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It's hard to overestimate the impact that the front-wheel-drive Traction Avant had on the motoring world when it debuted in 1934. Unlike the expensive and glamorous front-wheel-drive Cords in America, this car was within the reach of the average middle-class buyer. Didier Rocherolle was a three-year-old boy in Paris when his parents bought a new 1938 Citroën 11 Normale, the four-cylinder Traction Avant. This car, and the ones that would follow it through the mid-1950s, were directly responsible for the purchase of this 1950 15-Six, a car that Didier owned for 32 years before treating it to four-year intensive restoration.
''We first came to the States in 1938, when my father was named CEO of the U.S. operations of our family business, Roger&Gallet. We went back to France for the first time after the war in 1946, and after that, we'd go every summer. At that time, Citroën had a great deal, like a lease program, where you'd purchase a car, and you could sell it back after two months. At the end of the summer, we'd bring the car back to the factory, sign the papers and go home. We had brand-new cars every time we went over there. I learned how to drive a Citroën in France. I spent my summers as a teenager driving a Traction 11 Normale; I have a lot of good memories.''
The Rocherolle family never drove a 15-Six, which shared the four-cylinder (in 7 and 11 variants) Traction's all-steel, Budd Company-licensed monocoque body design, tubular shock/torsion bar suspension and three-speed manual gearbox. Under a longer hood was the 2,867cc straight-six, whose 6.25:1 compression ratio and two-barrel downdraft Solex carburetor helped it make 76hp at 3,700 RPM and 138-lbs.ft. of torque at 2,000 RPM. ''The Six was a bit more pricey, and I don't think my parents felt comfortable with having that size of car, especially if my mother had to drive it; that engine up front was very heavy, and without power steering, it's difficult to turn at low speeds.''
Heavy steering wouldn't dissuade Didier from buying a 15-Six, which he did in 1972. ''I joined the family business in 1968, and we had a factory in Normandy. I told one of my colleagues over there that I really wanted to buy a Traction, but I didn't want the 11, I wanted a 15 because I felt that the six-cylinder was rare.'' Production of the prestigious 15-Six was indeed a fraction of that of the four-cylinder 7s and 11s, amounting to 47,671 out of a total 700,961 Traction Avants built. ''I wanted to get a pre-1952 model, because in 1952, they changed the dashboard design to use cream-colored plastic; I wanted mine to look more original.''
Didier purchased his roughly 40,000-kilometer 15-Six in Normandy from its original owner for $600. ''Being also in the import business, we used to bring containers of merchandise from France. One day, the container was half full, and in the other half was this car.'' Getting it out of the shipping container was tricky, though; ''We had to get the truck to back up to a gas station with a lift. Using some boards, we backed the car onto the lift, and then lowered it to the ground.''
Despite the Citroën's low mileage and accident-free history, it did have a few physical issues common to a 22-year-old car. ''One of the doors was dented in, although there was a replacement door in the back seat, and the front bumper was different from the rear bumper,'' Didier recalls. ''Rust in the doors was the only real issue with the car. For some reason, the bottom of the door never had drains, so moisture would get in and rot out the door. I had a body man cut out and replace those sections in the doors, and the car was repainted in traditional black with yellow wheels.''
A testament to Didier's care is that the car exhibited no rust-through, despite having spent its last 30-plus years in New England; the underside was cleaned, primed and sprayed semi-gloss black.
The fun of driving a modern-handling, vintage-appearing car meant that the 15-Six got a lot of use through the 1970s and 1980s, and it acted as the limousine for Didier's son's wedding in 1988. But age and wear were catching up with the car at that point, and although Didier's father bought him the components he'd need to rebuild the brakes and shocks, he didn't have the time or mechanical inclination to pursue a restoration.
The multiple-component grille had been damaged and spray-painted silver at some point in its history, so its straightening and re-chroming by Qual Krom in Erie, Pennsylvania, was a long and expensive process.
And in the garage it sat until the Rocherolles prepared to move from Wilton, Connecticut, to Old Lyme in 2004. It was then that an old acquaintance became a new friend. ''Dave Hackett had a Peugeot dealership in Westport, and through the years, I bought three cars from him. When we were getting ready to move up here, I went on the Internet to search for a restorer. David Hackett's name came up in Old Saybrook, so I called him up to ask if he was the same Dave; he said yes. I asked if he'd like to restore my Citroën, and he agreed. I got him the car a week before we moved out of Wilton.''
''Didier hadn't driven the car in about 12 years, so everything had to be done over,'' David recalls. His plan of attack for the 15-Six was unique: ''I take everything apart and evaluate each part. I see what I'll need, and will start ordering parts right away so that I'm not waiting for them to arrive when I need them. I've learned that the way to get [subcontracted work] done quicker is to get a basic price from the suppliers and to put a check in the box with the core parts, so when they receive it, my name goes to the top of their list.''
After the car received a coat of epoxy primer and smoothing filler, body and paint specialist Chuck Bowen sprayed four coats of DuPont acrylic urethane primer and four coats of DuPont ChromaOne acrylic urethane paint.
Citroën designed the Traction Avants as unit-body cars with separate front sub-frames that carry the engine and transaxle. The straight-six required much attention; ''The engine was seized, and we had to drop the pistons out of it. It was bored and sleeved by Greg Hunt at Kiwi Engineering here in Old Saybrook,'' David explains. He sourced Stellite valves, and Greg machined Stellite seats for the heads, allowing this 1950 car to run on unleaded fuel.
Finding proper pistons, rings, timing chains and other mechanical components was an easy job for Didier, who eagerly began parts-hunting and obtained all the necessary components for the engine, fuel and water pumps online from Jose Franssen in Belgium. Didier also found Brad Nauss, a well-known parts dealer in Pennsylvania, to be a great resource. ''The first thing he was able to get me was a complete manual for the 1950 15CV,'' he explains. ''In there are all of the pictures with all of the part numbers used that year. Jose Franssen's parts catalogue uses the original part numbers, so I was able to look up what I needed, then go online and there it was! It was fun; Dave would say, 'I'm going to work on this, and these are the parts I'll need,' and I would get them for him.''
The car's three-speed manual gearbox was toast, as David learned: ''We drained the transmission fluid, and it had been sitting so long that the lower half of the gears was rusted because the transaxle was full of water. Condensation found its way in, and the oil in the gearbox floated up, so the tops of the gears were fine. Through a friend of mine, I found a used transmission in upstate New York, so we took two gearboxes and made one.''
The complex front-wheel-drive system had to be completely rebuilt with new axles, driveshaft components and bearings, and modern Koni Classics tube shocks replaced the worn originals. The four-wheel drum brakes were rebuilt with wheel cylinders that had been sleeved with brass by White Post Restorations.
As previously noted, the Citroën's body was basically rust-free after its 1970s door repairs, although baking soda media blasting by Bloomfield, Connecticut's Aqua Blast revealed hidden damage that would have to be tended to by body and paint specialist Chuck Bowen of Westbrook. ''The rear left fender looked like a sieve,'' Didier recalls. ''There were all these pinholes in it, it was really bad. Dave said that he'd never be able to restore it so this wouldn't show. Luckily, he found an exact replacement, so that is the only part of the car that is not original to it.''
When it came time for Chuck to paint the car, Didier had something special in mind. ''Between 1938 and 1951 or '52, [Traction Avants] were all black with yellow wheels. Why did I choose 'noir' and 'rouge Bordeaux?' In 1934, when they first came out with this body style, one of the choices was black and maroon, and that was the year I was born.''
The electrical system in the 15-Six was tired, so David commissioned a replacement. ''Rhode Island Wiring Service actually happened to have a schematic for this particular car, so they made me a complete new harness. I'd recently finished doing an 11, but they didn't have anything on that car, so I had to get one from Europe; it doesn't have the original connections, so that was a nightmare to wire a car with components that don't belong to it. This was simple.''
The original seats and their upholstery were in surprisingly good shape, so Didier chose to leave them alone. The interior panels and headliner, which had become a haven for mice, were not so lucky, so he ordered new factory-style replacement materials to replace them. David's preferred upholsterer in Bradford, Connecticut, created new door panels using the originals as patterns, and did the same with the seats and headliner.
''There isn't much chrome on the car-- mainly the bumpers, grille and door handles, which were restored by Qual Krom in Erie, Pennsylvania. The upper door and lower rear fender trims are aluminum; I used [000] steel wool on them, and they cleaned up nicely,'' he said. Didier purchased new chrome bumpers from overseas, and they took longer to arrive than expected. ''They came in slowly, probably by boat, and drove Dave crazy with the wait. They were delivered through the Post Office. You can imagine the size of the box that held two bumpers--it looked like a casket. They asked me, 'Do you have a body in there?' ''
Didier enjoyed the experience of working through his car's restoration with David. ''He would call me and tell me what stage he was at,'' he recalls. ''I live about five miles from him, so I went there often. When I say that you've got to have deep pockets to do a restoration like this, you really do. Doing it right was a question of getting the parts, and a question of the money. At times, I'd have to say, 'I can't do it right now,' but that was okay because he was working on other cars at the same time."
Now that the 15-Six is finished, he's enjoying it again. ''I drive it a lot; if I have to go to the fish market, I'll take the old car. I don't want it sitting in the garage. I recently won Best of Show at a local car show, which was really fun. I have a granddaughter who is engaged, perhaps it will be called to official duty again!''
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Based on the Marathon four-door station wagon, the Aerobus was introduced in 1962 with a two-model range. One was a nine-passenger model with three pairs of passenger doors, and the other a longer 12-passenger version with four pairs of doors, such as the one now listed on Hemmings.com. A standard Checker taxi sedan from 1956 to 1982 rode on a 120-inch wheelbase. Limousine models sported a 129-inch wheelbase. The nine-passenger Aerobus had a wheelbase nearly three-feet longer than the sedan at 154.5 inches. Finally, the 12-passenger version had a distance between the axles of 189 inches. Its overall length was a hair under 270 inches, meaning it was over 22 feet long. For comparison, a current 2024 Ford F-350 Super Duty Crew Cab with a full eight-foot bed rides on a 176-inch wheelbase and has an overall length of 266 inches. That’s how long the big Aerobus was! Some sources indicate that the bigger Aerobus holds the record for the longest production car ever made, though volume was never particularly high.
Checker advertised the Aerobus not only for airport transportation as the name implies, but also “Perfect for schools, institutions, resorts, motels, hotels, inter-plant transportation, employee pick-up—even large families! It’s the practical idea in mass transportation.” Some model years, Checker used the name “Aerobus Limousine” for the model, incorporating both the six- and eight-door versions under that moniker.
The Aerobus included the features of the A8 that were carried over to the A9 and later A11 models, such as the high roofline and tall doors that allowed for easier passenger access. Low, flat floors contributed to the roominess as well. The commodious nature of the Checker cab that made it a leader in its field fully carried over to the Aerobus, which not only accommodated 12 people, but also plenty of luggage behind the fourth row. The rear cargo compartment glass was protected by an internal cage of sorts made of stainless-steel strips.
Underpinning that massive wagon was a modified version of the Checker sedan’s frame. Unlike some extended-wheelbase limousines, the Aerobus’s frame was not cut and then extended. Rather, the side rails were one-piece units fabricated especially for the job. Standard equipment included power steering and power brakes and a V8 engine. During its production lifetime from 1962 through 1977, the Aerobus featured both Chrysler and Chevrolet engines. At first, Checker sourced a Mopar Poly 318-cu.in. powerplant, which was later supplanted with a Chevrolet small-block V8. For a while, that meant a 327-cu.in. version but later a 350 V8, as seen on this 1972 version, when the engine was rated at 215 horsepower and 335 lb-ft of torque.
Other features on the Aerobus included a 23-gallon fuel tank, a heavy-duty alternator, and two additional floor-mounted auxiliary heaters for the rear passengers. Much of the chassis and suspension consisted of heavy-duty components needed to accommodate the vehicle with a curb weight of nearly two-and-a-half tons.
Variants of the Aerobus included the Convoy, which Checker billed as a “12-passenger security van,” a euphemism for a prisoner transport vehicle. The second and third row seats were removed and replaced by a pair of inward facing benches. All of the seats behind the front row were enclosed in a welded steel cage with a single door at the front that, when open, would allow passengers to exit a right-side passenger door. The front passenger sat, reserved for a guard, faced rearward toward the other passengers, but outside the cage. It is believed that at least one Convoy prototype was built, with any sales unknown and no examples believed to exist today.
Checker's Aerobus has made plenty of appearances in popular culture. In the film Catch Me If You Can, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, dressed in a pilot’s uniform, emerges at the airport drop-off from an eight-door Aerobus along with a bevy of flight attendants. The distinctive Aerobus has made plenty of other appearances over the years in other American and overseas productions, including in the original Hawaii Five-O, the film Medium Cool, and, appropriately enough, the original disaster movie Airport.
This 12-passenger, 1972 Checker Aerobus now listed on Hemmings Auctions, features a paint scheme that pays homage to four very distinct taxi styles in four colors, including the near ubiquitous yellow. A black-and-white checkered stripe runs the length of each side and additional taxi components include what appears to be a New York City taxi sign on the roof along with a fare schedule posted on the side.
Power comes from what is believed to be the original Chevrolet-sourced 350 cu.in. V8, which puts power to the rear whiles via Turbo Hydra-Matic three-speed automatic. The seller’s notes indicate some mechanical upgrades with the installation of a stronger rear end and rear axles, along with precision bearings. A modern audio system has also been installed as well as a backup camera, the latter surely an essential when navigating such a long vehicle in everyday traffic.
Head on over to Hemmings Auctions to take a closer look at this mega-extended wagon. Make a bid, but be sure to consider who will be on your guest list when you're driving this unique Checker Aerobus.
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