It's here! My 1987 19TRS Auto.

[rayfenwick]

Well, as most of you know, I bought E141 WHR - the 19TRS Auto that a few of you have owned in the past from eBay for just £100 while I was in Malta. On Saturday (1st May) I collected it, with the help of my brother as second driver/stuntman (in case the BX was ill) while I piloted the XM on the way home, and SWMBO for general encouragement and bemused looks.

After about an hour of going round a small village in the middle of nowhere-on-the moors whilst Tomtom tried to send the XM up trails that would have scared a mountain goat, we eventually found the place (with the help of the local postman) and were greeted by a friendly seller, his equally friendly and Citroen-addicted family, some psychotic geese - and a row of Citroens.

Brother and I looked over the BX, which started well, rose quickly and smoothly, and although there were a couple of differences from the listing pictures (a swapped rear light, possibly both, missing wheel-trims and the cubby hole door-thing under the coin holder/ashtray/door indicator panel) I was quite happy to hand over the money.

After much nattering, a look over a CX that had been sitting there for years and someone else had bought (probably for the number plate), a cup of tea for us and a jerrycan of unleaded for the BX, and it was time to head for home, me leading in the XM with Tomtom directing/confusing me through the nasty tangle of roundabouts before we refuelled the cars, added air to the BX's front tyres (9 and 22 PSI, rear were at 33 each and had to be let down a little..) refuelled ourselves at McDonalds, and headed for the motorway.

My brother soon got tired of sitting behind me at 70 or so, and when the way was clear he overtook and for a while I was following him at a GPS 99MPH (my Tomtom was clearly faulty if you're reading this, officer...) as he was by now quite satisfied with the car, and curious about what it would do (though he assures me it had some still in reserve). The only concern was a strange thumping noise when he opened the window at speed, which later turned out to be the tailgate glass hovering in the tailgate, as it is only held on at the top!!

The journey home was uneventful, and the car seems perfectly happy. The idle was fast (somewhere near 2000(!) ) but I've knocked that down to something more sensible, and the autobox is much happier. The only mechanical gremlin that's come to light so far is a squeaky LHM pump-belt, but I've not tried to adjust that yet, so there's nothing to report.

Rust-wise, it seems great so far, with only the rear wing with the fuel-filler in it giving much concern in the preparation for the MOT.

So, the issues/questions are (in no order, and as I think of them...)

Rotten rear wing



Could be repaired at a push, but a replacement would be much more sensible. I see it's spot-welded on - has anyone replaced one without a spot-welder? Puddle-welded, perhaps?

Rear lights



RHS looks ok, and is dark-smoked. LHS is green smoked, and has a piece missing.

Rear wiper arm
Completely missing. Motor seems to work fine, though.

Wheels
Steel wheels seem ok, but look rough. I've thought about speedlines, but I'm not sure about sizes, and the talk of unobtainium metric tyres is scary - which ones should I be on the look-out for? (for now, hammerited steelies will do for the MOT)

Speakers



The speaker covers in the front doors have been hacked about somewhat to fit some non-standard speakers that don't fit - I'd like to replace the grilles (and the speakers). Talking of speakers, there are no rear ones. Did some other models have rear speakers? Has anyone done anything DIY about this? I want it to look original, and not Max-Power There are spaces for dash-tweeters, but no tweeters...



Stereo



There was nothing but an ugly hole in the dash when I collected the car, but there was some wires for a stereo. I want to sort it out properly, but for now an electrical-taped harness is connected to the radio-cassette I took out of my XM and it works ok, however there's no proper fascia/surround and the stereo is just shoved in the hole - what should be there?

Ok, that's it for now... if anyone has any advice or any of the parts I need available then please let me know. A few years ago I'd have just gone mad on eBay, but as I'm now on long-term sick money's tight, so any help would be gratefully received. I'm not asking for charity, just explaining why I'm asking on here at all. As for help and advice - that's priceless!
Thanks all.

Finally.. it feels good to have a BX at last - I've wanted one for about 17 years...

[scrappydoo]

Wheels
Steel wheels seem ok, but look rough. I've thought about speedlines, but I'm not sure about sizes, and the talk of unobtainium metric tyres is scary - which ones should I be on the look-out for? (for now, hammerited steelies will do for the MOT)

The GTI/TZD/16v type Speedlines take conventional non-metric tyres so that hopefully shouldn't be an issue, some of the earlier Series 1 BX's had mertic alloys and they can be very expensive to find tyres for.

Stereo
There was nothing but an ugly hole in the dash when I collected the car, but there was some wires for a stereo. I want to sort it out properly, but for now an electrical-taped harness is connected to the radio-cassette I took out of my XM and it works ok, however there's no proper fascia/surround and the stereo is just shoved in the hole - what should be there?

There should be a hinged plate which cleverly hides the stereo if you close it. I've got one spare that came with my '87 GTI if you want it, not sure the spring works too well anymore but it'll sure do the job of ensuring theres a stereo surround.

[rayfenwick]

The GTI/TZD/16v type Speedlines take conventional non-metric tyres so that shouldn't be an issue.

That's good news, then. There's a set on ebay now, (if they're the right size?) but the postage is terrible as they are in Ireland.

There should be a hinged plate which cleaverly hides the stereo if you close it. I've got one spare that came with my '87 GTI if you want it, not sure the spring works too well anymore but it'll sure do the job of ensuring theres a stereo surround.

That'd be great! Any chance of a photo?

[MULLEY]

Only some models had the rear & tweeter speakers fitted. The rear speakers were absolute rubbish anyway. I'd recommend fitting 6x9's in the rear parcel shelf, that's what i've got & they are ace. I didn't bother with tweeters as that was going to be extra expense for only a little bit of benefit imho.

I'd keep the front speakers as they are, they certainly look better quality than what would have originally been fitted. How about building up the grill so that it then fits flush with the current speakers? That would save the expense of replacing the speakers.

[rayfenwick]

Only some models had the rear & tweeter speakers fitted. The rear speakers were absolute rubbish anyway. I'd recommend fitting 6x9's in the rear parcel shelf, that's what i've got & they are ace.

I'm not surprised that the rear speakers were a bit naff, but would like to know how/where they were positioned. 6x9's are a bit intrusive for what I'd like to do with the car.. I have some nice Blaupunkt co-axial 5" units with nice grilles that wouldn't look OTT, but part of me is leaning to period speakers - maybe some decent units in original surrounds - but I don't know what the original rear speakers were like, or where they were placed. I don't really want to hack holes in the parcel shelf if I can help it.

I didn't bother with tweeters as that was going to be extra expense for only a little bit of benefit imho.

Dash tweeters make a huge difference for the money (if you pay more than £15/pair you've been robbed...), and I'd like to put some decent replacement bass/mids in the original grilles, with dash tweeters doing the high stuff. Still if you have 2 or 3 way speakers on your parcel shelf you may well not need the tweeters...

I'd keep the front speakers as they are, they certainly look better quality than what would have originally been fitted. How about building up the grill so that it then fits flush with the current speakers? That would save the expense of replacing the speakers.

The front's are a bit chav for my tastes, and a bit modern for the car. Plus, having tweeters at shin level is hardly ideal - I have a background in sound engineering, used to manage a hi-fi shop, and have done live sound work and CD mastering in studios, so I have fair idea of what's possible between looking factory and sounding halfway decent.

You've given me some ideas though, so many thanks for that

[rayfenwick]

I forgot.. After reading it somewhere on this forum, I did a little modification on the gearstick surround so that the gear indicator is now next to the driver and not hidden by the gearstick. Hope you like:



It was fairly straightforward, and it's easy to see what to do when you take the panel out, but if anyone wants any advice on it, feel free to ask.

[Tim Leech]

Glad she made it, I did the same thing to mine, yours looks a better job though! Good luck.

[MULLEY]

Ray, i'll take some photo's of whereabouts my 6x9's are located to give you some food for thought. I must admit, you mention that you've got bit of an audio background, yet the stereo that you've got fitted isn't high-end & you're on about fitting dash tweeters to it, erm ever heard of the saying, rubbish in rubbish out?

I must admit that i've not listened to any stereo in the bx with the 6 speaker set-up, except the one in my gti & tzd, & whilst i can't vouch that the dash tweeters were any good, it really didn't seem to add much at all. But i'm a firm believer of listening before denouncing what someone says, unless i've done it myself, which i haven't on this occassion. I look forward to seeing what you decide to do with your set-up & having a listen if you go to one of the meets. I do hope i'm right, i could do without having to buy some tweeters

My 6x9's are 3 way's & my fronts are 2 way's, so perhaps i'm fully tweetered up already

[rayfenwick]

Ray, i'll take some photo's of whereabouts my 6x9's are located to give you some food for thought.

Thanks for that.

I must admit, you mention that you've got bit of an audio background, yet the stereo that you've got fitted isn't high-end & you're on about fitting dash tweeters to it, erm ever heard of the saying, rubbish in rubbish out?

I certainly have heard that saying, and it is quite right. I did say the setup was "for now", and plan to replace the head unit with something a bit nicer, definitely CD based, and probably a period Blaupunkt, as I'm a fan of their understated designs that look really OE. In this case the stereo (made by Philips for the Series 2 XM 6 speaker setup) actually has a pretty good sound over all) but it isn't staying, don't worry

I must admit that i've not listened to any stereo in the bx with the 6 speaker set-up, except the one in my gti & tzd, & whilst i can't vouch that the dash tweeters were any good, it really didn't seem to add much at all. But i'm a firm believer of listening before denouncing what someone says, unless i've done it myself, which i haven't on this occassion. I look forward to seeing what you decide to do with your set-up & having a listen if you go to one of the meets. I do hope i'm right, i could do without having to buy some tweeters

I think you'll be fine with the setup you have - you should only ever be able to hear one set of tweeters at a time (depending on whether you're sitting front or back) or else your soundstage will be somewhat odd...

My 6x9's are 3 way's & my fronts are 2 way's, so perhaps i'm fully tweetered up already

My thoughts exactly. I hope to get a listen sometime also

[toddao]

Ray wrote

Did some other models have rear speakers?

I've never known a model that had factory rear speakers but both my TRD and 16v have speaker recesses in the C-pillar, just next to where a passengers ear would be in the back! They have little round grilles over the holes but no speakers.
I fitted some small speakers in my estate in the similarly sized recesses and they're never going to 'shake the street' but they add a good balance to the overall sound.
I'm not an 'ICE' obsessive - I just have radio/cassette and accept that over 130 kmph I can't hear anything anyway!

Car looks good by the way - good luck with its re-hab.

[rayfenwick]

I've never known a model that had factory rear speakers but both my TRD and 16v have speaker recesses in the C-pillar, just next to where a passengers ear would be in the back! They have little round grilles over the holes but no speakers.

I'm guessing that's where the polycarbonate windows are on mine... I should probably try to keep them, although part of me prefers the solid C pillars... Hmmm.

I fitted some small speakers in my estate in the similarly sized recesses and they're never going to 'shake the street' but they add a good balance to the overall sound.

Exactly the lines I'm thinking on. At the moment all the sound is coming from the front footwell - hardly ideal.

I'm not an 'ICE' obsessive - I just have radio/cassette and accept that over 130 kmph I can't hear anything anyway!

Car looks good by the way - good luck with its re-hab.

Thanks. I am really pleased so far, though there is a puddle under the front that has taken longer than the rest of the rain to dry up. It feels like water, and doesn't smell of anything, but has a slight oily sheen in the sunlight. Ihaven't looked yet, but as there's a lot of LHM on the outside of the reservoir and surrounding area it could just be rain washing this down. I'll keep you all posted.

[mat_fenwick]

I'm almost certain Todd's TRD had the smoked C pillars, I'm sure it's not a case of one or the other. They are only 4" speakers so should fit in OK.

I think the logic for putting separate speakers in the dash is because the high frequency sounds are more directional, so it helps to have them closer to your ears. Whether it makes a noticeable difference in a moving car is another matter...
I think the door speakers are not firmly mounted enough - so that energy is lost by vibrating the door panel rather than projecting outwards. So if your modified door panels are better in that respect I'd be tempted to keep them.

[toddao]

Mat wrote

I'm almost certain Todd's TRD had the smoked C pillars,

correct sir! More like crazed old 80s plastic! The speaker recesses are in front of these. I wonder why they stopped fitting them? To save € 0.23 ( Francs in those days ) per side!

[rayfenwick]

Well I've had a look, and forgive me if I am being dim, but I can't see where the speakers would go in/near the C-pillars... am I missing something?

[toddao]

Looking at the picture - to the top left of the placcy window is where the recess was on the early models. There's not much clearance behind it so you would have to get very shallow speakers ( I'm sure Citroen did fit some as they made these holes and grilles for some purpose.)
If it helps I can take a pic of the set-up in my TRD?