Impulse buy: Peugeot 205 GTi 16v
Discussion
Thanks all for you kind words. The old girl certainly isn't mint, but scrubs up well. I'm OK with this, as it means I'm happy to use it all year round. I can't imagine seeing any of the £30k truly mint cars being driven through Wales in March in torrential rain 
I've got a couple of major jobs planned on the car later this year, so it won't be going anywhere for now
Definitely get a thread up on yours Mark, it looks great!
I've got a couple of major jobs planned on the car later this year, so it won't be going anywhere for now
Definitely get a thread up on yours Mark, it looks great!
Good afternoon
I have just spent a pleasant hour reading your epic post about life with your 205 GTi. It will surely be my online reference manual as I work through rejuvenating the tired 1992 Gentry auto I have recently acquired.
Way back in 2017 you posted about repairing the central locking system in the roof of your car, and mentioned "a friend who is well versed in electronics has set up a little business recoding these old French systems."
The unit in my car has suffered a fire in the past (apparently not unusual, helped by a leaking sun roof) and is well knackered.
I still have central locking using key in driver's door, but it would be good to get the original remote facility working again.
Hoping that your friend is still up for such repair, if you would kindly send me his contact (jlarkin@mail.com) I can hopefully send bits for repair.
Hope to hear.
Happy Xmas
John Larkin
I have just spent a pleasant hour reading your epic post about life with your 205 GTi. It will surely be my online reference manual as I work through rejuvenating the tired 1992 Gentry auto I have recently acquired.
Way back in 2017 you posted about repairing the central locking system in the roof of your car, and mentioned "a friend who is well versed in electronics has set up a little business recoding these old French systems."
The unit in my car has suffered a fire in the past (apparently not unusual, helped by a leaking sun roof) and is well knackered.
I still have central locking using key in driver's door, but it would be good to get the original remote facility working again.
Hoping that your friend is still up for such repair, if you would kindly send me his contact (jlarkin@mail.com) I can hopefully send bits for repair.
Hope to hear.
Happy Xmas
John Larkin
John Larkin said:
Good afternoon
I have just spent a pleasant hour reading your epic post about life with your 205 GTi. It will surely be my online reference manual as I work through rejuvenating the tired 1992 Gentry auto I have recently acquired.
Way back in 2017 you posted about repairing the central locking system in the roof of your car, and mentioned "a friend who is well versed in electronics has set up a little business recoding these old French systems."
The unit in my car has suffered a fire in the past (apparently not unusual, helped by a leaking sun roof) and is well knackered.
I still have central locking using key in driver's door, but it would be good to get the original remote facility working again.
Hoping that your friend is still up for such repair, if you would kindly send me his contact (jlarkin@mail.com) I can hopefully send bits for repair.
Hope to hear.
Happy Xmas
John Larkin
Thanks for reading John! Unfortunately the leaking sunroof / aerial causing a fire is not unheard, as you say. Regarding the recoding, it's not something he does any more, but from what I gather it's not too hard - you need to make sure the soldered and cut legs match on the key and the receiver chips. So, hopefully it's just a case of finding a new receiver then cutting / soldering the legs as necessary.I have just spent a pleasant hour reading your epic post about life with your 205 GTi. It will surely be my online reference manual as I work through rejuvenating the tired 1992 Gentry auto I have recently acquired.
Way back in 2017 you posted about repairing the central locking system in the roof of your car, and mentioned "a friend who is well versed in electronics has set up a little business recoding these old French systems."
The unit in my car has suffered a fire in the past (apparently not unusual, helped by a leaking sun roof) and is well knackered.
I still have central locking using key in driver's door, but it would be good to get the original remote facility working again.
Hoping that your friend is still up for such repair, if you would kindly send me his contact (jlarkin@mail.com) I can hopefully send bits for repair.
Hope to hear.
Happy Xmas
John Larkin
As you may have seen, my previous 205 was a Gentry converted to manual GTi spec. That was a great car, but unfortunately it had to make way for this one. If you need any advice with yours give me a shout, I'm by no means an expert, but I've been tinkering with Peugeots / Citroens for many years!
Whilst I'm here, I may as well post an update on the 205. A few weeks ago it sailed through it's MOT, the only advisory being a corroded rear brake pipe. Slightly annoying as I spent ages checking, cleaning and repainting the front to rear pipe earlier in the year (it was solid, just showing some surface rust). Ah well!
Despite the 500 mile road trip back in March, I still only added a total of 1032 miles to the 205 in the last year. An embarrassingly small number, but at least most of the miles were done for pure enjoyment, no other reason. I mentioned back in another post that I had considered selling up and trying something else - partly because of the rising cost of keeping the car on the road - tax, insurance, fuel, servicing, spare parts etc all adds up for just 1k miles per year!
Fortunately I came to my senses and instead of selling the 205, I employed some pretty dodgy man maths and replaced my sensible daily EV with a modern(ish) hot hatch to complement the 205. The interest in this car started way back in 2014 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed:
IMG_7216 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
And now, I finally own one (although not in the 'interesting' two-tone paint):
20231222_120939 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
20231123_140243 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
20231123_140302 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
It's a 2015 208 GTi 30th i.e. celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of the 205 GTi. The original release of the 208 GTi was considered OK, but somewhat lacking compared to its contemporaries and this model added a little extra spice, with more power/torque, lower, stiffer, wider, better brakes and an LSD, which resulted in a much more complete package. Apparently! For me, I loved the nods to the original 205 GTi - the red highlights inside and out, the rear quarter badges, the black wheel arches. And, of course it was finally a Peugeot GTi worthy of that badge,
But, it is still a 8 year old French car, so the first month of ownership has not been without it's problems. I've had a few of these:
20231127_075756 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
And yesterday one of the low profile tyres lost an argument with a pothole:
20231222_104157 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
Typically, it was one of the relatively new Continentals on the front rather than the budgets on the rear!
But overall, I love the car. I'll spend some time ironing out the kinks and doing some preventative maintenance, which will hopefully result in a reliable daily driver that I can also have a bit of fun in. And for the time being I'll keep 205 alongside it - the sensation of driving a much more analogue car is very different and therefore still something to look forward to, even if the performance of both cars is fairly similar.
Despite the 500 mile road trip back in March, I still only added a total of 1032 miles to the 205 in the last year. An embarrassingly small number, but at least most of the miles were done for pure enjoyment, no other reason. I mentioned back in another post that I had considered selling up and trying something else - partly because of the rising cost of keeping the car on the road - tax, insurance, fuel, servicing, spare parts etc all adds up for just 1k miles per year!
Fortunately I came to my senses and instead of selling the 205, I employed some pretty dodgy man maths and replaced my sensible daily EV with a modern(ish) hot hatch to complement the 205. The interest in this car started way back in 2014 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed:
IMG_7216 by CarlosV8, on FlickrAnd now, I finally own one (although not in the 'interesting' two-tone paint):
20231222_120939 by CarlosV8, on Flickr20231123_140243 by CarlosV8, on Flickr20231123_140302 by CarlosV8, on FlickrIt's a 2015 208 GTi 30th i.e. celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of the 205 GTi. The original release of the 208 GTi was considered OK, but somewhat lacking compared to its contemporaries and this model added a little extra spice, with more power/torque, lower, stiffer, wider, better brakes and an LSD, which resulted in a much more complete package. Apparently! For me, I loved the nods to the original 205 GTi - the red highlights inside and out, the rear quarter badges, the black wheel arches. And, of course it was finally a Peugeot GTi worthy of that badge,
But, it is still a 8 year old French car, so the first month of ownership has not been without it's problems. I've had a few of these:
20231127_075756 by CarlosV8, on FlickrAnd yesterday one of the low profile tyres lost an argument with a pothole:
20231222_104157 by CarlosV8, on FlickrTypically, it was one of the relatively new Continentals on the front rather than the budgets on the rear!
But overall, I love the car. I'll spend some time ironing out the kinks and doing some preventative maintenance, which will hopefully result in a reliable daily driver that I can also have a bit of fun in. And for the time being I'll keep 205 alongside it - the sensation of driving a much more analogue car is very different and therefore still something to look forward to, even if the performance of both cars is fairly similar.
Thank you for your speedy reply.
Appreciate your offer of help. I shall doubtless need to ask you lots of idiot questions in the coming year.
Electrics is basically beyond me, so I will pass info about the remote locking to my friendly neighbourhood auto electrician.
You'll always hopefully have the 205 to keep you mobile as you enjoy your new car !!
I have found that cars without message facility on the dashboard seem to have less faults.!!
Merry Xmas
John Larkin
Appreciate your offer of help. I shall doubtless need to ask you lots of idiot questions in the coming year.
Electrics is basically beyond me, so I will pass info about the remote locking to my friendly neighbourhood auto electrician.
You'll always hopefully have the 205 to keep you mobile as you enjoy your new car !!
I have found that cars without message facility on the dashboard seem to have less faults.!!
Merry Xmas
John Larkin
I have a few winter jobs to do on the 205, but I've been pretty slow in getting them done. I planned to take the 205 away last weekend, so thought I get an easy one ticked off - a gearbox oil change. I didn't bother jacking the car up, with the wheels at full left hand lock I thought I could just reach under to get the the drain plug - wrong! It was totally seized in place. After some swearing it eventually came out a bit battered, but fortunately I had a replacement on a spare gearbox:
20240115_223653 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
So with that done we had a family trip away in the 205. The only reason for taking this over the 208/Corsa was that we managed to squeeze in breakfast at Caffeine and Machine, which is always a pleasure:
20240121_095217 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
The 205 was the oldest car there, I guess everyone else's 'classics' are safely tucked up in the garage. Back at home I gave the underside a pressure wash to get rid of the muck and salt, which gave me an opportunity to grab a photos of the 2 Pugs:
20240122_135201 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
I'm still enjoying the 208, although the experience has been slightly tinged by a recurring EML light when giving it some beans. I started doing some preventative maintenance this week and have hopefully discovered the problem... this was the intake to the turbo:
20240122_100713 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
The garage I bought it from had replaced this rubber seal, but clearly had not refitted it properly which is annoying. In the end I replaced the whole intake pipe with a silicone version to avoid any future problems. So far the EML has not come back despite some trips to the red line at full throttle, and the car appears to be much more eager in 1st and 2nd gear. Result! Still to do is an oil change (engine and gearbox), new plugs and new ignition coils - all preventative so no rush for now, but plenty of tinkering to do with the 205/208 combo!
20240115_223653 by CarlosV8, on FlickrSo with that done we had a family trip away in the 205. The only reason for taking this over the 208/Corsa was that we managed to squeeze in breakfast at Caffeine and Machine, which is always a pleasure:
20240121_095217 by CarlosV8, on FlickrThe 205 was the oldest car there, I guess everyone else's 'classics' are safely tucked up in the garage. Back at home I gave the underside a pressure wash to get rid of the muck and salt, which gave me an opportunity to grab a photos of the 2 Pugs:
20240122_135201 by CarlosV8, on FlickrI'm still enjoying the 208, although the experience has been slightly tinged by a recurring EML light when giving it some beans. I started doing some preventative maintenance this week and have hopefully discovered the problem... this was the intake to the turbo:
20240122_100713 by CarlosV8, on FlickrThe garage I bought it from had replaced this rubber seal, but clearly had not refitted it properly which is annoying. In the end I replaced the whole intake pipe with a silicone version to avoid any future problems. So far the EML has not come back despite some trips to the red line at full throttle, and the car appears to be much more eager in 1st and 2nd gear. Result! Still to do is an oil change (engine and gearbox), new plugs and new ignition coils - all preventative so no rush for now, but plenty of tinkering to do with the 205/208 combo!
CarlosV8 said:
I have a few winter jobs to do on the 205, but I've been pretty slow in getting them done. I planned to take the 205 away last weekend, so thought I get an easy one ticked off - a gearbox oil change. I didn't bother jacking the car up, with the wheels at full left hand lock I thought I could just reach under to get the the drain plug - wrong! It was totally seized in place. After some swearing it eventually came out a bit battered, but fortunately I had a replacement on a spare gearbox:
20240115_223653 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
So with that done we had a family trip away in the 205. The only reason for taking this over the 208/Corsa was that we managed to squeeze in breakfast at Caffeine and Machine, which is always a pleasure:
20240121_095217 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
The 205 was the oldest car there, I guess everyone else's 'classics' are safely tucked up in the garage. Back at home I gave the underside a pressure wash to get rid of the muck and salt, which gave me an opportunity to grab a photos of the 2 Pugs:
20240122_135201 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
I'm still enjoying the 208, although the experience has been slightly tinged by a recurring EML light when giving it some beans. I started doing some preventative maintenance this week and have hopefully discovered the problem... this was the intake to the turbo:
20240122_100713 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
The garage I bought it from had replaced this rubber seal, but clearly had not refitted it properly which is annoying. In the end I replaced the whole intake pipe with a silicone version to avoid any future problems. So far the EML has not come back despite some trips to the red line at full throttle, and the car appears to be much more eager in 1st and 2nd gear. Result! Still to do is an oil change (engine and gearbox), new plugs and new ignition coils - all preventative so no rush for now, but plenty of tinkering to do with the 205/208 combo!
glad you sorted it mate! have you seem cafine and machine are taking over meon hut! cant wait. 20240115_223653 by CarlosV8, on FlickrSo with that done we had a family trip away in the 205. The only reason for taking this over the 208/Corsa was that we managed to squeeze in breakfast at Caffeine and Machine, which is always a pleasure:
20240121_095217 by CarlosV8, on FlickrThe 205 was the oldest car there, I guess everyone else's 'classics' are safely tucked up in the garage. Back at home I gave the underside a pressure wash to get rid of the muck and salt, which gave me an opportunity to grab a photos of the 2 Pugs:
20240122_135201 by CarlosV8, on FlickrI'm still enjoying the 208, although the experience has been slightly tinged by a recurring EML light when giving it some beans. I started doing some preventative maintenance this week and have hopefully discovered the problem... this was the intake to the turbo:
20240122_100713 by CarlosV8, on FlickrThe garage I bought it from had replaced this rubber seal, but clearly had not refitted it properly which is annoying. In the end I replaced the whole intake pipe with a silicone version to avoid any future problems. So far the EML has not come back despite some trips to the red line at full throttle, and the car appears to be much more eager in 1st and 2nd gear. Result! Still to do is an oil change (engine and gearbox), new plugs and new ignition coils - all preventative so no rush for now, but plenty of tinkering to do with the 205/208 combo!
As Mr Zephyr Speedshop mentioned, the new Caffeine and Machine opened recently about 30 mins from me. I had a ticket for 9am on the opening day, so the 205 was washed, the family were dragged out of bed and this was us at 9.30:
20240317_100627 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
A gradually worsening mis-fire eventually stranded us a few miles away. It's the first time the 205 has let me down when out and about (I think!) and now marks the 3rd time I've called the RAC in the last year, albeit for 3 different cars. Not a great statistic!
After sulking for a few weeks I thought I better get the 205 sorted. First stop was to pull the spark plugs:
20240406_165405 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
Cylinder 1 plug looking a bit sooty there! I've had a long standing concern over the injector wiring on this cylinder as it had a bit too much insulating tape for my liking (admittedly I may have added some of this!), but up until this point I had taken the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" stance. Having removed the tape it was most definitely broke:
20240425_111112 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
I'm not overly confident when it comes to wiring - I'm happy to fit a stereo, but I've always tried to avoid working on the more important looms, so I decided to try and call an expert in. Contacted a local auto-electrician with good reviews and his exact words were "sorry thats out of my league". FFS. This put my back up, so decided to have a go myself - what's the worst that could happen?! I don't have a proper criming tool, so instead bought a pre-wired plug off Ebay for a few quid. Practiced on a few old bits of wire, and then attacked the 205 injector loom and managed to splice it in:
20240425_114649 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
It's not super neat, the wires are the wrong colour, and the plug is a different to design to the others, but it does the job. And it it looks acceptable once everything was back in place. For peace of mind the spark plugs, leads and ignition coil were also swapped out for new items. The test drive revealed that all was well again, and if anything it was running slightly smoother, but that might have been a placebo.
Still haven't made it to C&M, but I did get out to the breakfast club at Goodwood at the weekend. The 205 performed faultlessly, and was a joy to drive there and back. I was allocated a parking spot with some other hot hatches - was great to see some other 205s there, including a proper LHD Rallye, along with a few other 90s throwbacks. I was parked with a more modern Fiesta ST on one side and an Alfa Brera on the other - but the variety is part of the appeal with these events!
20240505_072432 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
In other French hot-hatch news I decided to bite the bullet on a suspension refresh for the 208. They have a habit of eating through front suspension components and mine all looked original and a bit tired. So this little lot was acquired, and to save time, I got my local garage to fit it all:
20240419_152657 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
The difference is astonishing. Everything is so smooth now, no more knocks and bangs from the front end and the car feels more eager to turn in. Very pleased with that. Next thing to address is a clicking CV joint, then some service items.
20240317_100627 by CarlosV8, on FlickrA gradually worsening mis-fire eventually stranded us a few miles away. It's the first time the 205 has let me down when out and about (I think!) and now marks the 3rd time I've called the RAC in the last year, albeit for 3 different cars. Not a great statistic!
After sulking for a few weeks I thought I better get the 205 sorted. First stop was to pull the spark plugs:
20240406_165405 by CarlosV8, on FlickrCylinder 1 plug looking a bit sooty there! I've had a long standing concern over the injector wiring on this cylinder as it had a bit too much insulating tape for my liking (admittedly I may have added some of this!), but up until this point I had taken the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" stance. Having removed the tape it was most definitely broke:
20240425_111112 by CarlosV8, on FlickrI'm not overly confident when it comes to wiring - I'm happy to fit a stereo, but I've always tried to avoid working on the more important looms, so I decided to try and call an expert in. Contacted a local auto-electrician with good reviews and his exact words were "sorry thats out of my league". FFS. This put my back up, so decided to have a go myself - what's the worst that could happen?! I don't have a proper criming tool, so instead bought a pre-wired plug off Ebay for a few quid. Practiced on a few old bits of wire, and then attacked the 205 injector loom and managed to splice it in:
20240425_114649 by CarlosV8, on FlickrIt's not super neat, the wires are the wrong colour, and the plug is a different to design to the others, but it does the job. And it it looks acceptable once everything was back in place. For peace of mind the spark plugs, leads and ignition coil were also swapped out for new items. The test drive revealed that all was well again, and if anything it was running slightly smoother, but that might have been a placebo.
Still haven't made it to C&M, but I did get out to the breakfast club at Goodwood at the weekend. The 205 performed faultlessly, and was a joy to drive there and back. I was allocated a parking spot with some other hot hatches - was great to see some other 205s there, including a proper LHD Rallye, along with a few other 90s throwbacks. I was parked with a more modern Fiesta ST on one side and an Alfa Brera on the other - but the variety is part of the appeal with these events!
20240505_072432 by CarlosV8, on FlickrIn other French hot-hatch news I decided to bite the bullet on a suspension refresh for the 208. They have a habit of eating through front suspension components and mine all looked original and a bit tired. So this little lot was acquired, and to save time, I got my local garage to fit it all:
20240419_152657 by CarlosV8, on FlickrThe difference is astonishing. Everything is so smooth now, no more knocks and bangs from the front end and the car feels more eager to turn in. Very pleased with that. Next thing to address is a clicking CV joint, then some service items.
I arrived quite early and there were no other 205s at that point - fairly normal these days. Was great to see 3 others when I came back, but unfortunately missed the owners. Which one was yours? I think we have crossed paths at Goodwood before... I always try and get the 205 in for the appropriate BC themes!
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