[Car Restoration] One Owner 1.9 Gti Phase 1.5 Re-Commissoning

[205Rallee 59]

My Dad’s 205 GTi 1.9

 

Having retired in 1987 and having previously had company cars it was time for my Dad to buy his own car. He had owned a Peugeot 304 Estate in the early 70’s and strangely was keen to own another French car. So what was he about to buy? Yes the obvious choice was a brand new red 2CV.... Having heard this news from my mother, I managed to engineer a trip out with Dad which just happened to pass by our nearest Peugeot Talbot dealer, Myers and Bowman, near Workington in Cumbria. “Oh look at that nice graphite 205 Gti”, that got him hooked, a quick test drive of this Phase 1 demonstrator, he was smitten and agreed a deal to buy that car. However whilst he was on the test drive, I’d spotted a cherry red Phase 1.5 1.9 with sunroof hidden away at the back of the workshop. A deal was done and he bought it in December 1987.

 

I think his car was the first Phase 1.5 in Cumbria and for a late 50 something it was quite a cool car which attracted loads of attention. However within the first week it suffered its only damage in nearly 30 years. Having parked it at as far away from anyone as he possibly could in the local supermarket car park some scumbag scratched the word “OXO” onto the bootlid. Now with hindsight it was quite funny, but at the time poor old Dad was gutted. He wouldn’t accept the tailgate being repaired so a brand new one was fitted.

 

Anyway after circa 200,000 miles and 18 years, with mostly the supplier dealer servicing, only Mobil 1 oil being used and less than 6,000 miles between services, the 205 was serviced, cambelt changed, filled with half a tank of Shell Optimax, polished and then parked in his garage in 2005 hooked up to a trickle charger. He was struggling to get in and out of it, but he’d always said it was mine when he’d finished with it. However having young kids and a 205 euro Rallye to support I just didn’t have any time to do anything with it. I kept promising Dad I would re-commission it but did nothing until December 2010 when we just decided to see if it would start. Ok I knew this was a bit daft, with a 5 year old cambelt etc but anyway after a couple of revolutions it burst into life with a steady idle! After a 10 metre drive back and forward that was it.

 

Unfortunately Dad passed away in 2011 and so I cleared out all the stuff which had surrounded the Gti, took it outside, washed off the dust and then put it back into the garage until July 2015. In a moment of madness, with the help of a friend we dragged out the Gti and swapped it for my Rallye as we live 60 miles away and only have a single garage.

 

Having trailered the car home, again attracting lots of attention, we thought we’d start on the engine, which was a wee bit smokey. Valve stem seals had been changed before it was parked up but they were rock solid. So my mate (Peugeot dealer mechanic) borrowed a Peugeot valve spring tool and me and my 15 year old son changed the seals, new plugs, cambelt, water pump etc etc and it was back to running like new. The original cam had zero wear and the inside of the engine was spotlessly clean. Thanks Mobil 1.

 

Lots of cleaning and dismantling, replacing all fuel and brake lines, rebuilding the rear beam, basically all the usual stuff, we had all the mechanicals re - commissioned, the interior and the underneath of the car looking like new by Christmas 2015. With the hillclimb and sprint season looming, I needed to get the Rallye back so the 1.9 went off to get the paintwork refreshed/polished, with the aim to have it back on the road this summer to give my mother a run out in it for the first time in a decade or more.

 

As usual the timescale went out the window, but here are some photos I’ve just received of it from my mate Rob who is doing the paintwork,

 

Hopefully it will be finished in time to be displayed at Wigton Motor Club’s display at Dalemain House near Penrith on Sunday 21^st August. It’s a mega show with 600 plus cars on display, many from the 80’s.

 

Anyway that’s a brief story of my one owner 1.9.

[jackherer 543]

You win the forum, nobody has a better story than that!

[205Rallee 59]

Cheers!

 

Forgot to mention that Dad always said that we could sell it to pay for his funeral and we always joked that it wouldn't even pay for the flowers. I think he might be having the last laugh now!

[barneys66 123 1 Cars]

What a great story !! Excellent job on refurbing the car - I imagine he'd be very proud.

 

You know it's an heirloom now, right..?

[Stephen W 12 1 Cars]

Excellent story behind the car and it looks really clean. Only down the road from me aswel

Edited August 11, 2016 by Stephen W

[205Rallee 59]

It'll be going back to Workington for a photo outside what's left of Myers and Bowman ( it's now a "naughty boys" training facility).

 

Good to see that there are still some 205's left around here

[ATK 142 1 Cars]

Brill story! My father had the same car only F reg, good memories, long gone though

[Stephen W 12 1 Cars]

Be nice to see it in the flesh. Yeah there's one or 2 they just stay hidden away.

[205Rallee 59]

Just a couple of photos of the car at our show today. It was quickly put together just to get it there, but the paint and trim still all need finishing off but it was looking brilliant.

[205Rallee 59]

Well three months on, the paint is finished, it's got a new Fiamm air horn (thanks to Farmer) and it's off for it's first MOT in 11 years at the weekend. Fingers crossed. Just wished it was finished before they started salting the roads this week.

[205Rallee 59]

It passed first time! Fingers crossed it'll be back home next weekend so I can drive it next week to a passenger ride in a works 2017 Fiesta WRC, So excited.

[205Rallee 59]

Well it was a bit late but it has now come home, almost a year to the day that it went away. But it looks brilliant, no rust or even dirt anywhere, just too good to take out in the heavily salted roads around here at the moment. Really pleased with how it has turned out. Just need to find a grey two pin central locking motor for the passenger side door and then it will be finished.

[Anthony 1,003]

Looks lovely, your dad would have been proud

 

Passenger side 2-pin motors are all black btw - it's the drivers side one that's grey (and 4 pin) on the earlier cars without RCL.

[205Rallee 59]

Cheers Anthony, I just read somewhere that they were grey and the black ones wouldn't work on the Phase 1.5's.

[Anthony 1,003]

That's the drivers side - earlier Ph1/1.5 cars without RCL used a 4-pin grey coloured item whereas later Ph2 cars with RCL used a 5-pin black coloured motor.

 

The passenger and boot motors are the same regardless of age and whether RCL was fitted.

[205Rallee 59]

You should write a workshop manual on these cars! I thought I knew a fair amount, but the knowledge of these cars on this forum is immense.

[205Rallee 59]

Ordered up a new set of the original dealer plates and rear window sticker from DMB Graphics. The first photo is the 29 year old original plate and the other 3 photos are the new plates plus sticker. They are exact replicas from photos I emailed them, they even included the original GKN logo at the top left hand corner of the plate and the dealer sticker is exactly the same as the original. Took less than 7 days from initial e-mail to delivery, superb service and thoroughly recommended.

 

Not a bad present for the old car's 29th Birthday tomorrow

 

 

[East_Hud 7 1 Cars]

Great story and the car looks fantastic.

[205Rallee 59]

Just bought a set of the rear bumper mounting bolts and rubbers from the bloke in Czechoslovakia and had the spare Speedline wheel and one of the others repowder coated. Well pleased with how the spare turned out as after 30 years underneath the car as it looked like it had almost dissolved. Swapped the old Yokohama A539's for Michelin Pilot Sport 3's as it had Michelin MXV's from the factory. Would have liked to have used 185 55 15's Michelins but they only come in Michelin Energy's.

[Stephen W 12 1 Cars]

CD coatings by any chance?

[205Rallee 59]

Yep and a cracking job they did. Just waiting for some dry non salty roads to give it a run out

 

Aiming to take it on the Friday route of the PSOC Yorkshire weekend at the beginning of April and then to Scotland to do the North West 500 route with a group of Caterhams in June.

[Anthony 1,003]

then to Scotland to do the North West 500 route with a group of Caterhams in June.

Let us know how you get on with the NW500 - it looks to be very good from what I've seen/read and I'm thinking about doing it myself later this year

[205Rallee 59]

Finally got around to fitting up the wheelarch trims with starlock washers, didn't use Peugeot ones just got hold of a load from a teddy bear shop(!) for £1.95 including postage. Replaced the rear bumper side mount bolts and rubber buffers with a set of new ones from the bloke in Czechoslovakia off e bay. Then had a look at the front bumper slider bolts and rubber buffer, well the buffer was like new but the top hat nut/washer thing had totally dissolved. Couldn't be bothered waiting for a new set to come from Czechoslovakia so I bought some M16 stainless steel washers and some M8 stainless bolts along with M8 motorcycle fairing rubber nuts, Using the original rubber buffers it looks spot on and cost me about £6 with enough to do three front bumpers.

 

New hatchback struts fitted, along with an interior light switch (the one in the A panel by the door stop strap). Other than a few electrical glitches it's all finished and sitting under its cover. Not got any excuses to go in the garage I'm getting withdrawal symptoms !

[205Rallee 59]

Couldn't stay away, fed it half a tank of super unleaded and some injector cleaner. Going for a sneaky run down our state road tomorrow when everyone's at work tomorrow before it gets taxed on 1st March.

[toolie72 67 1 Cars]

Whisper-ok we won't tell anyone-mums the word