Citroen BX GTI 16V: PH Fleet

Refurbished rims mark a milestone in the BX's restoration - but there's more work still to come

One of the downsides of the BX’s gradual return to condition – that’s probably the best way to describe it, as ‘restoration’ is too strong a word just yet – is that I’ve ended up spending a frankly foolish quantity of money on things you can’t really see. Sure, you can feel them when you drive it, and you know progress is being made as the car’s quirks gradually get ironed out, but you can’t walk up to the car and visibly spot the difference.

Back to silver, as they should be!

All that started to change a couple of months ago when the correct interior was installed. But this week, I’m pleased to be able to announce the most obvious improvement to the BX’s cosmetics thus far. You’ll have spotted it already, if you’ve a good memory. That’s right – the BX’s wheels are now the right colour!

Citroën devotees will know that, although the wheel design didn’t change in the switch from Phase One ‘GTI 16V’ to Phase Two ‘16V’, the colour did – from silver to black. Meaning that the black paint that previously adorned my Phase One car’s wheels gave them away as Phase Two items. If I wanted to return the car to clean, original condition, as has always been my aim, I needed to do one of two things: find some silver wheels and swap them, or get these refurbished and painted up in the right shade.

I was all set to go for Plan A, until The Wheel Specialist of Fareham got in touch. They very kindly offered me a chance to see what their refurb process could do on a set like this, and to put the quality of their work to the test. Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I jumped at the chance. The result is what you see before you.

But you can't see them on the car... yet

So, what’s the verdict? Well, I’ll have to reserve judgement fully until I’ve seen the quality of the job they’ve done myself, as the car’s currently down at Southways for a bit of a winter spruce-up – more of which anon. But resident BX wrangler Rich – a man who’s seen some dicky refurbs in his time – seems impressed. And judging by the images he’s sent over thus far, he’s right to be – up close, the finish looks as good as I could have hoped for. I’ll follow up with a more qualified review when I seem them properly in the flesh.

I’ve seen a couple of phone camera images of the car with the wheels fitted, but sadly I don’t have them to publish here, so I’ll have to keep you in suspense as to how the car now looks with the wheels fitted. Don’t worry; I’ll get pictures as soon as I pick it up. But suffice to say, from what I’ve seen so far, I’m chuffed as nuts. This is a huge leap forward on the path back to originality; one that’s made me glad I’ve poured so much time and – more pertinently – money into the BX thus far. It will be worth it – of that I’m ever more certain!

MOT looms before the summer....

Which is a jolly good thing, really, because it seems the car’s plotting another big bill. As I write this, I’ve just had word from Rich that there’s another reasonable chunk of work needing doing before MOT time. The majority is perishable – brake discs and pads, CV joints, et al – which is handy because the parts are all comically cheap on a car of this age. But there are also one or two less rosy-looking problems to contend with, more on which next time. For now, though, I’m going to conveniently ignore those, and bask in the contentment that comes with knowing the BX is looking more like it should than it has for a very long time!

FACT SHEET
Car: 1989 Citroen BX GTI 16V
Run by: Scrof
Bought: April 2013
Purchase price: £800
Last month at a glance: A wheel refurb injects a healthy dose of originality back into the BX

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
Smoke signals from the BX, and news isn't good
Alex gets hands-on with sorting the BX from the inside out

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IknowJoseph

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