project Fumbler's Gone To America - Ford F*cking Biohazard

[Fumbler]

1 hour ago, jamescarruthers said:

If not, Edwards & Sons are likely to have one. 

I'll give these people a ring on Tuesday. Do you have a link to the Telford BX at all?

[jamescarruthers]

43 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

I'll give these people a ring on Tuesday. Do you have a link to the Telford BX at all?

Telford: https://bxclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=269843#p269843

”East of England” https://bxclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22821&sid=b1871a6c98d0c760e9257707522facb0
 

Edwards & Sons, deepest darkest Essex http://www.edwardsandson.co.uk/

[Fumbler]

So I managed to successfully uninstall the car alarm today.


All it took was to rectify the splice into the coil wiring the fitters made, disconnect each connector one by one and check to see the car still started. Once everything was disconnected, I unscrewed the alarm unit and removed it from the car.

I will revisit this repair one day with solder and more appropriate heatshrink, but, for now, the car works.

And so we say farewell to this ancient fossil of vehicle security. Weird thinking that it just sat around without power for just over half its life. It didn't even save the car from being broken into either.

I've still got a fair bit of wire to remove, plus the ultrasonics to remove, but at least it's now most definitely gone for good.

[Fumbler]

Collapsed Sun The Third procured

And applied to the boot.

Giant improvement.

Viewers may also spy another radio unit. I might even fit it this weekend.

[Fumbler]

Did radioshite yesterday. While the Panasonic headunit works, the FM quality is dogshit and isn't nice to lisen to. It frequently loses signal in places the Micra's similarly-aged radio didn't. Put simply, it was a pain in the arse to use and tune and I didn't like the look or feel of it.

Fortunately, there was a spare Blaupunkt Boston radio/cassette unit already fitted to a better condition bezel. I took it apart and cleaned it on Friday evening and verified it was working:

All it's presets were set just out of frequency of all the common radio stations. Weird. It demanded a code, as they always do when being powered up for the first time, I punched in the numbers and ws greeted with a functioning unit. Excellent.

Whoever was in there previously needed to edit the factory provided wiring to fit the Panasonic unit. All the spade connectors were lopped off and put in a chocbox yonks ago. Luckily, the owner's handbook describes what wires do which so that was little concern. I needed an earth connection but lacked spade connectors. So I did the right thing and scavenged one from the old alarm wiring which also happens to be coloured red! Perfect.

Fast forward to Saturday, a mate of mine picked up an antenna adapter so I could test the speakers.

We has Choonz.

Programmed in all the radio stations I wanted and it sounds excellent. I'll clean the cassette player and try it out when I'm back home for longer than a day. No Dolby NR but the recorder I have doesn't hiss all that much. Could do with HX Pro though.

Money shot. It's amber and I love it. The camera tried to up the contrast so it looks a little funky on the display, but in person it looks just fine. I'm calling this one nice period-correct improvement.

As for what I do with the old unit, I don't know. It works, but it requires TLC. I'll put it up for sale with other BX bits. I'll clean up the bezel attached and see if the bluetooth headunit I also have fits. Not that I intent to fit it, but why not try anyway?

 

In other banal news, I removed all the visible remnants of the old alarm system attached to the interior.

Bang and the dirt is gone.

When fishing out the wires for the steering column LED, I discovered that all the central wiring was done behind the column fascia. There's an errant relay socket, a rat's nest of wires snaking everywhere, all in the same colours that go to the connectors in the engine bay. I'll chop back as much as possible at my leisure, as all of it is redundant. That being said, the lack of relay in the socket suggests someone already made the steps to disable the alarm portion quite some time ago, which would also explain the missing panel screws and broken clips in that area. My aim is to cut off and insulate the wiring going into the engine bay. From there I can treat and seal the rusty holes entering the dashboard and through scuttle bulkhead. All the hidden wiring doesn't concern me. Depending on what it's connected to, it may prove useful someday.

Finally, after a week of waiting, the wire for the battery main earth arrived in the post. This means I can finally fix that mess. I have a feeling the earthed connection to the starter relay isn't working as it won't crank when the sun heats up. Cleaning up the main engine and body earth points will help, replacing the clamp and wires will help put my mind at ease.

Edited May 9, 2021 by Fumbler
Clarification changes

[bezzabsa]

As for what I do with the old unit, I don't know. It works, but it requires TLC. I'll put it up for sale with other BX bits. I'll clean up the bezel attached and see if the bluetooth unit I also have fits. Not that I intent to fit it, but why not try anyway?

 

OOH... do you retrofit BT to any stereo??? would be nice to slap the standard one back in the pickarse and get my steering wheel controls working again if you do..

[Fumbler]

1 minute ago, bezzabsa said:

As for what I do with the old unit, I don't know. It works, but it requires TLC. I'll put it up for sale with other BX bits. I'll clean up the bezel attached and see if the bluetooth unit I also have fits. Not that I intent to fit it, but why not try anyway?

 

OOH... do you retrofit BT to any stereo??? would be nice to slap the standard one back in the pickarse and get my steering wheel controls working again if you do..

My mistake, I meant I have a Bluetooth-enabled headunit I pulled from my sister's car a number of years ago. It's single-DIN sized and will fit but looks crap.

Now that you've said it though, it may be an avenue worth looking down.

[bezzabsa]

25 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

My mistake, I meant I have a Bluetooth-enabled headunit I pulled from my sister's car a number of years ago. It's single-DIN sized and will fit but looks crap.

Now that you've said it though, it may be an avenue worth looking down.

oooh right LOL.....I've seen a few folk on yootoob do it, but all i ever manage is dry joints and burnt fingers 

[Crackers]

36 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

It's single-DIN sized and will fit but looks crap

Would you like to spend all the money? Because if you do, these look like a fantastic option for a period-looking radio with all the modern kit on.

https://www.blaupunkt.com/en/nc/products/car-multimedia/car-radio/products/single/19059/

Was tempted to get one for the P6 since it's got a bit of a "70s car that's living in the 80s" vibe about it, but I can't justify the thick end of 400 quid for a radio.

[Fumbler]

2 minutes ago, Crackers said:

Would you like to spend all the money? Because if you do, these look like a fantastic option for a period-looking radio with all the modern kit on.

https://www.blaupunkt.com/en/nc/products/car-multimedia/car-radio/products/single/19059/

Was tempted to get one for the P6 since it's got a bit of a "70s car that's living in the 80s" vibe about it, but I can't justify the thick end of 400 quid for a radio.

ALL TEH MONIES!

Man that looks pretty with the red LEDs. I'm alright with what I got I think. I rather like cassettes and stuff like that. If I need to, I can get a cassette adapter with a 3.5mm jack on it if I need.

Of course if DAB takes over everything then I'll snap one up as it'll look nice and be modern.

[R1152]

Given that there is an auxiliary input function on the bASe stereo on my BMW E60, I am tempted to add Bluetooth that way to it. Of course, it'll need "coding" 🤬

(I washed the E60 for the first time in 18 months today: the muck was doing a good job of hiding just how shite the front bumper lacquer peel looks)

[Fumbler]

I'm idly looking at a potential new useless purchase, but I cannot decide which one I prefer. I'm highly tempted to order new plates because the rear is beginning to show its age and the front is newer and missing the (very simple) dealer slogan. I've made up two designs:

The top pair use the exact same registration font as the car currently has, but lacks the ability to display the umlaut E correctly. I like the bottom because of the Serck-like font and the slogan is correct.

I like both, but, which one is better?

[Ghosty]

19 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

I like both, but, which one is better?

Vulgalour's ex-BX has the bottom plates on it, and they look good. 

If you know where to look on FB you could get exactly what you want but I don't thin k it'd be cheap.

[Crackers]

I vote Serck-ish ones. They look grand.

[Fumbler]

3 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

Vulgalour's ex-BX has the bottom plates on it, and they look good. 

If you know where to look on FB you could get exactly what you want but I don't thin k it'd be cheap.

Ah! I thought The Wafflewagon had that font. Looks very nice indeed. I could go down the Facebook route but no account and no desire to make one puts a stop to that idea. I ordered the plates for the Micra off another plate site which has since gone in the last year, conveniently so because they're crap stick-on labels with bubbles and even haid embedded into the label.

5 minutes ago, Crackers said:

I vote Serck-ish ones. They look grand.

Looks my decision is going to be an easy one.

I experimented with a blue border...

...although, for simplicity's sake, I think I'd go without on this car.

[dozeydustman]

Serck. Wins every time. Especially if you can get pressed metal plates

[jamescarruthers]

I don’t know if you lot do shite-lynchings but I must confess that I find the Serck number plate font pretty awful. If I bought a car with it on, the plates would be coming off, only retained for reinstallation upon reselling to tempt you Serck suckers!

 

Although I do appreciate your desire to get the Ö right in Citröen!

[Fumbler]

5 hours ago, dozeydustman said:

Serck. Wins every time. Especially if you can get pressed metal plates

Although metal would be nice, the car looks too new for pressed plates IMO.

2 hours ago, jamescarruthers said:

I don’t know if you lot do shite-lynchings but I must confess that I find the Serck number plate font pretty awful. If I bought a car with it on, the plates would be coming off, only retained for reinstallation upon reselling to tempt you Serck suckers!

 

Although I do appreciate your desire to get the Ö right in Citröen!

I can always get the original font plates, I'll need to put in the special requests box to have the correct Ë put in place and have the slogan in Helvetica like it is on the original.

Also, what's with the Ö?

[jamescarruthers]

45 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

Although metal would be nice, the car looks too new IMO.

I can always get the original font plates, I'll need to put in the special requests box to have the correct Ë put in place and have the slogan in Helvetica like it is on the original.

Also, what's with the Ö?
http://assets.stickpng.com/images/5860f1fd4fc7f3474eb80d9c.png

Sorry, I meant the Ë!

And I have the cheek to call myself a Citroën fan! Oh, the shame!

[Fumbler]

1 hour ago, jamescarruthers said:

Sorry, I meant the Ë!

And I have the cheek to call myself a Citroën fan! Oh, the shame!

I recommend an act of penance to André himself!
---------------------------------------
I'm also going to start doing some nickel plating of metals and car components as a fun experiment. I want to investigate how much more effective it would be at corrosion resistance as opposed to using cold galvanising compound which is a lot more expensive and I have a limited quantity. I want to start gradually refurbishing the rear end of the BX and a good place to start would be the rear disc splash guards. As the surface is large and flat I can also see how well paint adheres to it and so on. It's relatively simple getting the guards off, but they have been on there for a very long time.

EDIT I can also use the same technique with copper and zinc, and I have copper at home I can use to try plating some little things as a test while I'm home for the weekend.

[Fumbler]

Lookey lookey @jamescarruthers

Might this be a later revision board? The mod on BX forum looks to have already been made here and the boost relay clicks like it should.

[Fumbler]

Wet car

The weather made it obvious to drive to a remote location, walk and get soaking wet and then break the heater system so I was forced to drive back in a steamy car. It broke because this happened:

Enhanced imaged goodness. Basically the top piece of metal bridges the traces on the heater PCB to make the blower turn at different speeds. Constant contact with said traces is ensured by the bottom piece, which is a piece of sprung brass. Unfortunately, being brass, it bent out of shape over the years and wasn't providing the springyness to make contact. Unfortunately they're joined with CA glue instead of solder, which I'll rectify in  a couple days' time. For now, I bent the brass out a bit and superglued it in place. All the bulbs were blown so I've ordered 4 new ones which I can fit this weekend.

Now the heater blower nearly completely works without needing to whack it!

There's a dead spot near the top end but I can live with that for the time being. Full speed relay works and most of the variable control does so that's a win in my book.

All the springs are missing on the centre heater vents so they've gone floppy and loose. Fixed with some folded thick paper.

My hands stank of cigarettes afterwards. Fortunately the car's overall smell has improved with use but the smell is always interesting* when the interior is hot.

[jamescarruthers]

2 hours ago, Fumbler said:

Lookey lookey @jamescarruthers

Might this be a later revision board? The mod on BX forum looks to have already been made here and the boost relay clicks like it should.

Wow, maybe! It certainly looks different from the two I did on later cars than yours. I never knew Citroen actually fixed it. It is very weird that this is fixed on an F-reg car. Maybe you have  previous owner who bought a new panel from Citroen after complaining about poor ventilation?

 

Very interesting!

[Fumbler]

Just now, jamescarruthers said:

Wow, maybe! It certainly looks different from the two I did on later cars than yours. I never knew Citroen actually fixed it. It is very weird that this is fixed on an F-reg car. Maybe you have  previous owner who bought a new panel from Citroen after complaining about poor ventilation?

 

Very interesting!

Indeed! Board is dated 1988 which matches the ORGA code. It certainly hasn't moved in a very long time so I suspect it's original. I suspect it's something PSA quitely fixed and didn't tell anyone, not even performed a recall for. I also suspect they continued to use the defective boards just to get them out of the plant.

[Fumbler]

1. Remove old earthing equipment:

2: Make new body earthing point because the old one was literally tearing out of the car:

Copious amounts of Vaseline added to keep corrosion at bay.

3: Clean the stud and attach new 32mm^2 main engine earth:

4: Admire you new earthing system and revel in the ease at which your car starts.

Relocating the earth to a non grotty spot has caused my map lights to work of all things!

Marvellous.

The car now works very well. Starts better than before and cranks over easier. It still cranks a bit slow thanks to the undersized battery, but that'll be fixed soon as well.

The black cable going haphazardly into the new body earth terminates to the bolt highlited in blue:

From there a fat looking cable goes into the loom. I didn't have any lugs the correct size to hand at that point so I decided to just wedge the wire into the new earth stud with a bolt and a washer. When I receive some lugs which'll fit the stud, I'll crimp one onto the black cable so I can bolt it on securely. I may also eliminate the old earth point from the circuit by replacing the lug with a crimped splice.

After all was said and done, I took it out fora Damn Good Thrashing. My God it's fun to chuck around. I can only imagine what a 205 with the same engine is like. I'd love to try one someday. Acceleration from 20-60 is incredible. Stops on a sixpence and just keeps so stuck to the road. Its zippiness is almost as fun as the Micra, which definitely is fun to blat about in without a black box.

 

I've also put in new lamps into the centre console.

And I've now properly fixed the heater controls. No hesitation and the fan works throughout the range. The bearings are squeaking at high speed though.

I've now got a warm hue from the heater controls. Rather cleverly, Citroen also added a slot under the heater dial to light up the ashtray at night. Because, y'know, finding a place to deposit your smouldering Gauloises in the dark is more important than looking at the road ahead.

Other things I've done include:

• Unblocking the front windscreen washer
• Painting the spot where the alarm used to be. I've yet to seal up the holes
• Stripping + painting the rotten seam on the NSF wheelarch. It still needs welding
• Painted the battery bracket. I've now got smurf hands as a result
• Painted bits of the battery tray.

Things I may get round to doing tomorrow:

• Removing the bonnet switch
• Sealing the alarm holes and removing the cable

The next big thing I should probably do is set to either cleaning or replacing the carburettor. The car cut out and very nearly FTP'd at the lights on the A303. I also very nearly shat my pants as a result. I did the paint marker trick on the idle jet @catsinthewelderrecommended on the Zoom call and, instead of wobbling itself loose, it stayed right where it was. I actually had to unscrew the jet at the services to get the car running again. The fact its falling out of tune like this every 100 or so miles suggests it's pulling a ton of gunk through that it shouldn't be. I've also readjusted the mixture as best as I could and ended up with it running leaner and happier than it was before. This should prevent all the soot that's now coated the exhaust tip.
I also want to fix the exhaust alignment as it's melting the bumper big time. That and painting and sealing the boot floor which shouldn't take all that long. In all, I've got a nice amount of things crossed off my snagging list. Good times.

 

 

[Fumbler]

I got a few books with the general paperwork for the car including, I kid you not, a fold-out phamflet advertising "The BX Collection". Seriously!

Let's look inside, shall we?

 

I'd love to find one of those ties someday.

Look, it even comes with two mail-in order forms!

...which are now useless because they're addressed to a PO box. Shame!

I can make HD scans should anyone think this is of value. I just think it's so niché and cool.

[Fumbler]

Next Friday starts my half term holiday, and thanks to the bank holiday, a 3 day week and both weekends, I have a fair few days to Do Stuff. The replacement carburettor, ignition module, carburettor gasket and my set of crimped lugs will all have arrived by tomorrow, allowing me to immediately set to work on those. It shouldn't be a particularly long job to do. I'll even record it and put it in a video for YouTube. The other things I want to achieve during this time are:

• Mark positions and take the NSF wing off so that I can access and replace the rusted seam with new metal.
• Remove all the failed accident repairwork to the wing, treat the rust and blow over with more red. There's so much pudding slapped onto it so it's never going to look right but it'll look better than before.
• Tidy up, (maybe paint) and undercoat the inner wing and inside of the outer wing with Dynax S50.

And:

• Remove wheels + trims, remove lifted paint, treat corrosion and prime.
• Apply metal bluing to the wheel nuts to make them look nice.
• Repaint the wheels and trims.

 

I'm wondering what colour I should paint the wheels. Now, you'd think the decision is easy because the wheels are silver. But that's boring. Most of the wheel is covered with a silver trim so I may decide to change the colour of the wheel entirely. Colour combos I have right now are:

1. White rim/plain silver trim
2. Plain silver all round
3. Hammered silver rim/plain silver trim
4. Silver rim, white trim.

The fourth may look a bit odd considering BX wheeltrims were never ever white. As it stands, I'm rather liking the idea of white rims/silver trims and the hammered silver rims/silver trims.

But which one is better?

[eddyramrod]

You may have seen what I recently did with the wheels on Famous Five, using dark green Hammerite.  Perhaps paint your wheels red, so they show through whatever gaps the trims have?

 

[Fumbler]

13 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

You may have seen what I recently did with the wheels on Famous Five, using dark green Hammerite.  Perhaps paint your wheels red, so they show through whatever gaps the trims have?

 

It's tempting to colour them the same as the body but that would look just a bit too garish IMO.

Saying that, I'll paint the spare a different colour to the rest of the wheels so that I know it's a spare. Red would suit that quite well. Maybe turquoise...

[Ghosty]

I'd have said red wheel/silver trim. 

Don't paint the trims white, it'll look naff.