Finally got the time to take the front bumper off the TZD this morning with a view to tidying up the front end ..... It's always been dead straight across the front instead of chevron-shaped, because the old boy who owned the car before me had a problem with judging distances and frequently stopped the car using immovable objects. I got the car because he'd been forced to give up driving, with the result that each corner of the car has been gently remodelled in some way.
But it seems the front rework wasn't so gentle!
Taking the front bumper off has shown the full extent of the hitherto hidden impact damage, and stripping out the rad, headlamps and frontal furniture have revealed something of a horror story. I must admit I'm pretty surprised as the car drives perfectly - but it's now obvious the motor's had a pretty heavy frontal impact at some point, most like with a bollard or similar give the lack of damage higher up ................ and some clown has then been at the crossmember with a club hammer or similar.
This would explain why the headlamps have always been recessed back into the wings by an inch or so and the front indicators look bug-eyed (I've never seen another BX like this) and would also explain why the headlamp adjusters are on their maximum travel ..................... At a very rough guess (that's a freshly-licked finger held in the air, one squint and two professional-grade grunts) I'd say the whole lower front crossmember has been moved back by about 3" and the outriggers have a definite ripple in them. It also explains the new rad ....
I guess a chassis drop test is now in order to see if/how badly the shell's distorted - if it is, then it's curtains, because I don't have the hydraulic kit to pull it straight again. If so, then the excellent turbodiesel's going to get pulled out, overhauled, and put into the Athena when the petrol motor finally dies.
It looks like events are driving my decision-making again, rather than vice versa ...........
