Failed Mot - Start Of The End?

[Karl 15 1 Cars]

nah wont be me mines been off the road a while but when where sorted well have to meet up

[309jazzpanda 41]

That rust is nothing but I know where you're coming from, put some tca bushes in my gtx 2 weeks a go had a poke around and the nearside floor was rotten all the way down where it joins to the sill. Said that's it time for scrap but now I've calmed down welding done it all good again,well apart from the rust around the windscreen

[Juttie205 123 2 Cars]

That inner wing is fine you want to see bad check out my build thread also my floor has been jacked up on aswell thats on my list to sort out once I turn the car over.

[Grim.Badger 15]

Finally got around to getting the bumper off and washing the wings, here's the driver side. I know nothing about bodywork but I'm guessing that this can be cleaned back and re-painted? The metal seems sound but I know you can't tell from photos.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

The front panel wants cleaning back, treating with ku-rust, then some good quality paint. The inner wings actually look in very good fettle compared to your average 205.

[Grim.Badger 15]

This is the passenger side, which is a very different story! The metal is weak and holed in places, some is buckled from an old prang by the looks of it; the back end of the wing has what looks like aftermarket underseal which you can see in the back of one of the photos and the paint is split and peeling in a lot of places (it seems like the wing is being held together by the paint!)

[309jazzpanda 41]

That is exactly how mine looks at the minute, new front panels are available think about £90

[Grim.Badger 15]

I've been quoted a reasonable amount (I think) for the repairs - around £50 for the smaller patches of rust and £200 for the big holey mess under the passenger side headlight including the front panel. I'm going to try and double check the whole shell today, which means a lot of cleaning!

 

I'm not sure at the moment whether to get another GTi or keep going with this one as lack of money throughout the time I've owned it has meant that jobs have piled up and a lot needs changing - I just feel bad getting rid of a car that has been a reliable workhorse through 4 years of financial crisis

 

The following is a list of what I know or suspect needs doing, written for my own benefit as I need to write it somewhere (I may have to update along the way).

 

Need:

Engine refresh (head done around 30k ago by previous owner, now started smoking again so maybe piston rings?) May swap to a 1.6 as it can be difficult to get >97ron around here.

Engine Mounts (top mount has well and truly had it, worried it will fail, urgent job!)

Gearbox refurb (crunchy and leaky, have spare but is apparently a little crunchy, bought for about £5 so that I had one for exchange)

Front brake pads and discs (GTI-6) although may "downgrade" to 1.9 calipers and MC at the same time

P/S driveshaft boot

Cam-cover to block oil breather pipe

Headlight panel welding and respray

Pillar and sill welding and respray

Boot floor welding and respray

Stereo

 

Want:

Full coolant hoses (except top and bottom hoses)

Engine management loom (have a spare to rebuild)

Springs and shocks (current ones feel tired, are original AFAIK so have done 190k)

Suspension top mount parts

Spare 1.9 rear beam (current one was rebuilt 30-40k ago but has always had a bit of play in the shaft bearings suggesting it was too worn)

Spare 1.9 wheels so that I can get new tyres without tyre fitters trashing the underside of the car

Replace or re-upholster front seats

13cm rear speakers and cabling (will also need to replace current parcel shelf)

Whatever I need to get the plastic from the sunroof to fix in place again

 

I'm sure there's more so will have to update later

Edited May 5, 2013 by Grim.Badger

[Grim.Badger 15]

Damn, just been taking stuff apart to find any further rust and realised that the rear P/S wing is a replacement (black paint inside as opposed to the D/S wing which is white inside), which might explain why it's rusted so badly

[Grim.Badger 15]

Carpet is all up; D/S sill/pillar is also pin-holed through with rust, metal is split and fatigued around the handbrake, metal is split with rust about 2" behind the front seat belt holes, boot is rusted through on both sides (only small though), little spots of rust all around

 

Probably nothing for a Mini or Beetle enthusiast

[Grim.Badger 15]

First two batches of new parts have arrived (there's quite a bit missing from the lists above)

 

Also, here's the inside of the rear P/S arch and the splits behind the handbrake:

[Grim.Badger 15]

I went to see another 205 over the weekend, which involved a drive down country roads (earplugs in as the interior was still stripped) and the damn thing only went and put a smile on my face! I hadn't realised but it had been months since I'd done anything except "the commute" or motorway miles.

 

I've since fitted new upper engine mounts which has helped the lumpy startup, vague handling and so on - somehow the old main upper mount had managed to unscrew itself part way! No wonder the car was handling badly

 

I have a couple of boxes full of parts ready to fit now, and more coming. I'm hoping to replace the front brakes, including calipers, over the weekend and get the rear bumper off and wash/clean up the rear wings (in and out). I'm not sure how much bodywork to leave to a Pro, and how much to try myself - certainly the dodgy rear wing and the headlight panel are way beyond me but some of the rest is just surface rust; any recomendations on paint brands if I decide to give it a go?

 

Edit: Here's one of the old buffers next to a new one, I'll leave you to guess which one is which!

Edited May 16, 2013 by Grim.Badger

[Edp 67 3 Cars]

Good thread, exposing the rust areas of these little motors. The prices quoted for the repairs seem fair. Keep up the good work and keep another one on the road!

 

EDIT: What is the state of the floor under the rear seats?

Edited May 17, 2013 by Edp

[Grim.Badger 15]

As requested Plus one of the car in it's filthy, tatty, glory!

Edited May 17, 2013 by Grim.Badger

[309jazzpanda 41]

Funny really I went to take my front bumper off the other week to get it black again and well the best I can say is I need a new front panel I will get a picture up for you, trust me you will feel great about your 205 when you see it

[Juttie205 123 2 Cars]

Those innerwings look fine bit of a clean up and paint should be fine as for headlight panel I would just replace.

This is a pic of my innerwing too show you how bad things can get with a poor repair.

 

[Grim.Badger 15]

/|\ that looks bad! How did you first notice it? And by bad repair, do you mean a bad workshop or a bad amateur/home repair?

 

I'm part was through a mini refurb atm - both wishbones inc bolts, droplinks, lower engine mounts, gearbox seals, plugs & leads, air filter, radiator, downgrade of brakes from GTi6 to standard inc M/C, and re-wire P/S headlight.

 

Everything has gone really well, except for a couple of things on the brakes (I'm cursed with brakes!) First problem was that the disc retaining screws wouldn't budge so I had to chisel them out (as I don't have a drill), then one of the bulkhead fittings on the old braided lines refused to undo properly (possibly cross threaded when it was put on) so I trashed the thread taking it off, then I managed to snap one of the caliper end fittings by not paying enough attention to what I was doing and turning the wrong bit when trying to "swivel" the fitting. With help from Mad Scientist (who I got the brakes off) and Merlin Motorsport I managed to get things sorted in the end but it really makes me feel like a moron!

 

On a related note, here's the dirtiest part I've removed from this particular car so far:

[Juttie205 123 2 Cars]

It was a poor repair from a previous owner if you check my dimma thread out will show you the poor repair and how I have repaired it

[kilauea 7]

Mine is in for MOT on tuesday. Its been off the road for 18 months and stored outside. Considering that, after replaceing tachy relay, coil terminal and shuntbox connection it runs well and the only thing that has stopped working is the passenger electric window.

 

going to spend weekend going over electric terminals and earth points. maybe fit my new drivers lights. give it a clean and see what lurks. Other than that, fingers crossed....

[Grim.Badger 15]

A year on and its failed another MOT, this time for the rust that I didn't get around to fixing plus the rear seatbelt catches aren't working properly, the rear brakes are ineffective (I've literally just changed the pads and discs so hopefully they just need bedding-in) and the P/S headlight is insecure (again) as the bracket of the indicator is rubbish! The rust is as follows:

 

N/S front inner wing, N/S and O/S front floor, N/S rear inner wing, N/S and O/S sills.

 

I'm taking it to another garage tomorrow to get the bodywork quoted for.

[welshpug 1,657]

That's exactly what a friend has been tackling the past few weeks, nothing particularly difficult really if you're competent at making bodywork pieces, most garages will just slap patches on however which really isn't the way to repair it.

[309jazzpanda 41]

how available are panels now I know front panels are available but is that about it?

[welshpug 1,657]

Sills are, wings most are, otherwise that's it, but then really that's all you'd ever need, the rest is straightforward enough to make or cut off a donor shell.

[Grim.Badger 15]

A stupid amount of money later (but still much less than a new 205) and too many weeks off the road, it's back! I will get photos of some of the work when the weather clears up, but it looks 100%. The inner arch had to be cut out, as there was barely anything left, and the sills and adjacent parts of the arch have been cleaned, welded, painted and udnersealed, and I had the handbrake boss re-welded, painted and undersealed as it had popped it's spot welds a while ago.

 

There was a slight hicup with it failing on emissions - CO 6.88 - which I got down to 2.03 by adjusting the spring tension on the AFM (after cleaning the plugs, hoses etc). The grooves on the carbon track are fairly thick/worn so I think that I will try a replacement for the long term, but the car starts and idles much better now

[Edp 67 3 Cars]

Good lad