The Citroën flat air-cooled engines all seem* to have gearboxes that can be mated to an A series engine. This means it’s theoretically* practical to interchange gearboxes. However, before attempting this it’s worth knowing what ratios are in the different boxes.
* So I’ve read – I’ve not tried it.
This is a summary of the information I’ve been able to find about the different gearboxes and their ratios from a variety of sources. Where it’s been available to me I’ve take the information from Citroën workshop manuals, the rest is from various corners of the internet (mostly French Wikipedia 1,2,3) so…
CAVEAT LECTOR
This information is provided as-is with no guarantee of accuracy. Your mileage may vary, the value of investments may go up as well as down, the only certain things in life are death and taxes.
Table of contents
A series engines
This is the engine that debuted with the 2CV in 1949 and powered the 2CV 4. I’ve not included details of the gearbox on these but there are quite a few listed in the workshop manual.
M series engines
This is the base model, two cylinder, 602cc, engine that first appeared in 1961 in the 2CV 6. It is an evolution of the A series engine.
There seem to have been a variety of gearboxes for the different models produced (Mehari, vans, &c.) so to simplify things I’ve stuck with the post 1970 2CV 6 and Dyane 6 as they’re the most common.
2CV 6 (from 1970)
Engine: M28/1, 602cc flat 2, 8.5:1 compression ratio.
Tyres: 125 R 15 X, 1.8000m rolling circumference under load.
| Gear | Gearbox ratio | Final drive | Overall ratio | Speed at 1000 rpm kph | Speed at 1000 rpm mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 5.202 | 4.125 | 21.458 | 5.033 | 3.145 |
| 2nd | 2.656 | 4.125 | 10.956 | 9.857 | 6.160 |
| 3rd | 1.785 | 4.125 | 7.363 | 14.667 | 9.166 |
| 4th | 1.315 | 4.125 | 5.424 | 19.911 | 12.444 |
| Rev | 5.202 | 4.125 | 21.458 | 5.033 | 3.145 |
Speedometer drive ratio: 4/16
Dyane 6
(& Ami 8?)
Engine: M28, 602cc flat 2, 9:1 compression ratio.
Tyres: 125 R 15 X, 1.8000m rolling circumference under load.
| Gear | Gearbox ratio | Final drive | Overall ratio | Speed at 1000 rpm kph | Speed at 1000 rpm mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 5.748 | 3.875 | 22.275 | 4.848 | 3.03 |
| 2nd | 2.934 | 3.875 | 11.372 | 9.497 | 5.935 |
| 3rd | 1.923 | 3.875 | 7.451 | 14.816 | 9.26 |
| 4th | 1.350 | 3.875 | 5.231 | 20.646 | 12.903 |
| Rev | 5.748 | 3.875 | 22.275 | 4.848 | 3.03 |
Speedometer drive ratio: 4/16
LN
Engine: R06/627 (re-badged M28), 602cc flat 2, 9:1 compression ratio.
Tyres: 135 SR 13 XZX, 1.670m rolling circumference under load.
| Gear | Gearbox ratio | Final drive | Overall ratio | Speed at 1000 rpm kph | Speed at 1000 rpm mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 4.55 | 4.375 | 19.91 | 5.2 | 3.2 |
| 2nd | 2.5 | 4.375 | 10.94 | 9.5 | 5.9 |
| 3rd | 1.81 | 4.375 | 7.92 | 13.1 | 8.1 |
| 4th | 1.15 | 4.375 | 5.03 | 20.7 | 12.9 |
| Rev | 4.18 | 4.375 | 18.29 | ??? | ??? |
V series engines
Normally referred to as the Visa engine, this is an evolution of the M28 A series engine with changes to the major components (crank case, crank, cylinders, heads, ignition).
Visa
Engine: V06/630, 652cc flat two, 9.1:1 compression ratio.
Tyres: 135 SR 13 XZX, 1.670m rolling circumference under load.
| Gear | Gearbox ratio | Final drive | Overall ratio | Speed at 1000 rpm kph | Speed at 1000 rpm mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 4.545 | 4.125 | 18.749 | 5.344 | 3.321 |
| 2nd | 2.500 | 4.125 | 10.312 | 9.716 | 6.038 |
| 3rd | 1.642 | 4.125 | 6.776 | 14.784 | 11.674 |
| 4th | 1.147 | 4.125 | 4.731 | 21.176 | 13.160 |
| Rev | 4.181 | 4.125 | 17.249 | 5.808 | 3.609 |
Speedometer drive ratio: 5 X 12
Engine: V06/630, 652cc flat two, 9.5:1 compression ratio.
Not got information on the gearbox, presumably the same as the LNA with this engine?
LNA
Engine: V06/630, 652cc flat 2, 9.1:1 compression ratio.
Tyres: 135 SR 13 XZX , 1.670m rolling circumference under load.
| Gear | Gearbox ratio | Final drive | Overall ratio | Speed at 1000 rpm kph | Speed at 1000 rpm mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 4.55 | 4.125 | 18.77 | 5.5 | 3.4 |
| 2nd | 2.5 | 4.125 | 18.77 | 10.1 | 6.3 |
| 3rd | 1.64 | 4.125 | 6.76 | 15.4 | 9.6 |
| 4th | 1.15 | 4.125 | 4.74 | 21.9 | 13.6 |
| Rev | 4.18 | 4.125 | 17.24 | ??? | ??? |
Engine: V06/644, 652cc flat 2, 9.5:1 compression ratio.
Tyres: 135 SR 13 XZX , 1.670m rolling circumference under load.
| Gear | Gearbox ratio | Final drive | Overall ratio | Speed at 1000 rpm kph | Speed at 1000 rpm mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 4.55 | 3.889 | 17.70 | 5.5 | 3.4 |
| 2nd | 2.5 | 3.889 | 9.72 | 10.1 | 6.3 |
| 3rd | 1.64 | 3.889 | 6.38 | 15.4 | 9.6 |
| 4th | 1.15 | 3.889 | 4.47 | 21.9 | 13.6 |
| Rev | 4.18 | 3.889 | 16.25 | ??? | ??? |
G series engines
This is the flat four engine that first appeared in the GS in 1970 and was the main engine in both the GS and Axel as well as powering the Ami Super.
I haven’t done all the cross-referencing required to match GS models to gearboxes but it looks like there were four and five speed gearboxes that came with either a 4.375 or a 4.125 final drive. (There was also a three speed automatic box but I’m not interested in that.)
The Axel was the final evolution of the Citroën flat air cooled engine and seems to have used the four and five speed boxes from the GS but with a final drive of 3.889 in both cases.
Ami Super
Engine: G10/612, 1015cc flat 4, 9:1 compression ratio.
Tyres: 135 SR 15 ZX, 1.821m rolling circumference under load. (?)
| Gear | Gearbox ratio | Final drive | Overall ratio | Speed at 1000 rpm kph | Speed at 1000 rpm mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 3.818 | 4.125 | 15.75 | 7.2 | 4.5 |
| 2nd | 2.313 | 4.125 | 9.54 | 11.9 | 7.4 |
| 3rd | 1.524 | 4.125 | 6.29 | 18.1 | 11.2 |
| 4th | 1.12 | 4.125 | 4.62 | 24.6 | 15.3 |
| Rev | 4.182 | 4.125 | 17.25 | ??? | ??? |
GS 4 speed
Tyres: 145 SR 15 XZX, 1.873m rolling circumference under load.
| Gear | Gearbox ratio | Final drive | Overall ratio | Speed at 1000 rpm kph | Speed at 1000 rpm mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 3.818 | 4.375 | 16.7 | 7 | 4.4 |
| 2nd | 2.313 | 4.375 | 10.12 | 11.5 | 7.1 |
| 3rd | 1.524 | 4.375 | 6.67 | 17.5 | 10.9 |
| 4th | 1.12 | 4.375 | 4.9 | 23.8 | 14.8 |
| Rev | 4.182 | 4.375 | 18.30 | ??? | ??? |
| Gear | Gearbox ratio | Final drive | Overall ratio | Speed at 1000 rpm kph | Speed at 1000 rpm mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 3.818 | 4.125 | 15.75 | 7.4 | 4.6 |
| 2nd | 2.294 | 4.125 | 9.46 | 12.3 | 7.6 |
| 3rd | 1.5 | 4.125 | 6.19 | 18.9 | 11.7 |
| 4th | 1.031 | 4.125 | 4.25 | 27.4 | 17 |
GS 5 speed
Tyres: 145 SR 15 XZX, 1.873m rolling circumference under load.
| Gear | Gearbox ratio | Final drive | Overall ratio | Speed at 1000 rpm kph | Speed at 1000 rpm mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 3.818 | 4.375 | 16.7 | 7 | 4.4 |
| 2nd | 2.294 | 4.375 | 10.04 | 11.6 | 7.2 |
| 3rd | 1.5 | 4.375 | 6.56 | 17.8 | 11.1 |
| 4th | 1.133 | 4.375 | 6.56 | 23.5 | 14.6 |
| 5th | 0.912 | 4.375 | 3.99 | 29.2 | 18.1 |
| Gear | Gearbox ratio | Final drive | Overall ratio | Speed at 1000 rpm kph | Speed at 1000 rpm mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 3.818 | 4.125 | 15.75 | 7.4 | 4.6 |
| 2nd | 2.294 | 4.125 | 9.46 | 12.3 | 7.6 |
| 3rd | 1.5 | 4.125 | 6.19 | 18.9 | 11.7 |
| 4th | 1.133 | 4.125 | 4.67 | 25 | 15.5 |
| 5th | 0.912 | 4.125 | 3.76 | 31 | 19.3 |
Axel 11R
Engine: G11/631 engine, 1129cc flat four, 9:1 compression ratio.
Tyres: 145 SR 15 XZX, 1.873m rolling circumference under load.
| Gear | Gearbox ratio | Final drive | Overall ratio | Speed at 1000 rpm kph | Speed at 1000 rpm mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 3.818 | 3.889 | 14.85 | 7.2 | 4.5 |
| 2nd | 2.294 | 3.889 | 8.92 | 12 | 7.5 |
| 3rd | 1.5 | 3.889 | 5.83 | 18.4 | 11.4 |
| 4th | 1.031 | 3.889 | 4.01 | 26.7 | 16.6 |
Axel 12TRS
Engine: T13/653, 1299cc flat four, 8.7:1 compression ratio.
Tyres: 160/65 R 340 TRX (???)
| Gear | Gearbox ratio | Final drive | Overall ratio | Speed at 1000 rpm kph | Speed at 1000 rpm mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 3.818 | 3.889 | 14.85 | 7 | 4.4 |
| 2nd | 2.294 | 3.889 | 8.92 | 11.6 | 7.2 |
| 3rd | 1.5 | 3.889 | 5.83 | 17.7 | 11 |
| 4th | 1.133 | 3.889 | 4.41 | 23.5 | 14.6 |
| 5th | 0.912 | 3.889 | 3.55 | 29.1 | 18.1 |