[car_restoration] Sorrento Gti16v Full Rebuild

[de Noir 0]

note: topic has ben re-edited. for photos please refer to project gallery

 

 

 

After too much time spent gearing-up for this, I'am finally in position to present first half (well, almost) of my Mi16 project.

Some of you are in the know of this car, another may remember few topics made long time ago...

 

 

Being my 2nd GTI, this 1991 Sorrento 1,9 XU9JAZ started its career as full restoration project only.

I purchased her in january last year from second owner from new, and decided to take all the time in the world to sort everything best I can.

Plan was to tear her completely apart, repair and return everything into full factory spec.

 

 

As you can see from pics, apart from few dents and minor passenger door accident, shell was in sound order, worth spending money on. Interior, apart from lower seat bolsters was intact, including the rich sorrento green coloured carpets and black trims. Suspension, I suspected when I bought the thing, wasn't dealt with very long time (later found stuff confirmed this). Silent blocs, bushes, ball-joints, tie-rods etc. were completely worn out dead.

Drivetrain condition was absolutely surprising, but engine was a real cracker, powerful and healthy sounding. My 1st GTI with completely rebuilt engine ran out of puff above 5500rpm, but this thing spun VERY willingly into high 6000s so I decided only to take a look at the internals later, just to check everything's OK and replace what's needed.

Having clocked 208.000kms and likely being serviced regularly, this lump was really extraordinary.

 

Car spec includes PAS, sunroof, remote door lock and GTI standards like power windows, half-leather and chequered green-black-black leather interior combo. Previous owner handed me over even the original vinyl etouie with Peugeot 205GTI operating manual, service-network, service log and guarantee brochures.

 

I drove her few weeks, until massive leak in drivers footwell appeared. At first I thought it was melted snow, brought in the cabin on the shoes and boots (very snowy winter ) but after closer inspection it turned out to be heater matrix or heater matrix piping seal leak. Whatever, fluid quantity found on the wrong side of carpet was huge.

 

Half of interior was instantly disassembled, to take out and dry the carpet.

Unfortunately, haven't any pics of that action.

Edited January 3, 2008 by MH_

[de Noir 0]

Few weeks later, almost by accident, I spotted a 92' 309 GTI16V in traders. She was located in the country behind nowhere and no one actually went for it at the time. I guess I was lucky, then.

 

 

Held in a barn covered in deep snow, its XU9J4 refused to start for whole morning (temperature -18 deg C) but looked promising as donor car. I went for it, for almost a half of asking price.

 

Because of long winter and my career moves, real work on both cars started in october that very year (2005), almost ten months after first purchase. The donor car first:

 

beaking the 309GTI16

 

Dismantling powertrain and suspension took a whole day of hard work. 309 GTI16V donor car was in seriously bad condition, having survived at least two major crashes. Body was badly repaired and even worse painted, structural cracks everywhere - A, B pillars joints, engine bay, roof, side quarter panel - you name it. Also it was horrifying rusty. Underside and sills were so rusty that hydraulic jack we used to lever the car went right through the metal.

 

This car gave its last stunning breath of life, gaining 190kph on autoroute to my place, now it's time to die and give new life to little brother.

Edited September 5, 2008 by MH_

[de Noir 0]

Despite many worrying signs of serious abuse, and knowledge of previous owners' driving habits, drivetrain condition was promising.

Shift action and box were OK, but engine lost compression on all cylindres, resulting in heavy blue smoke from exhaust. Even so, the engine started with almost no hesitation and held steady, healthy sounding idle. It even had some new parts, like coolant radiator and fans for example.

 

Engine and gearbox went out easily, so did the suspension. Brakes were dead. Interior and wiring took me another weekend, leftovers the third one, and the 309 was done. Did a lot of additional damage to the already seriously damaged shell during the operation, dismantling the donor car and learning its assembly principles being handy training for real job on Sorrento to follow later.

 

Some parts were sold, some given away, some traded and for some the negotiations are still active.

The unworthy shell with unusable leftovers was transported at the metal scrappy.

Edited September 5, 2008 by MH_

[de Noir 0]

As you may guess, the project has now turned different way. Having a Sorrento without half of interior in the garage, and whole 309GTI16V parts bin to sweeten the situation, another plan was made:

 

205GTI-309GTI16 hybrid ---> 205GTI16

 

 

I decided to follow the tracks of my first plan, and disassemble the Sorrento to bits. The 205 shell would be repaired, known weak spots and few rust spots taken care of, and bare shell will get a full respray in original sorrento M0RM color. Additionally, if budget allows, full body re-trim and detailing would also follow.

Interior would stay stock, as planned.

Complete mechanicals would be carried over from 309GTI16V or even bigger models.

 

 

Rough spec sheet for 205GTI16 project looked like this:

 

- 205GTI shell repair and welding where needed, full respray in original color and possibly retrim + new lights and detailing

- 309GTI16V engine (D6C) and gearbox transplant, full rebuild where and if needed

- engine mods: ported and polished head + valves, balanced conrods, crankshaft and flywheel, custom airbox and air filter

- 309GTI16V downpipe and aftermarket full exhaust, type and make to be decided later

- 309GTI16V front wishbones, droplinks, tie-rods and driveshafts

- 309GTI16V rear beam refurb

- 309GTI16V front coils

- 309GTI16V ARBs front and rear

- Bilstein shocks

- front strut bar

- PeugeotSport gr.N hard rubber suspension and engine mounts

- 306S16 266mm front brakes, standard rear brakes, new piping if needed, MBC stock or to be decided later

- Quaife LSD

- standard interior and trim, refreshed where needed

 

I wanted this car to be capable road car, to perform but to look completely standard GTI, apart from lower and broader stance gained thru 309 suspension parts. Car pictured below was very inspiring:

 

Edited January 3, 2008 by MH_

[welshpug 1,661]

lol, did you keep the gti16 badge? stick that on instead

 

I was going to say you need shooting for breaking a gti16 but the pictures show that it wasn't worth it unfortunately!

[de Noir 0]

Disassmebly started with front end.

Both front wings were dead, some not-so-good accident repair was carried somewhere in past, and discovered behind the left wing. Corrosion gave it away.

 

All in all, I was very satisfied with condition of the body itself.

Some people who visited me thought it just came from the painters.

Carpet and sound insulation went out discovering perfect condition of footwells. No rust here.

Typical 205 split seam on b-post-sill-joint detail was also found here.

 

Lot of dead flora, fauna and dirt was found beneath the seals, panels and trim. Actually, everywhere.

This car spent its last 8 yrs in rural part of the country, so it's no surprise after all.

More rock hard dirt to be found under tailgate mould and behind rear lights.

Jetwashing before storing her into the garage, obviously wasn't that thorough.

Edited December 19, 2007 by MH_

[de Noir 0]

lol, did you keep the gti16 badge? stick that on instead

 

I did, but it won't fit without modifying tailgate mould. It's too big.

 

 

I was going to say you need shooting for breaking a gti16 but the pictures show that it wasn't worth it unfortunately!

 

Lots of people say that, but this is a case study of a dead car.

Edited November 5, 2006 by MH_

[de Noir 0]

Wiring scared me the most. I removed it all and labelled everything, and hope will be able to put it back in!

 

I'm no electrician, but while doing this discovered lot of loom "add-ons" everyehere, done by factory designers.

Plan is to remove all unnecessary wiring and dead ends, this would add lightness to the car and neatness + clarity to the whole electric installation.

Maybe it would be smart to do ONE custom fuse and relay box for this stuff, instead of MANY done by factory.

 

Interior with almost all of the wiring and trim removed.

Doors were a real struggle and very dirty job to disassemble.

I managed not to break most of the stuff. 309 training proved to be useful.

Edited December 19, 2007 by MH_

[de Noir 0]

Everything was removed from the cabin, time to divorce the body of its mechanicals.

We used proven technique of undoing all the nuts and bolt of front subframe and mounts, removing front suspension rods and then lifting the whole front of the car, leaving the mech on the floor.

A wheel proves very handy when it comes to soft support to the lifted shell.

 

Now the trick part.

I wanted the body to be easy manuvreable, and "workable" without the suspension and wheels on it.

A mate took measure of subframe and rear beam and built me a custom castor-wheeled trolleys, to be bolted on suspension and subframe mounting points. One for the front and one for the rear.

This would enable easier manouver, easier work and transport of the shell.

Lot of work would be done on the car while sitting on these, in the meanwhile other work is to be carried out on the suspension, subframes and wheels.

 

 

Now you can move it like shopping cart, alone if you like, in all directions.

Really handy for tight spaces.

Edited January 3, 2008 by MH_

[de Noir 0]

Now, with the shell on the trolley, I manouvered it out of the garage for a thorough wash and clean.

I used jetwash, and SUPERMAFRASOL proffesional cleaning chemical. Very powerful stuff.

You just spray it over the surface, wait for a while and then wash it down.

If and where needed, you help yourself with nylon brush of various size and grain, and do it all over again.

Windscreen and tailgate glass were left in place up to this point and will be taken off at the bodyshop, together with doors, bonnet and front wings.

 

Shell was thoroughly washed inside and out MANY times.

I spent lot of attention and time on details, joints and hard-to-access points. Wiring that wasn't taken out (antenna and cabin light assembly loom) were protected with nylon bags and leter sprayed with WD40 to keep the water of the bay.

 

Underside was also taken care of, that was a REAL pain to do....

I spent a whole week spare time lying on a wooden rolling-mat (another low budget d-i-y device I made, pics maybe sometime later), applying cleaner, rubbing the underside with nylon brushes and washing it clean with jetwash.

 

It's unbelieveable how much dirt and grease was rubbed and washed down.

Also, lot of tar underside protection (black stuff on the pictures) went off..

 

After a week of every afternoon after work spent doing this painful, labour intensive and dirtiest of all jobs carried out up to this point, I finally gave up and decided to leave the rest to the bodyshop people.

 

Shell washed, everything is ready for metal work.

Thorough wash and clean discovered more rust points and zones than I've ever dreamed of...

...even on this shell, which looked like almost pristine in the beginning...

Edited December 19, 2007 by MH_

[maxi 36 1 Cars]

Looks like a fantastic project and lots of hard work! I do have a soft spot for sorrentos, I think its pretty much the only colour GTi I havent owned!

 

You have a PM too.....

 

Maxi

[Alastairh 47]

Looks a great project. Got a similar sorrento project on the go aswell myself

 

Keep up the good work and make sure lots of pics.

 

Alastair

[de Noir 0]

The shell was transported to my thrustworthy mate, a mechanic turned body specialist for this occasion.

Original plan was just to sort split seams on both b-posts, add some furteher stitch-welds on right engine mount, and pull out rivet-nuts which hold rear sunroof seal in its place, but things actually happened other way.

 

 

Rised body height and easy manuvreability gained thru trolleys provided comfy working position and easy access from all sides.

Edited January 3, 2008 by MH_

[feb 47]

Great work, you got lots of courage to do this, keep us updated

[B1LLY 0]

Great work, you got lots of courage to do this, keep us updated

 

+1

 

i could never undertake all that work

 

well done

[calvinhorse 870]

top looking project 100% effort look forward to seeing you progress!

[maturin23 10]

Good work so far..

 

Great photos, good explanation - well done matey!

 

Keep the updates coming - particularly keen on hearing about re-welding the shell..

[welshpug 1,661]

love the trolleys!

 

You've made me want to do it to mine even more now!

[Guest BrainFluid]

'eee' thats ruddy brilliant that is!

 

You rock

 

&

 

We're not worthy!

 

[Edp 67 3 Cars]

Top work, it reminds me of a project very close to home.

[cybernck 402 1 Cars]

now you've washed it, you can as well just put it back together!

 

great work, keep us updated!

[Paintguy 0]

It's great to see all the pictures together in one place, after all the sneak previews you've been giving me

 

Sorry I couldn't take up your offer, but I'm sure you'll be keeping a close eye on whoever's painting it for you

 

Good luck with the rest of it.

[de Noir 0]

@ all: Many tnx for support.

 

The truth is, without this forum and without my loyal mates and friends this wouldn't be possible at all.

There were many moments when I just wanted to throw everything away... And are still coming, from time to time.

 

However, stubbornly pushed forward step by step, this project has now life of its own.

I hope I'll have enough strength to command it to the happy ending.

May force be with me.

 

@ welshpug & brainfluid: exact blueprints of the trolley will be available in far future!

 

@ cybernck: I thought of that too!

 

@ paintguy: Your work has been inspected and studied very closely! Beware, I'll keep watching you in the future.

Edited September 5, 2008 by MH_

[de Noir 0]

Sorting the shell meant to deal with unwanted and unexpected rust. Which somehow appeared all over.

 

The rustfight

 

Started with tackling rust in the trunk with steel brush on a power tool. I did a short training on front wing which is to be scrapped, and then started with real stuff. I did the interior first, to get familiar with tools and whole concept of removing rust, as I have never done something like this before.

Besides powertool, ordinary steel brush and sandpaper are obligatory, as is quality primer.

I used zinc primer spray and a kind of local fabricated rust-killer chemical. Later one was applied in tight and unaccessable places with fine, rich painting brush.

 

As mentioned before, rust spots and zones appeared in various places. These are some of them pictured, there were many more.

Especially nasty were rust wound in the bulkhead, below the pedal set and general rusty zone in fuel tank bay.

Both materialized themselves later as ugly holes in structure.

 

As work went further, it was clear that power tool won't fit where I needed it, and that rust appeared in progressive order.

As a general rule, if such exists, rust was found:

 

- At crash damaged and poorly repaired zones (front wings for example)

- Beneath panel sealer, at the panel-folding points. Best pictured below, trunk bottom-rear passenger cushion housing-sill joint (2nd pic). Here, for example, water or moist came from below, and started to do the metal through this tiny little hole).

- Beneath panel-sealer, at the stressed panel joints which eventually crack and lose factory zinc protection film at the cracking spot - rust starts right there.

- At poorly drainaged positions (hole in the bulkhead is the best proof on this!)

- Around factory made panel holes (trunk sound isolation and carpet clip holes, for example) etc.

 

Took the panel sealer off at all suspected spots (cracks on the outer sealer surface reveal these) and sandblasted locally, where needed. However, steel brush on powertool, sandpaper and rust-killer liquid weren't abandoned.

Pictures below were taken after sandblasting, orange-brown stuff is wounded panel sealer or sand.

Edited January 3, 2008 by MH_

[de Noir 0]

Panel sealer was peeled off, metal panels locally sandblasted and left to dry. Dead metal was cut away from bulkhead, and new metal plate welded in. MIG welding has ben applied. This was very difficult position to do, because of tight corner and limited space between front left chasis frame and bulkhead. Rain/water somehow found the way under the panel sealer, stayed there and did the damage. As you can see from pics, hole was huge.

 

Crack in panel sealer at floor-bulkhead exhaust downpipe joint was spotted, and sealer taken off immediately for inspection. No found damage there, however panels were brushed, zinc-primed, seam welded, cleaned and zinc-primed again.

From engine bay side the whole process of sorting the bulkhead was done the same way.

 

Extra seam welds were added to strengthen the subframe mounting points and right engine mount.

Edited December 19, 2007 by MH_