GT mediated Awesomeness

Tell us about life with your BX, or indeed life in general!
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saintjamesy89
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My Cars: 1985 Citroen BX19 GT
198x Citroen BX16 TRS auto
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
1991 Saab 900 16v convertible
2007 Lexus RX 400h SE
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Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by saintjamesy89 »

The Rivnuts have sure been very useful, I have overtightened a few on fitting them, they look a bit squished but still do the job!

I've been tinkering here and there over the last few weeks, the GT is completely back together, running, lifting and seemingly fully functional. A few cans of fresh fuel, a dollop of injector cleaner and a couple of sessions sat runnig up to temp and she's purring. Welll, as much as an XU can purr anyway! I've also had to do a semi-emergency clutch bleed on the Saab, the biting point was getting closer and closer to the floor until it was a hair away - it all seems fine now, but we'll see if ti happens again. The brake fluid level did get low when I bled the brakes in December.

TRS drier hole
20220429_125938.jpg
GT drier hole :)
20220429_125930.jpg
Installed with the pressure sensor (I think) from the old drier.
20220429_134416.jpg
The TRS is almost put back together, the only outstanding reassembly jobs are to finish cleaning the old gasket material off of the GT's steel sump, installing said sump and tensioning the alternator belt, I wanted to do that today but ended up slicing a hole in my finger and bleeding everywhere so had to stop early... I still want to get it more movable and drivable, when I last had it running it would randomly stall whilst idling but also stall as soon as any load was on the engine, e.g. when put into drive and accelerator pressed (revving in neutral seemed to be fine). It has been sat for 20+ years outside in France, so it has done quite well really! I expect all the carb perishables are, well, perished. Doing the vacuum lines will be easy enough when I get around to it, but really the carb needs refurbishing and the Swiss market factory emissions stuff removing.

I did put my big boy pants on and cut the hole to allow the drier to be installed, I had to buy a 60mm drill bit/hole cutter just for it, but the bit cuts wood aswell so I'm sure it'll come in handy. I managed to be slightly off centre with the cut, i made a cardboard template but it must have slipped. Never mind, there is plenty of space for the drier still in the hole.

I have pictures, and a video! But imgur doesn't seem to want to work...
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I'm not a Saint, or a James, but a Tom Saint-James!

Mes voitures:
1985 Citroen BX19 GT
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
2006 Lexus RX 400h SE hybrid
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saintjamesy89
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Posts: 1994
Joined: Tue May 04, 2010 8:01 pm
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My Cars: 1985 Citroen BX19 GT
198x Citroen BX16 TRS auto
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
1991 Saab 900 16v convertible
2007 Lexus RX 400h SE
x 123

Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by saintjamesy89 »



A little purring clip :D
I'm not a Saint, or a James, but a Tom Saint-James!

Mes voitures:
1985 Citroen BX19 GT
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
2006 Lexus RX 400h SE hybrid
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saintjamesy89
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Posts: 1994
Joined: Tue May 04, 2010 8:01 pm
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My Cars: 1985 Citroen BX19 GT
198x Citroen BX16 TRS auto
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
1991 Saab 900 16v convertible
2007 Lexus RX 400h SE
x 123

Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by saintjamesy89 »

Both BX's are officially reassembled and ready for transport on Saturday, the TRS was reluctant to get going but after burning off all the storage crap she ran quite nicely! I found 1 vacuum line that was split, trimmed and repaired but the carb desperately needs rebuilding. All in good time. New oil and a clean/check of all the ignition components has helped the running.



Curious how different the XU6 and XU9 engines sound, I think the 16 sounds nicer than the 19 in direct comparison here.
I'm not a Saint, or a James, but a Tom Saint-James!

Mes voitures:
1985 Citroen BX19 GT
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
2006 Lexus RX 400h SE hybrid
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saintjamesy89
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Posts: 1994
Joined: Tue May 04, 2010 8:01 pm
Location: Somerset
My Cars: 1985 Citroen BX19 GT
198x Citroen BX16 TRS auto
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
1991 Saab 900 16v convertible
2007 Lexus RX 400h SE
x 123

Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by saintjamesy89 »

BX's moved, it all happened much easier and swifter than expected. The GT behaved almost perfectly (autochoke is still a little off, needs throttle feathering for 30 secs when the engine is cold) and yet again, I'll say how nice it is to drive it even just up.a farm track!
20220514_103853.jpg
20220514_103841.jpg
The TRS is still a bugger when cold, it'll start on the manual choke, but then die. Constant adjustment of the throttle can just about keep it from dying until its warm enough to idle well, even then it'll cut out continually. However, once warm I drove it a couple of hundred meters up the farm track to the trailer, I didn't go quick enough to get out of 1st, but it actually drove quite well!
20220514_120306.jpg
The BXs in their new home, once Steve's autlntie is home from visiting her son and new grandson, the GT will go in the garage and the TRS under the weatherproof cover.
20220514_120853.jpg
20220514_120900.jpg
Apart from further juggling about, now that the BXs are moved we have to get on with rewiring the house, so further updates may be few and far between for a while again, this makes me sad 😔
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I'm not a Saint, or a James, but a Tom Saint-James!

Mes voitures:
1985 Citroen BX19 GT
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
2006 Lexus RX 400h SE hybrid
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deltic
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Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by deltic »

Well done!
1991 BX GTi auto, grey, 137,000 miles (2015, 2017 & 2019 Citroen Classic Challenge veteran)
1991 BX GTi auto, grey, 92,000 miles (2022 Citroen Classic Challenge veteran)
2006 C4 VTR+ 2.0 Coupé, silver, 78,000 miles (RIP)
2016 Volvo V40 T2 R-Design Pro, blue, 24,000 miles
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Jaba
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Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by Jaba »

I wish I had a good helpful Auntie like that.
Good luck with the rewiring.
The Joy of BX with just one Citroën BX to my name now. Will I sing Bye Bye to my GTI or will it be Till death us do part.
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Tim Leech
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Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by Tim Leech »

Great stuff
Lots of Motors, mostly semi broken....
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saintjamesy89
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Joined: Tue May 04, 2010 8:01 pm
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My Cars: 1985 Citroen BX19 GT
198x Citroen BX16 TRS auto
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
1991 Saab 900 16v convertible
2007 Lexus RX 400h SE
x 123

Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by saintjamesy89 »

Evening folks, it has been a few weeks without any BX action. They are both still on my OH's auntie's drive, after a few messages to see when I could come and get the GT in the garage and shuffle the TRS into a better resting place I have had no reply... It seems that Auntie's son came home for a visit (he lives miles away) and got upset about the cars on the drive, similarly about the promise of keeping the GT in the garage, apparently he wants it kept empty in case he wants to use the inspection pit for his car (he knows nothing about cars AFAIK). Also, he is next visiting on 11th August so at least one needs to be gone by then.

The storage saga continues, I need to move at least one of them again... It's all a bit odd really, he is a nice guy, we got on really well together and we've went out on the piss together loads when he lived at home, they are my favourites of the OH's family (excluding the in-laws of course). Even so I'm quite irritated by it all, that means another £100 on trailer hire, finding a driver or asking to use the father in-laws pick-up again (difficult at best!) and most difficult of all - finding somewhere to put one/them. My first go-to was a block of housing association garages literally at our back gate, but apparently due to COVID they have no been taking any new rentals for the last 2 years, so there is a 2 year waiting list even though 5 out of 7 of them are empty... FFS!

Anyway, Sherborne Castle classic car show is a week Saturday so I will try and get the GT MOT'd etc for that. The TRS will have to sit for a bit and see if it can stay where it is.
I'm not a Saint, or a James, but a Tom Saint-James!

Mes voitures:
1985 Citroen BX19 GT
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
2006 Lexus RX 400h SE hybrid
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saintjamesy89
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Posts: 1994
Joined: Tue May 04, 2010 8:01 pm
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My Cars: 1985 Citroen BX19 GT
198x Citroen BX16 TRS auto
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
1991 Saab 900 16v convertible
2007 Lexus RX 400h SE
x 123

Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by saintjamesy89 »

Insurance £78.10, the cheapest I've ever had!

MOT at 1pm today, fingers crossed 🤞
I'm not a Saint, or a James, but a Tom Saint-James!

Mes voitures:
1985 Citroen BX19 GT
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
2006 Lexus RX 400h SE hybrid
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Jaba
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Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by Jaba »

saintjamesy89 wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 6:51 am Insurance £78.10, the cheapest I've ever had!

MOT at 1pm today, fingers crossed 🤞
Who is that with. My insurer wants over £100 for an agreed value and still more than your price for just market value insurance.
The Joy of BX with just one Citroën BX to my name now. Will I sing Bye Bye to my GTI or will it be Till death us do part.
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saintjamesy89
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198x Citroen BX16 TRS auto
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
1991 Saab 900 16v convertible
2007 Lexus RX 400h SE
x 123

Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by saintjamesy89 »

Hi John, it's with Lancaster. I don't know if there is an agreed value tbh, it was significantly cheaper than almost everyone else though!

MOT failed unfortunately.

"Repair immediately (major defects):
Windscreen washer not working (3.5 (a))
Horn not working (7.7 (a))
Offside Front Outer Drive shaft joint constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (6.1.7 (g) (ii))
Suspension pipe leaking Pipe running from front to rear (5.3.5 (c))

Repair as soon as possible (minor defects):
Nearside Rear Tyre obviously under inflated (5.2.3 (l))

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i))
Offside Rear Position lamp slightly affected by the operation of another lamp (4.2.3 (c))
Offside Front Valve stem slightly damaged (5.2.3 (j))
I'm not a Saint, or a James, but a Tom Saint-James!

Mes voitures:
1985 Citroen BX19 GT
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
2006 Lexus RX 400h SE hybrid
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Jaba
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Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by Jaba »

Merde, quite a list that. But not bad IMHO to fix (front to rear pipe excepted). We have all had to sort out those sort of issues and for a car in use regularly they are discovered and fixed before MOT time.
The Joy of BX with just one Citroën BX to my name now. Will I sing Bye Bye to my GTI or will it be Till death us do part.
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saintjamesy89
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198x Citroen BX16 TRS auto
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
1991 Saab 900 16v convertible
2007 Lexus RX 400h SE
x 123

Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by saintjamesy89 »

Not too bad a list, thankfully just a few fiddly bits - I spent some time yesterday having a look at the MOT fail points and ended up being very lucky! As previously mentioned I checked the washer pump connections and one of the spades wasn't quite seated correctly. Once reconnected properly (and cleaned up for good measure) it worked and cleaned the screen as well as these ever did!

HORN - the horns appear to be connected in series, after cleaning all the3 crusty contacts and earth points it appeared that the lower tone horn was not working, perhaps breaking the circuit for both horns - when I unplugged the low tone, the high tone horn worked. Good enough for the MOT man and now whilst I try and fine a replacement low tone horn!

CV boot - the outer drivers side CV boot was loose! The retaining clip had come off at some point, it must have been recent as there wasn't much escaped grease. I asked the MOT garage to attach a new clip on the re-inspection.

Image

HP LEAK - as I suspected/hoped one of the unions in the front to rear pipes had come ever so slightly loose, not enough for any drips to fall on the floor but enough for a drip to form on the nut. Perhaps why it is wise to not use unions in HP lines! Tightened up and now dry.

Image

The GT was put back in for a free re-MOT and apart from a few pounds for the clip, we have a new MOT :D

Image

I was off work so I went to fill up with new petrol (ouch) and check the tyre pressures (all low, one was 11 psi!) and then went for a 25 mile shake down in the sunshine, very enjoyable! Today I am looking at the wheel trims as driving around without any is bothering me, i'm also doing some more house wiring of course!

Sunday we are volunteering at Sherborne Castle classic car show, a pretty big event around here. I've always wanted to go but the tickets sell out in minutes, this year however is the first year the the Round Table are helping to organise the event. My husband just happens to be a part of Round Table so for a few hours volunteering I get free entry, very nice! I will be going in the GT of course, unfortunately the Saab's paintwork really lets it down, the bonnet and boot lid have lost some of the lacquer and it's very noticeable.

https://classic-supercars.co.uk/
I'm not a Saint, or a James, but a Tom Saint-James!

Mes voitures:
1985 Citroen BX19 GT
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
2006 Lexus RX 400h SE hybrid
User avatar
saintjamesy89
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Posts: 1994
Joined: Tue May 04, 2010 8:01 pm
Location: Somerset
My Cars: 1985 Citroen BX19 GT
198x Citroen BX16 TRS auto
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
1991 Saab 900 16v convertible
2007 Lexus RX 400h SE
x 123

Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by saintjamesy89 »

On the advisories, I intend to clean up the earth and rear light cluster contacts, form memory the passenger side had a dodgy clip. The oil leak is coming from the distributor, so I'll check/clean the o-ring and innards and perhaps source a new O-ring. I can't do much about the tyre valve, that tyre had the lowest pressure when I checked them all so perhaps it will deflate slowly - we shall see.
I'm not a Saint, or a James, but a Tom Saint-James!

Mes voitures:
1985 Citroen BX19 GT
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
2006 Lexus RX 400h SE hybrid
User avatar
saintjamesy89
1K Away
Posts: 1994
Joined: Tue May 04, 2010 8:01 pm
Location: Somerset
My Cars: 1985 Citroen BX19 GT
198x Citroen BX16 TRS auto
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
1991 Saab 900 16v convertible
2007 Lexus RX 400h SE
x 123

Re: GT mediated Awesomeness

Post by saintjamesy89 »

Today's efforts were wheel trims in prep for the classic show on Sunday, i'm not 'showing' the GT but I will arrive in style! As mentioned above, the wheel trims were oily, dirty and quite scratched. Unfortunately whilst scrubbing them with a scourer pad, the paint was being scrubbed off! So I thought i'd do a quick paint and freshen up whilst doing other things. I know you're supposed to leave primer overnight to dry before putting the top coat on, and the uneven finish may well have something to do with that - but this was supposed to be a very quick freshen up, so much so I didn't sand anything other than to roughen up the trims for the primer.

Dirty
Image

Clean
Image

2 coats of primer (wet)
Image

3rd coat of primer (wet)
Image

3 coats of "Vauxhall Star Silver metallic"
Image

Although they aren't completely dry, I think it is going to be a patchy finish, ho hum. When it comes to more cosmetic stuff on the GT i'll use some hi-build primer to fill in the scratches etc, rub them down properly between each layer and use a lacquer top coat as well. For now, I think they're much better, i'll get some photo's with them on the car tomorrow when I wash it. The colour choice was semi-intentional as I remember restoring the grill on my 1991 MK2 Astra years ago and liked how bright the colour was then.
I'm not a Saint, or a James, but a Tom Saint-James!

Mes voitures:
1985 Citroen BX19 GT
1988 Volvo 740 2.0 GL Hearse
2006 Lexus RX 400h SE hybrid
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