Project The Old Beige BX Progress Thread: 17th Feb 2021 - FIN.

[strangeangel]

Sundays are a no for me unfortunately.

 

No worries, the Sunday thing isn't set in stone anyway.

[strangeangel]

Well, we've let this drag on, haven't we? My fault entirely, so apologies for that.

 

I will be heading up to Joe's place on Sunday May 26th, when we will attempt to get the car ready to face the man from the Ministry.

 

If you are a shareholder or just a fan of the beige please feel free to join us - the more the merrier.

[KruJoe]

Is it really two years since we've done owt with the poor old thing? Better get it dug out then.

A fresh battery from the £20 106 and splash of pez down its neck resulted in this:

[KruJoe]

The suspension came up nicely, so out into the open...

I quick dousing with eBay wax*...

Mechanic kitteh approved. So back under cover for a few days.

Bring on Sunday. All welcome!

[strangeangel]

Is it really two years?? Blimey. Best get a wriggle on then, eh.

 

Sunday here we come!

 

[vulgalour]

I really want to bumble along and help, but I doubt very much I'll have the time or funds to make the trek over.  Did you know, for reasons known only to Citroen, they dropped the chevrons from the boot badge when they facelifted the BX?

[stillOrange]

I was actually supposed to send a message about this the other day.

I still have some money in PayPal account from the collection and I'm still the person on the V5c which I really would like to change.

[KruJoe]

 

 

Progress!

Lights, seatbelts, tyres checked

Fettled dizzy cap and rotor arm (this improved the idling off-choke. Yay!)

Fixed battery terminal clamp

Fitted new* earth lead

Fitted new* breather pipe

Fitted new* squirter pipe

NSR window propped up

Rear seats, boot panels and door cards re-fitted

Underside inspection

Re-fitted fuel lines

Glorious private road* test drive (revealed missing under load and an exhaust knock, possibly something front suspension related too.)

MOT Job list:

Investigate intermittent horn

Buy new dizzy cap (clip-on type) and fit with the rotor arm in stock

Buy and fit new plug leads

Buy and fit new NSF strut gaiter (any advice appreciated)

Buy and fit new front strut return pipes and work out why the old ones are snapped but not leaking!

[strangeangel]

Great to see you and Will today... I've checked and Chevronics have the strut return pipes and clips in stock but, as you say, how it isn't pissing out LHM everywhere with the returns broken on each side is beyond me. When one went on mine there was green stuff everywhere.

[vulgalour]

Intermittent horn: check the wiring connection on the inner wing and the connections to the horn itself, they can get a bit green when stood for a while and then not work.

Front strut gaiter:  from memory, these are the same as Xantia and available from GSF.  Do double check, it's been a while since I looked at this so I might be misremembering.  I bet Eddie Honda knows, he knows what fits everything.

Front suspension issues AND no LHM coming out of snapped return lines?  This could be related.  No idea what it could be, you're on your own with that one.  Maybe something is blocked somewhere.

[strangeangel]

Just now, vulgalour said:

Front suspension issues AND no LHM coming out of snapped return lines?  This could be related.  No idea what it could be, you're on your own with that one.  Maybe something is blocked somewhere.

No, the front suspension is working fine - it's just the question of why there isn't LHM pouring out of the broken returns every time the car settles.

[vulgalour]

Magic?  Maybe someone bodged some return lines somewhere else to bypass the broken ones, though why you'd do that I don't really know since that would be a fairly involved bodge.

[strangeangel]

On 5/26/2019 at 9:50 PM, vulgalour said:

Magic? 

Well, old Citroens are certainly full of that... but I'm now wondering whether the broken ends of the pipes are so chock full of shit that the stuff simply can't leak out. They do look like they've been broken for some time.

 

 

[holbeck]

Sorry only just catching up with this. Nice work Joe.  Shout if the owners need to put a shilling or two in.

[stillOrange]

Just checked my PayPal and there's still £80 left over from last collection.

[Cleon-Fonte]

Right then...

Strangeangel is probably correct about the strut return pipes being clogged, it usually tends to be the case if LHM isn't escaping in quantity. I'd give Chevronics a swerve for new return pipes and go to AEP instead, the quality is apparently good and the prices somewhat lower. Alternatively, if we wanted to maximise the budget we could renovate the old strut returns like so, I have plenty of appropriate silicone tubing on hand.

I do also have a couple of random dizzy caps that may fit.

There are genuine Citroen strut gaiters on eBay now for £17.50 plus £4 postage, if that's acceptable? I've tried finding others but nothing else comes up as cheaply (the part number's 95579468 if you want to have a go yourselves).

Hopefully I should be free to attend the next working party.

 

[strangeangel]

17 minutes ago, Cleon-Fonte said:

...go to AEP instead, the quality is apparently good and the prices somewhat lower.

I've just ordered some. The car can have those on me, so we should be able to buy the strut gaiter and the other bits we need from the dosh that's still in the pot.

 

[Cleon-Fonte]

Good stuff.

Does the dizzy cap look like this one?

[strangeangel]

11 minutes ago, Cleon-Fonte said:

Good stuff.

Does the dizzy cap look like this one?

That's like the new, boxed one we found in the boot - unfortunately that one screws on, and the car's distributor has clips.

[Cleon-Fonte]

This one is the one we need then: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/46030-INTERMOTOR-DISTRIBUTOR-CAP-CITROEN-FIAT-PEUGEOT-RENAULT-SEAT-TALBOT/202683484518?epid=248744646&hash=item2f30e08966:g:fEMAAOSwX8dbqjoj&frcectupt=true

[strangeangel]

7 minutes ago, Cleon-Fonte said:

This one is the one we need then: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/46030-INTERMOTOR-DISTRIBUTOR-CAP-CITROEN-FIAT-PEUGEOT-RENAULT-SEAT-TALBOT/202683484518?epid=248744646&hash=item2f30e08966:g:fEMAAOSwX8dbqjoj&frcectupt=true

It is, and it's now ours. How this project has missed you Michael

[KruJoe]

Our dizzy and cap.

As Jaz said, clips, not screws to attach it.

There's also a new rotor arm in the box with the (wrong) new cap, which looks like it *might* fit. It did slot onto the shaft ok when I tried (but I re-fitted old arm and cap.)

[Tomtation]

Cor! Glad the beast of biege is getting some love, also very glad it ended up on here. I really really wanted it when it came up for sale, but already have an 85 MK1 BX19 GT to give light recomission to - and I'd have nowhere to put it.

Tell me to fuck of if necessary, but I'd be at the front of the queue, in a tent, the night before if this should need to be moved on.

[strangeangel]

On 5/21/2019 at 10:22 PM, stillOrange said:

I was actually supposed to send a message about this the other day.

I still have some money in PayPal account from the collection and I'm still the person on the V5c which I really would like to change.

A quick update... the V5c is on its way to me as we speak, and Daniel has transferred the £80 still in the kitty to my Paypal.

 

As stated earlier, I'm happy to throw in for the return pipes, so we stand at £73.75 after buying The Beigeness a new distributor cap.

 

[strangeangel]

The Precious Things have started arriving...

 

 

I can just hear that recalcitrant 4th cylinder bursting into life when we fit this!

 

[beko1987]

Is it coming to shitefest again this year? We could try and get it into a state where it could be driven back via a pre booked mot! 

[Tomtation]

On 6/1/2019 at 12:18 PM, beko1987 said:

Is it coming to shitefest again this year? We could try and get it into a state where it could be driven back via a pre booked mot! 

That would be cool!

[Mrs6C]

Great to see the Beige BX emerging from hibernation!

[strangeangel]

I just remembered that I'd ordered strut return pipes from AEP back in May... nothing has ever materialised, though. I had a look at my PayPal and it appears they refunded me the same day I ordered them! Not so much as an email to explain either, which might have been useful. Oh well... they appear to be in stock, so I've ordered them again - I will keep a closer eye on the situation this time.

 

@KruJoe do you want me to order the HT leads seeing as I've got the kitty here? What was the other thing we were going to buy? I've slept since then...

[strangeangel]

They've refunded me again - no email, explanation, kiss my arse or nothing ?

 

I have emailed their CS address to find out WTF is the problem.