L Reg Miami Gti Restoration

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

And the latest update from this week .... painted 

 

Couple more jobs to finish off the paint guy is telling me but collection arranged for this Friday when the garage full of gathered crap can be cleared parts can be started to be fit 

This part will be where this now slows down as things like the engine stripping etc will take a little time, also sourcing a stand alone ecu for the engine and making my own replacement loom over the winter. 

 

 

Unfortunately this meant banishing the GTIR to the storage company for the winter  which is a shame but i didn't want a newly painted shell outside with the weather as unpredictable as it is.

Took her to a local car show at the weekend at ripon for a last run out before winter layaway with @Richie-Van-GTi in his gti

Edited July 29, 2025 by chris 417 mi

[Richie-Van-GTi 81 2 Cars]

Yes you need a standard car

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

Well a few things have happened in the last few days ! 

Firstly … shell is home from the painters and settled into its new home.

 

With this now done and a small pile of spares already laid about it didn’t take long for little bits to be added here and there. Over the course of the last 4 days it’s had :

Wiring loom from Baz installed ( carefully draped in place ) 

Sound deadening fitted 

Boot seals, rams and locks fitted 

One engine mount fitted ( randomly as it was just sat looking at me )

various other bits now added to the “wash me” pile 

15-30 mins a day seems to soon make a difference ! 

Edited August 5, 2025 by chris 417 mi

[Leslie green 157]

Keep chipping away and it will be done before you know it , probably time to make a few lists and get ticking stuff off as you go , then you can better see the progress.

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

23 hours ago, Leslie green said:

Keep chipping away and it will be done before you know it , probably time to make a few lists and get ticking stuff off as you go , then you can better see the progress.

Yeah that’s the plan, the beam and windscreen are prime candidates to fit but I’ll raptor underneath first before the beam is on.  Brake flexi kit will be needed aswell wonder fitting that so that’s one for the list ! 

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

Finally able to upload a few more progress pics  

 

Managed to liberate a box of bits from a local guy who had a few 205's over the years, pair of valeo headlights in there and all the fixings will come in hand for starters after a good clean.

Initial few bits in as described before, sound deadening etc along with the wiring loom  chucked in carefully placed in the car .

 

Few seals etc ordered from the museum but having to keep orders below £140 to avoid import tax is a pain in the arse  

Edited August 11, 2025 by chris 417 mi

[Leslie green 157]

Those later valeo headlights with the plastic backs don't rust and fall apart like the earlier ones , those are the ones i have not sure what phase 2 had but I suspect it was those plastic backed ones . I found getting all that wiring behind the dash a nightmare just didn't seem like it would fit .

 I think  the museum it was 40 euro for taxes and post no matter how little you bought last time I had an order in which makes small orders pointless . Things I was looking like new sunroof plastic trims were out of stock anyway not even listed anymore after remaking some not that long ago.Lead times must be in the years lol !

Edited August 11, 2025 by Leslie green

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

11 hours ago, Leslie green said:

Those later valeo headlights with the plastic backs don't rust and fall apart like the earlier ones , those are the ones i have not sure what phase 2 had but I suspect it was those plastic backed ones . I found getting all that wiring behind the dash a nightmare just didn't seem like it would fit .

 I think  the museum it was 40 euro for taxes and post no matter how little you bought last time I had an order in which makes small orders pointless . Things I was looking like new sunroof plastic trims were out of stock anyway not even listed anymore after remaking some not that long ago.Lead times must be in the years lol !

Yeah the 1.1 gti a like i have also has the same valeo plastic backed ones so looks to be a phase 2 thing luckily . I know what you mean about the dash wiring, im not looking forward to cramming it all in when its dash fitting time but i guess it has to go somewhere. 

With the museum, if you build up a basket of things one your past a certain point they discount more and then give free shipping ... just means the import duty is more though at the other end so its a balancing act tbh. 

Probs will do the bulk of the stuff nearer the end of the year so i have time to save a little, and yeah the museum seems to get things in or find things and that's it , they had brand new genuine fuel pumps a few months ago and sods law i didn't get one in time ! 

 

Few more updated photos from last night, decided to build up the front bumper with the fogs in ... just ... because i fancied doing it , will be a little while before that's needing fitting though. Carpet laid in place to try and get it to settle back into shape after being folded up for god knows how long.

 

Edited August 12, 2025 by chris 417 mi

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

Little bit more of a progress update, as with life as normal always getting in the way progress is slow and steady. The other problem is due to the fact this was a bare shell to begin with i need to buy EVERYTHING and all the screws to fit it 

 

With the help of @richievangti we strung the museum sourced new windscreen, one job i wasn't looking forward too tbh ! 

 

After a little bit of prep work (Fairly liquid works wonders ) screen in without an issue, side windows also fitted with new museum side seals too ( although i had to remove them again to fit the surrounding interior plastics ). 

 

Even had time to attend a local car show this month !

 

Front end bolted up and bits test fit to see how she looks and lines up ! very happy with the results 

Edited September 8, 2025 by chris 417 mi

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

Finally a before and after of the previously mentioned rear interior plastics, just the front seatbelts to fit and the rear is almost looking like a car finally 

I have a few bits to send away to the powder coaters to freshen things up ( Back Seat mounts and front seat floor bars ) and then the back seats can go in !

I'm hoping i don't need to remove half of it again when it comes to fitting the headlining haha 

 

Once things like the dash is in and the wiring is hidden away it will feel like im not tooo far off, can never believe how little there is to these compared to modern stuff. 

 

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

Finally back on here and able to upload a few small update pics 

 

This part seems to be taking ages with lots of things requiring various screws etc which i didn't have, also the next stage needed the underside to be fully stripped for tinted raptor application .... time for the old beam and subframe to come off ! 

 

Finally got both side rear door cards in, the seatbelts having parts missing were helping.

 

Brake pedal box and servo Sourced and painted up, would have loved to have powder coated it but i know it wont withstand the heat. 

Local guy had the pedal box who used to rally 205's back in the day, still has his old car. 

 

Onto the job i was dreading .... removing the tank ... i'd not had good experiences with removing the tank mounting nuts from the threads on the shells previously.

This one was wire brushed  and soaked in ac90 for a few days prior to trying to remove, came off easily in the end ! 

 

 

 

Lovely fresh metal underneath was nice to see!   And the old random beam id sourced to make it a rolling shell will now be taken to work to get stripped and rebuilt eventually for the turbodiesel  

 

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

Finally from the last few days, the subframe was sent off along with various bits and pieces for powder coating, wont be able to fit it till i've painted the underside and that will need a good saturday / sunday for all the prep work ect ... so im now surrounded by parts to fit again  

 

And yes ... i have no idea how i ended up with two bonnet catch surrounds being powder coated !

 

 

 

 

[Leslie green 157]

Making good progress , wonder how sized that old beam is lol. I think the servo  and top mounts were originally olive green but the finish never lasted . My top mounts are now black but ive a better set I may get done green as one of my threads is worn.

Edited October 7, 2025 by Leslie green

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

23 hours ago, Leslie green said:

Making good progress , wonder how sized that old beam is lol. I think the servo  and top mounts were originally olive green but the finish never lasted . My top mounts are now black but ive a better set I may get done green as one of my threads is worn.

Actually its free ! ive since had it to work and removed the rear mounting arms with minimal fuss which was surprising, but it does move ! 

 

Yeah id looked for ages at other peoples ideas for these but keep coming back to the black, think it gives the best contrast to the miami blue  , plus with the rest of the bay having lots of things coated black it satisfied my ocd of matching things 

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

So time for a bit of an update again !

 

The main job to crack on with now was 'raptoring' the underside ready for new parts fitment, 

After last years experience with the laser and a mile out colour match i didn't want to take any chances so id asked the paint guy to save me a litre of paint from the job for a good match.

The results are very pleasing, two coats with one before and a few after pics (Mainly as id forgot to take more before pics ):

 

 

Last time i used raptor it took a good scrubbing to remove it from my skin ... this time i was tkaing no chances ... full white CSI style suit rom work ... goggles .... mask ...... still ended up with it in random areas i have no idea how 

 

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

And finally on sunday began the baker BM brake pipe installation with new master cylinder brake bias valves ... now all the dirty bits are done ( shell wise anyways) ... time to enjoy the nice bit 

 

Little before and after of the heat shield id cleaned at work, couldnt believe the dirt all came off and left ... shiny !

 

Contrast underneath now was nice to see , will be a shame  to drive it and get it dirty when its done , baker lines installed as far as i can. Missing a few clips so need to wait till they're here, wont be long and the tank can go back on ! 

 

 

[Leslie green 157]

Great work the baker lines are so arrow straight but were a pain to get over here so made my own as best i could using their pics , guessing that's the heat shields for later "cat" cars as mine doesn't look like that  . The colour matching underneath is mint too ,good few jobs ticked of the list .

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

15 hours ago, Leslie green said:

Great work the baker lines are so arrow straight but were a pain to get over here so made my own as best i could using their pics , guessing that's the heat shields for later "cat" cars as mine doesn't look like that  . The colour matching underneath is mint too ,good few jobs ticked of the list .

Yes they are a pleasure to fit tbh , espeically when everything else is also clean and easy to sort. 

Heat shields ,,, yeah i guess !! they were one of the few things left on the car after spenno had done his stripping frenzy . Glad they were tbh cos guesing they wint be an easy thing to find. 

 

Yeah id recommend the tinted raptor now ... its made a huge difference underneath ! only thing is i now want to do the same with the laser which would mean carefully removing all the brake lines again etc  

 

Waiting on the parts is the pain ... ill get a few things in and on and into the flow ... then have to stop till the next thing arrives .

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

Time for a bit more of an update !

 

Last few weeks haven't been good time wise for working on this, the daily winter drives have all had faults before but not all at once . 

In a space of a few days:

Van developed a cracked screen & a massive vibration during braking.

406 decided it didn't like its wheel bearing anymore and wanted a new one ( including track end and drop link plus ball joint at the same time, made sense when it was all apart).

And my RS3 rear caliper seized ( that's still to sort )

 

So once the ones that actually get me to work were sorted ... onto the 205 !   

 

One cleaned fuel tank refitted ( no pics of this was a pain to fit on my own), the rest of the brake lines & brackets secured  and onto the rear beam ! 

Again a little bit of a pain on my own but couple of bits of wedge shaped wood and bit by bit back under it went ! 

 

 

Once that was in place ( I still need a few more brackets etc before classing it s done, plus the ride height needs setting it was time to move on to the rear lights pile i had on the work bench. 

 

Best two valeo rear lights stripped and fully cleaned, the seals started off looking like they had been buried in the garden for 30 years. Id assumed i might have to get a new or replacement set but ....  a really good clean with washing up liquid and washing powder mix had them back to lovely pliable and grippy again ! Ill bet half the people posting about leaks from these could sort them by doing this  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

While these were drying off , time to get the rear wiring loom in for the lights. 

 

Now not having removed the loom before and for some reason no one seemed to have shown this being done, thought id make a small 'i did it like this ' guide. 

 

All the loom pulls into the rear left /passenger corner, pull the earth block into the cavity on the boot and plug into the earthing point. 

Pull the rear light connector into position in the left side of the opening to the left side of the mounting bracket.

Pull the smaller loom into the across boot cavity ( space where the boot lock bolts into )via the bottom right side of the passenger rear light using a draw wire and make sure the plugs are well taped up to prevent snagging. 

Now pull the fog / reversing & number plate light loom into position from the middle hole below the boot catch, to the left hand side light opening again via the boot cavity ( id used a flexible draw wire for this but it made the install a lot easier.

The three plugs will come out and hang at the bottom right side of the passenger side light and to the right of the mounting bracket , plugging into the rear light when ready. 

 

The taped up loose loom is the fog & reversing light one which passes into the hole in the middle right of the second pic, little bit of a squeeze but they're in ! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That view now seems to have moved this from 'shell in build' to car now in my mind

Edited November 17, 2025 by chris 417 mi

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

Finally from this weekend ... with the back end massively moved on it was time to give the front end a bit of a shove in the same direction.

 

On a little road trip to scope out the next project id picked up a NOS genuine 306 power steering rack, the guy had this stashed randomly behind a sofa at his house, he also had a bit of a thing for old land rovers and partly fixing them  .

Quick swap over at work from the 306 track & tie rods to a set of brand new febi 205 ones and i now have another mint PAS rack  ( For some unknown reason the photos wont load )

 

 

Front subframe now reassembled with new arb bushes and powder coated bar, again .... yes the purists will say it should be red to match the rear but this is now a thing i like to do ( did the same with the laser last year)matching the bar to the car colour..... ish 

  

 

Unfortunately id neglected to pick up the right length bolts from work for the steering rack mounting , .... and also to mount the subframe to the car .... so its now  sat in place underneath taunting me .

 

Final job of a very productive sunday was to get the inlet manifold off the engine.

Finally now we have made a space at the back ... lets fill it up haha !

 

manifold came off very easily but the ports shape and condition were interesting, wondering .....has this engine had work ? will it be a standard cam in there or something else ?

It came with a pug performance chipped ecu so will be interesting to see.

 

 Inlet ports didn't appear the usual cast bumpy style 

Edited November 17, 2025 by chris 417 mi

[Leslie green 157]

Thats a great find on the rack , I didnt know it was the same . Progress is being made 

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

14 hours ago, Leslie green said:

Thats a great find on the rack , I didnt know it was the same . Progress is being made 

Yep, wonder how many other things are hiding behind people’s … sofas  !

slow but steady progress … it’s getting to the point of actually looking more like a car now. 

 

 

 

 

 

[chris 417 mi 60 2 Cars]

So its been a little while since ive been able to post on here ! 

 

Few things have happened since the last post , keeping momentum is the main thing with these projects especially as its shutdown season at work and i have literally one day a week atm to do anything let alone put new bits on a project car 

 

Anyways ! 

After messing about for 2 days ( like 3 hours for a day though so really 6 hours) trying to get the wiring loom into the dash ... staring at old photos which led me down the wrong path ... once fitted dash ! 

 

Few things to still sort, needs all the switches in the centre console and the speedo cable buying before i can put the clocks in but finally feels like a car inside ! 

 

Subframe now fitted properly and the steering rack mounted inside and all bolted up .... one final bolt to fit on the rack end ... ( same one id not tightened properly on the laser two years ago )

And after that... fuel filter and pipes from baker BM installed ! underneath is now looking loads more complete and next thing will be the gear stick section.

 

 

[Leslie green 157]

Great progress bud , re a speedo cable beware they often don't come the ball fitted which you need plus there are lhd and rhd ones too , had same issues trying to get one , its on my thread.