New Car

Dr Who

Dr Who

Dr Who

Soldato
Joined
11 Nov 2004
Posts
8,183
Location
Couvains, France
All being well, allowing for train delays etc, tomorrow night I am collecting this.

http://pistonheads.com/sales/1147945.htm

Been after one for a while and seen some right ratty examples, mollested/modified etc.

Wanted a standard model 1.6 GTi The best of the bunch really, albeit not the fastest.

Cant wait for the weekend :D
 
Would like to keep it as standard as possible for now, will uprate the ICE and Security, add electric windows, but thats about it for now.

Later maybe lower the suspension a bit and fit uprated dampers.
 
BigT said:
Very nice, always lusted after a 205 GTi when I was younger but never owned one. Must be difficult to find good examples these days and that looks excellent. I'm intruiged by your comment though. What does the 1.6 offer that is better than the 1.9. I'm no expert, but always thought the 1.9 was the one to go for (if sticking to standard cars).
Click to expand...

1.6 is lighter and better balanced, engine more revvy, the 1.9 is ultimately gruntier, has better rear brakes.

Also, almost all 1.6's make their published power, very few 1.9s actually do, so the difference in power is actually quite small.
 
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Its a minter, buying from a collector who has run out of Garage Space. He spent loads reconditioning it and bringing it back to near new condition.

I shall post some new pics on Friday all being well
 
Yes I have driven both, the 1.9 has more grunt, but it isnt as balanced. Hey its not just me, all 205 experts have said the same for years. 1.9 has 10bhp at the wheels over the 1.6, the 1.6 has 30bhp at the wheels over the XS. If your 1.6's didnt feel much faster than an XS, they must have been pretty tired. Noticing a 10bhp difference more than a 30bhp difference just doesnt add up unless something is awry.

Anyway, got it home, 185 mile drive, Engine is very tired, needs a serious overhaul. Synchro on 3/4 is suspect. Think it was running on 3 cylinders a lot of the time. Not blowing any smoke, cam is rattly, oil is clean. Didnt check compression ofc and with its lack of use the fuel injectors could be gunked up, needs further diagnosis.

Got it for £2k as a result.

Gonna see which is the best way forward engine wise, rebuild or replace.

If I replace, I may go sacriligeous and just stick a BX16v/MI16 engine in.

The chassis is sound and tight, so will just need the brakes uprating, lowering 25-40mm.

The choice is whether I retain standard or go for the out and out performance. Decisions Decisions.

Best thing is the condition of the interior/bodywork/underside is amazing! Sunroof doesnt leak and the vacuum seal still works.

Drivers door lock is shot, and the drivers window rolls itself down.

Clutch is heavy as hell, and I think the new cable is binding, probably a routing issue.
 
Its easy to spend the same money on cars in far worse condition.

This has been well restored, with a lot of receipts and the body/chassis is mint, has all new brakes all round. Drives without any nasty squeaks or rattles, and whilst not perfect, is a sound basis for a classic daily driver (albeit I wont do more than about 5k miles pa).

Its a second car in the family, other is brand new A3 2.0 SE TDi, so I have time to put the minor issues right.

I shall post some more pics tomorrow, underside, wheel arches, under the hood etc so you can get a better idea.

Its far easier to sort mechanical issues than rot, so well worth the £2k I have spent imho.

Oh and it had a new cambelt 1k miles ago.

:cool:
 
Yeah had them turned down on the camera... lol at the off topic debate on pic size xD

Issues wont be issues for long I am sure...

Money waiting for repairs
 
Well it started first turn of the key this morning, so cant be all bad!

I filled it with BP Ultimate last night and the misfire has improved a bit, I think an ultrasonic injector clean might be in order. It has a full set of new leads on it I noticed!

Nothing on the cigar lighter circuit works and the fuse isnt blown, so I will need to get that looked at, power feed is most suspect here I think.

Most worrying is the drivers window can be pushed down from the outside... Need to fix that today!

Luckily its fully immobilised so cant be stolen Toad alarms for the win.

Did I mention 5 Immaculate alloys and all new tyres?

Full gearbox rebuild is gonna cost 375+vat and another 75 quid for a clutch, might wait a little for that as clutch is ok, just kinda auto, and the synchro is fine if I change slowly.

Give me a chance to see if a second hand box shows up for the right money.
 
Yeah, I think thats the plan now, after a lot of thinking.

I will put an upgraded audio system in, but not obscene, just custom fit hidden speakers, and bluetooth head unit with Ipod dock.

Retaining the original for posterity ;)

I think with the faults fixed it will be a fun car to own. It returned 35 mpg on a run back from essex last night. But never took it over an indicated 75, and mostly sat at 65mph.

Exhaust is as boomy as I remember from my last one, but the rest of the car was surprisingly quiet!

Modified 205s are everywhere, but a good quality standard original is a lot rarer, so deffo the way to go imho as well.
 
Gonna go for an Engine and Gearbox Recondition. Expensive, but will then have the mechanicals to match the chassis.
 
Why thank you.

I whipped the plugs out today, cleanest plugs I have ever seen, makes me think lean thru injectors still.

Leads dont appear to be correct ones, and arent routed correctly, so gonna replace those, possibility they may short onto metal areas. There is definitely something not right with the engine, it is not very responsive and doesnt rev freely like it should. I reckon its like 40% down on the power it should have, feels like a 1.1 lol.

Soon as I have some free time, will get it to local engine builders to have a look at compression etc, i will replace the camshaft etc and get a full top end rebuild at least.

Full tune up in order as well.
 
Does anyone know if a 1.9 inlet manifold gasket is the same as the 1.6?

I think they are, but wanted to confirm?
 
Something strange has happened.

Removed the oil filler from the manifold when I took it off, now it wont fit back on the manifold. Its like it shrank while it was off the car.

Where it hooks over a bolt head, now it won't line up with the bolt hole at the rear of the manifold. WTF?
 
Ok, brand new leads, dizzy cap, coil and rotor arm fitted (£75 the lot) injectors cleaned and refitted (£60) and she is running as sweet as she can with 116k on her.

Now to decide what to do with the engine/chassis, think I am gonna get engine rebuilt and stick some performance items on, Piper Fast Road Cam/Follower kit, 25 thou head skim, 4-1 SS manifold, uprated clutch, polybush kit, top/bottom strut braces, braided lines.

Should be a nice start and tighten everything up a bit.
 
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