New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

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bramz7
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New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by bramz7 »

Hello

Thought best to join, as I have a BX as my daily and only mode of transport. I bought it from some guy in Southsea about a month ago and it's done nearly 500 reasonably fault free miles in the time since. It does have a history on here though, as I found out before I got it.

H767BEG, a 1990 14RE/TGE (badged as the latter but registered as the former), with 166k on the clock and heaps of character.
It needs some work though, not least the boot floor which has rusted reasonably badly, and the clutch which slips in first and second (but only when cold). The suspension is spot on though, and boy does it fly, miles quicker than the petrol ZX I had with the same engine, and that had a quarter of the mileage.


I've only been driving for 4 months by the way, I cut my teeth on an early carb fed ZX, then got a diesel N/A ZX, and then saw a cheap BX and impulsively bought it, and this is where I am now.
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jamescarruthers
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Re: New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by jamescarruthers »

Yay! That's my old car. It's had an absolute ton of work done. Look through my old posts to see its history.

It's was saved by a few members on here (Tim?) then changed hands a few times until I ended up with it.
1987 Volvo 480 ES
2006 Citroen C6 Exclusive 3.0 petrol/LPG

Previous BX's:
A966 XRL -- BX 16 TRS
H767 BEG -- BX 14 TGE
B316 AMP -- BX 14 E
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Re: New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by jamescarruthers »

Oh, and he's called Bluey!

So pleased he's turned up on here!
1987 Volvo 480 ES
2006 Citroen C6 Exclusive 3.0 petrol/LPG

Previous BX's:
A966 XRL -- BX 16 TRS
H767 BEG -- BX 14 TGE
B316 AMP -- BX 14 E
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Re: New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by Kitch »

I know that car, never saw it around Southsea before though. Had no idea it was living there!

Good to know it's in enthusiastic hands. The BX 14 is a brilliant car.
One third of a three-spoke BX columnist team for the Citroenian magazine.

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demag
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Re: New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by demag »

1.4's are nice.

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bramz7
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Re: New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by bramz7 »

jamescarruthers wrote:Yay! That's my old car. It's had an absolute ton of work done. Look through my old posts to see its history.

It's was saved by a few members on here (Tim?) then changed hands a few times until I ended up with it.
Just had a look at some of your older photos. It looks a lot better, paint wise, back then. Still by no means a banger but the paint on the roof and bonnet is super flat. I'll try and spend some time lifting it, but it's really bottom of the list of things to do.
Speaking of things to do, they are as follows-
-Get the rusty boot floor sorted
-Get the car fully serviced, because the fuel economy seems a bit rubbish. Flies though. I've never driven such a pokey and eager car.
-Potentially get new tyres, the ones its wearing seem fine (no real issues on windy roads although they were dry)
-New radiator potentially, as the fan kicks in very quickly when its not super cold. Doesn't overheat though. The current rad looks a bit aged.
-Maybe new front seats, although this is a big if. The drivers seat is on its way out, the passenger one is fine for now.

Still, I love it. I bought it from a guy down in Southsea who had it for a whole 2 months (maybe even less) and then opted to sell it. He didn't seem to clean the interior once though, I HATE messy interiors so it was a bit satisfying wiping it down and getting rid of the cobwebs. Suspension works literally perfectly, which is something I am very grateful for.

Does anyone know when the cambelt was done last? Also, is anyone aware of when any major components were overhauled? I literally got no history with it.

Heres some photos by the way.

Image1990 Citroen BX 14RE. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

Image1990 Citroen BX 14RE. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

Image1990 Citroen BX 14RE. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr

Image1990 Citroen BX 14RE. by Sam Osbon, on Flickr
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Re: New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by Tim Leech »

I would get the belt done as a matter of course!
Lots of Motors, mostly semi broken....
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Re: New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by jamescarruthers »

The belt was changed at 28/10/2009 147762m.

I'm sorry you've not been given the history. I will post my old advert below this post in which I summarised it's history.

I did notice that it was idling funny when I saw it a few months ago. Maybe renew the spark plugs and have the CO content checked at idle at an MOT station. I can't remember the figures off hand. Also, the vacuum advance had a holed diaphragm, but I don't know if that affects fuel economy. I thought it was just low end pick up? Can anyone else shed some light.

I found it very hard to get a replacement vacuum advance unit for the distributor. It's easy to bolt on/off the distributor. However! Ignitioncarparts.co.uk will refurbish yours if you send it in.
1987 Volvo 480 ES
2006 Citroen C6 Exclusive 3.0 petrol/LPG

Previous BX's:
A966 XRL -- BX 16 TRS
H767 BEG -- BX 14 TGE
B316 AMP -- BX 14 E
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Re: New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by jamescarruthers »

Post from my eBay advert to sell the car:
** Please note, the rear bumper n the pictures is the wrong colour but is now changed to the correct colour item.  I can send pictures of this if you like. **

Bluey... a 1990 Citroen BX 14TGE (Mk.2) with a mighty little engine under its bonnet.  It is in the best colour that a BX was ever produced in, Olympic Blue, in my humble opinion and still turns heads because it is interesting and rare these days.

I never expected to part with this car at all but my circumstances have changed and I now have to travel for work.  I have three cars: two BXs and one Volvo 480ES... I've made the difficult decision that if I have to keep only one car it'll be the Volvo.  You'll see my other BX is for sale here on eBay too-- its a beautiful Mk. 1 and rare as hen's teeth these days!

The TGE trim includes electric windows and sunroof to elevate it from basic specification, along with central locking and rear wash wipe.  I've found it has absolutely everything I need in a car.  It has had an absolute fortune spent on it during my ownership, and before, and for this reason I am reluctant to get rid of it because not many BXs have the care lavished on them that this one has had recently.  

I am reluctant to part with Bluey, as my girlfriend christened him, because he become like a little friend who would take me to the end of the earth if I asked him to.  Like my other BX, it has occasionally been called to do 600 miles in one day and he never missed a beat on this epic trip (Cambridge-To-Newcastle and back)-- this is why Bluey definitely has soul at 23 years old.

Most BXs are diesels (yawn) so you may be unfamiliar with this little engine in the BX.  He cruises on the motorway at 70mph (and I have had him well above this when I've been very late getting to Stansted!) without issue and isn't a slouch getting there either so is great around town or on country roads.  I'm sure the lack of weight up front helps also with the handling which is great.  The TU engine is still used today I believe and is a great, perky, free revving little engine that matches the BXs light weight very well.  It is economical and the tax is the cheapest you can get on a BX.

 He has an MOT, that he passed with no advisories-- it is valid until 28/06/2014.  The CO was 0.151% vol. and the HC was 880 ppm vol.  I mention these because the engine was Terracleaned on 7/1/13 at a cost of £75 and I think the values are pretty good for an old car.

 In my ownership the car has had:

        25/09/2013 164608mi @ Chevronics, Hitchin £192.44

            n/s/f ball-joint replaced

            oil and filter change

            confirm vac advance and exhaust gasket blowing

        04/07/2013 163450mi @ Pleiades, Sawtry : £382.12

            5 cylinder hydraulic pump

            N/S brake calliper feed (curly pipe)

            MOT pass

        07/01/2013 @ Pleiades, Sawtry : £33.60

            Coolant drained and flushed

        07/01/2013 @ Daytona GB car Care, Ketton

            Engine cleaned internally with Terraclean.  (Google it--  it gets my approval)

        15/12/2012 161752mi @ C & D Motors, Cambridge: £93.66

            Front brake pads

            Engine temp light checked

        05/12/2012 161636mi @ Pleiades, Sawtry: £228.37

            Full service

            Rocker cover gasket

            Front strut return pipe

            LHM changed

        09/11/2012 160597mi @ Pleiades, Sawtry : £370.80

            2 x front spheres

            2 x rear spheres

            Hydraulic regulator

 

I have also changed the rear bumper from the incorrect grey one to the correct body coloured Olympic blue one (please note, the pictures here are from before the bumper change!) and changed the driver's seat base as the original was very saggy and uncomfortable.  All the dashboard lights (including the bloody awkward heater control panel) have been changed and now work, although the dashboard clock still doesn't work.

 It has a Blaupunkt Woodstock DAB radio (installed for BBC Radio 6) and Kenwood KFC-PSR-51 speakers and tweeters, going through a crossover box to the front doors and original tweeter mounts reserved for higher spec vehicles.  The new speakers really help with clarity compared to the originals.  You will see that the rear parcel shelf has Sony 6x9 speakers installed-- these aren't connected. Again, this isn't much work should you want a racket to come from behind you.  They could do with connecting though just to take the pressure off the fronts at high volume.  The original Blaupunkt Boston CC 20 comes with the car but I think it might need decoded.

 Prior to my ownership it has had:

        02/10/2012

            Accumulator sphere changed

        22/10/2012 160097mi

            MOT pass

        07/11/2011 154897mi

            MOT pass

        02/11/2010 151317mi @ Kiff Brothers, Bayford : £428.22

            MOT pass

            n/s/f brake calliper

            2 x hand brake cables (no, i don't know why they only lasted two years either!)

            service £150

        28/10/2009 147762mi @ Kiff Brothers, Bayford : £552.93

            MOT pass

            service

            cambelt and tensioner roller (no, I don't know why they changed it 4 years later either!)

            both auxiliary drive belts

        27/08/2009 146812mi @ Kiff Brothers, Bayford : £126.94

            2 x front spheres

        23/10/2008 142192mi @ Kiff Brothers, Bayford : £784.73

            MOT pass

            2 x hand brake cables

            exhaust down pipe

            rear suspension height correction valve

            rear brake pads and discs

        03/06/2004 119421mi @ Kiff Brothers, Bayford : £431.32

            MOT pass

            service

            cambelt

        22/04/2003 110652mi

            MOT pass

        28/02/2002 102248mi

            MOT pass

        08/12/2000 92237mi

            MOT pass

        08/12/1999 78471mi

            MOT pass

        15/12/1997 @ Autofix, Buntingford

            54,000 mile service

        22/01/1997 42872mi @ Citroen, Thundridge

            42,000 mile service

        28/08/1996 38537mi @ Citroen, Duxford : £102.68

            MOT pass

            accumulator sphere

        27/06/1995 33698mi @ Citroen, Duxford

            36,000 mile service

        14/09/1994 29963mi @ Citroen, Thundridge : £52.10

            30,000 mile service

        19/01/1994 26024mi @ Citroen, Duxford

            24,000 mile service

        10/09/1992 18025mi @ Citroen, Duxford : £54.70

            18,000 mile service

        05/11/1991 13116mi @ Citroen, Duxford : £93.86

            12,000 mile service

        02/04/1991 6045mi

            6,000 mile service

        09/11/1990

            certificate of first service

        30/08/1990 7450mi

            Bill of sale: £7999

 

So, if you've read this far, you'll probably be thinking that this car is fantastic... well there a few things you would need to do to make the car perfect again:

So, if you've read this far, you'll probably be thinking that this car is fantastic... well there a few things you would need to do to make the car perfect again:

So, if you've read this far, you'll probably be thinking that this car is fantastic... well there a few things you would need to do to make the car perfect again:

        The front tyres probably need replacing in the next few thousand miles.  The rears have loads of tread on them.

        The only two mechanical elements that has raised their heads and remains to be done is a slight blow on the exhaust at the down pipe.  This should be taken off and a new gasket put on to cure it.  The rest of the system is fine and has plenty of life left in it.

        Also, it could do with a new vacuum advance unit.  I have absolutely no complaints about how he drives but a mate checked the vac advance along with the other pipes on the carburettor and its not working so he could be even perkier around town with this fixed; on long journeys this isn't so important.  This is £30 to have refurbished at ignitioncarparts.co.uk.

        At the end of the sills and in the boot there is corrosion, however, it hasn't failed, or even had an advisory on, an MOT  for this.  Bodywork was going to be next on my list after it is now mechanically sorted.

        Talking of bodywork: it does seem to have taken quite a few small dents here and there, on the doors.  I'm sure a decent dent man could get them all out if you presented them the car with the door cards removed.  They are magicians, those dent men.

        Oh, and while you have the door cards out you could do a bit of work on the driver's electric window.  It goes down fine but coming up it needs a bit of a shove (there is a definite knack to it, which I'll show you) to jam it home.  It sometimes comes down again about an inch.  I've driven all the way to Newcastle in it a few times and it has stayed up and only whistles a tiny bit with wind noise.  This would be a good excuse to put some Climair wind deflectors on the doors I think.  A set can be delivered for £28.  Alternatively, I think the mechanism has a missing tooth at the top and the motor is fine,  There is a motor on eBay for £50 at the minute.

        Back to bodywork: the paint looks great from a distance and this is the most beautiful BX I have seen because of its colour.  However, the best way to describe it would be that the plastic roof and bonnet seem to be have worn paint in areas.  A bit like its been driven through a desert and sandblasted a little bit!  It looks great when it comes back from the valeters but their special shiny sauce that they apply only lasts so long!  So in the pictures it is looking at its best, but up close its very much a 23 year old car.

        The heater temperature selector didn't work at all when I got the car but could be jammed at the heater tap into a temperature to prevent death by frost or sun.  Bluey is a self healing BX in this respect because for some reason the heater tap now operates freely but the Bowden cable is stiff but I swear I didn't do anything with it other than disconnect the two!  Good car!  At the same time the heater fan earth was fixed so that now works too.

        He could do with a new speedo cable as the needle wobbles a bit but, more alarmingly, if its really cold the cable screeches sometimes until its warmed up.  These can be got from Speedycables for about £30 if you send the old one to them for a template.  I'm embarrassed that I haven't done this because its a fairly easy job to route the new one in and connect it up.

        Inside, the driver's backrest has a dreadful repair on it.  Seriously, my cat could have done better with his claws and some wool.  I've been on the look out for a replacement and I'd suggest you do too if you buy Bluey.

        The headlights are a bit dim and could do with the modification that the BX club have on their files.  This simply adds a few relays to power them directly from the battery instead the current going through the switches-- a bad design from new.  He also has yellow headlight bulb covers which look cool-as but I can take these out for the next owner if required as they're probably illegal (more than probably, but I've never been stopped) and also cut down the light output which isn't a good idea with the BX's system!.

        The starter is sticky and sometimes needs a few clicks on the switch to start it.  It has never failed to start though.

      The dashboard rattles

 

Support wise, there is lots available on bxclub.co.uk which I hope, if you aren't a member already, that you will join and keep the car in the manner that it is accustomed to.  I am also happy to remain in contact with the owner to advise on things too.

 In summary, thanks for reading all of this, I have been as honest as possible with Bluey's condition and what he's need done to him to make him perfect.  I've taken the time to write all this out and go through his history to give him the best chance with his next owner and also so that, if you can't get down to see him, you can buy blind with confidence.  Ideally, I'd prefer it if you were to come down to Cambridge and view him first, but I understand that's not always possible and I've bought plenty of cars blind off eBay myself.

 You could however ignore all of what I've advised he might need done to him and use him 'as is' without any problems really.  He's good on fuel, is in the cheapest tax bracket for cars of that age and has had all of the things you'd want done on a BX done along with a long MOT (June 2014) which he hasn't done many miles since either and is utterly reliable  I can't think of anything left with the hydraulic system that could go wrong!  I would get in this car tomorrow and drive to the south of France if I needed to.

 I'm happy to answer any questions and if you want to talk over the 'phone, message me and I'll give you my number.  The car is located in Horningsea, Cambridge, only 1 minute from the exit on the A14 and viewing can be arranged for most times to suit you.

We can discuss delivery before the auction ends if you like, but obviously I'd prefer collection in person with a cash payment.  However, I am open to cleared funds into my account via bank transfer, cheque, bankers draft, etc.

On 05-Dec-13 at 14:35:11 GMT, seller added the following information:
I've just checked the tyres and there is loads of tread on them.  I wrote the original statement because Chevronics said I needed a new tyre and I foolishly asumed they were bald.  In fact, the l/h front tyre is cracked on the inner sidewall but has loads of tread-- this must have previously been the spare.  The new spare is as-new so I'm going to swap the cracked tyre back to the spare wheel so the two front  tyres have loads of tread left and wont need replacing for thousands of miles now.  You wil want to consider getting the spare replaced, with a part worn if all its going to do is sit under the car and get old and unused!

 

Good luck biding away everyone, the reserve is nearly met.  You'll have a cracking BX whoever wins this!
P.S. The CO figures I am so proud of in the advert are too low I now realise, having done more work on carburettors engines. I'd expect between 1 and 2% at idle.

P.P.S. JeremyC5 on here has a set of seats that match yours. If you can't get him on here I have his number as he is local to me (Cambridge)
1987 Volvo 480 ES
2006 Citroen C6 Exclusive 3.0 petrol/LPG

Previous BX's:
A966 XRL -- BX 16 TRS
H767 BEG -- BX 14 TGE
B316 AMP -- BX 14 E
Tinkley
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Re: New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by Tinkley »

Don't worry about the low Co reading 0.15% or so was about par for both my old 1.4 (150C engine) and last couple of 1.6 units. If you get as high as even 0.5% there's probably something needing cleaning or changing. These engines run lean, remember peugeot were very keen to try and get to the emissions targets by ultra lean burn and no catalytic converter. IMHO the cat was misguided expense as fuel burn technology improved vastly, ultimately we are going to end ic engines anyway.
bramz7
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Re: New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by bramz7 »

jamescarruthers wrote:The belt was changed at 28/10/2009 147762m.

I'm sorry you've not been given the history. I will post my old advert below this post in which I summarised it's history.

I did notice that it was idling funny when I saw it a few months ago. Maybe renew the spark plugs and have the CO content checked at idle at an MOT station. I can't remember the figures off hand. Also, the vacuum advance had a holed diaphragm, but I don't know if that affects fuel economy. I thought it was just low end pick up? Can anyone else shed some light.

I found it very hard to get a replacement vacuum advance unit for the distributor. It's easy to bolt on/off the distributor. However! Ignitioncarparts.co.uk will refurbish yours if you send it in.

No need to apologise! I am very grateful for you posting that ad again, really helped fill in some blanks. I suppose I have you to thank for getting it running so sweetly, I'd quite like to know who stumped up for the MOT pass in 2016 too, as it looks like it could have cost a fortune.

Plan is, to get it booked in at a local garage to get the cambelt and water pump done next month. I'll probably also look to get it serviced at the same time. I've heard very good things about a small independent place in Cookham (although they aren't Citroen specific) so it'll probably be going there.

Going forward in 2017, if all things turn out as planned, H767BEG will stay with me but probably be put into storage at the end of summer, while I then go back running a XUD daily, either a ZX or Xantia. This is all very up in the air though as lockups in Reading are probably quite expensive now. We shall see. Longterm, I want to preserve this BX.
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jamescarruthers
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Re: New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by jamescarruthers »

2016 MOT would have been JeremyC5 on here.
1987 Volvo 480 ES
2006 Citroen C6 Exclusive 3.0 petrol/LPG

Previous BX's:
A966 XRL -- BX 16 TRS
H767 BEG -- BX 14 TGE
B316 AMP -- BX 14 E
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Re: New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by Tim Leech »

That will be the forge motor co in cookham, I bought my white xantia from them, been a Citroen garage since the fifties.
Lots of Motors, mostly semi broken....
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Re: New to the forum, but with a familiar car.

Post by Tinkley »

If you change the water pump, change the idler bearing too. The belt on it's own is probably an hour and a quarter to do for me at home - you don't need to take out the engine mount!. However to do the pump, idler and belt you need a bit more access, so have to support the engine underneath (to remove the mount). It's not too hard to do yourself, just make sure the timing marks are correct....

You should find a kit with belt and idler. At that mileage, well anything over 105k - 3 belt changes or maybe 4, it's a wise precaution to change the pump and idler. Most modern stuff with much higher belt change intervals does this as standard but every 75-100k. I have known of a few moderns that have broken belts before the service interval though....however it is very rare with a petrol BX afaik. I changed the belt on my Auto as it was 10 years old and right on the limit of 35k, glad it got me home from purchase but this was done asap. Seven years is the (BX) guide for length of time, and having seen a 1.6 Focus shred a belt at 12 years (Ford say 10) but way under mileage allowance it does make you a bit wary!.

FWIW on my older 150C engine BX, the water pump started leaking at around the 140k mark. Yours is the newer TU unit similar to the 1.6 XU and I've not had a water pump go even at 157k...but that is pushing it.
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