[car_upgrade] 205 X-s16 Project Car

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

Ive been on this forum for a good few years now, and not really said much about what im doing with one of my cars. Ive had it 4 years or so now, and not really done alot too it (mainly cos im a poor ) but im planning on taking this car to uni in september, so i'd best get a better job in the mean time and finish this off!!!

 

Spec

This is the spec i want to run(money depending) in short:

GTI front suspension

Bilstein Sprintline shocks with Grp.N topmounts

Either the billy springs, or eibachs

1.9GTI rear suspension with Grp.A mounts

GTI ARB's and TB's (and fine tune later)

306 S16 engine XU10j4 (standard for now, but aiming for 180-200bhp after completion)

<92 Mi16 gearbox

Tran-X diff

307HDi Front brakes

Standard 1.9GTi brakes at the back

 

Car

The car is a 1989 XS, and was fairly tidy body wise, a couple of scrapes but nothing major, however four years of neglect had taken there toll, and a fairbit of rust had crept up, suspension/brakes were all seized, headgasket went, and it was left a bit of a mess... so this was my starting point: and a total overhaul in need!!

For my morale more than anything else, i got the cars paint upto scratch at a local bodyshop for peanuts, got it back, and stripped it bare.

i then took a gamble on an S16 engine for £100, came with everything i needed except a gearbox, and keypad for the immobiliser, and got my hands on a reconditioned Mi16 gearbox, minus a diff. So i have an engine now

 

I then moved onto the engine bay, a couple of rusty spots, and a previous bodged attempt to resolve this (looks like someone just lightly sprayed over the entire bay, without prepping, and felt like sandpaper) meant it needed a respray.

from this;

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/bert...06/DSC00221.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/bert...06/DSC00223.jpg

etc

to:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/bert...06/DSC00250.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/bert...06/DSC00252.jpg

not bad i dont think!! and ill get some better pictures up when i can. (be arsed)

im currently in the process of finishing the back end off, abit more drilling,grinding,rustproofing,priming, and a few cans of shutz later and ill get some pics up of it done...

 

I bought some second hand billies in good condition, and all the front suspension ill need. And i have 3 1.9GTI axles about to use to rebuild a beam using a beam tube apparently removed from a 29k GTI, and with brand new bearings etc

 

next thing on my list is too finish off the back end... ill update soon.

 

oh yeah, one more thing dont expect a quick progress thread, i still need to find a new job

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

Nice project, reminds me of my first 205 I have

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

small update:

generally just more rust removal, removed all the rust from the petrol tank area, and gave the boot floor a quick paint, now when it stops raining ill do the exhaust tunnel, and get it undersealed

 

gave the front subframe/wishbones a lick of new paint, and reattached them too

 

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

Just a tip, apparently your ment to tighten the wishbone bolts on the floor to prevent the bushes from being under tension.

So i've heard...

 

Nice cancer removal work!

Edited June 6, 2009 by paul_xiii

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

yeh, cheers mate i know that though .. there not tight, just in place so i dont lose them lol

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

not been doing too much work on this car at the min, as my other one decided not to work for abit, the gearbox has been on its last legs for a while, and finally decided to let go, so thats needed attention!!

- new gearbox

- engine mount

- rad top hose

 

and whilst its off ive decided to mod it a bit

- GTi front subframe, wishbones, and arb

- Cheap Spax dampers and springs lowering kit

- powersteering set up with a saxo pump (if i can find one local, cheap enough!!)

 

and i also pulled my back, so im car-less, and unable to fix it too

 

old subframe, wishbones... cant believe how knackered the bush that the ARB goes through is.. these bones are 5k old max!! shocking quality rubber. and one the TRE's is well gone too..

 

 

had to remove the new gearbox from a spare engine, 4 rounded bolts of fun!

 

 

... i wish i had two cars that werent constantly on axle stands

 

[Swazy 0 1 Cars]

Reminds me when i started to convert my XS to MI16 a few years ago, and still not finished the project.

 

Keep up the good work, might be harder than you thought as well, i had a lot of work to sort failures etc, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel

[Lan 24 1 Cars]

nice work mate, where abouts did you get that respray done?

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

nice work mate, where abouts did you get that respray done?

 

a local garage called 'GT' or something like that... not the best by a long shot, but i only needed the roof and a few other bits doing, the rest is the origional.

 

swapped the gearlinkage over onto the GTi subframe and crappily rust proofed it, but itll do for now. Have to wait for Tuesday for the parts i ordered from the Peugeot stealer to arrive

also need a new starter motor now aswell!!!

 

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/bert...06/DSC00312.jpg

 

 

also decided im going to have to prospone lowering it, and getting round to fitting the PAS (for my sister, im not a wuss )

Edited July 11, 2009 by BERTMAN

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

well after a cock up at the motor factors, they finally ordered the right radiator hose in and i got it back on the road.

new gearbox

clutch cable

front subframe

wishbones

GTi ARB

a track rod end

sorted out the sloppy gear change

new top rad hose

new starter

new top engine mount

new subframe mounts

new ARB bushes

probs more...

 

so went to take it for a test drive, warmed it up.. box feels great compared to the old one, first open stretch of road.. nail it.. into 3rd gear and she dies!!

dont i look like a fool now to the 3 young women at the corner lol, anyway the dizzy had fallen off?? ive not even touched the distributer and one of the bolts holding it on has sheared, and the other worked itself loose and fallen off somewhere.. FFS!! it then starts to rain.. so now ive got to walk home in the rain and i am soaked!! get home to check in the garage to see if i have any bolts to fix it back on... and ive left the damn garage door key in the car!!

 

ah well, best go and get it home.

 

Liam

[Lan 24 1 Cars]

any engine bay pics?

 

btw did you have any trouble with mc clearance?

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

havent put it in yet, been busy with other things but have done abit more work today on it;

started putting the wiring back in, fitted a GTi-6 steering rack;

306 PAS bottle fits perfectly in the O/S wing, like it was made to fit!

painted the boot/petrol tank area, just have to touch up any areas ive missed tomorrow;

then i can fit some new brake lines and should hopefully have the tank back on too, when the paint has dried.

Need to buy a new group A rear beam kit, and then the new rear beam can go on aswell.

Also need to refit the N/S wheel bearing(as its not in properly), and find the front ARB, bushes, and clamps and i can put the front suspension back together, and have it on its wheels again!!

got some more bits in the post, waiting to go on too...

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

finally getting somewhere now! Put the box back together (minus diff), mounted to engine, and in car...

front suspensions all on

rear beam done, petrol tank etc etc

 

next on the list is to sort the steering out, GTi-6 rack needs trimming!

Edited September 23, 2009 by BERTMAN

[Lan 24 1 Cars]

nice work mate, getting there now.

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

Well, ive finished my 1st year of uni now so i thought its about time i started back on the car... The last time i saw it was when i moved house, and put it in its new home back in January.

First on the list was a new drivers side hub as although it had a new bearing in it, there was still loads of play? Anyway, got a hub, new bearing, sorted.

Second, I wasnt happy with the 'trimmed' 306GTi-6 arms, so i bought some 205 ones, and whilst the rack was off the car i thought i may aswell refresh the gaitors and bushes. I also replaced the wishbone bushes on the drivers side as they were knackered.

Also does anyone know the part number for the plastic bag that covers the ram on the PAS?

Thought id do some more rust searching, and after a bit of probing with a screwdriver found this

Only the size of a 50p coin, but annoying still! So the grinder and welder will have to come out soon.

Also started stripping down the engine and cleaning it up abit as it was abit unsightly, and tidying up the wiring also.

 

 

Next thing on the list is to get the diff situation sorted and fitted, spin him around and fit some nylon bushes on the rear suspension. Also need to drop the tank to sort out a few fuel pipe issues, and crack on with some more wiring.

 

Should have some more updates soon...

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

Well ive not had a camera for a while so i havent bothered with the updates however theres been some progress:

Replaced the bow with a Xsara VTS gearbox, which also meant replacing the clutch fork, arm, and gear linkage arm too. Had to stick with the standard VTS diff as Tran-x were taking the piss with the order! So that will have to wait.

Ive heard of problems with the 1.9 GTi driveshafts not fitting well into the VTS diff but so far ive had no problems and they fit nicely.

Put the front subframe back on

New driveshafts in

Rear engine mount is in

GTI PAS lower U/J is on

And 75% of the dash is back in place

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

well, ive been having a fair amount of financial problems at the min (who hasnt to be fair!!) so nothing much interesting has happened with this car. The other reason i havent been spending anytime with this is because of my other car!

Gave it to my sister to look after for a year, and regret that desicion slightly now! and it needs alot of work doing to it now. I got back to find that the rear end was lowered by one of her freinds, and hes made a right hash of it. Lowered to the point where it literally rubs constantly, apparently my sister asked for it to go ~30mm lower using some spare GTi shocks and some lowering springs i had, but he had other ideas for the back ~100-120mm;

- rubbing the paint and galv off one side, and its started to rust

- inner rear arches are almost through to the metal

- exhaust has been scraping for so long that its cracked at the downpipe, centre box is blowing, and the rear box wont stay on as it gets ripped off at every speed bump

- bump stops have been ripped off

- N/S/R damper wasnt didnt even have a nut on the bolt to hold it on

 

went to the front to find that the N/S/F balljoint wasnt in the hub properly, and O/S/F wishbone bushes were shot (over tightened before the weight of the car was put on it), and the front ARB had been 'chopped off' for some bizarre reason.

 

So yeh, basically i need to start sorting out all of these problems. Decided that the rear beam needs replacing as most of the bolts have been rounded off, and the ARB end plates are a mess, and i cant undo them to raise the rear back up.

 

On top of all that, the dizzy went the other day, the clutch arm needs replacing and a driveshaft seal let loose of 2 litres worth of oil onto the drive. Goodbye 2010, maybe '11 can bring some luck for the 205!! lol

 

and does anyone have an MA gearbox laying around?

[allye 530 3 Cars]

You should get you sister to pay What was the idea behind the S16 engine and not a MI or GTI6?

 

Both the GT and XS are very straight an tidy.

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

im too scared of her I just fancied being different, everyone does the Mi/GTi6 thing, plus when i started it i hadn't seen another XS with an S16 in it. I've seen one or two now, but its still pretty rare!

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

As ever there has been another change of plan, after going poking with a screwdriver i found some more rust.. this time a little more substantial, behind the N/S rear light in the well behind the 1/4 panel.

This wouldnt be too much of a problem usually but there are so many niggly little jobs todo that it seems stupid not to just shell everything into my other 205 which has none of these problems, especially as i have a strict time limit before uni arrives again and i need a 205 to drive!!

 

So, using the GT shell now...

 

- the rear bumper has been replaced due to a crack

- petrol tank swapped for an injection one

- 1.9 rebuilt beam on

- the odd brake line replaced

- part way through replacing the front suspension with the sprintline billies

 

tomorrow i should hopefully have the front subframe replaced along with the rest of the suspension, get the fuel lines on, replace the front brakes with the GTi-6 items, swap over the brake servo, and the 406 master cylinder and start swapping the wiring looms over if all goes well!

 

and heres where i am at the mo.

[Lan 24 1 Cars]

is that a o.e replacement or pattern part?

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

It's O.E, as will the front one will be when i replace that also. I've tried pattern parts and im never happy with the result.

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

Just a tip but I think you'll find those 1.9 wheels will rub like a bitch, especially with +45 profile tyres on.

 

My GRD had 1.9 wheels, didn't like the tyres too much and scrubbed them away in no time.

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

yeh, ive had these 1.9's on this car before with its origional beam and it did scrub so id imagine it will be worse after a GTi beam, and a lowering. But i can't run my 1.6 wheels over the GTi-6 brakes.

 

Im sure that with some lower profile tyres and some tactical chopping, it'll be ok. If not then ill be on the hunt for either new brakes or/and wheels.

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

Removed most stuff from the XS, and had a play with the wiring (im sure it seemed easier when i put it in!) also replaced the knackered front bumper, and got started with the fuel lines. Just need to get hold of a hoist and i can start with rehousing the lump.