One of the highlights of owning a van project like my 1981 Toyota HiAce is how functional it is even when I’m not using it. I can store all sorts of crap in the back while it’s just sitting idle in the garage, which is more than I can say for my other projects. This 1963 Citroën Acadiane here on craigslist has similar qualities, as it has a cavernous rear bed / body you can use while figuring out which part of the restoration to tackle next.
Growing up, the house next to my grandmother had a Citroen 2CV that they parked curb-side in summer (and stored in their basement in winter!) I was always impressed with the clever packaging, a feature Citroens were known for. The van body on this Citroen is likely full of smart storage details that make it fit for any number of commercial uses, and if I were a food-entrepreneur, you can bet I’d have this set up as my food truck serving French cuisine in no time flat.
But I don’t like French food, so it will not be me that uses this Citroen as the basis for a rolling advertisement for a food business. However, there’s lots of goodness here in terms of how intact the Citroen remains, and I’d love to know its history as I don’t these were ever extensively sold here in the U.S. The seller does admit there is rust present, but doesn’t elaborate as to where. In addition, I don’t think the seller realizes this is a very rare to find Acadiane model, which features a heavy-duty suspension and payload of up to 1,100 lbs.
I’m also not sure if the model year is correct, as the production figures for the Acadiane that I saw indicated it was produced from 1977-1987. There’s some mystery here, as I don’t think the seller knows entirely what he has – or maybe I’m way off base. You tell us in the comments below, along with how you’d restore this unusual work van. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Dean for the find.
There’s a fitting acronym to describe this rig but it’s not Point Of Sale. Don’t get me wrong, I love strange and otherwise quirky vehicles, I might pay equal to scrap price for it if I had a spare front wheel drive train laying around. Otherwise, ship it back to the frogs!
I’m betting this vehicle has a 1963 VIN- a common practice to illegally import Citroens, who lasted many years relatively unchanged.
Don’t like French food???
I had a similar “not-meant-to-haul-more-50lbs” in a60’d ford econoline! Cute to look at but nothing to scatter gravel taking off! What HOA allow lawn ornaments like this?
Basically a 2CV with van body. As mentioned in another comment, many of these vehicles “acquired” new serial number plates and were registered as earlier vintage to circumvent the 25 year import rule in the US. This is likely to be the “big” 602cc engine. The truck’s hauling rating is 350 kg, which is not bad for a vehicle that weighs only 680 kg! Luckily this one has the side windows in the van portion. Otherwise they are very claustrophobic for taller drivers. Amazing suspension. One down side of the van compared to the sedan is that you lose the funky roll-back sunroof. The enemy of these vehicles is rust. The seller says it is present but I would want to know exactly where. Some is saveable, some is terminal.
Correction: basically a Dyane with a van body, tho’ granted the Dyane was itself based on the 2CV’s chassis and running gear.
I would not attempt any 2CV restoration without pulling the body off the chassis. The chassii rust from the inside out. If the seller admits there is some rust, rest assured that there is way more than you can see. New chassii are available for a price, and I would probably figure that cost into any thorough restoration.
Wow, that’s a damn good price for this van! If I could I would already have bought it and on my way to bring it home! I just wished that it had the funky single spoke steering wheel in it!
Well, thi citoren acadiane, isn´t of the year 1963, because, the citroen dyane 6, the little brother of the 2cv, start his producction in 1968, and the acadiane, start prduce in 1977.
In the year 1963 there are the citroen 2cv van, but the citroen dyane 6, and the citroen 2cv, don´t are the same car.