Last month
I said I accepted that buying the BX wasn't a sensible choice. My first month with the car seems to have borne that out, as I've actually been able to drive my French fancy for all of three days since I bought it.
Open heart surgery - will she pull through
"Quelle surprise," I can already hear you saying. Yes, I know - clearly, mine isn't one of the ones that, to paraphrase the BX's most famous tagline, "loves driving, hates garages". No, mine certainly seems to be on pretty amiable terms with the two-post ramp on which it currently sits.
As you may remember, I knew it needed a spot of work before it'd be good to go, but it turned out to need more than just a spot. A sputtering idle, diagnosed as a knackered throttle position sensor (and solved for the princely sum of £32); a blow from the exhaust manifold, which we're hoping will just be the gasket (because if it isn't, it means the original stainless item's cracked); a duff speedo and a not-inconsiderable patch of welding to the boot floor all need sorting before the car's good for the road. The BX is soon to become my daily, a fact that thrills as well as petrifies me; as a result it needs to be mechanically sound if it's to have any hope of providing me with reliable transport. Well, we can dream, anyway.
Rolling road moment of truth
Still, none of this is terminal and most is easily rectifiable. Rich at Southways has been doing a sterling job of patching her up in the gaps between his everyday custom, and I'm glad to say that although it's taken longer than I'd intended thanks to the additional issues, it does now look as though the car will be out and about in time for
Sunday Service
next week at Gaydon. If you're planning to come along, though, don't expect the finished result - the job isn't over just yet, and there's still plenty of cosmetic work to be done. Nevertheless, hopefully next month I'll be able to tell you more about what it's like to drive, and less about what it's like to hear down the phone being worked on.
FACT SHEET
Car: 1989 Citroen BX GTI 16V
Run by: Scrof
Bought: April 2013
Purchase price: £800
Last month at a glance:The BX heads to the garage. And stays there. Watch this space...