Pretty, please . . .

My last post was about cleaning. This post is about going from beast to beauty, making it pretty. For a time, whenever I worked on the car, even coming in to the garage just to look or to contemplate my next move, I got oil streaks on my clothes. Very annoying! I finally broke down and purchased some black mechanic's overall. They arrived just in time for the next step; painting the engine room and front suspension arms.

The dark hole where time began, my engine room before pressure washing.

After I had pressure washed the engine room, a process in which you move dirt and grime from the object to the subject, I cleaned off oil residue with lacquer thinner. Then I dulled the surface with 320 grit wet sand. The H-frame was welded with my newly acquired MIG welder. Unfortunately, I had a malfunctioning welding helmet and I was not friends with the gas regulator. In addition, I was too eager to go live, so instead of doing some practice beads, I did my first weld live on the frame. So the welds will not win any beauty contest, but they got done. Surprisingly, the before pictures did not show any visible cracks here, despite David Hume's insisting that I look again.

H-frame detail before welding. No visible cracks, despite vigorous wire brush work. What you can see though is the moon sliver shaped void between the plate and the weld (below the weld). I guess they had lazy robots back then.

David also told me to check the tightness of the bolts holding the suspension. In his experience the higher the mileage of the car the looser the suspension bolts. A low mileage car will allow 1.5-2 full revolution tightening of these bolts. I could only manage 1/2 to 3/4 turns.

One of my clutsy welds with my new MIG. Note my masking technique, using aluminum foil, around complicated parts. It actually worked very well and was a whole lot easier to deal with than masking tape both in application and removal.

The few spots of bare metal spots were then primed with weld through primer. Now it was time to make decisions about paints. Strangely, I could not find information about the the original grey color of the frame legs. Not even folks on the Sports Maserati List knew. David suggested Grey Dupli-Color DA 1610, medium grey. From a sample it seemed a good match. But, I wanted a durable finish, so I searched the internet and happened upon Stephane Palumbo's site for his SM renovations http://stephane.patchou.com/. There, Stephane suggested AC 092 was the color for the frame. In an email he, said he found it on a Swiss Citroen restorers web site, http://www.citrothello.net/. It look good and I took a chance and ordered some LIMCO (made by BASF) from my local auto paint supplier. It is a hardener type paint, which is exactly what I wanted for durability. Below you can see a sample put on the frame leg to check the match. I figured that the paint had faded a little in the 38 years since it was painted , so I was satisfied.

Paint sample of AC092 on top of the original 38 year old paint.

I also had the black paint used on all small metal parts matched. but, when I started to paint the suspension arms, I realized it was too grey and I found a better match at Ace Hardware, a black semigloss in a spray can. Of course I lost the benefit of the hardener, but c'est la vie.

On Citrothello's site I also saw how they blended the body color with the frame color. It looked odd and cheap but David Hume confirmed this to be the factory practice.

Correct paint blending from factory. Courtesy of Citrothello.net. Note the blend line, right behind the rear transverse engine support member.

My original paint color was a green metallic, AC 527 Vert Argenté Métallisé. In fact all my cars were the same color, so I'm guessing it was a popular choice in 1972. To nurture the dream of rebuilding my SM, I had long had a Dutch picture of an SM as a computer background. Maybe it was love at first sight or just familiarity but I wanted my car to be that color. Again, I searched all over the internet and finally identified the color on a French site, AC 640 Bleu Delta Métallisé. Incidentally, I love this picture with the Citroen as the only colored object, the teed off house wife having to share the park bench withe two drunk down-and-outs. It's the typical bold Citroen take on advertising!

One of my favorite Citroen SM pictures and my Computer background for the last 5 years.

Above My engine room after painting Correct blending of frame color with body color AC 640 Bleu Delta Métallisé. Below, my engine before painting for comparison.

While cleaning is not an exiting subject, you have to be prepared to do a lot of it when renovating any old car. The hydraulic Citroens seems to acquire a lot of grime and dirt over the years, more so than many other cars. Cleaning and preparation is the foundation of all other jobs and you will do a lot of it. It feels like I spent half to three quarter of my time cleaning. This may be more a perception, but still. It consumes a lot of time

So if you want to save some frustration and keep this type of time to a minimum, you may want to think about your setup. I would recommend the following basic tools:

1. Parts Cleaner
2. Wire wheel
3. Assorted emery cloth
4. Assorted sand paper
5. A soda or sand blaster
6. Paint stripper

A parts cleaner. I have a 20 gallon one from Harbor freight ( less than 100 bucks). Its big enough to stick two brake calipers, or the accessory tray on an angle. I researched different types of fluid before settling on reduced odor mineral spirits. You can also go for some formulated green type degreaser or diesel. I really recommend low odor, it really is. However, at $14.50 per gallon Home Depot ( I think Wal Mart was $10/G), it cost you twice the cost of the parts washer to fill it up. I found that I need at least 15 gallons for the pump to work, due to the elevation of the suction point. I'm happy with mineral spirit. Low odor, no appreciable evaporation even though I frequently leave lid open. Not to harsh on skin and last but most important, quite effective. Elbow glowes, a plastic apron, safety glasses, a stiff bristle brush and a couple of different size wire brushes are good complementary tools. I chose a corner location for my parts cleaner, as it does tend to splash. I would also recommend semi gloss paint on the walls. It makes it easy to wipe up, even though my wall are white.

20G parts washer, note the brake caliper with hydraulic lines submerged and the empty containers of mineral spirits below. I save them for the clean out (drain fluid, grime remains on the bottom).

8" wire brush wheel. I have mine mounted in my drill. This is perfect for for removing surface rust and heavy grime and some paint. I recommend an american made wire wheel. I have used mine for a year and thought it has seen a lot of action, it is still in good condition. It works wonder for all those hydraulic fittings and lines. Safety glasses are a must to guard against any bristles, grime or the piece it self flying off.

My wire wheel setup. Great for all those hydraulic nuts.

Assorted emery cloth from 120 -400 grit. I have both narrow and wide. Can be purchased inexpensively at harbor Freight.

Emery cloth narrow and wide 120-400 grit.

Paint remover. I used this to clean of the many painted small parts on a Citroen before plating them. Basically you need some big heavy duty plastic bags and a cheap paint brush to apply the goo with. First you apply goo liberally on parts, then place in plastic bags for overnight or several days storage. the purpose of the plastic bag is to control the evaporation and thus boost the effect o the paint remover. Without it , you would use a lot more effort and paint remover, and get a stinkier work space!

I do a lot of plating in yellow Cadmium Chromate, which is the original Citroen plating. Basically all my fasteners and small metal parts get plated. I 'm lucky enough to have a plater in town. For successful plating, you are supposed to sand blast and remove all paint as it works as a mask. However, I have discovered the thin paint Citroen used often comes of wholly or partially in the chemical cleaning process, prior to plating. Since I keep bringing batches to plating, I just bring unsuccessful stuff back for re-cleaning and re-plating. Plating is good foundation for painting and another barrier for corrosion. Besides, all the fasteners i throw oily and dirty into the bucket come back clean and shiny. What's not to like!

Each batch of up to 50 lbs cost about $90. Smaller parts bigger parts use different processes and thus count as separate batches.

The end result. With the help of a little alchemy, I can turn every part into Gold! You may recognize this e-brake assembly, ready to be mounted. you can't see it but, I used graphite grease for bearing surfaces, to prevent freezing or friction. Cast parts plate well too, though they can be a different lesser sheen.

Once upon a time, there was a tired old Citroen SM . .

Welcome to my blog,

Hello my name is Michael, and I have a Citroen SM. I'm addicted to Citroens and this is my confession. A blog about restoring a Citroen SM.

Although I have owned this car for a few years, I was not setup to fix it. Since late 2009, I finally got the facilities to pursue this interest and got started. I also have had a Citroen DS for many years, so I was already quite enamored with the Citroen style and quirks, with its soul.

It's an interesting tidbit that the name Citroen is derived from Dutch Citron meaning lemon. Coincidentally, this is how many people in Europe and here in North America feel about this Marque and this model.

I have dreamed of owning an SM ever since the early eighties, when I first heard of them. Back then, they were just considered exotic, at least in my mind. Unlike many others, I'm not really crazy about its looks, or at least not its side profile. The rear end is not my favorite; I much prefer the lines of the Citroen DS, the Godess. Also, the fit and detail finish of the car is not very impressive, just compare to a Mercedes. And there are these reliability issues. However, despite these short comings, the large Citroens are just mad cool, original and avant garde in so many ways.

Anyway, while I will share some ideas and muse, this blog is mainly about the restoration of this car and I'm not off to a good start in either regard. This is my first post and the project has already been in progress close to a year. I will try to catch up to current time with a series of photos from my archive accompanied by suitable narratives.

This is what my car looked like when I got it:

As the picture indicates, the body is in quite good condition. It has been repainted poorly once and has had minor collision damage. The good news is there's absolutely no corrosion on this car and it may not have done more than 42K in its life. But as is the case with many other SMs, the engine was kaput. Fortunately, I bought it with a replacement engine stuffed into the trunk. The seller intimated that the "trunk engine", a desirable 3L, was in good condition and just had to be installed.

I know what you be thinking and you was right. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. However, there were boxes of various parts making it look like there was more than one car in there. And oh yes, this was a doppelganger deal, i.e there was another 72, engineless, same color, partial,parts car that had clearly suffered through an engine room fire, included.

Gepetto's Workshop. This is me in my workshop with the doppelgangers, tearing down the "trunk" engine. As you can see I'm still smiling . . . No sign of the trunk monkey yet.

Here are some images from the engine after tear down in October 2009

Crankshaft looks pretty good with just one score on the big end bearing.

Oh, oh! Cracks around the oil pump drive shaft in the main chain sprocket.

Bad news . . Engine must have been standing for a while allowing water in. Some rust in liners, piston rings corroded stuck . . .

A little good news. The chain tensioner is a later model, a much sought after modification . . .

More good news!. Lifters/followers look undamaged with good shine, except for 2 small rust marks.

With the engine tear down completed and a somewhat clearer picture of my needs emerged, I got a quote for spares from the reputable SM Specialist, David Hume, in Midway, KY.

I was glad I wasn't faint of heart. Even with the parts I had on hand such as head gaskets and water pump seals, it would be above $3,200 in parts and services. Of course that assumes there would be no surprises. In my estimation even the best laid plans have surprises and changes . . .

After some consideration, I bought a used, rebuilt engine from him. It was not one of David's own rebuilds, but he knew the guy who had and had driven the car before removing it. He was fairly confident in the quality of the rebuild, though it did not have the best quality chains mounted. With the weakest point on the Maserati V6 design being the chains, I wanted the very best.

SM Engine cut open with 2 of 3 chains showing at 7 and 14.

I had David install all new Reynolds Synergy chains. In the process, he discovered the shoe of the tensioner was hardened with age, 2 lifters had marks and 2 exhaust cams were worn. These parts were all replaced with good used ones. The carburetors were also drilled out, cleaned and operation verified.

This added considerable cost to the engine, but it is now verified to be a rebuild in very good condition. I'm happy but poor! I was quickly confirming my original thought that restoring a Citroen SM is not a pass time for cheap skates, non-perfectionists or anyone on a tight budget. Like I said earlier, surprises are part and parcel of restoring a 40 year old car to its former glory.

As David was working on the engine in KY, I was busy cleaning and disassembling the many components and parts of the engine bay in NC. Another SM owner, I can't remember whom, had described the SM engine bay as "the dark hole where time begun". I can verify this to be an absolute truth! Removing the front under pan from the car, I scraped off at least 1/2" layer of oil, dirt and who knows what. This condition persisted throughout the front end of the car. As the saying goes, there are two sides to a coin. That oil-dirt melee was a perfect protective layer and corrosion could not rear its ugly head, even if it wanted to.

As I was disassembling the parts, I realized any complete car is the perfect way to store, protect and organize all its parts. My initially spacious and clean workshop was getting smaller and smaller and increasingly disorganized. I only had so much time to dedicate to this project in a given week and too much time was consumed by packaging and organizing, making any real progress painfully slow and discouraging. I think David was well aware of this from his long experience. He has probably seen many a optimistic, well healed restorer become discouraged, and join the food stamp line. I think he had one of those moments when I told him I could not put the engine in "the dark hole where time begun", without first painting the engine bay. He went all quiet and eventually said something like " that's going to slow you down a bit"