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

[bramz7]

 

New daily. I wanted something a bit more fun and this seemingly ticks all the boxes. Belonged to an old lady who passed away, collected from rural Essex on the weekend. Sadly quite rusty in parts, the bodykit hides the worst bits. Still, I'll enjoy it while I can.

 

Seems incredibly rapid for a 1.1.

[dean36014]

that looks great, sheep in wolfs clothing!

[bramz7]

that looks great, sheep in wolfs clothing!

That's what I was expecting, but it still beats pretty much everything off of the lights and all the way up to 60...

 

God knows what a 1.4 is like. Deadly I assume.

[bramz7]

Better photos:

 

1995 Citroen AX Forte. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

1995 Citroen AX Forte. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

AX Forte interior. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

AX Forte. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

Even my plush TZX doesn't have a rev counter or engine temp gauge. For some peculiar reason the window switches are in front of the handbrake, but the GTi had switches on the door cards?!

 

Long story short, recently widowed old boy was selling his wife's former car. She had passed away quite abruptly, he basically told me it all on the way to the car from Manningtree station, felt quite sorry for him as he was obviously quite lonely. He then told me how much he had loved the DS he had had, and the various BXs and Xantias. 

 

It drives well, quite a lot of feel in the steering but it doesn't make any knocking sounds and the engine sounds alright, needs some new plugs though as it burbles and pops a lot. Exhaust also blowing. Foglights not working but I hope it's just the bulbs. 

 

Drivers side rear arch has rotted quite well but all the rest, apart from being caked in dirt, looks solid. 

 

If I do get another AX, I'd quite fancy a normal spec 1.4, but do they even exist?!

[Jerzy Woking]

I like the AX I have-994cc of scintillating powah! It seems to be the car I use the most-not worrying about where I park it is probably it's best feature.

 

I will be keeping it until it becomes uneconomical to repair (pretty much rust free), or when my 15 year old great niece turns 17 (she likes it!)

[bramz7]

I like the AX I have-994cc of scintillating powah! It seems to be the car I use the most-not worrying about where I park it is probably it's best feature.

 

I will be keeping it until it becomes uneconomical to repair (pretty much rust free), or when my 15 year old great niece turns 17 (she likes it!)

Glad you're still liking it.

 

It was amazingly rot free for an AX (not that they rot too badly anyway).

 

In other news I've got a collection date for my BX, 10th September!

[ProgRocker]

Another Citroen!

I thought it was a 14GT judging from the first pic. Sport steel wheels, ftw! ????

[bramz7]

Another Citroen!

I thought it was a 14GT judging from the first pic. Sport steel wheels, ftw! ????

The 14s are quite rare now, but I'd love one. If anyone sees one etc... Obviously I mean non GT models, the GT is way out of reach now.

 

 

The Forte steels do look nice don't they?

[bramz7]

Well I have been letting my otherwise carless friend borrow the Forte for the past week or so and he's actually (begrudgingly I suspect) starting to like it. He even commented on how much more you feel like you're driving it, and how fast it is in 2nd gear. Will he give it back?!

So as such I have been using the other AX as a daily, and it's been splendid. Soft ride, oddly well balanced steering, very perky performance at all speeds, and a Morris Minor esque exhaust note, weirdly?! I have stalled it a fair few times though. I think after driving nothing with a carb (other than the wildly overdoing it advance on the Tipo) for a while has made me forget they need a bit more oomph when cold. I reckon this AX is a better (albeit nosier) motorway cruiser than the majority of big cars I've had.

I have got a new toy coming tomorrow on a classic policy which includes travel to work....I sincerely hope my first encounter with a dealer is a good one.


Oh also, this piece of automotive tat came today:

 

 

 

NB Edit:

 

Couple of questions, both probably dumb:

 

a) Why is the distributor so damn noisy in the AX?!

Why is there brown (like dark coloured sand) residue in the coolant? And no water whatsoever? Is it waterless coolant or something?! (There is no residue in the oil at all, in fact the oil is clear as day!)

[paulplom]

About 5 years ago I had a silver AX GT-5 (remember those?). I sold it to a guy from Hull. He rang me a few days later shouting and wanting his £800 back because the rad blew and it over heated iirc. The looney.

[ruffgeezer]

Nice buy that Ax, but if you think a 1.1 is lively this one might give you a scare!

 

Underneath it has the Saxo vts suspension and a 1.6 16v engine. It is great fun.

 

[bramz7]

 

This might be the nicest car I have ever been in, let alone bought.

 

Update. Drove from Poole to Bournemouth fine, filled it up for £64 (ouch). Never driven an auto before. Now wondering why it took so long...

[bramz7]

405 Executive update:

 

Basically, I saw this come up on AT about a week ago. for a not too unreasonable price. Dealer seller responded very quickly to emails and £100 deposit sent ASAP after I noticed FJ were offering agreed value cover at a decent rate. 

Dealer then stuck a years MOT on it for me (I suspect it was a light MOT but there we go). 

Arrived in Poole today and the dealer chucks me the keys and lets me go on an unsupervised test drive. I have never driven an automatic before, and was dreading a box which sounded knackered and didn't change at the right time, but it was fine. An absolute joy in fact.

 

So I have a 405 in seemingly rude health with 123k on the clock, it has a fair few dents and trim pieces missing, but the air con works. 

It's taking us to Scotland in a few weeks, and whilst I have no doubts that some XUD would have been perfect for it, I can't wait to cruise in this. 

 

 

Unfortunately I can't get the BX now. I was unsure about it from the get go as I don't actually like NA XUDs that much anymore. Too glacial.

 

If anyone wants it for £600 PM me, it's done 50ish thousand miles, has a full year MOT, and only needs an accumulator sphere and clutch cable adjustment. It's rot free....

[Timewaster]

the GT is way out of reach now.

 

Of course it is.

 

I sold one in 2009 for £500

 

Mind you,it only owed me £100

 

Reminds me of the Mk2 Mini I sold in 2006 for £500

 

I might keep the sierra forever, just incase.

[Noel Tidybeard]

I like the AX I have-994cc of scintillating powah! It seems to be the car I use the most-not worrying about where I park it is probably it's best feature.

 

I will be keeping it until it becomes uneconomical to repair (pretty much rust free), or when my 15 year old great niece turns 17 (she likes it!)

sorry to burst your bubble old chap but thats 954cc of raw power!

[Jerzy Woking]

sorry to burst your bubble old chap but thats 954cc of raw power!

 

 

Oh, that's a shame. I'm now imagining what an extra 40cc would be like. I'll dream on............

[bramz7]

Okay, 405 report it is:

 

 

 

 

 

Okay so the good:

 

-Engine is good, no smoke, pulls well and has that push into your seat torque I was hoping for. 

-Gearbox goes up and down smooth enough, kick down works fine. 

-Most of the electrics work, windows all work, original stereo is fine, etc.

-Handles pretty well with the tyres it has, a touch of understeer but the road noise is minimal

-Incredibly quiet inside

-Seats are super comfortable

-Paintwork largely okay, save a touch of lacquer peel and rattle can here and there.

-AC works

-Armrest in the front is a comfort delight

-Doesn't seem to be dropping any liquid at all.

-Interior is in very decent shape.

 

Bad points

-Save for an invoice for whole new rear brakes last year, no service history. Belts look okay, but not sure when oil changes done.

-Some electrics are a bit iffy, the sunroof goes up but not back. 

-Various giffer dents

-Fan seems to be permanently on. Dealer said that they replaced a relay as it wasn't coming on, and that sorted it. But now it comes on quite quickly and seems to stay on. 

-Very occasional pull back when travelling at certain speeds, almost as if the throttle is caught or sticky....

-Typical fuel gauge vagueness of an old French car

-Autobox slightly noisy when cold but I assume that's normal. 

-Midsection of the exhaust is hanging a little.

-Typical 405 lock fuckery....

 

I will be getting some Castrol gearbox oil in it soon enough, as I have grown quite attached to it so far. I don't usually bond with cars this fast but I was genuinely looking forward to the drive to work this morning. 

I've also got some centre caps coming, as well as a new drivers side rear light cluster. 

 

Fuel economy isn't superb when comparing it to the diesels and 1.1s I've been used to, but clearly economy is secondary whilst travelling in such comfort. 

 

Verdit:

 

Glad I bought this one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dougiefourspeed]

Excellent buying on the 405 there. Which engine does it have?

[vaughant]

Autobox is not particularly normal to be noisy when cold but perhaps a bit shunty in the cold although I'm not familiar with pug boxes.

 

My guess on the fan is more coolant temp sensor, could explain the poor economy/occasional hesitation as well?

 

Looks a dreamy comfortable place to be though, great buy IMO.

[bramz7]

Excellent buying on the 405 there. Which engine does it have?

2 litre 8v XU10. Quite potent with the kickdown, and a decent amount of torque with it too.

 

I reckon fuel economy is about 32mpg at the moment, which is largely about right for these cars.

 

The box doesn't shunt (it's a ZF 4 speed), the noise is very minimal it's just there when cold started.

 

The throttle 'pull back' didn't happen this morning. Might be nothing....

 

 

I'm amazed by how good the ride is. It's better than basically everything I've ever been in before.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Isnt it the usual PSA AL4 gearbox or whatever its called?

[bramz7]

Isnt it the usual PSA AL4 gearbox or whatever its called?

 

 

Don't think the 405 got it....might be wrong of course. I believe it has the ZF 4HP14 box, as fitted to most PSA stuff in that era, including the BX. 

 

Bet a Xantia 2 litre auto would be neat too.

[bramz7]

Update with the throttle hesitation, I think it might be a fuelling or spark issue, as the idle was unusually lumpy this morning....

 

Might need to get the AX back off my friend soon, as I think the 405 is probably way overdue a service.

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

Hoorah for the AX return possibility - shit on a stick for mystery hesitation issue though......

I bought my kid brother an AX GT as his first car ( Iworked away and deal was I got it while I was home) - lovely little thing and a fantastic pocket rocket.......

Of course he stacked it into the back of a new 4x4 in the highlands one misty Monday morning after about 4mths.... some local laird - who got out of the (barely scratched) Toyota and promptly apologised for sitting in the middle of the road on a blind bend - as he was still 4 sheets to the wind!

Got the car recovered and paid all damages........ proper result!

 

Still miss that car - and hanker after another........ only my Fiat 127 came close in the giggle factor

[bramz7]

The AX is a superb car for a hoon in. The Forte was never meant to be a keeper but I love the way it drives.

 

I've ordered some Castrol ATF Dex II stuff for the 405, the levels are a bit low, as well as the engine oil.

All the plugs look new.

The discs all look shiny though, as well as the rear calipers. Not all bad I guess.

[bramz7]

What's this? Another week another car?

 

No seriously though, this is my new permanent daily. I had set out to get something a bit more substantial and diesel (because economy yo), but with some actual driving pleasure to be had.

 

So knowing my love for a good ZX, this popped up:

 

1993 Citroen ZX Avantage. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

£395 with a year MOT, Cambelt and water pump done 4k ago. It runs superbly and is so quiet for a XUD. Obviously some of you may remember about 12 months ago I was running an identical ZX, which ended up with DW. This one is vastly superior and I don't know if everything I've driven has just been fucked or something but it's quite fast too. Definitely holds its own on the motorway. 

So many invoices with it too. Belonged to the same family from new, the original owners nephew (who was now in his early 60s) kindly met me outside Exeter St Davids station and guided me to the cheapest fuel station in town after. 

 

More photos:

1993 Citroen ZX Avantage. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

That friggin towbar was never used and it cost the owner £430!!!!! 

 

Citroen ZX Engine. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

Typical ZX with inner wing welding, but done to a great standard. This engine has been very well looked after.

 

Citroen ZX Avantage interior. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

 

One of my complaints with this particular spec was the seats, but these are just right. I was going to swap them but lazy. Everything in here works. Apart from the fuel gauge, which of course has gone French and gives vastly exaggerated readings. 

 

All in all, this is a good one. I always regretted selling the green ZX due to me impulse buying a trashed BX instead. Maybe this is the beginning of the end of my car buying madness?

 

 

Also, in 405 related news, I am half tempted to sell it. It's been great but automatics aren't me and it doesn't fit in my car plans. It isn't a keeper so if anyone fancies it (for £400) feel free to send me a PM. I've fixed the broken rear light....

[mk2_craig]

Looks tidy!  I've just found a stereo for a one of those while clearing out a shelf in the garage, think it came out of a Furio the same year.

[barrett]

Those moiré seats look great! Still curious to try a ZX at some point, they look better and better with every passing year

[dougiefourspeed]

That’s very nice. I can’t remember the last time I saw a ZX that early on the road.

[bramz7]

Those moiré seats look great! Still curious to try a ZX at some point, they look better and better with every passing year

 

 

You're more than welcome to try this one should the opportunity arise. 

 

 

That’s very nice. I can’t remember the last time I saw a ZX that early on the road.

 

 

 

Yeah there isn't many about anymore. Certainly none local, I've now had ones from 92, 93 and 94. 

 

Here is my previous:

 

 

 

 

Also, please can someone on here buy this:

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/citroen/citroen-zx-1.9-diesel-not-turbo-mot-jan-2018-good-service-history/1268883295