Description
This is a 1952 Big 6 Slough built RHD “small boot” model. The French built 15/ 6 equivalent, “The Queen of the Road” was launched in 1938 in France and production started almost simultaneously in Slough. However, the war interrupted production and this restarted in Slough in 1948. Big 6 production in 1952 was only 129 vehicles so this is a relatively rare model.
I can produce bills for about £10, 000 and this an opportunity to have a very original, unmodified genuine Big 6 that can supply effortless top gear performance, as the Motor magazine found in a 1949 road test:
"On the sort of cross-country journey which especially suits the car, there is a very strong temptation to forget about the gear lever completely……used in this fashion, as it is very evidently intended to be used, the car ceases to be the subject of any criticism on the ground of heavy controls….. the way in which the car changes character, from being relatively heavy on the helm in town to being responsive to a light touch when road conditions allow, inevitably invites comparisons with comparable sized sporting cars of the vintage period. The Big 6 will appeal most strongly to those drivers who especially value a car displaying willingness to be driven hard on main roads.”This vehicle was built for export and started life in Ireland. Very little is known about its history there but what is known is that it was bought back to the UK in the late eighties, by Pedigreed Cars of Forres, based outside Inverness. This was a well-established, long time Citroen Dealer, and the owner set in motion a complete top to bottom restoration of the car, employing many of the retired mechanics who knew these vehicles well, to assist in the work.
The car was formally registered in the UK on the 5th April 1990. It was used as promotional vehicle for the business and went to several car shows, and at Christmas 1993 was displayed in the showroom of the garage.
The owner of Pedigreed Cars passed away in the mid 90’s and his wife decided to close the business down, but kept the garage premises. The Big 6 sat in this empty building for about 24 years until in 2019 I was contacted by the wife who now wished to sell the vehicle. I decided to go to see the vehicle and with the help of one of the original mechanics we drained the petrol and replaced the battery. The car sounded fine with no oil leaks but all the brake cylinders were leaking due to lack of use. I bought the car, and came back with a trailer and towed it back to West Wales.
On checking the car over it was clear that there were a few pressing problems, the rear shock absorbers had seized up, the speedometer had seized up, and the wiper motor had seized up. These problems were easily resolved but the brakes required a complete rebuild and I persuaded Mark Harding of Devon Tractions to come and sort this out. Mark had done great work on my Light 15 and on the 6 he replaced virtually all the braking system but at the same time noted that “This was one of the best Big 6’s he had seen”. I fitted an oil pressure and water temperature gauge and this indicated a very healthy oil pressure of some 50 psi hot.
At that time, I had three classic cars and sorting the other two for sale took up much time and I did not do any more on the Big 6 until late 2023. I became aware of a faint tap in the engine that was at camshaft turning speed. I changed all the obvious things including rockers and rocker shaft, but the tap remained. It was clear that this had to be resolved so I took the engine out and stripped it down. The engine had been completely rebuilt by the previous owner and was virtually brand new, with unmarked white metal bearings, new pistons etc. However, there were two issues. The first was that the timing chain had lost its circlip on the connecting link and in fact was half fallen out! The second issue concerned excessive wear on the camshaft bearings. I discovered that these bearings were fitted by the motor block suppliers and as such were not available from any of the traditional Citroen suppliers. I found a specialist company in Bracknell who ground the camshaft, made new camshaft bearings, and fitted these, after line boring the block. A fantastic job. The two pictures show both these issues clearly.
After resolving these problems this was starting to turn into a major rebuild and I decided to have the block and cylinder head rebuilt by a specialist. James Geddes of Traction Repairs just outside Newcastle has a well-earned reputation with Traction Avants and I took everything up to him, and we agreed I would buy most of the parts and he would put it all together. We ended up with new standard size pistons and rings, new valves, skimmed cylinder head, timing chain, and various other bits and pieces. I got the engine back and started fitting all the accessories. I bought a new exhaust manifold, rebuilt carburettor, rebuilt distributor and an electric cooling fan. I also took the opportunity to fit LED side lights and indicators, and front seat belts and two new tyres.
The first MOT recorded is in 2006 with a recorded mileage of 60, 957. This was when the car was parked in the Citroen garage in Scotland. This was the same mileage shown when I purchased the car in 2019. And I soon found out that the speedometer was seized. This was repaired and is now showing 61, 090 miles. The vehicle has done 133 miles in the last few years, mainly because the engine was being rebuilt for the majority of that time.
