Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 206!!

[ekjdm14]

Oops, is this "forgetting to hit submit on a long post" thing a contagious thing when one posts in the blog area? lol I DID type out a reply earlier listing all the goodies we grabbed from the yard this afternoon. Long story short, the S2 estate is actually an S1 and we have the instrument binnacle/heater panel (in hope of finding good bulbs, and at least finding how to replace them)/sunroof motor & gearbox/upgraded stereo with 4 channels and a few trim bits. Will be going back for more too, and have heard that there will be a green one there soon as well so maybe more goodies/spares to collect

Also noticed a P38 Range Rover with part of it's LPG kit remaining (tank, HP pipework, shutoff solenoid, ECU & 4 of the injectors were missing). Well, I thought I'd drag the rest of the bits home with a view to maybe converting something in future, it'd be cheap enough just to play round with anyway... Seems after looking further into it this evening we bagged a bit of a bargain though 4x Prins/Keihin orange injectors & rail, Prins vapouriser (minus shutoff), filter, Bosch pressure sensor, 2x 4 cylinder injection modules, the majority of the loom and switch/gauge unit for the princely sum of £30.

At the time I felt it wasn't such a bargain but on investigation we seem to have somewhere around £400 worth of kit sat in the garage with only really an ECU, tank/pipework and loom repairs to be about ready to inspect. Now I don't know whether to convert the Escort or save the stuff for something French and with a turbo....

I will definitely remember to post the bloody thing this time! Oh, and if I can't identify the bulbs I need for the heater panel I'll give you a shout Jim. Might even attempt some sort of write-up on the job as I didn't see one (unless I'm not looking hard enough!) No guarantees it'll be pretty though if I do manage one!

[elma]

From what I can remember the heater panel bulbs aren't that difficult to change but getting the panel back together without the rubber flaps behind the sliders falling off is tricky. Been an awful long time since I did those though, maybe 10 years, my memories may be a little inaccurate.

[CitroJim]

Heater ones are easy but you must remove the wireless and the top cover (by unclipping) on the control pod...

The lamps then come out - when the levers are in the correct position - mounted on a removable (lift-out) lighting bar...

No need to disassemble the heater control pod at all - that is a game and a half!

[ekjdm14]

Ah, that sounds a lot easier than I had even hoped for. Will have a fiddle with the spare panel in a sec and see what the bulbs are like/try and find what to order if they're dead. Nicely

[ekjdm14]

Just been for a nice cruise through the countryside, Xantia performed faultlessly, but... On a tiny lane in the peaks, we spotted a small group of cars languishing in an overgrown yard, I stopped to get photos as there was some general interest there in the shape of a gold Lancia Thema, next to that was a mk3 Granada Ghia-X and on the end a 405 in a nice shade of dark green.

On closer inspection said pug turns out to be an L registered Mi16 that looks outwardly quite sound, although the driver's window has dropped down or been left open at some point.

On checking, the pug is the only one currently SORN whereas the others ran out of tax in '99 and none show on the MoT site so it's been off the road at least since 2005 when the digital MoT record goes back to.

Question now is, is it worth saving? And if so, should I try and bag it as a project? maybe one for the future... so many cool cars & so little time to play with them all!

[ekjdm14]

Ooh, quick insurance quote and the ol' pug looks like a reasonable proposition, only £20 a month with LPG declared as a modification

Methinks I could be bothering the better half and the yard owner something rotten soon... Let me just hope the actual car isn't something rotten too!!!

[elma]

Mi16 always worth saving, even if the cars rot they are special engines.

[van ordinaire]

T5 is, I think, an American designation - it's one area where there is little or no international consistancy.

On the subject of panel lights & the like, the fuel guage isn't illuminated on the C15, no big deal, but it is irritating AND I'd like to fit LED's because the other 2(?) are a shade of yellow that cannot be politely described - & I like instruments to be wrhite, or green!

Any ideas what bulbs they are &/or how to get to them (the hand book says carefully prise surround to perspex screen out with a screwdriver - but only the bottom moves, catches on the wheel on full lock - & won't go back.

The heater controls, such as they are, are also supposed to be illuminated - but that whole area seems to be as solid as any large plastic moulding can be. As I struggle with those controls in daylight, I tend not to use them at night!

[van ordinaire]

Mi16 always worth saving, even if the cars rot they are special engines.

Absolutely! They make C15's fly!!!

[elma]

The Lancia sounds quite worthwhile as well, I've a soft spot for the old rust buckets.
The Ghia X would make a good plant pot, on the face of it a nice car but you'll get transfer box problems and even if you spend many k£s you'll get more transfer box problems. It'll also suffer from the aged Ford plastic syndrome whereby the dashboard will crumble if you look at it. As an ex owner of one thats the most pleasant I can be about them.

[ekjdm14]

Mi16 always worth saving, even if the cars rot they are special engines.

Absolutely! They make C15's fly!!!

A Ci16... fantastic... Wasn't largely the same engine used in 16v XM and Xantiae, albeit minus the rather special manifoldery of the Mi? Or am I woofing at the incorrect wood on that one?

[van ordinaire]

There have been a few (couple?) & I know someone who was quite keen on the idea.

Dunno about Cit. applications though - apart from the BX of course!

[CitroJim]

Definitely always worth saving an Mi16 I'm amazed it's still there and that its engine has not ended up in a 205GTi - the usual fate...

[ekjdm14]

Yes, the only thing on a quick Ebay search of Mi16 was a few 205GTi conversions and a "kit" ready to swap into a 205...

If you saw how out of the way the place is, you'd understand how it's survived nearly 20 years there. (going by the last tax on the other cars present). Even the old Lancia didn't look outwardly rotten, although I'm sure the long grass has taken adequate care of it's underside.

Will certainly be testing the water as far as a rescue mission goes, even though it is an S2 model & I prefer the earlier car. If it does turn out to be a lace curtain underneath I would quite like to create some kind of Estate-bodied Mi sleeper or a 206WRC homage... Insuring those would be impossible for us though... Got to work hard on the better half's heart strings on this one though I think lol even if the owner can be found & persuaded to part with it...

[elma]

You may be surprised on the insurance.
My friend built a Mi16 205 and his brother an insane Mk1 golf (both cars whooped my other mates supercharged Elise) and they both paid less insurance than I did on a Xantia 1.9td.
The reason was they were both on mileage limited classic car policies but these are hardly everyday cars and thats fine.