Exactly 40 years after a Citroen CX won the Tour Automobile du Sénégal, the forerunner of the Paris-Dakar Rally, we decided to rebuild this famous car and bring it back to Senegal.
The car is a 1985 CX Pallas with a 2 litre 4 cylinder Douvrin petrol engine. Known as very reliable. My previous CX had almost 600.000km on the clock and the still engine ran like new. I have this CX since 2010. Before, it had been standing for more than 10 years in a barn but it was still in a very reasonable condition. I decided to fix/change all necessary stuff for safe driving. I changed timing belts, hoses, brakes, exhaust, tires, etc. The result was a fine car for summer trips and even proudly used for the wedding of my brother in law:
The car is a 1985 CX Pallas with a 2 litre 4 cylinder Douvrin petrol engine. Known as very reliable. My previous CX had almost 600.000km on the clock and the still engine ran like new. I have this CX since 2010. Before, it had been standing for more than 10 years in a barn but it was still in a very reasonable condition. I decided to fix/change all necessary stuff for safe driving. I changed timing belts, hoses, brakes, exhaust, tires, etc. The result was a fine car for summer trips and even proudly used for the wedding of my brother in law:
Years went by and because of lack of time and changing tax regulations in the Netherlands the car ended up in a barn again. Until fall 2016 when it had to leave its place. Outside in our garden it started quickly to rust everywhere and in the meantime mice took over the interior as their house. Time to make a plan. Via internet I got knowledge of the Budapest to Banjul Rally in 2018 (www.budapestbamako.org). I drove already several times to and through Africa myself (see links) and with friends and family but never in a rally like this. Also I knew that CXs drove many of the early African Rally’s in Senegal and the first editions of the Paris Dakar in 1980s. So the idea was born to rebuild the 1978 edition of a Senegal Rally CX and join the B2B rally.
The car was still able to drive but like a wild horse because a blocked carburettor. Because of the mice nests everywhere it stunk like hell. What followed where many hours of de-rusting, taking out the complete interior, cleaning the carburettor, fixing rust holes everywhere , changing all belts and water hoses, fix leaking gaskets etc. Also removed the LPG installation, towing hook and the aircon (not working). Then it was time to change the looks. A tent protected for dust and I just painted the car with an industrial paint, brush and a roller.
It started to look like something!. Next step was an overall check of all the hydraulic systems, changing oils, break hoses and fixing a major leaking sump gasket. This job was done professional by Leontien at www.hydraulique.nl in Raamsdonkveer, not far from our home.
After these and many other small repairs it was time to get the car registered and approved again for use on the road. Because we changed the fuel to gas (LPG before) it had to be done at an official RDW station. The CX passed all the tests well and now it was time to test the car in real life again. In the meantime I found the original racing stickers on the internet and Leontien from www.hydraulique.nl/ donated two big Total stickers for the rear doors. Another thing on the to-do list was replacing the interior headlining and floormats. The chairs are still a discussion item.
Last changes for the real original racing look was adding the original Cibie Oscar driving lights on the front bumper and derusting and painting the rims.