[Car_Overhaul] Will1991's Steel Grey Spruce-Up

[mrfirepro 127 1 Cars]

Nice job all round.

 

Great work on the brake lines, I'll have to tackle this in the next 6 weeks, was the Kunifer easy to use as I've heard some say to stay clear of it.

 

Do you buy it with all the fittings?, where is the best place to get it from?

[will1991 11 1 Cars]

Yeah, really nice to work with and flared easily. I had to do one flare twice but that was my fault, not the materials.

 

Yes, it came with fittings. I bought this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130836686943?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2648

[Davy 18 1 Cars]

Only noticing this project now!.. Beutiful example to begin with and the right kind to be keeping as close to original as possible!

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Thats the same old brake flaring tool my old fella has.

 

As for the kunifer, I used it front to back and found it fine to work with. As with any copper based alloy it work hardens very quick so try to get each bend done on the 1st attempt. It doesnt stay shiny for long either, but then again niether does copper.

[will1991 11 1 Cars]

Been a while...

 

I'm heading to France for work for 5 months next week so I've just been getting the car to a point where I can leave jobs finished rather than part done. Between the last post and now I've also spent a month in France so progress hasn't been the quickest.

 

 

Anyway, I'll start where I left it last time. Some photos of the underside and my beam taken in daylight!

 

 

 

 

Following all that I did a bit of work on the rear panel as there was a little surface rust. I took it all off and repainted and it came out really well, shame nobody's ever going to see it!

 

 

 

When removing the rear bumper I had to resort to sawing one of the T bolts off. So, when reassembling I improvised and made these which will certainly do for now.

 

 

 

I then fitted the genuine OE exhaust Farmer sorted for me and that's the back end about done.

 

 

 

 

I then moved on to the front subframe/suspension/rack etc. I whipped it all off and got it back home to work on...

 

 

 

I found that the OS wheel bearing was on its way out, as was the driveshaft intermediate (but that was my fault) so I replaced them with some nice new SKF items. I also replaced the wishbone bushes with OE pug ones while they were off and picked up some Motaquip TREs and droplinks.

 

 

 

I then got cracking with the stripping and painting. I had a couple of bits powdercoated and hardware zinc'd. I pretty chuffed with the result!...

 

 

 

When it came to the front suspension I thought really really hard about what I wanted to do. Originally I wanted the car to stay totally standard all round. After much to-ing and fro-ing I opted for some new Bilstein B4s and Eibach Pro springs (highly recommend Kam Racing by the way) as everything I'd read about this set up, combined with the new OE pug shocks I've fitted, was excellent frankly. I rebuilt the beam slightly lower than standard at the time so I'm alright there.

 

I really like the look of a slightly lowered 205 and as I'll be keeping the original components it'll not be a problem to put back if/when I please. The top mount stuff was zinc plated in dull silver to try and replicate the original finish and I fitted new OE pug stut top bearings and donuts while I was at it. Anyway, here is how they looked once put together (plastic sleeve now moved round on spring of LH strut in pic)...

 

 

Again, really pleased with these! I thought they were looking super fly until I fitted a set of these to my friends GT86 last week. Pretty pimp to say the least...

 

 

 

While all this was going on I refitted my fuel filler piping and and cleaned up the filler neck ring which is a nice detail. I hadn't really noticed it before...

 

 

 

I also cleaned up all of the underside brake and fuel lines and refitted them...

 

 

 

 

The other big(ish) job I got done recently was rebuilding the rear brake calipers. Rebuilding the handbrake mechanism was a bit of a pig but it all went together in the end and came out looking good. (Couldn't find a guide on here so if anybody wants any pointers give me a shout!) Some may say they're a bit bling but the the carriers were originally gold I believe and they look really good in the flesh (IMO). I popped a new set of Mintex pads in and got them on the car to get them out of the workshop!

 

 

 

 

I thought I'd better wash the car ready for tucking it away, paying special attention to the arches so they're now pretty much spotless. I'd forgotten how good it looked clean! I just want to get it on the road again and have it gleam in the sunshine!

 

 

 

I felt a bit down leaving it this afternoon, knowing I'll not get another look for several months. I guess I'll just have to spend my time gathering parts and working out how I'm going to go about cleaning the engine and bay up. Fun fun fun!

 

 

 

 

 

As I've said about a million times in this post, I'm really happy with my progress so far (even if it is a little slow). Can't wait to be in a position to give another proper update!

 

Cheers,

Will

Edited May 31, 2014 by will1991

[Edp 67 3 Cars]

Nice job and nice workshop. Wish I hd that much space!

[will1991 11 1 Cars]

Thanks!

 

It's not ideal as it's kept at a friend's place so I have to load a car with tools etc every time I go up. You're right though, it is a great space!

[hoodygoodwood 70 3 Cars]

Nice work on the rear end , I am doing the same at the moment on my 309 and I will be rebuilding my rear calipers with Biggred kits soon so will have to see how it goes .

Couldn't help noticing how long the braided hoses coming out of the rear calipers are , they must be double the length of the standard ones , they look like they might rub on the wheel .

[will1991 11 1 Cars]

Yeah, I noticed that too.

 

I'll see how they look with the car on the floor. I can just forgo that section with solid line if needs be.

[will1991 11 1 Cars]

So I've now returned from France and having arrived back to a few bits and bobs I ordered whilst away I thought I'd get something done while I'm at home for a bit.

 

Having had nice new SKF bearings fitted to my hubs, they were cleaned up and refreshed. The same was done to the driveshafts but I have no photos of them at the moment.

 

 

 

I also put my front calipers back together using the OE Peugeot seal kits Craig had sorted for me. I also fitted my HEL stainless hoses and HEL stainless nipples. Poor photo but I'm pretty happy with these...

 

 

 

And bolted together (another terrible photo)...

 

 

 

I now need to get my engine out to move forward really. Anybody local(ish) got an engine crane they might be willing to lend me for a weekend?!!

[td_dan 7]

Looks like a good project mate, im in birmingham if you get stuck for a crane your welcome to come and get it

[Reebmit 51 4 Cars]

Great looking car, a credit to you, I have to say one of my favourite colours too. Always looks good when beam etc have been refurbed and refitted.... so worth doing!

[calvinhorse 870]

Very very nice

[HERMAN 33]

Your doing a great job Nick. I will keep my eyes out for you being as your local to me.

Were abouts in Derby are you?

[HERMAN 33]

I have just seen that you need an engine crane. I have one here but it does not belong to me. I will check with the owner if you can borrow it.

[will1991 11 1 Cars]

Hi Neil. Thanks for that but johnnyboy666 has very kindly lent me his. I've been disconnecting bits today so I should hopefully be ready for the big lift tomorrow!

 

Will

[will1991 11 1 Cars]

So, johnnyboy666 very kindly lent me his crane so I've been able to make some progress over the past few days.

 

I spent quite a while (hours) making sure everything was disconnected/photographed/labelled, but once I had that job done it all went pretty smoothly. The engine stand also doubled up as a book stand for a while, so that was handy...

 

 

 

All disconnected and ready for action...

 

 

On its way...

 

 

And out...

 

 

Pulled the gearbox, clutch and flywheel off and it went into the stand...

 

 

The bay looking pretty bare...

 

 

And this is where I now stand, I'll not be short of jobs now!

[will1991 11 1 Cars]

I hadn't realised how long it had been since the engine came out, c.3 months! Good news is it's almost ready to go back.

 

 

Since my last post the bay was stripped for painting. I had somebody out to quote for the job and it was about £250 with ME doing ALL the prep, so I decided I do it myself.. Any sign of surface rust was attacked with the angle grinder, followed by a couple of coats of Hydrate 80 and then primer. The whole bay was then top coated and the results are really quite good, it all paid off!

 

 

 

I then started putting some stuff back on the car to help free up some space in the workshop at home! Servo got a lick of paint and went back in, as did a new Peugeot OS engine mount, new clutch cable (speedo and accel weren't replaced long ago) and the loom was unwrapped before being treated to new conduit throughout. Repro stickers were also applied.

 

 

 

I'd had a new set of Valeo tail lights for Christmas which, as has been discussed elsewhere, come with smoked rather than white indicator lenses. Anyway, they're far more vibrant and I think they look ace against the Steel Grey. The backing in the originals was in pretty poor condition as can be seen below.

 

 

 

I had a local place, Langley Coatings, do some powder coating on a few bits as well as blast my manifold and battery tray for me last week. They turned it round in <24 hours and the price was pretty reasonable too. This meant I could put my Siems back together with new Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited bulbs, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they're like, I also had a set for the headlamps. On getting this lot back, I put some of it back on the car and reconnected my horn up.

 

 

 

I also picked up another slam panel from the local scrappies and had an original colour match made up (the underside of my original was still the original colour, top side had been painted Steel Grey). The woman at the paint shop didn't much like the colour! "Eurgh, that's not a very nice colour is it!". It's starting to feel like it's nearly there now.

 

 

 

Re. the engine and gearbox, it took me a while to get motivated to clean them up as they were pretty manky, but I got them clean in the end. Initially I didn't want to paint them as I though it looked a bit artificial but once they were free of grease they started to oxidise so I felt I didn't have much choice if I wanted them to stay looking good!

 

 

It soon became clear why my clutch had always felt a bit notchy, the fork guide bushes were full of crud and the fork itself a little corroded - the fork went off for plating this week and new yellow bushes were fitted along with a new guide bush once I'd given the box a lick of paint. In other gearbox related news, I picked up a Quaife LSD a few weeks back so the crownwheel was switched over with new bolts and this'll be going back in once all the gearbox bolts are back from the platers.

 

 

 

I had my brother help me haul the engine into the back of my car so I could get it back home for paint. I also gave my manifold some paint and put it back with some OE gaskets and copper nuts once I'd given the rocker a bit of a polish.

 

 

 

Before all that I spent some time adjusting the valve clearances. The inlet gaps were all pretty good at 0.24mm but the exhausts were all 0.43-0.45mm, which according to the Haynes is fine but I'd been doing some reading on here and aussiefrogs that the engine ran nicer towards the bottom end of the recommended range at 0.35mm, or somewhere between 0.30 and 0.35mm even (ref: http://forum.205gtidrivers.com/index.php?showtopic=65817 & http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/technical-performance/99576-205-gti-valve-clearances.html amongst others). So, I worked out what I needed, ordered some new shims, checked them with the cam back in before setting to with the oil stone for some fine tuning - I got 0.34mm accross the board so happy with that.

 

 

 

A few weeks ago I had a 1600 flywheel skimmed due to some micro fractures in the face - £35 @ SPOT Auto Engineering, seemed fairly standard from the quotes I got and he was a nice guy. I weighed it at 6.35kg (haven't weighed the original 1900 yet so not sure what advantage its made) with studs, fitted a new crank seal and refitted it with new bolts.

 

 

 

In other news, a massive haul of parts were sent to Electroplate UK this week so that should hopefully be back soon; I hope to be doing the brake lines next week but I'm waiting to be able to borrow the local garage's flaring kit, which should then allow me to refit the subframe etc; I picked up a slimline starter from a 405 at the breakers yesterday based on some reading I did here and sorted a solution to the solonoid terminal differences, gave a 1.6kg saving too at 2.9kg which is nice.

 

Think that's about it for now, should have some more progress next week and maybe even have the engine back in the car for the end of the month...maybe.

 

Will

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Flywheel, he hasn't skimmed where the clutch plate bolts up, if you look you'll see it's lower than the friction face. This needs skimming by the same amount as the friction face has been to keep the clutch clamping pressure right.

[will1991 11 1 Cars]

Ah, I hadn't realised that, does such a light skim really make a difference? Cheers Tom, I'll get on to him on Monday.

[will1991 11 1 Cars]

Done quite a bit in the last 3 weeks.

 

 

Brake lines were the first job. It took me hours but I find it quite satisfying and the end result was pretty good - I hate messy brake lines.

 

 

 

 

 

I also sent my dizzy to H&H, my AFM to ATP and my injectors to Injectortune for refurbishing.

 

 

 

 

Whilst I was waiting for that lot to be done I fitted some new brass bushes to the gear lever as well as some new main rod bushes (the white ones), so combined with the PUG Racing gear rods I've since fitted should hopefully ensure the gear change is now nice and crisp.

 

 

 

 

 

The Quaife LSD was fitted along with new driveshaft seals with the relevant amounts left proud of the casing (1.5mm OS, 1mm NS I think from memory). New clutch fork bushes were also fitted.

 

 

 

 

 

Alternator was rebuilt with a new regulator as one of the brushes in the original had snapped! I also fitted new spark plugs and fitted a nice new Gates cambelt. I've also been re-torquing the sump bolts over the past few days with a new Peugeot gasket so hopefully, fingers crossed, we'll have no leaks there.

 

 

 

 

The other job I did was to remove the old gauze from the oil filler, which was pretty manky, and stuck a scourer in there instead.

 

 

 

At this point I was about ready to put it all back in the car, and this weekend just gone, it happened. Very exciting. I had to rope my dad into helping with the install as I was worried I'd lose a lot of the engine bay paint along the way otherwise! The flywheel was sorted and a new clutch fitted.

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to fit it without the alternator fitted as I though it might help with plumbing the PAS pump in. Many of you will know that this is a mistake - I then later had to faff about removing the engine plate to be able to fit it which set me back a bit. Anyway, other than that it went in very nicely with new genuine Pug mounts all round.

 

 

 

The next day I went about plugging everything back up and fitting a full suite of BBM hoses and a stainless water pipe. Intake manifold went back with a new gasket, just as everything else has. I need to have the fuel rail and crank pulley re-plated as these didn't come back very well, so they'll be fitted once finished.

 

 

 

 

 

Then, today, I set about installing and putting together all the front running gear. Hubs were fitted to the struts with ease thanks to my very high tech (bolt filed down to be ovalised!) equipment. Then it was all torqued up with new Motaquip TREs and droplinks. Looking pretty good now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I then installed a new Nissens radiator and left it there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things currently holding me back from a start up are lack of fuel rail and crank pulley, having the wrong heater matrix to thermostat hose aaaaaaannnd, actually that's about it I think. Can't wait to get it fired up!

 

Will

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

Looking great!

[calvinhorse 870]

Bloody lovely!

[Plumbob 66 1 Cars]

Very nice!

[mrfirepro 127 1 Cars]

fantastic job on the brakes lines, looks great

[nomis 12]

Wow, just read through this. You are doing a fantastic job. That is going to be an excellent car once all that is finished. Would love to be able to do all that to mine. Time, space and a lack of knowledge and talent would stop me though.

 

Great documenting of a project too.