Citroen LNA 11E
Discussion
Probably of limited interest on here, but under current circumstances I'm bored enough to create a thread 
So, what actually is it?
Firstly, a quick history lesson:
In the 1970’s Citroen were in a very bad way financially, eventually filing for bankruptcy in 1974. The French government brokered a deal whereby Peugeot acquired a large chunk of shares, providing the funds to keep Citroen operating, before taking over complete control in 1975-76 and creating the PSA group.
Citroen had been investing its R&D money heavily in hydropnuematic vehicles, and had the GS / CX waiting in the wings to launch.
In order to bolster / modernise their entry level offerings (and perhaps to avoid trade union upset), Citroen / PSA quickly updated the Peugeot 104 Z Coupe (or ‘Shortcut’) with a new nose / a few other minor tweaks, and fitted the two cylinder air-cooled engine from the higher powered 2CV / Dyane, calling the car the ‘LN’ and building it in the Citroen factory.
It was pitched very much at the entry level of the market, using a simple car (the 104 Z) which had been on the market for 2 years already as a basis (the 4 door 104 had been around since 1972).
The Citroen LN was a France-only model, and only available in LHD (I think a few were imported into the UK at the time, but only a handful) – Come 1978, Citroen fitted the 4 cylinder water-cooled 1124cc XW7 engine from the Peugeot 104, and named this car the ‘LNA’.
It was then sold throughout Europe from 1978, before finally arriving in UK RHD form in July 1982.
Despite being pitched as cheap transport, it was something of a sales flop – By 1982, the Fiesta / Corsa / Metro / 205 / Uno / Micra were coming on the scene, and showed the LNA up for a dated car with its roots in 1972-76.
1985 was the last year the LNA was sold in the UK , and it was quietly dropped that December – It lived on in France for another year, prior to leaving the price lists for good in 1986.
From the thousands of RHD cars sold (there were nearly 2800 still on UK roads in 1995), there’s now just 14 noted on 'how many left' in the UK – 2 of which are currently taxed / on the road.
While people remember the Peugeot 104 with some affection, and its cousin the Talbot Samba for its use in clubman rallying, the LNA has always been the runt of the litter.
(It was never seen as a ‘true Citroen’, being referred to when new by one French commentator as the “unwanted / illegitimate child of an arranged marriage”).
The above is the long-winded explanation – Whenever I’m asked what it is, I usually respond with “a Peugeot 104 with a different nose”, but given the 104 was dropped for the 205 in UK in 1983, few non-"weird old car anoraks" remember them.
So, what actually is it?
Firstly, a quick history lesson:
In the 1970’s Citroen were in a very bad way financially, eventually filing for bankruptcy in 1974. The French government brokered a deal whereby Peugeot acquired a large chunk of shares, providing the funds to keep Citroen operating, before taking over complete control in 1975-76 and creating the PSA group.
Citroen had been investing its R&D money heavily in hydropnuematic vehicles, and had the GS / CX waiting in the wings to launch.
In order to bolster / modernise their entry level offerings (and perhaps to avoid trade union upset), Citroen / PSA quickly updated the Peugeot 104 Z Coupe (or ‘Shortcut’) with a new nose / a few other minor tweaks, and fitted the two cylinder air-cooled engine from the higher powered 2CV / Dyane, calling the car the ‘LN’ and building it in the Citroen factory.
It was pitched very much at the entry level of the market, using a simple car (the 104 Z) which had been on the market for 2 years already as a basis (the 4 door 104 had been around since 1972).
The Citroen LN was a France-only model, and only available in LHD (I think a few were imported into the UK at the time, but only a handful) – Come 1978, Citroen fitted the 4 cylinder water-cooled 1124cc XW7 engine from the Peugeot 104, and named this car the ‘LNA’.
It was then sold throughout Europe from 1978, before finally arriving in UK RHD form in July 1982.
Despite being pitched as cheap transport, it was something of a sales flop – By 1982, the Fiesta / Corsa / Metro / 205 / Uno / Micra were coming on the scene, and showed the LNA up for a dated car with its roots in 1972-76.
1985 was the last year the LNA was sold in the UK , and it was quietly dropped that December – It lived on in France for another year, prior to leaving the price lists for good in 1986.
From the thousands of RHD cars sold (there were nearly 2800 still on UK roads in 1995), there’s now just 14 noted on 'how many left' in the UK – 2 of which are currently taxed / on the road.
While people remember the Peugeot 104 with some affection, and its cousin the Talbot Samba for its use in clubman rallying, the LNA has always been the runt of the litter.
(It was never seen as a ‘true Citroen’, being referred to when new by one French commentator as the “unwanted / illegitimate child of an arranged marriage”).
The above is the long-winded explanation – Whenever I’m asked what it is, I usually respond with “a Peugeot 104 with a different nose”, but given the 104 was dropped for the 205 in UK in 1983, few non-"weird old car anoraks" remember them.
My car is a 1983 LNA 11E - I bought it in September 2014, from a vendor in NE Norfolk – Nostalgia being a powerful thing, I purchased it unseen and flew down to London, catching a train to Norwich, before setting off for an 800km drive to Scotland in an unknown 31 year old car, sporting 1980’s vintage tyres.
Having done this, I then proceeded to almost completely neglect the car for the next few years, leaving it dumped on my parents drive in Scotland while work / life got in the way.
Q - Why buy it in the first place? It was rubbish when new, and has even less to commend it, when it’s now a rusty old banger?!
A - Nostalgia – I vaguely remember them as a child, so they’re a link to the early/mid-80’s for me. Rarity – They’re nearly extinct in RHD. Boxy 70’s design aesthetic. Step back in time to a basic, electronic-free driving experience, with no driver aids – Not even a brake servo (which was a £15 option when new).
It wasn't totally forgotten - An initial burst of enthusiasm meant it did receive a fairly thorough service, replacing belts & pumps etc, plus a new set of tyres, but mainly sat static & mouldering at the top of a steep driveway, which made working on it a challenge.
I did gamble after a long period of inertia, and the LNA made the return trip from Scotland to the Dublin's Terenure Car Show via Belfast in 2015, which it surprisingly managed without issue:
Following this, it barely moved from my parents drive - ~60 miles between 2015 -> 2016 MOT's...(Much to their 'delight'! )
Having done this, I then proceeded to almost completely neglect the car for the next few years, leaving it dumped on my parents drive in Scotland while work / life got in the way.
Q - Why buy it in the first place? It was rubbish when new, and has even less to commend it, when it’s now a rusty old banger?!
A - Nostalgia – I vaguely remember them as a child, so they’re a link to the early/mid-80’s for me. Rarity – They’re nearly extinct in RHD. Boxy 70’s design aesthetic. Step back in time to a basic, electronic-free driving experience, with no driver aids – Not even a brake servo (which was a £15 option when new).
It wasn't totally forgotten - An initial burst of enthusiasm meant it did receive a fairly thorough service, replacing belts & pumps etc, plus a new set of tyres, but mainly sat static & mouldering at the top of a steep driveway, which made working on it a challenge.
I did gamble after a long period of inertia, and the LNA made the return trip from Scotland to the Dublin's Terenure Car Show via Belfast in 2015, which it surprisingly managed without issue:
Following this, it barely moved from my parents drive - ~60 miles between 2015 -> 2016 MOT's...(Much to their 'delight'!
)In early 2016, I was working in Aberdeen and pressed the LNA into service as a daily - It required a new battery / replacement of a split cooling hose, but soldiered on attracting bemused / pitied looks from the BMW / Mercedes / Audi pilots 
I'd also bought a house with a garage in Ireland in early 2016, so elected to relocate the Citroen there in July 2016 - Another ferry trip from Cairnryan to Belfast ensued...
...and a blast down the M1 to Dublin
(Yes; the speedo is a bit optimistic, but it'll keep up with modern traffic with its 50bhp allowing it to sit happily at 70-75mph)
And to its new home
Where a welcome present awaited it:
But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself
I'd also bought a house with a garage in Ireland in early 2016, so elected to relocate the Citroen there in July 2016 - Another ferry trip from Cairnryan to Belfast ensued...
...and a blast down the M1 to Dublin
(Yes; the speedo is a bit optimistic, but it'll keep up with modern traffic with its 50bhp allowing it to sit happily at 70-75mph)
And to its new home
Where a welcome present awaited it:
But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself
gforceg said:
I remember these and feel like I've seen one relatively recently, maybe the last 5 years. Or have you posted it on here before?
Well done for following nostalgia (an underrated commodity, I think) and keeping it going.
I'd cross the street to have a look at that if I saw it parked.
I think I may have posted a picture of it in the 'cars you never see any more' thread, but haven't really made much reference to it prior to this thread.Well done for following nostalgia (an underrated commodity, I think) and keeping it going.
I'd cross the street to have a look at that if I saw it parked.
You're right about nostalgia - I was born in the mid-70's; my father wasn't much of a petrolhead, preferring to run whatever was cheap / available at the time, hence a succession of old rammel like Datsun 120A's / Morris Marina's, which were usually scrapped after we were done with them.
He once picked up a bright yellow Citroen Dyane which he had quite a soft spot for - I can still remember the smell of the interior, suspension roll and the soft bouncy foam on the seats, before he replaced it with a pignosed Citroen Visa Club (Twin Pot 652cc), which was similar in many ways.
My LNA has the same soft bouncy seats / Citroen interior 'smell' I recall from 1983...!
Thank you for sharing this!
Very interesting (and in the spirit of PH) for you to share and as you (and others) have said, this is great nostalgia. I remember seeing these all over rural France in the late 1980s when on summer holidays...and haven't seen (or really thought) of them since. It's lovely to be reminded and learn a little more!
Thank you!
Very interesting (and in the spirit of PH) for you to share and as you (and others) have said, this is great nostalgia. I remember seeing these all over rural France in the late 1980s when on summer holidays...and haven't seen (or really thought) of them since. It's lovely to be reminded and learn a little more!
Thank you!
On arrival at its new home in Ireland, back in July 2016, I set about pulling the interior out the car to check the floors - The 2 years it had spent sitting idle on my parents drive had done it little favours, with the flimsy door seals doing a poor job of keeping the inclement Scottish weather out.
On several occasions I'd opened the car to find puddles of water in the footwells and rather damps seats (not to mention mould growing on the steering wheel).
The interior had seen better days - 1970's / 80's French cars seem to be especially prone to sun damage affecting the fabric. Add in 33 years of wear & tear and this is what you end up with:
Pulling out the seats and carpet revealed a few localised areas of grot (unsurprisingly where the footwell puddles had been), and an area on the rear turret which had been plated to MOT standard in the past.
The front right jacking point was a bit crispy too, but otherwise the car was very solid for a 30+ year old Citroen - Probably as it'd been waxoyled from new (the various plugs & grommets being evidence of that).
Some new metal was glued in with the sparkly stick:
And any surface rust treated with some Vactan after some wirebrush action - After that (and a good clean), I blasted some cavity wax in the grommets and applied a coat of white to the floor.
On several occasions I'd opened the car to find puddles of water in the footwells and rather damps seats (not to mention mould growing on the steering wheel).
The interior had seen better days - 1970's / 80's French cars seem to be especially prone to sun damage affecting the fabric. Add in 33 years of wear & tear and this is what you end up with:
Pulling out the seats and carpet revealed a few localised areas of grot (unsurprisingly where the footwell puddles had been), and an area on the rear turret which had been plated to MOT standard in the past.
The front right jacking point was a bit crispy too, but otherwise the car was very solid for a 30+ year old Citroen - Probably as it'd been waxoyled from new (the various plugs & grommets being evidence of that).
Some new metal was glued in with the sparkly stick:
And any surface rust treated with some Vactan after some wirebrush action - After that (and a good clean), I blasted some cavity wax in the grommets and applied a coat of white to the floor.
EJH said:
Thank you for sharing this!
Very interesting (and in the spirit of PH) for you to share and as you (and others) have said, this is great nostalgia. I remember seeing these all over rural France in the late 1980s when on summer holidays...and haven't seen (or really thought) of them since. It's lovely to be reminded and learn a little more!
Thank you!
No worries - I didn't feel it was much a PH type of car (I'd also started a thread on my big V8 Mercedes, as that seemed a bit more fitting).Very interesting (and in the spirit of PH) for you to share and as you (and others) have said, this is great nostalgia. I remember seeing these all over rural France in the late 1980s when on summer holidays...and haven't seen (or really thought) of them since. It's lovely to be reminded and learn a little more!
Thank you!
As the car was going to remain in Ireland, I was obliged to register it here within 30 days of arrival into state. This entails going through the Vehicle Registration Tax process (VRT), which is Ireland's way of applying an import tax to secondhand cars, in order to align prices with heavily taxed new cars sold here.
VRT is a percentage based on what the Revenue feel the open market selling price is - It's related to CO2 emissions for newer cars, and can be as much as 30+% of the their (inflated) valuation (which adds additional value for any optional extras fitted). A well-spec'd £20k UK car might be valued at €30k in Ireland, and therefore slapped with a €9k registration tax...
Thankfully for vehicles older than 30 years, there's a fixed rate of €200, which the LNA was able to take advantage of. Unfortunately the LNA model wasn't sold new in Ireland (the Citroen importer opted to take just the Visa), so some confusion / back & forth with the Vehicle Registration department in Shannon ensued.
Having managed to finally complete the process, I was allocated with an Irish registration number - They changed the plate format here in 1987 to a year / county / unique identifier format (i.e. 88-D-1234 for a 1988 car registered on Dublin) - Prior to this, they had 1-3 letters / 1-3 numbers.
If the LNA had been sold here in 1983, it'd have a period "AZG 123"-type plate, but as vehicles first registered outside the state before 1987 are only allowed to be re-registered using the current system, it ended up on an 83-D with a ridiculously long identifier number - It's the 29th vehicle from 1983 imported since 1987, hence 83-D-120029
Anyhow, boring admin complete, I SORN'd it and kicked off on some bodywork. There’s a matt black panel on the tail – Someone had hit this with a brush loaded with gloss, before they realised their mistake and stopped. There was eczematous surface rust appearing all over – The bumper had lost much of its paint, and showed some surface rust - The brackets were heavily corroded. The rear valance had been painted black (should be white), and was misshapen.
Before:
During:
After:
Not going to win any concours, but okay for a rattlecan job.
The lower rear valance also got some attention:
As did the rear bumper:
In between all of these goings on, I'd also managed to get in touch with the original owner, who'd bought the car new in 1983...
VRT is a percentage based on what the Revenue feel the open market selling price is - It's related to CO2 emissions for newer cars, and can be as much as 30+% of the their (inflated) valuation (which adds additional value for any optional extras fitted). A well-spec'd £20k UK car might be valued at €30k in Ireland, and therefore slapped with a €9k registration tax...
Thankfully for vehicles older than 30 years, there's a fixed rate of €200, which the LNA was able to take advantage of. Unfortunately the LNA model wasn't sold new in Ireland (the Citroen importer opted to take just the Visa), so some confusion / back & forth with the Vehicle Registration department in Shannon ensued.
Having managed to finally complete the process, I was allocated with an Irish registration number - They changed the plate format here in 1987 to a year / county / unique identifier format (i.e. 88-D-1234 for a 1988 car registered on Dublin) - Prior to this, they had 1-3 letters / 1-3 numbers.
If the LNA had been sold here in 1983, it'd have a period "AZG 123"-type plate, but as vehicles first registered outside the state before 1987 are only allowed to be re-registered using the current system, it ended up on an 83-D with a ridiculously long identifier number - It's the 29th vehicle from 1983 imported since 1987, hence 83-D-120029
Anyhow, boring admin complete, I SORN'd it and kicked off on some bodywork. There’s a matt black panel on the tail – Someone had hit this with a brush loaded with gloss, before they realised their mistake and stopped. There was eczematous surface rust appearing all over – The bumper had lost much of its paint, and showed some surface rust - The brackets were heavily corroded. The rear valance had been painted black (should be white), and was misshapen.
Before:
During:
After:
Not going to win any concours, but okay for a rattlecan job.
The lower rear valance also got some attention:
As did the rear bumper:
In between all of these goings on, I'd also managed to get in touch with the original owner, who'd bought the car new in 1983...
I have a lot of time for this.
whilst i do enjoy the "turbo mx5 build" threads, they feel like they've been done to death now. Doubt ill see another thread on one of these for a while!!
I sporadically check to see if there are any Citroen Bijous for sale (i'd love to own one some day) - another citroen love-child that was an absolute failure!
whilst i do enjoy the "turbo mx5 build" threads, they feel like they've been done to death now. Doubt ill see another thread on one of these for a while!!
I sporadically check to see if there are any Citroen Bijous for sale (i'd love to own one some day) - another citroen love-child that was an absolute failure!
fluoxetine said:
EJH said:
Thank you for sharing this!
Very interesting (and in the spirit of PH) for you to share and as you (and others) have said, this is great nostalgia. I remember seeing these all over rural France in the late 1980s when on summer holidays...and haven't seen (or really thought) of them since. It's lovely to be reminded and learn a little more!
Thank you!
No worries - I didn't feel it was much a PH type of car (I'd also started a thread on my big V8 Mercedes, as that seemed a bit more fitting).Very interesting (and in the spirit of PH) for you to share and as you (and others) have said, this is great nostalgia. I remember seeing these all over rural France in the late 1980s when on summer holidays...and haven't seen (or really thought) of them since. It's lovely to be reminded and learn a little more!
Thank you!
Shaw Tarse said:
fluoxetine said:
EJH said:
Thank you for sharing this!
Very interesting (and in the spirit of PH) for you to share and as you (and others) have said, this is great nostalgia. I remember seeing these all over rural France in the late 1980s when on summer holidays...and haven't seen (or really thought) of them since. It's lovely to be reminded and learn a little more!
Thank you!
No worries - I didn't feel it was much a PH type of car (I'd also started a thread on my big V8 Mercedes, as that seemed a bit more fitting).Very interesting (and in the spirit of PH) for you to share and as you (and others) have said, this is great nostalgia. I remember seeing these all over rural France in the late 1980s when on summer holidays...and haven't seen (or really thought) of them since. It's lovely to be reminded and learn a little more!
Thank you!
Sorry to be a Pedant (I live in Cork!)
The 83-D-120029 thing is only since 2012. Before that, they just carried on from the last previous number in the sequence of that year. The 120,000 thing came in in 2012 to differentiate imports and supposedly stimulate new Irish car sales from dealers by adding the stigma of automatically people knowing it was an import.
I have a Passat that I brought in in 2009, it got 06-C-28219. I brought in another Passat in January 2012, it got 03-C-40097 (97th car imported since the stupid 40,000 thing came into Cork.
The latest Mondeo I have came into the country in 2017, but Tipperary. Sales mush have been small in South Tipp as their import registrations start at 2,000. So it got 11-TS-2891, nice short reg for a German-style set of plates.
You have the option of putting the LNA onto the previous-style reg (anything 30+ years old), it uses the old Dublin reg of ZV, so it would end up as ZVxxxxx. You can transfer from a post-87 plate to a ZV but can't go the other way.
Oh, and don't get me started on VRT, brought in my MK2 Golf GTI 8-valve in 2010, to the tune of €1,079 in tax. Only gave £1200 for it
The 83-D-120029 thing is only since 2012. Before that, they just carried on from the last previous number in the sequence of that year. The 120,000 thing came in in 2012 to differentiate imports and supposedly stimulate new Irish car sales from dealers by adding the stigma of automatically people knowing it was an import.
I have a Passat that I brought in in 2009, it got 06-C-28219. I brought in another Passat in January 2012, it got 03-C-40097 (97th car imported since the stupid 40,000 thing came into Cork.
The latest Mondeo I have came into the country in 2017, but Tipperary. Sales mush have been small in South Tipp as their import registrations start at 2,000. So it got 11-TS-2891, nice short reg for a German-style set of plates.
You have the option of putting the LNA onto the previous-style reg (anything 30+ years old), it uses the old Dublin reg of ZV, so it would end up as ZVxxxxx. You can transfer from a post-87 plate to a ZV but can't go the other way.
Oh, and don't get me started on VRT, brought in my MK2 Golf GTI 8-valve in 2010, to the tune of €1,079 in tax. Only gave £1200 for it
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