I contacted Syd after Tim and Paul posted the threads about the cars, and I asked Syd if it would be OK to visit if I were to be in the Lincoln area, as my son is at the University.
My son is going paintballing tomorrow (17 March) and he needed his paintball gun (Tippmann A5 with flatline barrel) which I had here. It needed some new O rings, so I ordered them and took it all up to Lincoln this morning. I called Syd yesterday evening and arranged to go to see him at mid-day. My son came with me but he hadn't seen the pics (I just told him that there was a man with a load of Citroens in a village a few miles out of Lincoln).
We got there at mid-day and Syd opened the door and said we could take a look at the cars and he would join us shortly. I took my son to see the tribe and he was lost for words. When Syd joined us we walked around with him and chatted. He said that SWMBO and his son will not let him near the internet, so I pulled out my mobile phone and showed him the pictures in this thread. He was quite interested in the pictures.
I had previously mentioned on the phone that I might want a couple of parts from the 1.6 Athena, but he seemed a bit reticent over the phone. When we went to the Athena I asked if it was OK to lift the bonnet and he said go ahead. When I asked if it would be possible to buy any of the parts he was again reticent, so I did not push it. As Tim mentioned
here Syd has 3 BX's amongst the tribe
- the D-reg Ivory 19 RD is MOT'ed and covered and is for sale
- the E-reg Blue 19 RD has enough guano for Dr No, and he has already removed the radiator as an "order" for someone but found it so badly perished that it now stands at the side of the car
- the H-reg 1.6 Athena is not MOT'ed and has a 2008 tax disc
I'm not sure what his plans are for the E-reg RD, I think he realises that the only way it will leave the woods is in parts.
He is under the impression that the Athena can easily be made running. The engine looks OK, though some of the "rubber" fuel lines and LHM returns would not get far, and he said that it had a leak from the rear pipes "that is easily fixed" (the rear is up on ramps and I looked underneath and the back exhaust box has been removed). The rear window on the drivers side was smashed some time ago by kids, and the weather is starting to take its toll on the interior. So this car would need a trailer to be taken away, and I said I doubted if anyone will come with a trailer for a 1.6 Athena with those issues. He seemed to accept that, but said that someone might have the engine complete. However it's done 90K miles and again I said that no-one will come for a 90K 1.6 engine.
I kept being drawn to the Ami 8. One Ami I had was HTV 854 N, the one in the woods is HTV 863 N, it seemed to be pleading with me for help. But it is like the Titanic, so badly gone that it is completely unsalvageable. Even if it were an Ami 6 saloon it would not be worth taking away. The near side roof edge (not visible in Paul's pics) is so badly gone that the B-pillar has pulled away at the top, and the whole side has sagged. The floor has also collapsed inside, so I would guess that in another few years the whole car will just collapse in the middle.
He did say that someone "who has 5 XM's" had been to take some parts from one of the XM's (it seems as if at least one XM as well as one CX are now parts cars), and I think that he wants to sell a few cars as runners or near-runners, and ones in condition like the Ami 8 he just wants scrap weight for them. But otherwise I got the impression that he may consider selling parts "to order".
My son and I were there for over an hour chatting to him. As we were leaving, he asked my son what he is studying, and my son said Psychology. Syd was speechless (he may have confused Psychology with Psychiatry).
Anyway, we got back to Lincoln and spent the next few hours stripping down my son's Tippmann A5 and reassembling several times until we realised that two main springs were mixed up: those Lincoln Imps must live in the woods. My son said that Syd should organise paintball sessions in the woods, but I wouldn't want to hide behind that Ami 8 ....now there's an idea for the next Top Gear series.
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