Charles's 2.1 SD Manual (formerly Citroenxm's)

[citroenxm]

WOW.. charles, some work.. and I thought she looked good, this is out standing!!

Now Im MORE then PLEASED to sell a car to someone who does this sort of work... Both you and Vince were well worth the efforts.

(I put a clutch in Vince's 2.1 too before he bought it)..

Such a shame the Black M reg TCT never got this treatment from its buyer...

[Charles M]

Well, after all your work Paul, it would be churlish not to get it as tip top as a few hours of work can achieve. My SM is 40 going on 41 and I see no reason why this one shouldn't get to the same age too (helps not having nasty ABS and airbaggy things to write it off!).

The Autosmart Brisk Extra does make things much easier than retail products though.

[Charles M]

Now everything has had a chance to dry out (dehumidifier necessary in the cold) the transformation of the front passenger footwell is total:

Before



After

[russ92xmsed]

That's fantastic. You must be delighted Charles. Can see why your after some mats though....

[Charles M]

It's all come up rather well - the velour feels really special now as well as looking great. Still lots of things to clean though.

[Charles M]

After a few days of problems with the battery discharging rapidly even after a full charge, I replaced it with a new 72AH Exide battery from my local factor, £10 less than the ECP price with 25% discount and available instanter. Of course the battery in the Range Rover decides to be so flat no charger can even get going on it, and my jump pack is in the SM, so the factor will give it a slow charge and see if it will recover - the danger of leaving a car unused for months. I seem to get through a lot of batteries!

[citroenxm]

Oh no charles.. shes not draing batteries now?? Must be that new radio you put in..

[Charles M]

Very cold of late and I've left the car standing with doors open to help dry it out. Not the best combination for battery life if it is a little tired - even after taking it out to charge, it was only showing 12v fully charged.

I still haven't been able to fit the new radio!

[Vince]

Great work Charles It feels great turning back the clock on old cars doesn't it

You always find that the best looking cars tend to be owned by fastidious cleaners...Your commitment to working on the xm in this season points you out to be one of those people Charles....that said, once you get your xm looking the way you want it, im sure it will remain that way

Ill do my best to help you to get yours looking better than ever....one thing is for sure, it will turn out better than mine every could as mine needs re-spraying. Im interested to see how good it will turn out as ive not worked on an xm which has decent paint to work with

[Charles M]

I wouldn't get carried away, I am normally a bit of a scruff, but this car is working some magic on me. I think the paint is ok, but it doesn't have the depth of a Merc of the same era (tragically reversed only a few years later). I'm tempted to let you loose on my 190 Cosworth Vince, as it has been resprayed and the surface needs finishing, rather than the black car which does polish up well.