Paul's polishin' blog

Tell us about life with your BX, or indeed life in general!
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mds141
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by mds141 »

I stil am. :oops:
Mark Smith

Is it just me or is everything shit?

1989 BX GTi 16 valve. Blanc Alpine. Completed the Citroen Classic Challenge Ecosse and 1337 miles without a hitch.
2000 XM VSX 2.1 td Auto. Rouge Magenta.
TGD saloon many years ago.

1990 Swift 'Corniche' 12/2 aka BXClub HQ.
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mat_fenwick
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by mat_fenwick »

Paul296 wrote:Are the £8 ones £4 better than the £4 ones? :shock: Then a fog light switch and 'some wire'. If I go to a motor factors and ask for 'some wire' they'll know what I mean?
They look to be identical TBH, and even if not I don't think you're going to trouble the lifespan of even a cheap relay. If you tell them you want wire for front fog lights they will know what you mean - I would suggest a minimum of a 10 amp rating, preferably 17 amp.
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Paul296
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by Paul296 »

I went over to the Hurricane today to do my weekly maintenance and removed the fogs ready to put on the TGD. It looked rather forlorn with gaping holes in the bumper so I'm quite keen to get on and get it all sorted now.

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The old fog lights scrubbed up quite well with new machine screws and fixings etc. Infact I don't know why I hadn't bothered to clean them up before. Anyway, I now have a new fog-light switch on it's way (courtesy of Remy at Medway Citroen) and a fused relay. Now all I need is . . . 'some wire'.
bx petrol auto saloon
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by bx petrol auto saloon »

Dear Paul,
Now they are looking pretty fandabedozy my man =D> 8) and very well worth the money too Paul :wink: :D Your cars are going look pretty posh with them on Paul very nice.
Vince,
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Cars;- 1993 White Citroen BX 1.6 TXi petrol
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by Paul296 »

I've just returned from my first ever trip to the fair city of Lancaster which also happens to be the ancestral home of 'mds141' aka Mark, who very kindly invited me over for the bank holiday weekend. As the weather was looking 'promising'; a promise - I have to say - it duly delivered on, it gave us plenty of opportunity to perform a few preventative maintenance procedures on my TGD - as well as fit the fogs, new door cards and aerial mount.

Everything was going well until I got to Ferrybridge on the A1. A slight vibration, that I couldn't decide if I was imagining or not, turned into a big vibration that I definitely wasn't imagining. In turn, that developed into a, 'stop this car now because something REALLY f***ing horrible has happened' sort of sound, that made pulling over and stopping seem like a very good idea. I expect the more mechanically savvy would have spotted the problem straight-away; it took me four goes round the car scratching my head, but I got there eventually - the nsr tyre had spontaneously metamorphosed into a black rubber shower curtain. To cut along story short, I had everything in the car except a jack and so had to call the AA. Anyway, least said soonest mended and I apprehended the dreaming spires of Lancaster a couple of hours later than anticipated.

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Over the weekend and the bank holiday Mark and I got absolutely loads done to the TGD, including a long over due oil change and fitting of door cards and fogs as previously mentioned. The fogs were a very straight forward fit although I decided to secure them with a couple of black self-tapping screws to make sure they don't go AWOL; just snapping them in didn't seem secure enough somehow.

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Mark fitting the door cards; free from rips and tears (the door-cards not Mark). I find a small piece of carpet - as opposed to pvc - glued to the doors makes those long journeys so much more relaxing?

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The engine bay got a thorough clean, de-scabbing and rust treatment including the washer bottle housings which were very clean and rust free anyway - everything got a coat of waxoyl to make sure it stays that way.

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The biggest job was getting the back bumper off and treating the rusty cross member behind it. I had taken it off at Mulley's last summer but hadn't had time to sort it all out, hoping it wouldn't get any worse in the meantime. Luckily all the rust was largely surface scabbing but the near side end will need a new piece welding in at some point.

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Once everything was ground back to bare/new metal it was liberally treated with Kurust . . .

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. . . then given a couple of good coats of stone chip paint to keep everything stable and rust free until I can get the cross-member end welded up.

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Then EVERYTHING underneath the car got completely pickled in waxoyl and grease. Obviously with such a clean car it seemed reasonable to ask Mark to wear a shower cap for hygiene reasons :D


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In between all that car stuff there was plenty of time for drinking coffee and eating cake. In Morecambe we found an excellent coffee shop that sold massive bits of cake; 'massive' of course is my favourite kind of cake.

Then we parked up on the seafront and took photos of our cars as the locals wondered past whispering, 'look at those idiots photographing their cars.'


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I think those fog lights were a very good idea. 8)

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Great weekend! Many thanks to Mark and his Mum and Dad for their hospitality and waxoyl! 8)
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by MULLEY »

Impressive amount of work done, excellent :)
2002 C5 2.0 HDI Estate - Jasmine - Now SORN
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1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - My daily
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by Gary »

Looking good Paul , but I thought after all that rust treatment you would have kept your car away from the sea front. :) not so sure about mark's fashion statement catching on :lol:
All joking aside well done to both of you for a-job well done.
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saintjamesy89
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by saintjamesy89 »

I need to get the bumpers off of the TXD to see what i can see. I imagine it'll be similar to yours Paul, if not worse. It has had welding there in the past and i've seen some rust starting below the rear lights.

Your TGD just seems to be getting nicer and nicer Paul - fogs look brilliant, that's not a bad looking valver either :D
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Tim Leech
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by Tim Leech »

Well done Paul! I need some yellow fogs in my TZI!
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bxzx16v
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by bxzx16v »

It looks like you both had a goodtime getting your Bx sorted , there's just one job left now . Get those flippin stickers OFF the valver :?

Mark
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by mds141 »

Stickers are there to stay unfortunately. Anyway I like 'em. :) 8)
Mark Smith

Is it just me or is everything shit?

1989 BX GTi 16 valve. Blanc Alpine. Completed the Citroen Classic Challenge Ecosse and 1337 miles without a hitch.
2000 XM VSX 2.1 td Auto. Rouge Magenta.
TGD saloon many years ago.

1990 Swift 'Corniche' 12/2 aka BXClub HQ.
Honda Firestorm. Gone, but not forgotten.
2015 Triumph Tiger Explorer XC.
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mat_fenwick
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by mat_fenwick »

saintjamesy89 wrote:fogs look brilliant
Would be even better if they lit up ;)
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Tim Leech
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by Tim Leech »

Those stickers have a lot of provenance, personally I think they look fab.
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Paul296
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by Paul296 »

mat_fenwick wrote:
saintjamesy89 wrote:fogs look brilliant
Would be even better if they lit up ;)
On the case! I now have a switch, a fused relay and . . . . (drum roll) . . . . some wire! :D

On the subject of the valver stickers, usually I'd be a bit of a purest with regard to any 'sticker tomfoolery' - on that car though they look great. It wouldn't be 'Mark's valver' without them.
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Paul296
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Re: Paul's polishin' blog

Post by Paul296 »

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The other thing worthy of note on my Lancastrian sojourn - bedsides the car and cakes - was a visit to the Morecambe Winter Gardens. Probably one of the most famous music hall/variety theatres in the UK, and if you ever saw Thora Hird banging on about the 'good old days' it always got a teary mention. Now very derelict and in need of restoration but still very beautiful in it's current faded glory. The echoey piped variety music evoking a bygone age of courtesy and gentility before contraception and general anaesthetic. :D
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