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...!
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...
Wow - I'm really surprised that the LNA is something of interest to PH - I've been a member of this forum for almost 20 years, so I'm honoured for my car to have been chosen as Reader's Car of the Week
It's also been interesting to read other forum members recollections of owning similar old tat back in the day - This type of car was pitched as very cheap / basic transport when new and most definitely not an object of desire in any shape or form.
Most were scrap fodder at just 10 years old, with a few providing the first steps into car ownership for the young drivers of the mid 90's, prior to finally being weighed in when they were beyond absolutely knackered.
[boringpostalert]
As I alluded to in my previous posts, the original purchaser of my LNA had bought it new and kept it from 1983 -> 2010 (not 2012 as I said earlier, my mistake).
I was interested to see why they'd kept such a basic runaround for 27 years, when car evolution had come on leaps & bounds during that time.
Back In 2014 you could fill out a V888 form and send it off to DVLA with a cheque for a fiver, with them returning photocopies of the original registration document, along with copies of the V5C on each ownership change. This gave me the original purchaser's address, so I composed a letter, printed off a few pictures of the car as it stood and asked if they'd be willing to share any details regarding the time they owned the LNA.
There were no guarantees that they lived at the same address as they did 31 years ago, but I struck lucky and received a response from the lady who bought it new. She's in her 70's now, but had many fond memories of the car and was absolutely delighted to hear it was still on the road
It turns out that she bought the car from G.W. Salter Motors in Oxford (long gone) back on the 26th of August 1983, and kept it till the 30th of November 2010, when she traded it in to Inchcape Toyota in Kidlington for a Toyota Yaris.
Over the 27 years she owned it, it was mainly used locally, but she had driven it over to Brittany to see relatives (she's French), hence the GB sticker on its rump.
As much as she had a great deal of affection for the LNA, she'd traded it in as she was struggling with the lack of power steering, the upholstery was deteriorating badly and she wanted a car fitted with air con. Inchcape gave her a whole £20.61 for the LNA, and she assumed they'd sent it for scrap.
She very kindly stuck a copy of the receipt from Inchcape for the £20.61 they gave her, plus a picture of the LNA sat in the drive of a house she used to own in Ipswich back in 1993. (She apologised, as she did have a pile of receipts / history relating to the car, but chucked them out when she traded it in, as she figured it'd be crushed).
(Suburbia in 1993...The BX only made it to April 2001- Was a 1.9 petrol, so perhaps one of the sportier models?)
Surprisingly Inchcape instead had sent it to BCA Blackbushe, where a Citroen Car Club enthusiast from Hampshire spotted it in the auction on the 13th of December 2010, and saved it from being bailed.
He tidied it up and used it for car shows for a couple of years, before selling it on - Here it is at the 2012 Prescott Hillclimb being offered for sale:
He did eventually sell it around July 2012, but the new owner was already trying to sell it on again by September 2012 using eBay - The chap I got the car from subsequently bought it from them in March 2013, and owned the LNA for 17 months prior to me taking it on.
(August 2014 - My first time at the wheel and about to set off on a 412 mile trip North!)
[/boringpostalert]
Apologies for the indulgence of the above post - I just found it interesting to learn a little of its history / why it's still around
It's also been interesting to read other forum members recollections of owning similar old tat back in the day - This type of car was pitched as very cheap / basic transport when new and most definitely not an object of desire in any shape or form.
Most were scrap fodder at just 10 years old, with a few providing the first steps into car ownership for the young drivers of the mid 90's, prior to finally being weighed in when they were beyond absolutely knackered.
[boringpostalert]
As I alluded to in my previous posts, the original purchaser of my LNA had bought it new and kept it from 1983 -> 2010 (not 2012 as I said earlier, my mistake).
I was interested to see why they'd kept such a basic runaround for 27 years, when car evolution had come on leaps & bounds during that time.
Back In 2014 you could fill out a V888 form and send it off to DVLA with a cheque for a fiver, with them returning photocopies of the original registration document, along with copies of the V5C on each ownership change. This gave me the original purchaser's address, so I composed a letter, printed off a few pictures of the car as it stood and asked if they'd be willing to share any details regarding the time they owned the LNA.
There were no guarantees that they lived at the same address as they did 31 years ago, but I struck lucky and received a response from the lady who bought it new. She's in her 70's now, but had many fond memories of the car and was absolutely delighted to hear it was still on the road
It turns out that she bought the car from G.W. Salter Motors in Oxford (long gone) back on the 26th of August 1983, and kept it till the 30th of November 2010, when she traded it in to Inchcape Toyota in Kidlington for a Toyota Yaris.
Over the 27 years she owned it, it was mainly used locally, but she had driven it over to Brittany to see relatives (she's French), hence the GB sticker on its rump.
As much as she had a great deal of affection for the LNA, she'd traded it in as she was struggling with the lack of power steering, the upholstery was deteriorating badly and she wanted a car fitted with air con. Inchcape gave her a whole £20.61 for the LNA, and she assumed they'd sent it for scrap.
She very kindly stuck a copy of the receipt from Inchcape for the £20.61 they gave her, plus a picture of the LNA sat in the drive of a house she used to own in Ipswich back in 1993. (She apologised, as she did have a pile of receipts / history relating to the car, but chucked them out when she traded it in, as she figured it'd be crushed).
(Suburbia in 1993...The BX only made it to April 2001- Was a 1.9 petrol, so perhaps one of the sportier models?)
Surprisingly Inchcape instead had sent it to BCA Blackbushe, where a Citroen Car Club enthusiast from Hampshire spotted it in the auction on the 13th of December 2010, and saved it from being bailed.
He tidied it up and used it for car shows for a couple of years, before selling it on - Here it is at the 2012 Prescott Hillclimb being offered for sale:
He did eventually sell it around July 2012, but the new owner was already trying to sell it on again by September 2012 using eBay - The chap I got the car from subsequently bought it from them in March 2013, and owned the LNA for 17 months prior to me taking it on.
(August 2014 - My first time at the wheel and about to set off on a 412 mile trip North!)
[/boringpostalert]
Apologies for the indulgence of the above post - I just found it interesting to learn a little of its history / why it's still around
Max M4X WW said:
Any ideas what it sold for at auction? Interested how much more it went for than the £20 they took for it!
I never did find out, but I can't imagine it being more than a few hundred quid as they're not the most desirable things and the car did look quite tatty in the pictures. After the 'history post', best get on with another with some picture content!
I've dug out some of the pictures languishing on Ph*tobucket, which catalogue a few things I'd done to the car prior to its arrival in Ireland.
Following the 8 hour drive North on the day I bought it, I came to realise that my singing voice isn't actually very good and it was probably worth fitting a radio.
When the car was spec'd new, it seems that the only box which was ticked was that for a rear windscreen wiper (even this might have been retrofitted, judging by the wiring efforts).
(Glaring gap / 'storage bin' in front of the gear stick).
Strangely, the car had speakers fitted in the front footwells which looked OEM and appeared to be wired up - It also had an aerial on its roof. A bit of investigatory pulling out of centre console panels provided the reward of speaker / aerial / power supply wiring tucked up so high behind the dash, they must have been installed when the car was built.
Rather than go for the full-on 80's option of a Sanyo head unit with a couple of Goodman speakers screwed to the rear parcel shelf, I picked up a period correct / new old stock posh VAG Blaupunkt from eBay for a bargain £30
In it goes...
Some new boots arrived and were fitted - The original tyre date codes were from February 1988, so did well to cope with the 400+ mile journey on purchase day.
(Erm...)
The plastic end cap on the OSR bumper was looking a tad careworn, however by some miracle I managed to source a replacement
Moving on to the oily bits, it really struggled with emissions during its MOT, where my tame mechanic mentioned the carb adjustments were completely seized / it was caked in varnish.
Some eBay searching found the correct new old stock Solex in France, and a deal was done for about £90 delivered, which was then fitted
An owner's handbook turned up on eBay for a fiver:
And I flogged the fJCW MINI I had at the time, making the LNA my main car for a short period...!
I've dug out some of the pictures languishing on Ph*tobucket, which catalogue a few things I'd done to the car prior to its arrival in Ireland.
Following the 8 hour drive North on the day I bought it, I came to realise that my singing voice isn't actually very good and it was probably worth fitting a radio.
When the car was spec'd new, it seems that the only box which was ticked was that for a rear windscreen wiper (even this might have been retrofitted, judging by the wiring efforts).
(Glaring gap / 'storage bin' in front of the gear stick).
Strangely, the car had speakers fitted in the front footwells which looked OEM and appeared to be wired up - It also had an aerial on its roof. A bit of investigatory pulling out of centre console panels provided the reward of speaker / aerial / power supply wiring tucked up so high behind the dash, they must have been installed when the car was built.
Rather than go for the full-on 80's option of a Sanyo head unit with a couple of Goodman speakers screwed to the rear parcel shelf, I picked up a period correct / new old stock posh VAG Blaupunkt from eBay for a bargain £30
In it goes...
Some new boots arrived and were fitted - The original tyre date codes were from February 1988, so did well to cope with the 400+ mile journey on purchase day.
(Erm...)
The plastic end cap on the OSR bumper was looking a tad careworn, however by some miracle I managed to source a replacement
Moving on to the oily bits, it really struggled with emissions during its MOT, where my tame mechanic mentioned the carb adjustments were completely seized / it was caked in varnish.
Some eBay searching found the correct new old stock Solex in France, and a deal was done for about £90 delivered, which was then fitted
An owner's handbook turned up on eBay for a fiver:
And I flogged the fJCW MINI I had at the time, making the LNA my main car for a short period...!
jamesson said:
This is absolute gold. I love the 'new' stereo.
There was a sticker on the stereo box indicating it was of 1984/85 vintage, so in keeping with the age of the LNA - The factory option radio in the brochures was a 60's looking thing which only picked up MW & LW, so I feel posh having FM! Back to Ireland - I'd been titivating the car's backside, improving on the 'kwaalatie' factory paintwork
The bumper got a lick of paint too, along with the mounts, which were wire-wheeled and rust treated
I popped off all the side mountings (destroying the 30+ year old fragile trim clips in the process), masked up and painted the window surrounds in matt black, along with the plates on top of the sills.
The back end went back together
(Yes - The plates are rubbish; I really wanted a set of Serck-font plates which many cars of the 70's / 80's sported, but these just didn't look right - They were never used on the road and it now sports Irish number plates).
It was then time to tackle the front end - Buoyed by how easy the rear came apart, I started full of optimism that the nose would be the same...
...of course, it wasn't and required much grinder and Dremel action!
Bustedmattress said:
Congratulations on the purchase and one of the most enjoyable threads I have read in a long time. Your car got a mention in the Citroen Car Club magazine this month which is how I found my way here.
My brother had a LNA for a little while. I drove it once - from memory there was a strange little button on the dash that glowed red or green, indicating how heavy footed you were driving. Does you car have that (i.e. is my memory playing tricks on me!) and is it the button on the left hand side of the dash in your photo?
David
Thanks - I did see Mike H mention the thread in the CCC mag.My brother had a LNA for a little while. I drove it once - from memory there was a strange little button on the dash that glowed red or green, indicating how heavy footed you were driving. Does you car have that (i.e. is my memory playing tricks on me!) and is it the button on the left hand side of the dash in your photo?
David
The 'Econoscope' is located on the left hand side of the instrument binnacle:
It's a vacuum sensor which indicates low / high vacuum - The owners manual states:
Seemed to be a fad in the late 70's -> mid 80's - It's more of a throttle position indicator
I continued with the front end - Stripping it down revealed some surface blebs, but thankfully no holed bodywork. A bit of wire brush action and the application of Vactan rust convertor was all that was required (it converts / primes, which is handy).
The battery tray was pretty crusty, so it also received the Vactan treatment and a lick of some Hammerite direct to metal paint I had lying in the garage
(Not the best, but will keep the grot at bay for a while)
The front end was prepped and primed
And given a lick of the factory white, via a rattle can I had made up at a local car bodyshop supplier
The front valance had a parking ding, so I beat it into shape and gave it a skim of filler, before also painting it to match
Then I cleaned its face up a bit, and reattached it along with the repainted front bumper
Around this time, I turned my attention to the interior - I'd hand applied a coat of white to the floor pan to brighten it up / cover the blebs I'd wire-wheeled and treated, but the seats were in very poor condition.
I'd investigated having them reupholstered, but quotes were coming back around the price I paid for the car and no-one could match the original material exactly (perhaps a good thing, given how flimsy it is )
By chance, I was contacted by a chap breaking a rotten LNA - "Did I want any parts?" - Having established the car had a matching blue interior with no rips / tears, a deal was done for 20% of the costs of reupholstering and included door cards, a centre console plus a new dashboard / set of clocks
The battery tray was pretty crusty, so it also received the Vactan treatment and a lick of some Hammerite direct to metal paint I had lying in the garage
(Not the best, but will keep the grot at bay for a while)
The front end was prepped and primed
And given a lick of the factory white, via a rattle can I had made up at a local car bodyshop supplier
The front valance had a parking ding, so I beat it into shape and gave it a skim of filler, before also painting it to match
Then I cleaned its face up a bit, and reattached it along with the repainted front bumper
Around this time, I turned my attention to the interior - I'd hand applied a coat of white to the floor pan to brighten it up / cover the blebs I'd wire-wheeled and treated, but the seats were in very poor condition.
I'd investigated having them reupholstered, but quotes were coming back around the price I paid for the car and no-one could match the original material exactly (perhaps a good thing, given how flimsy it is
)By chance, I was contacted by a chap breaking a rotten LNA - "Did I want any parts?" - Having established the car had a matching blue interior with no rips / tears, a deal was done for 20% of the costs of reupholstering and included door cards, a centre console plus a new dashboard / set of clocks
The new interior was in pretty good shape in terms of any damage, however the fabric was severely faded from sun exposure.
Enter this stuff, which seems to offer a fairly close match to the tones when the car was new:
I had two different shades to experiment with, and plumped for the darker spray dye for the carpet, to better hide any marks. The seats / carpet were thoroughly scrubbed and wet / dry vacuumed, prior to being allowed to dry fully in the attic.
The dye went on:
And the interior went back in:
It’s by no means perfect, but I’m quite happy with it – Very much a 70’s / 80’s vibe with the colour scheme.
The steel wheels got a quick & dirty tart up with a rattle can:
And I thoroughly cleaned the arches / underside before applying some more underseal
And the side trims were re-fitted with new clips.
Next it was time to tackle some of the oily bits…
Enter this stuff, which seems to offer a fairly close match to the tones when the car was new:
I had two different shades to experiment with, and plumped for the darker spray dye for the carpet, to better hide any marks. The seats / carpet were thoroughly scrubbed and wet / dry vacuumed, prior to being allowed to dry fully in the attic.
The dye went on:
And the interior went back in:
It’s by no means perfect, but I’m quite happy with it – Very much a 70’s / 80’s vibe with the colour scheme.
The steel wheels got a quick & dirty tart up with a rattle can:
And I thoroughly cleaned the arches / underside before applying some more underseal
And the side trims were re-fitted with new clips.
Next it was time to tackle some of the oily bits…
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