1951 Citroen Light Fifteen

I confess, I really don’t build models anymore, for various reasons - but I am still very enthusiastic about the hobby.
Okay, I do dabble with my 1/8th scale, adding a bit of this, and a bit of that.
One car I have that needs finishing is my 1/8th. Hella Citroen Traction Avante which I converted from the larger Normale to the smaller Legere. The reason why ?.....my Art Master at school owned a 1951 Citroen Light Fifteen, in green, and it was the first car I ever used a spanner on. Being a ‘Car Nut’ I agreed to help, along with another two boys, to remove the engine so that he and the Metalwork master did deep engine repairs. I was about 14/15 at the time and we all got stuck into it, removing the wings, bonnet, grille, rad, etc, and pulled the whole thing from the car. Being Front wheel drive, it all rolled away complete with the front suspension.....and I wanted to recapture that moment in time.
For information : the Citroen Light Fifteen was built in Croydon, using 50% of British parts so that Citroen avoided paying the steep import taxes of post war Britain.
So, I thought I’d start my thread, and hope it gets my juices flowing to actually finish it.

Oooo! looking forward to this Ron.

As some encouragment, here is my Eurorod 1:24 version:

That's cool, done like an American street rod.

Very nicely done Al - liking the colour scheme.
A few people have tried to make the real Traction Avante into a hot rod, but fail simply because it has no chassis, is front wheel drive,
and there are no options for engine swaps - with the gearbox and clutch being at the wrong end !

That's the beauty of modelling Ron.... you can play 'What if' without any rules.

Is this the same car they used in the 'Great Escape' film when the French Resistance popped round to the cafe to say hello to the German Officers while James Coburn was standing at the bar...

Andy, I think that was the smaller Citroen 11 version.

......and that is the version that I am trying to complete - the Legere.

Yes, creating a smaller version of the Citroen Avante, was going to require a lot of surgery.
After finding the difference in size between the Normale and Legere models, and converting them down to 1/8 scale, I calculated that the complete model would need to be narrowed by approx 15mm, and shortened by about 40mm (one and a half inches)....I can’t remember exactly, but as this was a good four years ago, the figures sound about right. The body was carefully cut, then the sections bonded back together.....over a number days, followed by weeks of sanding and filling, and the occasional curse.
Not only the body needed cutting down, but the engine had to be reduced from a Six to a Four !

Apologies - I got my London boroughs confused - British Citroens were built in Slough, not Croydon, which is 47 miles away.
Apology No.2 - When I started this thread, I was sure I had a folder of photos of my build on my old laptop
.....but that folder has appeared to have disappeared into the blooming ‘cloud’....but I’m sure I can find something.

The Engine :
Although a certain amount of artistic license was used in duplicating the four pot engine, it is near as I could get it.
The rocker cover was usually square and boxy, but I liked the detail of the angled version of the six.
But ! .....I later had to completely scratch-build the front situated gearbox and clutch housing Instead of using the original (6cyl) version
that can be seen in the two larger photos. Those that have swapped real engines know, these things just don’t go together without a hitch ! 🥴

Wow! you did a GREAT job on converting the engine from a six to a four banger Ron.

Well done.

This comparison photo below will help to see what I am trying to achieve by chopping down the larger car, known as the Big 6, and Light Fifteen on our shores.
The quick visual difference between French and British vehicles is the Citroen grille chevrons, which are fitted behind the bars of the radiator grille for the UK,
whereas the French version has them to the front of the bars. Essentially the same cars, but with Lucas electrics, Smiths instruments, Dunlop tyres
- flat wooden dash, RHD of course for the Slough version.

That engine is looking really good.

Once I was reasonably happy with the roof line and the rear of the car, it was onto the doors. The front pair fitted great,
but the rear pair had to be carefully cut down in stages to find the right lines, then the inner panels modifying and filled to suit.
I taped the bonnet and front wings together, just to get the feel - but glued on the rear fenders.
Although I do prefer the boot with the impressed spare wheel, the car that I’m trying to depict had the later larger boot.
As can be seen, new stronger hinges had to be fabricated for the boot and thin plastic rod was added to replicated the rubber seal around the wings,
and along the rear roof swage lines - and new door shuts for the rear doors.
So far, so good.
....and as we all seem to like race cars, I’ve included a larger 15 in fighting mode.

Some of these were built in Slough, there was also a 6 cylinder version too I think Ron?

Yep, correct Shay,
I originally mentioned Croydon, because they had a Citroen showroom there - but yes built 47miles further away in Slough.
The models were called the Light Fifteen, and the Big Six for the larger version.

So you're a soft Southern puff as the Geordies say then Ron boy?

Never heard that phrase Shay, mind you, I’m not a Geordie - but born and bred in the North East.
Puff? .....I’ll just have to ask my grandsons what that means.

I just assumed you from the south Ron. I'm sorry.

I was at a wedding reception in Coventry years ago which had about 50% Geordies and the rest from Cov and Brum and my good self.

There wasn't much interaction between the two parties, so at the bar I asked one of the Newcastle contingent, if he thought Midlanders were soft like Southerners

"Still puffs man" he said!

I spent the rest of the night drinking with the Geordies Ron. lol

No apologies necessary Shay......I generally take things with a pinch of salt.
Yes, ‘Southern Softies’ is a remark that most people North of Nottingham use to describe those of the Southern Region.
It’s a generalisation of course, like that of all Geordies wear flat caps and race Whippets.
Check out ‘Terry Collier’s World View’ from Whatever happened to the Likely Lads on Youtube......it almost sums up my views too - with a pinch of salt !

I have a theory Ron from an Irish man's perspective and experience which is quite simple really.

The further North you go in England, the better the craic you have.

Unfortunately, after a very long week of searching my laptops, CD backups, digital cameras and memory sticks,
sadly the detailed photos of this build have been lost - apart from a few later shots....But onward and upwards.....
The next photo I have in sequence is with the Citroen painted, but not in the final colour.
The original seats couldn’t be cut down as they were made from flexible poly plastic, and the one piece vacuum formed headliner was useless too.
The new seats, which are fitted here, are actually made from carved shaped wood, and brass tubing for runners
- and the new headliner was a bit of pig to work out and fit.
The Heller Citroen comes with full instructions, in French, but some later versions come with an English language CD.
I purchased one prior to buying the kit, which is good and full of info
- but fortunately my three years of French lessons at school helped me to decipher the plans.

dublin boy wrote:I have a theory Ron from an Irish man's perspective and experience which is quite simple really.

The further North you go in England, the better the craic you have.

You better believe it me Owld Leprachaun!!!

That's great work Ron, nice job on the seat runners.

Looking forward to seeing it in the final colour!

I'll never forget the Geordie in the purple suit and red dock martins trying to give me friendly-ish grief at your wedding Al, it was funny. He wasn't expecting a strong Dublin responce...

In fact the whole thing was great craic.