RE: SOTW: Citroen BX GTI 8v
Discussion
ChickenvanGuy said:
No, no, no...
Bought a G plate one back around 1993.
Fast enough, comfortable, well-kitted (for the time), reasonable handling.
It broke down, oh, every 5 minutes or so.
The piston rings went. It smoked (a lot)
It leaked oil.
It leaked coolant.
It leaked green suspension fluid.
Eventually the distributor went and I nursed it home on 1 cylinder,
Truly awful - traded it (before I'd paid off the bank loan, didn't care) for an Astra SRi which was brilliant.
Thing is, it was a toss up between a 1.6 Pug GTi and the 1.9 BX with all the toys.
Idiot here got that one very wrong!
Almost my story too. Drive home from the dealer the suspension failed and dropped to minimum. They certainly don't do speed bumps after that... Loved it for the few hours I got in it.Bought a G plate one back around 1993.
Fast enough, comfortable, well-kitted (for the time), reasonable handling.
It broke down, oh, every 5 minutes or so.
The piston rings went. It smoked (a lot)
It leaked oil.
It leaked coolant.
It leaked green suspension fluid.
Eventually the distributor went and I nursed it home on 1 cylinder,
Truly awful - traded it (before I'd paid off the bank loan, didn't care) for an Astra SRi which was brilliant.
Thing is, it was a toss up between a 1.6 Pug GTi and the 1.9 BX with all the toys.
Idiot here got that one very wrong!
I chose this over an R5GTT - yup, one of lifes major fails (the other one was much later when I should have known better, a Merc A210 - up there with the BX for fail.)
I had one in 1992. It was a light metallic blue & I loved it. Had all the toys & (at the time) I thought it drove rather well. Was quite gutsy if I remember but I seem to recollect the gearchange had a "stirring porridge" quality to it. My patents house (was only a young un when I had the BX) had quite a steep drive with a definate lip as you entered the garage. In order to prevent the belly of the BX scraping as I parked her up I would raise the suspension before puttingbit to bed. Unfortunately one morning I lowered it instead by mistake & as I pulled out of the garage in a early morning daze I managed to pull the exhaust off...oh, how I laughed.
Took me from Yorkshire to Cornwall on half a dozen occasions & it never missed a beat. Only real fault it had was that randomly the abs warning light would come on...a square of black masking tape over the light fixed that one.
Took me from Yorkshire to Cornwall on half a dozen occasions & it never missed a beat. Only real fault it had was that randomly the abs warning light would come on...a square of black masking tape over the light fixed that one.
You'll not find many 16V BX in shed territory these days, unless they're total wrecks. They're now on the up, value wise, due to serious lack of supply after loads were broken up for the engines to find new homes in Pug 205s in the noughties.
The 8V GTI featured looks a nice car - alloys were an option so it's looking exactly the same as any diesel spec model, which adds to the appeal.
About the only rare option was air-con - leather cost the same but was more often spec'd than air, unfortunately.
Interior wise the 16V was the same as the 8V bar lumbar adjustment on the front seats, but mechanically it got stiffer roll bars and different sphere pressures and valves (think spring and damper rates in 'normal' cars). The 16V only really delivers above 4k revs but at 20mph/1000rpm in top it'll pull to the redline in 5th!
I've had 2 16Vs - still have 1 - and the 1st was a very late K plater which unfortunately had the cat-equipped version of the motor which saps a fair bit of power, but does give slightly more mid range. From memory 148BHP instead of 160.
Some pics of the valver from when I finally sold it (click for full size):
Mate had an 8V and it went well enough, but felt flat after the 16V. The auto and 4x4 versions are best avoided due to power sapping of the auto and wallet emptying lack of parts for the 4x4 (transfer box and exhaust are chief culprits for making them uneconomic to repair)
They definitely feel like a car from a different era - crashing one would ruin your day for sure.
Still have a half share in this one:
but that's well out of shed territory now! Persuaded my dad to buy it off ebay many years ago and spent a fair bit getting it in good order. Had a replacement head a few years back due to corrosion damage but now absolutely flies! These early cars with 8V/diesel body kits are now hard to find
The 8V GTI featured looks a nice car - alloys were an option so it's looking exactly the same as any diesel spec model, which adds to the appeal.
About the only rare option was air-con - leather cost the same but was more often spec'd than air, unfortunately.
Interior wise the 16V was the same as the 8V bar lumbar adjustment on the front seats, but mechanically it got stiffer roll bars and different sphere pressures and valves (think spring and damper rates in 'normal' cars). The 16V only really delivers above 4k revs but at 20mph/1000rpm in top it'll pull to the redline in 5th!
I've had 2 16Vs - still have 1 - and the 1st was a very late K plater which unfortunately had the cat-equipped version of the motor which saps a fair bit of power, but does give slightly more mid range. From memory 148BHP instead of 160.
Some pics of the valver from when I finally sold it (click for full size):
Mate had an 8V and it went well enough, but felt flat after the 16V. The auto and 4x4 versions are best avoided due to power sapping of the auto and wallet emptying lack of parts for the 4x4 (transfer box and exhaust are chief culprits for making them uneconomic to repair)
They definitely feel like a car from a different era - crashing one would ruin your day for sure.
Still have a half share in this one:
but that's well out of shed territory now! Persuaded my dad to buy it off ebay many years ago and spent a fair bit getting it in good order. Had a replacement head a few years back due to corrosion damage but now absolutely flies! These early cars with 8V/diesel body kits are now hard to find
I'm pleasantly surprised by the positive response the old BX's got. I really enjoyed my 16V and only sold it as I was given a Xantia as a company car (another favourite previous car).
When I left that company I bought a BX 1.7 TZD Turbo which like the 16V was a very well equipped car, very quick for a diesel and very economical. It had 143,000 miles on the clock when I bought it and never gave me any issues, likewise apart from a fluid leak from the spider underneath the 16V was pretty reliable.
One of our South Coast members has a BX 16 Valve and that thing still pulls like a train!
The BX 16V legacy lived on in spirit in my old Land Rover 90. I had a pair of BX 16V front seats in it. They were very comfy and because the base used to lift out completely they were ideal for still getting access to the battery under the passenger seat!
Stef
When I left that company I bought a BX 1.7 TZD Turbo which like the 16V was a very well equipped car, very quick for a diesel and very economical. It had 143,000 miles on the clock when I bought it and never gave me any issues, likewise apart from a fluid leak from the spider underneath the 16V was pretty reliable.
One of our South Coast members has a BX 16 Valve and that thing still pulls like a train!
The BX 16V legacy lived on in spirit in my old Land Rover 90. I had a pair of BX 16V front seats in it. They were very comfy and because the base used to lift out completely they were ideal for still getting access to the battery under the passenger seat!
Stef
S10GTA said:
StefanVXR8 said:
One of our South Coast members has a BX 16 Valve and that thing still pulls like a train!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...Stef
StefanVXR8 said:
S10GTA said:
StefanVXR8 said:
One of our South Coast members has a BX 16 Valve and that thing still pulls like a train!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...Stef
He has just fitted some super plugs and run it again on the dyno, gave something stupid like a 15bhp increase!
Here is a 16V for 900 GBP. http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C324352
and here is another one for sghtly more money. http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C329107
I can't believe the alloy wheels were only 14". That makes them smaller than the 205 GTi 1.9.
and here is another one for sghtly more money. http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C329107
I can't believe the alloy wheels were only 14". That makes them smaller than the 205 GTi 1.9.
I saw one the other day (not a GTI) and felt a little pang. Had 2 of these back to back in the 90's, still have fond memories. I can still remember the Parker's Guide description: "Balsa wood interiors and falling windows...". Did about 100k in total in them and all they cost me was std. servicing, tyres and a set of spheres from Pleiades...
That 900 quid one has been for sale for quite a while (certainly before that advert date) - wheels look horrid and rear bumper needs a repair, but it's only fibreglass so not the end of the world
Loving the Polish one lol - anorak fact on difference with LHD is they got the additional cubby in the dash which wouldn't fit on RHD cars
Loving the Polish one lol - anorak fact on difference with LHD is they got the additional cubby in the dash which wouldn't fit on RHD cars
spookalilly said:
The BX brings back fond, fond memories of childhood. By Dad had a B-reg ('85?) from new. 1.6 as I recall, in metallic gold. Wow. It must've been pre-facelift if that article is to be believed, with the astonishingly French speedo.
Yeah, I remember my mum more than once shouting at him for the speed he took sleeping policemen at...whump-whump.
I never realised, but he told me only the other day that he loved it so much he kept it until it had done 190k miles. He did all work on it himself, too.
The early ones had the indicators as a rocker switch on top of the dash IIRC. Yeah, I remember my mum more than once shouting at him for the speed he took sleeping policemen at...whump-whump.
I never realised, but he told me only the other day that he loved it so much he kept it until it had done 190k miles. He did all work on it himself, too.
PH lurker said:
Fantastic.
Love it; so I got insurance quotes online as though I passed my car test last week. I did the usual stuff such as adding a person aged 50+ with an excellent driving record and said it would be parked off the road. I claimed it would be worth £850. My cheapest quote is not the expensive fifteen hundred quid you might think this says:
I still can't make it out/ convince myself. What does it think I need to pay for a year's insurance?
Thats fifteen grand pal! Love it; so I got insurance quotes online as though I passed my car test last week. I did the usual stuff such as adding a person aged 50+ with an excellent driving record and said it would be parked off the road. I claimed it would be worth £850. My cheapest quote is not the expensive fifteen hundred quid you might think this says:
I still can't make it out/ convince myself. What does it think I need to pay for a year's insurance?
How old are you? Try classic insurance. You can get classic quotes through confused.com.
Hmmm I remember being a very sick passenger on more than a few occasions when my Mum had both a BX and an Xantia (well her boyfriend did so she drove them), tbh her driving is pretty sick inducing at the best of times. The ride upfront was fine though. It was more the way you used to feel bumps after they happened in the way is sort of floats around in the back as it settles itself down.
Edited by KM666 on Friday 14th September 22:56
Wow, all my favourite old French cars being picked out by Pistonheads at the moment! In my late teens I was driving about in a beige BX 19 DTR (n/a diesel, very slow), and then in my 20s I had an awesome 16v version of my own and co-owned another that was saved from the scrappy. If I hadn't just bought a 309 this BX would be seriously tempting to help relive some of those happy days!
zcacogp said:
I agree. Top bit of tin PLASTIC
How complex was the suspension? Was it genuinely a problem to maintain, or was that just a myth that was assisted by Citroen main dealers? How feasible is DIY-maintenance?
Oli.
Mine was absolutely fine until the brake lines neded replacing - That was expensive....How complex was the suspension? Was it genuinely a problem to maintain, or was that just a myth that was assisted by Citroen main dealers? How feasible is DIY-maintenance?
Oli.
I changed the suspension spheres on my Xantia. De-pressurise system by turning screw. Unscrew spheres. Screw new ones in. Re-pressurise.
Spheres were 24 quid each from GSF (10 years ago mind).
Imagine changing all 4 springs and dampers on any other car in less than an hour for under £100!
Spheres were 24 quid each from GSF (10 years ago mind).
Imagine changing all 4 springs and dampers on any other car in less than an hour for under £100!
Escy said:
I've spotted a sub 1k car i'm going to see in about an hours time. I won't post what it is yet but if it all checks out it'll be one of the best shed bargains ever and you'll wish you'd gone with it instead of a shonky old BX. Watch this space....
V6 Alfa GTV, years MOT £995
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff