Another 50/50 BX to join the fold

mnde · Post by **mnde** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 11:40 am

Looks like my mate and I will soon be the proud owners of a 1990 BX14 St Tropez from eBay - no pics yet because I forgot to "watch" the auction, but it looks like a good'un, low mileage, for £74 with rent and ticket. My mate was outbid at the last minute, but contacted the seller to say we'd have it if the deal fell through. By coincidence, it turned out the winner was a timewaster with bad feedback record, who failed to collect the car and gave a phoney telephone no, so the seller's offered it to us. A bugger, because if that guy hadn't bid, we would have got it for about half that amount!! And we could have collected it from the seller yesterday...

Pics as and when! Probably quite ordinary compared to everyone's shiny zoomy diesels with PAS etc etc., but a BX nevertheless!

Mark.

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 12:09 pm

I think the no-frills 'special editions' are quite funky! I was watching a St. Tropez myself, for my brother. In the end he didn't go for it - he went fishing instaed. But I will get him in a BX one day!

I liked the lok of this too: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... %3AIT&rd=1

and I think whoever got that has themselves a nice little BX - PAS or not!

tim leech · Post by **tim leech** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:26 pm

Agreed the poverty spec bx are probably the most likely to dissapear fast as most people deman pas electric windows and central locking.

When was the last time you saw a Bx Leader!

M · Post by M » Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:39 pm

tim leech wrote:When was the last time you saw a Bx Leader!

Last Saturday in Blackburn - though it looked a well sh***ed example.

I also see a very poorly pink TGD almost every night, the state of this car makes me sure the owner isnt an enthusiast as it bounces down the road.

I also see a Hurricane regular as clockwork in the 'brig and its a minter - sadly the owner feels he has no need or time to bother with the BXClub, same for a chap called Ian who has a lovely red TZD who lives nearby and I see the car most weekends.

Hey ho...

mnde · Post by **mnde** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:57 pm

tim leech wrote:Agreed the poverty spec bx are probably the most likely to dissapear fast as most people deman pas electric windows and central locking.

When was the last time you saw a Bx Leader!

We bought a Mk1 Leader off an old lady for £20 - it was sold on and it's had a bit of work done... not sure, but it might be back up for sale soon, I've heard...

Mark.

mnde · Post by **mnde** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:02 pm

Philip chidlow wrote:I think the no-frills 'special editions' are quite funky! I was watching a St. Tropez myself, for my brother. In the end he didn't go for it - he went fishing instaed. But I will get him in a BX one day!

That was the one Philip! The one in Kent. I've just seen your post in BX Spotting.

Mark.

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:08 pm

Nice one Mark, still sounds like a right bargain! As regards less well specc`d BX`s disappearing I think it`s also probably got a lot to do with them being petrol. In fact maybe the 1.4 will out live the 1.6 because of people`s assumption that the 1.6 will cost more to run and insure and also because the 1.4 qualifies for cheaper band road tax.

M · Post by M » Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:20 pm

cavmad wrote: As regards less well specc`d BX`s disappearing I think it`s also probably got a lot to do with them being petrol.

That and the fact that being poverty spec they are often used to destruction as tehy are cheap to buy, bought as second family cars or first post test cars and maintainance is minimal or cheaply done. That and the fact even a minor mechanical malady can make them beyond economical repair thay simply get binned.

It seems cars go through three distinct ages, and its in the cars second age where they are considered "worthless" and frequently pop up in the classifieds for a few hundred pounds that the bulk of the culling is done - f'rinstance when was the last time you saw a Mk 1 or 2 Fiesta Popular? Or Mk 1 Metro 1.0L (with obligatory brown interior)?

Most effort seems to go into maintaining higher spec cars than poverty spec - which is a shame as the poverty spec or "bread and butter" cars are what the majoratory of us drive every day. Then of course cars enter that magical third age and enjoy a cult or cla$$ic status, but by then few base cars exist and its all TurboNutterGoldPlatedWithAirHornsAnd Electric Windows edition cars that are left for people to enjoy....

Ahhhh, Talbot Solaras with orange interiors... Where are me rose tinted spectacles.....

Oscar · Post by **Oscar** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:53 pm

Marty wrote:TurboNutterGoldPlatedWithAirHornsAnd Electric Windows edition cars that are left for people to enjoy....

Marty

You've seen Stewart's BX then?

O

mnde · Post by **mnde** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 4:08 pm

cavmad wrote:Nice one Mark, still sounds like a right bargain! As regards less well specc`d BX`s disappearing I think it`s also probably got a lot to do with them being petrol. In fact maybe the 1.4 will out live the 1.6 because of people`s assumption that the 1.6 will cost more to run and insure and also because the 1.4 qualifies for cheaper band road tax.

Plus the 14 has a manual choke as standard, so less prone to carb maladies. I do like my light, nippy 1.6, but it's a bit cranky on cold starts and needs a little accelerator assistance - say 2000 revs for the first 30 seconds.

One of the advantages of these light 14/16 models with soft spheres, as I see it: can anyone say that a heavier, stiffer 19D is chuckable? the TRD is quickish - but not quite chuckable... I'd like to try a 17TD!

Will prob go and collect the St Tropez at the weekend!

Will let you all know how it goes. All I know so far is that the clutch sometimes judders and could do with replacing soon, and it needs a swivel joint (lower wishbone?)

Mark.

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:13 pm

Marty wrote:
cavmad wrote: As regards less well specc`d BX`s disappearing I think it`s also probably got a lot to do with them being petrol.
That and the fact that being poverty spec they are often used to destruction as tehy are cheap to buy, bought as second family cars or first post test cars and maintainance is minimal or cheaply done. That and the fact even a minor mechanical malady can make them beyond economical repair thay simply get binned.

It seems cars go through three distinct ages, and its in the cars second age where they are considered "worthless" and frequently pop up in the classifieds for a few hundred pounds that the bulk of the culling is done - f'rinstance when was the last time you saw a Mk 1 or 2 Fiesta Popular? Or Mk 1 Metro 1.0L (with obligatory brown interior)?

Most effort seems to go into maintaining higher spec cars than poverty spec - which is a shame as the poverty spec or "bread and butter" cars are what the majoratory of us drive every day. Then of course cars enter that magical third age and enjoy a cult or cla$$ic status, but by then few base cars exist and its all TurboNutterGoldPlatedWithAirHornsAnd Electric Windows edition cars that are left for people to enjoy....

Ahhhh, Talbot Solaras with orange interiors... Where are me rose tinted spectacles.....

Spot on again Marty, all I`ll add to that is people`s willingness to then buy very rare models of certain cars and chav them up a bit. I bet there is only a handful of boggo Mk1 Sierra two door cars and early Mk2 Cavaliers that haven`t had the `Cossie` and `SRi` treatment. Ditto the Mk2 Escort where everyone now available is a `Mexico/RS200o/Sport lookalike. Lookalike being a 2.0 Pinto motor, some silly arches and a crudely welded shut sunroof.
There`s an elderly lady the other side of town who still uses her Mk2 Escort Popular (and not the Pop `plus` either) 2 door daily and it`s absolutely mint and totally standard. Local folklore says she gets about ten people or more per month offering her £50 or so for it for spares. If I got the chance to buy it I`d stick it in a local small motor museum for show use only.

tim leech · Post by **tim leech** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:54 pm

Is it the obligitary beige Cavmad with the brown tweed seats?

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 6:30 pm

Sunburst yellow. Looks a treat too.

Mr B · Post by **Mr B** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 6:53 pm

mnde wrote:and it needs a swivel joint (lower wishbone?)

The ball joint screws into the bottom of the hub, not the wishbone

mnde · Post by **mnde** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 2:29 pm

Ah yeah

... need to see the car first and find out exactly what it is that needs doing.

M.