Laser Green 1.6 Gti Restoration

[Batfink 201]

I was not intending to buy a 205 again but I've rather a lot of parts stored here there and everywhere. A guy in one of the units opposite my work was looking at a 205 for breaking. Being a Laser Green model my ears pricked up and I went to see if its worth saving.

 

Its original owner bought it years ago as a spare shell for his 205 Rallycar. Its been sat in a barn for 4 years and to be honest its cosmetically tatty. Its little heart still beats well as we managed to get it started in -3C with the first turn of the key. First impressions are that most panels will need a respray as there are loads of dents and scratches, but the shell seems solid with only one initially visible hole. It was dry inside but it lacks its original seats which is a shame.

 

It seems a genuine car thats simply been neglected so I bought it. The plan is to strip the car down to confirm the shell is a good base, then check over the mechanicals to make sure its worth saving. If all is well then I'll restore it to a good condition.

 

The car ready for some love

The rust on the rear quarter panel. I'll cut that out and weld in some new metal

Its had a few mods - a dirty K&N is in the enginebay ready to be removed, and a 1.9 GTI rear beam - handy as I have some bits to improve that

 

 

First job was to get in the drivers door. It simply would not open. I removed the door card and had a little look. The outer door handle mechanism was the offending part.

 

With a good dose of WD40 and a good poke with a screwdriver I got the arm freed and moving.

I've got a bit more time to work on this today as work is quiet so more pictures shortly.

 

[Lee3022 4 1 Cars]

Looks a nice one , can't remember the last time I saw one in that colour on the road, hope all goes to plan for you

[sensualt101 31 1 Cars]

its always nice to see another one saved and returned to the road

 

good luck and i look forward to seeing how this progresses

[Anthony 1,003]

Batfink, working on a 205? Am I imagining things, as surely something so far fetched cannot be true?

 

Actually looks quite tidy in the photos although I'm guessing it's worse in the cold light of day. Judging by the tale-tale rub marks on the inner arch I would say that the beam is goosed, but that's almost par for the course, and if it still starts and runs after sitting for so long, that's good news at least.

 

PS. I hope this isn't going to detract from you making progress on the 309!

[Batfink 201]

It feels strangely comforting to work on a 205 again lol

 

I was basically expecting the beam to be knackered so its no surprise.
The front wings are undented but the rest of the bodywork has seen a lot of carparks. The cars not really been cared for in the last 5-6 years. The camera flatters it to be honest.

The 309 is on the back burner at the moment as I'm opening up full garage services in Jan and all the work needed is sapping my time and money. Our mechanic/ engineer will be able to get working on it next year hopefully, but my other 205 may just jump the pecking order.

 

I've stripped the boot and rear interior parts to get to the rust. Verdict is the classic leaky rear quarter window as the rubber has shrunk with age.

There are plenty of signs that this used to have some sort of soundsystem. Boot floor has quite a few dents in it as something big and heavy has been dropped and theres a lot of attempts at stopping the interior panels vibrating. Looks like surface rust in the boot which will need treating.

Edited December 5, 2012 by Batfink

[m@ttc 30]

i went to view this car when it was for sale on ebay, if its the same one. i remember also not being able to open the drivers side door and having a nightmare with the imobiliser, getting inside and sitting on a milk crate to drive it

[Batfink 201]

Thats the one. The immobiliser is seriously funny. Looks like a fisher price toy wired in. Thats going to be ripped out once we get to the electrics. Its not too hard to get started when the battery works

[johniban 59 1 Cars]

ill be keeping my eye on this

[Batfink 201]

nothing too much to report yet as I simply have not had a lot of time to play.

 

Interior is gradually getting stripped

 

Onto the enginebay!

 

Tom (Cheesegrater) spotted the lack of the alternator tensioner

 

The Fisher Price alarm

 

Prodding with a large screwdriver seems to confirm this is all surface rust. Worth treating early

The usual battery tray condition

 

Front bumper bracket shows signs of a fender bender. Proving the reason for the black front valence. Front panel seems ok though

 

Induction kit is a homebrew bodge. Into the bin it goes!

 

As the shell seems solid I've been collecting replacement panels. Not perfect but all the dents on them will be easy to skim over with filler. I'm hoping I can pull out the dent on the passenger door.

Edited December 15, 2012 by Batfink

[Juttie205 123 2 Cars]

Do love a laser be great to see another one saved im really tempted to paint my dimma laser.