BXProject

[Philhod]

I no longer use unobtainium as it is no longer ...err...obtainium

I now have a source of obtainium which is a greener if synthetic unobtainium and can be used as a replacement for cheese or any other material, especially the other one that a BX is made from, disintigationite.

My source is protected and therefore I am the only supplier. begging letters, pm's or other
means of communication will be ignored.

I've no doubt bribery will work though. Definitely if nubile females are involved.

[Vanny]

Laura will be at Startford, you mark my words!

[docchevron132]

I can hit stuff with hammers!

I'm not overly worried yet.
But it does seem sad that in the space of three months it's all gone so total in the lack of parts supply.

Engine / transmission bits should be available for years yet.
Pads and valver front discs will be aorund for years.
Rear discs and solid front discs might become an issue.
Radius arm bearings, no problem.
rear wheel bearings, especially ABS bearings could be an issue.
As Tom said, front flexi's, althougbDavid makes suitable flexi's
ABS and non ABS driveshafts are getting harder to find, even recon
as are steering racks etc.

It's going to become as Tom said soon I think.
Skilled, determined enthusiasts should be ok for a fair while yet, but I do think that it's the daen of the end of the BX for the average bloke on the street TBH.

[Vanny]

What about crossing over parts from the Xantia?

on the ABS bearing front, i can get literally ANY bearing you can give me dimensions for, so they shouldnt be a problem (oh, that includes seals etc as well).

Rear brakes are the same as many Citroen models and i think the same as a renault, so i'm less worried about them.

Things like ABS sensors could be a bit of a bugger, i'm looking at alternatives at the moment. Perhaps we need to list 'alternatives' and dimensions etc (i notice a lot of bearing and seal specs are now on service.citroen.net!).

[Father Ted]

ABS is always somethig that concerned me with the BX, two of the ones I owned were ABS and the lamp of doom was forever flashing its teeth at me. Personally Im not a fan of ABS and I wonder how realistic it would be to convert a car from ABS to non-ABS and not have the MOT man shredding his pants?

[Fish_Botherer]

A case of "Must be tested if present?" Would've thought determining whether a car of the BX's era originally had ABS would be a bit of a minefield, so can't really see it going on specific model.

A medium-large pile of bits would be left after removing.

Even the last-but-one BX, where lots was seized-in-place and had been left to fend for itself didn't cause undue problems on the ABS front.

[docchevron132]

What about crossing over parts from the Xantia?

on the ABS bearing front, i can get literally ANY bearing you can give me dimensions for, so they shouldnt be a problem (oh, that includes seals etc as well).

Thats a likely way forward I think, certainly Xanty rear cylinders will fit the BX with a bit of a mod.
Don't know about front struts though?

Rear wheel bearings aren't just bearings though mate, they are part of the hub.
Again though, maybe a Xantia bearing would fit?

[Vanny]

Im told the Xanty rear arms on early cars are a straight swap for the BX, dont know how true that is though. Might be worth cutting up a Xanty at some point for comparison no?

[Philhod]

Brake discs are not a problem, as I have fabricated and then machined replacements for Vauxhall nla stuff, in the past.

Not as good as cast iron, true, but I used good quality ms. Again I would use the lowest grade ms as it will be more kind to pads.

I don't know how a zant front leg differs from a BX, they look the same at the top, but if it's down to length or hole spacing, that's a straightforward fabrication job.
Gain, at the btm end brackets could be made if necessary.

A company here in Wigan, manufactures bearings and seals in a big range of sizes. Citroen themselves chose from a suppliers standard items, so this shouldn't be a problem.

A\s an example some brgs for a model engine I was refurbing were priced at £ 29-00.

The same brg from Abex £6-12p

Hose Tech are another company that will make up hydraulic flexi stuff for you and if I can get round to making up some more Cit pipe squashers, as long as we can get cuni ok again.
Drive shafts are a serious issue but many vehicles use the same design its only the length that differs. Again this is a m/cing/ welding operation if suitable alternatives can be sourced. What think you??????????

[tomsheppard]

Vanny said:
Might be worth cutting up a Xanty at some point
Never a wasted effort.

It will be pipes and rubber that prevent us from continuing, Glass channel seals, door seals and the like. Engine hoses are like hens' teeth and once cables get hard to find, it will all start to get silly. Today it can take days to put a BX back on the road after a minor problem. If you need the brute to earn your daily bread, then it is already a liability. An ABS front brake pipe for a current Ford was at my parts dealer within the hour. Were parst still readily available, I'd still be driving a BX.

[docchevron132]

Good call, I'm fortunate to have the two BX's, so I've never had both off the road at the same time!
Even if I did, I could press the ambulance back into service, or the bus at some point. Or one dads pair etc, so I'm never wanting for wheels.
But if you only have the one car.... whole different ball game.

I believe the early Xanty rear arms are indeed straight off a BX, the later ones I think are a bit longer?

I know a dude that makes cables, so thats not the end of the world, but as always it can take time to get said made, so when things get REALLY silly, I might invest in getting a small production run of things done maybe?
In the interim I think I'll get some more breaker BX's in and build the stock pile of bits up again, and as interesting stuff comes up on the bay I'll be having a stab at them aswell.

[Cartman]

doc wrote

I do think that it's the daen of the end of the BX for the average bloke on the street TBH

tis damn scary that list of nla parts, looks like i better do some fucking learning!

around 3 years ago, i worked for chrysler and misubishi, and for both manufacturers, you could still get pretty much ALL of the bits for their 80s cars, and im told that is still the case now! lucky buggers...

[docchevron132]

You can get pretty much for any Merc of ever, if you have the money.
Shame Citroen are utterly shite at parts supply for the older beast.
Dont bode well for shit like the C6 does it?

[smiffy]

I thought radius arm bearing kits were impossible to find?
I will likely not be running a bx much longer than 12-18 months, if there is going to be a problem getting parts. Shame, I quite like them..
Question is what to replace it wityh?

[Fish_Botherer]

I thought radius arm bearing kits were impossible to find?
I will likely not be running a bx much longer than 12-18 months, if there is going to be a problem getting parts. Shame, I quite like them..

Have I missed something here, or have SKF discontinued the basic bearings & inner race? And how much else is there in the kit that can't be fabricated/recycled somehow?

There'll be other people outside the UK (the Netherlands for one, possibly parts of Eastern Europe) in precisely the same boat, and some of them may still have access to metal-bashing industry (apologies, I know that's not the best term) that've not been made nearly extinct.

I'm sure I've seen BX exhaust systems recently on eBay that originate in Poland (OK, quality unknown).

is what to replace it wityh?

Anyone wanting to continue use hard-earned Citroen hydraulic know-how on a car that's often undervalued in the market has a limited number of choices beginning with an X....

In the light of recent experience with PSA, that'll be in the same boat once the legal obligation to supply basic parts for a discontinued model expires, though that'll admittedly that's still some time in the future. I'd expect the availability of non-legal-requirement parts to dry up sooner rather than later, in light of what's happened with the BX and current economic climate. How many Citroen dealers still see them for service nowadays & thus drive demand for parts?

Still doesn't have the same appeal as a BX, and a whole set of different quirks, and increased risk of damage and bad-mouthing if stored in certain locations...

[Fish_Botherer]

Have just seen Bandit's bleeding X... post. Better the devil you know, though I'm thinking hard as I don't have room for even one spare BX to drive or plunder, and distinctly limited opportunity for repair space, particularly if things go tits-up in a way that means I can't move the car.

[Vanny]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Citroen-BX-Middle ... 240%3A1318" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

this seller seems to have a whole lot more BX Exhaust parts!

[docchevron132]

Radius arm kits (as in, getting SKF kits complete) was a major issue a few weeks back, but only because no-one had any on a shelf, that situation has rectified itself now, and given that the kit is the same as the Xanty then it should be available for sometime yet.
Even then, as said above, there are many other options for that.

Exhausts will dry up, and soon, but there is still stock if you know where to look.
And a stainless system would rather make that arguement null and void.
Xantia rear arms are shorter and fatter, I had one in bits today, about the same time I noticed the N/S arm on the tD is fubar again. Cant be the bearings, the arms cactus.
Happily I do have a coule of spare arms left.
I intend to start getting some more BX's in for scrap soon, and I think the parts situation will be viable for a while yet, given that stuff still turns up on the bay, and there's still stock about in places.

That said, I too have been thinking about replacement cars.
C6? Nope.
XM? Even worse parts availability than the BX.
Xantia? No.. Just..no.
C5? mnope, any shape, I dont like them.
C4 2.0 VTS? Maybe, I do like them, but they aint hydro.

So then I got to thinking about non PSA stuff, and drew a blank except for:
Rolls Royce Silver Shadow. Always wanted one, parts availabilty excellent, if not cheap.
Mercedes. Any part for any car, again, not cheap, and I dont want a Merc.
Sooo.
I thought outside the box and came back to another car I've wanted for ages:
A 1971 Buick Riviera! Parts supply, fucking awesome from the states.
Big fuck off V8, shite handling, even more shite brakes, but the size of a house, comfortable, automatic.
Ticks all the boxes!

[Vanny]

i think i can do a tim here;

[docchevron132]

Why so sad?