1985 Citroen BX 19GT overhaul
Discussion
Well ok, I don't currently own the car. I did, back in 2006 when I paid the princely sum of £132 for it. It came with 10 months tax, which at the time was worth more than the car! It was one of those late-night drunk eBay bidding jobbies. Happily, it's still in the family after I gave it to my Dad in return for "all that money you owe me from your childhood."
The car:
|http://thumbsnap.com/CcgkjmAd[/url]
It's a 1985 Citroen BX 19GT. The GT was produced for about 18 months before being replaced with the 19TRS model when the BX was facelifted.
It has a 1.9 8v XU engine which is essentially a 205 GTi engine, only being fed via carb. Rated at 105bhp back in the day, but that was 190k miles and 27 years ago! It's a genuine GT car - swift and comfortable from A - B, but not a racer in any sense. In terms of ride quality, I've driven nothing better.
PRN, or (Pluie = Rain, Route = Road, Nuit = Night) was a feature used on Citroens during their much more interesting wacky innovation years. By mounting on the major switches on "satellites" positioned closely to the steering wheel, the driver could command important features such as indicators or wipers by fingertip without removing their hands from the steering wheel at all. The large single-spoke steering wheel is also typical Citroen, providing a mostly unobscured view of the dials. Dials, which in any other BX of this age would have been the rotating drum, or coke-can type with a digital rev counter. Sadly the GT was deemed "too sporty" for these and given CX GTi dials instead! This interior design lasted for the first three years of production, after which followed a much more conservative dash full of Peugeot switches.
I work at a sports/classic car specialist and the conversation with Dad a few months ago led to us devising a plan to overhaul the car. I've started a blog on FB: http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/480996_334441186638878_533513399_n.jpg
It's not that it hasn't been looked after over the years, it's more that it's been looked after in the wrong way!
How many left you say? Well, according to www.howmanyleft.co.uk the grand total taxed on the road stands at........three. Yup! Three. SORN make up another eleven, though the chances of them all still being in one piece is probably quite low.
I'll keep updating the thread as I crack on with the work. It's due to go into the bodyshop within the next couple of weeks, and then the mechanical bits start:
Hmmm......something's not right!
The car:
|http://thumbsnap.com/CcgkjmAd[/url]
It's a 1985 Citroen BX 19GT. The GT was produced for about 18 months before being replaced with the 19TRS model when the BX was facelifted.
It has a 1.9 8v XU engine which is essentially a 205 GTi engine, only being fed via carb. Rated at 105bhp back in the day, but that was 190k miles and 27 years ago! It's a genuine GT car - swift and comfortable from A - B, but not a racer in any sense. In terms of ride quality, I've driven nothing better.
PRN, or (Pluie = Rain, Route = Road, Nuit = Night) was a feature used on Citroens during their much more interesting wacky innovation years. By mounting on the major switches on "satellites" positioned closely to the steering wheel, the driver could command important features such as indicators or wipers by fingertip without removing their hands from the steering wheel at all. The large single-spoke steering wheel is also typical Citroen, providing a mostly unobscured view of the dials. Dials, which in any other BX of this age would have been the rotating drum, or coke-can type with a digital rev counter. Sadly the GT was deemed "too sporty" for these and given CX GTi dials instead! This interior design lasted for the first three years of production, after which followed a much more conservative dash full of Peugeot switches.
I work at a sports/classic car specialist and the conversation with Dad a few months ago led to us devising a plan to overhaul the car. I've started a blog on FB: http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/480996_334441186638878_533513399_n.jpg
It's not that it hasn't been looked after over the years, it's more that it's been looked after in the wrong way!
How many left you say? Well, according to www.howmanyleft.co.uk the grand total taxed on the road stands at........three. Yup! Three. SORN make up another eleven, though the chances of them all still being in one piece is probably quite low.
I'll keep updating the thread as I crack on with the work. It's due to go into the bodyshop within the next couple of weeks, and then the mechanical bits start:
Hmmm......something's not right!
Edited by Kitchski on Monday 12th October 13:21
The whole car can be raised and lowered about a foot, not just the back end. The back end tends to sink to its lowest position once you park it up and switch the engine off, as gravity forces fluid in the cylinders back to the tank.
The system automatically adjusts vehicle height, regardless of load, as well as brake pressure depending on load. It has anti-dive on the front, which means when you stand on the brake pedal, the nose refuses to dip yet the suspension is still as compliant as always.
The hydraulics also power the brakes and steering.
The system automatically adjusts vehicle height, regardless of load, as well as brake pressure depending on load. It has anti-dive on the front, which means when you stand on the brake pedal, the nose refuses to dip yet the suspension is still as compliant as always.
The hydraulics also power the brakes and steering.
Kitchski said:
The whole car can be raised and lowered about a foot, not just the back end. The back end tends to sink to its lowest position once you park it up and switch the engine off, as gravity forces fluid in the cylinders back to the tank.
The system automatically adjusts vehicle height, regardless of load, as well as brake pressure depending on load. It has anti-dive on the front, which means when you stand on the brake pedal, the nose refuses to dip yet the suspension is still as compliant as always.
The hydraulics also power the brakes and steering.
And all these hydraulics still work? Back when I was 17, my mates parents had a Xantia that you could raise and lower, was extremely comfy but also unreliable lol went through more clutch cables then owt!The system automatically adjusts vehicle height, regardless of load, as well as brake pressure depending on load. It has anti-dive on the front, which means when you stand on the brake pedal, the nose refuses to dip yet the suspension is still as compliant as always.
The hydraulics also power the brakes and steering.
I bought a 1986 BX GT Digit in 1989. Wonderful car to drive, attention-grabbing LCD display, wonderful load carrier.
By 1992 all the doors had rusted really badly near the bottoms and the high pressure fluid pipes had corroded so much they had started to leak.
I was extremely lucky to get a decent trade-in on a newer GTi, which lasted 12 more faultless, rust-free years.
By 1992 all the doors had rusted really badly near the bottoms and the high pressure fluid pipes had corroded so much they had started to leak.
I was extremely lucky to get a decent trade-in on a newer GTi, which lasted 12 more faultless, rust-free years.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff