Back in 2017, a group of geniuses in Italy designed a kit for converting Citroën Jumper vans into replicas of the legendary HY van, which went into production 70 years prior. The results are pretty legit but there’s one improvement that could be made. They could be available here in America too.
The kit itself was designed as replacement panels that replace the stock pieces, complete with a louvered appearance that mimics the textured sides of the original. The front end of the Jumper is swapped with an all-original piece of kit that evokes the lines of the original but fits over all the mechanicals underneath.
Only 70 of these vans were built for the original project in a number of different body-styles, including campers, food trucks, and flat-bed car transporters in addition to the standard panel van, demonstrating the flexibility of the kit and the possibility it might be usable for some of the Jumper’s rebadged siblings.
“But Max,” you say, “the Citroën Jumper isn’t sold here and neither are the Peugeot Boxer of Fiat Ducato, so isn’t this all kind of moot?” You’re right about that. But here’s the thing. It is sold here. Kind of.
Long before any rumors of merger swirled about Fiat Chrylser and Groupe PSA, there were vans. The two companies have long cooperated in that sector, forming the SEVEL van manufacturing joint venture in 1978 that gave us the original Ducato/Peugeot J5/Citroën C25 triplets. Two generations later, SEVEL is still being building vans for FCA and PSA, and in addition to Fiat, Citroen and Peugeot variants, the Ram Promaster rebadge is on the market here in the US.
Now, there are some differences between the American market van and its cousins in Europe, but I’ve seen some Promasters here in New York fitted with aftermarket parts clearly meant for Peugeot Boxers and Citroen Jumpers and one of the forums I took a look at suggests that things really are quite similar once you take the badges off.
So that leads me to my idea. Citroën H vans are getting more and more popular as food trucks. I can see why. Their sharp lines, beady little headlights, and pig-like snout are adorable. They attract all kinds of attention. But they’re not ideal food trucks. They’re small, they might not always start, and I want to keep them nice so generations to come can enjoy them. So scrap the H-van food truck idea to save the H-van and put together one of these.
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