 an was wondering if anybody might like to have a go at helping me to narrow down a build year?

Advertisement

[GreenBlood]

Hi guys,
Am looking to pick up an ID19 an was wondering if anybody might like to have a go at helping me to narrow down a build year?

Looks from the number it's a post September '67 ID19B
DS-ID club de France, évolution de la citroën ID.

Cheers
Chris

[CarNut]

Oh......thankyou, Greenblood. So it's around the 50yr old mark then. I didn't see any other plates under the bonnet so would it be safe to assume it was a french built car?

[DoubleChevron]

I was thinking outside picture would help with dating it ... thought he dashboard gives a pretty good idea. Looks like it has power steering as well (the smaller steering wheel).

[CarNut]

Hi Shane, thanks for that mate. The car is a few hundred km west of here but I'm expecting to be out there in the next few days...maybe a week, depending on work. When I get back out there, I'll get a heap of photos.
There are actually two of them, and they've been sitting outside for around 30 years or so I'm not expecting miracles. One car has a broken left rear window and I'd expect the floor to be non-existent as a result but it seems ok. That car has the rectangular shaped tail lights. The second car (subject of the above photos) has round tail lights. Both have rust around the edges of the boot lid and the gutter along the bottom of the back window is rusted, although I would've expected it to be far worse, given the length of time it's been outside.
I'm thinking I'll definitely grab the pair of them......they're cheap enough, as they're basically parts cars. I'd be absolutely shocked if both engines weren't seized solid. Just keen to know build dates.

[Roger Wilkinson]

A car that has been out in the weather for 30 years in inland Qld may well be good structurally, but that depends on how close to the ground it has been sitting. It may also be quite good mechanically, depending on the reason why people stopped driving it. It is, however, likely to have completely stuffed exterior rubber and interior from sitting in the sun.

Roger

[gilberthenry]

Looks from the number it's a post September '67 ID19B
DS-ID club de France, évolution de la citroën ID.

Cheers
Chris

The red warning light has tapered sides which makes me think it is a 1967 ID19B single headlighter.

I would have thought that after Sept. 1967 the red warning light would have had parallel sides and the car would be a double headlighter - - a 1968 ID19B. Either way, the 4th gear might be a bit higher than a later D Special or a DS21 or DS19 with 4 speed box of that period.

Your car, in my opinion, is one the sweetest D's made.

-------------- Am I wrong here ??

The pic below is what I think of as 1968 model - - post Sept. 1967

My 1968 ID19B which is the pic below had the 1967 guards grafted on so became a single headlighter.

I bought it sight unseen on eBay for about $8,500 some years ago and drove it from Perth to Brisbane - - - being one of the best trips we've done.

John

[CarNut]

Apparently, one of the cars was lent to a local family for some time. They had six kids and when the car came back to the owners, it was somewhat worse for wear, lol.
The car that belongs to the photos above is a pale pinky sort of colour under the bonnet but was painted (externally) at some stage about 1970 or '71 as the owners had three of them as wedding cars in 1971, the third of which is a DS which is sitting in another shed. I believe that car was bought brand new, and was last started about 7 years ago.
Both cars look pretty much complete although a few plastic interior handles are broken here and there.

[gilberthenry]

Apparently, one of the cars was lent to a local family for some time. They had six kids and when the car came back to the owners, it was somewhat worse for wear, lol.
The car that belongs to the photos above is a pale pinky sort of colour under the bonnet but was painted (externally) at some stage about 1970 or '71 as the owners had three of them as wedding cars in 1971, the third of which is a DS which is sitting in another shed. I believe that car was bought brand new, and was last started about 7 years ago.
Both cars look pretty much complete although a few plastic interior handles are broken here and there.

Good luck with it all.

Regards, John

[GreenBlood]

The red warning light has tapered sides which makes me think it is a 1967 ID19B single headlighter.

I would have thought that after Sept. 1967 the red warning light would have had parallel sides and the car would be a double headlighter - - a 1968 ID19B. Either way, the 4th gear might be a bit higher than a later D Special or a DS21 or DS19 with 4 speed box of that period.

Your car, in my opinion, is one the sweetest D's made.

-------------- Am I wrong here ??

The pic below is what I think of as 1968 model - - post Sept. 1967

John

Sorry John my post should have read post September 1966 build - making it an 1967 model - LHM/ Power Steer etc.



Agree as a model year the '67 cars were sweet, still simple and one of the best riding Ds



Cheers
Chris

[DoubleChevron]

That sounds right. I wouldn't be surprised if they started, lifted and ran after fitting a battery .... if your going to try starting them. fill the cylinders iwth diesel for a few days. If they are LHM your probably ok to try starting them without disconnecting the HP belt. The LHM rubber doesn't age anywhere near as well as LHS IMO ... so expect lots of leaks when it fires!

If they aren't rusty ... I'd tidy them up mechanically and start motoring. Just like the ugly pink ID19 here.

seeya,
Shane L.

[CarNut]

Gees, thanks guys. Thanks very much for that info. Absolute gold! So I could be looking at a '67 ID19 with the LHM circuit, power steering, and the best riding set-up. Now I can't wait to get back out there, get them home, and have a play!
Shane, my first thoughts were that I'd get them under cover and just probably leave them there for "Ron" (much later on, lol) but now I'm thinking I'll be crawling under and around them and getting to know them straight away. I read your posts about the pink one, and I like your approach.
For the money, I'm not expecting much. Especially given the fact that they've been outside for so long. But, as Roger said, that part of Queensland is pretty flamin' dry and I'm really quite surprised at how well cars seem to do out that way. I once bought a late 50's Kombi van out that way and it was the same......been in the weather for years and years and yet was almost totally rust free. Very unusual for an early Kombi!
Now I can't wait to get back out there and check these Cits alot more closely!

[DoubleChevron]

I really enjoy tinkering with old cars and driving them. Most of mine are really battered though .... I find if you pull something apart to restore it .... you never get to drive it as it sits for years while waiting for money and time to spend on it ( and money and time get less and less the older you get ). So I just get them to the point where I can drive them and try to keep them running... somehow..... without spending any $$$$.


That doesn't mean I don't like them all restored. Something like Rogers W station wagon ... you can just sit in it ... look at it ... its remarkable to see such a nice car. It really is like a lounge suite ... you could park it in the sun on a cool day and go read a book in it to get away from the kids and noise.... So use it without even driving it.

seeya
Shane L.

[garyk]

Yeah, I would have said circa 1967, and potentially quite a nice model.
Round tail lights are usually English build, and from memory, mostly DS21s.
Which would make it a good thing, (and a later year model?)

I like many of the vintages, single headlight models have a charm, and later ones a different charm ...

Apart from that, it does come down to your skills, the price, and the condition of the car(s).
Both may end up being "restorers."

Personally, RUST is my worst factor, these may be somewhat exempt (from the drynesss) but if water has got into it (roof rails, floor, boot, etc) then rust may be significant. As long as you know what may be involved. Roof rail rust is somewhat of a journey when the roof is taken off + replaced.

Mechanically, most bits of the car in that vintage will be quite robust.

If your enthusiasm is there, and the basics of the car are reasonable, it will be rewarding.

Hope it goes well, report back!! More pix ...

[David S]

Rounds tail-lights were also for French-built export, remembering Slough did not assemble cars post-66. Maybe, a holiday car?
The high 4th, about the same as the DS 4 speed, was dropped for 1969 per the factory info. However, many of these cars have been fiddled with and blended together over the years and original spec may not be what you actually get. One former owner has told me that his ID19B, 4 headlights and the high top gear was an excellent touring combination.

[CarNut]

Wow, there do seem to be a LOT of variants that were built but, with a lifespan as long as the D's was, I guess that's to be expected. The second car (with the broken window in the left back door) has got Marchal headlights....I do remember that much. One is in the left guard and the second is laying on a front seat for some reason, lol. Probably been sitting there for as long as the car has been sitting there.
I like your idea of just getting them going and using them, Shane. I also love nicely restored cars but I know about the dwindling resource of time as age creeps up on us, lol. One of the nicest cars I've seen is the blue Renault Fregate that was restored by another of the guys on this forum. Absolutely beautiful. And the best part about it (from my point of view) is how much work was done by the owner.
It crossed my mind that I should just leave these ID19s in the paddock where they are, but I'm starting to think that maybe I was meant to have them, as all the stars seem to have aligned, lol. The soil is quite sandy out there, so any moisture would tend to drain from the surface far quicker than, say, if it was of a clay consistency. Maybe I'm just talking myself into it, lol (a long standing habit of mine), but with the info you guys have given me, I'm pretty certain that I will go and pick these babies up. I've admired these cars since I was a boy, and maybe it's about time I added a couple to the fleet, lol.
I will definitely have to do something about getting back out there very soon and, when I do, I'll be sure to get LOTS of photos to show you all.

[Budge]

I really miss my 1969 ID19B. If you carry on like this, I'll be coming over from the UK and I'll be going out there to look at them!

[garyk]

If you have never owned/driven a D, it is something that should be high on a bucket list, even if you sell it / them later.

If they are reasonably good mechanically, having a less than restored body is ok, but rust is another matter.