[Trackday_Prep] My 205 Gti Track Car Rebuild

[calvinhorse 870]

Yes!! Looking forward to this!

 

Is the micra on the driveway Lisa's?

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Not much to report, finished stripping the engine bay tonight, also removed the dash, heater, etc.

 

Garage now looks like a bomb has gone off, there's a 205 in kit form strewn all over.

 

 

One small bonus though, I'd have sworn the rear torsion bars were 21mm, well that's what I'd been telling folk for long enough, but it turns out they are 22! Strange how your mind plays tricks, in the first page of this thread I listed a spec and said 22mm there, so I must have known at some point...

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Off with its roof!

Massive thanks to Paul who came to help me unpick the roof skin today. I wasn't at all looking forward to this, my plan was to simply lop through the pillars and worry about it later, but Paul said it would be much easier to unpick it off the shell whilst still attached, rather than to wrestle with a roof section sliding about on trestles. He was of course correct and the result is a roof skin carefully unpicked that will go onto the new shell with minimal work needed.

The one side is a bit grotty in the usual place, the seam above the rear window, so if this area on the new shell is better I may swap it before the roof goes back on the new car.

 

 

[Anthony 1,003]

Apologies if I missed it, but what's the plan with the replacement? Straight re-shell or are you doing something different with the new build?

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Well initially it started off as a re shell, but as with last time it was rebuilt, it has to be better than the last incarnation.

The engine was tired anyway after 10-odd years of trackdays, so that needs a refresh, plus it never made enough power really at 177bhp at best, so whilst it's in bits it's time for more compression and more camshaft. The throttle bodies got smashed in the accident so something is needed there. The gearbox is a 1.6 BE1, I have a BE3 on a 4.4 final drive to go back. The shell is Tom Moodys old car, the cage is a nice thing, but if I am not careful the car will end up heavier than the old one which obviously won't do, I have a GRP bonnet, planning on a GRP tailgate and plastic rear and rear side windows. Brakes can stay as they are, but the pedal box isn't right which is due to the pedal ratio being wrong, so that's to sort out too. Suspension I have a set of LEDA dampers, some 23mm torsion bars, and Allan has done me some negative camber rear arms, so that's also going to end up quite different to before.

So really not much will end up the same! But it should be better again than MOP 2 which was better than MOP 1.

[woodymi16 24 2 Cars]

Off with its roof!

Massive thanks to Paul who came to help me unpick the roof skin today. I wasn't at all looking forward to this, my plan was to simply lop through the pillars and worry about it later, but Paul said it would be much easier to unpick it off the shell whilst still attached, rather than to wrestle with a roof section sliding about on trestles. He was of course correct and the result is a roof skin carefully unpicked that will go onto the new shell with minimal work needed.

The one side is a bit grotty in the usual place, the seam above the rear window, so if this area on the new shell is better I may swap it before the roof goes back on the new car.

 

 

Tom how do you unpick a roof skin

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Drill out all the spot welds holding it on, if you look carefully they run along the tops of the door and rear window apertures, and along the top of where the tailgate fits. We left the front roof x member attached as it was easier to remove that way and also gives a little bit of rigidity to the otherwise very wobbly panel.

 

After we'd taken the roof off I decided the quarter panels were worth saving so the passengers side quarter got the same treatment. Hopefully I will never need it, but as the panels are in good straight condition they are worth keeping.

 

[calvinhorse 870]

Thomas, I've got a rough plastic back window, not good enough for this beast but ideal as a template if you're making your own.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Thanks Cal. I was probably just going to order some in, I only plan to do the rear 1/4 windows and the rear screen, I'd have to order a full sheet of plastic so by the time I've collected it, and made a bollocks of cutting it up, it's probably better to just order some in!

[calvinhorse 870]

Haha! Yeah fair enough, I just know how tight you are

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Don't know what you could possibly mean!

[robnic 0]

Hi Tom,

Looking like MOP3 is going to be a well sorted one! Happy building

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Not much left of poor old MOP 2 now

 

205 Roadster anyone?!