Another BX - out of retirement!

[mat_the_cat]

I've owned this for 12 years now, so a relative newcomer compared to the Stellar. It's been a bit neglected since I got that on the road, and started using the Kangoo for daily driver duties (in fact its been off the road since last November). But I've missed it, and thought it would be good to start using it again.

 

Over the years I've gradually improved the car to get it exactly how I want it, with a 1.9TD engine with a bit of tuning, leather interior, fitted AC in 2006, and a few other bits and pieces. And after 140k miles in it, jumping in feels a bit like getting into your favourite old armchair

 

 

Bit it needed a bit of work for the test - first of all the screenwash tube (mounted on the wiper arm) was blocked where it passes through the wiper spindle. Soon unblocked with a small drill bit, but the resulting photo amused me...

 

 

The channel at the bottom of the driver's winow had corroded away (common fault), and the revised part from Citroen had been discontinued last year. Fortunately Chevronics bought up Citroen's stock, and are getting them remanufactured for the future.

 

 

 

Then there was the exhaust - sitting on the grass had done it no favours but a quick and easy job to replace.

 

 

 

It failed for a leak on the pressure regulator, but a good mate sent me one next day, and after swapping it Friday evening it sailed through the MOT yesterday.

[purplebargeken]

Love that interior

[skattrd]

That's a great spec for a bx, 1.9TD leather and aircon.

[Hertz]

Those seats look fantastic.

[dollywobbler]

Blimey. I'd almost forgotten about this! Have fond memories of trying (and failing) to race it in The Pyrenees when I still had the Green Tiger. Shit. That was almost seven years ago!

[UltraWomble]

Blimey. I'd almost forgotten about this! Have fond memories of trying (and failing) to race it in The Pyrenees when I still had the Green Tiger. Shit. That was almost seven years ago!

Really, that means we have had the C8 for nearly 7 years - it still has BXagon stickers on the back window.

 

Mat, really happy to see this isnt being propped up with logs as you work underneath it.

[mat_the_cat]

Blimey. I'd almost forgotten about this! Have fond memories of trying (and failing) to race it in The Pyrenees when I still had the Green Tiger. Shit. That was almost seven years ago!

 

 

 

[strangeangel]

Excellent   I bought the AS BX on a whim, just to see what they were like but it's part of the furniture round here now.

[catsinthewelder]

It's a goodun,  the blue one has a timing belt that was bought for the green tiger and various bits off Chubley that also donated visors and possibly other bits to Mats 1.9.

 

There arn't that many BX's left so the spare parts gene pool is getting a bit like Leominster

[mat_the_cat]

Mat, really happy to see this isnt being propped up with logs as you work underneath it.

 

I keep the logs on the inside!

 

[carlo]

I had a BX GTi with factory air con once, must have been the most rudimentary a/c installation going; just a manual slider from left to right on the heater panel!

[mat_the_cat]

Mine's the same! It's actually quite advanced IMO - rather than a simple on/off switch, you can vary the temperature of the evaporator and hence the level of 'chill' you experience. Never seen any other car with that, as usually you'd use the heater to add a bit of warmth to the cooled air.

 

 

Last job I did on it, a couple of weeks ago was the central locking. A water leak had caused corrosion to the original receiver, and my spare also didn't work so I just bought a cheap universal one from eBay, and wired it in under the central console. I'd always been put off by the look of the fobs, but managed to adapt some decent looking ones to accept the BX key blade:

 

 

 

Increased range is handy, as is the fact you don't need to point the fob any more.

[mat_the_cat]

Bit of a strange fault last week, as I'd stopped at a shop on the way home, and around 10 minutes later noticed the dash lights going dim, accompanied with a burning smell. I was just pulling over when the engine cut out, at which point I started to think "This isn't good!"

 

Bonnet popped, and smoke coming from the starter motor which was clicking madly. I popped the battery lead off (which was rather warm) and surmised that the starter had been operating since I last starter it. Not a physical jam, but it must have been electrically connected somehow :-S

 

After a few minutes I popped the lead back on with no spark, and tried to crank it. No luck, but managed a bump start and go home with no more drama. Found a NOS QH starter for £35 delivered, so just waiting for that to arrive. Hoping it's not a wiring electrical problem causing the issue, but rather a fault with the old motor...

[AMC Rebel]

I had a BX GTi with factory air con once, must have been the most rudimentary a/c installation going; just a manual slider from left to right on the heater panel!

Me too - I had it from new as a company car G472 XLR - white BX19GTI - I think aircon was the only option - colleagues thought I was daft until we hit the mid30s that summer.

[mat_the_cat]

Mine didn't originally have it, but it's something I wanted. I was at a Citroen specialist to buy a rear suspension cylinder, back when I lived in Gloucester when he asked me whether I wanted a spares car for mine. I initially said no, but then almost couldn't contain my excitement when I saw it had air con! Naturally I had to buy it, and swapped it all over with the original loom etc over the course of a few weekends.

 

Managed to complete the install just before we were heading to France in mid-summer, which was fortunate given that it was in the middle of a heatwave. Indicated temperatures in the sun were into the 40s and I remember at one point actually getting into the car to escape the heat! it was so hot that a Bic biro on the dashboard softened and settled into a banana shape while we were parked! But the BX did well and kept us cool

[catsinthewelder]

Ah you have the opposite fault to me,  my 405 td occasionally won't operate the starter when it's warm.  I'm not sure if it's the ignition switch or a wiring fault but a messy bodge means that I don't have to fiddle under the bonnet when it happens any more. 

 

I like your new central locking,  that looks so much better than a seperate fob.

 

I think it has the same air conditioning set up too,  I made the mistake last week of pressing the recirculate button for the first time and now it clicks madly if I switch it back to fresh air.  Do you have any idea where the thing that must be sticking might be located?

[mat_the_cat]

On the BX there's a pair of flaps, one each side - roughly by the bonnet hinges - which either take air from behind the dash or under the scuttle. (The reason for there being two is that the normal BX blower system is duplicated; presumably to give more airflow despite the condenser it has to blow through). You'd think it'd be similar on the 405, but the French being French...

[mat_the_cat]

Found a NOS QH starter for £35 delivered, so just waiting for that to arrive.

 

Finally got the starter today, after finding that Parcelforce had left it at the post office on the 19th but not left a card saying so! Nice simple job to fit it, and all seems well

 

 

I did notice an LHM leak from above the front subframe, which turned out to be a crack in a Y piece on the return lines. Theses are NLA from Citroen, so I just replaced it with one from the windscreen washers on the green Discovery.

 

[mat_the_cat]

I've just replaced all the door seals now as they were getting a bit soft and leaky. I've got a fan heater and dehumidifier in there now, as the sound insulation under the rear seat had soaked up a fair bit.

 

I should find out fairly shortly if it's now weathertight!

 

Bit of bad news last Friday as I came out of work and got in the car to see a girl coming quickly across the car park towards me. Strangely, the first thing she said to me was "Oh, so it's your car?!" Hmmm, maybe she's a massive BX fan I thought, but no, she then explained that she'd caught my bumper while trying to leave her parking space

 

 

She'd actually been back into work afterwards to try and find out who owned it, but I'd already left the building by that point. Fortunately the only new damage was the bumper strip, which I ordered from Chevronics earlier this week. Job done!

 

 

The scrapes were old damage from before I bought the car - I suppose I could have made out she'd done them too and asked her to cough up for a replacement bumper, but she'd done the decent thing by owning up so it wouldn't have been right.

 

Next job is changing the tyres, as winter is well and truly on the way. First dusting of snow this morning, but my new tyres still haven't arrived. I've gone for some all-season ones this time as now I'm not doing mega miles a year in it (down from 20k to around 5k) I'll probably just leave them on all year round. Maxxis AP2 if anyone has any feedback. (Although I hope it's good as they're on the way!)

 

 

They look like they should have reasonable grip in light off-roading too, which is always useful

[dollywobbler]

I'm on all-seasons with the Honda too, though Nokian ones. Let's compare notes in a few months! Can't be arsed with two sets of tyres.

[UltraWomble]

Im on Falken all weather tyres on the C8 and shitty landsail ones on the Almera, but as Im contemplating selling the almera and going back to just one car in the household Im loath to put winter tyres on it so will be running the C8 up to the Lakes most weekends over the Winter months. I'll let you know how they fare.

So far, very good in the wet but more noisy than the Mitchys they replaced.

[mat_the_cat]

I wanted the Nokian Weatherproofs, as they seemed the least compromised I could find according to an Auto Express test. But they didn't do them in the size I needed. Lana's car needs new tyres soon too, and I think she'll probably go for those, so any feedback so far (i.e. in non-winter conditions) would be useful?

[mat_the_cat]

Tyres have arrived but not yet fitted...just enjoying the smell of them at the moment!

 

I have fitted a new ignition switch though, as there was a significant voltage drop causing the battery light to glow dimly under electrical load, and occasional lack of cranking on the first or second tries.

 

 

 

I've not been able to get hold of a (new) flat key style unfortunately - last time I just swapped the switch over into the original lock so keeping only one key. However the cross style lock has a different switch so can't do that. At least it's resolved the problems though

[mat_the_cat]

Tyres now fitted, with the bonus of the van used by my local fitter being this!

 

 

£30 for 4 tyres fitted in my own driveway isn't too bad either

[themildbunch]

Wow - £30 for all 4 that's good - around here it's £15 a wheel as far as I can see... might be cheaper if I take my spare set of wheels to a fitters...

 

The local garage that Tyreleader recommend for fitting doesn't actually like doing them...not enough profit, etc...

[themildbunch]

 

I've just replaced all the door seals now as they were getting a bit soft and leaky. I've got a fan heater and dehumidifier in there now, as the sound insulation under the rear seat had soaked up a fair bit.

 

I should find out fairly shortly if it's now weathertight!

 

Bit of bad news last Friday as I came out of work and got in the car to see a girl coming quickly across the car park towards me. Strangely, the first thing she said to me was "Oh, so it's your car?!" Hmmm, maybe she's a massive BX fan I thought, but no, she then explained that she'd caught my bumper while trying to leave her parking space

 

 

She'd actually been back into work afterwards to try and find out who owned it, but I'd already left the building by that point. Fortunately the only new damage was the bumper strip, which I ordered from Chevronics earlier this week. Job done!

 

 

The scrapes were old damage from before I bought the car - I suppose I could have made out she'd done them too and asked her to cough up for a replacement bumper, but she'd done the decent thing by owning up so it wouldn't have been right.

 

Next job is changing the tyres, as winter is well and truly on the way. First dusting of snow this morning, but my new tyres still haven't arrived. I've gone for some all-season ones this time as now I'm not doing mega miles a year in it (down from 20k to around 5k) I'll probably just leave them on all year round. Maxxis AP2 if anyone has any feedback. (Although I hope it's good as they're on the way!)

 

 

They look like they should have reasonable grip in light off-roading too, which is always useful

 

Are those 185/60 or 165/70 tyres?

 

The prices seem to be pretty much the same and there's more choice for the wider tyres... I have 185/60's on my BX alloys.

 

[paulplom]

I usually but my own tyres and my local tyre depot charges me a fiver each to change them. Just a young lad. I always tip though.

[mat_the_cat]

 

Are those 185/60 or 165/70 tyres?

 

The prices seem to be pretty much the same and there's more choice for the wider tyres... I have 185/60's on my BX alloys.

 

Neither...195/60! I could probably get away with 185s on the 6J wheels, which would give me more choice at a better price. Ideally I'd have kept the original steel wheels for winter use, but they're long gone. Can't believe I binned a set of the TZD wheel trims too, given the prices they now fetch!

[DodgeRover]

Our local tyre places are £15 a wheel for changeovers plus a new valve and a balance so now one of our local oval racers does mine - just need to dispose of my old carcasses as the local tip is now charging £5 a tyre, luckily the skip firm we use don't charge!!

[mat_the_cat]

Nostalgia is a funny thing. My Dad bought his BX in the early 90s, which was around the same sort of time as my interest in cars was increasing massively. I guess that is why I’d always wanted to buy a BX of my own, as it really made an impression on me, being such a step forwards on what he had before. Because of this, several things I still remember vividly. One of them being the radio fitted to his BX, which must have sparked my interest in car audio. I was too young to appreciate sound quality, but I remember him being impressed by it. I was more impressed by all the buttons on it, and the fact you could program radio stations into buttons 1-5!

 

Probably around a year or so ago, I was getting frustrated with the complexity of current radios. I have a modern JVC unit in the BX, which really does all I want it to do; just that many things tend to be buried away in menus, and it looks a bit too garish in an older car. So, my mind started wondering…

 

All I could remember that it was a Sharp unit, and roughly how it looked. So I set about trawling through Google images, and managed to find a photo which also included the model number. Then started searching for one on sale. Nothing but adverts from a few years back

 

That is until last week, when one of my eBay searches sent me an alert! 99 pence start so a (daft) bid was duly placed just before the end and despite the price creeping up to £9, it was mine. Here it is in all its glory:

 

 

And the piece de resistance – a fold down 7 band graphic equaliser!!! It must have been fairly high end, as it has a set of pre-outs which would have been unusual for 1987. The only reference I can find to it online suggests it cost $500 new – a hefty figure 30 years ago!

 

 

Now all I need to do is figure out which wires do what, and install it...