Sunny Jim Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 It's quarter to six in the morning. I've got my mask and gloves ready. Bank job? Swingers party? No, it's a covid collection caper. privatewire, dome, djim and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadgetgricey Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Chod speed. Hope it all goes well, and watching with interest for any updates, Sunny Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 Right, dog walked. Poo count one each. He's had his breakfast, I'm too excited to eat mine. Split_Pin, Saabnut, Jim Bell and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 I'm sitting in the railway station Got a ticket to my destination On a train to Engerland Got a mask and sanitiser for my hands Hope I make my connection as planned For a poet and a one-man band Chod-ward bound I'm gonna be Chod-ward bound fairkens, privatewire, eddyramrod and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 Hurrah, a stroke of luck. I was expecting the best part of an hour's wait at Crewe but a quick sprint between platforms got me on an earlier train to London. I've even got the quiet carriage to myself. BeEP, eddyramrod, Flat4 and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BertiePuntoCabrio Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 It's all ready for you... Carlosfandango, Lacquer Peel, HarmonicCheeseburger and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 It's looking very flat out the train window, must be nearly there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 @BertiePuntoCabrio is a very nice man. On my way home now. First 20 miles done and all good. It's a race against the sun now, will I make it back West before it gets dark? vulgalour, MorrisItalSLX, Shep Shepherd and 20 others 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 Home now. 270 smoooooth miles. Good to be back in the mountains. Â Â Three Speed, djim, BeEP and 21 others 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 I did beat the sun to the West. MKT, Jim Bell, gm and 26 others 29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BertiePuntoCabrio Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Epic photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrett Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 That's excellent! I reckon the estates look best in white. Swap it for a Xantia, mister? Sunny Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabergé Greggs Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 11 minutes ago, barrett said: That's excellent! I reckon the estates look best in white. Swap it for a Xantia, mister? True. White estates are the best looking BXs Sunny Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 50 minutes ago, BertiePuntoCabrio said: Epic photos! Epic car, epic scenery, epic day! @barrett & @Fabergé GreggsYup, good designs look best in white - but sorry, no plans to swap any time soon. BertiePuntoCabrio 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat_the_cat Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 On 7/11/2020 at 10:18 PM, Fabergé Greggs said: True. White estates are the best looking BXs Oooh, fighting talk! Although white does look smart I guess... But how about silver? Greetings from over the mountains! vulgalour, BlankFrank, 500tops and 6 others 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Fantastic purchase. This look really nice!! Sunny Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 After using it for my daily 20 mile commute this past week I'm starting to compile a list of what requires attention. 1) Choke - the car has a manual choke but the cable has been disconnected from the carb. Today was my first chance to look at it so of course it's pissed it down nearly all day. When it finally stopped I took the plastic cover off the side of the carb and discovered that at some stage someone has taken it upon themselves to jam the choke flap in the pull down position by means of an artfully placed M13 nylock nut! Not sure why this has been done or how I'm going to reconnect the cable - perhaps some of these bits that I found on top of the battery might help? By this stage I was getting hungry and I learnt a long time ago not to work on vehicles when I'm hungry. I'll come back to this tomorrow. 2) Speedometer not working. A conversation with a previous owner revealed the plastic fitting on the end of the cable where it fits into the speedo is broken. I've read an account on the BX forum of someone successfully repairing one with superglue and araldite but have bitten the bullet and ordered a new cable from Chevronics. This became more of a priority when I received my first ever NIP in the post today - I was caught doing 35mph in a 30 on the A5 in Llangollen on my way home from Norfolk last weekend - hopefully I'll just get a Speed Awareness Course. 3) Heater control stuck on hot. I'm hoping this is just a case of a cable having come adrift, I'll dismantle the centre console and have a look. 4) There was an advisory on the last MOT for a fluid leak from the NSR. On the advice of @dollywobbler I've been in touch with @mat_the_cat and will be making arrangements for him to take a look. This is my first hydropneumatic and I'm going to have to get my head round it but for now I want someone who knows what they're doing to have a look. 5) While not filthy the oil looks like it could do with a change so a new filter is also on order. In any case unless it's obviously just been done I like to service a car I've just bought. 6) There doesn't seem to be much in the way of antifreeze in the coolant so a flush and replenish is also on the cards. 7) While it appears generally solid there is some surface rust which will need attention before it gets worse. At some stage the car has been stored under an ill-fitting cover. On the plus side the usual places BXs go such as the inner wings and the bulkhead behind the washer bottles are all sound but unfortunately it's rubbed through the paint on the wheel arches and the window surrounds. @BertiePuntoCabrio was very upfront about this before I bought the car so I knew what I was getting into. The MOT is next month so hopefully it won't throw up too many surprises. For now I hope we have some good weather for the next few weekends while I work my way through this lot. Coprolalia, rainagain, lesapandre and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BertiePuntoCabrio Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Good progress already! Yes, I made sure any little piles of bits - like on the battery - where kept with the car just in case! As for the upcoming mot, my favourite garage (see other thread) were confident and complimentary of the state of this underneath so fingers crossed for you! Sunny Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted July 19, 2020 Author Share Posted July 19, 2020 Not a very successful day. Further investigation has revealed that the moving parts of the auto choke are seized and I'm not sure they're repairable. I'm therefore now hunting for new parts to repair the auto choke or a kit to properly convert it to a manual choke - I'm not sure that the cable that's been routed from the cabin was ever connected to the choke. So far I'm drawing blanks on either option so I might have to go down the route of sourcing a new carb. Ah, bugger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 Those carbs are pretty crap anyway, so I'd personally be thinking about a Weber conversion. Some friends did this on a 1.9 with good success. Heater is almost certainly a stuck tap. If you jam your hand up behind the dashboard near the clutch pedal, you should be able to get your hand on it. Horrible job (on RHD) to get the matrix out to fix, but turning the heater fan to fully off should stop airflow I think. Been a while since I owned a BX. lesapandre and Sunny Jim 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six-cylinder Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 On 7/18/2020 at 11:08 PM, Sunny Jim said: 3) Heater control stuck on hot. I'm hoping this is just a case of a cable having come adrift, I'll dismantle the centre console and have a look. I had to have my stuck value stripped and cleaned last year, horrid job so I had it done at Chevronics who have experience, but it cost £260 in just labour. Mine also had the dash rotary control broken by being forced which was extra.  lesapandre and Sunny Jim 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 On 7/18/2020 at 11:08 PM, Sunny Jim said: After using it for my daily 20 mile commute this past week I'm starting to compile a list of what requires attention. 1) Choke - the car has a manual choke but the cable has been disconnected from the carb. Today was my first chance to look at it so of course it's pissed it down nearly all day. When it finally stopped I took the plastic cover off the side of the carb and discovered that at some stage someone has taken it upon themselves to jam the choke flap in the pull down position by means of an artfully placed M13 nylock nut! Not sure why this has been done or how I'm going to reconnect the cable - perhaps some of these bits that I found on top of the battery might help? By this stage I was getting hungry and I learnt a long time ago not to work on vehicles when I'm hungry. I'll come back to this tomorrow. 2) Speedometer not working. A conversation with a previous owner revealed the plastic fitting on the end of the cable where it fits into the speedo is broken. I've read an account on the BX forum of someone successfully repairing one with superglue and araldite but have bitten the bullet and ordered a new cable from Chevronics. This became more of a priority when I received my first ever NIP in the post today - I was caught doing 35mph in a 30 on the A5 in Llangollen on my way home from Norfolk last weekend - hopefully I'll just get a Speed Awareness Course. 3) Heater control stuck on hot. I'm hoping this is just a case of a cable having come adrift, I'll dismantle the centre console and have a look. 4) There was an advisory on the last MOT for a fluid leak from the NSR. On the advice of @dollywobbler I've been in touch with @mat_the_cat and will be making arrangements for him to take a look. This is my first hydropneumatic and I'm going to have to get my head round it but for now I want someone who knows what they're doing to have a look. 5) While not filthy the oil looks like it could do with a change so a new filter is also on order. In any case unless it's obviously just been done I like to service a car I've just bought. 6) There doesn't seem to be much in the way of antifreeze in the coolant so a flush and replenish is also on the cards. 7) While it appears generally solid there is some surface rust which will need attention before it gets worse. At some stage the car has been stored under an ill-fitting cover. On the plus side the usual places BXs go such as the inner wings and the bulkhead behind the washer bottles are all sound but unfortunately it's rubbed through the paint on the wheel arches and the window surrounds. @BertiePuntoCabrio was very upfront about this before I bought the car so I knew what I was getting into. The MOT is next month so hopefully it won't throw up too many surprises. For now I hope we have some good weather for the next few weekends while I work my way through this lot. 35 in a 30. Sorry to see. Without turning this thread into a speeding rant here in London we have 20 and 30 MPH zones. Hardly anybody complies except me and my little Citroen AX (yes there is Citroen content here) gets a fair amount of abuse for sticking to the limit. A crazy old world. Nice car nice posts ?- the carb is a lovely old bodge ?. I will be in France this summer I hope - if you are stuck for a carb let me know - gives me an excuse to hang about French scrap yards. ? theshadow, BertiePuntoCabrio, Hawkeyethenoo and 1 other 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat_the_cat Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Six-cylinder said: I had to have my stuck value stripped and cleaned last year, horrid job so I had it done at Chevronics who have experience, but it cost £260 in just labour. Mine also had the dash rotary control broken by being forced which was extra.  Agreed that it's a horrible job, especially on a RHD car as the steering column gets in the way rather! Be gentle with the valve too, as the sliding part is brittle so can break easily. If it is jammed then removal and stripping is likely the only option. Sunny Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 1mph more than I got done for too! Xantia wafted past at 34mph and I went on a course! Its summer, do you even need a choke atm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat_the_cat Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 This might help with the heater tap: https://www.bxclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16299 Sunny Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 Extensive googling and use of my schoolboy French has led me to track down a NOS Solex on a French website at a price I'm willing* to pay. If the vendor will accept PayPal will I get some sort of protection? He appears to be straight down the line but it's hard to tell in another language. Hopefully I'm negotiating to buy a carburettor and not one of these! Â timolloyd, BlankFrank, LightBulbFun and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Last Saturday I went over the mountain to @mat_the_cat who kindly had a look at the BX's suspension. The car had had an advisory for a fluid leak from the NSR at the last MOT but after removing the gaiter and cleaning it mat could find no trace of it so I'll put that down as solved. Mat also showed me how to lubricate the front struts. All in all a productive visit, I'm much indebted to mat for generously sharing his knowledge. The rest of the week has been spent trying to track down a carburettor. After chasing up possible leads in France and the Netherlands one turned up in Leeds so on the hottest day of the year I did a six hour round trip to go and get it. Getting the old one out was relatively straightforward but it was only when I had them side by side that I started to notice a few differences in spite of them having the same model number. The bracket for the throttle cable was bent on the new one and not having a decent vice to hand I decided to just transfer the one from the old carb to the new. Included with the new carb was a little bag containing the all important wax stat and associated bits for the automatic choke which is what was FUBARed on the old one. I admit to spending too long trying to figure out where the extra threaded pipe was supposed to go. After awhile (and feeling rather foolish) I finally twigged that it was nothing to do with the auto choke but in fact was an alternative smaller diameter fitting for the fuel inlet pipe! Some models had larger diameter fuel pipes I recall reading somewhere. This left me with one more problem to solve. My old carb had no fuel return but the new one did. HBOL and google weren't providing any answers, just some pictures of carbs with and without fuel returns but no mention of how the fuel return should be plumbed in. I decided the best thing to do was see if the car had a return fuel pipe and where it ran. After tracing it under the car and into the engine bay I discovered that for some reason the fuel return on my car was plumbed into a T-piece on the fuel inlet to the carb. That piece of pipe looked past its best in any case so I replaced it with a new run straight onto the carb. Fortunately the return was long enough to reach onto the carb so I treated it to a proper clip dispensing with the old jubilee clip. I'm just assuming I've done the right thing here - all this is new to me - so please feel free to put me right if I've made a mistake. I was much relieved when it started first time with no throttle! NewCarbStart.mp4 I think it's idling too fast, tomorrow I'm going to check I haven't got too much tension in throttle cable holding it open a little. If that's not the case I'll let it warm up fully and try tweaking the idle speed screw to see what I can achieve. All in all a satisfactory afternoon's work. I heard back from North Wales Police this week with the offer of an online speed awareness course. £88 for a Zoom meeting! Therefore next on the list is the speedo cable.     strangeangel, Coprolalia, Fabergé Greggs and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted August 15, 2020 Author Share Posted August 15, 2020 I had a crack at the speedo cable last weekend. It was fairly easy to get the instrument binnacle removed as a significant quantity of the fixings were missing - someone had been there before but not put it back together properly. It was obvious what was wrong. I taped the bottom of the new cable to the top of the old and started to pull it through. After about a metre it was refusing to budge and I really didn't want it to damage the part of the loom that runs through the same area. I carefully pulled it back out and gave it a liberal dousing of liquid soap. The lubrication did the trick and it pulled through easily. I put everything back together and went for a test drive. Still no speedo, bugger! Fortunately I had the right size square drive in a box of screwdriver bits to fit into the bottom of the cable so I put that on the end of my cordless drill and was able to prove that the new cable I'd just installed worked. The BX speedo cable is in two parts with a joint on the engine bay side of the bulkhead. I jacked the front of the car up, switched on and put it in gear so that I could check the bottom cable which comes up from the gearbox. I could see the square drive turning so it appeared* that the bottom cable was ok too. I attached the two parts of the cable and tested it again but the speedo was still inop. At this stage my poor little brain was starting to hurt. I knew the top cable was ok because I'd tested it with the drill and I could see the bottom cable rotating and just couldn't figure out why the speedo wouldn't work when the two cables were connected. At this stage I retired for a cup of tea and a think. Logically the problem was more likely to be with the old, lower cable than the brand new upper one. Feeling a bit bolder I turned the car on again and put it in gear. I gently held the square drive end of the lower cable between my thumb and forefinger while it rotated however even a light squeeze was enough to stop the cable turning. So I now knew the problem was with either the lower cable or the drive on the gearbox. I had a few days wait for the new lower cable to arrive and although it was a bit of an arse getting the rubber retaining pin out of the old one the new cable did the trick and I now have a functioning speedo cable (and no excuses for not obeying the limit!). Yesterday I put it in for its MOT. Ostensibly I was at work but I might have spent a lot of the morning refreshing the DVLA MOT checker page on my phone until I saw this: MOT passed with no advisories! I is a very happy lad. When I went to pick the car up the receptionist told me that when the tester had seen the booking he'd commented that a BX was a proper eighties car and that he'd look forward to doing it. I guess I should add Ffrydlas Garage, Bethesda to the recommended garages thread. There's still the stuck heater control and other jobs but for this weekend I going to try and find some roads which aren't jammed with tourists and enjoy a drive. BertiePuntoCabrio, J-T, Coprolalia and 12 others 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Jim Posted August 15, 2020 Author Share Posted August 15, 2020 Mission accomplished. It's been a glorious day here in North Wales and I found some quite roads for a cruise. I must admit an air of smug complacency had come over me as I drove along, the car was running well and had a year's test - I had a beautiful feelin', everything's going my way... I rounded a bend and as I shifted from second to third there was a loud clunk at the gearstick went floppy and wouldn't select any gear. I coasted downhill in neutral for about half a mile looking for somewhere safe to stop. I rolled to a stop outside a house and had no sooner lifted the bonnet when a bloke came out of the house asking if I needed any help. A quick look revealed that the linkage between the gearstick and gear selector and popped off its ball and socket joint. It would push back on but I guess whatever held it in place (some sort of rubber bush?) was missing. My new friend disappeared into his shed and emerged with a packet of cable ties. I applied as many as I could to the linkage until I got bored of burning my arms on hot bits of the engine. They held to get me home and if anything the gear change is slicker than it's been since I've had the car - I guess the joint has been on its way out for a while. Lessons learned today; don't get cocky or complacent with an old car, always travel with some tools and cable ties - if it had happened half an hour earlier I would have been unable to sort it and would have had a long walk to get help. loserone, vulgalour, Coprolalia and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkyarddog Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 You can bodge those linkages by getting a rubber grommet that will fit nicely into the flange at the end of the rod, punch a hole through it and use some rubber grease on reassembly so it will slip over the ball easily.I've had to do this on my 205 before and it's still holding up. Sunny Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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