Mat's BX Blog

Tell us about life with your BX, or indeed life in general!
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electrokid
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Post by electrokid »

and the total cost was only just over £40 including parts. Here's to another 13 years!
That's very good going ! What make is it ?

Sadly I've never had a chainsaw - I used to manage with the 2' 6" bowsaw but a few years back I hired a reciprocating saw to trim some fruit trees and I've since bought a Makita 18v reciprocating saw - and very useful it is too. This year I needed to cut a new entrance into the low wall at the front of the house - got through 4 masonry blades which were not cheap - very heavy on the batteries, arms, and ears - but it did a very neat job. It's very good at tree roots you can't see - unless you catch a brick and as long as you avoid underground cables.
1992 BX19 TGD estate 228K Rusty - SORNed
2002 C5 HDi SX estate
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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

It's a Jonsered 2050...this is it!
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Now owned by Husqvarna which are a good name, as are Stihl. The only limiting factor with anything is spares availability I think. Makita seem to be good for spares too but their petrol tools don't seem to have quite as good a reputation as their electric ones.
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1993 1.9 TZD Turbo Estate
1996 3.9 V8 Discovery
1993 VW LT35 campervan
1985 Hyundai Stellar V8
2016 Hyundai iLoad
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electrokid
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Post by electrokid »

Looks in very good nick for a 13 year old. I've a number of Makita battery tools - can't fault them - interesting comment re their petrol tools though - I'm considering a leaf blower at the mo - perhaps I should look around a bit more - thanks.
1992 BX19 TGD estate 228K Rusty - SORNed
2002 C5 HDi SX estate
scarecrow

Post by scarecrow »

Yes - the old French farmer had a Johnsered, it was a very good saw indeed, and it took a lot of persuading for him to let me use it. and sharpen it. Pas de terre, pas de terre. Pas ferre. :lol: :lol: Happy days
citroen7
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Post by citroen7 »

i have a sthil 028 wich must be 20+and is good for the big stuff but she is a bit of a brute so lidl had one on offer a couple of weeks ago for £80 so i bit the bullet and have to say not bad at all .
i have a makita strimmer which was good value and works very well ,i also had access to a makita leaf blower for a couple of months last year and it was top draw.
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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

electrokid wrote:Looks in very good nick for a 13 year old.
That's possibly as I've not long since replaced the bar and chain? But I'm firmly of the belief that if something continues to do the job effectively and reliably, it makes more sense to maintain it than to replace.
scarecrow wrote:it took a lot of persuading for him to let me use it and sharpen it
You can sharpen mine any time you like!

And now for an embarassing confession - about 6 years ago I replaced the standard speakers on the BX with some better quality ones, including the dash tweeters and a set of crossovers behind the glovebox. I wasn't after a 'boom boom' system just something that was able to play reasonable quality music at a decent volume (enough to drown out my singing...) The front door speakers I fitted sounded OK at low volumes, but once I cranked it up you could hear the cones bottoming out, rather like they were designed to fit in an enclosure and not free air.. Or so I thought :oops:
I suddenly had the thought "What would they sound like if I removed the standard grilles?" So I did and the answer was about a million times better! Turned out the cone and surround was hitting the grille. I've not yet worked out an easy way to stop this - I may look out for a more recessed speaker design, although most for sale seem to be of the coaxial design and therefore not what I'm after.
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1993 1.9 TZD Turbo Estate
1996 3.9 V8 Discovery
1993 VW LT35 campervan
1985 Hyundai Stellar V8
2016 Hyundai iLoad
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docchevron
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Post by docchevron »

I had that in teh valver, so I mounted the speakers on the inner face of the door card. No problem since.
Smokes lots, because enough's enough already!

Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...
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electrokid
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Post by electrokid »

it makes more sense to maintain it than to replace.
It's taken me a while to realise that 'maintenance' is about fettling things before they fall apart and not wait until they are a bag of bits :-)
Turned out the cone and surround was hitting the grille.
Could you mount the grille a bit proud so the cone misses it ? Or put spacers to lower the speaker a little. You can probably tell I've not had these apart yet :lol:

The ideal mount for a speaker is with the 'front loading' equal to the 'back loading' - in other words there should be the same amount of junk in front of the speaker as to the rear - I could go on here but it would bore us both :-)
1992 BX19 TGD estate 228K Rusty - SORNed
2002 C5 HDi SX estate
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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

The speakers (normally) sit between the door trim and the grille, so any spacers would bring them closer to the grill unfortunately. Doc's suggestion of mounting them on the other side of the door trim will work, a shame I didn't think of that last time I had the trims off...

And finally a photo on my way back from work last week - lovely light but a shame about the picture quality!
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1993 1.9 TZD Turbo Estate
1996 3.9 V8 Discovery
1993 VW LT35 campervan
1985 Hyundai Stellar V8
2016 Hyundai iLoad
scarecrow

Post by scarecrow »

Are they leather seats, Mat?

That's a lovely view. What's the altitude there?
scarecrow

Post by scarecrow »

And rather sadly just rang the chainsaw repair chap and it is FUBAR :cry: Needs a new pot and piston. I shall have a go with some emery cloth :roll:
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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

scarecrow wrote:Are they leather seats, Mat?
Might be... 8)
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(Although they were exceedingly cold to sit on when this photo was taken, notice the frost!)
scarecrow wrote:That's a lovely view. What's the altitude there?
Only about 400m. Here is the view in the opposite direction, I often stop there for a quiet moment or two and take a photo. You can just make out the sea on the horizon, but it's not usually quite so clear!
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And rather sadly just rang the chainsaw repair chap and it is FUBAR
That's a bugger - did the piston pick up on the bore? See if you can find out whether the bore is plated/coated - if not you might get away with the emery cloth! But if you're stripping it down yourself I wouldn't have thought the parts themselves would be that expensive, more the labour that you would have been paying for. Or can you not get them any more? If so let me know what it is and I'll ask around here - what they don't have on the shelf for mine they have been able to get in the following day.
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1993 1.9 TZD Turbo Estate
1996 3.9 V8 Discovery
1993 VW LT35 campervan
1985 Hyundai Stellar V8
2016 Hyundai iLoad
scarecrow

Post by scarecrow »

The mender said something about it probably having run on too lean a mixture when the manifold split, causing the bore to score. I think.

He said it was all Ally with a chrome lining and that the only feasible repair is to replace the pot and piston for about £200... It's an old chainsaw which I'm not in desperate need of (at the moment) as I have permanent loan of a Ryobi ( :oops: ) for my firewood. But it is my Husqvarna and has been a very handy tool over the years. Plus a new equivalent 266xp is over £600 :shock:

I'd be grateful if you could ask your supplier for an estimate for the parts.

Thanks
Steve

Oh - can I have your leather seats please? I like it when they're cold :wink:

That's what drives me crazy in cities - no horizon.
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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

Changed the rear arm bearings and waxoyled the BX this weekend - for reasons I can't precisely put my finger on I'm really looking forwards to driving it tomorrow morning!
A possible change in circumstances may need it to do a 120 mile a day daily commute, double what I do at the moment. It would be a bit of a worry - sure it can be maintained, but parts availability may mean more time off the road waiting for bits. I think I would need a spares car if things go to plan.
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1993 1.9 TZD Turbo Estate
1996 3.9 V8 Discovery
1993 VW LT35 campervan
1985 Hyundai Stellar V8
2016 Hyundai iLoad
Dollywobbler
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Post by Dollywobbler »

Jeepers. That's a lot of miles!

Was up Blanau way yesterday. Very wild, though the 2CV didn't like the big hill going up north! Had an urgent appointment in Bangor with some Allegros...