Well, I can finally say I've finally been in an Activa V6 and can also say I've driven one too.
Yesterday started at 0530am when I got out of bed, did all the usual nonsense and got a lift to Glasgow Airport. My flight boarded on time and even arrived slightly ahead of schedule into London Luton airport where Shaun had very kindly offered to pick me up in his Activa V6.
When walking up to Shaun's car it looked lovely in the car park, the nice dark emerald green paint with the contrasting beige leather interior. Shaun then drove from the airport to BL Auto's. The V6 transforms the whole character of the Activa, it gives it a great soundtrack and gives it a much wider power band with torque available all through the revs. It's a long time since I've driven my Activa, and I'd totally forgotten how effortless corners were in them!
Upon arriving at BL Auto's there was another V6 Activa, this one a Series 1 in silver as well as several SM's that were in varying states of repair, a DS that was undergoing restoration, a customers C5 V6 Exclusive SE, a C6 V6 HDi with a massive empty space under the bonnet where the engine should be, a 3.0 Petrol V6 C6 was also in attendance, this was amazing, you couldn't even hear the engine running inside the car!! There was probably a few other cars that I have probably forgotten about. Sid the squid's old Xantia V6 aka Green Goblin was also in for an MOT at the garage two doors up, I think the owner was expecting it to fail as he seemed pretty surprised when it came back with a pass. It was a Citroen Enthusiasts paradise!
Shortly after we got there another Xantia Activa pulled up and out stepped CitroJim! His dante red Activa also looks like a lovely Xantia!
After the guys at the garage had finished what they were doing Shaun's Activa V6 went up on the ramp so that we could get a good look underneath it and see what had to be done during the conversion. Even the underside of Shaun's car looks as good as the top. Everything on it is very tidy, it's certainly a well looked after car. The conversion doesn't look like a bad one to do and should be made easier because I've got a Xantia V6 that I'm taking things out of so will be able to get a good idea where they go before removing them. It's amazing how the V6 engine sits in there and looks like it was there since the day it left the factory!
After we'd finished talking, playing with and looking at all sorts of Citroens, various bits of engines and drinking tea and eating biscuits Shaun let me have a drive in his car. Wow... I couldn't believe how different the character is from the TCT. It's everything the Activa should always have been. As well as having a lovely sound track and loads of torque the grip and stability of the Activa when cornering was impressive, very impressive, especially after being used to the handling on a P38 Range Rover for the last 12 months!
Afterwards Shaun showed me his DS5 company car. I must admit, I've never really looked at any of the modern Citroen's as they've not really interested me but the standard kit and spec level on the DS5 was phenomenal. It was really well built and was just a lovely place to be. When I saw Shaun's C6 it did make me realise I shouldn't of sold mine. I have over the last week or two found myself looking at them again but the problem is I don't know what I'd use it for. I've got two special cars already that are for high days and holidays (Activa and XM) and I've got the P38 Range Rover that I used every day for towing etc as well as the company van I use for work.
Anyway, by this time the day was passing quickly and it was time to head back to the airport. Shaun drove in his Activa and it was a pleasure to be sitting there as a passenger. The sun was shining, it was a lovely day and the car was just superb. By this time I had no doubt in my mind that my Activa was getting a V6 heart transplant as soon as I could find the time to get it done. My flight was meant to be at 19:40 however as I walked through the airport I saw the dreaded "Delayed" message beside it with an estimated time of 23:45 on the board. Unfortunately their estimated time was pretty accurate as we didn't leave until nearly midnight which got me home at around 01:30am.
The delay did however allow me to spend plenty of time thinking about my conversion as well as sampling several pints at the Wetherspoons in the airport.
My idea is to have my Activa on the ramp and the V6 Xantia facing it in the shed so that I can turn round and have both cars within feet of each other which should hopefully mean that it's an easier job, take one part off the V6 then fit it to the Activa and keep going that way.
The ECU in the Xantia V6 has software on it that is designed to suit the 4HP20 autobox so isn't really suitable for the manual gearbox. When I bought my 2nd V6 engine and gearbox it came with two ECU's from a 406, apparently there's a manual and an automatic in the bag. The only thing I had forgotten that I'd need to deal with is the immobilisation on them as you'd need to swap the CPH with the keys and the ECU which would lead to problems. You can however get the 406 ECU unlocked which would solve the issue, the only problem with that is it effectively leaves the car without an immobiliser.
After a bit of Googling today, I have found a company who can copy the immobilisation details from one ECU to another so I'm going to give them a call at some point this week to see if they could rescue the details from the TCT ECU in the Activa just now and write them to the 406 V6 ECU which will be going in. That way the car will still be secure.
Anyway, a big thanks to Shaun for his hospitality yesterday and showing me around all of his cars. I had a thoroughly enjoyable day. It was also great to have a catch up with CitroJim. I fear Jim may have been put off C6's for life though yesterday after having heard some of the stories that were being told. I also got the feeling though that Jim rather fancies sticking a V6 in his Activa though
Not long to wait till Wetherby now either, I'll hopefully be in attendance in my XM, unfortunately I don't think I'll of had time to get the Xantia converted by then.
Here's the two ECU's I have, does anyone know how to determine which is the auto and which is the manual one? I can't find anything on Citroen Service or Peugeot ServiceBox.
Over and out for now
David.
I'd then have three ES9 powered cars....
