Citroenmads Citroen blog.

[Citroenmad]

Its not been the weather to get the 2cv out recently, not with all this rain and flooding up here, but I did have it out yesterday.

and of course, you'll be getting the 2CV out tonight to come along to the 2CV Club meeting, Shirley . . . ?

(John wants to see the mods you make to the steering on it - if he turns up!)

Suspension mods?

I think my dad would like you to drive it and see how it compares to yours. Careful though, it rolls MUCH more!

It should be there, my dad is going, not sure if I am yet.

We both would like to go on the 2cvCity visit next weekend, who do I need to inform that we are going?

[chopper602]

Its not been the weather to get the 2cv out recently, not with all this rain and flooding up here, but I did have it out yesterday.

and of course, you'll be getting the 2CV out tonight to come along to the 2CV Club meeting, Shirley . . . ?

(John wants to see the mods you make to the steering on it - if he turns up!)

Suspension mods?

I think my dad would like you to drive it and see how it compares to yours. Careful though, it rolls MUCH more!

It should be there, my dad is going, not sure if I am yet.

We both would like to go on the 2cvCity visit next weekend, who do I need to inform that we are going?

more details will follow . . .

[Citroenmad]

Well its been a bit of a busy weekend!

I started by fitting the new indicator stalk to the Activa on Saturday. The old one had worn connection points which was making the indiactor relay tick frequently. A pretty easy job to swap it, the most fiddly bit I found was getting the screws to line up with the airbag unit through the back of the steering wheel. Still, the whole job took about 20 minutes, allowing 20 minutes before with the battery off, just to be safe.

I then checked the tracking on the XM again, I did it before but then set about getting the steering wheel straight by adjusting one side and then the other. Can't have got it spot on as it was toeing in, buts its right now.

Just as I was finishing the tracking I got a phone call from my dad who had been stranded at a set of lights in the Traction. I had to go out with the black Xm and tow it back home, which luckily was not far. It was an easy fix though, the coil (which we think its the original) had failed. Again luckily, we had a brand new one in the garage which cured it, it starts with half a turn of the engine and performance seems improved too. Result!

Yesterday Vince travelled up to work his magic on the Traction paintwork. The results he got are staggering, me and my dad are very impressed, its no doubt the best the car has ever looked in its 57 years existance. The unblemished shine is unbelieveable, its better than a mirror, just perfection.

Ive not taken any decent pictures of it myself, so ill put in Vinces quote from his blog:

Afters





The wall on this one is actually the car ...its a reflection




This is my favourite reflection shot which is the drivers side door reflection....

And the finished thing:



I can't believe the finish, its perfect, what a top job! Its now in its garage and will probably not be out before the ICCCR Its also quite impressive that its paintwork is over 20 years old.

I set about with Vince's rotary polisher on my black XM while he was busy with the Traction. After a quick demonstration and some guideance I gave it a go. I think I need to watch some tutorials on youtube to get better but for my first attempt, I think I did ok. The paintwork went from a very very dull looking, lmost, grey colour, covered in scratches to a much deeper black with far fewer scratches and much more shine.

Before:



After: Ive not had chance to take any decent ones, so these are not the best and the lighting is not good:



If you have not guessed, the car door is on the left ...


The paintwork on this XM is far from perfect, it has many chips and scratches but the finish is so much better, its looking much more cared for now. Well, the roof, bonnet, spoiler and OS is, ive not done the NS, yet .... I'll be getting my own machine polisher, they really are a brilliant bit of kit and actually fairly easy to use. Even my lack of ability the paintworks condition improved greatly.

Vince very kindly gave me a set of S1 Xantia headlamp protectors, which I quite like to look of. So the Activa is now sporting a pair of glasses:


Ive been using the Activa quite a bit this past week, its done my commuting to work, a good few motorway miles, about town and so on. I really like its motorway cruising abilities, its quiet, the ride is really nice and slightly floaty on motorways, the steering very direct and there is more than enough pull in 5th to get to any speed you dare to go, where it never feels out of its depth. Topped off this evening by a nice blast around some good hoonage roads, it never stops surprising me and others with its abilities. Its going very nicely indeed

[bxzx16v]

The traction looks stunning Chris , and the Xm is going to look mighty fine too .

Mark

[vince]

Ha ha the XM looks great on the pictures ....the more time you put into it with the rotary, the better it will get.

Its such a cool looking car in black with the black leather it certainly warrants some loving affection being spent on it. Even before your polisher turns up, you can refine the machined side with some Ultimate Compound applied by hand with the sponge applicator....i finished a dark ford off with that method once and it looked stunning

I might get the XM im buying looking good Chris but where yours will always have the edge is on the colour sheme....black car, black leather, beech style interior wood panels, clean alloys....its the stuff of dreams I would need to go with yellow headlamp bulbs though if it was mine

A seriously cool car

[vince]

Hey Chris i just found a great after shot of yours Looks like new

[bxzx16v]

I did say to keep hold of the Xm at Wetherby Chris , that will be one seriously nice car with some work put in , it's certainly got Vince drooling

Mark

[Citroenmad]

The traction looks stunning Chris , and the Xm is going to look mighty fine too .

Mark

A top job by Vince, thats why! Its the perfect advertisement for a reason to have a black car, as its in pretty good condition with only a few quite minor imperfections, it really rewards for time and effort spent detailing it.

However, the XM, for me, is why I never wanted another black car Any imperfection, scratch, chip or swirl stands out a mile. It'll never be perfect but its a 100% better than it was before, I just need to get the NS polished up and the crunch in the rear wing sorted, that aint going to be cheap!

Ha ha the XM looks great on the pictures ....the more time you put into it with the rotary, the better it will get.

Its such a cool looking car in black with the black leather it certainly warrants some loving affection being spent on it. Even before your polisher turns up, you can refine the machined side with some Ultimate Compound applied by hand with the sponge applicator....i finished a dark ford off with that method once and it looked stunning

I might get the XM im buying looking good Chris but where yours will always have the edge is on the colour sheme....black car, black leather, beech style interior wood panels, clean alloys....its the stuff of dreams I would need to go with yellow headlamp bulbs though if it was mine

A seriously cool car

Yep, thats my plan and its the perfect car to practice using a rotary too

I was thinking about finishing off the machined panels with something, perhaps that'll be my job one day this weekend.

Well Vince, if you fancy a swap your more than welcome Your XM would suit me better than mine, a lighter colour, manual gearbox, diesel engine, superb! Or, if you would like, ill just loan it to you and you can improve it at your leisure

I would have to agree though, its what drew me to the car, its spec and colour combination. I like it way more than I let on

I have thought about some yellow bulbs for that French look, however XM headlights could not be called excellent as they are. Are yellow headlamp bulbs Legal?

I really want some pressed metal number plates for the XM and the Xantia, but in French font. Real shame the law stands in my way!

Hey Chris i just found a great after shot of yours Looks like new

It looks good there ... If only it was new!

I did say to keep hold of the Xm at Wetherby Chris , that will be one seriously nice car with some work put in , it's certainly got Vince drooling

Mark

You were very right, that bonnet did come up a lot better than I thought it would, transformed from its dull and aged look at Wetherby.

It certainly has the potential Mark

[vince]

it would be interesting to completely wet sand one of the panels and then refine it back to a smooth gloss. If that didnt work then a respray would be the only answer to a perfect finish...that said it looks great anyway

As for a swap.....i really like yours, but i also am drawn to the basic spec of Paul's car. Ive always liked the wheel trim look on the grey cars...smooth and simple

[R9UKE]

Vince there's a swirly Ink Blue Mégane here just begging for some of that treatment. Feel free to paddle across!

[andmcit]

That's a cracking picture of the car as the contrast is good between the bodywork and windows and 'floating roof'
but more importantly, the visual clutter of the glasshouse is hidden in the darkened windows which would normally
reflect lighter showing all the unnecessary random cuts of the 1/4 window shut lines on the doors/windows.

The simple wheel trims also really help in significantly decluttering what is a quite busy design too.

[CitroJim]

These pictures illustrate a treat that the XM remains one seriously good looking car from any angle...

Chris, I reckon yours can look like new without too much work especially if you can get Vince working his magic on it...

[Citroenmad]

It is getting there Jim and looks a lot better than it did, Ive had some promising comments these last few days

I love driving it too, im really enjoying the auto box, the leather, the single spoke wheel, the very 80s interior and its overall drive. I kind of feel 'better off' for being in one, rather than a mundane modern box.

Some very kind and considerate person thought they would ruin our C1s unblemished paintwork today:

The marks on the lower of the bumper is where the mudflap has been pulled back during the scuff.

Luckily most of it has polished out, just leaving some missing paint, so it will still need painting.


No idea who or when but it was not there this morning, its been in a few car parks about town so no doubt been clipped by someone then. Very annoying, why can't people own up to damaging someones car!

Ive had a couple of 2.2 C5 Exclsuives to look at today, one which is an auto and returning pretty poor MPG, which I put down to the recent but cheap MAF. The other is a forum member who wanted some fault codes read with my Lexia, which I did and also turned off the tyre pressure sensors.

[Deanxm]

That Xm of yours looks lovely Chris, i know the camera can hide a lot but then its very easy to be over critical of your own vehicle too, i think its a lovely looking car in the perfect colour to polish up, yes it shows the dirt but then its very rewarding to clean because of that.
You really have brouht it up well and the machine job has brought it up really well too.

D

[Citroenmad]

Thanks Dean, I think its looking much better now

We had a run down to 2cv City at Bradford today in the 2cv, a local 2cv group had organised a convoy drive down and visit. It was about a 200 mile round trip in all, mostly motorway miles cruising at 65-70mph most of the way, sometimes more. However, this created a problem for it, as sat with my foot to the floor for a long period made the engine get noisey, which quickly followed by a burning smell and an almost total lack of power. This resulted in having to stop by the side of the motorway twice, however after a couple of minutes on tickover it was ready for the off again. It seems to be a fueling problem, perhaps over or under fueling. The fuel filter looks very old and dirty and the carb probably needs a good clean out, so thats where we will start. However I did find that when sat with my foot well down but not quite to the floor, it was fine. Apart from that it went very nicely and was a really enjoyable drive, we even saw 78mph on the satnav at one point! Scary stuff

2cv City was very enjoyable to have a look around, see their project cars, their for sale minters and their rough bard find style examples. They also stock pretty much everything you could ever need and so we got a few bits and pieces. Ours is lacking any form of sound insulation on the lower, inner bulkhead, so we got that and the rest of the sound proofing trim. A new road wheel and a new tyre to match the good on on the back. A good original steering wheel to replace the small aftermarket thing it has. Chrome headlight trims, one of the old ones blew off on the way! A new rear bumper and the bumper tape, its the smaller style bumper which the Beachcomber should have. And some other odds and sods too. Ive already fitted the steering wheel which has made ths steering lighter and its much nicer to use.


Tim (chopper602 ) did you get any decent video footage today? Not the stopping one Shame it was all motorways! We'll have to have a run out on some twisties next time and catch some of the bodyroll