MODERN CLASSICS
DIARY OF MODERN CLASSIC AADDICT
It was lovely to have my classic car batteries recharged at the recent Festival of The Unexceptional. Being part of a growing tribe of enthusiasts, where it’s OK to love everyday cars, is a good feeling. Being able to say: ‘My name is Keith Adams and I adore Fiat Stradas and Renault 11s,’ without being ridiculed is a weight off my mind.
Every time I go to the Festival, there seems to be a voiture à jour. Last year, Protons ruled the roost, while in 2022, the event was teeming with Citroën BXs and, to a lesser extent, XMs. I’m comfortable with that. Very comfortable, in fact. It served as a reminder to me that I’ve started work on my own XM and would dearly like to join the fun in 2023. So, the XM. Finally, months after buying it unseen, PC towmeister-at-large Clive Jefferson and I went to Scotland and collected it. I must say that the guy I bought it from, Ally Getty, was lovely throughout the process – incredibly patient, and keeping it in the dry for me while I got my act together and arranged collection.
Ordinarily, I’d go up and drive it back, but with the car being an unknown quantity to me, and bereft of an MOT, I didn’t want to take any chances. So, instead, we had an 18-hour day on the road, shaking hands on the XM and then pootling back to England at 60mph, XM in tow. Happy days.
A pleasant surprise
I suspect I’d have been OK to drive it, because now I’ve had a close look at it back at base, the XM looks to be a good one. It might have more than 150,000 miles on the clock, but having originated in Germany, it’s been scrupulously well maintained (it needed to pass the brutally hard TUV every couple of years for a start), and since coming to the UK has enjoyed a suspension overhaul at the hands of a Citroën specialist. Thanks, Ally, you undersold your car and over delivered on the deal!
So, what I thought I was going to have to contend with was a wheels-up project XM, and what I appear to have ended up with is a light fixer-upper. Perhaps I am being a little optimistic, but what it’s beginning to look like is an engine service, with new belts all round, some exhaust work to fix a chuffing manifold, and a legion of electrical issues that don’t particularly scare me. It helps that I have a son who’s a whizz with car electrics.
The exterior is straight, could do with a bonnet respray and a set of fresh chrome strips would finish it off nicely. In addition, the interior is complete, fully functional and is a valet and le
