CITROEN AX DEBUT 1993

So the time has come to reduce my fleet, starting with this beast of an AX. What was my daily for several years has seen it's last hurrah on a Stag tour of Scotland.

Not content with a rather fetching faded red paintjob, it also comes complete with eye-catching polished stripes and motorsport chequered pattern decorating the rear. The lovely matt black bonnet serves a dual purpose by looking fully gangsta and being a fully useable blackboard. Some inadvertent passenger door modification happened on the Stag tour, but it adds to the character. Finishing off the looks is the bosozoku exhaust, complete with big-rig-style flap on the top. The Police love it.

Engine-wise this monster is hiding 106 GTi engine, gearbox, driveshafts and suspension. 306 S16 front brakes keep her under control, with a 106 quicksilver rear axle since drums were easier to adapt the handbrake for. The wheels are 14" steelies to clear the front calipers, and are shod with Seicento tyres to maintain the correct AX wheel circumference.

Inside the treats begin with 106 GTi dials (that's right, this baby has a rev-counter! No silly clock like when it left the factory) which helps take your attention away from the slightly worn seat fabric. It also comes with a large spider which lives under one of the front seats (not sure which I can never catch the bugger).

Bad points:

the fuel level sender needs replacing, but I just refill it every 250 miles (its a small tank)

tailgate gas struts need replacing, I just use a stick to hold it open

tailgate latch is non-existent, locking a car is so overrated anyway

no bonnet stay, I refer you to the previous comment about the stick.....

no front roll-bar, the drop links fouled on the inner wings and I can not find an AX GTi roll bar anywhere. You just have to remember not to lift mid-corner or it gets exciting/amusing/dangerous (delete as appropriate).

She's not pretty, but she's fast enough to embarrass much bigger and more expensive motors. I weighed her at 790kgs with a full tank, so the 118bhp goes a long way.....

Currently SORNed, it's registered with the 1.6 engine, so no 17 year old timewasters looking for a naughty "1.0L" need apply. I won't part-ex either, I have enough cars.