Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Here is an idea to help.

http://citroen.cappyfabrics.com/Headaim.html

Here is a video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oz5ynBlx7k

Or just take it to an MOT station and get them to do it and pay them.

Poppin wheelies be liek...

Ruined by music!

https://www.facebook.com/bvteammotorsports/videos/971900382879451/

Up for karting if any of you want the honour of sharing the track with Teamsports third week of December 2014 10th fastest driver?

paging Dammit

https://www.blocket.se/halland/Volvo_855R_67424296.htm?ca=21&w=3

£5k!

It's very clean, shame the only modifications are bad ones.

If I get another Volvo it'll be a 200 series I think.

Which mods are bad? Not clued up on 855's so would love to learn a bit

That air filter is a backward step- the stock air filter will happily flow well at 400 horsepower, and that cone filter is taking in hot air from the engine bay rather than the stock unit which is fed from the grill (with a snow filter, which I have removed but you might want to keep).

Other than that I don't like the look of those grills, and usually to fit them people have to cut the end off the bonnet release, which is sub-optimal.

All in all it looks like a nice car, I'd want to check how healthy the turbo is, and read the fault codes, but as long as it doesn't smoke (gunked up/shot piston rings) it looks great. Drop in an S60R engine and M66 box with LSD and you'd very rapidly want a big brake kit and coil overs.

The grill strikes me as an odd choice, but shouldn't be impossible to rectify?

Same with air filter, it should be easy to pick up on original one from the breakers

As much as I'd like it, I doubt I can justify the cost of keeping it going. I need a winter car so I can park up the merc when they start to grit the roads, but this is hardly it :)

Looks like it comes with a set of winter tyres? And yes, rectifying those changes is trivial, I actually thew out a genuine airbox the other day which you could have had. I've a complete set of rods for that engine as well which I keep moving from shelf to shelf in the garage.

That particular car will have a viscous-type LSD, it's surprisingly effective in snow, my car (powerful, front wheel drive) was moving when far less powerful vehicles were spinning their wheels (when last we had heavy snow, so a while ago now).

@Dammit

Not directed at you, your comment just made me think to myself, people that modify perfecty good engines before suspension and brakes need to be beaten out of adolescence with a stick.

Handling > power any day of the week.

Checking your average speed drives this point home. Mine sits around 27 mph. Do i really need more power to enjoy the car?

Depends what you want.

A punch in the back? = yes

A great cornering car = no

*sighs and shakes head

My Citroen BX GTi 16v (and burger and pint)

The former being a perfect combo of quirk, comfort, speed, and practicality.

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Superb!

They were quite rare if I remember and there was a 4x4 version. Do have a soft soft for them. Unfortunatly the diesel ones.

Pub looks shit, can't they afford plates?

Pretty sure that car is from the future.

Yeah the salad was a bit limp too.

The 4x4 BX was 'just' the 8v version of the GTi, so not quite so nippy as this one. The same engine was however used in the 4x4 Peugeot 405 Mi16.

Driving down to Montpelier in a month or so. Black leather seats, dark green paint, no a/c, bring it on!

I had the 8v for a bit and a 16v that was converted to a 1.9 diesel. Yep someone took the engine out to put into a 205.

Used to get BX cheap as if the rear suspension sphere go hard it takes out the rear wish bone bearings. Also if the sliding units start to leak, they were expensive to replace but you cuold oreder the rebuild part for less than a tenner and wait for them to come from france.

Love the fact that ther are such a magic carpet such a wonderfully smooth ride.

There're no rear wishbones on a BX, it's trailing arm at the rear. However the bearings in the trailing arms do go dry - and all by themselves, with or without a flat sphere - just rebuilt the nearside ones in mine in fact and it's back to the joys of smooth wafting.

The local kids call it a Ferrari - I'm not planning on correcting them.

Looks like one we used to have, gti 16v metalic dark green, black leather bolstered seats styled by someone who has a boner for cubism, even the seats were nearly square. Was a nice motor, even 10 years ago they were rare

Yeah, sorry trailing arm. No idea about the dry, I just got them when both the sphere and bearings were gone. So the rock hard rear suspension made a lovely creaking noise and and no movement when you sat on the back.

Can you sill get the SKF rebuild kit? Remember that there were some kits that came with a grease nipple and slightly modified inner tube. Think I still have a second set of arms, can't remember throwing them away after the last BX. So when I had the problem I just rebuilt the arms and then did a straight swap.

Still have the sykes pickavant adaptor to make the replacement pipe ends.

Spotted this yesterday and it made me weak at the knees. Check out that plate.

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Seems like a fitting place to ask for help, but I'm looking at upgrading my car to something brand new, or at least very close to brand new.

I've done the standard progression of 106 gti -> clio 172 -> e36 m3 evo, all had their fare share of trackdays, sold the m3 before I first moved to London, but bought a very well looked after e39 5 series msport when I moved back to Ireland last year. I've moved back to London and brought it with me, but I've had it over a year now and registered it here, but looking at something new.

The 5 series is nice, great for the long drive back to Dublin, and out to visit her sister in Southampton, but it doesn't put its hand down your pants and have a rummage to quote J. Clarkson, so I think the main thing I'm looking for is a car that's a bit lighter and more lively.

I'm very much a BMW fan, but I don't think I would get much BMW for the money I want to spend on a new car.

I've been looking at a gt86 maybe, which seems like a great package at £25k. The equivalent BMW would be a 120i msport, which is lacking a LSD and £10k more.

MX5 is a no as I'd like to have the flexibility of back seats (however small they are).

370z is maybe a little out of budget too.

I think you can see a trend, all front engine, rear drive coupe's....not sure I want to go down the hot hatch route, but the megane 275 cup is certainly an interesting prospect at £25k.

Is there anything else you would consider, brand new around the £25k OTR price point?