Preparing the Citroen DS boot lid

The Citroen DS boot lid is almost ready to be mounted on the car.   Before Xmas I was able to finally fit the badges properly.   The next task was mounting all the other hardware and fitting a new boot lid seal.

The latching hardware and handle goes on quite easily if you have a 36mm spanner.   The only fiddly bit is getting the drainage tube through the two holes in the lid.   I used a pair of dental picks to accomplish this.

The standard Citroen DS boot lid seal is a very thick rubber that squashes down as the boot is closed.   Unlike in most cars, the seal is attached to the boot lid.   This seal has mixed reviews in the DS community.   The original ones retained water, causing many boot lids to rust out.  This is probably what happened to my car as it is now sporting an aluminium boot lid from an early DS19.   The reproduction ones are closed cell, but can make the lid sit higher.     The D Special and D Super didn’t use this seal at all, just some simple rubber pieces on the lip of the chassis.   These don’t cause rust, but don’t always seal all that well and let dust into the car.

Based on a recommendation from Aussiefrogs, I used a sikaflex product to glue down my seal.    It is not a flat channel, so I am using a set of clamps to hold it down as the glue dries.   So as not to damage the paint, I am using towels to stop scratching and cardboard to spread the pressure.  I hope this works!

The only thing left will be to fit the rubber seal that sits between the top of the boot lid and the window glass.   This is very easy as there is a channel in the boot lid it fits into.

Today I also fitted the carpets and rear seat to the car.  Progress has been very slow – my aim is to get the car back on the road in the next two to three months.