Mat's BX Blog

[Vanny]

I'm refusing to take my rear bumper off, i know how big the hole was last time i looked . . . god knows what its like 4 year on!

[electrokid]

as I reckon it looks pretty good for 20 years and 220k miles:

Ah - that's what it's meant to look like

I does look good

I took the rear bumper off and had a good fettle a couple of years ago - but it needs doing again.

[mat_fenwick]

Today saw me attaching the wing support bracket. I was going to Sikaflex it on, but the metal on the inner wing ad a small hole once I ground off teh remains of the old bracket, so seeing as I was welding that on I welded the bracket in place too.



Crude but hopefully effective, and nobody will see it there. It's hot dip galvanised, so should last well!

[Vanny]

How are you outside working in this weather? I've been in the loft today and it was stupid cold up there, wouldn't like to try and wield any tools in the garage. Its also pitch black in the garage, stupid snow has covered up the moon roof

Ah well

[mat_fenwick]

It's a bit nippy but so long as I keep moving and am concentrating on something I'm fine. Welding generates heat anyway! Had to bring any aerosols inside the house to warm up.

It helps that it's a job I don't HAVE to do right now, I'm doing it because I find it satisfying. If I needed it for work the next day the temptation would be to do a rush job, which is much less enjoyable.

[electrokid]

That strut looks to be where the mudflap support rod is on mine - and your exhaust support hasn't rusted through yet - it's doing very well

Had to bring any aerosols inside the house to warm up.

Before use, I usually put aerosols in the kitchen sink with some hot water - even in summer !

[mat_fenwick]

I confess I did have to weld the exhaust mount last year - although it hadn't rusted through, the stiffening plate which is spot welded to the shell had cracked. I just seam welded all the way around it, which would have been easier if I'd taken the bumper off. I just hadn't realised what a breeze it was to remove!

All repairs now primed and sealed, and I'll be spraying the inside of the wheel arch with underbody wax tomorrow.

[Wooscary]

Today saw me attaching the wing support bracket. I was going to Sikaflex it on, but the metal on the inner wing ad a small hole once I ground off teh remains of the old bracket, so seeing as I was welding that on I welded the bracket in place too.



Crude but hopefully effective, and nobody will see it there. It's hot dip galvanised, so should last well!

Ahh so that's what's supposed to be there. I don't think mine has that on either side!

[mat_fenwick]

The original doesn't look anything like that though - it's a vertical thin piece of steel with the lower edge tapering upwards towards the wing. As Electrokid said, that's where the OE mudflaps fit to, but mine are just attached to the bumper. The 'shelf' behind the exhaust mount collects a massive amount of mud, so is worth blasting clean when you get chance.

[Wooscary]

Ah, yeah, I was aware that there should be something there, and that when the nearside one fell off, because it has slightly wider tyres on (185s rather and 175s?) the arch relaxed to the point where it skimmed the tyre wall. But I'd never actually bothered before this happened to study them.

That whole area probably needs a good clean, and encouraged by your words on the ease of bumper removal, one day it might even get done.

[mat_fenwick]

Wheel arch now coated in underbody wax.



Wheel is now back on, and interior trim refitted. On to the next area for attention!

I've got the day off work tomorrow, so am planning to do a bit of green laning and find an abandoned village deep in the hills. Should be fun...

[Caffiend]

Happy birthday!

Have a great day

[Tim Leech]

Happy birthday love!

[mat_fenwick]

Thanks! I had a fun day out, driving an easyish green lane locally - this was the trickiest part, although looks very easy in the photo.



One of the gateways was incredibly narrow; there was only a couple of inches on the other side. I kept the post on the driver's side nearest to minimise chances of scraping.



Then we found the ruined village:





That was followed by cinema, and dinner in an excellent Italian restaurant in Llandudno (Romeo's). Back to the daily grind tomorrow unfortunately, but at least I finish early on Fridays.

[mat_fenwick]

Had an enjoyable day out in (relative) civilisation. Getting a lift in Vanny's 16v was fun, and was the first time I've been driven in the back of a BX for about 20 years! Once I was back home I felt spurred on to actually do something on mine, so decided to take a look at the passenger footwell.

When I'd dried the carpet after the roof leak I noticed the area around the bung was rusty, and although not holed was fairly flaky.



Sure enough, once prodded it soon became holed.



I assume the only purpose of the bung is to drain out coatings when the shell is dipped during manufacture, so figured it would be no problem to cut out and just replace with a simple plate.



So a suitable piece was cut from my rapidly dwindling stock of galvanised sheet...



...and welded into place.



Followed by a coat of paint, and it's time to call it a day for tonight.