A Citroën Club Member You Don’t Want to Meet, by Rick Stifel

January 7, 2009 by Denis

Citroën Club of North America has added a Meet the Members category to the blog so the community can get to know one another. We’d like to feature someone each week, so if you’d like to be on the blog and share your bio and some pictures, please send them to citroenclubofnorthamerica@gmail.com and we will post asap. Get to know your Citroën friends and share your story.

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Rick Stifel's Ural

Me and Ural

I have a fairly advanced case of mad-cow disease, so I can not specifically recall when I became infatuated with D-model Citroens . During my adult life (I was conceived in early 1946), I have been attached to odd-ball cars, starting typically with British stuff (an MGB , an MGC , an MG ZB Magnette , three different Minis including a nice woody wagon, and concluding with a three wheeled Reliant Robin ). I branched out a little bit into Fiats and a Lancia .

At some point, I had to have a DS and began to fantasize about them, 24 hours a day. Sound familiar? You’re driving down some stretch of highway and you visualize yourself in an awesome DS rather than the ordinary thing you are driving….and/or …you sit in your favorite chair, ignoring the TV with Mr. Reynolds’ book (The Original DS Citroen ) sitting in your lap deciding what year/ color combination you’re going to get.

I decided to pursue my desire with some logic. I would learn more about the cars from knowledgeable people and buy a “finished/restored” car rather than a restoration project. I joined an internet mail list about Citroens and read all the posts. I learned who the major players were (restorers/resellers/mechanics) on the east coast (I am 25 miles west of DC) and decided to visit as many of them as possible. I figured a phone call was nice, but a personal visit would leave a more lasting impression. What I was looking for was a referral. When so and so wanted to sell his nice car, I figured he would mention it to one of the “players”, and I would find out about it.

In 1997, I decided to visit some Citroen “gurus” including Denis Foley and, of course, Dave Burnham . (Why do these guys have to live in the deep woods?) They all essentially said the same thing: “you’ve got a be a little nuts to own one of these things, but we are are glad to have you in the fraternity. Buy the best car that you can find. Restorations usually make little sense.” Burnham and Foley actually let me drive a couple of beautifully restored cars around their neighborhoods! I was hooked.

Maybe five months after my visits to the “guru’s” , I got a call from Mr. Burnham saying an acquaintance of his in Denver, who had done several impressive restorations, had a partially restored car that needed a buyer/new home. As my youngest son was going to the University of Denver at the time, and I would be visiting him a lot, the geography wasn’t the issue it might have been.

Turns out that Doug Behnfield was finishing a car for Dave Towe in Connecticut (that went on to win an award at the ICCCR ), and he was part way through restoring a car for his teenaged son. The son declared halfway through the restoration that Citroens were very cool (‘cause his dad restored them), but he wouldn’t be caught dead actually driving one to school…..hence a surplus restored Cit was created. I got to pick the paint color and some other finishing details. At perhaps the 70% finish level, I flew to Denver for a visit with my son, and a “how’s it going” check-in with Doug. We had arranged for him to pick me up at the airport. He arrived in a beautiful SM that he had recently completed. It was absolutely gorgeous. I thought the blue paint was to die for and insisted that my car be painted in the same color. It’s a late ‘90’s Ford mini-van metallic blue. So much for originality! A few months later it was completed and my first drive was a 2 ½ day trip from Denver to DC.

The car was a big hit at its first Citroen Rendezvous at Northfield, Mass., but the highlight of its career was winning a National First Prize from the Antique Automobile Club of America at the Hershey, Pa. meet in 1999.

Hershey is one of the largest car shows in the U.S., and I have enjoyed going there over the years. The AACA seems to focus on American cars, but there is always a good European representation and the “cars for sale” area is always amazing. As it had been very muddy the previous couple of years and I wasn’t about to get my new Cit dirty in the distant parking lots, I decided to take my daily driver. It occurred to me a few weeks prior to the meet that the Cit was old enough to enter, and by entering I would be able to park on the nice asphalt lot in the middle of the show! I think it cost about $60 to join the AACA and register for an up-close parking space. Lo and behold I won my class (1972)!!!

My car has been the love of my life for the past 10 years….but also occasionally a complete pain in the butt. Potential buyers of D model Citroens need to appreciate that these are remarkable cars but can often need the attention of knowledgeable mechanics. If you do not live near someone who knows how to maintain a Citroen D , or can’t do it yourself, I wouldn’t recommend that you buy one. On the other hand, ownership is very rewarding. I still enjoy just looking at my car.

Congrats to all of you that are starting the new magazine, and have put together a great web site.

Rick Stifel

Rick Stifel's Citroën DS21 Pallas