– by George Dyke
On July 4, 2004, Doug Pengelly and I hopped in Doug’s DS and went to pay a visit to Jack Andrews in Niagara Falls. Jack was getting on years and now rather frail, he could no longer work on his latest DS restoration. Actually, it was time from Jack to downsize and move from his home in Niagara Falls to a smaller place in Port Dover. Our trip to Jack’s today was to fit front the seats into the DS. Jack had completed the restoration work to the extent that the car ran, but the seats and some of the trim still needed to be installed the car. Our task was the seats. They needed to be lifted in a secured. They were way to heavy for Jack, but at least with the seats in the car, Jack could move it and possibly take it with him to Port Dover.
Jack’s longtime friend John Mazmanian came over from nearby Fort Erie. Maz and Jack have been collecting Citroën DS and SM’s since the early 1970’s. Between the two of them, they have found dozens and managed to put a few back on the road. Doug bought his first DS from Jack, and Jack has graciously taken time over the past 10 years to educate Doug on how a DS works so he could do his own maintenance. So it was only natural that we go and help Jack with his DS seats today.
View the Photo Gallery of our trip here.
We had a nice meeting with Jack and afterward Doug and I followed Maz back to his place, a few acres of land where he pursues his love of farming and which provides adequate space for his substantial accumulation of Citroëns!
Maz discovered that under his land was natural gas; enough to heat his homestead. Always the innovating engineer he took a running but rusted out DS and put it to use, running a belt from the left front wheel rim of the D to a hay-bailer that was modified to pump water. This let him pump out surface water that accumulated in the rock’s gas pockets, thus enabling the gas to flow through. As you look toward the back of Maz’s farm today, you can see the vague remnant of a DS, motor still working away, and driving the pump! And amongst the farm field, and in a few breezy barns are SM’s, D’s and various other Citroëns in various states of decay or plant growth.
Maz and Jack. You can call them old-timers yet they are also Citroen Club legends that know more about Citroëns by the practical school of “grab a wrench and tackle it” philosophy.