Eleven year full restoration - 1988 205 GTI 1.9

[Alex205 4]

Long time lurker here.

 

Over the last eleven years, I’ve been slowly restoring a 1.9 GTI that I’ve finally finished this summer (are they ever truly finished?). The 205GTIDrivers forum has been invaluable throughout – there’s been an answer here to every problem and question I’ve had – so here’s a heartfelt thank you to all who’ve posted and answered because I don’t think I could’ve done it without you.

 

So I thought I’d share the restoration and some photos to give something back. I’ll break the story into parts so I don’t overload you but let’s begin with a bit of background…

 

Probably like many of you, I decided to buy a 205 because my dad had one when I was a kid, a red 1.6 GTI that was one of the first sold in the UK and that he claimed had previously been owned by the producer of the TV soap Crossroads (not sure about that – he rarely let the truth get in the way of a good story). It was his favourite car he ever owned and I loved it too. It seems it was scrapped in 2011 but, if you fancy a laugh, look up how many miles the DVLA says it had on it then.

 

My plan was to find a 205 that I could work on. I’m personally not into show cars where everything’s polished to infinity but prefer the look of a survivor, a car that’s in great condition yet can be used because function has been prioritised over form – I’d rather have several layers of rust prevention than be able to eat of it. I also wanted to do as much of the work myself, only outsourcing the jobs I really couldn’t or shouldn’t do. I’d previously done up a Series IIA Land Rover and helped a garage with the restoration of an Audi so I wasn’t completely green but, all the same, I knew I’d need to learn a huge amount. But that was half the point.

 

The car I found was essentially a non-runner – it had no current MoT and plenty of advisories on its last, wouldn’t start and, when it eventually did, immediately ran out of fuel. But, being a 1988 non-sunroof phase 1.5 1.9, it was what I wanted and, well, I was looking for one to restore. I bought it without having driven it… or any 205! It was December 2012.

 

My Dad's 205

 

The one I bought

 

[Alex205 4]

Part 1/8: December 2012 – June 2013

 

I began by dismantling and assessing it. I already knew the good bits, such as a recently overhauled rear beam, were vastly outnumbered by the bad – the worn front seats and steering wheel, the holes in the front bumper where spots had once sat and more were plain to see. But as parts were removed, more and more rust revealed itself which, while not a surprise, was a little disappointing – the sills, windscreen frame, boot floor and numerous other places would all need attention. My welding skills would need to improve.

 

As you can see from the photos, the car was black but I don’t think this is the best colour for a 205 GTI – I prefer more of a contrast to the side trim and bumpers. So I started thinking, should it go cherry red like my dad’s? Steel grey and alpine white both look good…

 

But before I made any decision or further progress, we moved house so I not only had no time to work on it but it had to go live at a friend’s until our new house had a suitable garage to put it in.