Vince's xm - 2.1TD daily driver

[Vince]

Very true guys, and i have a guy whod MOT it for no problem....the problem is i cant drive it as i dont have valid insurance or tax on the car....so im stuck.

All said. im going to bring it home and park it back up.....

Linda has decided on a career change so all being well soon enough she will be back earning good money and the xm can be brought back on the road..even if its just as a toy for me

[kingp]

Good work fella! Don't forget anything I can do just let me know, just don't disturb my scone time too much :p

[Dieselman]

Getting the MOT ticket is encouraging, not many more hurdles left now.

[Vince]

Unfortunately Will I don't have the ticket just yet....That will come soon enough though...at least the xm is now MOT ready

Ill get it back home somehow this weekend hopefully and what I need to get is some paint matched to the car. That way I can touch up a few areas with an exact match

I might go into work early tomorrow and give it a wash...its covered in bird cra p now which wont do the paintwork any good

I tell you what though, it feels good to have the rear lights warning panel light up and extinguish properly again....damn dodgy earths

As I was saying...Linda and I realise that whilst we are earning just enough to get by every month feeding the kids etc, its no quality of life as we cannot enjoy ourselves because we are eternally skint. So she is looking for a part time admin job with a longer term view to HR training....That should put us back on easy street again hopefully within the next couple of months so I can start enjoying the xm again.

As we wont be so reliant on my wage, and with the exposure ill get from the next couple of cars I have planned to do, I should generate a couple of further car jobs from referrals and so be able to pay for tax and insurance on the xm and im up and running again

What im thinking now is a few years down the line once Jack has grown up, Linda should be pulling full time money and I might be able to afford a nice gs or early cx

[Vince]

Well, big thanks to Will (kp) as the xm is finally back home again after its 2 week trip to Bolton

I tell you one thing...I didn't realise that my xm was as quick as it was Will in true "just cleaning out the exhaust for you" style gave the xm some well needed exercise on the way back ....I was following in the qashqai and chasing hard but for the life of me I couldn't catch him on the motorway...I was like "blood hell that aint my car"! I guess I must admit that im quite a kid gloves kind of driver when it comes to the xm....its old you see and I don't want to break anything. But, fair play to it, it can go some if you drive it harder


Well all the prep work is done, mechanically anyway.....I decided why not go the whole hog and am doing a tad of bodywork on it ahead of its imminent MOT test probably next week....

The inner wing sealant just behind the rear of the airbox has been cracked since I got it and I could see traces of rust down the crack marks. It also had that delightful crispy sound when you pressed it with your finger...so I thought, what the hell....remove the stuff and see what horrors lie underneath and in fairness to the old girl, its all solid

There was some surface rust and flaky bits ive taken away leaving it looking a right mess, but ill now Kurust it, clean every bit of loose material out of there and then seam sealer it nice and thick and let it go off. Once its dried and textured as best I can to look like factory, ill prime it and paint it body colour again, That should last it a good few years longer as the underside of the wheel arch area has so much weather proofing applied to its rust free bodywork im sure the car has gained a few extra pounds....

If all goes well, then ive got a scab to remove, repair and repaint on the upper sill area of the drivers door aperture....im dreading that as I just keep thinking off what's beneath it

Once im done with the inner wing area my next door neighbour who works at VW is going to take it to work and have it MOT'd for me...he gets half price MOT's done and Ill know the car is in good hands as he is a trusted friend/neighbour and also well respected within VW so they will want to do the job right for him

Well, finally, yesterday I got round to buying some exact match paint for the xm and set about painting some small areas that in my opinion needed some touching up...this evening I got an fine tip artists brush and sat on a stool touched in every single tiny stone chip and mark on the front end and then around the whole vehicle Im sure I missed some, but it was dead relaxing

Anyway....Once the repair is done and looking good ill post up some pictures

[captainhaddock]

Good luck with your citroen in the VW garage, that will be a change of sorts over there Is yours a V6?

[russ92xmsed]

I guess I must admit that im quite a kid gloves kind of driver when it comes to the xm....its old you see and I don't want to break anything. But, fair play to it, it can go some if you drive it harder

I am so guilty of that Vince. I do drive like a Vicar at times. I hate to push it too much just in case.

Look forward to seeing your handy work with the paint brush. I am heading down that road too. The paint on my roof is getting a bit thin. I believe though Matthew has some mixed pain't left over from his old Anthracite car, so hopefully it will match.

Best of luck with the MOT. It will fly through.

[Vieil Homme]

Hi there Mr. Vince!

I am in the same sit. as you.
A -98 V6 aut. Break orga.7522, with 20k km on the meter in shape to be a real eyecatcher.
After 3 yrs. off the road she needs some love from top and down.
Back end of the subframe has some damage on drivers side (in Sweden ) rust, probabely caused of clogged drain.
Drivetrain and hydraulic works smoothly; inside is "as new and with just some small spots on the clear laquer of the nice red EHC.

I admire your work and will try to follow up

//Erik

[CitroJim]

Is that a strut mount I see in the cargo area Erik?

Your XM looks lovely. I saw the interior shot in your welcome post and that looks perfect. Definitely a good car to renovate, especially in the colour

[Vieil Homme]

Is that a strut mount I see in the cargo area Erik?

Your XM looks lovely. I saw the interior shot in your welcome post and that looks perfect. Definitely a good car to renovate, especially in the colour

Hi. Yes you are right Jim. One of the strut mounts have sign of rust, and the nearly new one in the boot will be mounted when checking the front links and joints

After a light oil service by the previous owner, I will drive her 300 km from Malmo home on E6 next weekend.

Wish me luck