Welcome to fast frogs. BX's are awesome.

I saw a faded red BX one afternoon a few months ago. It was southbound between the Topuni corner and the Oruawharo turn-off.
Considering the scarcity of BXs on the roads of Northland there is a high chance it was your car.

It was a real delight to see a regularly used older Frog out on the highway.

I was heading north in a white 309 5 door.

Welcome to Fast Frogs.

Fast Frogophilia started while on working holiday in UK late 1990s  ,  low mileage, 1 owner  white Bx TZD used daily for a year then hit large deer on a country lane and written off !!
The bug had taken hold though so next a well used faded red  Bx TZD Estate ( which the missus quickly grew attached too ) This waka  took us up through Scotland and down through  France on various hikoi  and was fast and economical at the same time which is a huge bonus on long trips on good roads .
A predented  1993  Zx  Turbo D was added for personal abuse of course till our return to NZ late '05 when  a low mileage A31 Cefiro was gifted by whanau .
This waka was daily driver 600km per week from 2006 to  2017 and I took the odo from 90K to 450K before the RB20DE headgasket said enough . The standard  chassis / suspension of an A31 is truly one of the best ever  , completely stable and planted  on the worst Northland corners  at what would normally be  stupid  speeds .
The expiry of the Cef lead to taking up the offer of the current daily , a very faded red Bx Tzd , an ex-Taranaki car that is undergoing a rolling restoration with Citroen maestro Phil Cotter on the spanners . So far its had rear discs/pads , full transfusion fluids/filters , new spheres , full cambelt kit , a set as-new  alloys from a Bx TRS and  Michelins . The paint can wait .
It great to be back in a fast frog and the bug has caught because I'm eyeing up a dereg silver Zx Aura D (automatic sadly) with dud diesel donk as a project .  The Zx chassis / suspension is fantastic and would enjoy Northland !! I have an full ex-TZD motor/gearbox  to graft in  . Has anyone out there converted a Zx auto diesel  to manual  turbo D or put a turbo D on to the Auto box ? I'd be interested to hear comments / advise .

Thanks guys, I'll have a good look at Demon-tweaks over the next week and make a wish list.

I'm going to run with the 1/2 cage to start with as the guys in CHCH can do the other half later on.
The cabin will get a full refit later on with the dash removed and a custom one fitted so I don't want to cut it up now to fit the cage.
The XU7 is to start with.  I'll look at a GTI-6 motor and box once I have the basics sorted out.

This will be a medium - long term project with bits added as the budget allows.
I also have the R25 to get going and that looks like it going to need either a gearbox swap or rebuild and that ain't gonna be cheap.

Thanks again.

Which front brakes does the 206cc have?

There's a fair few people racing 306s already, so there's no shortage of experience with making them go well.

Rear suspension is probably the biggest pain in the arse, because what you really need are proper large diameter hardened torsion bars. I got some for my Saxo from the UK, but they aren't cheap.

All the other suspension bits are easy enough to get. Demon Tweeks are good for most of them, including coil-overs for the front suspension (which is what you'll want if you want to start really dialling in the front geometry).

Decent brake pads are hard to get for a reasonable price in NZ. I've been getting my race pads through Demon Tweeks as well - I've used Ferodo DS2500 and DS3000 on the track without any issues, and they're under $200 per set, including freight (although pricier options may give better pedal feel and modulation).

I'd ditch the XU7. It was shit when it was new, and there's no point in giving away 200cc on an XU10! If you can find a GTi-6 engine and box, grab them. Are you considering stand-alone ECU etc?

Demon-tweaks will be your friend for performance parts, and shipping is pretty cheap 
You'll have a few options for pads if you stay with that 283mm setup.


Also if you're serious about racing then a half cage won't cut it. Do yourself a favour and find the local cage builder to do it properly - it's your main safety feature so don't skimp.

Hi all,
After doing 4 races in the 24 Hour of Lemons in the French Fried R21 and a couple of track days in my 306, I have been bitten by the racing bug... and bitten hard!
I have decided to retire the 306 from the road and start doing it up for racing.

Cage is easy, can get a kit from CHCH for $300 for a half cage all CNC bent and I can fit that easy as.
Seats and belts are pretty much the same.
The hard bit I'm finding is brakes and suspension.
I've been looking round on-line for spring and shock kits but there seems to be nothing local, it's all UK stuff and the freight is a bit of a killer.  I'm wanting to go fully adjustable so I can dial in the camber.

Brakes is a little easier, I've already got a set of 283mm rotors and calipers I've fitted but trying to find a decent set of pads that aren't over $300 a set is difficult.
I grabbed some Roadhouse heavy duty pads which seem ok but the car lacks the stopping power that the R21 has on small rotors.
Once I get these sorted I can look at engine improvements.

The Car runs the 1.8 16v engine which has a few go faster goodies available but that will be once I'v got the most out of the rest of it.
Any ideas or advise would much appreciated.

Another one for team HDi? The subversive underbelly of Fast Frogs is alive and well.

I got the car started, pulled the ECU apart, had totally fried inside. Sourced new s/h ecu and bcm from UK. In the meantime, I've also bought and in the process of dismantling a 206CC, 2 litre manual.  So if anyone needs parts I'm keen to get rid of some cheap. And cos I'm a pug nutter, have added a 307 HDi into the fleet.