1974 Citroën SM I.E.
Here is my 1974 Citroën SM “Injection Électronique” (IE or EFI). I bought this car to be able to drive a SM without having to wait for the completion of my other SM’s slow restoration. That’s cheating, I know, but that’s so good 😉
In fact I was initially searching for a Citroën DS, but I quickly changed my mind because I now know the SM pretty well, I have all the required documentation and two SM would mean that I would be able to “play” with parts, for example by installing on this ’74 SM IE some parts restored for the ’72 SM, if needed.
I quickly forgot the idea of finding a nice SM here in Canada. There are some but the average condition of this type of car is usually pretty bad if no serious restoration has been done. The goal was to find a car in excellent shape. I asked my father to inspect some cars for sale in France during summer 2006. I fixed myself a “reasonable” budget but as usual I had to go slightly over this budget to find a really nice car.
To read the incredible adventure this car went thru when it was shipped from France to Canada, click here.
Here is one of the pictures my father sent me before buying this car. This picture has made a good part of the decision to chose this particular car.
Main characteristics
- Manufacturing date : October 1974
- Version : SM IE, France
- Serial number : 00SC3599
- Mileage : 47 000 km (indicated when bought)
- Body color : Beige Tholonet
- Upholstery : “Tabac” (tobacco) leather
- Engine : Maserati V6, 2.7 liters
- Engine type : C114.03
- Engine serial number : 303.402
- Supply : Bosch electronic fuel injection (D-Jetronic)
- gearbox : 5-speed manual
- Options : air conditioning, tinted windows, radio
Color codes
- Body : “Beige Tholonet” AC 085
- Body base color : grey AC 092
- Hydraulic parts : green AC 502
- Front grill : “Gris nacré” AC 095
- Air filters : grey AC 140
- Various metal sheet parts : “Brun chocolat” RAL 8017
The car in its initial condition
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In my driveway, she makes the neighbors curious 😉
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Sometimes, pedestrians stop to ask me what this car is
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She’s impressive!
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There is no front licence plate in Québec
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I put the rear plate onto the original french one…
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… to avoid making new holes, there already are 6 of them!
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The RR wheels are in excellent shape and fit very well
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It shines because it’s clean and I’m not a good photographer 😉
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Nice rims and brand new tires, it’s hot!
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Cleaning and polishing the bolt covers has been a long and meticulous job
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In the back, my “everyday’s” car who temporary lost its space in the driveway
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The windshield upper trim must be repositioned correctly
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The alignment of the body panels is not perfect…
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… but it’s not too bad
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Big scratches unfortunately temper the right side (rear fender and door)
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It’s frustrating, I’ll have to do something about that one day
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The front side, from under, not too bad after a little cleaning
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Here the rear side, not too bad either, but tar could hide bad surprises
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Some work on a lift gave an opportunity to see more details
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I’ll need to do something here, it’s not nice
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Under the engine, this is quite oily of course
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The side sections…
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… nice, I believe
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The leather is in great condition…
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…congratulations to the previous owners…
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…I now have to do as well
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Anyway, I treated the interior with a leather cleaner and conditioner
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The usual lose carpet on top of the pedals
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I have bought new carpets…
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…but replacing them is not really necessary
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Some cigarette holes. Who had the bad idea to smoke inside my car? 😉
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The rear seat is perfect
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On the center console, a dummy car audio system. I’ll probably replace it, with the speakers
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My two SMs look at each other. I hope none will become jealous 😉
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The roof trimming is nice
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The trunk interior is not too bad
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There is some trace of rust. I don’t want to be depressed so I don’t plan to take off the carpet for the moment 😉
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Here is the engine compartment when the car arrived at my home in April 2007
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Everything is here, I believe…
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…but we can’t say that it’s clean
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Air filters are ugly
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The hydraulic pump and regulator seem to be in good shape. The main accumulator sphere is quite recent
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After a little cleaning, the hydraulic tank is now nice. The brake accumulator sphere (behind the tank) seems ok
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With new front boots and buffers, I should not have any trouble
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There is still some work on the rear suspension. Boots would have to be replaced and, ideally, the hydraulic cylinders should be overhauled (the front ones too)
The car after a partial restoration
Here are some pictures showing the engine compartment after its restoration
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So here is the engine compartment in April 2010, three years (already) after the arrival of the car at home
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Mostly cleaning, but also some repainted parts, it makes a big difference
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This is not just cleaner, it also works better…
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… because a lot of servicing has been done between 2007 and 2009
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This is mainly the work done during 2009 that made a difference…
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… because when you remove almost everything, you can do a deep cleaning
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Posts related to this car
SM IE: Repair of the interior heater
During winter 2011-2012 I finally started working on the interior heating system, which was not working. I don't use this car during winter but during the fall season a working heating system is useful and any ways I like when everything works. When I removed the...
SM IE: Replacement of the brake accumulator
Since I have this car, I can't get rid of some vibrations I feel some times on the brake pedal, when I brake. After a few bleeding operations and because I don't know how old is the brake accumulator, I thought it should be a good idea to replace it, hoping it could...
SM IE: Installation of a “123 Ignition” electronic Ignition
For a few years now, I plan to install a "123 Ignition" electronic ignition system, on my SM(s). This is the only system I know that allows to get rid of the original distributor and its approximate performance (at least because of its age), with a self-contained...
SM IE: Finishing touches and installation of an electronic ignition
We had a quite bad weather this summer, but I've been able to drive the SM on a regular basis, going to classic car meetings organized by my club or others. But there is always something to do on this kind of cars, so here is a summary of my latest interventions.For...
SM IE: End of reassembling
Continuation and end of what started as a "primary timing chain work", which eventually went a lot farther than that, you probably noticed ;-)So this is the end of a few months of efforts and bas surprises, but this is also a happy ending. I'll now be more confident...
SM IE: Reassembling, continued
There is still a lot of work to do, dozens of hours in facts for the following steps. My parents were in Montreal for a few days so my dad helped my, thanks.The conclusion of this chapter is that the car has not been ready for Saratoga. What a shame 😉 I went to this...
SM IE: Reassembling begins
The parts I was waiting for arrived quite quickly, with special thanks to the French SM Club. I'm far but I'll have to finally find a way to meet these people who help us to maintain and restore our cars. Thanks again for your support.At this point, I still hope the...
SM IE: Work on the primary timing chain, finally
Cleaning is not over yet, I still have to clean the engine and gearbox, of course, before starting the timing chain work, which was the initial goal of this long operation, remember ;-)Now that everything is clean and I have all the required parts (I hope), I call my...
SM IE: More work on the primary timing chain
I call my friend Philippe for help to remove the engine and gearbox. They came out without too much trouble. I just thought I could let the first exhaust pipes in place but we had to remove the right side pipe, this part was quite difficult.Now that the drivetrain is...
SM IE: Work on the primary timing chain, continued
Still on the same timing chain intervention, my main goal is to remove this annoying water pump cover. After a few "soft" solutions, I then tried more "violent" ones. Here are some of them with pictures:So what can I do? The tiny space I have behind the engine reduces...
SM IE: Work on the primary timing chain
Winter is here so I forget the air conditioning system for a while to do some more consequent work. In fact, even after the replacement of both secondary timing chains and the valve adjustment done last year (see previous page), this SM still makes a annoying noise...
SM IE: Work on the air conditioning system, continued
Because of the leak discovered earlier when testing the circuit, and following the advice of the specialist I saw, I decided to replace all the pipes, hoping to fix the leak and increase the system reliability.Modern air conditioning pipes are a lot more rigid than...
SM IE: Work on the air conditioning system
As planned, I worked on the air conditioning system. The goal was to replace the original compressor by a modern and more gentle one (for the timing chains), replace the drying cartridge and then try to put the system back in working order.I also had a problem with...
SM IE: Rear height adjustment
The rear suspension needed a height adjustment because the driving height was too high. I knew it and then Marcel and Othello told me about that when we were driving to the Saratoga's RendezVous, it finally motivated to do the adjustment.Here is a job that, for once,...
SM IE: Replacement of the injection wiring harness
Following the electrical difficulties I had in September 2007, I ordered a new injection wiring harness. So here comes the moment to install this new wiring harness, this is early June 2008.This intervention took me 4 or 5 evenings of work. I complete this work on a...
SM IE: Suspension buffers and boots
Suspension buffers are important. When this car first arrived in Canada, I had problems because of these buffers. It was difficult to move the car manually because the rear wheels were touching inside the wheel arches. I initially suspected brake problems but it...
SM IE: Valve adjustment and suspension noise
During September 2007, my mechanic can finally work on the car. The goal is to adjust the valves, replace the secondary timing chains and track and fix the annoying suspension noise I have for a long time now. It will be a good occasion to do an interesting...
SM IE: Replacement of a drive shaft, as a try
By the summer of 2007, I frequently use the car, I drove about 2500 km from May to August, but I still have a very bad noise coming from the front of the car. I think about 3 possible causes: the anti-roll bar, a drive shaft of a ball pin. I begin by greasing...
2007 “Citroën Rendezvous” in Saratoga Springs
By June 2007, the SM in not mechanically perfect but she's working pretty well, so I can enjoy this car and take part to some meetings, from my local club and others. By June 16th, I take part to to the 2007 Citroën Rendezvous in Saratoga Springs, in the...
SM IE: Adjusting tension of the timing chains
The engine is noisy and this noise is, I think, coming from the secondary timing chains. The professional mechanics who could fix this problem are not available, so I decide to check myself the timing chains tension. I can easily do it myself, and that way I will know...
SM IE: The Official Technical Verification
In Québec, there is no periodical technical verification for regular vehicles. However, there is a mandatory one for cars coming from another province of Canada and, of course, for imported cars like this SM. The inspection, as it is called, must be done...