by George Dyke…..
Just when we thought we had unearthed every old Citroën in Southern Ontario came news of another stash that has languished for decades. This time 2 x DS21, a D Special, a Dyane and a 2CV on a farm just east of Tottenham Ontario. Citroënvie member Graham McCreery made the discovery this summer and we arranged with the owner, John Cook, to pay a visit to them on Sunday October 23.
Club members Brian Chewter, Seitese Elsinga, Herns Pierre-Jerome, George Klein, Pierre-francois Raimbault, Prakash Raja, Jim Sciberas, Don Stoyles, Jeff Teerlinck and myself came along to satisfy our curiosity.
Before descending on the farm we met at a wonderful coffee shop called the Grackle Coffee Company on the main street of Schomberg. The owner, Bryce, happens to be a Citroenvie member! The farm is a couple of side roads north and we got over there at 2:30 pm.
Arriving at the farm we found John busy welding a repair to a piece of his farm equipment. He happily took a break to show us his Citroen’s, that in our Club’s facetious term: “all they need is a clutch”. The 1971 D special he purchased new from Raymond’s in Toronto. The others he acquired over the years with the hope of restoring at some point. John had a DS21 in his garage that he had begun replacing the sill on years ago, but farm projects took priority since and though he hopes to compete it one day, that date appears to be pretty far off.
The 2CV was the only running Citroën, and although the body and floors were shot amazingly the chassis seemed good. John said he had managed to drive it up and down is farm road earlier in the spring!
All in all, it was a great day and it’s always fun to come across more old Citroen’s. It’s doubtful they will ever be roadworthy, but it’s also amazing how they manage to survive at all!
View the picture gallery of our visit here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskKb4FSG
Hi for what it’s worth or not, I would still love to get the two DSs that are in that farm, I am willing to take the chance…
Seriously if these are available, I can get the ball rolling …let me know
There’s always an old car ( Citroen) sitting somewhere for a rescue.. amazing !.
Lol, yeah, they are so sweet to look at amongst the greens, only I am more envious 😉
Just read your story about the discovery in Tottenham. One or two of those cars belonged to my mom and dad. I remember dropping them to John Cook’s farm 30 years ago!!! He drove a 2cv with tractor tires around the farm while my buddy and I (15 years old at the time) followed him around in his Suzuki Samurai through the trails of mud. One of the most wonderful memories of my childhood.