Guest mattcarmad Posted January 18, 2008 What are the differences between the shells of various trim levels and different phases? The reason I ask is that I bought a 1987 205 GTI a while back and after completely stripping it down for a full nut and bolt rebuild I found the shell to be in a utterly terrible and totally unrecoverable condition i.e. major inner rear wing rot and b post distortion (both sides). I am still getting on with stripping and rebuilding the engine/drivetrain, f+r suspension, sub frames steering rack etc. What I am thinking is to by a donor car then like a 1.1 or something, hopefully as new and as cheap as possible (to avoid rust), and swap all the mechanical components over and the exterior trim (excluding doors, bonnet and boot etc). Is this plausible? When did shells start to be galvanised? Anything else that I will need to upgrade or just the mechanical stuff I am swapping over anyway. I know that the rear wings don’t have the same deboss sections etc but what else is there?? This car was always going to be a stripped out racer so the interior was never going back anyway so no issues there. Your input will be much appreciated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baz 421 Posted January 18, 2008 Try a search, been covered a few times before. Basicly the GTi and STDT shells are the same, but different to base models, higher rear arches, holes for trim, etc etc, otherwise pretty much similar really. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GLPoomobile 958 Posted January 18, 2008 I found the shell to be in a utterly terrible and totally unrecoverable condition i.e. major inner rear wing rot and b post distortion (both sides). Do you mean that the shell is unrecoverable because you don't have the time/money/inclination to save it? Speak to people like Jonnie205 and Tom Fenton on here (oh, and Paintguy) and they may give you some ideas. I hate the thought of another GTI going to the scrap yard. I'm guilty of it though too. All I can say is if you aren't prepared to save this shell then I hope that it can be donated to another enthusiast (and I guess they'd have to be VERY enthusiastic ) who might be able to restore it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest rich205 Posted January 18, 2008 As far as I know 205s were produced with a galvanised shell from mid 1988. If you need a new shell, I am currently breaking a 1988 205 diesel. The shell is in great condition and I need to get rid of it as soon as possible as I need the space, but I would also rather it go to an enthusiast than scrap it. PM me for details. Cheers, Rich Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jackherer 543 Posted January 18, 2008 (edited) As far as I know 205s were produced with a galvanised shell from mid 1988. I've heard galvanisation was introduced in phases with not all parts being done on 1988 cars so '89s are the ones to go for IMO. F reg is my preference. This one was an E reg that looked fine on the outside but after Rich 'opened' the sill I saw that it was properly rusting from the inside out. Edited January 18, 2008 by jackherer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
