Too many 205s - 205 Rallye & GTI
Discussion
I’ve been a long time reader of Pistonheads, but never got around to starting my own Readers Rides. There seems to have been quite a bit of interest in 205s recently, so thought I would start a thread on my pair. I’ll start with adding a bit of history on both, maybe then going into a bit of detail of each before keeping the thread updated with happenings going forward.
Peugeot 205 Rallye
I’ve owned this car since 2009, so a lot has changed since then, but I’ve tried to make it what I believe the UK 205 Rallye should have been. Its widely known that the UK Rallye was a bit of a marketing exercise, and nothing like the Euro spec with its lovely twin Webers, but the car still had quite a lot of charm. When I bought it, the Rallye had been used as on hillclimbs by the previous owner, so had a few modifications already, namely a bit of engine work, fiberglass bonnet and the interior stripped out.
I was in Uni at the time, and using the car as a daily driver with the harnesses and no carpet got tiring very quickly, so a original interior was sourced and fitted (back when things like this were easy to get hold of!).
After this when I got a job and another daily (an Alfa 147 GTA), the Rallye was kept as a second car, this is when the modifications to turn it into the UK Rallye Peugeot should have made started happening. I started doing trackdays in it, so that led to the suspension getting upgraded, which went from just upgrading the dampers to some Bilstien B6, ended up mirroring the Euro Rallye spec with GTI front subframe, brakes and rear beam – what a difference!
I then purchased some twin Weber carbs from eBay, but on trying to fit realised they were for an alloy xs engine and modification to the engine mount would be needed. I’d found a custom made engine mount that would work through a member of the 205gtidrivers forum (an invaluable source of 205 info!), and by chance also mentioned he had the engine from his car for sale which had been written off due to an interior fire. This engine was made up of an alloy XS bottom end, with a Euro Rallye head and carbs. With the inlet already off mine, I decided why not go the whole way and change the engine! Turns out this was the best decision ever made, its running at around 115bhp (same as 1.6 GTIs) and makes such a fantastic noise – maybe because of the Webers pointing directly at the driver. This coupled with a rocking horse poo S1 106 Rallye gearbox with its short final drive makes for a great b-road blast!
A few years ago an already large scale project of fixing some rust in the engine bay turned into a full on engine out bay and underfloor restoration, so the bits you can't see are as clean as the bits you can now!
Many trackdays followed and started to get more serious. I felt like I was at the limit of the car in its current state, and started to get an itch for a faster more dedicated track car. Which leads me on to…..
Peugeot 205 GTI
It all started with a dilemma, should I modify the Rallye to make it a better track car, or sell up and get an out and out track car. Then I’d spotted this 205 for sale on eBay. It was a dedicated track car, but was for sale as a non-runner. It had been sat outside the guys house under a cover for over a year and his wife had had enough! It was agreed with the wife that I could get this 205, get it running, take it on a trackday, then decide if I wanted to keep it or the Rallye. I’d won the auction at an excellent price, so a quick detour to Kent on the way back to South Wales from Peppa Pig World (yeah its not on the way) confirmed that the car was there and worth having.
When I got it.
The spec of this car is quite something and has had a lot of money spent on it by previous owners. Mi16 on twin Webers, GAZ Gold suspension all round, upgraded torsion bars, roll cage etc etc. The non-running part was diagnosed down to a cracked fuel pipe – fuel wasn’t being drawn from the tank, such an easy fix!
The first trackday was an eye opener. So much faster than the Rallye, and very surprising what it keeps up with! The car had previously been trailered to and from the track, but with me driving it there and back, the noise and dis-comfort was unbearable. The next few years have been more trackdays, sorting niggles, improvements and adding back in a bit of comfort without taking too much away from the driving experience. Plans for the immediate future are to make it even more user friendly, and maybe even a slight decrease in suspension stiffness.
So far its been to Llandow, Pembrey, Castle Combe, Thruxton, Anglesey, Donington, Goodwood, Cadwell and Snetterton, with Oulton and Blyton planned for this year!
Interior now
I think these pair highlight that a good road car is compromised on track, and a good track car is terrible on the road. Surely thats good enough justification to keep both???
Peugeot 205 Rallye
I’ve owned this car since 2009, so a lot has changed since then, but I’ve tried to make it what I believe the UK 205 Rallye should have been. Its widely known that the UK Rallye was a bit of a marketing exercise, and nothing like the Euro spec with its lovely twin Webers, but the car still had quite a lot of charm. When I bought it, the Rallye had been used as on hillclimbs by the previous owner, so had a few modifications already, namely a bit of engine work, fiberglass bonnet and the interior stripped out.
I was in Uni at the time, and using the car as a daily driver with the harnesses and no carpet got tiring very quickly, so a original interior was sourced and fitted (back when things like this were easy to get hold of!).
After this when I got a job and another daily (an Alfa 147 GTA), the Rallye was kept as a second car, this is when the modifications to turn it into the UK Rallye Peugeot should have made started happening. I started doing trackdays in it, so that led to the suspension getting upgraded, which went from just upgrading the dampers to some Bilstien B6, ended up mirroring the Euro Rallye spec with GTI front subframe, brakes and rear beam – what a difference!
I then purchased some twin Weber carbs from eBay, but on trying to fit realised they were for an alloy xs engine and modification to the engine mount would be needed. I’d found a custom made engine mount that would work through a member of the 205gtidrivers forum (an invaluable source of 205 info!), and by chance also mentioned he had the engine from his car for sale which had been written off due to an interior fire. This engine was made up of an alloy XS bottom end, with a Euro Rallye head and carbs. With the inlet already off mine, I decided why not go the whole way and change the engine! Turns out this was the best decision ever made, its running at around 115bhp (same as 1.6 GTIs) and makes such a fantastic noise – maybe because of the Webers pointing directly at the driver. This coupled with a rocking horse poo S1 106 Rallye gearbox with its short final drive makes for a great b-road blast!
A few years ago an already large scale project of fixing some rust in the engine bay turned into a full on engine out bay and underfloor restoration, so the bits you can't see are as clean as the bits you can now!
Many trackdays followed and started to get more serious. I felt like I was at the limit of the car in its current state, and started to get an itch for a faster more dedicated track car. Which leads me on to…..
Peugeot 205 GTI
It all started with a dilemma, should I modify the Rallye to make it a better track car, or sell up and get an out and out track car. Then I’d spotted this 205 for sale on eBay. It was a dedicated track car, but was for sale as a non-runner. It had been sat outside the guys house under a cover for over a year and his wife had had enough! It was agreed with the wife that I could get this 205, get it running, take it on a trackday, then decide if I wanted to keep it or the Rallye. I’d won the auction at an excellent price, so a quick detour to Kent on the way back to South Wales from Peppa Pig World (yeah its not on the way) confirmed that the car was there and worth having.
When I got it.
The spec of this car is quite something and has had a lot of money spent on it by previous owners. Mi16 on twin Webers, GAZ Gold suspension all round, upgraded torsion bars, roll cage etc etc. The non-running part was diagnosed down to a cracked fuel pipe – fuel wasn’t being drawn from the tank, such an easy fix!
The first trackday was an eye opener. So much faster than the Rallye, and very surprising what it keeps up with! The car had previously been trailered to and from the track, but with me driving it there and back, the noise and dis-comfort was unbearable. The next few years have been more trackdays, sorting niggles, improvements and adding back in a bit of comfort without taking too much away from the driving experience. Plans for the immediate future are to make it even more user friendly, and maybe even a slight decrease in suspension stiffness.
So far its been to Llandow, Pembrey, Castle Combe, Thruxton, Anglesey, Donington, Goodwood, Cadwell and Snetterton, with Oulton and Blyton planned for this year!
Interior now
I think these pair highlight that a good road car is compromised on track, and a good track car is terrible on the road. Surely thats good enough justification to keep both???
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