Went to Bristol today......

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demag
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Went to Bristol today......

Post by demag »

....... And came back with G818XPO! I've been talking to the owner for a few weeks and did the deed today. Caught the train to Temple Meads and met James who bought it from Campbell. Wifey came for the ride and wanted to look round the harbour. Just what I needed strange car straight into city traffic looking for a car park. All went well and we wandered round in the (cold) sunshine for an hour before heading home.

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Dave.

2004 C5 Exclusive Estate 2.2hdi automatic.
1990 Bx TGS automatic.
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JayW
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Re: Went to Bristol today......

Post by JayW »

You got lucky, normally there are only 2 things to venture to Brizzle for... The works of IKB and the Lord Doc Almighty :)
I have zero patience for your tedium.
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demag
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Re: Went to Bristol today......

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First impressions are: It's a bit tired looking and needs some tlc. We pulled some moss from it and the paint is flat and windows green at the edges. The back seat cushion has got a 40mm tear on the passenger side and the parcel shelf is missing a hinge on the driver side. The back seats are also water stained from a leaking sunroof (now sorted). The wheeltrims are all there but marked and a bit shabby. I'm sure they'll clean up ok though. It has four good tyres and the brakes which felt a bit wooden at first seemed to improve as we drove home.
All the door locks are very stiff and need some lube, although the c/l works fine from both front doors, the driver's door hinges squeak.

The suspension works but seems high at the back, maybe a stiff height corrector? Accumulator tick is approx 30-40 seconds but that is a guess, it might be more. It's not an instant starter but on the other hand does start after a couple of spins. Tickover seems fine. All the electrics seem to work but the heater knobs are stiff.

The speedo doesn't work but rev counter does so on the way back I held it at about 3000 revs which I should say was about 60mph as I was slightly faster than hgv's. The throttle pedal is VERY heavy. Is that normal? I don't remember a Bx being that heavy before. Or is it to do with being auto and having the kickdown cable attached? I didn't risk a firm push on the pedal for fear of something breaking. It has the original Blaupunkt radio cassette fitted which did switch on but I didn't check for stations as we just wanted to get back. It has French style orange headlamp bulbs fitted which are slightly brighter than tea lights! :lol: They WILL be getting replaced.

The steering is reasonably light and the gear changes don't seem too bad. 1st-2nd is quiet but 2nd-3rd and 3rd-4th seem a bit noisy/thrashy. However once in 4th it pulls well and is quiet. The gear selector seems a bit vague, maybe the linkage has some wear. Once the gear is selected it's ok though.

Once we started back there were thankfully no nasty surprises and the 100 or so miles were passed in comfort apart from the heavy throttle. Traffic was very busy in places and a couple of times we were reduced to a crawl.

I will do an oil and filter change soon along with the air filter and also get some fresh Dexron ll in the box. Then hopefully get to some of the rallies and shows this year. :D

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Last edited by demag on Sun Mar 16, 2014 9:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Dave.

2004 C5 Exclusive Estate 2.2hdi automatic.
1990 Bx TGS automatic.
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demag
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Re: Went to Bristol today......

Post by demag »

If the missus hadn't come I might have arranged to meet up with a few peeps but not with her on board. :|
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citsncycles
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Re: Went to Bristol today......

Post by citsncycles »

The headlamp bulbs could be covers over standard bulbs, which are easily removed.
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themildbunch
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Re: Went to Bristol today......

Post by themildbunch »

well done - it's a nice low mileage auto -

I know this car a little, being a friend and 'bx advisor' to the previous owner...

You may know some of this already:

I'm pretty sure there's no recent cambelt history and the owner before Campbell was elderly, I think, and it stood for a while...
It's had a new radiator fan switch recently and flush but it sounds like the cooling fan(s) may need a look..

The gearbox seemed great when I rode in it, smooth changes and no flaring..
I know it's had very little use in Bristol so many of the niggles are probably related to this... the tyres were fitted not that long ago - they've probably had only 500 miles on them..
Orange lights are just the yellow glass caps over the bulbs... good Osram bulbs make them much better or they're easy to pull off.

There was a spare door with it that you may have, if you didn't get it it's in my store room in Bristol!
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Thread Bear
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Re: Went to Bristol today......

Post by Thread Bear »

JayW wrote:You got lucky, normally there are only 2 things to venture to Brizzle for... The works of IKB and the Lord Doc Almighty :)
I say, steady on. It was always known for its friendly and attractive young ladies. Maybe times change!

Throttle action on my Auto is not heavy, I would say. Be interesting to get these two cars together as they are near sister cars.

Mine feels like it needs a coolant flush but I have yet to see the best way to do this as I am reluctant to remove original clips. Getting there though. Use is what they need.
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demag
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Re: Went to Bristol today......

Post by demag »

James was a really nice genuine bloke and I hope I'm not giving the impression I've been fleeced cos I didn't mean that. It was obvious it had been standing a while and I'm sure the drive home did it a power of good. I think the first thing is a good cut and polish and it will look loads better then. I have to sort some insurance so I can keep it mobile. Yes cam belt soon as well. I fancy using some Dynax on it. Has anyone tried it?

Yes lots of pretty young things by Bristol harbour!

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1990 Bx TGS automatic.
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Tim Leech
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Re: Went to Bristol today......

Post by Tim Leech »

Having driven plenty of autos I agree with TB the throttle should be no more heavy than a manual so somethings not right.
Lots of Motors, mostly semi broken....
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demag
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Re: Went to Bristol today......

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Just popped about in it this morning. Only a couple of miles, got some strange looks. I put some Wd40 on the drivers door to stop the squeak then I noticed a couple of loose cables with multiplugs under the bonnet. One on the cambox cover and one trailing over the steering column. Both have a red and a green cable and originate from the near side gearbox area. There's a little bit of coolant near the rad filler so might try a new cap.


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2004 C5 Exclusive Estate 2.2hdi automatic.
1990 Bx TGS automatic.
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