newbie with cx

This is the Forum for all your Citroen Technical Questions, Problems or Advice.

Moderator: RichardW

Post Reply
citroennut
Posts: 41
Joined: 05 Feb 2005, 01:05
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

newbie with cx

Post by citroennut »

having just been given one of these, a '76 pallas, and read the post about aircon, the question springs to mind, do i still want to keep it and fix it or just stick with the traction nomale. pity help me for loving citroens, it must be one of the world most incurable diseases! suppose i'll keep it but will probably be asking for lots of help!! p.s. just come across the site and think it's great.
User avatar
AndersDK
Posts: 6060
Joined: 21 Feb 2003, 04:56
Location: Denmark
My Cars:
x 1

Post by AndersDK »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">pity help me for loving citroens, it must be one of the world most incurable diseases!<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Know what you mean mate [;)]
Had an '86 CX22TRS for 9 pleasant years [:)] Silver Ghost of my life [:D]
alan s
RIP 2010
Posts: 2542
Joined: 26 Jan 2001, 15:53
Location: Australia
My Cars:
x 6

Post by alan s »

If the CX is any good, why would the inability to fit air/con cause you to want to sell it?
I've driven CXs in the tropics of Australia for 20 years and lived to tell the tale and I reckon if I can cop a 40 degree day out here, you'll handle a 25 degree one over there.[;)]
I'd suggest your biggest potential problem would be rust, particularly in a 76 model and if you have the garage space to do it, get it under body treated as soon as possible. If you were to disembowel it internally to get access to the insides of body and door panels, that would be the ultimate and it is feasible to do an LPG conversion on them providing the government and oil companies haven't made it too expensive between them.
The 2200 engine is reasonably economical when tuned correctly and run on Premium fuel (30 MPG on distance drives) and performance astounding once you know the tricks to driving them. They have good torque right through the entire power band and will sit on high speeds all day. The suspension works well and is the most basic of all CX systems due to lack of power steering and as a result they employ only 5 spheres. The suspension when set as per manufacturers recommendations, is as comfortable as it gets, just below that of a healthy "D" series and this combined with the very French seats will give you a ride few cars can match.
As regards the air/con. They were never factory fitted in those days I think you'll find but instead were a retro fit and unfortunately the systems used took little or no account of the fact that things wear and as a result I feel were underpowered to blazes. On all the CXs I've owned, I've insulated as I have posted on that air/con thread and simply ripped as much of the air/con gear I could easily access out.
This has the advantage of giving better space under the bonnet for services to be carried out, better air circulation in the under bonnet area and tends to not only make the car look much tidier under the bonnet but also reduces cabin temperature to an extent; something the air/con never seemed to be able to achieve.
Engines? I once asked a Citroen mechanic how much it would cost to recon a CX engine as mine had around 500K klms on it at the time.
His response:
<i>"Couldn't tell ya mate; in all the years I've worked on them, I've never seen one worn out!!" </i>That just about says it all.
Alan S
tomsheppard
Posts: 1801
Joined: 19 Dec 2002, 14:46
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by tomsheppard »

The CX learning curve is steep and can be painful. I'm a recent convert and while the rest of the world marvels at it, the BX is a much nicer car to drive and own everyday.
That being said, I've just wafted home at a good lick in the CX and it is a very relaxing car.
Alan has forgotten more about aircon than anybody else on this forum will ever know butI'm determined to get that on my car working well. This might involve a wholesale redesign of the heater system but I can live with the CX's many other faults if this can be cured.
Your Pallas is one of the nicer models and is very early so well worth the effort. Although it is probably worth more as spares and largely forgotten by Citroen's stuffier fans (Because it isn't a DS,) it has its charms and is a genuine rarity, there being a scant few hundred on British roads. They are even getting scarce in France now, having that slightly dodgy reputation that we accord the BL Landcrab (Ironically, look at the landcrab and 1300 facelift proposals for a shock if you didn't know already!) I suspect that yours will have power steering which is very very silly but all right once you get used to it. If you are of paranoid disposition, don't drive it at night. People stay on your rear quarter ketting a good eyeful! It is a very old car by today's standards but comfortable, torquey, different and definitely fun. A real car freak's car. Be aware though that parts can be tricky to find. Fix it, Love it, Drive it.
alan s
RIP 2010
Posts: 2542
Joined: 26 Jan 2001, 15:53
Location: Australia
My Cars:
x 6

Post by alan s »

If it's a genuine '76 Tom, it'll be before the days of power steering. The trick with non power steering models is to stick to the makers recommendations on tyre size and not be tempted to go wider and keep the tyres well inflated.
Yes I had one with 195/75/14s on it when I bought it and it was fun, fun, fun in a shopping centre car park particularly some of the underground ones with all the piles under them....made for the days when "men were men!!"[:D][:D][:D]
Alan S [}:)]
Post Reply