CX2200 back on the road!

Eternal Oak

New member
Tadpole
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
8
Location
Leura, NSW
G'day folks

Well now, after almost sixteen months since I brought my 2200 up from Melbourne, twelve months of which it was languishing six feet in the air on a hoist, I finally have the (hopefully more frequent) pleasure of its ownership; Certainly a road trip back down to Melbourne in the next few weeks is on the cards.

The attached images below pretty much sum up what it looked like sixteen months ago, compared to how it looks now. If anyone wants particulars as to what I've had done on it, I'll tell you as the thread continues.

Cheers

Eternal Oak
 

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Great to see an old CX back on the road. Looks very good from the pictures. Look forward to hearing how the trip goes, good and bad, with more pictures

Greg
 
Great photos. Nice seeing an early CX with those starfishy hubcaps and 1st center console with the massive ashtray.
 
Looks like a lovely car. Congratulations. I am impressed with the condition of the door trim on the left hand front door. Are the rest as good?
Cheers Gerry:cheers:
 
I wonder if it's a peronsal import, so hasn't had as much sun as the local cars ... ie: the trim has survived better :) We didn't get many power steered CX2200's out here did we :confused:

It's looks like a sister car to the wagon we have here inside. Is it a '76 model?

Nice job at finding an un-butchered center console for it. The original one is quite an interesting modification to get around the "vertical" CD/Tape player issue though.

seeya,
Shane L.
 
Shane,

My experience was that most CX2200 were power steered. The only manual steered cars in my limited experience were a couple of CX2000. May have just been my patch, tho,

Regards,

Fento
 
Shane,

My experience was that most CX2200 were power steered. The only manual steered cars in my limited experience were a couple of CX2000. May have just been my patch, tho,

Regards,

Fento

Hi Fento,

you could well be right. I imagine there was a lot of personal imports early on.

I thought the importers only sold CX2200 pallas 4spd manuals.... manual steering, then CX2400 C-matics with Diravi.

Find a manual steered car is very rare these days .... and the reason for that is very obvious to anyone that's driven one..... There bloody horrible, 4 (yes four) turns lock to lock and very heavy. You get a much bigger steering wheel so you can get more leverage. The feel incredibly "understeery", but drive quite nicely out on the highway :)

I imagine most went to a very early grave 'cos anyone other than a big strong guy would struggle to park one. I had 3 CX2200's in my backyard at one point... all of them had armstrong steering.

seeya
Shane L.
 
I had a CX2200 manual steer, you learn to park at speed. It's the only way to turn the wheel. The car looks really nice. I hope she gives many years of fun. Well done.
 
I had a locally sold 2200 Super with manual steer when I was at uni for the second time- the saving grace was that the suspension was so compliant you could always reverse park with a back wheel up on the kerb if the parking space was tight.
ps and those that know me know I'm far from Fento's "big strong guy":)
 
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Looks like a lovely car. Congratulations. I am impressed with the condition of the door trim on the left hand front door. Are the rest as good? Cheers Gerry:cheers:

Cheers Gerry, appreciated. As far as I can tell, the two front door cards are original; ie not recovered. The slight warping and cracking of the vinyl notwithstanding, the door cards have stood up pretty well. The rear door cards appear to have been recovered somewhere along the line, albeit to a high standard, with genuine stitching along the arm rest. The recovered vinyl however has shrunk somewhat to the point of lifting up from the contours of the cardboard itself, thereby becoming snagged and torn by the rear window winders, but I don't suppose that's an impossible thing to fix. Besides which, I have in my possession a complete set of brand-new, OEM door cards, still in their boxes. These however will not be seeing light of day until the car undergoes a complete upholstery makeover, together with rust treatment and touch-up in the usual spots. As was the case with my old C-Matic, it's a progressive restoration project, a hobby car.

I wonder if it's a personal import, so hasn't had as much sun as the local cars ... ie: the trim has survived better :) We didn't get many power steered CX2200's out here did we :confused: It's looks like a sister car to the wagon we have here inside. Is it a '76 model? Nice job at finding an un-butchered center console for it. The original one is quite an interesting modification to get around the "vertical" CD/Tape player issue though.

It would be a very interesting specimen if it were a personal import, but yes, it does sport Australian compliance plates. It was actually manufactured in October 1976, so it's exactly as old as I am. Considering it's endured 34 years of harsh sunlight, the dash is in excellent shape, with no cracking at all. half a pump-pack of Armor All into it, and the dash looks as new as when it left the factory.

Now I have no idea as to whether or not the door cards are actually the originals; it is entirely possible that the originals were replaced with new ones during prior restoration work, but there is no way of knowing. My understanding from what David Cavanagh told me many months ago is that it was owned by a CCC-Vic member who lovingly restored it. Exactly who that member was and when, I don't know. The owner before me however didn't have much idea at all of its maintenance, and ultimately walked away from it when it reached a poor mechanical and cosmetic state. That's when I snapped it up and poured some serious money into its re-restoration over the past twelve months.

Yes, I'm actually lucky to have acquired a good, unmolested center console; it actually came in from France especially for it; hence, the reverse location of the detachable map-reading light. Frankly, the centre console when I brought it up from Melbourne was annoying me, just from looking at it. Yes, I understand the logic behind the relocation of the cassette deck; the original vertical position of the radio can only be described as having been designed by someone out of a mental asylum. :crazy:. The modification to the console however was very amateurish in its overall quality and finish - Actually, it was unsightly. This 'new', imported console however looks much cleaner in its simple, uncluttered design.

As for the radio, I intend to ultimately install a digital touchscreen on a pedestal where the original radio plate is located; take a look at Jim's CX Photostream and you'll see what I mean, even though his is a Series-II console.

If the expense of such an installation is deemed prohibitive however, I may just remain 'old-school' and install a Becker or Blaupunkt 'push-button' unit out of a Mercedes Benz and whack-in behind the dash a WiFi Unit for iPhone audio streaming. In any case, I need good audio, and that's the best option I can think of.

@ Greg, Donat, Fento, Jinny, Bruce et al: I appreciate the kind words, very much so. I'll keep you posted as to gow it progresses with its continues restoration as well as it pending road-trip. Hell, if my old C-Matic could do a 1700k round trip to Melbourne and back with barely a replacement throttle spring, so can the 2200.

Cheers

Eternal Oak
 
Are all your hubcaps the same style (per photo 1) and in good order? I think I may have one or two good spares that I should check as you may be one of few people who could use them. There are at least two styles, depending on where the black was painted.
 
Are all your hubcaps the same style (per photo 1) and in good order? I think I may have one or two good spares that I should check as you may be one of few people who could use them. There are at least two styles, depending on where the black was painted.

Now there's true Christmas and Aussiefrogs spirit. What goes around, comes around too!!
 
What really annoys me is I has a couple of those center consoles... but chucked them out as I never thought anyone would ever want one (given they don't break). The postage from overseas on one must have been huge!

I might even have a star hubcap or two around still somewhere. Not a full set though. They seem to last better than the later hubcaps (ie: not get banged up).

If you want any other early CX parts, post a wanted here. Australia probably has the most "early CX" parts cars in the world. Just don't ask for interior parts, 'cos there stuffed on every aussie parts car :( If I have parts they are usually either free... unless I want to keep them for myself.

seeya,
Shane L.
 
The only remaining question before the trip, does the aircon work. It should just have a push button switch on the console. I once had a loaner the same spec as yours from Continentals, and even with a York compressor and the front unit only, it worked quite well. Better than none anyhow.

With the La Ninya mode of the Southern Oscillation Index now in force, we might have a relatively cool and humid summer that should not push most CX aircon past their limits

Greg
 
Are all your hubcaps the same style (per photo 1) and in good order? I think I may have one or two good spares that I should check as you may be one of few people who could use them. There are at least two styles, depending on where the black was painted.
Are all your hubcaps the same style (per photo 1) and in good order? I think I may have one or two good spares that I should check as you may be one of few people who could use them. There are at least two styles, depending on where the black was painted.

That's really kind of you David, very much appreciated. :))
By all means PM me at your leisure as to what you have available and I'll fix you up for it... What John says is also true; let me know if there's anything you need from my end, and I'll do my best for you.

Kindest regards
David
Eternal Oak
 
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