RE: Spotted: Peugeot 309 GTI

[Angry Paul]

I always liked the 309 GTI, in fact I preferred it to the 205. I recall being a passenger in one a friend had in the early 90's, it seemed to go everywhere flat out. Frightening but happy memories!

[J4CKO]

furtive said:

I had a 390 "Look" in my youth. It looked like a GTi from a distance if you squinted - it was black with red stripes, but it only had a tiny engine and skinny tyres.

I had a white one of those, my dad bought it for £104 from a salvage yard as it had a bent bonnet/grille, he rapired it and I had it as was skint, I loved that car, the handling was pure comedy on 13 inch ditchfinders, I found them to be a cheerful sort of thing, rattly old Simca engine in the front, lot more space than a 205 than a 205 as well, I dont think they look that bad myself, the "Look" model even got a Spandau ballet themed advert "Thats the Look, Thats the Look, the Look of lurrruve, yeah yeah yeah" etc.

As for this one, yes please, a chap I worked with inherited a load of money aged 18 and bought one and he scared us silly as he couldnt drive it properly, he did fast and safe but not at the same time, he spent most of his inheritance on Stereo equipment abd turned it into a sort of mobile Disco.

[vtr_driver]

X5TUU said:

very odd coincidence since a white 309 rallye (thats what it looked like anyways) passed me this morning in Newcastle! very dated but classic french ... although I am a biased french obsessive

A 5 door one with white steels and the Peugeot Sport Stripes on the Grille. I know of the chap who owns that. Its a 1.9 NA diesel.

[wal 45]

I had a Goodwood 3 door pre cat engined GTI a few years back and frankly hated the thing despite it being a newish car then and being far from a ropey example.

Never gelled with it and knew I'd made a mistake within a couple of weeks of buying it, put up with it for about a year before getting rid. Got sucked in by my previous Pug experience and the lavish praise the car mags always gave the 309GTI, really should have been my type of car as well.

As anti PH as it is to say I could never ever recommend one of these things, sorry..

[Itsallicanafford]

...mmmh, not for me, i spent my £1700.00 on a Mk1 MX-5 1800. I think i could out-drag this on the straights as well as pulling away in the corners...

(...lights blue touch paper, stands well back)

EDIT. just checked, the 309 only weights 930Kg!...Please ignor my comment above, i'm talking out of my arse...

Edited by Itsallicanafford on Thursday 6th September 13:04

[ShawCrossShark]

Lovely. We used to run a 205 1.6GTI which had the 309 rear beam and went round corners like it was on rails. To be fair we also had a stage 3 head and twin dellorto's on it rather than injection

We also ran a 309GTI with a modded Mi16 block in it at one point as well

Definitely preferred the 309. We even survived a pretty big off in it at Binbrook which left it with a couple of wheels missing

[LewisR]

Itsallicanafford said:

...mmmh, not for me, i spent my £1700.00 on a Mk1 MX-5 1800. I think i could out-drag this on the straights as well as pulling away in the corners...

(...lights blue touch paper, stands well back)

I've owned a Mk1 MX5 and loved it ('89 G plate 1600) and I'm generally not a fan of hot hatches but i'd be surprised if the MX5 was faster in a straight line than the 309.

TBH, this 309 GTi is the first time I've seen a French hatchback and not wanted to stick it in the crusher. I like the chunky rear lights & the long rear side glass.

[pSyCoSiS]

Thats looks like a very cool car, and definitely worth the money given it's history and condition.

[badasscalypso]

My brother had one of these, was only 6 years old at the time... utter p.o.s forever failing in various ways, had many workouts having to push start it, as for having one all these years down the line... not with someone elses bargepole!

[Baz Tench]

I had a three door version on an E plate back in '96. It wasn't the best example, turned out it had been clocked, and the headgasket was shot, but it was still so good to drive! A great, balanced chassis (oh yeah, and the rear beam used to knock too, to add to its faults), but I still loved the thing. I was so gutted when someone sideswiped me one day and wrote it off

[mr_fibuli]

That takes me back... my first car was a D-Reg 309 1.3 GL, in the same cherry red. I upgraded to GTI spec bumpers using some red electrical tape

I think this was the only Peugeot of the period not to be designed by Pininfarina, with styling handled instead by Talbot, hence the boxy looks. The engine in my 1.3 was also a Talbot derived pushrod relic.

At the time the 309 GTI, or the similarly unloved Renault 19 Chamade 16v were my dream cars.

[Rob_the_Sparky]

I've had several 205GTis over the years (still one run amongst other things much faster) and also had a 309 GTi for a while. It is barely any slower than the 205 on the straight but handles better in the corners. Trouble is, they rust. A lot of 205s are incredibly rust free but the 309s were clearly not built at the same place and rust like buggers underneath. They also have several suspension parts coveted by 205 owners so any sniff of a rusty one and they get broken.

I bet they are a rare beast now but if in good condition and a careful eye were kept on the rust then they are great cars to drive. However, the dash isn't nice and Pug plastics aren't great. Even a die hard Peugeot GTi fan can't deny that!

If I had the time/space for another car a 309 could well figure as an addition to the fleet.

[aw51 121565]

ZesPak said:

marshall100 said:

And isn't the rear window like rocking horse pooh to get a replacement for?

Maybe, but when would you need a replacement rear windshield?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and as far as '80s cars go, I don't think this looks that bad.

The rear hatchback glass is bolted directly to the roof - the glass is the top half of the rear hatch - then the bottom half of the hatch is bolted on to the glass. No metal between the bottom of the hatch and the roof on Phase 1s; this was rectified in the Phase 2s which are conventionally engineered in this area.

The connectors for the heated rear window are also known to fall off and are the devil's own job to refix. Using heat (soldering iron) often leads to the glass shattering a few days later - just after a long enough gap to make one dissociate the two events.

SO the rear glass is a potential issue, but not enough of one to put me off owning a 309SR and using it most days .

Could fancy a GTI, but 5 door for me please .

[Munich]

LesKellet said:

Beware of slipping clutches. And yes, also more of a scream with the 405 Mi16 lump installed - a lot of enthusiasts did this in the UK

Peugeot sold the 309 with the MI16 engine in it and was called the, GTI16. Unfortunately it was only sold in LHD. click here.

[ringweekends]

Can we please stop this talk of Mi16 conversions.

Don't forget - a 405 died every time that happened, breaks my heart .....

[GruntyDC5]

PatrickOUFC said:

Been browsing a bit now and found this one in even better nick

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1990-Peugeot-309-1-9-GTI...

Debadged though....

It's also a 5 door so doesn't look as good to my eyes.

[CampDavid]

ringweekends said:

Can we please stop this talk of Mi16 conversions.

Don't forget - a 405 died every time that happened, breaks my heart .....

Or a BX16v. Criminal.

Anyway.

309 GTI looks tasty. Much want. Need to get shot of something first

[steviegunn]

Loved mine, superb drive, 309GTi shod with Yoko A008 tyres and a dry, twisty country road = heaven.

I preferred it's coupe(ish) looks over the 205.

[Limpet]

Rob_the_Sparky said:

Trouble is, they rust. A lot of 205s are incredibly rust free but the 309s were clearly not built at the same place and rust like buggers underneath.

Weren't the 309s built in the UK, at Ryton?

[R0B.]

Robmarriott said:

There's s reason people use the 309 rear beam on the 205, it's s much better drive.

Or because the 309 has a wider track.