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They look as small as they'd look. Currently sporting 15" Xsara alloys and the Pumas are also 15" so I guess they're just a wheel that's likely to look a bit on the small side. I do like steels and hubcaps but it's not the look I want for this one, I want to keep things more 90s and smooth hence three spokes and moon discs and the like.
The wheels are proving more difficult to resolve than expected. The current Xsara alloys do look good on the car but they're not my choice and they're not the look I personally want. I'd far rather something with a strong 90s feel to them, hence things like three spokes and moon discs. I'm not too concerned about what other people think of the wheels because I'm fitting them for me, but if other people like them too then that's a pleasant bonus.
Until I find something that makes me think it's the right wheel I don't want to jump into anything. I suspect I'll go with something OEM and it'll be 15" or 16". It may also be something completely ordinary that doesn't look ordinary on the Xantia, much like the Xsara alloys are at the moment.
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MK1 Focus has the same pcd/bore as the puma, higher offset though (about 20mm). I've got some on my puma now (hence spares)
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Merc estate roof bars would look ace on the xantia. Lifts the elegance!
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Previous owner has a set of good Xantia wheels with comparable tyres to my current ones and some original Xantia trims. I'm swapping those with the tyres and Xsara alloys and purchasing a set of Synergie wheel trims (providing I'm the highest bidder). I like the Synergie trims a lot, they're the right look and being Citroen from the same era the styling fits the Xantia properly. No fitment worries going this route and it'll be a lot easier to keep the visible bits of the wheels clean.
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djefk
Part of things
Posts: 844
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Vulg, whilst all this citroening is very entertaining to read, let's not forget what this thread is supposed to be about eh? Princess updates please sire!
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The Princess hasn't had anything much update worthy lately. A cat knocked a spare alternator off a shelf in my brother's garage onto the rear door and arch which has made a bit of a mess. We've had the side we replaced the sphere on - putting the borrowed sphere back on the red car now I have good spares from the orange car - pumped back up so she sits level. The head still hasn't been fitted and the welding hasn't been done because my brother's Saxo jumped the queue.
Tomorrow I've got to help clear out my brother's shed so I can put all my car detritus in there before the house move which is happening sometime between now and the end of the month, estate agent is dragging their heels a bit on that one. I've also got the red Princess to final fettle for the MoT now that's been pumped up and that might need some welding on the exhaust.
I just don't seem to have a lot of useful free time at the moment and I'd rather focus efforts on getting the Xantia smart and good looking for the new business it'll be representing than the Princess, at least for the next week or two.
Don't worry though, she's not forgotten. We're planning to have her re-MoT'd, with a shiny new head, solid floors where there is currently air and a lovely fresh rear axle before the start of November. Also hoping to fit the towbar I've got to increase practicality.
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Just thought I'd point out Moon Discs are actually 1950's...........
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I agree, Moon discs are 1950s but they've been regularly used since then and right up until the present day and look right on a 90s car.
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I think the ultra-90's look that the Synergie hub-caps provide just nails it...! Get it done sir!!!
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***GARAGE CURRENTLY EMPTY***
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Jul 13, 2014 13:06:00 GMT
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Jul 13, 2014 20:05:50 GMT
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I was called up to the garage today to inspect the works on the beige Princess and to offer some reassurance as to what should be done. There is a lot of air where there should be metal, but it's not as bad as it might be. I am, however, very glad we have decided to investigate and sort this as more bodgery was found. From day one I knew about a blob of fibreglass in the front floor pan, driver's side. What I didn't know while I've been driving around in the Princess for about two years is that it was actually a skim of fibreglass resin on the outside covered with a skim of underseal. On the inside it was a skim of bodyfiller over that, then a patch of metal, then another skim of fibreglass before a skim of underseal and then the carpet. The original small rusty hole was not cut back to good metal and it had been left to fester. There's one reason for the fogging up inside the car I guess. This has been labelled as important, but not priority at present. Apologies for the poor photograph, I'm relying on my camera phone as I think I've accidentally packed my camera in a box, I certainly haven't been able to find it since the last round of packing/unpacking I've had to do. The priority, and the reason I was called to inspect, was the rear floor pan that I'd failed the MoT last on. They've had a very good dig and found the floor is actually solid fairly quickly so a massive patch isn't required, the outrigger is still in good shape and the inner sill not as rotten as originally feared. There is a bit of rot further towards the front of the floor pan just ahead of that strengthener you can see, this too was unexpected, but I'm glad it's been found now, that will be properly explored and patched too. Luckily, I have good sections from the orange car to repair this. Here's another clearer shot. In order to find out how much needed to be cut out so repairs could begin - today's planned job, foiled by the undoing of bodges - the chrome arch trim had to be removed. At the trailing edge where I'd tacked a quick repair in all was relatively well, my repair was never great but it was good enough to see me through until I got a welder, so it's lasted precisely as long as I planned it to. Once cleaned up it's not too appalling, pretty average if not slightly better for a Princess in this area. Good. The back half of the arch too was in reasonable fettle. Since the arches are getting the inner lip rolled to accomodate the Lotus wheels a smidge more comfortably, some of the frill on the return edge (not really visible here) isn't an issue. What was an issue was the leading edge, a good portion of which came away with the chrome arch trim. Some proper repair work was clearly begun, and it looks like some of the leading edge was welded, but then for whatever reason a whole load of pink fibreglass resin and bodyfiller was daubed in. What was concerning is that the trailing edge of the sill had a massive bash in and wasn't attached to the bodyshell, neither was the adjacent bit of wheel arch, the whole lot held to the body tub by filler which had let go, trapped water and happily rotted the corner out where I couldn't see. The chrome arch had held it all together and hidden it from view until we got to the point we're at now. Suffice to say the chrome arches aren't going back on. There's a lot of very good metal in this arch, even more in the other arch we'd already stripped back for the repainting, so it's worth repairing it. Not going to bother trying to source a repair panel - there was one for very little on eBay recently - as we've plenty of suitably shaped metal lying about the place and a chap wanting to practice panel beating. Because of the amount of welding to be done, it is no longer viable to do a patch-repair on the beige paint, we're going to have to remove so much paint to do the repairs that I might as well go back to a colour plan I wanted with some adjustment. New plan is a complete HLS style satin black roof and an Aconite purple body to compliment the black velour interior and really make the Lotus alloys and chrome work shout out. This is especially achievable as the rear screen is coming out to get the top corners of the surround sorted and all the doors are coming off to get the bottoms repaired properly. It is going to take a long time and I shall be without my car for a long time. But what a car it should be when I get it back!
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rickyr
Part of things
Posts: 35
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Jul 13, 2014 21:31:31 GMT
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I really liked the beige with brown velour - reminded me of the princess my dad had back in the day. But satin black, aconite purple and black interior now that really is going to be something special.
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Jul 13, 2014 22:12:00 GMT
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I was fond of the brown and beige too, but to keep it like that is going to be so much more work that I might as well have the Princess I'd've specced new. Aconite would have had to be a special order, they'd discontinued it by the time the Princess was being built as far as I can work out.
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Jul 14, 2014 15:18:24 GMT
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There's only one way to cure rust - and that's properly. Glad it's getting done right. Now buy a small compressor, a water trap and spray it yourself properly - far cheaper & better than aerosols. Good luck
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Jul 14, 2014 16:28:32 GMT
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I'm in luck on that front, my brother and an old friend of ours, someone from way back before our school days even, is a fully trained sprayer and welder and has his own kit. He practically insisted the car get fully resprayed and who am I to argue with that?
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Jul 14, 2014 20:24:24 GMT
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Don't argue, get the car down quick before he changes his mind!
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Jul 15, 2014 13:01:58 GMT
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It's better still, the car doesn't go to him, he goes to the car! This is one stupendously fortunate car, I hope it realises it.
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Amazing news...!!!! This is just perfect! We seem to have viewed your wonderful pictures too many times and now they have scarpered...!!!!
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***GARAGE CURRENTLY EMPTY***
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Frankenhealey
Club Retro Rides Member
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death
Posts: 3,875
Club RR Member Number: 15
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Amazing news...!!!! This is just perfect! We seem to have viewed your wonderful pictures too many times and now they have scarpered...!!!! The ever popular Mr. Vulgalour needs to get himself a second or even third Photobucket account so we can all see his pictures all of the time. Hint, hint
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Tales of the Volcano Lair hereFrankenBug - Vulcan Power hereThe Frankenhealey here
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Now that I've finally moved into the new house and have some sort of internet - proper internet in mid-August when they put our new landline in, there's no landline at this house! - I can offer a bit of an update. I was super careful about picking a house that was a comparable risk postcode to my previous address, but when I moved here and informed the insurer they doubled my premium. On rechecking the postcode it has gone from a C-D rating up to an E*. This meant I had to end the policy on the Xantia I've been using daily and keep it going on the Princess who is still waiting for her bum to be welded up. Less than ideal as it now means I don't have a car to drive around in at the moment. However, once the welding is done - the welder has had to rebuild pretty much all of his own car just lately, no time for mine - then the Princess will once again become my sole transport. I'm not too disappointed about this turn of events really, I don't need a diesel car up here, a petrol is more sensible for what I do, and the Princess is a car I love rather than just like. The Xantia hasn't gone away though, my other half is taking it on as shop hack and we'll be sharing it. His premium is a third of mine for no obvious reason but we're not going to go looking gift horses in the mouth there. It also means the Xantia gets a bit of TLC before his Porsche comes off the road to be fettled before selling. For now I thankfully have plenty of other things to keep me busy, not least the projects I've been reading about that I've got behind on all over RR and other forums. I've also got lots of lovely commission work that I took on to fund the house move which is keeping me out of mischief. So as soon as the Princess is ready to haul her crusty bottom way up north to the Stockton-on-Tees area I'll be ready and willing to update you all on her antics as usual.
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