[Car_Upgrade] Grey 205 Gti

[cybernck 402 1 Cars]

Wow, can't believe some of the points they made. It makes UK MOT sound ultra strict and nigh on impossible to pass with an average used car .

[jackherer 543]

They're all advisories, it didn't fail! The tester will tend to mention anything that is not as it left the factory as an advisory to show they have seen it but not deemed it to fail the car. The UK MOT is actually quite lax and very easy to pass IMO.

[cybernck 402 1 Cars]

Oh OK then. From what I've seen, even SVA test isn't too strict either. You can register anything as long as it complies with simple rules .

[dcc 855]

ok a bit has 'progressed' since last updated.

 

 

 

Went to visit Sandy down the other side of England to get the rest of the map sorted. Very pleased with the car now Fan decided to die between Cwmcarn at 9am and getting to Launceston at 1pm, might have something to do with the fan set to come in at 86degree, and the thermostat being 89 degrees not to worry... Smiles all round at the end of the day - Anyone considering mapping needs to really consider who they chose quite carefully, as said before by many people, Sandy is a very patient man and was very helpful with sorting out the finer parts of the map.

 

interesting day - with about 35-40 miles of enthusiastic driving, and 300 miles of motorway, it returned 34/35 mpg - all in all very pleasing. Today it gave 35mpg which included A LOT of enthusiastic driving after meeting up with a few forum members for a cruise along the Welsh coast and also popping over to Nant-y-Moch

 

.

 

 

There's a small video which I will post later, the passenger of the car behind was able to capture some nice footage showing the car plodding along

 

I am sure there are a few people desperate to know the figures... but sorry guys it wasn't put on the dyno so the figures are an estimate - around 140bhp would be a fair assumption. Throttle response is ridiculous which is both annoying, and very nice. The Xsara VTS BE4 gearbox is VERY well suited to the engine and compliments it very nicely, the plate diff will take a bit of getting used to, but a totally different animal to the old ATB I used to have.

 

Things for the future:

 

Sort body work

Radiator out, cut end off, re-weld between the 2 cores, weld end back on, fit 2 nice fans in place of the dead one

Proper dash fitted

Replace passenger door

Have a look at installing some sound deadening

Refurbish my set of standard 1.9 alloys - Any comment on what colour would suit?

Replace bonnet - I cut the aero catches as you can see, they are pretty damn perfect in alignment - but this was done as I didn't think I would be able to use the standard bonnet catch. Turns out I can, so I will get it refitted asap for the more subtle look.

 

On a side note, may I stress the importance of thread lock on cars with stiff engine mounts... I had the luxury of being able to give my car a check over with the torque wrench for an hour on Wednesday, and the number of bolts which weren't at the setting they were meant to be was a bit of a worry. Luckily a Haynes (book of lies), some thread lock and a few hours later everything was sorted.

[Edp 67 3 Cars]

Great job and nice read

[dcc 855]

Well I have been having trouble with a wheel wobble/vibration at high speeds, so I decided to try some spare wheels (basically brand new 15" team dynamic 1.2's in anthracite) to see if they cured the issue, which they did. They also make the car look a bit more subtle I think.

 

Jobs for the rest of the year are:

 

Lower the steering wheel column so the indicators auto switch off

Fit new light stalk

Fit Dashboard (*Cough* Aled)

Find and Fit bonnet and catch without pins

Faise the front and back. (It was a bit of guesswork with the rear as the car has a 28mm arb and 21mm tb's) - kindly Lyn Morgan has donated me some front springs (which are 15.5mm diameter 5 1/2 coils) to replace currently unknown items (which are 12.1mm diameter 6 1/2 coils)

Find and fit new passenger door

Buy an alarm and get it to Anthony to fit

 

Some non essential but required alterations are

 

Install braided fuel lines

replace metal fuel lines under car

replace rubber lines into tank

 

 

 

 

 

​

[credowan 15 1 Cars]

Those new wheels really suite the car, looks 100% better, well done keep up the great work

 

Gary

[Anthony 1,003]

Agreed on the wheels and no problem on the alarm installation front - just give me a shout and we'll sort something out

 

(PS. If there's no / minimal dashboard in it at the moment, it'll make my life much easier to do a tidy, secure installation if you leave refitting it until after I've fitted the alarm)

[hexhamstu 9]

I gave you a brand new toad alarm with the car.....

[dcc 855]

Its only the wiring! No actual alarm

[hexhamstu 9]

hmmmmm, wonder where that went.

[welshpug 1,661]

I hate Gaz dampers, I also hate solid engine mounts, the Magnex is a bit Marmite, but I quite like this engine, it doesn't go bad for a cheap build !

 

And it doesn't seem too bad on fuel either, top work by Sandy

[dcc 855]

Simple things that matter!

 

 

Oh and the oil temp now works too!

 

Fixed a few minor issues which developed - such as the heat shield falling off the bolt under the fuel tank and giving the car the worst death rattle i've heard!

did an oil swap - had good oil pressure anyway, now have really good oil pressure! D

also fitted some fibre washers for the cam cover bolts. If anybody needs these give me a shout, I have 97 left! I'll just pop them in the post for you!

 

Have given Meirion some bearings for a BE3 gearbox and also 2 BE3 gearboxes! Hopefully he will report back in a few days with some more info! but basically its going to be a diseasle / petrol hybrid box! got to love scrapyards!

[welshpug 1,661]

Dan now has new engine bay fuel lines, a flocked dashboard, a 4.93 final drive with new gearbox bearings.

 

ill let dan put the pics up

[chipstick 382 1 Cars]

The flocked dashboard looks superb

[dcc 855]

Haven't bothered with updating this much. The car is mental with the 4.93 final drive in the gearbox, while it was out we fitted all new gearbox bearings and seals - total cost was around £120 (minus diff bearings). In theory it will do 121mph flat out in 5th on the 195/50/15's.

 

On the way to pugfest though we were in 50mph averaging cameras, so we know exactly how much fuel it takes to do 50mph in 5th, on the flat. We actually worked out 50mph gave 51mpg, 56mph gave 51mpg, 60mph gave 49mpg and 70mph gave 42mpg ish... we also saw the car using 40litres of fuel an hour at one point! Overall it gave 41mpg to and from Prescott which isn't too bad!

 

The fuel lines were an expensive yet worthwhile upgrade. Very happy with the quality and also with the service given from the guys at Torques in Abergavenny.

 

The dash was done by Aled Richards of West Wales Flocking, aka 205wrc on here

Looks spot on!

 

All in all very impressed with where the car is! Next up (and probably last for a long while) a set of rear dampers.

[dcc 855]

I know the car isn't perfect, but it is straight, bloody quick, sounds lovely, and puts one hell of a smile on my face!

 

So a quick before and after of the engine bay

 

 

After

 

 

 

 

 

Also a few of the dash

 

 

It seems the lower dash doesnt sit very snug and after comparing the column with a spare it seems the column was mangled when the car was pinched from Stu in Swansea 4/5 years ago.

 

I haven't cleaned the dash since fitting, but you get the idea!

 

 

 

The gearknob is one of the Quaiffe style thingys from Ebay, a few people asked me how I fitted the Satch Shift so neatly! ha!

 

 

So the wheels! They looks pretty good - but the best bit about them has to be their clearance on the brakes!

 

 

There is maybe 1 inch or even more between the brakes and the wheel itself.

 

I am not an 'arty' person but took a few photos earlier

 

 

 

And finally the only picture I have really seen of the car at pug fest!

 

 

Bad points of Pugfest!

Exhaust now has a big crack in it at the collector

The engine has a seal which has given up! (actually thats a lie it happened on the way from Porthcawl to Meirions house in Cwmcarn. so it needs another cambelt now too!

 

People think it has f***ed driveshafts... Turning and *CLUNK CLUNK!!* GAH! its the plate diff! People don't half snigger and laugh when that happens!

[calvinhorse 870]

Dash looks mint and the bay looks a million times better

 

I forgot how bad the diff makes things sound/feel! Mine is particularly bad when I reverse with any lock on! Really clunks and judders, wouldn't change it for the world

[dcc 855]

So, Exhaust has been re welded, oil leak from cam seal has been done, engine has had another cambelt and a new tensioner, a new cam shaft oil seal.

 

Cam seal making a run for it!

Kind of funny in that it was the only seal really which wasn't replaced when the engine was suspected of a bottom end knock a few months ago (as as a result got a full rebuild - to only find out it was a flywheel bolt!)

 

 

 

Something we noticed when the engine was rebuilt a few months ago was the fine tolerances between the crank pulley and the case bolts. obviously the tolerances are tight, but this is very very tight. Maybe the difference between a fresh engine (this one) and the one the pulley was designed off of? Everything on my engine is well within tolerance thanks mainly due to Meirions (Welshpug) attention to detail.

 

Oh we also had to run a 10mm drill bit through it as the hole wasn't quite large enough to accept the timing pin

 

 

Anyway the engine ended up being on the floor for about a month. Struggling for time to fix it, away on holidays and just general enthusiasm was dwindling.

 

 

Put it all back together (Will put an update with that another time as far too tired now :|) and the bloody thing seemed to be losing oil pressure at high rpm/high speed. Then it lost oil pressure all together. bugger. Pulled it over and checked the wiring to the sender, the female crimp which I had used basically is not designed to be pulled on and off frequently and had basically lost its 'grip' on the sender. so tried to tighten it with some pliers, and it fell apart. so a short while later I had fitted 3 new crimp ends (Oil temp, Pressure and Switch) and all good, no dying off oil pressure at high rpm - so obviously the connector was losing contact giving it the appearance of low pressure on the gauge.

 

 

 

 

Just done a pretty long trip to make sure no issues, and yep, everything is fine. not even an oil leak, which is weird! Need an oil leak to make sure oil left! no oil leak = no oil!

 

stopped at Bala Lake for a break but only got a quick photo, you can see the car is now sat about an inch higher than before. This is now because the car has Faulkner 106 gti 50mm lowering springs, supplied by Kev from KamRacing. We did the back end at the same time to match.

 

 

Took this earlier, should be able to see the height change.

 

 

Hit a rabbit on the way home last night, around 60mph, thought I lost the driving lamp - luckily not a scratch thanks to the protector! need a new bulb though!

For the Animal lovers out there, the rabbit made it to the verge but no idea if he made it

 

 

Also fitted E- Pas which I have to admit is pretty damn useful, having a 2.4 turn rack and a plate diff.

Quite well hidden.

 

 

Just because your alternator has 2 spades does not mean both of them become live when engine is running! I found one which was live permanently! So spliced (a bit of a bodge atm) into the alternator wire which signals to the dash board light (turns battery light off on the dash) to switch a relay, which switches another relay, which then powers up the E Pas, only when car engine is running! Thanks to Sam for the help on that.

 

 

not hanging about on the drive, which wasn't a trip to the shops, its done 32mpg. it sits at 4.2/4.3k rpm @ 70 ish. 4.93 not so great for a potential daily driver.

 

so picked up a new gear box ready to go in, will get it cleaned, new bearings and seals again. also relieve the casing for the plate diff. Thanks to Andy Hardiman for this

 

BE3 Xsara VTS Gearbox

 

 

 

I also want to make the car a little less 'stand out' looking (with the wheels) so I bought a set of 1.9 gti wheels from George about 2 years ago, finally got round to checking them over, the paint was a bit s*it on them so I spent just under £30 on a few cans of primer, paint and sand paper. They're likely to get kerbed etc so I didn't get them refurbed professionally as it's likely to be money wasted, but happy with the results.

 

 

Oh, also picked up one of these for a bit of winter fun

 

Oh and a 4.93 to go in it too...

 

 

Homologated specification roll cage

 

 

Fibre Glass Bonnet!

 

Fibre glass boot!

 

 

It came with this, a high spec. 8v 1.9 engine (reported 143whp)

 

But it will be fitted with this bog standard 1.6 8v (Historic Rally Spec incomming!)

 

Maybe using the 1.9 head

 

[dcc 855]

 

Have had it on a rolling road today, just because I had some spare time and never knew the exact power - so here we go, this is what 114whp looks like in a 205

 

[dcc 855]

This car is now being broken for spares.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only joking. Insurance is due for renewal, I'll hold off for now, get her back in the barn and tidy her up.

 

This is what a decent, budget 8v looks like (the importance of good grammar too )

 

This is what it looks like a bit too low at pugfest, on pro race 1.2's:

 

 

This is what it looks like at the right height (I would guess a 15mm drop over standard) on proper wheels (bilstein challenger dampers with 106 falkner springs supplied by Kam racing):

 

 

and this is exactly how big a maserati is compared to a 205 gti:

 

Finally, I'm glad to see the back end of this for now

 

[Robbiedundy 58 4 Cars]

Hey do you still have this car or any of the old pictures? Currently building a 1.9 gti 8v on itbs and looking for ideas/tips

[welshpug 1,661]

Dan still has the rolling shell,  just needs to build the EW12 that he started gathering bits for 6 years ago