Summer 1972

At the beginning of July 1972, I went on vacation for two months, not knowing yet where my next post would be.
I spent most of the summer at the Abbey, our family vacation house, near Saumur.

As I had no means of transportation, I quickly bought a 125 cc motorbike, a Motobécane 125 LT.

Motobécane 125 LT
source

At this time, in France, and until 1978, if you had a car driving license, you were allowed to drive a small motorbike up to 125 ccs. So, I did not need a motorbike license to drive the 125 LT.

As I did not know where I would be sent for my next post, and there was a slight chance that I would be posted overseas, I decided to by a cheap used car just for the summer.

That would be my fourth car, as in Tahiti I had bought and sold two cars.

The first car I bought in Tahiti was a Peugeot 404, with a sunroof.

Peugeot 404
source

Then, I had bought a Sunbeam Alpine convertible.

Sunbeam Alpine
source

I had sold these two cars before leaving Tahiti.

So, in July 1972, I bought for 300 francs (around US$60) a used Citroën DS 19.
It was a real piece of junk and insurance for three months cost me more than I paid for the car.
But, it allowed me to have transportation.

Citroën DS 19
source

In August, I learned that I was posted on a new ship that was not finished to be built in Lorient, another port in South Brittany.

I then order my next car, a brand new Renault 12 Gordini.

Renault 12 Gordini
source

In France, at least at this time, you did not go to a car dealer and buy a new car from his inventory.
At the car dealer, you chose the specifications of the car you want, then you order the car.
The car was built by the manufacturer, shipped to the car dealer, and then only you could take delivery of your brand new car.

So, I had to wait for three months before I got my first new car. But it was not a real problem, as I had the DS 19.
In a future post, I will describe some adventures I had with the R12 Gordini.

Several years later, after I was no longer owning the R12 Gordini, my youngest sister Nicole gave to me a model of the R12 Gordini.
I still have this model.

R12 Gordini Model

Continue to Part 43

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Summary
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7
Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14
Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21
Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24 - Part 25 - Part 26 - Part 27 - Part 28
Part 29 - Part 30 - Part 31 - Part 32 - Part 33 - Part 34 - Part 35
Part 36 - Part 37 - Part 38 - Part 39 - Part 40 - Part 41

The Story of My Life so Far - Part 42 - Summer 1972 at the Abbey: a Motorbike and Two Cars

Summer 1972