BX Roll Call

[vulgalour]

There's been a lot of BXs popping up on the forum lately, I'm curious who has one, and what they've got, because I'm nosey like that.  Please, drop a picture and tell us what you've got, chuck a link to a build/maintenance/despair thread if you've got one too.

Low fat 17RD trim, manual diesel non-turbo flavour.

Thread: https://autoshite.com/topic/34202-1987-citroen-bx/

 

 

From memory, @dean36014 (who formerly owned mine), @strangeangel, @Meter rat, @Fabergé Greggs, @mat_the_cat, @KruJoe, and maybe @barrett (or did he move onto Xantias now?) are all current BX pilots.

 

[New POD]

I once sat in a BX Gti that was for sale in 1999 in "Five Star of Formby" for £1250.  My Budget was £1000 and they refused to budge on the price. 

I didn't drive it. 

[strangeangel]

Krujoe hasn't got one, it's his brother @explosive-cabbage who has a TD estate.

 

Mine is the infamous 19RD estate that seems to have been owned by half the forum:

 

 

I've owned it for about three and a half years now, and for most of that time it's been my main form of transport (I use the bike in nice weather). It's looking decidedly scruffy these days, but still going well. Updates can be found in this thread.

 

I'm also part owner of the suitcase-engined beige 14RE, which is currently sofa surfing at djimbob's gaff. It's not been forgotten, and there will be an update soon, I promise. This weeks free time has been eaten up with the collection of a certain electric car, though... anyway, it's a fine old thing, and we are confident that it will be roadworthy sooner rather than later.

 

 

The car has it's own thread here.

 

[DoctorRetro]

I've only driven one, a test drive of a rather tired diesel  estate one, but it was amazing, especially on country roads. I bottled it because of an ominous hissing noise every so often and I didn't know if it was normal or there was suspension failure lurking. 

I will own one at some point I hope. 

[bramz7]

Probably just the accumulator sphere doing it's thing. I've not driven one that doesn't make a noise, yet. 

They're not bad old things. My third ever car was a BX14 that had done 170k. So loud, and rusty. And really reluctant to start in the cold snap. Burnt out an ignition coil and wiring that was that. Sold it on, god knows where it is now. 

[vulgalour]

I got confused!  I thought the beige one was part-owned by Krujoe and living there and had completely forgotten about explosive's estate.  I bet I've forgotten people too, hard to keep track of all the different usernames.

[mat_the_cat]

This is mine, which I've owned since 2004. Seen here at the NEC in 2013:

Link below in my signature!

[strangeangel]

19 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

I got confused!  I thought the beige one was part-owned by Krujoe and living there...

 

 

You could be forgiven for thinking that, given that he very kindly housed it at Castle Cleland for so long (and hosted working parties), but no, Joe's not one of the custodians. He needed the space back, though, hence the move after the car's surprise appearance at Cholmondeley.

 

[strangeangel]

40 minutes ago, TheDoctor said:

I bottled it because of an ominous hissing noise every so often...

 

 

Yep, as Bramz says, TADTS.

 

[Noel Tidybeard]

7 minutes ago, strangeangel said:

 

Yep, as Bramz says, TADTS.

 

some moar often than others! ?

[twosmoke300]

Dad has a mk1 base which has been to a couple of shitfests

Arty pic courtesy of Fatharris

[Fabergé Greggs]

Lovely things and a real zenith of car design.

That magic carpet ride combined with great looks and attention to fuel efficiency through light weight and aerodynamics makes them a joy to use. The interior has a lovely spacious feel thanks to the windscreen rake and minimal centre console design.  The mk1’s are obviously amazing, the mk2’s  just manage for cling on to that last bit of Citroen magic. 
 

I reached fever point in deciding that they were the best car ever, and spent a while hunting for my first: a 240,000 mile TZD wagon, later sold to Barret. I really loved it and did many long haul jaunts but ultimately wanted an auto because London. 

I just kept on coming back to them in the endless hunt for the perfect vehicle, and really wanted to try vegging. The long hunt for a nice Bosch auto resulted recently in this: 

 

[dean36014]

I've a bx 17tgd, affectionately known as Shonky. He's currently hibernating in a garage until Spring, then he's getting a head gasket replacement.

[Mrs6C]

I'm sure @Six-cylinder will be along shortly to expand on the detail, but he has his parents' red BX GTi that has just been returned to the road after over a decade of slumbering in the garage... this was the last in a whole series of BXs that the Six-cylinder Seniors had enjoyed...

More details and pictures on his own thread here...

 

[Shep Shepherd]

My mother had a metallic grey H-reg 16TZS automatic hatchback for several years in the early 2000s until it suffered a catastrophic electrical fire. A wonderful car while it lasted 

[holbeck]

This is the one that HMC and myself had last year. 

[Tomtation]

Now THIS is a thread I can get behind. I seem to be an accidental serial BX'er, having had a couple in my shortish tenure as a automotively-approved 'adult*.

My first back in 2009? was a delage red 14TGE, it had been sat for many years until the PO got t oging and MOT'd it - therefore it had many niggles and would occasionally run out of electricity. Nevertheless I loved it! The 1.4 TU engine, whilst not 'fast' was way more fun and sure felt quicker than my 1989 1.4 MK2 Astra of the time (which I also loved). Unfortunately this was written off in a RTC, one of the wheels became detached from a driveshaft and the gearbox was almost ripped off...

Next I replaced the daily MK2 Astra (which I loved but everyone else hated) with a much posher triton green, no less, 1993 BX TXD Turbo, fondly nicknamed the Turbot Trouncer for not much reason at all. This would also be my first dizzle, and it was NOT SHIT! Well, apart from a grinding CV joint and flat-ish spheres for a diesel it felt very quick indeed, once the turbo had spooled up. I owned this for a whole year December 2012 to 10/2013 and did many miles in it, including several european jaunts - it served admirably at least until MOT time where it needed welding in the dreaded rear subframe/fuel tank area, which apparently is almost inaccessible, to avoid a hefty welding fee I sold it to someone who could weld.

Next is my 1985 19GT that i've had since early 2012, I bought it from a serial CX licker that bought it on a whim and never really did anything with it, it had been laid up since before the SORN laws came in... I still have it and don't see that i'll sell it. It's really quite nice, every time I go and see it, I forget just how nice it is. It was last in action in 2017 when we took part in the Citroen Classic challenge, travelling to the french alps and back in a load of old Citroens - you'll be surprised to hear that there were no breakdowns! The GT drove better after that trip than it ever had. It's future looks good, I have been meaning to do the couple of preventative jobs that would really improve it for 2 years now, but successive work based qualifications, studying, moving house etc all have neccessitated it's back seat. However, in June I will have finished all that shit, and can crck on with the GT jobs. It has the wrong trims and tyres on the pics below, the tyres are now correct but I want to get the original trims painted and repaired for it.

When I bought it:

Pre-Challenge:

It ahd a little bit of work before the challenge, and there were TWO bleu romantique BX19 GT's in the SAME WORKSHOP! I bet that hasn't happenned for decades, here is evidence for the naturally suspicious. Just so you know, the other one (on RHS) has had a more or less full restoration, and is now pretty bloody lovely - way better than mine.

Gorgeous interior:

Tucked up in the barn:

My other current BX is an imported French example, it's a 16TRS 'SE' a MK1 with AIR CONDITIONING! Some people talk about hens teeth, rocking horse shit etc - but none of that even comes close to this - I can't find the words for its rarity. The car itself is tatty AF, but I will be raping it of it's A/C, putting the system in the GT and selling the TRS once it's been fettled and possibly MOT'd. As of last weekend it is snuggled up next to the GT in that there barn (no pictures of this sadly, they are a lovely pair).

And that's my BXing spent. The tRS has it's own thread but due to not having actually done anything with the GT for ages there is nothing on here for it. However, if you stroll on across to the BXClub Forum, I have a lengthly GT thread there for your perusal: .https://www.bxclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16175

Keep on BXing folks!

[Tomtation]

BTW are there any more GT's on here? I'm a bit sad and have compiled a register of the surviving known GT's.  I have 15 on my list with 7 others that may have been scrapped/exported (1 went to Ireland) or otherwise disappeared.

[Eyersey1234]

I've probably mentioned this somewhere on here but in 1990 my grandparents bought a new BX St Tropez, a povo spec special edition with a sunroof and some snazzy graphics. They only had it about 18 months as it was really a bit heavy for my gran to drive. Wonder how many St Tropez were made and how many survive 

[Tomtation]

Just now, Eyersey1234 said:

I've probably mentioned this somewhere on here but in 1990 my grandparents bought a new BX St Tropez, a povo spec special edition with a sunroof and some snazzy graphics. They only had it about 18 months as it was really a bit heavy for my gran to drive. Wonder how many St Tropez were made and how many survive 

At least a couple are on the BCX forum and FB page, I think I could remember 3? One has had an in-depth restoration and is bloody lovely! They're pretty base spec (apart from mentioned sunroof and super-funky graphics)  so have been referred affectionately as the 'tesco value' BX.

[Eyersey1234]

1 minute ago, Tomtation said:

At least a couple are on the BCX forum and FB page, I think I could remember 3? One has had an in-depth restoration and is bloody lovely! They're pretty base spec (apart from mentioned sunroof and super-funky graphics)  so have been referred affectionately as the 'tesco value' BX.

Thanks. The one my grandparents had was registered H564 VRH, untaxed since 2002 according to the DVLA so probably scrapped unfortunately. 

[barrett]

I'm down to one BX now, this lhd Mk1 16TRS I imported a couple of years ago. It's been laid up in my garage awaiting the mythical future when I have enough cash to do the various things it needs to get an MoT so I can register. It's a brilliant thing, a real experience to drive compared to a Mk2 and the colour scheme makes it look like a concept car from the late '70s. I really must do something with it before it starts to really suffer from being laid-up.

Although I have always loved Citroens, I don't think I would have given much thought to running a BX if it hadn't been for this forum, and now I really can't imagine being without one. My first came from Cavcraft about five years ago (or was it six?) which cost £300 and looked like an absolute shed. It went like stink and I totally fell in love with it (as has been well documented elsewhere on this forum) but eventually rot killed it. Still miss it.

I had this one from occasional forum member Talbot, which I parked on my drive and never did anything with. Sold to somebody who will definitely never get it back on the road, sadly, although its definitely worth saving

The ex-Fabergé Greggs TXD estate was a real beast, slow and rusty but doggedly reliable. Sold to Dean I think, but not sure what became of it after that.

I also had a nice Mk1 16RS estate for a bit, which I really liked. Somebody gave this to me for free after he saw my other BXs parked at the office. It was unregistered and there was a bit of funny business with the import shizzle, but I was on my way to getting it legal when the head gasket blew on my morning commute. Didn't have any cash or enthusiasm at that moment so I flogged it cheap on ebay, but from cursory research I don't think the next owner did anything with it and it's since been sold on again.

At one point I think I owned all five of them, which was a bit stupid, but that wasn't for very long. There was quite a lot of scenes like this dicking about trying to move a load of half-dead cars around various places. All good fun.

Best cars ever, bar none.

[dean36014]

TPC estate was sold to someone in the BX club, as it really was terminally  rotten. I've no idea what happened to it after that. The radio lives on in Shonky though and the wheels went on Vulgalours Bx he rescued off me.

[brownnova]

I’ve never owned or even driven a BX.... I would very much like to one day. 

[carlo]

Tomtation that blue GT is bloomin gorgeous!  They were one of my dream cars when they came out, along with the 305 GTX.  Make sure you salvage those alloys from the TRS too, would suit it a treat.

I believe the later 'C' reg GTs came with the sports seats which were later to go into the GTi, and much nicer to look at than the earlier tweed ones.  I found the early/basic BX seats chronically uncomfortable, they were almost concave at the back.  Strangely they seemed to go in the opposite direction with the sports seats, which almost had too much lumber support, albeit more comfortable IMHO.

Had a couple of GTs for a short period in the nineties in that dull solid maroon colour, here's one of them.

[djoptix]

I have two 16vs. Must get around to doing something with them...

[Six-cylinder]

As Mrs6C started to say, my first exposure to BXs came in about 1985 when my dad bought a secondhand BX16RS with alloy wheels. . It was a registered Oct 1983 A reg, I guess it was about 2 years old when he got it and it replaced a GS. It was replaced by a C reg BX19 GT but that would have not been the end of the 16RS as my parents ran two cars, a newish car would enter the household,  the previous newest would be demoted to my father’s business hack and the oldest sold. The MK1 BX19 GT was demoted to second car on arrival of an E reg GTi 8v and the GT only sold when a second K reg BX GTi joined the household in early 1993. Mrs6C and I have “his and hers” Alfa 156s but I blame the parents for this behaviour as my parents had "his and hers" BXs finishing with a pair of red GTi’s.

                                                           -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

January 1987 I started selling Citroens and was given a new BX16RS in Magnetic blue as my regular car, during that time the garage also had a BX14RE, BX19RD estate and GTi on the road, I got to drive these along with other new and used BXs. I sold six BXs to a local company in one order, 5no. 19RD estates for the technical engineers and a BX16RS for the boss’s wife. The picture is the 19RDs lined up for handover, but the saloon nearest the camera was our GTi company demonstrator run by our MD’s wife.

I borrowed the BX 19RD estate one day to collect some Jaguar parts for myself and got caught speeding on the A34 going down to Southampton. I said to the policeman but it’s a diesel because at that time in 1987 most diesel cars were hideously slow but he knew that the diesel BX was in a class of its own and gave me a ticket!

                                                                  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

BX ownership eluded me until Feb 2016 when I bought the Magnetic blue BX19 RD estate AS bike, by this time I knew it was likely that the family GTi would come to me so did not keep it long.  I did enjoy it and yes I did keep the 16v wheels as I knew the GTi had steels and missing hubcaps!

 

As you can see I have quite a BX history so it should be of no surprise I still have a very nice 52,000 miles BX GTi 8v bought new by my father.

[vulgalour]

Extra bonus points for lining up the estates in alternating colours.

[Six-cylinder]

4 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

Extra bonus points for lining up the estates in alternating colours.

 

[Tomtation]

Top BXing that man Mr 6C! RS and GT look very nice indeed, and it's lovely that you have the photo's from the time still, it's all too easy for these things to be lost.