What Do I Do With My Gti?

[Joshy 0]

Me again.

 

Well, I've finally sorted out my other motoring baggage, have a clear(ish) lock up, a Daily driver in the form of my Toyota Soarer and a project in my old black GTI-6 powered 205 that is in need of a replacement/rebuilt head

 

The problem is that I don't really know what direction to go with it. Currently it is very much a track car, the interior is gutted, it's been fitted with bucket seats and the suspension is ROCK hard Jamex gear. The plan was to slap a new head on it, get it MOT'd and get it sold, but now I'm starting to think otherwise

 

I've got a set of goodwood leather seats that I was considering selling, but now I'm wondering if it'll be worth me hanging onto them, using some of the interior bits I pillaged from my XS and selling the car as more of a nice road car than a track slag.

As it stands the shell is rocking just 82,000 miles and it's quite tidy. Plus, the car is a sunroof model, which I understand puts off many guys after a track car?

 

The way I see it, 95% of the GTI-6s for sale are in Track trim, very rarely do you see one that been setup to be a road car, I'm hoping that with the addition of a full leather interior, black carpets and door cards, decent stereo setup and good , comfortable suspension I'll have something quite special?

Something along these lines?

 

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1853305.htm

 

Unless I absoultely fall in love with the car again I'm doing this all to sell on, so making the maximum amount of profit is a ruling thing in my mind, as more money for it means more cash for future projects...

 

What to do - The minimum amount of work and sell it as a "track car", or put a bit more time and effort and sell it as a totally sorted, "complete package"?

 

Thoughts?

[harryskid 193]

If every body keeps turning them in to track day and rally cars there wont be many decent road ones left soon and that would be a shame. I've only had two 205s but both as rally cars and when the 205s where new in the 80s i was more interested in fast Fords. I had xr3is rs turbos and moved on to some rapid monds, which i now regret as i think the 205 would have been a lot of fun. I now run a Subaru as a road car but i have more fun in my rally 205 when its going right. My point is these 205s are unique and well worth keeping as more modern cars will never make it like these have. As a comparison they are as iconic as the mk2 Escort and i had one of them once but like a twat i sold it. Keep your 205 in mint condition, it will be worth it,i wish i had a nice road one.

[dale205mills 39 7 Cars]

When a 205 is original and you want to sell, you will have the best of both worlds, people ho want a original 205 and one's ho want to build a track car, trouble with that is there are to meny people ripping a 205 to bits to make track cars and wasteing mint 205's away, but in the long run that helps me to make my silver 205 worth more money

[CaptainK 11]

Mine is a GTi6 powered "standard-ish" 205. I want to keep it a road car and have it looking standard. Only differences are the engine, brakes, exhaust and strut braces - i.e. the things that are covered up so you don't see very easily when on the road.

[Joshy 0]

That's exactly the sort of direction I want to go with mine. I want it to look super duper tidy on the outside, but to be a little bit of a monster under the skin. It's never going to be in show winning condition because that sort of stuff doesn't interest me, neither is it ever going to be an original car, but I do think that it can be a tidy car with a few choice upgrades that'll make it a great all road car.

 

I've played around with insurance quotes and it seems that the GTI is £700 a year cheaper to insure than my current car, so there is the very real possibility that I'll keep it myself once finished.

 

It been moved to my lock up now so I have a place to play around with it. I just hope I'll be able to get the head off this time!

[CaptainK 11]

£700 a year CHEAPER to insure than you're current car? What car do you also have then? My 205 GTi6 (as described above) costs around £350 fully comp a year.

 

But its good to see someone else of the same thinking as me - keep the car looking completely standard, but just with modern performance upgrades of better brakes and engine.

[DaveW 6]

I dont get the whole track car thing, i feel the same its a waste of a good 205

[mr_exe 1]

I dont get the whole track car thing, i feel the same its a waste of a good 205

 

I have to admit I think the same, if I do a track or drivers day thingy, I prefer to wreck/damage/abuse a car thats been provided.

[CaptainK 11]

I dont get the whole track car thing, i feel the same its a waste of a good 205

That made me laugh as I read that and looked at your avatar.

 

But seriously, the 205s are classics now and I like the look of them as they came out of the factory. They just need a bit more guts nowadays. Would have loved to have kept it a classic 8v, but my original 8v was dying and I was a tad bored with its lack of power compared to my FTO GPX.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

I have both a fast road 205 and a track 205.

 

The track 205 is not hugely great to drive on the road, mainly as it is too stiff so the slightest of bumps has you careering around the place. To go any great distance the lack of sound proofing, short gearbox, and the noise of the exhaust make it hard work.

 

The fast road 205 is not hugely great to drive on the track. It has more go than the track car, and the same brakes, but the suspension will not let it corner to the same extent, the seats do not hold you in so you have to cling onto the steering wheel to hold yourself upright, and it has no cage so a bit dubious in the event of a big off.

 

The track 205 is great on the track. There are no compromises made to make it more road useable, so it is very stiff and will run rings round the fast road 205.

 

The fast road 205 will piss on the track 205 in a straight line. In fact it will piss on most road cars in a straight line, apart from the Mini which will piss on pretty much everything in a straight line. The fast road 205 can be driven for a couple of hundred miles in relative comfort, with a decent stereo in it.

 

So really to answer the points above, a track car used on the road will always be a frustrating compromise. The same goes for a fast road car used on the track.

 

Hence I'm lucky enough (and have worked hard) to have both.

[Anthony 1,003]

So really to answer the points above, a track car used on the road will always be a frustrating compromise. The same goes for a fast road car used on the track.

I'm not sure that I personally agree with that.

 

A stiff, loud, stripped out car on the road is certainly a frustrating compromise in my opinion, and why I've never gone down that route with any of my own 205's. Merely driving other peoples cars from time to time that have been modified in that manner is enough to put me right off.

 

A fast road car on track though I don't agree is a frustrating compromise, although that does depend on what you're trying to achieve on a trackday. If you're trying to be the fastest man (or woman) out there and chasing every tenth of a second, then yes, it will be frustrating, but I for one question whether trackdays are the correct place for such things anyway. If you're doing trackdays as somewhere to push yourself and the car, find the limits and generally have an enjoyable day, then I don't see why a road car cannot achieve that goal with ease and just as well as a dedicated hardcore trackday car.

 

Certainly without exception, I've had far more enjoyment on track in fairly standard cars, where the limits have been easily found and are usually so exploitable. Different strokes for different folks maybe, but certainly I think it's wrong to say that a road car on track is going to be frustrating. It's as enjoyable as you want, or allow, it to be IMO.

 

(edit - ohh, my 12000th post. Christ, I really need to get out more / do some work )

Edited August 26, 2010 by Anthony

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Each to their own, but certainly with both parked outside, the fast road car was frustrating to me over the track car having experienced both.

[shalmaneser 26]

Each to their own, but certainly with both parked outside, the fast road car was frustrating to me over the track car having experienced both.

 

I can definitely see where you're coming from, but to an extent it's a case of ignorance being bliss - most people in a 'fast road' 205 will have a great time on track, it's just that you're so used to the grip and composure of the track 205 that you can feel the compromise in the road setup.

 

Fast road 205s are the way forward IMO!