1985 Citroen BX 19GT overhaul

1985 Citroen BX 19GT overhaul

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Discussion

Kitchski

Original Poster:

6,514 posts

230 months

Wednesday 1st August 2012
quotequote all
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!



Edited by Kitchski on Monday 12th October 13:21

Graebob

2,172 posts

206 months

Wednesday 1st August 2012
quotequote all
Fantastic. I have a saved search for BX's on eBay. It's literally a matter of time and alcohol before I own one.

Look forward to reading about yours smile

threadlock

3,196 posts

253 months

Wednesday 1st August 2012
quotequote all
Bookmarked!

zedx19

2,704 posts

139 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
Awesome, aren't these the ones with the drop down rear suspension to make loading the boot easier?

Kitchski

Original Poster:

6,514 posts

230 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
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.

bob1179

14,107 posts

208 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
A mate of mine had one of these back in 1997. It was a little ratty even then! Great car though, I look forward to seeing how the overhaul goes. How easy is it to get hold of parts (especially any fiddly trim bits)?

smile

zedx19

2,704 posts

139 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
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!

liner33

10,642 posts

201 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
Dont think the radio cassette is original , Kays catalogue used to sell those in the early 90's i bought one for something i had

Not a fan of French stuff but interesting project nice to see them still going brings back some memories of mates who had them

driverrob

4,687 posts

202 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
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.

S10GTA

12,645 posts

166 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
If only you had kept the digit, very rare now.

driverrob

4,687 posts

202 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
S10GTA said:
If only you had kept the digit, very rare now.
True.
How many cars of that era had an LCD display plus an on-board computer for fuel consumption, average speed etc?

Mouse1903

839 posts

152 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
Ergonomically the interior design is awesome, shame they don't make cars like this now!

S10GTA

12,645 posts

166 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
driverrob said:
True.
How many cars of that era had an LCD display plus an on-board computer for fuel consumption, average speed etc?
Renault 25...Vauxhall Senator.... I'm stuck now

Eighteeteewhy

7,259 posts

167 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
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Great cars, I ran a 16v for three years flew through every MOT.

It's the one car I really regret selling. frown

vrooom

3,763 posts

266 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
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I loved this car. such quirky french car. never ridden in one.

CarlosV8

765 posts

171 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
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Loving this! I've got fond memories of my Grandfather's red GT from when I was young, and then working on BX's like this when I was a few years older with my Dad. Will be watching this thread with interest smile

eric twinge

1,614 posts

221 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
My Grandad had one of these, C115AGM, i think, although that one had the digital instruments I'm sure.

Nice car, i think it was a facelifted one, not too sure, deffo had clear indicators though.

S3_Graham

12,830 posts

198 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
olly22n said:
S10GTA said:
driverrob said:
True.
How many cars of that era had an LCD display plus an on-board computer for fuel consumption, average speed etc?
Renault 25...Vauxhall Senator.... I'm stuck now
E28?
Astra GTE?

minerva

756 posts

203 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
So fantastic that you are taking the effort to do this. I love old, charismatic French motors.

MJK 24

5,648 posts

235 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
quotequote all
Will be watching with interest! Great cars and nice to see one undergoing a full restoration inspite of their low (but climbing!) values!