I did something stupid.....

[toddao]

There's a possible lead on some sills here in Germany. Tomorrow I will try to phone these people. I need two anyway - we just need to confirm that they still supply as some items they list are no longer available.

[Aerodynamica]

What exactly do you mean when you say its (FDV) isnt working properly? Heavy steering or something more sinister?

The FDv is doing the right job of supplying the steering with the large flow of LHM it uses while also supplying the pressure regulator with the pump's flow interrupted each. But, there's a little symptom. The regulator sometimes doesn't reach cut out (click noise) while the engine is at idle and with all other things repaired or replaced, the FDv is the single only device left. (also this symptom never happens on other Citroens like GSA or DSor CX etc and they do not use the FDV. I did strip and rebuild the FDV and found the 2 filters full of crap (see thread) but still it persisted. You can hear the pump pumping and the dull hssssss noise through the FDV but the regulator never reaches 'click' unless you raise the revs. I reckoned the HP pump was not delivering enough flow to cope with the dividing feature of the FDV but with a new pump, belt (banjo string tightness) and new LHM, filters and accumulator, it had massively improved but never fully resolved. I raised the engine idle speed a bit to improve it (this worked but 1000rpm was not a good idle speed I thought)

I had an lpg garage at Thirsk recommended to me so i think ill use them for the tank (i was thinking a cylindrical one and hopefully closer to the seats/back of boot) and i guess a 'mixer' as well. I presume you too were thinking of a cylindrical tank?

Well, I have a cylinder tank in the CX, an 80litre item and it's BIG. The BX doesn't require a tank of this volume due to its consumption, a toroid tank can be got up to 60l and this can be fitted under the boot by removing the spare tyre and cage (2 mins job). The tank will have to be properly secured to get its safety inspection though. If you want the simple life and just want to slap in a cylinder tank then to maintain useable bootspace I'd fit the cylinder to one side (sensibly, the opposite side to the driver.)

You dont think that the extra weight of the lpg (lpg fuel+lpg tank) would cause problems for the rear arm bearings do you? I know that hydraulic Cits can take a lot of weight but the weight would be permanently there. (yeah i know a hypothetical question).

Absolutely not!! those bearings can take exceptional loads. The suspension system itself is perfect for carrying a heavy load all the times and will cope perfectly with the tank - car should feel the same and will be at the same height as before.

When i go see it on wednesday is there anything i should specifically look out for?

No, just what's been mentioned - if the sills now need work then check the sills, check all the lights work, and I'd have a close look at the condition of the tyres as they were old looking when I had it (unless James changed them) check the steering moves smoothly from lock to lock.

Otherwise enjoy .

The correct way to start it on LPG is to switch the switch to G - gas, turn on the ignition and the switch will light up showing the gas level. It goes out automatically, turn off ignition and back on, it goes out again so repeat once more. Press the accelerator to the floor and switch on the ignition try the starter until it fires up and release the accel. It should run.

If the car is already hot and was on gas then starting should just be foot to the floor and starter til it fires.

Switch in middle position it will not start.

Switch at petrol position try to start up as normal.

Changing from petrol to gas. running on petrol at idle, switch the switch from petrol to the middle position and leave to idle. Raise the revs and hold until the carb runs out of petrol - give a rev just before it splutters out to clear the accelerator pump jets. Then switch to gas and switch ignition off and on twice then start as on gas with foot to the floor.

Switching from gas to petrol, can almost be done by switching straight over to petrol while running but with a pause in the middle it can catch on petrol before the gas cuts. But it's best to switch the gas off to the middle switch position, it will cut out, switch to petrol and attampt to start - it'll take a few cranks to get the petrol to fill the carb but it should start.

I don't know if James ran it on gas or petrol - I presume he was not using gas if he had carb probs (carb probs do not affect LPG) so maybe the gas tank is empty.

Anyway, I'll keep you right - just holler.

[macplaxton]

There's a possible lead on some sills here in Germany. Tomorrow I will try to phone these people. I need two anyway - we just need to confirm that they still supply as some items they list are no longer available.

Worth checking ATP Autoteile.

They come up on the Hadrian catalogue too?

[DavidRutherford]

I’ve been warned by our mechanic who is picking it up now that it “isn’t in quite as good a condition as I’d hoped”.

It strikes me that your mechanic needs to re-assess his definition of "a good 25-year-old BX" as that was one of the best Mk1 BX's I've seen in a fair while. Granted, that was a while ago now, but the issues you've listed as second-hand information from your mechanic sound minor. It also sounds to me like you need to see the car yourself rather than relying on second-hand information. One man's "poor" condition is another man's "good useable" condition. This forum is littered with people complaining about the condition of a vehicle they have just bought "un-seen", "without appropriate information" or "without someone there who knows what they are looking at", and I do hope this isn't another thread like that......

I will look and see if those two doors are still here. It's been a while now, but I might still have them. No guarantees about condition, as they may well have deteriorated due to being stored outside off the car for as long as they have been.

[toddao]

macplaxton wrote

Worth checking ATP Autoteile.

Are you in Germany then mac? That's actually a good one. I hadn't looked there.
TB2 phoned the other suppliers yesterday and they said no-one had ordered any BX sills since 2006 so it was unlikely they could get hold of any. They haven't phoned back.. so?

[PhilGreaves]

Hi everyone.

Thanks for the researching it Todd it is very good of you. In case you do find some, where abouts are you in Germany? Thanks too to macplaxton I’ll pass the details onto the garage to see what they think. Naturally ill be sure to put up anything he says about sills and availability here as others are interested.

Hi David Rutherford- did you get my pm?

I’ll have to admit I’m not sure which thread/s you mean in particular David because I’m a new member and haven’t really had time to read much on here (busy reading for my coursework!). But to clarify I’m certainly not complaining about the condition of the car, nor am i for that matter complaining about the seller. James was very honest both about his intentions and the condition of the car. As for the second hand information it came from an experienced and qualified mechanic (im neither nor do i claim to be!!). All i wanted is based on what he has said some advice, mainly about parts availability.

I’d also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who’s contributed advice so far or even just said hi it makes us newbies feel very welcome!

Whilst i admit we bought it unseen and some may say that’s stupid our reason for buying it was precisely because of its history and the amount of work it has had done. Even if that work was done a while back now. I suppose in an ideal world id have liked to have gone down with my mate so that he could give it a thorough inspection first, but unfortunately he was busy that weekend. So i took a risk and used a mechanic i haven’t met. It’s not as crazy as it sounds because i found out about him through the Citroen Car Club as i was looking for someone to take over the maintenance of my mum’s Xantia and he came highly recommended by several of my friends. He/his garage have been maintaining the Xantia for about 6 months now and so far there have been no problems nor do i expect there will be.

As I’ve never met the mechanic and am not qualified myself i think it would be foolish for me at only 21 to comment on/disagree with his definition of a ‘good’ bx when he is an experienced mechanic with experience in restoration. My experience with restoration extends only as far as woodwork on an old coach with my aforemention friend. Although i agree with you that opinions as to condition will obviously vary between people.

Thanks very much for looking into the doors, if you could let me know condition, price and a rough location/pick up point that would be great thank you.

Talking of parts and availability, is the only place to get new rear quarter lights from Citroen UK?

Out of interest does anyone know how many mk1 BXs there are left on the road?

Thanks
Regards
Phil

[Defender110]

Very nicely put young Phil and I am sure you'l find you havent made a mistake. It is very heartening to know young sensible men like yourself are coming into the BX fold. A warm welcome to you, I look forward to hearing how you get on. Well done on your purchase and good luck.

[Aerodynamica]

Talking of parts and availability, is the only place to get new rear quarter lights from Citroen UK?

As far as I'm aware Cit UK no longer supply these. I think Tim Leech, BX Columnist got about the last pair in the universe for his Mk1 GT. (he was ever so smug when he showed me these at last year's CCC national rally!)

Best option is to find a late BX TZD, or ultra rare TXi with good 1/4 windows and use a piano wire to cut the bonding sealer used to attach them (take an afternoon off to do this)

Funnily enough, I tried to buff out the driver side one after a guy named Malcolm said they used to use successive grades of wet and dry paper to polish them up - I PHailed in this task and ended up with a transluscent window with no dark tint so I just bashed some matt black spray paint on it to cover it. The nearside 1/4 window is untouched however.

Keep an eye on the water level on this car - the rad level would need topped up of a week but there was no sign (obvious) of head gasket leaking so I think a simple radiator weepage or heater weeping might be the cause - coupled with the fact that the little low level warning was broken, you could end up not noticing the low level.

(how often do you get a new old car complete with a running commentory of it's recent history!!?)

[macplaxton]

macplaxton wrote

Worth checking ATP Autoteile.

Are you in Germany then mac? That's actually a good one. I hadn't looked there.
TB2 phoned the other suppliers yesterday and they said no-one had ordered any BX sills since 2006 so it was unlikely they could get hold of any. They haven't phoned back.. so?

No, but I ordered some DAF 66 outer sills from them around 2006/07. Didn't kill me for the postage either to the UK - I would have thought they'd have been surcharged being 1.7m long. Certainly the box volumetric weight was 31.5kg!

Those DAF sills were manufactured by Warny of Belgium. (www.warny.be)

I'm in Dublin now, and I've bought plenty of stuff round the yoyozone (thanks to Euro transfers being 50 cents rather than £8 to £35). Germany mainly, but also Netherlands, France and even Finland.

[PhilGreaves]

Thanks very much for the info guys and hopefully you will all get rewarded with a photo....however ive never uploaded one before so..(dont worry ive found the sticky)...erm except the creenshot have disappeared ..hmm..




my god i think its worked- at least in preview. Wow...even a total dimwit like me can do it...there you go behold a BX mark 1. Very rare of course, almost as rare as a flying h van...oh wait...

Apparently the mechanic Graham Morton (formally of M&M Motors) has worked on many of them before and knows his stuff very well. He is also an excellent welder...which is gonig to be exceedingly useful.

[Dollywobbler]

Cor, nice to see it again. Came very close to buying this myself but couldn't quite justify more than one BX.

[PhilGreaves]

Well the front is the best view no rust with all that plastic bonnet.

As for the sills Graham might actually have some himself. He couldnt remember if he scrapped them or not . (ill keep you posted Todd).

I would post a pic of the sills but theyre still loading....yet they loaded to facebook fine...

Don't worry im not going to start bombarding you all with photos- ha ha ive got loads.

So the rust issues are;
-Rust on drivers door (actually has no bottom edge/corner). Rear offside (i.e one remaining original) door actually not too bad.
-Rust on front wings. New ones supplied.
-Rust on sill where joins wheel arch (visable when opening rear door)
-Rust on A pillar (half way updrivers side)
-Rust on near side rear quarter panel.
-small rust bubbles behind/above the rear lights.
-To be honest probs a few more scrapes etc due to the age of the car but the above are the main issues.

Underneath solid!!

Then theres the non rust issues;
-Rubber on doors doesnt match semi perished rubber on rear wheel arch.
-Rubber on door windows have shrunk (by 2cm!!) leaving a gap for water to get in...in fact its probably easier to simply say i need any rubber/plastic trim!!!
-Windscreen has started to delaminate
-All seats dirty and the front ones are stained whilst the drivers side is baggy and has collapsed. (Still more comfy than a saxo though )
-Bumpers worn/split. Probably repairable but i was told to look out for new ones anyway.
-Rear inertia seats belts are...well erm..useless. Theyre just sprawled all over the seat.
-Front number plates cracked/crazed. To be expected on a car of this age. But how did it pass an mot with these two isues?!

Plan of action is cam belt, oil change and general check over. Then take it to the CCC rallies to collect parts. I'll be at the national with it but my parents may take it to Whetherby, i wont be there because ill be having exams . Then give parts and car to Graham to get out, weld and respray for the cost of...well.

Therefore parts/advice i require upon are;
-interior. I could ideally do with new seats etc. But what could i do in the mean time about cleaning it? Anybody know anything about cleaning?! Best fluids etc.
-Rubber trim, plastic bits etc. Interior/exterior. So those bits of rubber around the door windows and bits along the side. Stuff like that.
-Door/s.
-Advice on the above really!

If anyones interested id have no problem recommending Graham to other members/enthusiasts having now seen up close what he can do (pm for phone number). Graham will also look at a car and give you an honest opinion rather than just tell you "its aint worth nowt!! Why bother?? etc". Generally he's a very nice chap and highly skilled. He's got experience working on CXs,BXs,XMs, DSs, Mercs, Discos and Defenders etc. All sorts really. He is located at Holbridge near Holmfirth where Last of the Summer wine was filmed.

I mentiond the FDV problem/possible problem and he said he'd keep an eye on it but in any case he has one spare somewhere. He'll also keep an eye on ther water loss issue.

Sill photos etc to follow...

[Aerodynamica]

-Rear inertia seats belts are...well erm..useless. Theyre just sprawled all over the seat.
-Front number plates cracked/crazed. To be expected on a car of this age. But how did it pass an mot with these two isues?!

Easy! a 1984 car doesn't legally require rear belts at all. (incidentally, they're not intertia reel belts, they're static type.

When I had this car, the previous MOT had an advisory for 'front No. plate 'deteriorated'. The MOT I took it for (should still be with the car) I think stated something similar so it must be that number plates are still Kosher if they're legible.

Btw, this BX is named 'Cyril' 'XRL = 'Cyril' (sort of.... )

[Tim Leech]

Talking of parts and availability, is the only place to get new rear quarter lights from Citroen UK?

As far as I'm aware Cit UK no longer supply these. I think Tim Leech, BX Columnist got about the last pair in the universe for his Mk1 GT. (he was ever so smug when he showed me these at last year's CCC national rally!)

Nope, only got one, still on the hunt for a drivers side!

Like the H van strapped to the roof!

[PhilGreaves]

aahh...id forgotten about that. But come to think of it my dad's fuego didnt have any seat belts at all- lol i remember bouncing up and down on the back seats as a child....wish these photos would load to photobucket....just keeps stalling.

But you're right about the number plates being border line/advisory. He said he wouldve failed it for that if he was MoTing it because its so badly cracked now...guess its one of those things that depends on the tester.

i take it then that the rear seat belts can just be tightened up like a buckle depending upon the size of the rear occupent? I Didnt really examine the rear seatbelts throughly! Was too busy sitting in the front. oh and the all round electric windows still work when i found the switches in my defence its been...15 years since our last one!

The other funy thing is i never asked..how did he get a Hvan up there...hmmm..