1990 L.E 205 1.9 GTi.... - Saxperience

Nik_L · 5th July 2014, 22:18

Some progress pictures of the 205. So far have fitted -25mm Spax front springs, replaced track rod ends and drop links, sorted out some wiring (with more to do still), replaced drivers side red insert as old 1 was held on with self tappers. Desperately need a fuel level sender as ran out of fuel once, but parts seem to be a nightmare to get hold of.

Thought about fitting the later spec indicators and rear lights but decided to keep it more period with there being not much left.

Mickswan · 6th July 2014, 13:02

Love the colour

Tavik · 14th July 2014, 15:19

looks well preserved

Gabbastard · 14th July 2014, 15:43

1.9 toffs in Sorrento Green are one of the favourite cars ever. Looks nice man.

Jizanthapus · 14th July 2014, 15:47

Have to say it does look awesome in that last pic

willsy · 14th July 2014, 16:09

Love it!!

Nik_L · 14th July 2014, 16:32

Thanks. Sorrento Green was my favourite colour for these, but now i have 1, i think i prefer Miami Blue now lol. I do love the colour, but not in direct sunlight as its a bit bright. Picked up a trophy for it too at a local French car show, best standard car.

Its clean, and mechanically/structurally solid for 190k, but have had to sort minor exterior things and waiting on some other parts to fix things that aren't working etc. Going to do the front brakes this week as they are crap and the discs look fuked. Will get in touch with the local Dent Devil type company to see about getting some pin dents pulled out the doors as it annoys me seeing them from the door mirrors.

It did take a while to adjust to the lack of sound deadening and creature comforts etc but love driving the wee thing now.

Jamie · 14th July 2014, 23:43

Have to say I dig that color too! Love 205 GTI's need one in my life lol.

Nik_L · 17th July 2014, 16:28

Small update....

Since getting the car, it had a couple of electrical issues such as, coolant temp gauge not going higher than 1st marker, "STOP" light on but dim, fuel gauge not working, oil temp gauge not working, various cluster backing lights not working.

Being French, and 24 years old, it sounded wiring related. Done some testing with mixed results but nothing solid to suggest bad wiring. Decided to look into replacing the backing lights on the cluster when i noticed this....

So aye, couldn't have been doing any favours so along with finding another fuel level sender (to try eliminate the fuel gauge not working) i picked up a set of clocks for a bargain price. Switched over the speedo unit to retain the cars genuine 190k miles and boom, all of the above problems sorted. Lifted the sender unit out the tank to double check the gauge and my unit seems to be working fine too, so will sell on the new 1 when it arrives.

Picked up new front discs and pads too as they are very much past it. Looked into doing a 266mm upgrade but research would suggest a good working standard set-up with good discs and pads is more than enough on these cars.

Nik_L · 24th July 2014, 17:37

So, failed MOT today. No too bad tbh about 30mins work and won't cost me anything.

1 - Front N/S brake binding. Kind of knew this as when i changed the discs and pads, it wasn't moving freely in the slider. Thought it would maybe wear off a bit but seems not.

2 - Handbrake cable insecure and chaffing on the brake pipe. Easy fix.

3 - Exhaust centre section not secured. Noticed the rubber was hanging and forgot to connect it back up.

4 - Rear brakes imbalanced. Drivers side caliper so will take it off and clean it up and change discs and pads if need be.

Has a couple advisories for brake pipes and couple other things so will sort them too.

Think i'm going to stick it up for sale after MOT tbh.

Dany4494 · 24th July 2014, 19:45

Why you selling you just got it ?

Mickswan · 24th July 2014, 20:25

Bit stupid, centre section not secure. Would have been quicker for him put the rubber on than find the fault code for the MOT.

Nik_L · 24th July 2014, 20:48

Yeah that's what I thought but some won't touch things during the test.

It's not really for me I like a bit creature comforts and it's not the best for driving to work at 3am. It's a great wee car and dare I say it probably 1 of the better 1s out there considering the mileage. It would be more appreciated in the hands of an enthusiast and short of storing it for years I think now is when I'm going to see a decent return from it.

JoeHindle · 24th July 2014, 20:54

Such a beautiful colour, and a brilliant example taking into account the mileage and age! I hope it gets sold to the right kind of person if you sell it mate!