Charles's 2.1 SD Manual (formerly Citroenxm's)

[Charles M]

Total mpg on the run and the running round this morning is just under 45mpg, allowing for last night's run and this morning's (both all stop start from cold) I reckon the journey was more like 47mpg, which is very good seeing as there were certain parts of it when I put my foot down a bit more than I should (I mean, a nice empty M6 toll road was designed to be driven as one would in France!).

Compared to my V6 it drinks about half the amount.

[russ92xmsed]

You have the start of a new business there - Anglesey XM Restorations They come highly recommended...

I think so. What a great idea. And how about importing good LHD cars from France and doing them up. nice bit of Diravi!!!




Blimey...no wonder you're a bit edgy with motorway traffic Charles! Thats quite few breakdowns....
MPG seems to be spot on...modern cars can struggle to do 47 mpg. Also nothing like an XM doing a ton down a nice clear motorway...very fond memories of French holidays or yesteryear watching them whoosh past on the autoroutes!

[kingp]

Glad your all home and well charles

Lovely to meet you and glad the car showed how well Paul does when it comes to running bits

Sorry for packing so much in! Dont think we could have got anything more in the car after you left the services!

A good day of cleaning and a nice rotary polisher should see her looking lovely and tasty again!

MPG not too shabby either for some spirited runs and being a bosch there is some lovely fuel out there for it

[Charles M]

A few things done today. I replaced the existing dipped bulbs with my GE Ultrabright 120%s and took the nose cone off to remove the headlight glasses and fresnels. The silvering was filthy so a bit of a clean and it's a lot shinier.



Soaked the Fresnels in peroxide solution for not long enough but they are certainly lighter - I need to get a second set and let them stand for days and then replace, but having had all the lens covers off and cleaned the lights are working far far better now.

The nearside front indicator wasn't working and replacing the bulb made no difference. I'll have to look at this another day as wiring really isn't my (low) pay grade.

Put the dehumidifier inside the car to start removing that Lake District and Anglesey special atmosphere - I'll leave it on all day and night and reckon I'll get about a half a litre out by tomorrow. That means future leaks will be easier to identify!

All the glass has had a clean in and out with glass cleaner, always perks up the car.

Plastics have got very faded so did some blackening - a significant improvement, more so if I keep doing it and polishing the results!

Before



After



Tomorrow, if sunny enough, a good clean to get to see what the paintwork is doing. I might even try a little T cutting.

[Charles M]

Very nice to meet you Will, it was somewhat of a shock to come back after a pit stop to find the car had become a mobile library! Still, it's a heck of a lot of stuff moved closer to it's destination, all for a tiny detour. Now to get the horns to Dieselman.

What I really need is a Vince here for a weekend to machine polish up this and the black XM. Shame he's in Manchester!

[russ92xmsed]

A cheap quick fix to get the black trims black again is to use some nut oil, linseed oil, Vaseline or peanut butter...non chunky, and they will replenish the oils.
Might be worth trying a cutting compound coarser than t cut too to get the white off. I am sure mine where as bad as yours when I went to see it for the first time...and they must have been cut back and treated in a similar fashion.

Remember Charles, you need sunshine or some sort of UV light for the peroxide to work properly.

[Charles M]

Interesting Russ, I have lots of nut oil in the cupboard. The fresnels were out in the sunshine with the peroxide today, I knew it was not going to do much in the time but it's better than it was.

[CitroJim]

How about using a UV lamp on them? Take them to a tanning salon. There's one on the corner of my road...

[Charles M]

What a good idea! My local hairdresser (since I stopped commuting in to Trumpers) with lovely leopardskin seats in the window does Celebrity and Spray Tans (I think the first has a lot more orange in the mix) but I don't think they have a real tanning booth. If it did I could have the little darlings done when I have my resolutely non-sleb short back and sides.

[Eddie nuff]

Vince put me onto Meguiars Ultimate Protectant Dash & Trim Restorer. I swear by it now, it brings all the black plastic and rubber back to black with ease.