Second chance 205 XS

[greenclaws1975 4 1 Cars]

Hi y'all.  About time I introduced myself and my latest car a 1990 205 XS.

 

I owned a 205 XS  years ago F350 HNE and always regretted selling it (sold to my neighbours son who crashed  it after a week ).  It was a double kick  in the b******* really  as id skimmed 40 thou of the head.. gas ported , fitted new rings, sports exhaust and air filter etc. I dont think it improved the performance that much but plenty fast enough to get a day in court  and a telling of from the judge.... 'when i was a student I didn't even have a motor car...never mind one capable of in excess of 100 mph ' 

 

Remember saying to the Policeman at the roadside  'its only a 1.4' ... 

 

Anyway i was as scrolling through  ebay the other day    (always dangerous) and  this caught my attention ,, uncharacteristically I don't seem to have bought a pile of rubbish this time!!. No airbags, electronic crap, crashbars ..it's perfect ..what was i thinking selling it all those years ago!

 

Times have really changed since the late 1990's !. I bought my first XS from a salvage yard (Simpsons Salvage)  for £195 that had an 'engine fire' that turned out to be a piston through the engine block. No matter I found another engine in a scrapyard for £60..then a taxi pulled out infront of me and flattened the nsf chassis leg. Remember cutting a leg of another XS in my local yard and welding it back on and the radiator and bumpers being 10 a penny

 

Now I'm struggling to find even basic service parts.

 

Got a few questions for you knowledgeable 205  folk. 

Should a 1990 G plate car have clear indicators and amber non smoked rear lights ?.  I get conflicting info on google  

 

Dipstick handle  is broken. Will a 206 dipstick from any TU engine car fit ?

 

It seems to be sitting a bit too jacked up at the front I was wondering if it has diesel front  springs on. Height from the floor to the lip of the wheelarch is 647mm if that's anything to go by..but it looks like it wants to take off! 

 

Do Peugeot stock any 205 bits or will they just laugh in my face  when i get to the sales counter?

 

Will the rear axle be knackered after 125k miles? - it seems to sit level

 

Exhaust hot air shroud is missing. Are these available ?

 

Thanks for reading folks too much waffle from me ..apologies for the long post!

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

..

 

[Tom Fenton 1,539]

Welcome to the site. Looks a nice tidy XS.

 

They did always sit pretty high at the front, if anything the back looks a bit low. It should have orange front indicators yes on a 1990 G car.

 

There are some 205 bits left via Peugeot although less as time goes on. Only way to find out is try for the bits you need. 

 

If not previously touched, the rear beam will likely want some attention by now.

 

Cheers

[greenclaws1975 4 1 Cars]

Thanks Tom.  I'm quite surprised how solid it is really. Thought id got lucky and the paint was original.. but it's  definitely had a respray thats faded to orange

 

 

Its certainly in better condition than the white  XS I bought back in 1998.

 

Changed the indicators over to orange I think it looks better that way. Axle has definitely not been touched its very crusty and the roughest part of the car

 

[Tesseractoid 3 1 Cars]

How's the XS going @greenclaws1975 ?   looks like you got lucky and found a good one! 

not many around anymore, mine was quite a state when I rescued it.

Hope you're up and running with it!

[greenclaws1975 4 1 Cars]

Getting  there slowly with help from the fine folk on this forum! @Tesseratoid. 

 

it's needed a small amount of welding and lots of other jobs but they are a lot of fun to work on .  Found rebuilding the seized rear axle difficult but got all new brake and suspension parts on now so hopefully it's a good base.  . Engine seems tip top tho despite 125k on it.  Good luck with your project they look great in graphite grey 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Phil Gti 11]

I have a new, never used expansion tank for sale if your are interested.

[Tesseractoid 3 1 Cars]

10 hours ago, greenclaws1975 said:

Cheers mate,  ah maybe it is graphite grey, I thought it was just well worn black!   I do intend to paint it.. eventually.    Did you do the front shocks then?  mine are a bit creaky even with new bearings,  so thinking about swapping them out completely.

 

[greenclaws1975 4 1 Cars]

Still have the original front shocks ..just gave them a clean and paint as they seemed to be working okay and no leaks..     but swapped the rears for new Bilsteins as the previous owner had already bought them 

[Tesseractoid 3 1 Cars]

Ah nice, well if it aint broke and all that... there's plenty more to be getting on with!

 

[Tesseractoid 3 1 Cars]

@greenclaws1975. hiya,  just wondering if you fitted new driveshafts and can recommend a make?          I've just had my nearside one out and it's a complete mess! cheers!

[greenclaws1975 4 1 Cars]

On 7/11/2024 at 4:55 PM, Tesseractoid said:

Ah nice, well if it aint broke and all that... there's plenty more to be getting on with!

 

Exactly mate..rather have something old and origonal in good condition than newer stuff potentially made in China...

17 hours ago, Tesseractoid said:

@greenclaws1975. hiya,  just wondering if you fitted new driveshafts and can recommend a make?          I've just had my nearside one out and it's a complete mess! cheers!

 

I also had to replace my nearside driveshaft...found an SKF one on the autodoc site that fitted fine and seems good quality. 

That's the part reference for the arb bush too. Did you find out why it was knocking ?

 

I seem to remember the  lower arms used to knock when the bushes got tired..new Mehle arms arent that expensive 

 

MEYLE 11-16 050 3198 Suspension arm

 

SASIC 0945405 Anti roll bar bush

 

 

SKF VKJC 4121 Drive shaft

 

 

[greenclaws1975 4 1 Cars]

Cheers Phil, think my tank is good but will see if it holds pressure now the radiator is fixed .

 

 

Edited July 13 by greenclaws1975
typo

[Tesseractoid 3 1 Cars]

4 hours ago, greenclaws1975 said:

Exactly mate..rather have something old and origonal in good condition than newer stuff potentially made in China...

 

I also had to replace my nearside driveshaft...found an SKF one on the autodoc site that fitted fine and seems good quality. 

That's the part reference for the arb bush too. Did you find out why it was knocking ?

 

I seem to remember the  lower arms used to knock when the bushes got tired..new Mehle arms arent that expensive 

 

MEYLE 11-16 050 3198 Suspension arm

 

SASIC 0945405 Anti roll bar bush

 

 

SKF VKJC 4121 Drive shaft

 

 

Ha! thanks so much for this,  I was literally about to pull the trigger on that exact driveshaft on eBay!  so that's great to hear you've fitted it and it's all fine.

 

Knocking - for sure mostly from the old driveshaft, now that I've removed and had a look,  absolutely done for, i can even hear a familiar clunking noise if i shake the thing! 

 

Also replaced the lower arms, defo helped calm things down,    will do the arb bushes and clean up the shocks whilst I'm waiting on parts, 

hopefully front end will be good after this job!