French Fantasy - Banging my head against French Rust (XPO)

[Vanny]

For nearly 20 years I've owned a lovely pink plastic pig, or as it says on the back a Citroen BX 16Valve.
Earlier in the year I figured, why have one when you can have TWO! stupid, stupid, stupid.



The new one (on the left) is a G-reg (G553 XPO) and has been off the road since 2008 when the engine was borrowed to go into a 205 (don't say Pugged, its a derogatory term)

I want to guarantee you that this is a true shitter (for now), with a few pictures;

A touch of rust;

 

A less than perfect engine;




Best day ever working on a car, not one, but two;


Hmmm, this is getting interesting;

I wont bore you with all the gory details, unless you really want me to. But If you're struggling to get to sleep, you can read about the project so far on the BXProject;


https://bxproject.co.uk/blog/category/automotive-adventures/citroen-bx-articles/xpo_restoration/

 

 

 

[barrett]

Er, do you want a 99% rust free shell in red?

[Garythesnail]

11 minutes ago, barrett said:

Er, do you want a 99% rust free shell in red?

 

1 hour ago, Vanny said:

I figured, why have one when you can have TWO!

 

Well, he's already established that two is better than one, ergo ......

[Vanny]

40 minutes ago, barrett said:

Er, do you want a 99% rust free shell in red?

Is it red 😂🤭

[Vanny]

Citroën BX - Bottom End Teardown

Having found a leaking piston ring, it was time to go all-in on this XU9J4 engine and teardown the bottom end. What disasters await?



https://bxproject.co.uk/blog/citroen_bx_xu9j4_bottom_end_teardown/

[mat_the_cat]

11 hours ago, Vanny said:

https://bxproject.co.uk/blog/citroen_bx_xu9j4_bottom_end_teardown/

"it did need a bit of finishing off by hand"

Don't we all!

[Vanny]

Citroën BX - Refurbishing The Cylinder Head Parts
Having previously overhauled the cylinder head, it was time to prepare the rest of the parts and maybe start putting some of the engine back together.

https://bxproject.co.uk/blog/citroen-bx-refurbishing-the-cylinder-head-parts/

[Vanny]

Citroën BX - Building the Cylinder Head

And the build of this French wonder of shite continues, finally making progress putting stuff together rather than just pulling apart and scrubbing!

With all the cylinder head parts cleaned and camshafts polished, I could begin the therapeutic process of building the cylinder head.



https://bxproject.co.uk/blog/citroen-bx-building-the-cylinder-head/

[Vanny]

Citroën BX - XPO - A Crank For The D6C Engine

On this weeks post of tedious shite, crank shafts. In March I found a crank journal measuring undersize, creating quite a quandary. In this article, I'll share my learning, ups, and downs, and how I may have bodged my way out of an expensive bill!

https://bxproject.co.uk/blog/citroen-bx-xpo-dw10-crank-for-d6c-mi16/

 

[Alan Prost]

Phwoarr, I used to roll in a big bumper 16v with the gunmetal wheels before the coloured wheels even became the norm!