New to forum, 205GTI

[fast405sti]

Ahh..... :-) The joys of a French hand brake!!

[Pee Dubbaya]

Cam16v on here is the distributor for BakerBM parts including silicon hoses...


Sounds like you have a jap-spec car that came with drum brakes. Conversion requires replacement of stub axles & hubs before you can fit disk brakes- you may be better off adjusting &/or replacing shoes...


If you want someone to check it over go take it to Greg Kent, 80 Diana Drive, Glenfield & they'll be able to sort out everything you need.

[BigPete]

I probably have the handbrake cables you will need to convert too.

[blv205gti]

I'll let you guys know on friday what my mechanic think about the brakes/parts I'll need. I figured it'd be hard to get parts, my first thought was to go the 4k budget option and fix the entire car up but I need it for winter so I don't get soaked bmxing home at 2am from work, so unfortunately a patch up til a)she dies or b)I have enough for the next car.

To be honest, I'm almost tempted to scrap the porsche idea and buy a nice 205gti instead, I had no idea a small car could be so fun, even just driving the speedlimit it feels like a go-kart, I'm so used to larger cruiser cars so never drove anything like it.

All of your responses are much appreciated and I've already learnt so much from this forum, thank you so much for helping me out with advice!

Unfortunately a 900$ car has turned out to be just that...a 900$ car but if I can at least have it for 6 months I'll be very happy with the experience.

Oh and one last thing, the gearbox...its a tad sloppy, hard to tell what gear you're in, linkages are prone to dying in these gearboxes from the little amount I've read on them...

[cams16v]

linkage pivot bush kit might help that sloppy feel and relatively cheap too

[blv205gti]

Have put in a hybrid zombie super coolant system now, all the hoses etc were perished so have had rad fixed and replaced hoses with various toyota/honda new ones that fit.

I'm renaming this car Peugeot 205gti zombie edition as it has clearcoat peeling, horrible paint, dents, and now jap parts in it.

New tyres soon, have repaired and got the rear brake light back on the hatch, fixed the mirror back onto the windscreen up front and sorted the coolant system, now just need to de-grease and clean up the engine bay, fix the psycho idle and MAYBE get a working blower/demister again.

Woo with progress like this she should have a wof next week! Also gearbox getting a "spruce up" so its nice and tight again, once I get the receipts and details of all work done I might post up a project thread and take some pics.

[blv205gti]

Wow, so the car got a wof! Just got the txt from my mechanic that I can come pick it up whenever. Will let you guys know the full list of what was done to get her back up and running, didn't end up too expensive.

BUT, the CV's werent needed to be replaced for the wof, but eventually need to be done, only quote I got was 900 each side then someone who said 70$ then promptly dissapeared (are most mechanics like this with the GTI?).

Do I a) Limp it around for 6-9 months as gently as I can til I can get a better car
Or do I b)do the CV's and then limp it round for 6-9months, buy a nice car and keep the pug as a runaround?

ARGH

[Stafford]

Hi Mate.  You might want to check out eBay uk for some of the smaller parts you are looking for.   I am slowly doing up a 309 gti and have got a few parts off eBay uk recently.  Eg a new dipstick was around 25 bucks landed I think.  Pound is pretty weak at the moment so prices can be less than you might think.

[blv205gti]

Well, gearbox has been freshened up, engine bay de-greased and cleaned, all hoses and radiator replaced/fixed. Managed to get a wof as well, stupid thing keeps blowing fuses for the windows but apart from that and it loving to surge when cold its pretty fun, its nice having a gearbox that you can actually feel what gear you're going into as well, that one was so munted..

End cost was 1300 D:, quite a bit done that I haven't mentioned but came 200$ under budget which I'm really happy about.

First impression: Apart from it hating to idle when cold, this car is probably the funnest thing I have ever driven, handles like its on rails and feels quick doing 50, so for a daily driver, I'm extremely happy!

Never would've thought a french car would be this fun/involving. Especially one that cost 900...

[2052NV]

That's fast frogs summed up in one post!!   ^^^^^  bravo!

[peterallison86]

numberplate is XP9594

Hoooooly shit - that is my old car!!! Kinda surprised it's still alive to be honest... 
She was in pretty rough nick when I bought it and that was in 2006. It was my first frenchie - I didn't know much about them but a friend had been telling me about 205's and how fast they were. Jokingly, I asked a guy in my polytech class if he new anyone selling a GTi and he said his mate had one with a blown headgasket that was just sitting there. A quick call to studylink later, for err, bus money... and I procured the beast for $1300. Towed it back to a friends garage and spent a week learning how to change head gaskets on a "modern" car (had only done them on Kseries' before then and thats a 10bolts and 20minutes kind of job). Ha, when we got it running we couldn't figure how to get it into reverse so just pushed it out of the driveway (left the learning about the pull the trigger up business till later).
Sweet memories. Still remember how good the thing handled and how fast it was compared to anything I had previously driven.
I sold it to some scottish guy who lived on the west coast when I wanted to buy my first motorbike (lasted a month before blowing up... should have kept the pug). Only other time I saw it was on trademe a few years later, pretty sure it had made it to Otago and had had an engine swap or something.
Psyched to hear it's still going! 

[2052NV]

Cool story!

[blv205gti]

numberplate is XP9594

Hoooooly shit - that is my old car!!! Kinda surprised it's still alive to be honest... 
She was in pretty rough nick when I bought it and that was in 2006. It was my first frenchie - I didn't know much about them but a friend had been telling me about 205's and how fast they were. Jokingly, I asked a guy in my polytech class if he new anyone selling a GTi and he said his mate had one with a blown headgasket that was just sitting there. A quick call to studylink later, for err, bus money... and I procured the beast for $1300. Towed it back to a friends garage and spent a week learning how to change head gaskets on a "modern" car (had only done them on Kseries' before then and thats a 10bolts and 20minutes kind of job). Ha, when we got it running we couldn't figure how to get it into reverse so just pushed it out of the driveway (left the learning about the pull the trigger up business till later).
Sweet memories. Still remember how good the thing handled and how fast it was compared to anything I had previously driven.
I sold it to some scottish guy who lived on the west coast when I wanted to buy my first motorbike (lasted a month before blowing up... should have kept the pug). Only other time I saw it was on trademe a few years later, pretty sure it had made it to Otago and had had an engine swap or something.
Psyched to hear it's still going! 

Dude thanks heaps for the info, I'm trying to get as much info as I can on whats already been done to the car etc, haha she runs a bit rough now at idle, loves surging, I downshifted to 2nd to go over a speedbump slowly and got a pretty decent flame out of the exhaust, was not going fast or giving her anything..stupid amounts of fun and its more of a fun go-kart than a car.

But oh my god this car loves to blow fuses for the windows! Drivers window was stuck down overnight, replace fuse, only the passengers window goes up and down, drivers refuses to budge. Turn car off/on again and give the drivers door a tactical punch, window goes all the way back up...

Is half the fun of owning these cars dealing with all the hilarious and persistent little niggles they have? I've never owned anything this tempermental and have literally been in tears of laughter when friends come for rides in it and ask about all the things that dont work.

Ie, "why doesn't the tacho work past 2000rpm no matter what speed/gear you're in",
Me: "its more of a suggestion"
"why does the fuel gauge constantly go from 1/4 up to half and back again"
Me: "its more of a suggested amount of fuel..."
"why cant I wind my window down"
Me: "the window buttons are more of a suggestion than actually usefull"
"why does your car have a sunroof that doesnt open"
Me: "uhhh its more of a 'roof-window' than a sunroof"
"why can't I go near the windscreen"
Me: "blower switches are more of a suggestion, if you breathe on the window I can't see"

I'm 23 and this car makes me feel like a giddy child that just got that starwars lego set I always wanted.

[McSweatydoug01]

i bought the car when i lived in queenstown from a the flatmate of the scottish guy. i am also scottish. i bought it as a non runner. put a second hand engine in it as no4 cylinder was cooked. put all new engine mounts and 2 lower control arms on it then. think i did brake hoses all round too. was a good little car but i had a real nice 205 so it only got driven once and a while. i brought it back to auckland when i moved and it lay in the driveway and then carpentry wanted it then he didn't then i sold it to revieled.

was a good little car i just couldn't justify 2 at that point.

and yes it does make you feel younger driving one. just ask downunder

[peterallison86]

What a trooper!