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Craig_Tas

Structural ageing of 205 body

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Craig_Tas

I am looking to purchase a 205 and trying to establish what to look for. They are getting on in years and were generally bought as an everyday car so consequentially many now have big mileages. I am wondering how well a high mileage car can be restored and what besides mechanical and suspension gets flogged out. Obviously trim ages and gets worn, door hinges etc too but what of the structure of the body, the seams, flexing etc? Does a comprehensive overhaul bring an old high miles car back to good as new or what else happens?

 

, I am particularly interested in the first series with the old dash and the lightest body. Can someone elaborate on what one should expect to have to do to bring one back?

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Andy

Evening/morning. My starter for ten . In your climate I imagine that the one issue you will not have is rust. Here in the u.K it is often the biggest problem. With a 30 plus year old car, you rightly expect mechanical wear and tear . Most bits are still available . Trim wise, sun damage may be an issue for you and some early phase one trim may be hard to find. 
as for the shell, yes it does flex and after 30:years , expect some cracks. The major one may be across the bottom of the bulkhead where it joins the floorpan. This seam is sealed on the inside with a generous application of factory sealant , It is spot welded but when Pierre and Renee , the spot welders on the Peugeot assembly line made the seam they were very keen to save the company money as they applied very few spot welds . The next place is the join between the roof and the rear quarter panel above the window . Also check at the bottom of the ‘b’ post where it joins the sill . If you are looking at a car, inspecting the seams will be quite hard. Ideally , one would want most of the interior trim and carpet out to properly check. 
I am sure others who know far me that me will  add to this . 
Andy

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Craig_Tas

Thanks Andy, that is good info. I would like to hear how an old high miles car that has been resuspended and freshened up drive? Is it reasonable to expect an overhauled car with several hundred thousand on it can drive tightly as it originally did? My hope is that it is possible to fully fix them up and would love a hit list of the hierarchical order of things that go south.

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jackherer

Wiring, as in the wire itself as well as the terminals/connectors are a weak spot that is rarely addressed in a restoration.

 

1 hour ago, Andy said:

Pierre and Renee , the spot welders on the Peugeot assembly line

 

I'm pretty sure they would have been robots even in 1983!

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Craig_Tas
3 hours ago, jackherer said:

Wiring, as in the wire itself as well as the terminals/connectors are a weak spot that is rarely addressed in a restoration.

 

 

I'm pretty sure they would have been robots even in 1983!

Are there particular weak points? Fusebox, switches or are the crimp on lugs bad? 

IME old VWs seldom give probs on the lug crimp to wire junction but plenty of probs on the blades where oxidation happens. If Pugs are the same that doesn't bother me too much as it is just a good dismantle, deoxit cleaning, add some vaseline and reconnect. I haven't searched to see if new looms are available but I bet its a pricey cure.

 

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Thijs_Rallye
4 hours ago, Craig_Tas said:

Are there particular weak points? Fusebox, switches or are the crimp on lugs bad?  

The problem in particular is that the crimped contacts start to corrode and "infect" the copper. I have several wires on my GTi which have oxidated over a large distance from the crimp. (copper went black)

 

 

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Andy

Plan for a rear beam rebuild .Budget for fresh dampers at the rear and fresh struts at the front. Bilstein B4 are fine , but if the budget can stand it, go for the B6 option with Eibach 7001 springs. Calipers May well need pistons and seals and allow for discs and pads . Bottom ball joint on the front wishbone can get slack. New wishbones needed but you get the bushes with them, so not a bad investment . Rack is often absolutely fine but track rod ends might be tired . Assuming that the engine and box are serviceable, gear change might be slack due to worn joints . Easily repairable . 
With that lot done the car should drive really well. The trim may rattle and squeak a bit , but some did from new. I have completely rebuilt mine from a bare shell and I still have a creak from somewhere under the dash despite my best efforts .Call it part of the charm .

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Craig_Tas
21 minutes ago, Andy said:

Plan for a rear beam rebuild .Budget for fresh dampers at the rear and fresh struts at the front. Bilstein B4 are fine , but if the budget can stand it, go for the B6 option with Eibach 7001 springs. Calipers May well need pistons and seals and allow for discs and pads . Bottom ball joint on the front wishbone can get slack. New wishbones needed but you get the bushes with them, so not a bad investment . Rack is often absolutely fine but track rod ends might be tired . Assuming that the engine and box are serviceable, gear change might be slack due to worn joints . Easily repairable . 
With that lot done the car should drive really well. The trim may rattle and squeak a bit , but some did from new. I have completely rebuilt mine from a bare shell and I still have a creak from somewhere under the dash despite my best efforts .Call it part of the charm .

Thanks Andy, very useful information.

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jackherer
13 hours ago, Craig_Tas said:

If Pugs are the same that doesn't bother me too much as it is just a good dismantle, deoxit cleaning, add some vaseline and reconnect.

No, it's not repairable, the wire needs to be replaced.

8 hours ago, Thijs_Rallye said:

The problem in particular is that the crimped contacts start to corrode and "infect" the copper. I have several wires on my GTi which have oxidated over a large distance from the crimp. (copper went black)

Exactly, it mainly affects wiring in the engine bay rather than the cabin so I think it's triggered by moisture but could ultimately be due to dissimilar metal corrosion where the terminals meet the wire. I've heard of similar issues with the battery wiring on RC planes etc. though and they seem to think it is electrolytic in some way.

 

I've been using something called Contralube 770 for a while now and I haven't had to replace any wire in that time so it can't be repaired but it looks like it can be prevented.

 

13 hours ago, Craig_Tas said:

I haven't searched to see if new looms are available but I bet its a pricey cure.

They're not available. All you can get is the terminal pins from Peugeot but they are very over priced, some of them are approx. 50p each!

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Andy
On 1/19/2020 at 10:38 PM, jackherer said:

Wiring, as in the wire itself as well as the terminals/connectors are a weak spot that is rarely addressed in a restoration.

 

 

I'm pretty sure they would have been robots even in 1983!

Yep. But Pierre and Renee were in charge of them. And after a good lunch and a decent bottle of  Sauvignon blanc ..........

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jackherer

Pierre the computer programmer and Renee the accountant...!

 

It was the single spot weld at the bottom of the B pillar that involved the most wine I imagine.

  • Haha 1

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davemar

In terms of rust, try and have a poke around the underside bodywork in front the rear wheels by the fuel tank. I've just done a whole load of welding in new metal in this area. 

If you can lift up the carpet behind the pedals then that might reveal some rusty areas too. As others have mentioned bottom of the B-pillars can get rusty too.

Another area is behind the headlights as water can sit there, so the inner wings can rust away.

 

Give the seats a good rocking too, as the mounting points in the cross member in the floor can crack where they are bolted in.

 

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