205 GTI Project Thread

[Richy_Boy]

I'd keep an eye out on your local classified papers - you might find something with a decent shell for £500 without a gearbox or engine?

I think it was late G or J Phase II cars that had a better galvanised shell?

Rich

 

[Arran]

It doesn't need to be a GTi shell does it?

 

[Foxspeed]

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/doc.asp?c=161&i=23392

:thumbup1:

 

[ben_r1]

This is still on going but just waiting on the cylinder head refurbishment for now as i cant do anything else until its running again.

Head has been away for work for 5 weeks now so should get it back next weekend hopefully.

 

[Arran]

Good luck, keep us posted, and plenty of pics!

 

[ben_r1]

So with still no news on this illusive cylinder head, i decided this project could not grind to a halt like so many before. As most of you would know when momentum is lost on a project it almost always means the end of it.

So got my arse in gear and decided to tackle the trickiest of the jobs... Quatre panel rust!!!

Got my brother round who is a professional bodywork technician, so got the job on the cheap

One days progress, from this:



To this:



Obviously the colour isnt a match as its only primered for now, being sprayed tomorrow as sunlight run out on us.

Professional bodyshops assured me another 205 panel would be required but we did the work from an off cut of a scrap Laguna door i had in the back garden, result.

Pics:















Brother and the misses 'working' lol:



Sneaky shot of my bros mini, Immaculate of course:

 

[ben_r1]

Also managed to fit the new water pump, it was all go today:



And got a fresh set of dials from Ebay, with only 107,000 miles on the clock. Result. Obviously front cover got cracked in the post so one refund later and a swapped lens and i have a completely free mint dial set.



Other quatre panel cant be done as the cars parked against a wall so cant move it without this bloody head, its been 8 weeks now. Hopefully i'll be picking it up in the next 7 days

Thanks for reading. Will post pics of it painted tomorrow

 

[Foxspeed]

excellent work :thumbup1:

i did say about the panels :thumbsup:

 

[ben_r1]

Finally got the head back. 3 months!

But im happy with final outcome. Skimmed to raise compression, valve guides changed, stage 1 porting in both inlet and exhaust ports gaining me 8-10bhp, valves 3 angle cut into new seats with fresh stem seals, 1.9 variant camshaft fitted for a little more lift worth a couple bhp and clearances shimmed up correctly. Then the whole thing chemically cleaned. Weighed in at £460 worth of work with a gasket kit for refitting.













Fitting soon, watch this space.

Also managed to pick up a MINT gti steering wheel with centre cap, becoming very rare in good condition, setting me back £70.



More updates soon.

 

[Jonesy]

hows the body shell coming on?

 

[ben_r1]

hows the body shell coming on?

Hasnt been touched since last update of the quatre panel. I have a spotless replacement hatch in the garden complete with wiper and mechanism, interior panels and spotless rear badges which are also becoming rare.

Just waiting on some hinges off ebay and i can bolt that on as my old one has bubbled with rust around the seal.

 

[Jonesy]

Hasnt been touched since last update of the quatre panel. I have a spotless replacement hatch in the garden complete with wiper and mechanism, interior panels and spotless rear badges which are also becoming rare.

Just waiting on some hinges off ebay and i can bolt that on as my old one has bubbled with rust around the seal.

do u think that u can save the body shell or will u need a doner?

 

[Ed...]

i love this project something ive always wanted to do on an older car.

 

[DanT]

Awesome project! Looks like a really good job on the rust prevention!

Now.....get it on some Billies

 

[ben_r1]

I've been very busy this weekend with my little toy lol, picture heavy update coming to a thread near you soon

 

[ben_r1]

Right here we go, my weekend!

Well saturday was spent doing a 420 mile trip upto Scumthorpe and back to pick up some mint half leather interior for the 205 to replace my tattered old ones. Good interiors are becoming very rare so this was a great find! Pictures coming soon

Anyway that was Saturday gone. Sunday i was up at 7am and had the bonnet up by 8, with the intention to make a start on the mammoth task of rebuilding the engine.

Heres how she stood for 3 months waiting for the rebuilt cylinder head to be returned:



First job was to clean the block and liner faces up so the gasket could make a good seal, teadious job but worthwhile, then the fresh gasket was lined up:





Next i got some very fancy and very expensive stainless studs to replace the old rotten ones, they'll look nice under the bonnet and hopefully aid any future removal of the manifolds:







Then bolted the painted exhaust manifold on. Also becoming a rarity for the GTI as they commonly crack and spares are running out, luckily mine was in great condition:





Starting to look abit more like a cylinder head again now, also bolted the thermostat housing onto the side of the head:

 

[GrumpyTwig]

Looks like a lot of fun there.

 

[ben_r1]

Okay next was to mount the cylinder head up with its old friend the block:



Got a last chance to spray up the rocker cover, or more like got the misses to do it as i dont like messy jobs lol, great job of it she did too:



Even more of a shame i cracked it in half when fitting it lol Alloy and super thin needs a light touch:



Replacement via ebay en route

Head was bolted down in 3 stages with increasing torque settings, and in 24 hours has to be completely wound off and then tightened again, to aid bolt stretching and gasket compression:



New plugs fitted:



Now timing up, got a fancy new vernier pulley for the new 1.9 spec camshaft, this will come in handy for timing adjustments in later months when i go for a Twin Carb setup



Lower pulley assembly put back on and spring tensioner setup to accept cambelt, the belt was slipped on, tension setup, 2 full rotations and reset:







Inlet manifold built back up with throttle body and injectors:



Then refitted to the head:



Arch lining put back on, wheel refitted and after 3 months finally dropped back onto 4 wheels, a day i was doubting i would ever see







Thanks for reading. Next time silicone hoses, interior and new rear boot being fitted

 

[Foxspeed]

great work and good idea on the studs :thumbsup:

 

[Graeme GTR]

you didnt buy that can of coke separately did you? Ill shop you in if you did.