As a follow-up to an article we published over two years ago, we’re taking a look at vintage aftermarket accessories that motorists could buy to go faster, stop sooner or simply spruce up their car. The components below were all found in issues of French magazine L’Automobile published between 1960 and 1970.
Wide rims
Delta-Mic was one of the many companies that built wider rims for a long list of European cars. The ad claims they can be fitted to BMW, Ford, Lancia, Mercedes, Opel, and even Volvo models, but we’ve personally only seen them on Renaults, Simcas and the occasional Fiat.
Dual carb setups
A firm called Le Moteur Moderne (the modern engine) sold a dual carb setup that gave Simca 1100 owners the power they craved. The ad reads “over 150 km/h [93 mph] for less than 1,000 francs.” Tempting, isn’t it?
Cylinder wall sealant
Forcyl sold a sealant designed to prolong the life of an engine. According to the ad, you simply remove your spark plugs, pour a little Forcyl in each cylinder, wait half an hour and you’re good to go. It allegedly fills scratches associated with normal wear and tear as it hardens.
Bumper overriders
Sacred manufactured bumper overriders that could be installed without taking the bumpers off and without drilling through them. The Peugeot 204 is pictured, but the ad mentions the company’s catalog includes overriders for a long list of both French and foreign cars.
Brake boosters
In this ad, Bendix points out that brake boosters are becoming increasingly common because they make driving a lot safer. However, folks who are still driving old cars can easily improve their brakes’ performance by retro-fitting a booster, a process that’s billed as being quick and straight-forward. Bendix’s booster can only be fitted to French cars, including the Panhard PL 17, the Citroën H, the Peugeot J7, Renault’s 4, 6 and 8 as well as a long list of Simcas such as the 1501.
Forced induction
Scram sold a type of supercharger that uses a belt-driven turbine to feed more air into the engine. The ad claims the device stays off at low rpms and it automatically kicks in as soon as the gas pedal is pushed all the way to the floor. It noticeably improves the performance of the Peugeot 404, the Citroën DS and ID and, oddly enough, the Fiat 850, though the company noted that it was working on adapting the system to the Renault 8, the Simca 1000 and the Panhard 24.
The device could boost the top speed of an ID 19 from 141 to 159 km/h (87 and 98 mph, respectively), while motorists who installed it on a DS 19 could reach 177 km/h (110 mph). Unfortunately, statistics for the Fiat 850 aren’t listed.
I know the stats for the 850 …. the test driver announced them as “aaaarrrggghhhh ccchhhrrrissssstttt almighty !!!! ” or the equivalent in French !! Took a day and a half to unclench his fists from round the steering wheel too !!
Ha! I wouldn’t be surprised, especially if it was equipped with that damn Idroconvert gearbox.
Though, full disclosure: I love 850s and have owned two of them.
looks something like the the J C Whitney catalog.
Interesting! Take a look at some of the car accessories that were popular in Spain in the 70’s and 80’s…the Feliz static straps hung from the bumper are my favorite.
http://revistacoche.blogspot.com/2014/10/el-diseno-obsolescente-en-los-coches.html
That’s awesome, I love the mini bull bars, ha. I guess those must have been pretty popular in big cities back in the day.
It’s also interesting to see the market-specific emblems they got in Spain. In France, the 5 was never sold with the “950” emblem, and obviously the “5 velocidades” emblem is market specific. I’ve never seen that before, thanks for sharing!