Re: Re: A little bit offended!

[Anonymous]

Nigel is fortunate to live in Southern France. France is a much larger country than the UK, its roads are such that there are many, many more opportunities to take a long leisurely drive and indeed to visit other parts of the country in a Traction than it is in the UK.

Yes the Traction was way ahead of its time but that doesn’t mean that it can hold its own in the 21st century driving environment.

Power Steering. Some of us are older owners and may no longer find the Traction easy to manoeuvre. Some wives of Tractions owners drive them; some may want but find them difficult to manoeuvre perhaps because they are petite ladies. Power steering is a viable alternative for those of us that wish to continue to enjoy our Tractions into our old age and is reversible; replace the missing piece of the steering column or replace the whole column with another. You may have been forward thinking enough to have found one to put away in the garage.

4 Speed Gearboxes. Provided that these are installed in such a way, for example that that the bulkhead is not changed in a rare Traction then I cannot see the problem. A gearbox crossmember could have been found and stored way before the conversion. We should enjoy our cars; after all if they are kept on the road then it increases the chances of interest in the Traction and hopefully new membership.

Air Conditioning and Heaters. If we wish to use our Tractions in the winter months then air-conditioning or heaters can be a benefit especially as there is no means of demisting the windscreen if it is raining.

Electronic Ignition. 2 of my Tractions are used for weddings and the most popular one has electronic ignition. Reliability is key when having a wedding car hire business and besides not all Traction owners are maintenance skilled, so what is wrong with them having peace of mind.

My third Traction is a cabriolet converted from a 1955 Normale by Rudolf Resell in Germany using Mick Peacock body parts. All mechanicals when I bought it were Traction and it came with Pilote wheels. I expect that Rudi bought a very commonly available Traction that was in need of extensive renovation but instead produced a Traction that creates a great deal of interest and I always tell people the history of the Traction and all of the body styles that were available.

This is the Traction that I like to use the most and needs to be suitable for driving on the UK’s motorways and dual carriageways. To this end I have fitted a DS19 engine with cross flow head and an ID19 4 speed gearbox. I can now safely drive on motorways, comfortably cruise at 70mph and overtake without waiting for a very long gap when it is busy.

It is 12 volts, Rudi did that and it has an alternator. Since buying the car I have fitted the correct bonnet, grille and chevrons for a 1939 cabriolet. I have fitted a front fog and spot lamps, a rear fog lamp and a reversing light with warning beeper. Also warning beepers for the indicators so that I do not forget to turn them off. I have also fitted more visible indicators. All lamps, switches and ignition coil are Marchal.

Nigel then has the gall to stick 2 fingers up at us UK owners and sign off by saying “off now to poodle around the French country lanes at 60kms and hour”,
I am not sorry if Nigel is upset by my reply. I offer no apology.