I've bought a Peugeot 207!

I've bought a Peugeot 207!

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Discussion

Julian Thompson

2,586 posts

244 months

Wednesday 22nd July 2020
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We will be down there 4th August. At the moment they are horribly strict about circuit entry everywhere which means it’s just not worth attending. I’m hoping they stop soon and then normal service can be resumed.

I was chatting to the gent who maintains this car at W2R yesterday and he was saying that there have been noises from race teams who are worried for their sponsorship deals. Who wants to throw money at a race team when you can’t go to the races, enter the pits, eat nice sandwiches and talk to the drivers?


Julian Thompson

2,586 posts

244 months

Saturday 12th September 2020
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Quick update. Goodwood was terrific and we’ve been out at Donington three times additionally since then - I’ve lost count of the number of track days this year in this car but it must be approaching ten!

A bit of attrition then, was to be expected. Let’s kick off with a few good photos!







On the downside:



That’s the hole where the water pump should be!

We found the impeller on the undertray:



So at Goodwood we noticed a slight radiator leak. A new rad was ordered by the guys but there wasn’t time for it to arrive so we bodged it as a temporary fix. In the mean time, at the last Donington outing we swapped to a new set of tyres on the original Peugeot Sport wheels.

If you recall from earlier in the thread PPBB had obtained a set of wider back wheels because he was sprinting the car - I’d not really thought about that but you’ll remember that I’ve complained about a lack of power and also a bit of understeer.

Well, not any more. I never, ever cease to be stunned by the change to a car by swapping wheels and tyres but this on is huge. On the standard narrower, less tall rear wheels the car comes alive. It turns in and rotates absolutely beautifully - poetry - and manages to stay stable through fast turns, allowing a little lift to tighten the line with no more than a fractional reduction of lock as physics make the newly unloaded rear of the car move a little. It’s fabulous.

Plus, with smaller rolling radius comes more shove - it’s still not enormously quick but it’s now extremely satisfying and balanced as a package. It all makes total sense.

In fact on Tuesday at Donington I was having so much fun - I stayed out lap after lap after lap - the most fun I’ve had in 20 years doing track days!

We did have some shifter issues - we were able to fix them on the day by cleaning the actuator out but it cost us an hour of track time.

On the last lap as the evening fell the chequered flag came out and I turned into the first right hander - for those of you not familiar with Donington it’s a challenging 3rd gear right that has a fast exit. As I reached the apex and began to unwind the lock the back of the car let go very strangely and I had to lob on a full half turn of opposite lock to prevent a trip to the sin bin! I was most perplexed but put it down to cooked tyres and perhaps me knowing the session was over and backing off my pace.

I cruised round the rest of the lap and into the pits. At which point I got an oil pressure check warning. A quick blip of the throttle and the pressure went up and the warning disappeared so we presumed that the oil had got hot and thin.

Back at the W2R workshops the real cause became evident! The gearbox mounting bolt has sheared in half and caused the engine to move upwards as I went round the final corner of the day! The water pump (plastic) smashed into the frame of the car and broke off, allowing all the coolant to dump itself on the back tyres! Hence my exciting moment! It’s a damned good job it was the last lap - I drove round with no water in the motor and that’s why the oil thinned out and had got hot!

So now the guys are trying to get the shifter rebuilt by shiftec, along with a new compressor as a precaution given that this one is 12 years old, the new radiator and also try to repair the engine mounting situation and water pump. The CTR exhaust was also damaged because the engine moved but the exhaust back box didn’t resulting in the pipe getting pulled out. Apparently that’s an easy fix for a fabricator.

Snetterton looms in less than two weeks and they are hoping to have it all back ready to go by then!

Julian Thompson

2,586 posts

244 months

Monday 28th September 2020
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Well the car wasn’t ready for Snetterton, as the gear shift compressor and the actuator needed replacing/some work to rebuild along with the other jobs.

I have had a totally amazing year with this car and I’m wondering “where to next”?

I had considered one of the new Ginetta GT cars but after some test miles I’m not totally convinced - so it’s currently a toss up between running the Pug again for 2021 or maybe building a classic racer like a Mk1 escort with a BDA and running that. Or something.

Any ideas?

If anyone fancies having a go at the 207 for 2021 she will be ready to run for Donington 6/10 for the last outing of the year where we could discuss possibilities.

What do you think? Keep this? Hybrid turbo? 911 cup car? Bda escort? @confused.com!

RumbleOfThunder

3,610 posts

209 months

Monday 28th September 2020
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Your new suggestions sound brilliant but I dare say none are as interesting as the 207! If you are craving more performance then my vote would be the hybrid turbo route.

shirt

23,356 posts

207 months

Tuesday 29th September 2020
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I would agree. You just said the last time you drive it was the most fun you’ve had in years. Worth developing the areas you don’t like rather than starting again with something new

Julian Thompson

2,586 posts

244 months

Tuesday 29th September 2020
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You’re probably right, to be honest. Sometimes you need a shove from a like minded stranger to help decision making

Julian Thompson

2,586 posts

244 months

Tuesday 6th October 2020
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Back in action for the final 2020 outing at a soaked Donington.

In the wet - on the cut slicks (!) - it was interesting to say the least but still drove brilliantly. The rebuilt shifter is silky smooth now on the changes and it was a pleasure to run it today.

On the limit breakaway was catchable but there wasn’t a lot of warning, which isn’t characteristic of the chassis in the dry. I think the tyres weren’t helping that.

What I did find - and I knew it already but it’s worth mentioning - is that on track having a brake bias control is so essential in the wet. By dialling in more rear brakes I was able to get incredible braking even on a soaked circuit - and yes I did remember to switch it back to normal before I left for the night so I don’t forget!



Not exactly sure where to go from here with the car but I’ll be giving it lots of thought over the next week or two.

NucleyTHP

1 posts

47 months

Monday 30th November 2020
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Julian Thompson said:
Back in action for the final 2020 outing at a soaked Donington.

In the wet - on the cut slicks (!) - it was interesting to say the least but still drove brilliantly. The rebuilt shifter is silky smooth now on the changes and it was a pleasure to run it today.

On the limit breakaway was catchable but there wasn’t a lot of warning, which isn’t characteristic of the chassis in the dry. I think the tyres weren’t helping that.

What I did find - and I knew it already but it’s worth mentioning - is that on track having a brake bias control is so essential in the wet. By dialling in more rear brakes I was able to get incredible braking even on a soaked circuit - and yes I did remember to switch it back to normal before I left for the night so I don’t forget!



Not exactly sure where to go from here with the car but I’ll be giving it lots of thought over the next week or two.
Dear Julian,

I just bought a THP spider. I am going thru the car and checking / adjusting stuff. I noticed that my car doesn't have an oil dipstick and what I read others do not have it also. Do you know how can I measure the oil level?

Regards,

George

Edited by NucleyTHP on Monday 30th November 19:28

Mark Benson

7,794 posts

275 months

Tuesday 1st December 2020
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NucleyTHP said:
Julian Thompson said:
Back in action for the final 2020 outing at a soaked Donington.

In the wet - on the cut slicks (!) - it was interesting to say the least but still drove brilliantly. The rebuilt shifter is silky smooth now on the changes and it was a pleasure to run it today.

On the limit breakaway was catchable but there wasn’t a lot of warning, which isn’t characteristic of the chassis in the dry. I think the tyres weren’t helping that.

What I did find - and I knew it already but it’s worth mentioning - is that on track having a brake bias control is so essential in the wet. By dialling in more rear brakes I was able to get incredible braking even on a soaked circuit - and yes I did remember to switch it back to normal before I left for the night so I don’t forget!



Not exactly sure where to go from here with the car but I’ll be giving it lots of thought over the next week or two.
Dear Julian,

I just bought a THP spider. I am going thru the car and checking / adjusting stuff. I noticed that my car doesn't have an oil dipstick and what I read others do not have it also. Do you know how can I measure the oil level?

Regards,

George

Edited by NucleyTHP on Monday 30th November 19:28
I seem to remember Popopbangbang mentioning they were dry sumped, I'd be surprised if they weren't.
Assuming they are you won't find a dipstick but there will be an oil tank somewhere, you should check there's oil in that (in my experience of dry sump tanks they should be filled to the top baffle - you should see the oil when you open the cap, but I don't know the specifics of your system).

MagicalTrevor

6,476 posts

235 months

Tuesday 1st December 2020
quotequote all
Mark Benson said:
NucleyTHP said:
Julian Thompson said:
Back in action for the final 2020 outing at a soaked Donington.

In the wet - on the cut slicks (!) - it was interesting to say the least but still drove brilliantly. The rebuilt shifter is silky smooth now on the changes and it was a pleasure to run it today.

On the limit breakaway was catchable but there wasn’t a lot of warning, which isn’t characteristic of the chassis in the dry. I think the tyres weren’t helping that.

What I did find - and I knew it already but it’s worth mentioning - is that on track having a brake bias control is so essential in the wet. By dialling in more rear brakes I was able to get incredible braking even on a soaked circuit - and yes I did remember to switch it back to normal before I left for the night so I don’t forget!



Not exactly sure where to go from here with the car but I’ll be giving it lots of thought over the next week or two.
Dear Julian,

I just bought a THP spider. I am going thru the car and checking / adjusting stuff. I noticed that my car doesn't have an oil dipstick and what I read others do not have it also. Do you know how can I measure the oil level?

Regards,

George

Edited by NucleyTHP on Monday 30th November 19:28
I seem to remember Popopbangbang mentioning they were dry sumped, I'd be surprised if they weren't.
Assuming they are you won't find a dipstick but there will be an oil tank somewhere, you should check there's oil in that (in my experience of dry sump tanks they should be filled to the top baffle - you should see the oil when you open the cap, but I don't know the specifics of your system).
I was about to say the same. It’ll almost certainly have a dry sump with a separate tank that’ll probably look like a large beer can with, at a guess, 5l capacity

Julian Thompson

2,586 posts

244 months

Sunday 6th December 2020
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Hi George

Congratulations on your purchase - will we see the car about next year? What chassis is it and what is it’s story?

Sorry I’ve not appeared sooner - I really need to update my RC threads.

The car is wet sump (it has the same transverse layout as the donor remember) and you’re right, it doesn’t have a dipstick but it does have a dipstick tube which you unplug and...

What you should have with your spares package is a long wobbly dipstick for use in the pits. I’m sure that if you check the catalogue for Peugeot Sport there is a good chance it’ll still be available.