Confessions of a Citroholic (BX-less)

[RichardW]

Hello, my name is Richard and I am a Citroholic. There, said it now, and I feel better. Mind you, I’ve not got it as bad as some on here, but….

Where did it start? About 1977 (when I was 3) with an Ami 8 Estate. Since then my Parents have had a procession of Citroens – 3 x GS estates, another Ami, 2 BXs, 2 Dyanes, 3 Visas (4 if you include the scrap one we bought for £30 and stripped for parts), a Xantia, an AX, A Xsara and lately a C4. I learnt to drive, and passed my test, in Dad’s Visa 11 Super E – as did both my Sisters. My ‘first’ car was provided by my parents – a shit brown Visa 11 Special. No brakes, no acceleration, no heater. Fantastic car!

When I got to affording my own cars I started with a shed of a BX 14E preview, since then I’ve had 2 BX TD’s, 2 Xantia TD’s, 2 ZX TD’s, and a Xantia Hdi 110 Estate (current, with one of the ZX TDs). We also have a (pretty rusty) Visa Decapotable in the garage awaiting my attention with the MIG.

I’d really like a BX 16v, a D, a 2CV, an SM V6, a CX GTI turbo, a C6 2.7 HDi…. Trouble is there isn’t enough room in the garage or the drive and the wallet is far from big enough.

House upgrades get in the way of fixing the Visa (and the other project, a 1929 Velocette motorbike) – spent most of last summer installing new central heating – and I still have to remove the old back boiler, fit a new fire, lay new floors, board up a couple of internal doors, get the roof replaced, paint all the outside, finish landscaping the garden, lay a new drive….

I get paid for being a Chemical Engineer – I do hard sums (sometimes!) and get to write CEng MIChemE after my name.

Expect very irregular updates to this blog – but hopefully one day it will read “Yeah!! Found and bought v smart BX 16V in light blue metallic”.

There was a Lomax based on an Ami Super on autotrader last week that I was very tempted by – fortunately I was going to London and it has been sold. Marriage saved….

[RichardW]

Just realised the next few months are going to cost:

ZX Insurance just renewed. Xantia insurance due end March. Xantia MOT (needs track rod ends, LHM change at least) due end April. ZX Tax up end of April. The joys of motoring....

Poor picture of some of the Visa corrosion:



The Velocette project:



(note Visa on axle stands - I was changing the exhaust manifold - that was 'fun'!!)

What became of the shit brown Visa Special (thanks to a mate and his angle grinder...!)



The lad that made that went a bit Citroen doolally - he had that Decap, and at least 2 Visa GTi s at one stage. He was going to put the Special back on the road, but it too was suffering some pretty advanced tin worm.

I have some other pics of the Visa somewhere - I'll see if I can find some. The driver's floor looks like emmental!

[Philip Chidlow]

love the parrot

[RichardW]

Citroen stuff done: Nil - well if you discount driving to work, and trying hard not to get sucked into the Citroen dealer at the end of the road, and sign up for a C4..... - actually it's easy, just remind yourself about the £250 oil change, and it seems a lot less attractive....

E-bay's great though isn't it (in some ways I guess).... Need a new washing machine pump - £16 (next weekend's job, no doubt more tricky than it looks ) hair dye in a colour not in our local Boots, £5 (not for me, well, maybe, although my hair is a bit short to show any difference really). Got a new time clock for my Dad's boiler just before Christmas for a tenner too. Distinct lack of Olymipc Blue 16Vs that have been cosseted all their lives though

New flat roof (Covers 1/3 of our house) is going to cost c3.5 grand - and that's before I decide it would be a good idea to build a new porch, and take half the slates off the roof to repair suspect looking valleys. Owning old houses is nearly as bad as owning old Citroens - SWMBO is complaining that the drop links are knocking in the ZX and we really need a new pair of front wheels for it (anybody got any spare ones ) as they are not round any more and let the air out of the tyres at inconvenient times.

[M]

New flat roof (Covers 1/3 of our house) is going to cost c3.5 grand.

Bin it and fit a pitched tiled/slated roof instead - assuming that you are using marley tiles not welsh slate it would work out cheaper to buy preform trusses and stick a pitched roof on over the top of the flat one...

This one cost £900 - fitted - less if I had fitted it myself (but I couldnt be arsed and I wanted a decent job doing on it) The flat roof was priced at about the same for a limmured one.
The downside was i had to keep a tiny bit of flat roof thanks to the party wall act -

then my neighbour decided that the lead flashing looked ugly and re worked it and the result was...

f00l

[RichardW]

Cheers Marty, I saw your tribulations with the extension! I think flat is the way to go for ours, since trying to build a pitched roof would involve knocking an existing one (including the 3' thick gable end) down, planning poermission, and discussions with building control exactly how it was 5 ton of concrete fell under the back wall (which had NO foundations before) without the building inspector getting a look in

Hope everybody gets through this storm unscathed. We are pretty much in the centre of the low, so no wind and it was snowing when I left this morning. I have a bit of amateur interest in the weather and have a weather station - it was showing <935 mbar this morning, and still falling (we are 200m ASL though). Wonder what it will fall to today?

No Citroen stuff done again.... did remove the first of 2 doors in the house my wife has decided are surplus to requriements, and got it framed out ready for plasterboarding next weekend. Hundred squid for a few bits of 3x2 and a couple of trellis panels in B&Q. Robbing gits!

Good excuse to go and buy a battery powered drill / screwdriver though

[RichardW]

Pressure got down to 931.9 mbar - bit disappointed (yes, I am THAT sad!) that it didn't get below 930 mbar. Thought we were in for another try today but the low seems to have tracked north of Scotland now.

As Phil, I've been driving the ZX TD a bit recently (something to do with my Wife being able to drive the Xantia but not the ZX in a favourite pair of boots ). Despite being nearly 14 years old it really is good fun to drive. It just seems to feel right, and makes driving a pleasure. It does need a new set of drop links though. The ride is, however, not a patch on a BX - I do have a lot of nostaliga for the BX, but maybe I'd be disappointed if I had another one - I think the ZX will have to stay as a stand in (I do not fancy changing another clutch....!).

Hope the weather improves soon, need to get on with some car maintenance to get Xantia through MOT!

[RichardW]

Still nothing Citroen-esque done - although I did see a Traction in the car park at Anoch Mor chair lift at the weekend! We spend a nice weekend in the Highlands - but why are there so many dimwits who can only drive at 40 on straight dry roads in the day light

Spent most of yesterday trailing round trying to find matching skirting boards to finish off the door removal project - no hope. Can find the right profile, height and thickness, just not all in the same board! Well hacked off with the job now - next time my wife mentions "just" "remove" and "doors" in the same sentence, I shall take the sensible option and nash off to the pub with my fingers in my ears!

[RichardW]

Yay! Some Citroen stuff done! Changed the track rod ends on the Xantia in prep for the MOT. Realised that this is the ideal place to track (ha ha no pun... ) maintenance. So: 62,900, new TREs on Xantia.

Realised new tyres required on the front - bit marginal for the MOT - they seem to have worn a bit oddly and are thin in the middle - but I'm more than sure they're not overpressure! New ones on order for fitment Sat - can always put the spare on to get a ticket on it.

[docchevron]

can always put the spare on to get a ticket on it.

OR.....

you could weigh it in and buy a BX!

Sorry mate, couldn't resist.. The Penguin made me do it...

The tyre thing sounds like an over inflated tyre, although it could be that they've lost their integrity, I've seen it before on commercial stuff.
Never seen it ona car though...

[RichardW]

Well I won't have to weigh it in, since it now has a shiny new ticket - and shiny new front tyres (although the ticket was gained without needing the tyres)

So, Xantia: 63,100 MOT, New front Tyres, new airfilter.

Somewhen I must make time to fit the new drop links to the ZX. Next weekend maybe if it doesn't snow....

[RichardW]

More than a month since I updated - what have I been doing? Not much really....

I did change the oil and air filter in the ZX at the weekend (89,600). Wife was complaining it was vibrating a bit above 70 - drove it yesterday - was awful at more than 65 and unbearable above 75, so thought I'd better have a look at it. The tread was delaminating on the OSR tyre - about half the width and nearly 9" long, standing nearly 1/2" proud - no wonder it was vibrating Found the OSR brake not working very well so stripped the pads out of that and gave them a good greasing, then fitted the spare - which had a new rim fitted a couple of weeks ago, but was still flat Pumped it up but it has gone down overnight, so shoved some tyre weld in it, but it still seems to be going down. Bar Steward - don't want to have to buy 2 new tyres..... Still got to fit the drop links, and the FNS brake is dragging a bit, so that needs a strip out too

We did have a bit of 'fun' in the house though - my Dad in action:



Used to have a Baxi back boiler in there, but I put new CH in last year, and fitted a new condensing boiler in the loft, and the Baxi Fire front didn't meet with the approval of the Art Department.

We are now left with:



So, all have to do now is rebuild it, and install the new wood burning stove

Off on holiday week after next though - sailing on the Caledonian canal - hopefully not too many midges, or too much rain!

[docchevron]

Holy crap!
Your dad is arther brave, belting away with the stereo sat there all unprotected and looking worried!

Last time I tried something like that I damn near felled the house....