2002 Xsara VTS

[Ben_w]

All of the big bits with the exception of the engine (and I've a buyer committed to that at the end of the month) sold, and a lot of the small bits also sold or boxed up for spares for mine, it was pretty much stripped. The last job was to pull the dash, the heater matrix and blower motor and then the carpet and sound deadening, leaving a bare shell.

A stripped shell....






I thought about rolling it onto its side but then figured this gave me just as much access. Engine cranes are great!



Rather than try and cut individual sections, it was just as easy to cut a massive square. Didn't take long, maybe an hour or two with Tea stops....






This morning, before the scrappers arrived, I took the last few bits off the Xsara. Couple of bits I'd missed from the towbar and then the spoiler and rear wiper motor (which strangely on the Xsara is rivetted in, not bolted) and then that was that. Done. The lorry turned up about lunchtime, the guy driving had a chuckle at how little was left, chucked a chain through it and promptly hiab-ed it onto the back of his wagon and was gone!

Over a brew, I got busy with some more interior bits. Finished cutting out the gearshift gaiter material sections (yes, it's not lost on me either...a gaiter that mounts onto a 4 sided piece of plastic, made from three bits of material..... typically french!). I'm going to have it sewn with the Citroen Racing colours of red and white.



Then, inspired by jim and his Clio and the work he's done, I decided I wanted to use a few of the spare trim bits from the breaker and wrap them in a 4d carbon fibre type film...

First was one of the sill trims. Quite a complex shape, especially around the Citroen lettering and it's not perfect but, as another friend said, no-one is looking at it with magnifying glass...





Spurred on by that, I threw caution to the wind and decided to wrap the entire dash console. In for a penny etc......it was a bloody awkward shape and probably took me three hours to finish. Lots of heating and stretching and shaping and trimming...







Due to its shape, it's going to need an extra strip adding to finish the recessed section for the instrument binnacle but given the angles etc, the join should be fairly invisible.

I'm really pleased with how it's turned out.

Tomorrow, it's about the brakes. The new front discs are on order, as is a fitting kit for the rear pads from the local Euros branch. New brakes format and rear, refit the seat and front bumper and then figure out how I'm getting it to CG cars ......