Greeting from Jersey,
I have just re-joined the TOC after a few years absence due to working abroad. I have owned Tractions intermittently for the last 40 years, my first being in the early 1970’s, a 1952 RHD large boot Light 15 supplied by Poole’s garage in Jersey where I live.
The second came along in the early 1980’s and was a LHD small boot 1948 11BL, which I bought from Soames Langton, it was ex Holland, and had smart light grey rexine seat covers, together with an air starter tube to the front. John Gillard rebuilt the engine in the days when he was at the Arches.
The third was my current car which I bought in auction in Paris a few years ago, a pre-war 7C model being built in 1939, it is quite original, which makes parts hunting interesting, however EBay and Depanoto coupled with TOC spares keep it going.
The car has some WW2 history, as it comes with military papers issued by the Regional Chief of the FFI in Toulouse showing it’s use and military registration number at the time of the Liberation of Southern France.
There was a fourth Traction, being a Slough built 1939 Light 15 which originated in Scotland, although an extremely fine car, I found I preferred the French car and sold it to a chap in Southampton a couple of years ago.
The 7C shares the garage with a 1937 Peugeot 302 Berline, and a 1957 Citroen 2CV AZ with the full length roof with no boot lid.
Aside from time in France as child in the 1950/60’s when Tractions were in daily use, I also found when I became interested in the German occupation of the Channel Islands that a number were used by German forces, which provided some good archive material, and in fact a number continued to be used post war, when Poole’s garage and ultimately Barnes Garage took over the agency.
I have attached a pic of the 7C and of it’s Peugeot competitor, the 302 was short lived due to the success of the 11BL, and in 1938 Peugeot introduced with the larger 402 legere with the 2 litre to compete with Citroen 11.
Kind regards
David Acon
Jersey CI
[attachment=1:2j3c3ooj]1939 Citroen Traction 7cv (3).JPG[/attachment:2j3c3ooj]
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