[body_work] My Miami Blue 1.9 Gti

[AlexRS2782 136 1 Cars]

Well as i'm now registered on here i thought i'd put up a thread on my Miami Blue '91 1.9 205 GTI.

 

I bought the car last November originally just to use as a cheap runaround over the winter period, but nearly a year on after buying it i'm still using the car and have decided to keep the car as a bit of an ongoing project to tidy the car up and keep it running and reliable.

 

Originally the car was bought off ebay for £1500 and although the car didn't have much in the way of service history and it had the usual scuffs/scrapes/parking dents for a car of 18 years old, it had all the original manuals/books, the shell was in excellent condition (rust free), the underside also looked in very good condition, the engine ran really well, and quite a few parts like some of the suspension components, etc all looked fairly recent which was a bonus. The car had also been fitted with, what i understand at the time was, a genuine Peugeot Sport bodykit by the supplying dealer - Warners in Gloucester - where the 1st owner (as per the handbook) was one of the Sales Managers there. All the car was in need of at the time was that it was due a service and the brakes/tyres were nearing the end of their life.

 

The car shortly after purchase

 

After buying the car and giving it a clean i took the car to SCC Performance in St Albans (who do all the work on my custom Mk1 Focus RS), where the 205 was treated to a complete service including the usual oil/filters, etc, and was also given a complete check over to look for any issues (as there was no service history paperwork), and i was pleasantly surprised to find that apart from the brakes / tyres, the car was fine, and the cambelt only looked a few months old

 

With the service completed the car was brought home and used as a runaround over the winter period up until March when i realised that rather than selling, i liked the car too much, and made the decision to keep the car as an ongoing project to tidy the car up and keep it running.

 

So over the last 8 months i've done the following:

K&N airbox filter

replaced SAD

New front & side indicators

New Valeo rear light units (complete inc lense, bulb holder & rubbers)

Silicone coolant & oil hoses from Stu @ BBM

replaced Headlight adjusters

New upper front bumper moulding (currently grey although should be black soon)

New Toyo T1-R 195/50/15 tyres

replaced metal water pipe (located in drivers wheel arch & prone to rusting)

SMR replica alloys replaced with original Speedline alloys painted black (to be refurbished in 2010)

Black Diamond grooved brake discs front & rear

Black Diamond brake pads front & rear

Black Diamond stainless brake hoses front & rear

New 'Phase2' coolant header tank

New thermostat housing

Replaced clutch (including release bearing, cable, fluids, etc)

 

The car as it is right now

 

As that brings me up to date, my main aim from here on is to keep the car running and also continue to tidy the car up - ideally by finding a new black front bumper moulding that matches the remainder of the trim, new headlights and if time/funds allow, treat the car to a full respray to freshen up the look of the car and get rid of the dents/scratches,etc. In addition to this i also intend to replace the passenger seat subframe as the current one doesn't like to lock back into place after being tilted but other than that the car doesn't need much. However one thing on the list to do is to have a look at the gearbox and ideally replace the gear linkages as the change is a bit sloppy right now, and occasionally reverse gear can be a bit hit and miss

 

Tuning wise at the moment i've decided to stick with the standard 1.9 engine as it's still running very well, although if, or when, the engine ever did expire i'd probably be tempted to drop in a gti6 lump

 

Anyway that's where i'm at right now, although if/when i have some updates i'll try to keep this thread updated, but in the meantime thanks for reading and hope you like the car

[DrSarty 90 1 Cars]

Looks lovely and clean. Trims are nice and black and the wheels are ace. Not a fan of the body kit (don't know why) but you didn't put that on and you say it's OE.

 

Wouldn't have bothered with grooved disks; seem to be a waste of time and money. There's quite a (positive) trend on here of late that less is more. We collectively seem to be seeing through marketing hype and staying with standard and smaller (lighter). Sporting controversy I'd even say the K&N filter wasn't worth it.

 

How do you like the Toyos; they're my next tyre currently?

 

Pretty car and you're obviously very proud of it. Nice one.

[MrG 3]

nice 205.

 

I'm not a fan of bodykits either but that looks OE to me. My brother bought a 1.6gti years ago from our local pug dealer and that had the same kit fitted (a dealer fit according to them)

[AlexRS2782 136 1 Cars]

How do you like the Toyos; they're my next tyre currently?

 

Pretty car and you're obviously very proud of it. Nice one.

Yeah i'm quite proud of the car & certainly enjoying every minute Owning this one makes me realise what a mistake it was all those year ago when i passed my driving test and went out & bought a R5 Turbo which soon became a very expensive car. I really should have got a 205 GTI instead

 

Re the Toyo's i've actually found them to be very good - since i fitted them earlier this year i've used them in the usual hot summer weather as well as in a couple of very heavy torrential downpours and usual damp roads and in all instances they've always offered very good grip & not given me any problems.

 

Hopefully all going to plan i should hopefully be picking up an undamaged/new red reflective tailgate panel available way back in the day to add a bit of retro styling to go with the oe Peugeot bodykit

[AlexRS2782 136 1 Cars]

Thought i'd update the thread as the car is due to undergo a bit more work this week.

 

Over the last couple of months i'd noticed the gearchange getting more sloppier so after reading through some posts on here decided to get the gear rod & linkage kit from Miles @ Pug Racing as that will hopefully improve that side of things.

 

I also noticed about a month back that there was what looked like excessive movement of the engine, so i ordered a set of mounts/bushes from Stew @ BBM and at the same time got the new breather hose kit as well to finish off the engine bay tidy up

 

Other than that i've also managed to source a very good condition red reflective tailgate panel and a set of genuine Ph2 Morette lights which should change the looks of the front end slightly (if / when i get around to fitting them).

 

Sadly on a drive last week a lorry threw up a large stone and cracked my passenger side front drivers light - not all bad as it was a cheap Denji item and the frame was rusting away anyway, but i've now got to decide whether to replace the driving lights with new items or just remove them and replace them with some Rallye grilles (which i think is the preferred option).

[pablo 0]

take your front trim off mate, clean it good with some thinners, and spray some light coats of satin black straight onto it. Just enough to make it nice and black. Job done

 

Looks like a nice example all the best with it

[timmsy19 3]

Looks like a Zender kit to me but without the upper and lower rear spoilers

 

I had the same front valance at one point. Quite sort after and even more rare to find spares for.

 

Looks like a nice car, do like Miami blue 205's.

Edited November 22, 2009 by timmsy19

[AlexRS2782 136 1 Cars]

Just another quick update (albeit a bit delayed by a week)

 

Got the car serviced last week in preparation for the winter so new oil, filters, etc - also got the BBM oil hoses fitted, Grp N engine mounts and gear rods fitted too.

 

Spent the last week getting used to the Grp N mounts as they are very stiff so lots of vibration of the interior plastics now but thats pretty much what my Focus RS is like with competition engine mounts so i can live with it

 

Even better though is that once again i have a nice smooth gearchange now the new rods & linkage bush has been fitted. Certainly makes driving the car a much more enjoyable experience knowing that the car will actually engage a gear when you need it too

 

As for what's next - well hopefully i'll be getting the exterior tidied up next year and get the Morette lights & new reflective tailgate panel fitted at the same time. I've also started work on making a badgeless front grille in my spare time - if it looks good when finished & fitted i'll keep it - if it looks pants i'll stick with the standard one

Edited December 5, 2009 by AlexRS2782

[Anteas 0]

Thats deffinately the pug oe body kit The car looks mint where did u get the tail gate pannel mate?

[AlexRS2782 136 1 Cars]

Well it's been some time since i was last on here so thought i'd update this thread with what i've been up to when i've had some time in the last 3 months.

 

Since last posting i've managed to get the exterior tidied up a bit, sourced a new (albeit pattern) black front bumper to replace the grey one, replaced the rear tailgate trim with a retro red reflective one, and also fitted the Morette headlights i sourced. Also cleaned & tidied up the engine bay a bit more.

 

Upon fitting the new bumper i decided to remove the driving lights completely as one was completely smashed last year and the other had come rather loose due to a bent & rusty bolt. The good news is that i managed to find a set of 205 Rallye bumper vents/grilles so hopefully i'll be able to get those painted and fitted soon as a replacement to the driving lights

 

Anyway here are a couple of pics as the car is now

 

Only downside recently has been a water leak into the boot via the tailgate but that was quickly resolved by applying a large amount of silicone over the rear wiper mechanism, where the rubber seal had disintegrated.

 

Have to say i'm really happy with the Pug as it is now - the new tailgate panel certainly gives it a nice early '90's look and, although i know they won't be to everyone's tastes the Morette headlight conversion gives the front end a new look as well Also decided that the "badgeless" grille would have been a modification so far so decided to leave the standard one on the car

 

Hopefully if all goes to plan this year i might be able to get the paintwork refreshed, but in the meantime i'm going to enjoy driving it some more when the longer evenings start

 

Edit - @ Anteas - the reflective rear panel was basically a lucky find on ebay from a guy selling some old GTI parts out of his storage back in November. Although it was used and off a car it was the best condition one i'd seen with no cracks or damage (apart from a few very light scratches) - just needed a good clean

Edited March 20, 2010 by AlexRS2782

[scotty 0]

Very nice looking Gti i have a similar body kit i removed from a 205 that i am thinking of putting on my car its genuine Peugeot as its stamped did have a silly spoiler on the back but i sold that as there is no way i would ever fit it on my car i see no need to have a coffee table on the back of my car lol