Is it alright if I sneak a crafty - newly arrived - Renault in? At least it's a contemporary of our beloved BXs!
Found locally last week and bought for the princely sum of €290 as I need more seats to accomodate the upcoming third child. It's a 1988 Nevada GTS ph.1 7-seater.
The father-in-law borrowed a trailer from a friend and the seller was fortunately equipped with a Landie to pull it out of his field where it's sat for a few months. More info to follow as I make investigations
Sprayed a bit of Easy-Start into the air intake and she fired and ran for a few moments but I think the fuel pump is buggered. The cars been sat in a garage since 2001 til the garage got cleared this summer and has 160k kms ( about 100k miles). I'm going to drain all fluids and overhaul the brakes. The bodywork is surprisingly good - I've identified three minor welding needs near the front sills and a bit at the back. The interior is a bit grubby but complete : everything works - front leccy windows, central locking
It's the 1.7 litre engine with a catalyser fitted later on so tax is cheap and though it won't be the fastest it will be quite economical for a petrol.
After working on BXs for years it seems incredibly simple and quite basic really!
The seller was a right character - a hotrod and Harley freak covered in tats including 'V8' on his neck! But you couldn't meet a more friendly, helpful dude.
oi us old dragster and hot rod freaks are nice people , I havent got the V8 tattoo but have always been tempted , great find and like you say I have founf with the peugeots , its a citroen without all the hassle .
1991 BX Meteor 1.6
light travels faster than sound, thats why you look intelligent and then you spoil it all by opening your mouth !!!!!
Have you got a quiff by any chance Mickey? Still flying the rebel flag?
I got the old fuel pump out and it is indeed cactus. It's a Bosch and I got the number off it, tapped it in t'compooter and was confronted with €170-250 for a new one. There's loads of Chinese moody knock-offs but I've had it with cheapo parts after various non-fit issues with the BX.
Then, as is often the way on Ebay, I tapped it in a again later and up popped a 'new old-stock' Bosch with the exact serial number, Renault stock room clearance. Owned for €30.
My Cars: 1999 Xsara LX 2.0HDI (90) Hatch - Fern 2002 C5 2.0 HDI (110) Estate - Jasmine - SORN 2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD 2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement 1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - SORN 1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN 1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired - SORN 1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped 2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car 1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014 1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN 1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
Should scrub up well, ironic that a petrol motor which in reality harms the planet more is taxed less, what a stupid country, haha...
2002 C5 2.0 HDI Estate - Jasmine - Now SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - My daily
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired.
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
It's all about 'small particulate matter' of which the old diesels produce a lot. I used to ride a pushbike all over London and the cloud of hot diesel exhaust that the old Routemaster buses put out was incredibly dense with what felt almost like pieces hitting you in the face.
A petrol motor burns ' cleaner' with a less gritty exhaust. The Renault will qualify for a 'green pass' - meaning I can now enter all the German cities that I wasn't supposed to enter before, but did. I don't know the ins and outs of the legislation - it does often seem like a programme to sell more new cars - but if I can find a lil'old cheap tax corner in the 80s that'll do me.
The kids climbed into it today for the first time and immediately headed towards the rear row of seats and enjoyed themselves. The wife sat in it too for the first time and said : it's not too bad! I like to think that the four BXs in the barn and their 'cousin' R21 find a lot to talk about as they sit there rusting!
Do they make for edge-of-the-seat nail biting reading then? Didn't you have a leathery R21?
If you no longer need the books.. just slight prob of a 1000kms.
I've joined the French Renault 21 owners club - a chance to practice my scrapyard French. There's one bloke on there who's restored a 1984 Espace. I know there's a few people who like them around here including me :
The manuals are not in any way urgent Ian. I think I mostly know what I'm doing and there's a Haynes on its way for back up.
Tim, I don't really think the R21 has any of the character of the BX - though I'm developing a mild interest in the TXE 'Electronique' and the Turbo -but it fits the bill for the family hack. Ironically it has increased my esteem for my BXs.
Just think of my R21 Blog as a small leper colony at the gates of the BXClub!
It wasnt a bad car from memory (I was only 14), and it went ok, was very spacious but had manual windows and not much else, it was lent to a collegaue at work and whilst parked in a laybay was rammed by a lorry and that was that!
I can't talk, having recently defected to a Ford for the winter I'm actually quite enjoying tooling around in 'just a car' - I don't have to worry about the salt, someone running into it (which is handy, seeing as someone did yesterday - partly my fault though ), or finding parts.
I'm actually quite enjoying tooling around in 'just a car' - I don't have to worry about the salt, someone running into it (which is handy, seeing as someone did yesterday - partly my fault though 
