Belfast BX

[M]

P.S. there's a Traction Avant in the Dunkerque beach scene in Atonement. Am i on the wrong forum for this spot?

Hell no, thats a fine spot - if its got Chevrons and ISNT a Xantia its fine ((((Runs & Hides))))

[docchevron]

AMEN bro!

[DLM]

My cat introduced me to the delight of the Traction Avant - he used to go and hunt baby rabbits next to a grace and favour house in the middle of Bushy Park (the other side of the road from Hampton Court), so we'd get the occasional call asking if we wanted our cat back, or wanted to know where he was.

The resident of this house had a rather nice Traction - as well as a sideline in organising banquets for HRH. Nice car, I thought. Bought a BX. Then I discovered the man who fixed BXs as well as SMs (and served Rolls-Royce drivers with LHM from his scrofulous garage), and then another bloke who serviced/fixed Citroens for a living and had a 6-wheel 2CV conversion (but later gave it up to become an actor). And then....

[mat_fenwick]

DLM, sorry to ask a daft question but please can you tell me what "Liberté, Fraternité, Etanchéité" means? I assumed it was French, and used Google translations which came up with the following "Liberty, Fraternity, tightness" which I'm not sure translated too well. I have been wondering for a while but never got round to finding out...

[docchevron]

Made my bloody evening that has! Good shout Mat!!

Tractions are a joy to work on, except for the steering racks...and the 6V electrics..

[DLM]

"Liberté, Fraternité, Etanchéité"

OK - I thought you'd never ask - pretentious, moi...?

I came across the the word Etanchéité while trying to translate parts of Revue Technique for the BX (among the pignons, baguettes, arbres a cams and suchlike).

After a bit of research, and after being corrected by Tom, I found out it's a word you use to describe the state of something containing a fluid but not leaking - I suppose the nearest to it in English would be something like "watertight". As the worst disasters on Citroens tend to be leaks of one kind or another, it seemed appropriate to substitute it for "Fraternité" in the phrase that's been used as the tagline or slogan of the French republic for a couple of hundred years or so. Don't we all want a leak-free life with our Citroen?

Some mundane things do sound really good in French. If you tell someone to pump up their tyres, it comes out as

"Gonflez vos Pneufs!"

which has always sounded to me more like a choice insult than the tagline for a Michelin ad (I think that's where I first saw it). By the way, if anyone were to offer me the chance to drive a Traction or a DS, I'm sure I could make a bottle of France's finest a bit less Etanchéité in return.

[mat_fenwick]

Thanks for explaining that, I must admit I was wondering whether it was anything to do with cars at all!!!

[docchevron]

By the way, if anyone were to offer me the chance to drive a Traction or a DS, I'm sure I could make a bottle of France's finest a bit less Etanchéité in return.

Ahh, now, I haven't seen the guy for a while, but I do know a chap with a slough built Traction, as and when I wander across his path again I'll enquire, shouldn't be a problem, he let me drive it after seeing the way I arrived in the valver ..

Although you'll have to replace the bubbly red with flat amber!

[DLM]

Bubbly red? Barring Beaujoulais nouveaux that's still-fermenting in the bottle (at its worst the nearest thing to red washing up liquid you can allegedly drink), it's something only the Italians and Australians have seen fit to try making....

Flat amber could most certainly be arranged, Doc. Any preferences, or would it involve a hostelry local to you? There's some fine Ale made here in Gosport ("Hole-hearted" + a couple of other brews) that I need an excuse to buy some of.