Another Find of The Day: Citroen GS Service

"Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW." (aya-yu) 10/06/2014 at 05:13 • Filed to: None

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I've seen a GS before, my neighbor has one in fact, a blue GS Club Break. But i never seen a GS Service. Now i wonder what to do with this if i bought it..

GS Service is a Panel van version of the magnificent Citroen GS. This one was made in 1980, so it's the last of the breed. The engine was 1015cc producing a massive 53hp. Top speed? 102mph, thanks to the aero bits.

I love the GS, i always thought that thing is quirky, but i wonder what to do with this Service version.

Any ideas? The car was 1200USD btw.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 10/06/2014 at 05:38

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53 HP going 102 MPH is impressive. $1200 gets me clapped out shitboxes over here.

KatzManDu > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 10/06/2014 at 06:27

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The steering wheel seems to be on the wrong side :/

Make it art deco, like the purple DS which was featured not that long ago.

C้ h้ sin > KatzManDu 10/06/2014 at 06:42

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Not for Indonesia!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy 10/06/2014 at 07:02

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That's the Citroens for you.

In Indonesia Citroens are dirt cheap. You can get non-running example for less than 100 bucks. The Good one cost somewhere arround 700-1300USD. If you want something newer there's the BX for 1300-2000USD. Finally there's the BX GTI for 2000-2500.

There's also other model like CX, Dyane, 2CV, DS, and Tracton Avant. But they're very rare.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > KatzManDu 10/06/2014 at 07:03

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Indonesia is RHD so it's correct.

I want to put a huge glass on it and make it shooting brake.

shop-teacher > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 10/06/2014 at 07:49

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Awe, don't do that! It's super rare and unique because of the panel sides. It looks cool!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > shop-teacher 10/06/2014 at 07:52

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Well, i guess you're right. But i don't really like the brown. Maybe i'll paint it in Air France livery for the lulz.

Old-Busted-Hotness > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 10/06/2014 at 08:02

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Porthole windows and disco stripes!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Old-Busted-Hotness 10/06/2014 at 08:04

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Citroen Pinto!

*Altough the ford might be faster than the GS.

shop-teacher > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 10/06/2014 at 08:53

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Now you're talking!

You could always go the 70's custom van route, if you really want to get crazy.

twochevrons > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy 10/06/2014 at 09:42

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Yeah, they're powered by a little air-cooled flat-four (basically, two 2CV engines stuck together), that will happily bounce off the redline all day long. I've never driven one, but they're supposed to be rather excellent.

The high top speed is helped by the fact that they only weigh around 900kg, and despite the odd shape, they're remarkably aerodynamic. They've got a drag coefficient of 0.31, which is pretty good, even by modern standards.

twochevrons > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 10/06/2014 at 09:54

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Interesting – in New Zealand, it was a similar situation. They depreciate like crazy because people are scared of the hydraulics, despite the fact that, at least in my experience, they're incredibly reliable so long as you change the fluid every couple of years, and replace the accumulator spheres as soon as they start to lose their charge – both very cheap and easy things to do.

Still, it works out in the enthusiasts' favour! I picked up an absolutely mint-condition Xantia 2.0 for $2500 NZD (around $2000 USD). It was a fantastic car, and I really regret having to sell it. My parents did even better – they bought not one, but two BXs – a 16v GTI, and a top-of-the-line TRS – for $1500 NZD. Dad called up about the 16v, and it turns out that the guy selling it wanted to get rid of both of them! The 16v needed a clutch and a set of tires, and the TRS is cosmetically a bit rough, but they still have them both, 4 years later, and they're still providing excellent service.

Just out of curiosity, how do they hold up in the Indonesian climate? Used imports from Singapore and Japan are very popular in New Zealand, but the Singapore cars have a terrible reputation for having heat damage: my parents once had an ex-Singapore Renault Espace that was that way – all the plastics had gone brittle, glued-on bits of trim tended to fall off, and the transmission was never quite right (our mechanic said that it showed signs of having experienced severe overheating). I presume that the climate in Indonesia is similar – do you guys experience the same kind of issues?

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > twochevrons 10/06/2014 at 20:26

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Well, my friend says the Citroen's Hydraulics is much more reliable than the engine, which is weirdly true.

Xantia? Man that's cool!
In Indonesia even in late 90's we still got the GS, CX, and BX because Indonesian Citroens are locally made.

I once thought getting the BX GTI 16v. Was it fast enough to live the name? It's very cheap around here.

Well, the Singapore climate is generally worse than Indonesian. If you want to import from Indonesia make sure you get them from mountainous area like Bandung, Jogja, Bali, or Malang since the climate is much more like in europe. If you get the car from non-mountainious area like Jakarta or Surabaya then you'll get similar damage in Singapore.

And oh, if you're interested to see what car you can get, simply pop here:
http://www.olx.co.id/mobil/bekas/

twochevrons > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 10/06/2014 at 21:28

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I had no idea that they made them in Indonesia! Back in the day, New Zealand had a large number of local assembly plants, mainly for British and Japanese makes, due to high import tariffs, but the tariffs (and the plants) have been gone since the 1990s. The Rover and Triumph that I used to own were both assembled in New Zealand. Citro๋ns and other European makes were comparatively rare at the time, since they weren't produced locally. I remember seeing a receipt for my Xantia's original purchase price, and being shocked! Mine was a very early model (the production date was actually before the model was launched, so I suspect that it might have been a demo car), so it still had a few quirks that the later ones lost. I really miss it – the only reason that I was selling it was that I moved to the US and couldn't take it with me.

The BX 16v is an excellent car – it drives like a hot hatch, but is roomy enough for four adults and luggage. The 0-100 km/h time is somewhere around 7s, so it's not hugely fast by modern standards, but for a practical car from the '80s, it's very quick. They handle well, too – they're well-balanced, and although with the soft hydraulic suspension, they're not as sporty as some, there's a remarkable amount of grip. They're not perfect – the thin sheetmetal rusts and dents very easily, the interiors, while incredibly comfortable, are a bit cheaply made, and the 16v engine is a tight fit in the engine bay, making maintenance an exercise in contortion. Still, if you can get one cheaply, it's a lot of car for the money, and a huge amount of fun, too. I try to drive my Dad's one whenever I go home to visit (although last time, the BX had a broken gear linkage, so I borrowed Mum's Alfa 156 instead, and was hugely impressed with that, too, for similar reasons).

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > twochevrons 10/06/2014 at 21:48

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Yeah, they were made by a company called Alun. Now Alun made Actros Mercedes locally.

I kinda hate Alun. Yes they made Citroens, but they keep making old models as long as there's demands for them. The GS, for example, was made from 1971-1996 in Indonesia. It's insane, i wonder if that's even profitable.

Rover? We also got them, the one which based on the Honda, and that's it.

That's understandable. The BX is fairly light car. I never driven one before, but i think i might tried one before moving to Russia.

And oh, Alfa 156? That's awesome!

You guys get Alfa too? or is it imports?