205 GTI mild resto.

[Lightyear]

Hi, I am new on here. Quick background - I am obsessed with cars done... Ok, let's see, more recently I have had MX5 track cars, with the last one being the fastest MX5 to ever lap Phillip Island outright. And it was no race car. Just a road car with some cheap bits, and bits I made. I am building a commodore to race in IPRA now.

Anyway, I have read a lot about the 205 GTI's, and how they are a great little car. So I bought one to see how I like it. I looked at one for sale on here with low k's, but it was pretty rough. This car has double the k's and is pretty good. First impression after driving an MX5 is how high you sit in the GTI, but it's comfortable.

It passed the RWC yesterday, and now I need to get in on club plates. First job is to rebuild the dizzy. The diaphragm is busted. The left seat bolster material on both front seats need to be replaced, the dash needs a screw, the speedo cable must need some lube as the speedo bounces a bit and is noisy. And I will respray it to make it neat as possible, and clean up all the plastics.
For now, I will just get the club rego sorted, and drive it once or twice a month. Then in a few months I will start on a mild restoration. I want to try keep it as original as possible, so only restore what needs it.









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[schlitzaugen]

Welcome, nice looking car.

The vacuum capsule on the dizzy can be bought new for pennies and it is a bolt on fix. Find the Bosch number on the tongue and ring up the Beetle shop somewhere in Qld or go on ebay. If yours is busted, then you have an air leak into the manifold and the car won't run right. It is actually a good starting point to check the rest of the hosiery under the bonnet for leaks, and the SAD for health (this can get stuck and screw up things for you). Another thing that can leak if it's still there is the vapour recirculation system (solenoid, canister, associated hoses) check, clean, replace.

Is the car lowered? This can ruin the handing.

Car looks like an early one with the later dash console.

If the car is otherwise right, enjoy.

[Lightyear]

It's not lowered. I Know absolutely nothing about these cars or where to source parts. But I am willing to learn

I think it is a bit of a mix of series, as you would expect of a car of this age. But I will try and make it back to original if I can find the right parts. Even the taillights have been changed. It has a disc brake rear, no power steering, has some bits of an A/C, but most of it is gone. I think the tailgate has been changed, but there is no evidence of any damage. It's an '89 model.

[Richard W]

That's the right interior and blinkers, except that I'm not sure the seat fabric is original? What makes you think the tailgate is not right?

[Lightyear]

The tailgate is a slightly different shade, I think. Will wash it and have a good look.

[PeterT]

'89 models had the round dial dash, DFZ engine, drum brake rear end, no PAS and either BE1 or BE3 gearbox (but still with the DFZ ratios). Thus someone has fitted a disc brake rear end from a later model. I buy most parts from EAI here in Sydney. Enjoy the car.

[Lightyear]

I know a guy that has pretty god knowledge of these cars. Once the car is on club rego, I will get him to have a proper look at it. He probably won't know exactly what Aus models came out with.

[ng850]

Welcome aboard the 205 train.

Yes for some reason someone has dropped in the Phase 1 (Series 1) Biarritz sets instead of the Phase 1.5 (Series 2) Monaco trim seats.

Rear disc upgrades from a later Phase 2 (Series 3) model is a popular upgrade... especially if the old rear axles were shot.

Original vacuum advance modules are inevitably shot. If you can't source a new one, you can also do a changeover via Performance Ignition in Nunawading for around $60 odd dollars... they get them rebuilt.

You can find a little more info on your 205 if you jam your VIN into http://205gti.info. Shameless plug as always.

I am just down the road from you with an almost identical example, so happy to swap notes.

Cheers

griffo

That's the right interior and blinkers, except that I'm not sure the seat fabric is original? What makes you think the tailgate is not right?

[Lightyear]

Thanks for the info. I want to get the dizzy done ASAP. I will take it off and send it up to him.
send me a p.m. Would be good to catch up and see what you think about the car.

[Lightyear]

This is what it came up with.

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[Lightyear]

So is it possible to get the motor to euro spec horsepower?

[Lightyear]

More pics.









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[Lightyear]

It's now got plates

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[CEyssens]

So is it possible to get the motor to euro spec horsepower?

Congrats on the plates!

There are a few threads on the forum about upping the hp on your std engine, run a search and you should find lots of good info. If you can't find them, send me a message and I'll send you some links.
cheers Craig


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[Lightyear]

Ok, I will have a look. I am not worried about HP at the moment. My priority is to go over the car and replace anything that looks old or dodgy under the bonnet, then tidy up the paint and interior. I took it down to the painter, he said just get a dent guy he knows to push the dents out, and buff it. I prefer fresh paint

[lion5]

look at that garage.

It's cleaner than my room.

[Lightyear]

That garage is always messy. Every few months I spend about 2 days cleaning it, but it just gets messy again. I did a quick clean up to get the GTI where it is. When I get more time I will park it right at the back of the garage so the hoist area is free.

[Isis]

I agree about fresh paint but it isn't a bad idea to get most of the dents pulled out first to minimise filler.

[Lightyear]

I will fix the dents before filler. Just No need to use a paint-less dent removal guy if painting.

[Lightyear]

Wow, I just rang to get insurance. Rating one driver, garaged in a good area. Shannon's wants $471. Just car wants $664. This is for a car on 45 day club rego. Wtf? My brand new $56,000 car costs the same to insure.

[michael_ozzie]

Try Racv veteran, vintage and classic car insurance. I have had both 205 on there, and they recognise the club registered cars are used less, and generally charge less


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[Wildy55]

Try Racv veteran, vintage and classic car insurance. I have had both 205 on there, and they recognise the club registered cars are used less, and generally charge less


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Try Famous too. Changed from Shannon's and saved a good wedge


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[Lightyear]

Thanks guys, will try them. Going down to the mechanic to get him to mark the timing, so I can remove the dizzy.

[PeterT]

The timing marker is on the flywheel. There should be a tab bolted to the block, like in this picture, giving TDC and 10º BTDC.

Finding TDC

[Lightyear]

The flywheel has been swapped, and has no markings for timing.