As some of you are aware, I have owned a few of the things now - it all started with a G Plate Si 2.0 petrol manual in Magenta back in September 2000, bought for £200, on which the starter motor promply died a couple of days after filling the tank with fuel. When replacing it, I dropped a bolt down the flywheel and couldn't retrieve it - dead car = scrap a few weeks later after I had syphoned the fuel away from it, rescued the brand new starter and the battery. Next was in 2010, when it was time to replace my smart roadster from everyday use. Along came a 2.1TD manual SX in white with 100,000 miles on the clock. Well it was bought for £600 and a few weeks later headed to Paris Retro for an unexpected HG change. Next was a 2.1TD manual VSX with Lucas pump rescued after a five year slumber and now residing with red-dwarfers of this parish. Run over the winter, she was fun but wasn't quite so economical as M932.
IMG_0319 by messerschmitt owner, on Flickr
Always reliable, the result of a dead injector was a tow to the garage! XM No.2 and surprisingly my favourite of my XMs, is the basic SX that just plods on and on. Oh, and she's a four pedal job - my favourite type of XM
IMG_0218 by messerschmitt owner, on Flickr
Now red-dwarfer's XM, this was rescued from slumber like sleeping beauty! An Epic VSX 2.1TD manual.
After this, andmcit and I purchased a 2.0 petrol between us to scrap - stored at my work, we dismantled it in the car park and the parts went to keeping a few cars on the road. Andrew, you do need to come pick up your panels though!
IMG_0311 by messerschmitt owner, on Flickr
Scrapping in progress - 2.0 Sei S1 in manual flavour.
Selling our house last year, the estate agent who got the business mentioned an XM estate that was in his parent's house and did I want it - I did, and she was purchased, run for the best part of nine months and sold to buy the new blue VSX estate. R267 PGF donated her leather interior to the new car and, despite being infinitely nicer - bodily and interior wise (sorry to say she now has a cloth interior) - I am back to sorting out another car, which needs work to make good.
IMG_1070 by messerschmitt owner, on Flickr
R267 PGF in the scrap dealer's dropping off brass and copper
IMG_0910 by messerschmitt owner, on Flickr
Darting around Gloucester, I spotted this fibreglass beauty at screwfix
IMG_1416 by messerschmitt owner, on Flickr
Ferry nice - Dublin-Liverpool overnight with N477 YBL - 2.1TD VSX in four pedal variety
I am after a set of grommets that fit the roof bars on the new estate. The old bus is missing them and I'd like to see if that helps cure the rear leak. In the meantime I will check the wallace and ... drawer and see if I have any that fit.
IMG_1402 by messerschmitt owner, on Flickr
why do the Irish service stations have such large parking bays?
IMG_1359 by messerschmitt owner, on Flickr
WHhy does everyone who comes to my house ask if I like Citroens?
So, the weekend was spent sorting out interiors - and swapping the leather from R267 PGF, my now departed S2 2.0TCT Estate, into N477 YBL - which now looks much more fetching with its new interior.
I also took advantage of the rainy days to sit and check out the sunroof, which as we know is sealed and not working. I checked the fuse - yep, that was OK, and replaced the switch with a known working one - still no joy! I fear we shall be removing the sunroof one day soon to investigate properly.
She has two leaks, it seems - the standard aerial one at the front and she has a sodden boot floor from a leak at the back, so I need to resolve both of these. She also needs a set of glow plugs as she is reluctant to start from cold. I'll check the resistance over the glow plugs tonight and find out which ones have blown.
IMG_1430 by messerschmitt owner, on Flickr
Home on the range - this is a view of my estate (s). Citroens everywhere!!!
Will throw one of the sets of alloys in the back of the car tonight and go get a set of tyres on them tomorrow so at least one of the cars will be sitting on alloys! Wobbly web or the S1 24V alloys?
While sorting out the interior, I took a chance to play with and replace the driver's side window switch, which wasn't working on one setting - but now works all round. I made sure the old petrol TCT went away with four door switches (for the locks), even if I did forget a speaker and grille and door light, but am in need of two for the VSX estate.
Driving in to work today, despite the temp of the engine being under 90C, the high temperature warning was intermittently on - I had this on the white car straight after she had her head gasket and I am guessing the problem is a dodgy connector to the sender on the engine, so will fiddle with that at lunch time.
I have to tidy up the back of it and put all the tools that are scattered throughout back away in the tool box.
I have a list of improvements and general tarting up to do on the estate.
Not least the following:
1. sort out leaks
2. repair/replace sunroof
3. give it a very good clean
4. service it
5. fit alloys to replace the steel wheels on it just now.
6. fit towbar
7. fit sunvisor for sunroof
8. change wiper blades all round
9. check headlamp washers are working
A question for the experts too! Currently, the satin black from the window bars has gone and is more silver - someone has either polished off this or removed it but I want to turn it satin again - what is the paint code for this paint?
And now we come to the white car!
Well, she has been reliable and comfortable and never seems to break down. In Early February, she had a contratemps with an ambulance on emergency service and is currently sporting a big dent in the rear quarter - they haven't claimed for the slight scratch in their ambulance and I'm not claiming for the dent. Thankfully the car is white and it's harder to notice the dents in that colour. Her test runs out soon and she is also due a service in 1,000 miles, so it looks like I will be performing two simultaneously on the May Bank Holiday weekend. I have some panel beating tools at home so I think I may just try to pull the dents out myself and sort it.
If anyone has a white offside rear door from an S2, do let me know. The white car is currently running 40% veg, which does keep the emmissions down a little - just as well as she is now a bit smoky on acceleration. Her MoT will tell me just how bad this is and whether I need to do serious work on her this year. I find that any more veg than this will see the car lose power and be a 'bugger' to start.
Tonight I also get a chance to do some vehicle shuffling now that the drive is clearer and I am down to five vehicles in an eight car space and I can move the camper forward a bit and empty it from the house move.
Blue estate is heading for Scotland this weekend, as I am in Perth for a couple of days so if you see a scruffy XM estate on the M6, M74, M80 and M9/A9, that will be me.
IMG_1426 by messerschmitt owner, on Flickr
Job 1!!!!!!! Fit towbar!!!!!!!! Black and blue on the Dublin ferry!
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