Beginning the Restoration of Brian Edward’s 1972 Citroën DS 21 Pallas Jubilee

By Will R Hodgskiss….

On Friday, December 12, 2025 — I became the lucky recipient of the opportunity to restore the much-loved DS 21 Pallas Jubilee owned by the late Brian Edwards and his family. It was generously offered under terms favourable to having the beautiful DS brought back to driving condition. It will not be easy, but we will do it!

I am not a collector of cars, though I have a few, including two other Citroëns; a 1988 2CV6 and a 1971 H Van.

I like things that are interesting, and different, and I like things that are useful. I would not want a car that I couldn’t enjoy on the road as well as be enjoyed by others in today’s sea of white, boring, plastic vehicles. I could answer questions all day long (nearly) from people downtown who have never seen something like them.

I am beyond grateful that Jean (Brian’s wife) and her family chose me to carry the ball on this DS project. While Brian obviously wasn’t present, (he would have been 90 the following day) you had to be there to appreciate Brian’s love of Citroën, and his family’s love of Brian. Jean with their daughter Pamela, son Brian, and son-in-law Philip, were so gracious, kind, happy, and determined to see Brian’s last project, and daily driver in good hands. Words were said, tears were shed, it was touching, poignant, and genuine.

Now comes the task of bringing the DS back to life. Bernard Laborde, who surely must have antifreeze in his veins, worked in the -10º cold with his sleeves rolled up, quietly, efficiently, and without drama.

After bypassing what had to be a gas tank full of Varsol, rust, and gum given that the car had sat for 26 years, Bernard had the DS fired up and running almost like a new car, in less than an hour! It was also a credit to Brian Jr. who turned it over by hand regularly, and kept the battery charged. I genuinely could not believe how readily it fired up. 

The engine had spoken, the car moved under its own power, and the spell was broken.

Citroën Autoclub Canada president George Dyke was with us to help also. He brought a wealth of knowledge of many things, but specifically germane to Citroën of all sorts. Having grown up in Cayuga, Ontario, in the shadow of the Cayuga Speedway, and Cayuga Dragway it was like the old days for me with intelligent car talk everywhere. 

Finally, the flatbed showed up nearly 2 hours late with the most bored, disinterested driver one could ever not hope for. The DS was carefully loaded and strapped down for the ride back to Napanee, ON (near Kingston).

A few hours later I intercepted the driver at my hot dog cart/truck factory parking lot to oversee the offload. All went well, the driver grunted, and disappeared. 

A few days earlier I had prepared a bed for the DS in a heated garage at my factory…… Despite that I have no experience behind the wheel of a car like this I could not resist a drive. I couldn’t find the lights, and it had no brakes, but I did a few laps around the lot in the dark anyway. It went well, I berthed the car and admired it by myself for a few minutes before heading back to Kingston in my boring Beemer.

Dec 30/25:
Bernard, and I rendezvoused in Napanee to begin an inspection. It involved removing fenders for better access, work on the fuel system, removing the back seats, and fuel tank. Bernard’s experience spoke volumes.

To make matters better, Bernard is a pleasure to work with, and even in the limited hours we had today I learned quite a lot. As well, I deepened my respect for a vehicle that is clearly an engineering marvel. I am beginning to see what Brian must have known.

My personal observations at this moment are that:

• It’s a major project but is doable 
• The fuel tank is full of wonderful things but none of them are clean fuel 
• The looming fear for me is that there may be frame damage. Fixing it is typically a major issue. But we will deal with it if it happens.
• At this point to me each nut or bolt we touch seems to bring a new challenge, question, or answer.

My task now is to get the fuel tank cleaned. Bernard has a list of things for himself, and we will meet back in Napanee in the near future.

Thanks to everyone involved and especially the family for having the foresight to see this masterpiece come around again, and to trust me to do it. 

More to come in 2026!