'Enjoliveurs', the make-up of your classic

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Purchasing classics there

"Enjoliveurs," that sounds just beautiful.

With the French co-Europeans, the term 'enjoliveurs' covers all chrome parts and the shiny work such as hubcaps and such. But all kinds of other parts can also be 'enjoliveur'.

The tendency to want to stand out from the crowd dates back to before the invention of the wheel. Motorists were therefore prone to it. And the market responded to that. Manufacturers such as Robri, Sacred and Robergel, Autobleu Tubul, Tonneline and GH already supplied all sorts of glimmends for cars such as the TA that, if it was successful, also had a protective function.

So glimmerdjes

Think of wheel covers, exhaust trim pieces, hood emblems, lamps, horns, bumper rosettes, 3D license plate holders, clocks, steering wheels, mudguard edge protectors ('sabots', clogs, etc.) to suitcase lids.

In this way, drivers of TAs 2CV, R4s Caravelles, Beetles, 203s and much more could provide their cars with a personal touch. And they did so with full conviction. Mounting another grille on such a large, front-wheel drive Citroën was pretty much the superlative of aesthetic surgery. And under the hood the case could then be upgraded with a molded, cooling-fined aluminum valve cover.

And in the margin we also grabbed that for the Citroën TAs also sets with two carburetors were offered by providers such as Chateau. They provided a considerable increase in power and an appropriate fuel consumption.

Steel, aluminum and zamac

The materials for all that beauty were chromium-plated steel, the easy-to-shape aluminum and they zamac alloy for the better castings. The fact is that all those parts are quite sensitive to the test of time. That is why there is now a considerable area of ​​tension between the will and the availability.

Parts of the manufacturers that we mentioned are clearly more expensive than parts of unclear origin. Add to this that sets of hubcaps are usually found in sets of three and that footboard protectors are usually only found in two right or left copies.

As with many other scarcity, Chinese reference has also been seen. In the classic world, imitation parts already have the name of the colorful dog in terms of fit. And buying cheap Chinese reference certainly falls under the laws on gambling. It costs almost nothing and that is exactly what it is worth.

A great contribution

But if you have found such beautiful time souvenirs, then they can make a nice contribution to the appearance of your classic. During assembly, however, make sure that all that screwed-on or clamped-in beauty is shiny waiting for moisture and dirt to creep under it. Because it will not be the first time that a mudguard protector holds the entire mudguard together.

Where do we find that stuff?

At fairs in the Netherlands of course. And in France at fairs and online. In France you will find more unexpected at trade shows than here. Of course, the professional French classic and classic parts are on the Internet.

But quite a lot of older people live in quite large parts of France and you also regularly have to deal with Internet connections that are as slow as Betuwe apple syrup. And that nevertheless helps people to offer their things at one of the many village markets, 'vide greniers' (attic clearance) or afterwards at a stall of a 'flea market'.

Learn to speak French

And this winter you can sharpen your French negotiation skills with the French course at the non-profit organization 'Alliance Française'.

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