That's a shame. Charlie - I sometimes fantasise about floating about in an XM in luxury, knowing the reality could end up as space-age umbrella for some comfy seats that don't go anywhere, but with a sun-roof that leaks. On a good day.... but they're soo tempting. You have my sympathy.charlie wrote:thats a reference to me silver surfin xmFish_Botherer wrote:(thought it was a reference to charlie's surfer avatar )
that was going to take me to france last year
it didnt
and now awaits its execution
fuckin shed
Some tidy XMs around still in France last September , though not the one I followed in grotty St Denis outside Paris. Grimy orange paint, two big gents inside with less hair than you and me put together and looking less friendly than the brothers Grant from Eastenders, spectacular Christmas-tree rear lights, and a pressure regulator ticking like a geiger-counter outside Sellafield. Kept my distance.
My BX nearly didn't get there, when I neglected the alternator, fried a cable fitting one from the parts pile in the rain, bought an unneccessary battery, broke the alternator adjustment bolt by going ape on tightening it, discovered a use for the new battery - driving a car without alternator belt in the dark to Tom who made up a replacement, only to find the next morning that the alternator still wouldn't charge. Meanwhile the Channel Tunnel was burning away merrily, making a trip just as far as Dover even more problematic. I rearranged the crossing.
Tom combined two iffy alternators into one, remade all my crappy connections, and all was well again (though only 100% once I'd replaced the ignition switch too). Grolliffe behaved on the trip, even though I did find myself going through outgoing French customs BEFORE leaving the UK at Dover after missing the turning to SpeedFerries in an M2-post-channel-tunnel-traffic-jam-induced time panic and going past the point of no return at the wrong ferryport.
In France, I was pulled by customs joining an Autoroute, had to explain my BX-full of Rebecca's belongings and confirm I hadn't been to Belgium to load the car up with tobacco. Nearly had the same thing again retuning, coming up an autoroute from the Mayenne, but realised that I had to make it plain I'd only been in France and not come up from Spain. Phew! Paris was fine, apart from spending an hour and a half getting back to the right end of Rebecca's one-way street after passing the wrong end first....
To cap it all, Speedferries went bust a couple of months later, making my 2 more open-ticket return crossings with them totally worthless. Still wish you'd got the XM to France?