Frida Reus has a thing for classic cars. She embraces the romance, the scent and the technology. Yet she does not work in the classic car industry. “I am a physiotherapy student. My goal is to make people better or at least to contribute to it. Perhaps I won’t do it all my life, because my field of interest is quite broad. I have just completed a photography course and have now registered for an interior stylist course. This will come in handy when our new house is completed. My love for automotive technology dates back to my youth and the main goal is to be self-reliant when I drive a car.”
It is no coincidence that she restored a Simca; This brand was brought to her from an early age. The grounds and warehouses of father and mother Reus in Venhuizen, North Holland, are full of all kinds of models from the heyday of the originally French brand. We come across a Simca 1000, a 1307 and even an 8 from 1938. There is also a new restoration project in the form of an 1100 in a three-door version and a Talbot Samba Cabriolet. Frida herself does not have a strong brand preference. To dad’s chagrin, her ‘daily’ might as well have been an Opel Ascona A. That doesn’t change the fact that she enjoys her Simca a lot, even though it suffered a dent in the left front door just before her holiday. An unsuspecting woman just drove into it.
André and Wynia Reus have three daughters, of whom Frida has the most car blood. The other two are on their way to a camping weekend of the Simca club and are also active there. Frida is the only one who does the tinkering. She had a real problem with the 1100, because it wasn’t originally as beautiful as it appears in the photos. Once on the lift bridge, father and daughter quickly discovered that the box girders were crispy. Whatever you want, there was hardly any rust protection in 1970. “That certainly applies to a Simca,” André knows all too well. Frida inherits her enthusiasm for the classic car from him. Dad Reus started his hobby around 1992 by renovating a Fiat 500. The architecture teacher has time left to tinker with classics and youngtimers with friends from the area. With them he expands his skills with welding and mastering the technique. He leaves the tightening of the bodywork to specialized companies.
The Simca 1100 is now spick and span again, but it required a thorough repair.
Simca saved from demolition
Thanks to the 500, André gets a taste for restoration. After all, his first car, a Simca 1000, could also use a major overhaul. Then things went quickly: a 1307 was added and in 2014 a blue 1100 that he entrusted to his middle daughter. However, it does not get that far, because the blue one turns out to be too bad to restore. He can serve as a donor for the latest acquisition, a green 1100. André: “We found it on Marktplaats in 2017. A parking facility in Andijk had to be emptied. Because no candidates presented themselves, all cars were destined for scrapping. We managed to save our green one in the nick of time. And you know what’s so cool? It is a five-door GLS, the most luxurious version at the time. It was in much better condition than the blue one. Moreover, it comes from the same dealer in Enkhuizen as the 1000: Simca-Chrysler-Sunbeam dealer Baas. There it was sold to a local window cleaner, who only drove it 70,000 kilometers.”
Frida is now old enough to help with tinkering, because she has been in the workshop from an early age to help her father when he cannot reach something with his large hands. “I was often able to get hold of something,” she explains. When she was seventeen years old, she already got her driver’s license. “My first driving lesson was in the blue 1100. Forward along the path in front of our house. Dad drove it back into reverse until I mastered that myself.”
That says enough about her car enthusiasm, right? Whenever her father is busy, she expresses her interest in technology. And if a nut or bolt needs to be loosened or tightened, she wants to take over the open-end or ring spanner. Frida: “Cars have always appealed to me. Of course there were Barbies, but just as many toy cars. I always helped in the workshop when my father was working there. Naturally, I could also immediately work on my own car.”
This is initially limited to unscrewing all interior parts, but gradually Frida is also allowed to work on the underside. André prefers to do the grinding, flexing and welding work himself, because a lot of sheet metal is rotten. Although there is nothing new to supply, the necessary supplies still reach Venhuizen via the club warehouse. “I can manufacture sills and bottom plates myself, but of course I can never reproduce a mudguard. Fortunately, the club still has enough in stock.”
Completely period-correct, those furs around the seats of the Simca 1100.
During the period that the Simca is at the sheet metal worker and painter, father and daughter focus on the engine. “It was in bad shape. Actually, it was just stuck: it had been in the stables in Andijk for too long. Ultimately, the block could no longer be saved. The metal was too affected by moisture; a combination of relative humidity and coolant that apparently contained too high a percentage of water. That’s why we prepared the engine of the blue 1100 with new parts, filters and a head gasket. We also immediately replaced the water pump, because one thing that should not happen is that the engine runs hot.”
More had gotten stuck. All brakes had to be new, as did the wheel bearings. An extensive job, which they could only complete after the Simca had returned from the painter. “If my father is busy at the bottom, I can work on the mechanics. Together we installed the exhaust and bled the brakes. We have fitted the brake callipers with new cups. I honed the brake cylinders and overhauled the alternator myself.”
The Simca 1100 in picturesque Enkhuizen.
Frida then concentrates again on the interior and installs the seats, door panels, window streamers and door handles. “I asked my father’s help for the folding rear seat to prevent damage. For safety reasons, we always check each other’s work. Not in an annoying way. With his experience, he wants to be sure that I have properly tightened the bolts of the seat belts, seats and rear seat and therefore often watches.”
Both will complete the restoration in 2019. They still have one important point left: tightening the cylinder head bolts. The valves are already in the right position, the timing is correct. They had the carburetor cleaned ultrasonically. They leave the adjustment to an expert. “We do not have any equipment to check CO, speed and the like. This is necessary for the engine to run properly. We prefer to take it to the garage for that. Now the 1100 is clearly running too rich.”
Also during the photo session, when we try to find the former dealer in Enkhuizen, the engine is overflowing with petrol and even threatens to stall. There is work to be done here. Yet Frida manages to keep the Simca, which is set to richly, running smoothly. “I was already good with the car because I was allowed to practice with all my father’s other cars while it was being restored. He also always had to sit next to me during the first year. This way he could see if I have ‘it’ in me,” she says. Frida is referring to the talent to drive a classic. “Father is like a driving school owner. Before I was allowed to drive independently, I had to take a driving test in a vintage car. If I didn’t have any driving talent, I wouldn’t be allowed to drive the cars. Luckily I have it.”
Simca did not have to be too beautiful, because it was suitable for commuting
During the restoration, senior Frida regularly warned that the Simca should not become too beautiful. “It’s my first car, so I didn’t have to worry too much if it gets a dent or scratch. It is my daily car for commuting.” She owes the latter to her grandmother. “She forced me to take the car instead of the bike in the evening. I now work in healthcare and the working hours there differ from the usual nine-to-five schedule. Grandma sleeps better when I go to work with the Simca. I also do that in the winter, because my father sprayed the car from top to bottom with ML.”
The commutes go smoothly, but every time friends get in, there is something wrong with the car. “On the day of our school prom, when two friends were riding along, the lever came loose from the coupling to the gearbox. The three of us immediately stood under the hood to solve the problem. I usually solve the problems myself, sometimes with my father on the hotkey. Like that night I left the lights on. Battery empty! But with Dad as a helpdesk, we managed to push him. That was an exciting ride with five nervous girls on board. That evening I gave the Simca its nickname Hulk, because the incident took place on a road with that name. The indicators and windshield wipers have also had problems. Very inconvenient in the rain. The Simca was towed once when the rotor was broken. The roadside assistance didn’t have a replacement, haha. At the moment Hulk is doing fine.”
New project presents itself
Is there a new project in the pipeline? Frida isn’t so sure about that yet. She is now no longer alone. “My friend has less interest in old cars. He knows the buttons and gadgets in the car and is at his beck and call, because his job as a bicycle mechanic for a professional cycling team gives him access to modern, luxurious cars. Still, he likes to ride with me and now that he has mastered the Simca, he can drive it after the driving test with my father.”
Isn’t there an orange three-door 1100 waiting? “I will contribute to that, but not nearly as much as with the green 1100. By then I will have other concerns. I’m really looking forward to furnishing our new house.”
Simca 1100
2023-09-29 17:53:59
#young #student #53yearold #Simca #happy
