My XM

[djm666]

I have played pass the XM long enough, i got given this xm when the bloke who had it gave up on it, so i then fixed it and started driving it when i then had the mans volvo in for work he decided when i lent him the xm that he wanted it back so he had it back for a few months then he decided he did not want it anymore, so now it stays and it will be getting a bit of a revamp.

so this is a pic of what it looks like atm.





now the restoration begins.
i will load some more pics as i go, but i want this xm to be a joy to drive as it should be.

[mtxm]

Nice to see there are at least a couple of early V6 XMs in Kiwi and I wish our cars were worth the equivalent £5,000-6,000 over here! Welcome to the Forum and good luck with your restoration, on which please do keep us posted. There is another more active Forum as you will find for XM enthusiasts. With regards, Matthew T. PS. Here is a shot of one of my 12v c1990 of similar spec to yours.

This post has been edited by mtxm on March 27, 2012 08:43 pm

[djm666]

That is one very tidy xm well done with that, my wheels have been painted badly and i am looking to put them back to original but finding it hard to find a colour pic of some original wheels to get a reference to do mine.

My car is a 2.0 sei, but seems to be a pretty high spec car for what it is. that is what i have fallen for i think if it wasnt for the leather seats and the plush interior i would have walked on by, as i was never into the xm's as all the ones i had in the UK where crap. but this one really is nice. it is a Private Uk import into NZ. i have the original reg somewhere i will have to find it and see if anyone car decipher where it was originally bought.

I primed the whole front end the other night after work working till the small hours.

now i have just got some more sanding and some small stone chip filling i noticed i missed a couple, then it will be laying the colour on. this car looked like it had followed a lot of trucks it was covered in stone chips.
I just want it to look good, citroens just dont look good shabby esspecially Xm's.
my brother is in the pics he is a morris minor lover (dont hold it against him, i am just happy its not marinas he loves) but we help each other with our car restorations.

[djm666]

I will upload some more pics as i progress.
i will be getting the paint this week and starting to get it done as i have had enough of just looking at it in the yard it needs to be driven.

[djm666]

also got rid on the canvas front tyres today, so i have a pair of second hand toyos on the front for the min as i am puttting the wages this month into the paintwork. and michelins here are not cheap. have also ordered the front flexible brake hoses and have done the front leg return pipes. so as long as the struts dont go through the bonnet all should be well.

[robert_e_smart]

Massey Ferguson tractor grey is a good match for the grey part of these SE wheels you have. Run round the edges with silver, or a flap disc on a grinder to get a nice brushed aluminium finish, and plenty of lacquer on top to seal the bare aluminium.

[mtxm]

The restoration works seem to be coming along well and here is a picture of brand new early style alloy wheel for the colour that I hope is helpful. My two 12vs are also sei spec., with one manual and one auto box. If you could let us have the original reg. for your car we can identify the area code. With regards, Matthew T.

[djm666]

Thank you very much for the pic of the wheel I will be doing them like that I do like these wheels. I am looking at a xm for spares tomorrow so will have some spare wheels to sling on while I restore these ones. Then it will look like new, brilliant.
I will dig the owners manual out I am sure it had the reg in there. Then the finishing touch will be some French style number plates to set it off.

[robert_e_smart]

This is my attempt at refurbishing a set of these SE wheels with Massey Ferguson paint and the flap disc on the grinder.

[mtxm]

It was good to hear that the wheel photo was helpful and I like the look of your refurbishment Robert! I overhauled a set of early alloys myself but more simply cleaned and lacquered the alloy sections without the polish, which I now slightly regret. It is necessary to be careful with the alloy that is quite soft. Please could you let me have some more detail on the type of grinder disk you used Robert? Best regards, Matthew T.

This post has been edited by mtxm on March 30, 2012 08:03 pm

[djm666]

Wow they do look good. massey furguson paint is nearly spot on.
yeah i would think you would have to be careful you dont tear the alloy off the wheel.
they do look good, well done there.
sorry to sound stupid but these wheels were only fitted to SE xm's? this is the first xm i have had with the wheels.
i have onl had the more basic model xm's before, in the uk i had a 2.0 carb xm one of the first xm's i think that had done over 350000 miles when it had to die of rust, then there was a v6 manual estate car that i never liked that mauch as it had crap interior and smelt horrible inside as the previous owner had put dogs in it. i gave that car to a friend who had a 12v diesel he was keeping going. i think he scrapped the both of them now.
it is a shame i did not keep more spares but i thought my days of having an xm where over when i moved to NZ.
i will be needing some front side lights for it when i reassemble it. but i am toying with the idea of a morette kit but i am not sure about the look of them. plus i want to convert mine to HId lighting as the original lights are crap. but i think this is mainly due to the insides of the lights going yellow.
but i hopefully will get this parts car soon and will have many spares to play with.

[robert_e_smart]

I used some 80 Grit flap discs that I had for cleaning steel to prepare for welding and to use when tidying up weld joins.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80-grit-flap-cle...6#ht_865wt_1164

A higher grit number would be kinder to the aluminium. But I am happy with the result I got. Just lightly skim the surface to remove any corrosion and to give the nice brushed effect.

[djm666]

Nice, i will get some.

i found the service book for my car, it looks like it has been through the washing machine but i can make out the reg as H426 AAM
date of purchase as 12-2-91 registered on 11-2-1991. and the dealer number is 0223 i think.

[citroenxm]

yea.. those alloys were an original standard se alloys up to around 1992/1993 when the "24v sport" wheels replaced them..

the wheels were, in the uk anyway, available on the s spec level as an option though...

nice work.. my identical 1993 sei v6 has identical paint issues on the wings and bonnet though the rear offside kicked up panel is starting tolift now aswell..

[djm666]

Yes i dont know if this car has had any previous paintwork from what i can see it has just had the front cone from another car put on it other than that i think it is just lack of care for the body at some stage has resulted in the deterioration of the paintwork.
but i will get it sorted and looking good once again.