1986 205 CTI Restoration

[jigs2895 0]

Hello all,

 

I'm new to this forum although over the last few months I've been updating my progress over on Detailing World. I'm going to upload all of the content from there onto here, so apologies if the time frames done quite make sense! 

 

I purchased this car in September 2017, I had been searching for a little 205 for a year or so, but never found one local, and nearly all of them needed a lot of work. (that also turned out to be the case with the one i've bought!)

With GTI prices sky rocketing, I decided to go for a slightly cheaper but just as good alternative, a little CTI. The market for these is very hit and miss, not many around, and not many good examples.

 

I found this 1986 Space Grey Phase 1 205 around 2 hours away. Chap had owned it for 2 years, driven it a handful of times and kept it in a large empty unit of which he had free use of due to being the site maintenance man of a large industrial estate. The bonus of this is that the car had been dry stored for the last 2 years of its life.

 

I initially walked away from the car due to it needing paintwork, engine work and interior work, however the 2 hour car journey home soon let me change my mind, I later called him with an offer, to which he accepted.

 

Add photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Collection day:

 

 

And soon it was next to my restored MK1 VTS: (which I have since regrettable sold on)

 

 

 

First job was to go through all the paperwork and date organise it and file it correctly, there was plenty to get through!

 

 

The original dealer 'stag hill' had done a lot of the servicing on the vehicle in its early life.

 

 

 

Next I moved onto giving the old girl a good check over, carried out a full service, replaced the timing belt and waterpump, radiator, thermostat and replaced all the cooling hoses with some replacement hoses from BakerBM.

 

 

As you can see in this image, the coolant consisted of nothing but K seal, something that later down the line came back to haunt me... more on that later.

 

 

Timing belt covers where all broken and in need of replacement!

 

 

 

Good second hand upper covers where sourced, and a modified re-made lower metal cover was purchased. (plastic lower cover is prone to breaking)

 

 

 

 

 

Whilst waiting on new parts, I sourced the correct 1.6 phase 1 pepperpot alloys and had them powdercoated and new Pirelli P1s put on.

 

 

 

With the engine service all complete, I installed the new wheels and assessed the bodywork.

 

 

 

 

Bodywork is not to bad, unfortunately someone had decided to paint the trims black whilst leaving them on the car! :wall: they where kind enough to mask with 2 inch masking tape next to the trim but nothing else!! Which resulted in a ********** line of overspray, all around the car. Shocking.

 

 

 

 

On the plus side, the engine bay was looking good with a new battery, powdercoated airbox and correct period jack all installed.

 

 

 

Interior condition is not horrendous, however some of the dash plastic trim is broken and needs replacing, which is incredibly hard to source!

 

 

 

 

 

A few weeks later... replacement matts, correct phillips headunit and a bit of TLC.

 

 

 

 

 

I moved onto the bodywork issues, a few weekends work with the polish and tar remover saw the bodywork back to life. The NSR quarter will require paint though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jigs2895 0]

As mentioned above, I was lucky enough to know where my 205 was originally sold. ‘Stag Hill Peugeot’. I got in contact with Dave at DMB Graphics and luckily he had the dealer logo on file, so he made me up some original dealer plates and sticker set!

 

 

 

Also had the spare wheel, cage and bolt powdercoated, and of course a new tyre to match the rest!

 

 

At this point I was happy enough with the car to take it for its first drive out! Just one little job left to do, change the inlet manifold gasket! Quickly removed the inlet and uncovered this....

 

 

Unfortunately this is known as chemical metal, and has been used to cover a crack in the engine block, this goes back to the K seal I found in the cooling system, I suspect that was used to aid sealing up the crack! :wall:

I could not drive the car now knowing it’s there... which meant sourcing a replacement engine, any replacement engine I purchased would be at least 30 years old and require a rebuild, this is a massive turning point for the car as initially I was restoring this car to just a useable standard, however now it will undergo a full engine rebuild and front end restoration.

 

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So with the unwelcome news the engine block was cracked, I picked myself up and sourced a replacement engine. The next weekend I found myself on a little road trip down to Somerset to pick up an engine from a fellow enthusiast.

Whilst I was there I decided to buy a few other parts from the chap, and fully built front CTI subframe so I can strip, powdercoat and rebuild that and install it when I replace the engine.

 

 

The replacement engine had 97k on it, although it makes no sense to put it in like that, so began stripping both the engine and subframe right down. The engine will be fully rebuilt and aqua blasted, and the front subframe rebuilt and powdercoated.

 

 

 

 

First things first the subframe got torn apart:

 

 

 

 

 

Next was onto the engine:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the engine stripped right down, I gathered up the aluminium parts and de-greased them ready for aqua blasting.

 

 

 

 

All the bits ready to be powdercoated:

 

 

 

Boot all loaded up (only benefit of driving a insignia, the boot is huge!)

 

 

Crank will be going to be checked sometime next week, hoping it will only need a polish, the bottom end shells seemed to be in good condition.

 

 

Parts for front subframe rebuild are building up.

 

 

The chap at the powdercoaters was kind enough to show me a quick sample of the aqua blasting process on my rocker cover, results look very promising!!

 

 

More updates next week hopefully!

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Collected the bits from the blasters (powder coating bits take a bit longer so ill get those next week).

 

Absolutely over the moon with the finish, a quick reminder of how the parts looked before hand:

 

 

 

 

And how they look now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

No pictures of the cylinder head I'm afraid, I dropped that straight off to the machine shop to have it skimmed, valve guides replaced, valves re-seated, stem seals replaced and camshaft shimmed. I'm hoping they don't get it covered in grime as it looked brand new!

 

Whilst the bits where at the blasters, I had the crankshaft checked over, unfortunately it required a regrind of .3 on the ends and .5 on the mains, not the end of the world, the machine shop supplied me with replacement correct size bearings and new thrust washers too.

 

 

Next on the list is to have most of the engine bolts zinc plated, just trying to find a good company to do it at the moment. Once that is done and the cylinder head is back, engine assembly can begin.

I'm also hoping to have the original cracked engine out the 205 this weekend, so I can get the last few bits powder coated that I need to. I'm hoping to have the front sub-frame and suspension components back from powder coating next week, so I can begin building that too.

Edited April 13, 2018 by jigs2895

[jigs2895 0]

Today began with a lovely sunny Hampshire morning, although a little cold, perfect weather for removing the engine, so nothing for it but to crack on!

 

 

My starting point was simply the complete engine all together, minus the inlet manifold that I had removed and discovered the crack in the block.

 

 

 

 

Began with stripping to top end and draining the fluids.

 

A few hours later I had the car turned around (more room for the engine hoist) and jacked up and began the underneath work, shortly after it was time for a bit of lunch :thumb:

 

 

Stomach satisfied, I got cracking and was quickly at the point of engine removal.

 

 

 

A bit of wiggling later..

 

 

 

Engine bay is looking a bit tired, going to need a little corrosion attention whilst access is good. Nice to see someone left one of the gearbox mount support bolts out!

 

 

Popped the driveshafts and lower ball joints back in (to keep the wheel bearings together) and had a good tidy up and popped it back into the garage.

 

 

Plan of action is to keep plodding along with building the new engine and subframe at work, and at the weekends address a few bits on the car whilst the engine is out, makes sense to make up some new copper brake lines, clean and degrease the engine bay.

 

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Got the cylinder head back from the head shop, and everything was looking fantastic..

 

Until I turned it over...

 

 

When I dropped the cylinder head off, I advised the chap of slight corrosion on the cylinder head face, and asked him to skim it first and if its ok after the skim, to continue and replace the valve guides, valves and rebuild it and shim it.

It seems he skipped the 'check it after the skim' phase, and cracked on with the rebuild. The corrosion around the water ways isn't a problem, the problem is with the corrosion around the combustion chamber between cylinders 2 and 3, the fire ring on the head gasket sits right on top of this, and its likely it wont seal correctly.

 

After speaking with the headshop they have apologised, and offered 2 options:

 

1. Weld the head (although in that area its not nice, and wont be perfect)

2. Source another head, and they will rebuild that FOC.

 

Of course I'm trying to complete this engine rebuild to the best standard possible, so option 2 it is! With that in mind, thought I'd remove the head off the old engine and check its condition.

 

 

To my surprise, its not to bad. There is no corrosion present near the combustion chamber, however still some near the waterways, so first things first will be to get it skimmed and see what's left after the skim, keeping my fingers crossed.

 

 

 

If it skims and is useable, then its over to the aqua blasters (again) then back to the head shop for its rebuild.

 

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Good progress this week.

 

Stripped down the new cylinder head ready to be skimmed to check its condition:

 

 

And I am happy to report it came back in good usable condition. Dropped it straight over to be aqua blasters, then had it rebuilt. Second time lucky!

 

 

Made a start on cleaning up the filthy gearbox:

 

 

 

 

 

About half an hours work (lots more to go):

 

 

Also had all the suspension and engine bolts Zinc plated, this is not something I have ever had done before, in previous rebuilds I've always given the bolts a clean and used them like that. I was pleasantly surprised with the results, its really going to finish off the rebuild!

 

 

 

 

 

Also got the last of the engine bits back from the Aqua blasters, and the other parts back from the powder-coaters. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

 

Previously..

 

 

Now..

 

 

 

Now I have all the parts I need, in the condition I need them in, I've begun to build bits back up.

 

Cylinder head:

 

 

 

 

 

New wheel bearings into the freshly coated hubs:

 

 

 

New shocks, springs, top mounts, and all plates coated:

 

 

 

Made a start on the subframe:

 

 

 

Very happy so far considering this is how it looked around a month ago:

 

 

Plan is to concentrate on building the front suspension and subframe over the next week, and attend to the dirty and tired engine bay the following weekend. By then the bottom end should be ready for collection and engine re-assembly can begin.

Edited April 13, 2018 by jigs2895

[jigs2895 0]

On my previous post I had begun rebuilding up the front subframe.

 

This week ive managed to finish building it up as much as possible.

 

 

Began applying ACF50 to the aqua blasted parts, and painting whatever I had left to paint (manifold etc..)

 

 

Also had the car recovered to the workshop to make engine and subframe instillation a little easier (excuse the Fiat 500!)

 

 

Looking very sorry for its self...

 

 

 

 

 

Started by replacing the brake pipes, a member on here a few posts back suggested I tried Kunifer brake pipe. I've always used copper, but decided to try something new..

 

 

 

 

Happy with the Kunifer pipe, slightly harder to flare and work with compared to copper, but it certainly feels more durable. I wish Peugeot had routed their pipes a little neater, however I've replicated the routing and shape from the original pipe so I can't complain! I've also had the bottom end built by a well known local business who specialise in 205's.

 

Liners in and clamped down:

 

 

Pistons, crank, oil pump and sump back on:

 

 

 

Head bolted on and torqued down:

 

 

Engine timed and cambelt re-installed:

 

 

 

He also refurbished my steering rack too:

 

 

Engine and rack collected, I made a start on finishing off the engine..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still plenty to do, however I'm extremely pleased with how the engine is looking. With the engine mostly complete, I was forced to start a job I've been putting off for weeks....

 

 

 

 

3 HOURS worth of cleaning, and further hour of painting later.....

 

 

 

I've painted a gearbox or two before, but this was by far the worst I've ever had to do, but its also come out the best I've ever done!

 

And finally got the old subframe out the car today:

 

 

 

 

 

And just enough time to bolt the new one back up into the car:

 

 

I hope to have the engine done and bolted back up into the car in the next few days, then it will just be slow pottering, slowly re-connecting the ancillaries, wiring and hoses till I can turn the key!

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Last week I got the majority of the engine built and assembled.

 

 

Now to slowly bolt it up to the car..

 

 
Lots of wiggling later...

 

 

 

Slowly re-assembled the maze work of breather pipes and coolant hoses, taking extra care and time to ensure they are routed correctly.

 

 

 

 

Nice new driveshafts.

 

 

Before I knew it, it was ready to fire.

 

 

Left the plugs out and disconnected the coil and injectors and cranked it over to gain some oil pressure. Then it was time to add the final piece....

 

 

Not forgetting some fresh fuel! Its hardly been used in 6 years!

 

 

Sure enough, its started after a few coughs! Ran it up to temperature, checked for leaks, none present! - Result.

 

Next was to set the ignition timing, I personally have only really worked on new cars since learning my trade, so using a timing gun and adjusting the distributor was a learning process for me. Managed to get it set, and took it down the road, felt ok, however a little flat up the rev range...

 

Ah... that will be the problem!

 

 

 

Vacuum advance unit was not working, I guess the diaphragm inside has failed, what a pain. Spoke with the engine builder that evening, he had one on the shelf. A short 3 hour drive to collect a £25 part later...

 

 

Set the ignition timing back up, and another test drive... what a difference! Over the moon with how it drives!

 

 

 

 

Went and had the wheel alignment done.

 

 

Overall thoroughly pleased with how its turned out. Next on the list is the bodywork and the roof, however I think that can wait whilst I enjoy it over the summer now!

 

And there is 6 months worth of progress, well done to those of you that have read it all, and thanks for reading!

Edited April 13, 2018 by jigs2895

[Kane 34]

Cracking job you've made of it. Here's hoping we actually get the weather for you to make use of that roof this summer. 

[barneys66 124 1 Cars]

What a great read and a quality job !!  Nice to see it back on correct wheels too.

 

Looking forward to more updates, but enjoy the driving in the meantime.

[mechanicalrepairs 8]

Brilliant work and attention to detail.

 

carl 

[petert 600]

Loving your work. I'm amazed at how good that vapour blaster is. Stuff we'd throw in the bin over here in Aus, you guys bring back from the dead. Don't be afraid to weld a head. A good operator weld and machine a head successfully. Alternatively, you can take up to a massive 2mm off a 205 head.

[Krash67 8]

Excellent work, especially to detail and having the original fasteners re-plated. most people, like myself ,would of just replaced with new off the shelf fasteners. Definitely gives it that " factory look". Keep up the good work.

[Telf 224 2 Cars]

awesome work- looks great

[nomis 12]

That's a great thread and a fantastic build. Well done.

 

Nearly bought a CTI before my GTI and then discovered only lapstraps in the back, which didn't work with two small kids. 

 

They still look very tempting when you see them for a good price. Hope you get a great summer to enjoy it.