Zel's Fleet Blog - BX, Jag XJ-S, Sinclair C5, Mercedes 208D & 230TE, AC Model 70.

[Zelandeth]

As a few people on a couple of forums had expressed concerns about my using the HT leads as a convenient thing to tether nearby wiring to so I went and removed 3928236348 cable ties and had a bit of a reshuffle of that whole corner of the engine bay.

HT leads are now completely clear of anything else.





Really should give them a clean too to get rid of the dust from the bodywork as I'm sure that's just waiting to behave like a sponge first time they get wet.

[Hell Razor5543]

So you were sparing on the use of cable ties then, Zel.

[Zelandeth]

So you were sparing on the use of cable ties then, Zel.

My OCD tendency to try to make things be tidy can be my worst enemy sometimes!

[mickthemaverick]

That looks much better now ZEL, well done, and I love the battery clamp!

[Hell Razor5543]

So you were sparing on the use of cable ties then, Zel.

My OCD tendency to try to make things be tidy can be my worst enemy sometimes!

I can be the same sometimes. When I commission an Amazon locker I always make sure the cabling is neat and tidy. That way, if I have to go back and work on it at a later date I don't have a rats' nest of cabling to deal with.

I recall being sent out to resolve an issue at a branch of Somerfield (which should say how long ago it was!). When I got there the manager told me that this specific till had been playing up for ages, and had already needed parts replaced and multiple engineer visits (ever since a recent refit). I took a look at the cabling, to find them all done up in one big bundle and hanging from one hook (despite there being several hooks available). I checked another till, and all of the cables were individually bundled up and on their own hooks. I deduced that the faulty till was suffering from induced interference. Because of the recent refit I contacted the helpdesk to arrange for one of their installation teams to come back and resolve the cabling (I could not do this as some of the cables were for equipment not covered under our contract). When I returned to that store for a different issue a few months later the manager told me that, when the installation guy called round, he took one look at the bundle and made a succinct comment about the person who had done this work. He then properly tidied up the cables and the till has been working properly ever since.

[Zelandeth]

Right... it's official. The BX is inbound. Transport is booked, it'll be collected from the current owner on Wednesday and dropped here Thursday. As I've said to the guy doing the transport, we're infinitely flexible so just do whatever works out easiest for you.

I was only threatened with mild maiming when I broke the news to the family, which I take as a win. Not sure if they've clocked the colour yet...

[RichardW]

Nice one. Hearing aid beige??

[admiral51]

Only mild maiming that's not so bad, i was threatened with hung drawn and quartered at the mere mention of getting another Xantia lol

Congrats BTW, it is going to be in good hands

Colin

[Zelandeth]

Nice one. Hearing aid beige??

Yep!

Photo from the original progress thread on another forum (which I can't link to because of the swear filter objecting to the forum name!).

Had a good "oh god is this fate telling me something?" moment when I saw this photo of the rear though...

Particularly the Sterling Motor Group sticker...I draw your attention to this shadow still visible on the boot lid of the Activa...

I've no idea how big a concern Sterling Motor Group were/are, but it was a good small world moment when I spotted it.

Will be a load of photos to come on Thursday when it arrives.

Personally I think the Series 1 BX is one of relatively few cars which (once given a really good polish and is waxed to within an inch of its life) can actually pull off beige as a colour.

[CitroJim]

Can't wait for lockdown to ease so that I can come and see your new BX Zel

I'd owned your Activa for several years before the ghost of the Sterling Motor Group decal became visible.... Pleased it's still there Part of the car now

[Hell Razor5543]

Right... it's official. The BX is inbound. Transport is booked, it'll be collected from the current owner on Wednesday and dropped here Thursday. As I've said to the guy doing the transport, we're infinitely flexible so just do whatever works out easiest for you.

I was only threatened with mild maiming when I broke the news to the family, which I take as a win. Not sure if they've clocked the colour yet...

Mild maiming is OK (ish). I wonder what would have happened if you had suggested taking on THIS project?

viewtopic.php?p=675975&sid=b098b55772fc ... 50#p675975

My company van (a current Vauxhall Combo) has something in common with the BX, in that her windscreen wash system is on the wiper arms.

[mickthemaverick]

Personally I agree with you Zel, Beige is nice on a BX, and on a few other cars to be fair, and the way car colours have gone anything which is not silver or grey is fine by me. Like Jim I hope I can come and see it one day!

[RichardW]

https://tinyurl.com/129iyyt4 warning may contain sweary words

We never managed a beige one in the family... 2 silver ones, a burgundy one, a red(ish) one, a dark grey one and a white one. Although the Twin Pot Visa was Fawn Beige

Jim noted above about the gears in sump - one thing to note is that the oil amount is >5 litres, so make sure you've got a big enough tub when draining it!!

That's a MK2 bumper on the back....

Edit, just perused the thread, I see there was talk about securing a correct rear bumper.

The misfire problem sounds very similar to our Visa - before you do anything else, stick a timing light on it and see what the advance is doing when you rev it - on the Visa the spark was retarding rather than advancing because the advance mech was stuck - and there is a picture of the dizzy on that thread where it looks very very crusty.....

[myglaren]

Nice acquisition Zel!
You can subvert the filter by using an 'í'.
Corporate colours for that forum too

[CitroJim]

Agree, the BX does look good in beige

The misfire problem sounds very similar to our Visa - before you do anything else, stick a timing light on it and see what the advance is doing when you rev it - on the Visa the spark was retarding rather than advancing because the advance mech was stuck - and there is a picture of the dizzy on that thread where it looks very very crusty.....

Good call Richard, the bob weights can seize quite readily...

Something else to check, the 205GTi - which used a similar dizzy - often had serious timing issues due to the vacuum advance capsule diaphragm perforating...

Easy test - suck on it and see if you can draw horrible tasting pertroly/oily air through it...