dave
Part of things
Posts: 34
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probably just me.. but I would have to source a bumper insert for the front.. that would niggle me on such anotherwise "right" car. Agreed! in fact I've bought a full set from www.chevronics.co.uk/ as all mine are bent/broken. Pricy but couldn't resist. It feels wrong buying Citroen parts from the UK but bits seem hard to find even over here. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places.
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dave
Part of things
Posts: 34
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congrats on the pass re: the 1990/1991 thing. could it be "model year" ? for example i think vauxhall 1991 model year ran from sept 1990 to august 1991, if that makes sense ? probably clutching at straws though I think your right, best explanation I can think of. the internet tells me the Calanque was available for two years 90 and 91. The 90s came in white and the 91's in silver, but I bet there was plenty of early/late ones.
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dave
Part of things
Posts: 34
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Oh and it passed the Control Technic! After smoking a few cigarettes with Michel, the tester made some compliments about how good it looked, spent ten mins looking the car over, tested the lights, and gave it a pass! also only paid half price, ten euros for a two year ticket! It helps when the tester is a friend of the family
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Last Edit: Oct 7, 2017 12:10:22 GMT by dave
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dave
Part of things
Posts: 34
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Bumper, Phil, yep looks like the leak is coming from the octopus. Nice looking BX Bumper! So another round of repairs in preparation for the Control Technic. Some parts gathered, rear light to replace the cracked one picked up second hand. A sphere to replace the functioning but worn out one, and a probe to fix the non working temp lights. The probe is NLA from Peugeot and Citroen but we found a generic one at the motor factors that looked about right. First job was replacing the front sphere, this took only a few mins, it just screws on and off. Next up fixing the cracked LHM pipe coming from the 'Octopus' above the front cross member. Michel pulled of the end of the pipe at the split, and then re fitted it by stuffing a smaller pipe in between the two pieces and heating it up! Again I would have bought a replacement but he assures me this is the way to do it. Apparently he similarly fixed another bx with the ink cartridge from a Bic Biro and it lasted for years. we will see. Its been a few days now and the leak is gone. The temp probe is proving difficult, the generic one we bought didn't work so we headed off to the scrappy and found a used one, that one didn't fix the problem either. So we are searching for a new old stock part. The Bx drives much better now, the steering is much lighter, good news as it doesn't have power steering!
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Last Edit: Oct 7, 2017 12:13:40 GMT by dave
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dave
Part of things
Posts: 34
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Sept 25, 2017 18:12:31 GMT
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As it's the BX's 27th birthday today, going by its first registration, I took it over to my father in-laws (Michel) to have a go at getting it ready for its re-test. Maneuvered into Michel's garage, a real Aladdin's cave, he seems to have every tool imaginable. After not much persuasion it started leaking its magic green fluid onto the garage floor. no leak from the front sphere. its coming out from somewhere above front the cross member. Looks pretty good underneath. Bearing in mind that I don't speak French, a lot of what he was doing/discovering is a bit of a mystery. But anyway, we headed off for his test drive and to visit the motor-factors to order a bunch of parts. Mostly hydraulic related but also a new rear passenger side light cluster to replace the cracked one. After getting back we took the drivers side head light off, the glass had come away from the case and was letting water in. we started by scraping off what was left of the sealant. Some of the silver coating had come away so I had a go at replacing it with glued down kitchen foil. not sure if this is a good idea, I would have bought a new unit but Michel wouldn't hear of it. We silicone'd the two pieces back together and re fitted the light, complete with inner tube holding it all together, Ill remove this in a few days, fingers crossed! Had a go at the rattling exhaust, seems like the silencer piece hasn't been well manufactured and is missing a bend. We tried heating it up and bending it, but that didn't work. So we ended up smacking it with a sledge hammer until it roughly was the right shape. This ain't formula one! Anyhow the rattle is gone and the car is much smoother running now. A good afternoon, and a good start. I'm learning a bit about mechanics which is something iv'e always wanted, and I think Michel is happy to pass on some of his knowledge. He has three sons who have little interest in mechanics and seems to like that I show an interest, I'm very happy to have my own tame mechanic!
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Last Edit: Sept 25, 2017 20:17:04 GMT by dave
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dave
Part of things
Posts: 34
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Sept 25, 2017 9:34:47 GMT
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And some pics of my friend Titou's BX. He lives in the next village. Its a Millesime turbo diesel special addition with all the bells and whistles, the opposite of mine, He drives it like he stole it. He surprised me with a high speed blast along the beach between our two villages one day. Scary, but quite an experience! As close as Ill ever get to the Nevada salt flats!
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dave
Part of things
Posts: 34
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Sept 25, 2017 9:17:26 GMT
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dave
Part of things
Posts: 34
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Sept 20, 2017 18:04:48 GMT
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Took the BX for its most important test yesterday, drove over to my father in law's house to see if he approved. He's a retired mechanic who worked for a local garage for 40 plus years, must have worked on plenty of BX's in his time. He says I paid too much for it, but he says that about everything, the Normans are a lot like the Scots when it comes to finances. A fter crawling underneath, sticking his head under the bonnet and pumping the suspension up and down a few times he made some positive grumbling sounds. He noticed a door pin making a bid for freedom and had that fixed in two minutes. Errant door pin can be seen here. Interestingly the car is marked as a 91 although it was registered in 1990? He also noticed that the Temperature warning lights don't come on with the ignition, this is a worry so will investigate further. In fact We are going to go over the car completely and go parts shopping together early next week.
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dave
Part of things
Posts: 34
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Sept 17, 2017 6:39:12 GMT
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Oh yea, The dash lights come on with the ignition, even if the side lights/mains are off. I'm guessing this is a 'feature' and not a fault?
simes: Yes we are in La Manche, Annoville to be precise but Agon-Coutainville is probably the nearest town you might have heard of.
Would be good to get into the retro scene here if one exists, apparently there is a Brit near us that collects Citroen Vans, the old ones with the corrugated panels. he has loads of Citroen stuff apparently, I'm trying to track him down.
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dave
Part of things
Posts: 34
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Sept 17, 2017 6:19:20 GMT
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Thanks for the nice comments! Yesterday I brought the Citroen home. Met the seller at 2:00pm, he suggested we go to a café to go through the paperwork, very civilized. We went through the fail sheet for the Controle technique. Nothing serious, it failed on lighting problems. The seller claims the lights just need cleaning, I'm not totally convinced, but it doesn't seem like it could be too hard to put right. I had a good look and test of all the lights and they seem fine to me. The sheet also claims there is an LHM leak, but I can find no evidence of this either, will investigate further. After probably the most pleasant car purchase I've ever made the seller paid for our coffees and went on his merry way leaving us to make our way home. after filling up with petrol we set off on the scenic route home, the BX is fantastic! it just floats along wonderfully, the view from the cockpit with the thin pillars is superb, something no modern can match. As for faults, nothings dropped off yet The exhaust rattles when at idle, the gear stick also, exhaust should be an easy fix, the gear stick I'm not sure, new bushings needed maybe? Car is wonderfully basic with no creature comforts at all, the dash even has a clock where the tachometer should be. I think I will miss a Tach and temp gauge, maybe I could swap some in from a higher spec model? the dash looks pretty modular. or I could just leave it as is So home at last gave it a quick wash and parked it up. I'm going to be going over the car properly this week, I have two months to get the car ready for its re-test. V happy so far!
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dave
Part of things
Posts: 34
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Thanks for the input guys, and sorry to hear about the problems with the Eunos WoofWoof. bureaucracy aghhh! Yep still some good original 405s around, I just like the Idea of a new one. A lot more trouble, but something different! And yes, I had been thinking about problems with getting it registered. I had assumed that as the cars are sold in Bulgaria an EU member, The cars would be type approved. this seems to hold true as to register a new car there you have to present "a valid EC certificate of conformity issued by the manufacturer" europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/vehicles/registration/formalities/bulgaria/index_en.htmICKO also build some much newer models for Renault/Peugeot, such as the Renault Kapture and Peugeot 207. Surely they must be type approved? I guess the best way to find out is to ask, I will send them an Email and see what they say, any other questions I should be asking? Some pics of the 405 based RWD pickup they make.
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Last Edit: Oct 19, 2016 3:58:54 GMT by dave
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dave
Part of things
Posts: 34
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Oct 18, 2016 10:04:52 GMT
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Hello, Does anyone have any information regarding the Iranian built Peugeots? They are built by a company called ICKO, 'Iran Khodro Industrial Group' and sold through dealers in developing markets and eastern Europe. They are an updated 405 with a modern dash, airbags etc, some even have luxury's like air con. I love the Idea of a brand new 80s Peugeot! www.ikco.ir/fa/ProductList.aspxI'm relocating to France around Christmas time and would potentially like to buy one of these 405s and travel to their dealer in Bulgaria to pick it up, or even better have it delivered if that's possible? I haven't contacted them yet, I'm a little suspicious of there Bulgarian dealer, a quick search of the address on Google maps shows what looks like a run down residential area.. So sounding it out with you guys first.. What do you think? am I going to get myself into a world of trouble or is this the best idea ever? any thoughts on transporting a car from Bulgaria to Northern France? Here's a link to an article about the ICKO 405's, its a bit out of date as they seem to have made some changes since it was written. ranwhenparked.net/2014/01/22/a-look-at-the-iranian-built-peugeot-405-pars/
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Last Edit: Oct 18, 2016 10:31:38 GMT by dave
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