1989 1.6 cherry red refurbishment

[ian010778 21]

Hello all,

 

It's been a while since I posted here and sadly since my 205 was last on the road. I haven't lost touch though and I've been keeping up with a few threads, especially since the East Midlands meet disbanded.

 

Having sat in the garage for a number of years I have decided, with a lot of inspiration from Michael's thread and Paul's thread that this is the year I need to crack on and get the car back on the road so this is my refurb' thread.

 

These are the last couple of decent photos I have going back to 2011 and 2013.

 

 

 

I'm not going for a full restoration or respray as the car is basically sound and I want to keep some of the original character but I need to clean her up and do her justice. My mantra is "the devil's in the detail" and no square centimetre will be left untouched by way of being cleaned, treated and protected :-)

 

I've had a few Saturday afternoons and evenings on her so far and today she looks like this.

 

   

 

 

 

As is visible, there's rust bubbling through at the front of both rear wheel arches, underneath the cover there's a substantial amount of blooming on the roof and bonnet and the trim has faded.

 

There's also a fair amount of surface corrosion in the usual places around the engine bay such as under the headlights and around the battery tray so I'm prioritising getting the engine and gearbox out so I can assess the damage properly. The radiator core is shot it and there's a crack in the exhaust manifold but I'm yet to see how bad this is.

 

Internally all of the seats have holes in the cloth, the foams are pretty crappy and the bracket that holds the driver's seat outer bolster in place has snapped.

 

It's a real shame I've let her get into this condition :-(

 

Good news is that the last time she was on the road I did some work on the interior by way of replacing dashboard bulbs, fitting a Toad Ai606, fixing the standard retro-fitted central locking and I know the carpet is in good nick. All the glass is fine and the sunroof is in good working order (tested when I backed her onto the drive last month) and the only advisory on her last MOT was that the front coil springs have surface corrosion.

 

So, for a DIYer I don't think there's anything that will stop me getting the car back on the road and MOT'd but I want to do a good job of refurbishing her fully so I'm going beyond the minimum required - planned list of jobs as follows:

 

• Remove the bonnet.
• Get on all the stuck fixings and finish clearing the engine bay ready for engine removal. I'm currently struggling with; a destroyed screw head holding the washer bottle into the inner wing, not being able to get onto the rearmost battery tray bolt head, four round nuts on the exhaust manifold, and figuring out if I can detach the exhaust manifold from the down-pipe and lift it out with the engine for splitting later.
• Remove front bumper and valance.
• Remove engine and gearbox and put to one side for a bit.
• Remove brake servo and anything else I can from the firewall.
• Remove front sub frame and put to one side for a bit.
• I am not planning to fully remove the wiring looms but I will be cleaning every single connector and doing as much testing as I can while I have the engine out and everything unplugged.
• De-grease, pressure wash and rub down the entire engine bay and front end and assess just how far the corrosion may have gone.
• Treat any corrosion, prime and respray any bits that need it. I'm not going to respray the whole engine bay as I want to keep the original stickers and I don't want to have to mask these off etc. so I'll be feathering what painting I need to do into the original paint. By the looks of it, I'll only be painting in areas that won't be visible once I've re-assembled anyway.
• The entire engine bay will then get a fresh coat of lacquer and protection (whatever that may be) and I am planning to do some nice bits such as polish the VIN plate and I think I'll lacquer over the stickers to help preserve them further.
• The front sub frame will be next - checking of all the usual parts and of course replacing the springs along with anything that looks like it needs to be replaced. I'll also be painting/treating (with Waxoyl, Hammerite or similar) everything that can be so it all looks really smart and is protected.
• The same will happen to the engine and gearbox. I don't want to take the head off as I'm not that that confident and the head gasket has never leaked. The engine also runs really well with a good idle and it's really spritley (it still kicks my wife's 206 115 HDI FAP's ass and our new 2008 115 e-HDi!) so if it ain't broke I'm not gonna fix it. However, I will replace the obvious bits (timing belt, water pump, tensioner) and no doubt I'll uncover some stuff I'll need help with that may lead to me taking the head off but we'll see. I also have a new alternator ready to fit as the previous one is really old and from a 306 DTurbo so it's over-rated and I want to go standard as I won't be re-fitting the boy-racer ICE I once had in the boot.
• I'll get the crack welded up in the exhaust manifold and all external surfaces on the engine, gearbox and exhaust manifold will be prepped and painted with whatever's suitable/tasteful before being put back in along with the sub-frame.

 

It will then be a case of repeat at the rear. While I've got the wheels off I'll also be rubbing them down and freshening up the lacquer, refurbing brakes etc. and just getting her really clean and well protected.

 

I am planning to go off piste a bit and fit a nice set of silicone hoses and I'm thinking about stiffer suspension bushes, just to liven her up a bit but I won't be lowering or messing with the standard geometry. I'm also going to to investigate radiators as I need one anyway so I might go for a smarter looking ally one but haven't decided yet.

 

It's likely I'll need a professional to refurb the seats and deal with the rear wheel arch rust - these will be the finishing touches. I believe I'll be able to correct the blooming by rubbing back the lacquer which will release the trapped moisture and I will be able to re-lacquer the roof and bonnet and cut the fresh lacquer to blend it in with the old. A good clean up and treatment will see the trims right along with some new finishers from the classic spares list.

 

I've already purchased some new front indicators and yellow Denji driving lamps. They won't get fitted for about a year but they look lovely in the boxes!

 

So plenty to do - this weekend I'll be getting her up on stands (I needed them last weekend when doing my wife's brakes ahead of MOT on Saturday morning) and I'll be removing the driveshafts from the gearbox and getting on those stubborn fixings so I can hoist the engine and gearbox out over the next Bank Holiday.

 

One mistake I have made, that I don't mind sharing, is parking the car in gear and subsequently removing all the gear linkages meaning I can't roll her around on the drive now until I've removed the driveshafts from the gearbox so it will be a tight squeeze this weekend but I should be able to manage :-)

 

Plenty of updates and more mistakes to come.

 

Wish me luck.

 

 

Ian.

[Telf 224 2 Cars]

good luck- you can get complete sets of engine bay stickers.

[SootySport 23]

Good luck.   I'm about to start my Red 1.6GTI as well.    Good idea not making it show condition else you'll be scared to drive it and get it dirty, been there and done that

[ian010778 21]

Time for an update - I didn't have any time over the weekend but I've had a few evenings over the last week or so and I'm making some good progress.

 

Front bumper and valance are now off. Fortunately most of the bumper fixings sheared so I managed not to make any big circular holes in it - however I did break one of the inner fixing points when removing the bumper so I'll be pondering on how to fix that as I re-assemble.

 

 

The metal underneath the driver's side headlight also seems a bit flimsy - it's obviously corroded on the surface but I'm not sure what I'll find later in the year when I start rubbing back.

 

It seems as though I may be uncovering some history too. The passenger side headlight was replaced after I first bought the car as it was not a GTI model - my mechanic at the time suggested it was from a 205 van as it had an old fashioned spherical bulb rather than a halogen. I didn't think much of it at the time (I was 20 and owned a GTI!) but a couple of things I've found this week are making me think she may have seen some front end action in the first 10 years of her life (I've owned her for the rest :-))

 

For example, there is no corrosion on the left hand side but when I took the arch trim off the clips had been glued in rather than secured with the proper inserts - this is annoying as the glue has took some of the paint off and there's also a small dent in the left wing that the trim was concealing. However I've looked through all of the car's paperwork and there's no documentation of front left damage being repaired but I can't help but think that someone's tried to straighten the wing out, resprayed it and replaced the front left headlight following a shunt. They've then neglected to use the proper trim fixings as the dent would mean it wouldn't sit right so they've bodged it on with some sort of expanding glue.

 

 

Tonight I started with the drive shaft removal from the gearbox. I made the rookie error of forgetting to drain the gearbox oil but luckily I'd got a container within reach and caught most of it as I pulled the passenger side driveshaft out. I also found more evidence of 'work' being completed on the left hand side as the bolt-head that secures the ball joint into the wishbone on this side has is 16mm whereas the driver's side is 17mm so something's not quite as it rolled out of the factory.

 

Frankly, I am surprised at this as twenty years ago when I bought the car I traveled the length of the country with my Dad and of the 5 cars I test drove this is the only one that appeared to be standard and that accelerated and braked in a straight line which is why I bought this one! So I'm sure that with a very careful eye, making a note of any other potentially mismatched parts, and some new hardware when I re-build she'll be fine and continue to drive straight.

 

On to the driveshafts - the passenger side was easy but I have good access that side of my drive. The drivers side remains in situ' at the moment :-(

 

I can't figure out the centre bearing and coupled with the outside wall of the house being immovable I've decided I'm going to tackle this over the bank holiday weekend after trawling the forum for advice and when I've got a good couple of days in which I can roll the car clear of the house in order to get on it properly.

 

So the car now looks like this.

 

   

 

Oh, I almost forgot - this little bugger's really annoying me as it's stopping me from removing the washer bottle - I'll have a go at removing it from the wheel arch side once I've done the driveshaft and the wheels are off... again!

 

 

Next priority is to clean the drive and I won't have any time until the bank holiday to crack on but I'm expecting my next update will include the successful removal of the driver's side driveshaft as well as the washer bottle, battery tray and potentially the exhaust manifold.

 

 

Ian.

[Nobbly 22 2 Cars]

Good on you for getting the bug again.  It looks like a pretty straight motor you have there.

[Telf 224 2 Cars]

That engine looks like the same disgusting mess mine was when I took it all apart, its amazing the state they can get in!

 

[Telf 224 2 Cars]

As for the bumper- I repaired one using standard fibreglass repair kit- looked ok from the front- not so clever from the back. Personally I'd replace the bumper (and did do eventually!)

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

On ‎5‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 7:56 PM, ian010778 said:

 

 

 

Tonight I started with the drive shaft removal from the gearbox. I made the rookie error of forgetting to drain the gearbox oil but luckily I'd got a container within reach and caught most of it as I pulled the passenger side driveshaft out. I also found more evidence of 'work' being completed on the left hand side as the bolt-head that secures the ball joint into the wishbone on this side has is 16mm whereas the driver's side is 17mm so something's not quite as it rolled out of the factory.

 

 

Its actually the other way round, Peugeot used 16mm head bolts, the 17mm is a replacement at some stage.

[ian010778 21]

Cheers all - shamefully, I haven't had a chance to make any progress the last couple of weeks (partly due to wrecking my 1/2" ratchet handle!) but I've got a clear run next week and weekend (plus a new ratchet) so should get the other d/shaft, battery tray and exhaust maniofold out/off/disconneted - update to follow.

 

Ian.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Why are you wanting to take the exh manifold off in situ? Its a pretty awkward job, whereas with the engine on the floor its very straightforward.

[ian010778 21]

On 6/15/2018 at 1:15 PM, Tom Fenton said:

Why are you wanting to take the exh manifold off in situ? Its a pretty awkward job, whereas with the engine on the floor its very straightforward.

Hi Tom,

 

I assumed I'd have to take it off to get the engine and gearbox out - is this not the case?

 

Ian.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

No. Engine and box will come out with the manifolds still attached.

[ian010778 21]

7 hours ago, Tom Fenton said:

No. Engine and box will come out with the manifolds still attached.

Ah - that's really helpful thanks Tom, so would I just disconnect the downpipe at the spring bolts or is there an even easier technique?

 

 

Bit of an update too - got back on it this evening as after mulling things over and going back over lots of threads I've decided to change the approach to the removal. The car's already up on stands with the driveshafts out the final drive unit and given I'm struggling to get the battery tray off I'm going to take the gearbox out through the bottom. This will leave plenty of space, even with the battery tray in place, to hoist the engine out of the top using the hooks which will help with balance etc. as it comes out. I can then get in to remove the battery tray and the brake servo ready for the big clean up!

 

Minor delay though, the only 16mm socket I have is my plug socket and I can't get it on to the rear bolt holding the gearbox onto the block as it's too long (I don't have a 16mm spanner either :-( ). So a quick trip to the socket and spanner shop through the week and I'll have it out ready to lower the gearbox off its mount on Saturday.

 

However, a couple of small wins tonight; I've taken the flywheel cover off in preparation for gearbox removal, and I've managed to get the washer bottle out of the passenger side wing after rounding the screw. It's times like this that the exploded diagrams and descriptions on Service Box come in handy as this showed me exactly how the washer bottle was anchored inside the wing (plastic nut) so I knew I couldn't do any serious damage while persuading it out.

 

A bit more surface rust, as expected, has been revealed from behind the bottle and I'm sure there will be more under the battery tray once it's out but I'm pleased to have made a bit of progress and I think I've made the right decision to split the gearbox and take it out through the bottom. A couple of photos showing the general state and behind the washer bottle tonight.

 

Ian.
 

 

[ian010778 21]

Et voila! My 205 is now sans gearbox!!!!

 

And here's the pictures to prove it

 

 

 

 

As a complete amateur going into this - I'm really pleased to have hit this milestone. I was surprised at how light the gearbox is - once I got it moving away from the block I was able to wiggle it off and lower it by hand from above before picking it up and carrying it into the garage.

 

Not sure how much I'll get done over the next few weeks now though as I haven't sorted my hoist yet and I only have this weekend before I'll be having a few weeks off due to other commitments but you never know.

 

 

Ian.

[Telf 224 2 Cars]

good work, have fun cleaning it up!

 

[ian010778 21]

Well that was a surprise!

 

After being away for a few weeks and sorting out the air con' on the 206cc I put a couple of hours aside to assess the 205 and do a couple of jobs in preparation for removing the engine. The downpipe was still attached and I hadn't put the hubs back in the wishbones following the gearbox removal - THAT IS ALL I PLANNED TO DO TODAY.

 

However, after removing the downpipe the whole engine moved what I thought to be a significant amount and seeing as I'd only been out about 10 minutes I cracked on.

 

 

Now clearly I hadn't planned this as I wanted to hoist the engine out using my garage beams and the car only had three wheels attached in the above photo so I had to have a think and decided to jack the front end up higher and bring the engine out through the bottom. In the above, the rear and top engine mounts are still attached too but I didn't want to leave it like this as it'll be a couple of weeks 'til I get back on it.

 

So, I had to think about supporting the engine, making a controlled descent and being able to move it into the garage once clear of the car - this is what happened.

 

 

Not ideal but it was all I had to hand and after packing a load of cushions around the jack I went for it. I undid the rear engine engine mount first and then the three 16mm bolts on the top engine mount. Everything came off really easy - almost as though the car was ready for me to get on and make some proper progress!

 

The wood held long enough as I slowly let the jack down but gave up just as the fly wheel end touched down and the jack released the full weight.

 

Fortunately nothing was and the sump looks fine with no dents (PHEW!) with the exception of the bottom gearbox mounting bolt getting bent as the flywheel end took the weight temporarily but with everything that could have gone wrong I'm counting that as a win! Note: the bolt was in situ as I'm putting all hardware back in its hole where possible so I can keep track of what goes where when I purchase the new hardware and re-assemble.

 

 

So the engine is now in the garage, (kinda) re-united with the gearbox and the car now looks like the crappiest monster truck ever with a massive sad mouth.

 

 

 

Also, decision was made today to take the dash out so that will be the next job over a few evenings next week. This will enable me to remove the engine bay wiring looms and do a proper job under there :-)

[ian010778 21]

Bugger!

 

There is daylight down there so looks like I'm gonna have some unplanned work/cost ahead. Also, some 15 year old Dynamat that I laid back in the day

 

 

Side note - how hard are the rear seat belt floor bolts! I was sweating like a wildebeest undoing them in a confined space

[SootySport 23]

Buy a can of penetrating fluid,Plusgas is a good one. Go around all the potential seized nuts and bolts and give them a bath every day for a week, it will help later.  Anything seized after all that you’ll be needing a blowtorch to free off the fixings so have one on standby.

[Telf 224 2 Cars]

good work Ian, love seeing on the fly solutions, I dragged my engine out from underneath as well

 

Id have probably selected a thicker bit of wood though!

Edited August 21, 2018 by Telf

[Telf 224 2 Cars]

I had rust holes in the boot in the same area - both sides. Might be worth checking your rear bumper mountings as well- mine where trashed- rotted out and allowing water in- skyquake one the forum sells replacement parts

[Telf 224 2 Cars]

here's a pic of the area I'm on about- replacement panel tacked in, and complete muchlater.

[ian010778 21]

On 8/20/2018 at 9:54 PM, SootySport said:

Buy a can of penetrating fluid,Plusgas is a good one. Go around all the potential seized nuts and bolts and give them a bath every day for a week, it will help later.  Anything seized after all that you’ll be needing a blowtorch to free off the fixings so have one on standby.

Will do - I've been using WD-40 on anything rusty so far but I keep seeing good things about PlusGas so I'll get some ordered from RS on payday. I'm assuming I'll need something a bit more urgent when I take the rear suspension and front sub-frame off after 30 years.

 

On 8/21/2018 at 6:57 AM, Telf said:

I had rust holes in the boot in the same area - both sides. Might be worth checking your rear bumper mountings as well- mine where trashed- rotted out and allowing water in- skyquake one the forum sells replacement parts

Yes, I'm not sure what else I'll be uncovering when I get to the rear bumper and suspension removal but for now, as the schedule has changed a little, I'm concentrating on getting the interior and dashboard out as I've decided to go the whole hog on the engine bay and interior removal.

 

Did you weld your new piece in yourself Paul? I've never welded before but I have access to a gasless MIG welder and a 'reasonable amateur' helper. I'm sure between us we'd be able to clean it all up and get the new piece welded in but I wouldn't know where to start with finishing it. I guess, as long as it's all nicely flatted down, filled and painted on the inside it doesn't matter if its not seamless underneath as long as it's water tight and sealed properly but it's one of things that I would know about so it might bug me if I don't get it professionally finished on both sides of the patch. Do you have any photos on your thread of your completed

boot floor patch please?

 

On 8/21/2018 at 6:52 AM, Telf said:

Id have probably selected a thicker bit of wood though!

LOL - so would I if I had one at the time; or better still I'd have used my 1t engine hoist - properly mounted in the garage roof but every day's a school day I don't mind telling you - I proper shat myself when it went mate!

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Please tell me those are not dents in the wing tops from that length of wood

[Telf 224 2 Cars]

Ian,

 

I haven't ever welded anything on the car. The rot around the bumper hangers was extensive and required a lot of work to put right-bearing in mind you want the bumper to fit properly after with no odd gaps etc. The boot holes where literally just buzzed out to good metal then the welder built the boot contours back. It looked bloody horrid until they went and smoothed all the weld and metal back. I'm not sure if I've got a picture .

[Telf 224 2 Cars]

3 hours ago, Tom Fenton said:

Please tell me those are not dents in the wing tops from that length of wood

they do look dented .. but it might be the light