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Bramz car related stuff, impulse buyer alert....


bramz7

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Yeah, yeah I know, I had another thread about my cars and this featured in it. Anyway, doesn't matter, as I took some photos literally just for you guys (and Flickr) today and thought it was about time to do a write up on my BX.

 

So, the background. I've actually always wanted one. I think the one my uncle had in the mid 90s had a big effect on me, it was red and that's about all I can remember. But I do remember really missing it when it got replaced by a Volvo 440. I also remember a silver one back in 2002ish when we went to a holiday cottage somewhere in Devon, and seeing it rise up and down every morning. I was captivated.

I had initially gone to ZXs just because I felt the BX ship had sailed, I kept seeing mint examples selling for anywhere between 900-1500 and just thinking I'd left it too late and should have got my arse into gear with my driving a lot sooner.

Anyway, thanks to you guys on the forum having a great eBay thread, a cheap BX turned up. I recognised the listing, it had definitely been for sale recently enough but I was a little tipsy at a work outing so thought, lets just email the seller and hopefully one of his answers would put me off. It didn't. Buoyed by this, I thought, lets just stick in an offer, which was accepted. Oh did I mention that I then got kicked out of where I was living before I had even bought this thing? Yep. I then had to crash at my friends house for 3 weeks, most of which had the BX sat on his driveway. I don't think he'll ever forgive me for that....

 

Anyway, less talk, more photos.

 

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It's a bit weather worn but I've only suffered one FTP and that was the fudged battery, which has now been replaced. 

 

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The main attraction. Nah not really. But these 1.4 TU engines should be listed under legendary because they genuinely can take tons of abuse and still go. Its done 166,500 miles and looks like it has too, but still runs sweet and bloody shifts like no tomorrow in third and fourth, I swear I don't know how I haven't got a speeding ticket yet, it just creeps up to 40 without me even knowing.

 

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Nah this is the main attraction. My favourite side profile ever. I think I also want to own a Volvo 480 for the same reasons.

 

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Probably best I don't know what date the next service was due by.

 

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This car has seen some extensive welding, and is reasonably solid on the outside now. I do worry about both B pillars though, the boot floor can probably wait as it's supposedly been an issue since 2013, yet to be even mentioned on an MOT.

 

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The interior looks OK for the miles its done. I actually sat in the back for the first time yesterday and it was like a sofa. The drivers seat is a bit worn out though. I was toying with the idea of getting a decent passenger one from France, because it'd fit okay right? Still the most comfortable seat I've ever sat in, in a car at least. All the electrics work too, aside from one of the reading lights by the sunroof. Even the stereo the previous owner told me didn't work actually does, and its a DAB thing. The front speakers have been replaced by better ones too, so yeah, not a bad score there.

 

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I had to do this. This BX deserves a note soon enough, the OAP owners are shite legends though, they also have a locally registered R12! And their neighbours have a K reg Rover 218D.

 

 

I suspect most of you on here have driven or ridden in a BX by now, but this was genuinely the first time (in memory) I had, and its an experience. You find yourself doing 35mph plus and suddenly all the engine noise goes away, and it becomes like a flying carpet. It becomes waft central. Gets a bit nosier from the engine bay around 70 but that's fine, the lack of rev counter means I don't have to worry right? They are quite chuckable too, like a ZX to a degree but theres a touch more lean when cornering, I assume that's due to the suspension? Cheap tyres on it at the moment though, so that could be why. 

It's also weird sitting back in the seat whilst driving, I feel about a million miles from the wheel if I do that. Maybe it's because I'm not that tall. 

 

The plan is to keep it. I know I said I'd keep every single car that I've since sold, but I actually get a real kick driving this. 

It's going to get money thrown at it in February too, the last cambelt change was in 2009 (20k) ago. 

 

It has plenty of bad bits, but this car has gone through a lot, the MOT fail in 2016 was a bit formidable (as were the ones beforehand), so I expect a bit of a bill come June.... watch this space. 

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I had not been in any hydropneumatic Citroen until I bought my Xantia back in May. Wait, I tell a lie. I remember back in primary school, one of my friends' parents' had a Xantia estate in the same Doom Blue that mine is.

 

I love it though. I just put fresh LHM in it today and it's just ridiculous. I was doing 70 down the local roads near my parents' farm and barely felt any of the bumps.

 

 

 

Everybody needs to experience some sort of hydropneumatic Citroen.

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Back in the day when the ride was even more magic-carpet-like, Citroëns were frequently criticised for being slow. I'm sure some of that was a result of the sublime ride and serene roadholding, which after the jitter of the alternative made the cars feel glacial, even if you were breaking the speed limit by a licence-losing amount.

 

CAR magazine always reckoned they'd be doing at least 20mph more in a hydropneumatic Cit than a steel sprung car, often much more over a bumpy stretch of road. And of course, the faster you go, the bumpier any road seems to grow, in a normal car.

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I had a fleeting fling with that old girl. Shes been around the island. Glad shes getting a bit of love now. I litteraly spent about two days cleaning the interior when I got it. There was filth an inch thick stuck to everything and enough dna to start your own race of plebs if you had the correct technology. I loved the way it rode, tand the TU3 was very perky, the strut return pipes blew off so friendly local garage replaced the fucked rubber with copper if I recall correctly. Hopefully theres been no further spillages.

Nice to see a thread up for it. Ill be spectating and shouting encouragement.

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This thread made me go looking for a xantia on ebay, laughed when I spotted the window sticker on this, not sure who's it is or was . Nice BX btw

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1994-Citroen-Xantia-1-9-td-SX-in-excellent-condition-/201773039283?hash=item2efa9c3eb3:g:DhoAAOSw44BYbWXI

Its mine. Had it a while but never use it. I don`t really enjoy the on / off power delivery of the turbo diesel. Could be i`m just getting older but I prefer my non turbo ZX....

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Thanks for the comments all. I forgot to mention this car has a few weird quirks, one being the slipping clutch (but only when its just started, it goes when its warmed up), and also, if the choke is out slightly more than normal it then decides to run like a bag of nails. Pushing the choke back in to around a third of the way out gets it running nice and smooth. Old cars eh?

 

New tyres are on the list of things to do. 

 

Olympic Blue is the colour for those interested.

 

Oh BTW Barrett, when I come down to Brighton for those parts (ultra busy recently, sorry), you can definitely have a go in it. 

 

Heres some more BXs 

 

21956900452_c4ffd2885f_z.jpg1990 Citroen BX 14RE. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

19130601870_c1ec141025_z.jpg1990 Citroen BX 19 TZi. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

Two more in the same colour. The Estate I'm assuming is rarer in that shade.

 

24221226206_d8679f1e60_z.jpg1986 Citroen BX19 GT. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

29481479926_1ff8c65686_z.jpg1987 Citroen BX19 DTR. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

And a better shot of the local one. No MOT fails on record. I think it could be one of the best BXs around....

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  • 5 weeks later...

UPDATE TIME.

 

So what have I done since the last post?

 

-Secured a replacement drivers seat from a scrapper TXD, which was depressingly clean. Yes, the TXD seat stands out a country mile but its so much more comfortable to drive with a more supportive seat. 

-Replaced the rear lights with the later slightly darker clusters. I prefer them.

-Changed the air filter. Despite buying the completely wrong one at Halfords.

-Replaced the broken heater control dial, again from the scrap TXD. I now have reasonable heat.

 

It's booked into Forge Motor Co this coming Wednesday for cambelt, water pump, oil change (I can't do this where I live), coolant etc. I've also asked them to let me know if there is any worrying rot underneath. I told them that I am well aware of the boot floor.... 

 

Accidentally* peeled off one of the wheel arch mouldings when visiting Barrett, to reveal a patch from the last MOT which is either covered in underseal or Vactan, unsure which. Speaking of MOTs, this was the result of the first MOT it had last year:

 

 


  • Reason(s) for failure
    nearside front Tyre tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (4.1.E.1)
    nearside rear Subframe mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded outer sill (2.4.A.3)
    offside rear Subframe mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded outer sill (2.4.A.3)
    nearside rear Subframe mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded outer sill-wheel arch (2.4.A.3)
    offside front Suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded inner wheel arch-floor (2.4.A.3)
    offside front Suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded inner wing (2.4.A.3)
    nearside front Suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded inner wing (2.4.A.3)
  • Advisory notice item(s)
    offside rear tyre construction perishing
    offside rear Tyre worn close to the legal limit (4.1.E.1)
     
     
     

So someone clearly paid for that all to be welded up as it went again 10 days later and passed without any advisory items. Has someone welded up all the problem areas for me?

 

No they haven't as the B pillar on the drivers side is showing worrying signs of rot breaking through. Otherwise though, could I have got lucky?

 

Anyone on here got any cool BX bits they want to part with by the way? MONEY PAID IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

So I stopped wanting to use the BX daily as the heavy steering down a road with parallel parking only was getting a little tiresome, and I hated leaving it exposed down a road where everyone seems to hit each others cars regularly. Plus it does need a few bits doing to it to make it a better car, so it'll benefit from a break of everyday use whilst I do that.

 

So this left me with a hole to fill. I already decided that my new car had to be no newer than mid 90s and be reasonably interesting, I'd got my eye on a nice RT Clio but got beaten to it. I then found a few MK1 Puntos but they were a bit far away and I didn't really want to go miles for something which could be awful. Then I saw a cheap K10 Micra. But the 4 speed box made me a bit doubtful about motorway driving....

I just kept looking and looking. Then something really caught my eye. Localish. Cheap. Low mileage. Reasonable MOT history...hmmmm. 

I messaged the seller after calling my insurance for a quote (as expected it cost me more but it's not the end of the world) and arranged a viewing. The sellers wife was messaging me and said they'd had a few time wasters so I tried my best to assure them I wouldn't do the same. 

The only downside to the viewing was the earliest time they could do was 530pm! As it was in that there London, I decided to make a day of it and spent 7 hours car spotting beforehand. I really need to get a life.

 

Anyway, TLDR, here are some photos.

33102623445_f1015dfe7a_c.jpgMy 1995 Renault 19 RT. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

33102624275_25e6d74766_c.jpgMy 1995 Renault 19 RT. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

33060862976_635e8aff26_c.jpgMy 1995 Renault 19 RT. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

When I took the interior photo, I was sat in the back seats. I then realised both child locks were active and had to climb over the front seats to get out...

 

So yes, here is my £200 R19 RTi, which rolled over 50k on the drive back. Brooklands Green apparently. In typical 19 spec it is missing one wheel trim, but astonishingly, the fuel filler cover is still there. Dunno how people broke them off so easily, it doesn't feel fragile. 

MOT until May 9th. 

The good:

Comfy seats. Really comfy in that old school French way. Puts the ZXs I've had to shame. 

Generous spec, so tilt/slide sunroof, adjustable lumbar support on the drivers seat, six(!) speakers, heated wingmirrors, airbag, power steering, oil level gauge (I've never seen one before) and 'fingertip' control stereo (

Smooth gearbox, clutch is fine

They handle quite well, a touch more understeer than the Citroens I've had.

Road noise levels are really low!

Amazingly good ride.

Most electrics work.

Incredibly small turning circle, although anything after a non PAS BX is.

Oddly solid feeling inside. The doors shut with an incredibly satisfying 'THUNK' which is the first time I've owned a car to do that.

 

The bad

One of the rear arches looks a bit iffy close up, but hardly MOT fail worthy. 

Unknown cambelt history (more fun that way, right?)

One of the rear brakes has very worn pads

Squeal from water pump pulley at times, but very irregular

Drivers door now won't unlock or lock from outside, in fact all of the locks seem to have a mind of their own

 

To be fair, it's way better than I expected. Obviously, this is a late 19 and by this point there was a super weird mix of old and new inside. The dashboard design isn't my favourite. I got some very recent service history with it, last full service was less than a year ago, and it's done 500 miles since. I also got a Haynes manual, all the handbooks, and an R19 development book, which is nice. 

The seller was a top bloke too, knew his stuff about cars and even gave me oil, coolant, brake fluid and antifreeze free as it was his only car. I think he was actually a little sad selling it. 

 

My plan is to run it until I get bored or it goes pop. I don't actually want it to go pop. It's a shame these 19s are so rare now, I assume their terminally low values sent most to the scrapyard.

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Can't go wrong for 200 quid. Sorry I couldn't meet up with you in the end bramz, work got in the way.

 

No problem, I didn't actually see your message until after. As it turns out, I didn't get home until nearly 10pm after going back via Maidstone to collect the models from a60rod (nice to meet you chap) anyway.

It'd be nice to meet you and the Safrane one day though!

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