My 205 GTi Restoration

My 205 GTi Restoration

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350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
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As a few people know I'm in the process of having my 205 GTi restored. I bought the car last year as a good base for restoration and as its now progressing its turning out to be even better than expected.

It may 'only' be a 1.6 variant but it really is a fun car to drive and by the time I'm done with it, it should be not too far off new.

Bearing in mind its 22 years old now its virtually free of rust, I went and had a look after the first week of it being away and well..... the pictures below speak for themselves!

Its due to be away for another two to three weeks, really cant wait to get it back but I want it done properly!

Anyways here are a few pics, I'll update this thread after I have another look this weekend. These pics are after 5 days in the bodyshop.














350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Tuesday 5th February 2013
quotequote all
Jonboy_t said:
That's a hell of a clean car for that age! Make sure you keep updating, I love stuff like this!
I've left my digital compact with them and they are under instructions to take loads of photos!! I'll have a complete photographic record for the cars history file.

350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Friday 8th February 2013
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iiyama said:
You've certainly gone to town there Tone!
Indeed, its having the works!! Not cheap but will be worth it. More pics from today to follow in a sec....

350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Friday 8th February 2013
quotequote all
Here is todays update at the end off week 2.

The passenger side is almost complete and all the glass has now been removed other than the driver window and the sunroof. The windscreen has been taken out but placed back for now to help with keeping the dust out.

The finish along the passenger side is better than expected and will look great once paint is applied in a couple of weeks.

Looking forward to next Saturday to see how its progressed again through the week smile










350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Friday 8th February 2013
quotequote all
Cheers Eddie, cant wait to see it done. Loving your old 205s as well, shame about the Dimma!

Oh and as a cherry on the cake I have these waiting to go on at some point when the weather improves.....


350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Saturday 9th February 2013
quotequote all
Fuzzy72 said:
Looking good Tone. No pressure on your bodyshop with the whole of the south coast watching this! You must keep this thread updated as I and many others like to watch a project develop. Maybe this could become the thread, or a seperate thread, for all SC PH'ers projects. We're all nosey buggers at heart and love watching peoples cars in restoration. At the speed this is progressing, I'm guessing this will be ready for showing off at the first Goodwood breakfast club. Keep us all updated.
As I only get to check on the car once a week I'll post updates each weekend. I'm expecting it to be away for another couple of weeks so there should be two more updates before its all finished.

If all goes well should be picking up at the end of the month.

The bodyshop are doing a totally excellent job, there are only a couple of small items that need repairing as work progresses but they are doing each thing to perfection before moving onto the next bit.



350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Thursday 14th February 2013
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RIB27 said:
Great progress Tony! Don't forget some more progress pics when they're ready smile
Dont worry, there will be plenty of pictures.

Next update will be Saturday all being well smile

350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Saturday 16th February 2013
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Not as much bodywork progress this week. Priority was to straighten out a little impact damage which had bent a few bits slightly. You can see the bumper bar which took the hit. Unfortunately whats its connected to dent our of shape which creased the front wing slightly. Now its repaired the crease has gone and its all 100% straight again.

The welded bit you can see was not affected but this needed to be removed to straighten out the damage behind...

Also new bonnet has arrived along with all new replacement trim clips etc. Full steam ahead this week coming with the rest of the bodywork!!
















350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Saturday 16th February 2013
quotequote all
iiyama said:
What was wrong with the old bonnet then mucka?
The bonnet thats on there has already been repaired once and has filler in the middle, there are also numerous dents and ridges in it.

The webbing has also come away from the skin so repairing would cost as much as getting a new one. There is no rust on it though and it would be good for someone if they are prepared to put the time into straightening it out.



350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Saturday 23rd February 2013
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End of week four and now things are progressing at a faster pace. All the initial prep work is now complete so now the car is completely dent and damage free.

The tailgate, doors, bonnet etc have now been removed as well and the first coat of primer has been laid down as can be seem in the photos.

This has only just been applied and now the car will go next week back into the main workshop for the rubbing down and flatting process. Later next week the final priming and then painting will start to take place, hopefully should be complete in around a week and a half's time.... smile




















350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Saturday 2nd March 2013
quotequote all
End of week 5 and now whole body has been rubbed down and flatted. Surface is now super smooth ready for painting next week.

All the door shuts have been painted now and the new bonnet has been prepared and is also ready to be painted.

Next week doors will be painted first and re-attached, then the rest of the car will follow suit and be painted fully towards the end of next week.

Here are a few photos from this morning....






















350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Saturday 2nd March 2013
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projectgt said:
Coming along nicely...

Here's mine, just started using it daily.
That looks to be another very tidy example.....

350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Saturday 9th March 2013
quotequote all
End of week six and the car is now fully painted. Another two to three days are needed for flatting and polishing to make it really shiny and to take out any imperfections in the paint.

The glass and trim has started going back on. New windscreen to be fitted next week with many thanks to Colin Smart for organising.

With a fair wind should be completed and ready to go next Saturday. Car will be going for an MOT later next week as well smile




























350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Saturday 16th March 2013
quotequote all
End of week 7 and we are 99% of the way there now, just a few more final touches to go and then MOT on Monday.

The most annoying thing is regarding the plastic bumpers which we had decided to spray back to original colour as they were too far gone for just a gel treatment. The code that comes up when the reg is entered says they are grey but that is not the case, they should be black like all phase 2 cars. The bodyshop unfortunately used the generated code and I currently have grey bumpers!

They are going to re-do them though so hopefully when I see it next week it will have black bumpers again! It does mean taking all the trim off again which is a pain, but if we are doing the job properly it has to be done!

Just a couple of pictures this week due to the small space around the car....








350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Saturday 16th March 2013
quotequote all
iiyama said:
Looks like they've done a top job for you there mate.
Yup, they have been brilliant. Wouldn't hesitate to use them again in the future....

350Wedge

Original Poster:

2,364 posts

275 months

Sunday 24th March 2013
quotequote all
Well another week done and now its FINISHED smile

It looks absolutely brilliant and already had a number of positive comments at Goodwood yesterday. Had literally just parked up and a chap came over with his son (about 8 or 9 years old at a guess) who had spotted it driving in past all the supercars and wanted to take some pictures of it. He even knew it was Miami blue! This lad will go far I think smile

I've uploaded a few photos I took at Goodwood yesterday along with the complete history of the restoration to my Flickr account. There are also a load of 'before' photos which show the condition of the rather poor paintwork before it all started.

Here is a link to my Flickr Set...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/350wedge/sets/7215763...

And here is a quick photo as a taster wink