Photograph referenced EJV 640 — under the bonnet of a hydrostatic 2 CV, 7 February 1964

In this document

Page 3 bears a handwritten or typed inscription, transcribed with reservation as "[uncertain: 'EJV 640']", followed by the date "7.2-64" p. 3.

The photograph shows a close-up of the engine compartment of a vehicle identified in the document title as a hydrostatic transmission 2 CV. One can distinguish a tangle of flexible and rigid hydraulic hoses, threaded metal fittings, hose clamps, sheathed electrical cables, as well as a mechanical block equipped with several screwed fittings p. 3.

To the right of the shot appears what looks like a brake disc or a toothed pulley with a metal hub and bolted elements, as well as a part bearing an engraved pattern or crest at the top right p. 3. The whole shows traces of wear, grease and oxidation on certain parts p. 3.

Page 4, attached as the reverse side, contains no usable transcription.

Context

External to the document: the Citroën 2 CV, launched in 1948, served as a test bench for numerous technical experiments at Citroën during the 1950s-1960s, particularly regarding ground connections.

Hydrostatic transmission — a system where engine power is transmitted via a hydraulic circuit rather than by conventional mechanical components (shafts, gears) — was the subject of research by several manufacturers at that time, in a logic of simplification or variable continuity of the transmission. Paul Magès, known for the DS hydropneumatic suspension, conducted work in this vein of engineering based on hydraulics applied to the automobile.

Archivist's perspective

The reference "EJV 640" — the reading of which remains uncertain — and the date of 7 February 1964 suggest a series photograph, probably taken as part of a technical photographic report documenting the same prototype or test bench p. 3.

The comparison with neighbouring archives, dated the same day, is striking: Photograph referenced ELV 640 — under the bonnet of a hydrostatic 2 CV, 7 February 1964 and Photograph referenced ELV 724 — under the bonnet of a hydrostatic 2 CV, 7 February 1964 seem to belong to the same photo shoot documenting the same experimental device from different angles.

This is likely an internal technical monitoring document, intended to keep a visual record of an experimental assembly rather than for public communication purposes.