The Simca was two years old when student Marie Josephine bought the car or got it from her parents. She lived in Le Creusot, near Dijon. Could she have studied there too? On her address mentioned on the Carte Grise Streetview shows a double garage, where the car may have been stored. It almost has to, because this region is not one of the driest and the car has not rusted away, while most of its peers have.

The Simca 1000 was the successor to the Aronde and was built from ’61 to ’78. In various generations and also as the well-known Rallye. The sporty version with black bonnet and trunk lid. The last one in the front, because the engine was in the back.

The last version had square headlights and taillights, the first had round front and rear lights. Like this little car. It makes it cute, which might have appealed to Marie Josephine.

They drove around in large numbers in France and the Netherlands. But as mentioned, they could rust quite a bit, so there aren’t very many left. Marie Josephine kept it until 1987. In ’96 it was sold again by a local garage, who apparently liked it so much that they kept it for years.

Afterwards it was part of a large Dutch collection until recently. Now hopefully it can lead a more active life with another enthusiast.

It hasn’t run for a long time, so it needs some attention. The French Carte Grise is included. The underside still looks good, a nice basis to start from. We dusted it off but left the next steps up to you.