I thought it was about time I took the BX for a nice long run, and what better excuse than to drop off a couple of parts to Mat Fenwick... And have a quick look at his very nice 205 GTi while I was there
A fairly straight forward run, with a mix of motorway, fast A-roads and sheep-lined twisting B-roads. I tried to get off the A5 as quickly as possible, and take some slightly more interesting roads. Mat suggested the A4212 and B4391, so with that in mind I programmed the sat-nav and followed his route. The first 100 miles or so flew by, and the rather nice Alpine head-unit I fitted took the edge off the monotonous 'SPECS camera' sections of the M6.
After a short stint on the A5, I entered the first section of the B4391. The first five miles were frustrating, spoiled by a fuel tanker navigating the narrow lanes at little more than walking speed (well it felt like that!). If the road had been a bit wider, I could have easily got round him, but thankfully, he pulled over when he had chance, letting me and the increasing queue of cars behind through. Having been aggressively tailgated by a Peugeot 206 through the next town, I took the opportunity to open the taps properly, for the first time. The ugly Pug quickly vanished from my mirrors and the car settled into a nice 60mph rhythm. Just as I breathed a huge sigh of relief, finally enjoying the empty road that stretched out ahead, I almost wanted to cry when a rather large, and very slow moving bus pulled out... 'Will this
madness ever end?'
Well, it did end. The road became a lot more hilly, and all but a few cars disappeared. By this point the BX had really come into its own - the steep hills weren't really a bother for the 16v engine, the handling is top-class, the ride is firm by Citroen standards, but still supple enough to deal take on the lumpy Welsh roads without even breaking a sweat. The steering is nicely weighted, providing just enough feedback... But it's the brakes that really blew me away. They inspire so much confidence, you can really lean on them. They didn't suffer from fade, having given them some serious punishment, but were just
starting to smell a bit when I arrived.
Although I've frequented this forum for nearly four years, I'd never actually met Mat (even though I'm sure we were both at the 2009 National??), but I had gathered that he was a nice enough chap who has helped me out in the past with various BX things... Well, it was nice to meet you at last, and thanks for the hospitality!
Having had a quick go in the 205 (and possibly scaring Mat slightly at the same time
), looking under the bonnet and pretending to know what I was talking about, I think I might have found my next car...
Driving the return leg of the journey was equally as rewarding, but the weather took a slight turn for the worst.
Still it was a nice drive, and really cleared the cobwebs out and gave the valver a damn good thrashing! Now the Phase 1 one is legal again, I fancy giving that a bit of a run. Anybody in the Highlands want some parts delivering?
I tried removing the old bracket from the (original Citroen by the look of it) coil, but it was the wrong shape for the new coil. I ordered a new coil off ebay, with the bracket, and will keep the GSF one as an emergency spare. 
