GT mediated Awesomeness

[saintjamesy89]

You're welcome Jugostran, just bear in mind that is my understanding and I may well be talking out of my backside!

Coolant hoses re-routed and throttle cable adjusted - normal service resumed

[saintjamesy89]

MOT fail today, sounds like the octopus but I've not heard from the garage yet. I'm hoping it can be bodged for a little while though as this is one of the jobs it's booked in for with Rich.

I've not noticed any leaks on the floor though, I do keep an eye out!

Screenshot_20230628-134935_Firefox.jpg

[Jaba]

As there is actually no near side front transmission hydraulics If you are lucky he meant to say suspension and it is just a strut return pipe split. Not serious at all. Can be bodged with pipe connectors and some thin fuel or silicone hose.
The CV boots are a bit more time consuming to change.

[saintjamesy89]

Good point John, thanks. I replaced the return pipes in 2017, but modern rubber etc. He can't look at it till mid next week, so I'll pop over and see for myself tomorrow.
Hopefully the exhaust is just the stainless to original downpipe clamp being loose as this system has only been on there a few weeks!

[Tim Leech]

I do hope its ready for the 40th!

[saintjamesy89]

And me Tim! I hope to get it back this week, it was the strut return pipe thankfully! Interesting that I saw no visible leaks on the drive

[Jaba]

Here is some experimentation I did a while back for a quick fix of a split return hose. Not fitted yet though.

[saintjamesy89]

That looks brilliantly simple Jon! I bought a genuine pair from Chevronics as I know put cheap ones on back in 2017. At least when these go, I can do as you have.

We have an MOT pass, hurrah! CV boots changed, strut return changed and exhaust downpipe temporarily repaired, it needs removing and welding in one area currently between the body and exhaust.

Screenshot_20230707-160533_Firefox.jpg

Doesn't give me much time to clean it ready for Gilke's cafe tomorrow though!

[saintjamesy89]

The GT has been busy since it's MOT, with both the Gilke's Café 40th and CCC 40th it attended. I had a great time at both and it was really nice to meet up with friends I hadn't seen for a long time and to meet some new ones too! Of course there were plenty of BX's and other Citroens to perv at as well, if you feel you've missed out there are loads of very good photo's on the facebook group









(some of these pics were posted by others on the FB group - if they are yours and you're not happy with my theft then please let me know!)

The new carburettor has immediately improved the economy back to where it should be, the last two tanks have been 37.8 and 38.8 mpg and that is with the carb not yet being checked, adjusted and jetted. On that note, it's going back to the carb man next Tuesday to go on the rolling road and be checked/adjusted etc as necessary - it was supposed to be done a week or two ago but the garage's exhaust gas tester had broken.

There are a few irritations at the moment, there is a metallic rattle somewhere in the engine bay at around 2500 rpm that I haven't yet found, the exhaust downpipe is blowing again near the centre pipe junction, the front calipers are ever so slightly sticky and need a rebuild (piston rubber seals are perished and torn) and the rear arm bearings are completely shot, cracking and creaking noises abound! It's booked in with Rich to do these along with some other jobs, but I might have to get them done sooner rather than later.

I have done one or two little jobs in the interim, it was pointed out to me that my engine mounts needed shimming and that my engine was munching permanently on hot, back in 2017 I had removed the flap on the airbox that selects hot or cold air intake dependant on the temperature of the engine bay as it got stuck on hot manifold air only, which caused some dodgy running on the way to the 2017 Challenge.
I pushed the engine toward the bulkhead and fitted 3 more shims IIRC to remove the gap between the rubber and the engine mount itself, I got the shims off of ebay, they were listed for a Peugeot 205, but I read that they use an almost identical drivers side mount, so all is now good. The gap was quite large, no wonder there was some hesitation and less than smooth gear changes. I don't seem to have an after photo here, but the gap is gone and things are much smoother now.


Big gap!

I checked the thermo flap in the oven, set to 100 degrees C to see if the flap was opening as it should - I could hear it clicking in the oven, so took it out and greased the springs and mechanism inside - back in the oven and it opened up properly very quickly, so all good there. I bought some 50mm and 70mm card covered air ducting from carbuilder.com, 53mm and 73mm would be perfect to go over the connector, but I made a small cut and secured each end and it doesn't look to bad I think. I couldn't find any other similar product anyway, so it was this or nothing.


Before new air hose and thermo flap.


After, much better.

The next post will likely be about the rolling road and carb adjustment, I'm a little excited about it!

[Jugostran]

The GT has been busy since it's MOT, with both the Gilke's Café 40th and CCC 40th it attended. I had a great time at both and it was really nice to meet up with friends I hadn't seen for a long time and to meet some new ones too! Of course there were plenty of BX's and other Citroens to perv at as well, if you feel you've missed out there are loads of very good photo's on the facebook group









(some of these pics were posted by others on the FB group - if they are yours and you're not happy with my theft then please let me know!)

The new carburettor has immediately improved the economy back to where it should be, the last two tanks have been 37.8 and 38.8 mpg and that is with the carb not yet being checked, adjusted and jetted. On that note, it's going back to the carb man next Tuesday to go on the rolling road and be checked/adjusted etc as necessary - it was supposed to be done a week or two ago but the garage's exhaust gas tester had broken.

There are a few irritations at the moment, there is a metallic rattle somewhere in the engine bay at around 2500 rpm that I haven't yet found, the exhaust downpipe is blowing again near the centre pipe junction, the front calipers are ever so slightly sticky and need a rebuild (piston rubber seals are perished and torn) and the rear arm bearings are completely shot, cracking and creaking noises abound! It's booked in with Rich to do these along with some other jobs, but I might have to get them done sooner rather than later.

I have done one or two little jobs in the interim, it was pointed out to me that my engine mounts needed shimming and that my engine was munching permanently on hot, back in 2017 I had removed the flap on the airbox that selects hot or cold air intake dependant on the temperature of the engine bay as it got stuck on hot manifold air only, which caused some dodgy running on the way to the 2017 Challenge.
I pushed the engine toward the bulkhead and fitted 3 more shims IIRC to remove the gap between the rubber and the engine mount itself, I got the shims off of ebay, they were listed for a Peugeot 205, but I read that they use an almost identical drivers side mount, so all is now good. The gap was quite large, no wonder there was some hesitation and less than smooth gear changes. I don't seem to have an after photo here, but the gap is gone and things are much smoother now.


Big gap!

I checked the thermo flap in the oven, set to 100 degrees C to see if the flap was opening as it should - I could hear it clicking in the oven, so took it out and greased the springs and mechanism inside - back in the oven and it opened up properly very quickly, so all good there. I bought some 50mm and 70mm card covered air ducting from carbuilder.com, 53mm and 73mm would be perfect to go over the connector, but I made a small cut and secured each end and it doesn't look to bad I think. I couldn't find any other similar product anyway, so it was this or nothing.


Before new air hose and thermo flap.


After, much better.

The next post will likely be about the rolling road and carb adjustment, I'm a little excited about it!

That's awesome!
Those MPGs are what I'm currently aiming for with mine (same carb, albeit mine is bolted to a 1.6 instead of a 1.9). I am still waiting for the rebuild kit. Anywho, your BX really pops with that colour. I have never seen one like that in person. The wheel trims are also lovely (I really need to source a set, they are the ones mine is supposed to have). Also, I see you were also having problems with the engine mounts. I changed the gearbox side one on mine, but not the other one (the one in your picture), and it indeed makes shifting correctly impossible. Not to mention my gear linkage is held together with a bodge wire. Not sure what's the procedure to getting that sorted.
Anyway, good luck with the rolling road, can't wait to see the results!

[saintjamesy89]

Thanks Jugostran, it's a funny colour - sometimes it does pop but most of the time it looks a bit anaemic!

I picked the GT up from the garage yesterday afternoon. I hoped to wait and observe while the guy checked the timing, fuelling and jetting to get a few videos of the rolling road test - but he had another classic stuck on the rolling road so had to get that fixed first! He was kind enough to leave it on there so I could film a run when I picked it up though.

Whilst I did get a graph print out from the rolling road, it used speed rather than RPM on the X axis but still used RPM for the peak figures. Also the technician started the power run at 2500rpm ish and went up to 5000rpm, ideally it would have been idle to redline but hey ho. There also was no estimate of crank BHP, I only got wheel figures:

Wheel power was 80.95BHP @ 4601rpm
Wheel torque was 150.26NM @ 2720rpm

Using the internet assured 17% transmission loss for FWD cars (haha! Yeah right) that brings an estimated crank BHP to 97.5bhp which is a little disappointing! Both front calipers are very slightly sticky, the downpipe is leaking, the clutch needs changing (although it isn't slipping) and as previously mentioned the valve clearances are nearly all too large, it'll be interesting to see if remedying these has any affect, as well as a run using the complete rev range. Whilst I can't feel any difference in shove, it is much smoother - especially when pulling away from a standstill and changing gear, when it was lean before it would occasionally stutter.

[saintjamesy89]

Best to use headphones or earbuds to listen

[Jugostran]

Thanks Jugostran, it's a funny colour - sometimes it does pop but most of the time it looks a bit anaemic!

I picked the GT up from the garage yesterday afternoon. I hoped to wait and observe while the guy checked the timing, fuelling and jetting to get a few videos of the rolling road test - but he had another classic stuck on the rolling road so had to get that fixed first! He was kind enough to leave it on there so I could film a run when I picked it up though.

Whilst I did get a graph print out from the rolling road, it used speed rather than RPM on the X axis but still used RPM for the peak figures. Also the technician started the power run at 2500rpm ish and went up to 5000rpm, ideally it would have been idle to redline but hey ho. There also was no estimate of crank BHP, I only got wheel figures:

Wheel power was 80.95BHP @ 4601rpm
Wheel torque was 150.26NM @ 2720rpm

Using the internet assured 17% transmission loss for FWD cars (haha! Yeah right) that brings an estimated crank BHP to 97.5bhp which is a little disappointing! Both front calipers are very slightly sticky, the downpipe is leaking, the clutch needs changing (although it isn't slipping) and as previously mentioned the valve clearances are nearly all too large, it'll be interesting to see if remedying these has any affect, as well as a run using the complete rev range. Whilst I can't feel any difference in shove, it is much smoother - especially when pulling away from a standstill and changing gear, when it was lean before it would occasionally stutter.

That seems to be the theme with most BX colours. Yours though, love it no matter what. My dream BX is a Digit or GT with AC in that very colour!
Anyway, quite nice to hear your Solex adventures. My kit just arrived, next week it's being installed. Now, I'm in Serbia so things will be a bit more low tech. No rolling road I'm afraid, just a bloke with a screwdriver and a good ol' guesstimate.
I'm not sure if the power figures advertised for these were crank or wheel. If it's wheel, then I can understand your concerns hah. My 16 TRS is rated at 90 bhp, and I think GTs were rated at 120? Not sure. Anywho, I'm glad to hear it improved smoothness at least. Also, don't get me started with clutch jobs. Apparently my gearbox doesn't take 2L, but instead takes 1 to 1.5 (I added 2 but the excess leaked out). I changed both seals on the gearbox, but it still seems to leak. The clutch also feels weird. It doesn't bottom out, instead you can push it all the way into the carpet. The actuation is also all wrong. The gear change feels super weird now, can't shift into gears properly. My theory is that changing the gearbox side engine mount, but not the one opposite it, threw everything out of balance. The good news - it no longer shakes when it starts its long traffic light hissing sessions. Anyway, keep me posted and I'll keep you posted (I'll most likely make a thread or something).

[Kitch]

Thanks Jugostran, it's a funny colour - sometimes it does pop but most of the time it looks a bit anaemic!

I picked the GT up from the garage yesterday afternoon. I hoped to wait and observe while the guy checked the timing, fuelling and jetting to get a few videos of the rolling road test - but he had another classic stuck on the rolling road so had to get that fixed first! He was kind enough to leave it on there so I could film a run when I picked it up though.

Whilst I did get a graph print out from the rolling road, it used speed rather than RPM on the X axis but still used RPM for the peak figures. Also the technician started the power run at 2500rpm ish and went up to 5000rpm, ideally it would have been idle to redline but hey ho. There also was no estimate of crank BHP, I only got wheel figures:

Wheel power was 80.95BHP @ 4601rpm
Wheel torque was 150.26NM @ 2720rpm

Using the internet assured 17% transmission loss for FWD cars (haha! Yeah right) that brings an estimated crank BHP to 97.5bhp which is a little disappointing! Both front calipers are very slightly sticky, the downpipe is leaking, the clutch needs changing (although it isn't slipping) and as previously mentioned the valve clearances are nearly all too large, it'll be interesting to see if remedying these has any affect, as well as a run using the complete rev range. Whilst I can't feel any difference in shove, it is much smoother - especially when pulling away from a standstill and changing gear, when it was lean before it would occasionally stutter.

I'll stick it on mine when it's here.

[saintjamesy89]

I'll stick it on mine when it's here.

I was going to ask, cheers Rich. Here's the graph

20230817_152117.jpg