Tuesday 5th November 2013

Citroen BX GTI 16V: PH Fleet

The BX is sending out smoke signals - and the message isn't a happy one

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You know those moments when you allow your thoughts to wander too far into the realms of optimism? Well, I had one of those moments the other day.

Autumnal aromas augmented by waft of oil smoke

There was I, happily bounding along in the BX on a blissful sunny morning, the leaves on the trees just turning and the sunset colours glinting off my fibreglass bonnet. I'd taken it out for a quick late-afternoon back-road blast, and I was so pleased with the experience that I allowed my mind to drift into the realms of foolishness. "This car's been so well-behaved of late," I found myself thinking. "All I've had to do has been to drive it and enjoy it. What am I going to write about in my next PH update?"

Of course, you can guess where this is going to end. As I killed the engine on arriving home, my eye was caught by a wisp rising from the shut line between the bonnet and the front wing. Ah.

Further investigation revealed it was oil smoke. A cursory inspection suggests that one of my minor oil leaks has just become a little less minor – the drips now frequent and landing on the hot exhaust, hence the smoke.

Sunny thoughts for the BX, even with niggles

Rich, the poor sod who I turn to a gibbering state every time something goes wrong, reckons it's the rocker cover gasket. Not the end of the world but still something I'll need to get seen to sooner rather than later. A trip back down to Southways is in order.

Fortunately, I was already planning on heading down there anyway. Those of you blessed with a more encyclopaedic knowledge of Citroen BX interiors have already spotted that the seats and door cards are not correct. The 'Le Mans' interior was only fitted to later cars; mine should have the earlier 'Monza' trim. Fortunately, Rich has such an interior in stock, so the plan is to head down there in a couple of weeks and swap one for t'other, for the sake of originality. I'm hoping we can get the rocker cover gasket sorted at the same time. Oh, and the passenger seatbelt, which now refuses to become unbuckled. Just another character feature – and one which will be sorted when the interior's changed!

Interior swap on the (door) cards for winter

With those bits done, I'm hoping to be able to turn my attention to longer-term plans for the car. Over the past couple of months, a (very) rough plan of action has emerged in my mind, and it goes something like this: Phase One will involve taking the car down to Southways at some point over the winter and leaving it with Rich for a bit, so that he can sort the remaining teething mechanical and electrical niggles in one fell swoop.

Phase Two, I hope, will then come at some point early next year, and will involve finding a bodyshop willing to pull out the dents, repair the rust spots, and give the old girl a lick of paint so that she's looking brand new once again. In the meantime, I'm hoping to get the wheels refurbished and add a full stainless exhaust, to solve once and for all the fluffiness that comes from the current system's mismatched parts.

Money pit? Oh yes, and then some – but you know, money isn't everything, and if I can stick with it and pull it off, I'm hoping the result will be worth it!

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FACT SHEET
Car: 1989 Citroen BX GTI 16V
Run by: Scrof
Bought: April 2013
Purchase price: £800
Last month at a glance: Smoking: bad for your wallet. Especially when it’s your car that’s doing it. 

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Previous reports:
Alex indulges a long-held dream ... yes, a white Citroen BX
BX gets a tidy up ahead of daily driver duties
'Character' traits aplenty with Alex's Citroen
The BX is back on the road ... sort of
Feeling cool and looking good, well, the Citroen is at least

Main images: PrimeExposures

[bagseye]

What sort of money will a original spec restoration be worth? Or is it purely for the love?

Either way, always been a fan of these cars. Something about the design is timeless and I can only see it getting more interesting as it gets older.

[V8 FOU]

Stick with it! Not a valuable car, but a very worthwhile one to keep and cherish.

[Lewisp12]

Keep at it!
With the dedication you've been showing, there's no doubt the BX will return an enjoyable ownership!
I'm in a similar position with a Renault 11, and other than a small oil leak that's been put right now, driving it always puts a smile in my face. And it's my daily driver!
It's not always about speed and power slides... Sometimes, it's worth reminding that the feeling these cars bring to us, for not much money, can be priceless. My R11 makes me feel like I'm 10 again! Rather this, than any anti-ageing cream or whatever people use nowadays!

[Scrof]

bagseye said:

What sort of money will a original spec restoration be worth? Or is it purely for the love?

It's purely for the love. I'm already resigned to the fact I'm going to spend far more on this car than I'll ever see back. She's a keeper. A slightly crusty, rather dented, and occasionally temperamental keeper, but a keeper nonetheless.

Cheers for the words of encouragement chaps. Always appreciated. Hopefully this time next year she'll be in significantly better shape. And I'll be bringing her along to Sunday Service this weekend if you fancy seeing her in the flesh. Be warned, though: cosmetically, the pics are pretty flattering!

Edited by Scrof on Tuesday 5th November 11:40

[ArtVandelay]

I still want one of these, bloody hard to find though.

Did the GTI ever come with a single spoke steering?

[renaultgeek]

I think there's one here in ireland for 700 euro that I saw recently. No idea of condition though.

edit: can't find it anymore.

Edited by renaultgeek on Tuesday 5th November 11:47

[Scrof]

ArtVandelay said:

I still want one of these, bloody hard to find though.

Did the GTI ever come with a single spoke steering?

I don't think it did - I think they all had the 'sports' wheel that mine has, though I could be wrong on that!

I know of an 8v GTI for sale just up the road from me, actually. It's a good'un; had a lot of money spent recently and looks the part. Not perfect (has some rust that needs sorting), but better than most. I'm really quite tempted myself, but I think two BXs might be more uncertainty than I can handle. I can probably put you in touch with the owner though, if you're interested.

[Kitchski]

Smoke, eh?

[Kitchski]

ArtVandelay said:

I still want one of these, bloody hard to find though.

Did the GTI ever come with a single spoke steering?

Some GTi models did, but all 16vers had the 4 (technically) spoke design.

Piece of cake to switch it over, though why you'd want to is beyond me. The single spoke is great for plodding along, but when you're pressing on a few licks, you want something to get your thumbs under!

This car in particular really isn't too bad you know, it's just got a few rough edges and has a fair bit of DIY over the years from various people of varying skill. Much of what Alex is doing at the mo is to try and right some of the wrongs.

Goes well, even if the dyno suggests it's lost a few ponies.

[S10GTA]

You need a C4 VTS to compliment it

[ArtVandelay]

Scrof said:

I don't think it did - I think they all had the 'sports' wheel that mine has, though I could be wrong on that!

I know of an 8v GTI for sale just up the road from me, actually. It's a good'un; had a lot of money spent recently and looks the part. Not perfect (has some rust that needs sorting), but better than most. I'm really quite tempted myself, but I think two BXs might be more uncertainty than I can handle. I can probably put you in touch with the owner though, if you're interested.

I can't buy one at the moment anyway due to buying a house and thus a lot of funds are going that way. I will have one in the future though, proper soft spot for the BX

Kitchski said:

Some GTi models did, but all 16vers had the 4 (technically) spoke design.

Piece of cake to switch it over, though why you'd want to is beyond me. The single spoke is great for plodding along, but when you're pressing on a few licks, you want something to get your thumbs under!

My parents had a BX Preview IIRC and it had a few GTI-esque styling additions but had a single spoke steering wheel that just looked so strange. It's just unusual hence the love, none of this conventional nonsense

[KMB]

In fairness the rocker cover gasket is just about as simple as a fix gets... Probably the best outcome following the appearance of oil smoke.

[ecs0set]

I'm sure I'm not the only PHer who is the receipient of jibes from the wife, neighbours and parents about the amount of time, effort and money spent on cars and related paraphanalia, events, etc. Fortunately, every time I start to worry whether maybe I am a bit wierd for standing in the rain polishing the windscreen (before applying RainX), I come onto PH and find someone who makes me look quite restrained. This week, it is concern about the originality of the door cards on a Citroen BX.

Good luck on the restoration and thank you for reminding me that even if I am a bit nuts, there are people out there with more severe symptoms than me!

[Kitchski]

ArtVandelay said:

My parents had a BX Preview IIRC and it had a few GTI-esque styling additions but had a single spoke steering wheel that just looked so strange. It's just unusual hence the love, none of this conventional nonsense

Probably a 'Pilot' model. Came in red or white, and had GTi interiors (except the single-spoke wheel)., wheel trims (GTi didn't have alloys as standard :S) but was a 1600 petrol. One recently sold for around £1500 on eBay, which for a non-GTi, non-TZD, non-mk1 BX is pretty good going

The Preview was also a model, but was little more than basic 1400 version.

[Eighteeteewhy]

Out of all the cars I've owned my BX is the one I regret selling the most.

[Scrof]

S10GTA said:

You need a C4 VTS to compliment it

What I need is a better insurance company!

KMB said:

In fairness the rocker cover gasket is just about as simple as a fix gets... Probably the best outcome following the appearance of oil smoke.

Fortunately (because it turns out they're bloomin' hard to get hold of) the rocker cover wasn't the fault. Unfortunately, it turns out my acme diagnosis was rubbish, because it's been discovered since I filed this report that it wasn't even oil smoke - it's actually atomising LHM fluid (which, in my defence, looks like smoke) that's being sprayed out at high pressure from some pipe or other. More of which in next month's update!

ecs0set said:

I'm sure I'm not the only PHer who is the receipient of jibes from the wife, neighbours and parents about the amount of time, effort and money spent on cars and related paraphanalia, events, etc. Fortunately, every time I start to worry whether maybe I am a bit wierd for standing in the rain polishing the windscreen (before applying RainX), I come onto PH and find someone who makes me look quite restrained. This week, it is concern about the originality of the door cards on a Citroen BX.

Good luck on the restoration and thank you for reminding me that even if I am a bit nuts, there are people out there with more severe symptoms than me!

Haha, excellent. All part of the service! You haven't seen the half of it yet, though - I'm sure before too long you'll hear me complaining about the fact one of my windows is tinted green where the rest are tinted brown (and the disproportionate amount of irritation it causes me!)

[Ocellia]

NEVER even THINK..."it's going well."......!!
Driving from Granada towards coast in Spain, I noticed the odometer just passing 50,000 miles.
"It's about now that things start to fail' I unwisely said to Carole.
Sure enough, a few miles further, I noticed that there was no charge happening (Jeep Cherokee).
Alternator had packed up.
there followed a very interesting palaver getting it to and from a Jeep dealer in Malaga, 35 miles away, etc, etc,!
Quick learning curve, literally, in Spanish technical jargon!

[tomoleeds]

its a good job you lot get free cars too drive your own cars are always getting fixed or repaired. don't you know anything about cars. take someone with you when you buy one. no one of top gear though ,they don't know anything either

[X5TUU]

I have never been a fan of these, but I can understand the compulsion to keep and preserve her in the best and usable condition ... I may have found my 'keeper' and am debating whether to keep throwing the miles on her (commuting from Newcastle to Essex weekly) or buy a hack and then go to town on her!

oh and the disproportionate angst over an incorrect window is totally understood and I had the same with a 5'er I had a couple of years ago, when one windon was heavily tinted green, much more than the others, and was one of the reasons I eventually got shot lol

[Itsallicanafford]

Scrof said:

bagseye said:

What sort of money will a original spec restoration be worth? Or is it purely for the love?

It's purely for the love. I'm already resigned to the fact I'm going to spend far more on this car than I'll ever see back. She's a keeper. A slightly crusty, rather dented, and occasionally temperamental keeper, but a keeper nonetheless.

Cheers for the words of encouragement chaps. Always appreciated. Hopefully this time next year she'll be in significantly better shape. And I'll be bringing her along to Sunday Service this weekend if you fancy seeing her in the flesh. Be warned, though: cosmetically, the pics are pretty flattering!

Edited by Scrof on Tuesday 5th November 11:40

...it's a very nice car and i am sure that the end result will look great, but can i just add my own experience into the mix. I dead ended far too much money into 'doing-up' a car that was only ever going to be worth a certain amount...it's fun doing it but in the end of the day, i always find myself looking at what i could have afforded if i had thought alittle of ceiling values and bought more wisely. You are then investing in a restoration, rather than just spending out money and you might be able to land yourself in something really interesting as you continue to trade up. In reality, when somebody says 'it's a keeper', your not really going to be driving around in this in 10-15 years time, are you?...IMO of course, you pays your money and all that...