Team Green Tiger - BX19TGD - Back on the road

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 11:46 pm

Can't you enlist the help of the Welsh gang to keep your car on the road? surely some beer would sort it out, & like you say, it does good mpg & hasn't cost loads to own, what can actually replace it???

Tricky one if you ask me, you could spend a grand on another heap & spend another grand keeping that on the road, you might get lucky though?

kermit the frog · Post by **kermit the frog** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 8:48 am

Hi Ian
I have to agree with Mulley on this one it's a case of better the devil you know.
I think since you have owned the Green Tiger you must have rectified nearly all the common faults,
So providing there are no major rust issues i would keep the car going.
As Mulley says it is economical and I am sure there are club members down your way that will help keep it going.

Regards Kermit/Phil

Dollywobbler · Post by **Dollywobbler** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 11:01 am

I'm not really a fan of the known devil though - I've already owned over 30 cars. I like to change. It's a true credit to the BX that I have enjoyed it for as long as I have.

toddao · Post by **toddao** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 7:40 pm

You have to really love it to save it Ian. That is quite a lot of work potentially - I had all the same issues. Problem is I can't see anyone else doing it either.
I've been locked into the 'restoration' of my BX Break now for almost two frozen months and the end is still not in sight. I'm doing it because it's such a rare model and I love it. Even so, everyone here tells me it's scrap and I should get another car!

I think that most people in the club are running examples that have been well looked after/preserved and slowly we're hitting the rot thresholds now and that decision to fix an almost worthless car has to be made..

Dollywobbler · Post by **Dollywobbler** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 8:05 pm

It's tricky for me. I use my cars hard, all-year-round and preservation costs money. The 2CV costs me plenty in bodywork servicing, but it's so easy to work on that I can live with it. I'd be quite scared of stripping the BX down to its bodyshell by comparison.

I could always give it a full resto and drop a turbo lump in I s'pose, if I want to have a bit more oomph, and deal with any other issues at the same time...

Dollywobbler · Post by **Dollywobbler** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 10:42 pm

I seem to have run out of money this month, so quite pleased that the BX is still here. It has a full tank of fuel... (and looks good because I actually washed it yesterday!)

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 11:17 pm

That is good. And a useful lesson too

cast aside the thoughts of abandoning the BX! If you wanted to you could patch up/get reparied the bits that will stop it doing the job it's good at - and allow it to survive a couple more years - and then concentrate on giving it oomph/practicality: An set of good all-weather tyres (e.g. Vredestein QUATRAC 3) and investing in a bottle of Millers Cetane booster

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 11:38 pm

I reckon you should buy it Phil, you were saying you wanted a white BX for your trip! Fair enough, so it's not a hatch but apart from that minor detail it'd be an ideal car for you...

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 11:40 pm

Sadly, doesn't fit in with my plans

Dollywobbler · Post by **Dollywobbler** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:35 pm

Well, she's still here and proving very useful! 250 miles last week (in a day), 200 miles yesterday and a likely 260 mile trip at the weekend too. Clutch doesn't seem to have much bite in it, but pointless worrying about it until it actually slips. At least the coolant leak seems fully sorted. For now...

Dollywobbler · Post by **Dollywobbler** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:42 pm

Meant to be camping at the weekend. Forecast is pretty horrific so we've decided to turn the BX into a camper! Well, sort of. With the rear seat bases out, there's room to just-about get our self-inflating mat in the back, so that'll do as the BX needs neither putting up nor pegging down. Yes, camping a la Fenwick!

Haven't slept in a BX since 1998 - that was a hatchback, and horribly uncomfortable!

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:15 pm

Dollywobbler wrote:Yes, camping a la Fenwick!

Not sure whether to be pleased that I appear to have given my name to a style of camping, or embarrassed about being such a tightwad...

Dollywobbler · Post by **Dollywobbler** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:24 pm

Not a tightwad, economical! It has to be for us as we appear to be absolutely skint. A bloody good job we actually sold the old house before Christmas...

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:37 pm

Cut some black card to window shapes and, using stick on velcro pads you get a black out too. Run one of the expanding spring curtain rods above the front seat backs, with a sheet/curtain over it and job's a good 'un.

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:59 pm

Or sleep with your head under the parcel shelf - stays pretty dark but you have to make sure you don't suddenly sit up in the night!