Project BX17RD - the further adventures of PBO

[SmokinWaffle]

So, that was a short love affair. 

After some soul searching and chats with my partner I've realised that....I just don't like the estate as much as I thought I would. 

Bittersweet as its always been a bit of a dream car but something about it just doesn't fit with me. There is something special about my white one that I can't shake or identify - and that needs to have my full concentration as that's where the passion lies for me. 

I've also grown annoyingly fond of the berlingo that it was meant to replace! 

But - my loss can be your gain. Buy it off of me for scrap money/what I paid to transport of. You know you want to. Let the BX addiction take hold and in a few years maybe you can be an indecisive citroen licker; just like me. 

 

[SmokinWaffle]

The Estate was picked up by the ever helpful @worldofceri - with some clever movement of some timbers we had it off the drive even with it stuck on the lowest suspension setting due to the LHM leak. Not after I'd attempted to get it off without that the previous day and grounded it out like a melon and left a nice scrape at the top of the drive but still..

Raining when it was delivered, raining when it was collected. Made some pretty colours on the road / drive as it left in typical BX fashion. 

Now sitting happily in @Marshall2810's garage:

Glad to see it with someone with more time and focus for it. Hopefully will be in a better state soon. Thanks to @Marshall2810 for a painless transaction. Still think it's a super cool thing and looking at it makes me sort of regret it - but I know it wasn't for me!

Moving it on really did give me a shot of motivation and general happiness with the mental energy that was free'd up. So I set to work on mine!

With 3/4 fuel lines from the pump and across the injectors either pinholed, seeping or failing in some way causing diesel to spray out, I figure I'd just replace them all. £4 later and some cutting of halfords finest fuel hose, all of the old perished ones were removed and replaced

Which sorted all of the leaks and I once again had a dry engine bay, and didn't have to worry about causing a small natural disaster whenever I moved it!

Also fitted the new battery that I bought for the green one.

Started it and it rose (literally) from it's slumber with gusto - rising up very quickly totally free of any leaks and sounding sweet. Beauty.

Reversed it out of the garage into the sun

It's crooked face really makes me happy.

With the leaks fixed, it was time to tackle the next task......the interior.

Being SORN since November 2021, and a year and a bit of that being outside in all weathers combined with not being totally water tight resulted in the interior becoming a bit more...cultured. 

It smelt as musty as it looked.

Not to be deterred, I donned some rubber gloves and a mask and got to work.

Sprayed the entire interior down with ample amounts of white vinegar spray (750ML~ when all was said and done) and gave it a light scrub and left it for half hour to kill off the nasty.

Then it was time to bring out the big guns.

fast forward an hour and a half and I had obtained the Ｆｏｒｂｉｄｄｅｎ   ｃｈｏｃｏｌａｔｅ   ｍｉｌｋ

Neighbours rather flashy BMW M4 photobombing. 

This is the first time I've used the SpotWash in anger on anything more than a carpet spill or cat hairball stain and it's fantastic. Highly recommend anyone who is on the fence or needs to do some interior cleansing gets one. Was £100 or so - and well worth it. Left the interior pretty much dry which was very impressive and it now smells and looks a hell of a lot better.

Very satisfying and well overdue. Really nice to be giving it some TLC. Watching all the crap horrible dirt being sucked out of the seats with the Vac was awesome too. Scrubbed, white vinegar spray'd and cleaned all interior plastics and door cards of the mould - even did the roof lining and boot while I was there. Was probably closer to 2 hours total of graft but worth it.

Left it overnight with the windows open in the garage and some vanilla dehumidifer....box...thingies (79p from home bargains) to get some of the residual vinegar smell out.

Got to it this afternoon and smelt a fair bit better, seats smell fine. Fantastic. Still an air of vinegar which isn't surprising given the amount I had to use so I gave it a good dose of Febreze for good measure.

Checked the LHM, fine with no drop since it was left in 2021, same for the water. Good little thing. Trustworthy.

Backed it fully out of the garage, up the drive and onto the road.

What a sight. Overjoyed, genuinely.

Time to check out the sills...

Not great. Crispy and soft at the same time - will certainly need cutting out and welding. Good thing I have a welder in the garage I got from Facebook a year or so ago - now I have a reason to learn!

Took it on a shakedown run around the block and it was faultless. Comfy as always. The feeling was certainly still there when driving it, reinforcing I made the right choice.

Cleared the clag out (stupidly on the drive), but it'll wash...

Did make a fair ol' cloud of diesel smoke (which my partner really appreciated as she was pruning the front garden at the time) but once it was cleared it didn't do it again. Stretching it's legs after a long nap.

All in all a very productive few days with some things that were overwhelming in my head fully sorted with not much hassle. Now it's in a place where I know what I need to do to get it MOT'd (most likely just welding - might take it for a test just to see what it fails on as well beforehand), the interior is no longer festering & I don't have to worry about moving it and it leaking everywhere.

I leave you with a visual of how a the average BX owners driveway looks after simply driving two BX's on and off.

(All apart from the coal mark is LHM from the green one)

Lovely.

[vulgalour]

It's amazing that those sill ends have lasted longer than those fuel hoses.  Great to see your mojo back on this one.

[DSdriver]

The dirty tank in those upholstery cleaners always looks like that, even if you use them on clean stuff. I think there is something in the machine that adds brownness as it sucks up.

[Ghosty]

3 hours ago, SmokinWaffle said:

 Ｆｏｒｂｉｄｄｅｎ   ｃｈｏｃｏｌａｔｅ   ｍｉｌｋ

oh no

 

ｌ a c t o s e

[SmokinWaffle]

On 16/09/2023 at 22:40, vulgalour said:

It's amazing that those sill ends have lasted longer than those fuel hoses.  Great to see your mojo back on this one.

Mojo back - but with it comes with a heady dose of reality.

Well, not reality as such, more of a change I've realised. Now owning a house and having renovated it, and wanting to do many other things to it that all cost money - the BX is going to take a back seat for the foreseeable future and....that doesn't upset me. Making my home a lovely place to be is a great experience and I can't see a time in the near or semi-near future (<1.5Y) where I'd rather put £500 into the car rather than any other number of projects or hobbies.

With both me and my partner now working from home permanently I don't really drive very much (and nor do I have the want to really!) so best case scenario it'd see maybe 1000 miles a year. Which is a damn shame. At the moment it's been off the road for two years. I don't want it to sit in a garage or be coddled. I want someone who uses it frequently for what it's meant to be used for, as a car that just keeps going and they love. It deserves to be used.

Not sit like this for months on end.

That, and it's almost wasted space at this point. There is a lot of hobbies like woodworking and furniture making that I'd like to try but don't have the space and the garage itself would be the ideal place for it. I feel I'd get a lot more satisfaction from trying those things - and I'm coming to the conclusion it may be time to move it on and let someone else have the chance to own a unique car, enjoy it and make memories like I have in it.

I think this is the way forward for me - I can't say I'm totally 100% at the moment so I'll have a little longer to think - but it's looking likely whatever way I swing it.
 

With that in mind, if anyone is interested in the meantime and wants to give it a good home - drop me a PM and we'll have a chat.

 

[SmokinWaffle]

Okay - after a bit more thinking I think it's settled. 

Question is - what's it worth? Needs cutting out and welding to both sills to pass the MOT most likely - although im tempted to book it in for one to see what it fails on. 

I was thinking without MOT £6-700, or is that a bit rich? Given the rarity of it being the 1.7D and a known quantity. Shame memories don't translate to money. Open to thoughts. My main aim is to get it to someone who will enjoy it. 

[vulgalour]

That's a fair price given BX values these days and their increasing popularity in classic circles.  Stick an MoT on it and you should be able to double the asking price, these are out of banger territory now and a sorted one even in base trim is desirable to more than just us lot.

Definitely don't sell it until the spring at least, they're getting to be a more popular choice for car shows so you want to hook on to that market if you can.  I'd definitely buy it back if it weren't for the fact I'm skint and don't need a diesel, it was an astonishingly capable car if not particularly fast.

[SmokinWaffle]

On 15/11/2023 at 15:13, vulgalour said:

That's a fair price given BX values these days and their increasing popularity in classic circles.  Stick an MoT on it and you should be able to double the asking price, these are out of banger territory now and a sorted one even in base trim is desirable to more than just us lot.

Definitely don't sell it until the spring at least, they're getting to be a more popular choice for car shows so you want to hook on to that market if you can.  I'd definitely buy it back if it weren't for the fact I'm skint and don't need a diesel, it was an astonishingly capable car if not particularly fast.

Good advice, shame I can't take it!

In all seriousness, I'd rather just get it sold as the longer I keep it, the harder it'll be. It is a wonderful thing.

[vulgalour]

GLWTS not that you should need it with this one since all the usual BX problems have already been attended to over the last few years by various owners.

[SmokinWaffle]

Now in the safe hands of @Jimbob McGregor - see here 

 

If you want the thread title renamed and to continue it's history here - I'm sure @vulgalour will oblige gladly.

[vulgalour]

Yep, that'd be no bother.

[Jimbob McGregor]

So… ‘BX17RD - the further adventures of PBO’ then?

[loserone]

FAILED

CITROEN BX VRM: E673PBO

 

Date of Test: 08 January 2024

 

Time of Test: 11:55

 

Expiry Date: 01 January 0001

 

Odometer: 73,028 miles

 

Test Number: 1576 4937 9405

 

Failures:

• Offside Front Brake pipe leaking on a hydraulic braking system (1.1.11 (b) (ii)) - DANGEROUS

• Offside Front Outer Drive shaft joint constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (6.1.7 (g) (ii)) - MAJOR

• Nearside Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (2.1.3 (g) (ii)) - MAJOR

• Exhaust emissions exceed manufacturer's specified limit limit is 1.14 (8.2.2.2 (a)) - MAJOR

 

[Stinkwheel]

Thats not bad for an old BX thats sat around for a while now is it.

[vulgalour]

Can't grumble too much about that at all.  A bit of tinker time and you should be good.

[Jimbob McGregor]

Not bad at all. As is common, it’s failed on stuff other than what @SmokinWaffle thought (and the corrosion at the rear of the sills is either not bad enough or outside of the prescribed areas, although still demanding of attention, of course).

Will get it back up here shortly and get a look at it.

[Stinkwheel]

11 minutes ago, Jimbob McGregor said:

Not bad at all. As is common, it’s failed on stuff other than what @SmokinWaffle thought (and the corrosion at the rear of the sills is either not bad enough or outside of the prescribed areas, although still demanding of attention, of course).

 

Isnt it always the way 

The 'hydraulic brakes leak' im doubting to be honest. If it was driven home the high pressure pump would have emptied the reservoir everytime you braked. Its more likely a low pressure return, probably a strut leak off tube or maybe a height corrector return?

The blue dyane in your sig pic, is it a modified to 1299cc X reg car by any chance?

[SmokinWaffle]

1 hour ago, loserone said:

FAILED

CITROEN BX VRM: E673PBO

 

Date of Test: 08 January 2024

 

Time of Test: 11:55

 

Expiry Date: 01 January 0001

 

Odometer: 73,028 miles

 

Test Number: 1576 4937 9405

 

Failures:

• Offside Front Brake pipe leaking on a hydraulic braking system (1.1.11 (b) (ii)) - DANGEROUS

• Offside Front Outer Drive shaft joint constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (6.1.7 (g) (ii)) - MAJOR

• Nearside Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (2.1.3 (g) (ii)) - MAJOR

• Exhaust emissions exceed manufacturer's specified limit limit is 1.14 (8.2.2.2 (a)) - MAJOR

 

Lovely! No rust advisories. Surprising. But yes - certainly needs seeing to as you said. 

[vulgalour]

3 hours ago, Stinkwheel said:

The 'hydraulic brakes leak' im doubting to be honest. If it was driven home the high pressure pump would have emptied the reservoir everytime you braked. Its more likely a low pressure return, probably a strut leak off tube or maybe a height corrector return?

That's actually a very good point.  Strut return pipe is most likely, pretty sure I had an issue with that early on, and @SmokinWaffle might have done too, just needed a hose plugging back in so it didn't widdle on the floor if memory serves, though it was a few years ago so I may have mis-remembered.  Unless I'm thinking of my other white BX, the estate I got from @dollywobbler even more years ago.

[Jimbob McGregor]

@Stinkwheel@vulgalour that thought did cross my mind re: the brakes. 
The Dyane is a standard 1979 V plate.  I was given two in about 2002 after the owner died and I enquired about buying one. I didn’t know there were two, and the owner’s son was having to pay to get them removed, so offered them both to me. One had shite mechanics and reasonable body, one had a rotten body/floor/chassis and good mechanics, so I combined the two. I have had it off the road since 2005 and plan to resurrect it asap. My first car was a red1986 2cv Spécial and I’ve had a few.

[Jimbob McGregor]

So these are the main MOT failures. The OSF brake pipe is most definitely leaking!

I’m looking to see if I can get hold of both front pipes quickly. I don’t have the flaring tool for 3.5mm Citroen pipes.

[Jimbob McGregor]

One of the suspension strut return pipes has split on the NS too, so need those.

[jonathan_dyane]

If you have trouble getting hold of the brake pipe I can probably make you one up and send it to you

[vulgalour]

That's pretty conclusive isn't it?  Having access to a lift to do the work is going to make it a lot more pleasant to resolve.

[Jimbob McGregor]

It is rather conclusive. I drove it 8 miles back to the workshop without needing to brake, with a certain 1989 Renault Express (Extra) van tailing me!

Just splashed some considerable cash (c. £200) on bits for the BX. Genuine brake pipes for both sides at the front, genuine strut return pipes with the clip for the NS, steering rack gaiter and a rear suspension dust guard and clamps as the OS one is all split and exposing the piston and balljoint. Got this lot from Garage80 in the Netherlands.

Needed the 3.5mm LHM pipe seals also so got a few bits for my Dyane along with them from ECAS.

In the workshop (once I’d cleared out a pesky Peugeot 207 that had a multitude of issues) I checked the car over and tweaked a couple of things, including adjusting up the alternator belt tension to rod the car of the squeal every start up when the glow plug were drawing power.

I’m in for a penny, in for a pound with it now so I want to get it fully tweaked into reliable action so it’s able to cope with regular full use without succumbing to silly issues.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Excellent to see this lovely looking forum long-termer still wanting to live. Relatively minor details for a 35 year old French lass I reckon. 

Watching the next chapter with interest! 

[loserone]

Absolute winner 

[loserone]

22 minutes ago, Jimbob McGregor said:

drove it 8 miles back to the workshop without needing to brake, with a certain 1989 Renault Express (Extra) van tailing me!

 

You must go slow

I said slow 

Oh nevermind