1989 Peugeot 205 XE

[Mike]

I've not done a readers ride thread in a while, but I think I might be keeping this one for a while.

Its a Peugeot 205 XE, so its pretty basic. Its got the 954cc engine, 4-speed box and zero standard equipment.

As it was when I bought it:



And how it looks now... Not much different really! Just cleaned lots, oiled the plastics and relocated the front reg plate. I've replaced the drivers side window channel as the glass fell into the door at the MoT.





It does have the seats from an XS though (at least I think they are).



All I've done so far is fitted different steel wheels in the interests of safety...



And fitted coilovers to the front (and not wound them down very much...). The ride is a little on the firm side though, so I might have to re-think that. Plans at the moment are limited as its my only car, but once i've got something else to bomb about in I'd like to pop a bigger engine of some sort in this one. Not really thought exactly what yet tho.

[Colonelk]

heh, there was me expecting it to have a certain vauxhall engine in it Looks cool though, look forward to development

[darrenh]

Aug 20, 2013 14:17:15 GMT Colonelk said:

heh, there was me expecting it to have a certain vauxhall engine in it

bah, got me too !

[joem83]

Looks nice that, seats & wheels look to be from an XS

[lucas1amps]

same seats i had in my xs very comfy! nice car

[Deleted]

too high.......and the difference those wheels make is amazing

[mattg]

Looks great! What size is that front plate and where did you get it from. Could do with one of those to fit in the gap for mine.

[Mike]

Cheers for the comments, its a nice clean base to start off with.

Aug 21, 2013 18:43:21 GMT mattg said:

Looks great! What size is that front plate and where did you get it from. Could do with one of those to fit in the gap for mine.

Its a standard plate cut down with a hacksaw, I trimmed about 20mm off each end so that it'll fit in the plate recess. Then I filed the corners round so there were no sharp edges. The front plate position is something that really bugs me about 205s.

[dumbiron]

What did you use on the bumpers ? they look great.

[Mike]

Aug 21, 2013 20:31:11 GMT dumbiron said:

What did you use on the bumpers ? they look great.

I used Boiled Linseed Oil. Much better than back to black, and this stuff works a treat on faded plastics, and lasts quite well. Oh, and I added some chrome trim to cover a couple of bits of damage.

[mattg]

Aug 21, 2013 20:13:42 GMT Mike said:

Cheers for the comments, its a nice clean base to start off with.

Aug 21, 2013 18:43:21 GMT mattg said:

Looks great! What size is that front plate and where did you get it from. Could do with one of those to fit in the gap for mine.

Its a standard plate cut down with a hacksaw, I trimmed about 20mm off each end so that it'll fit in the plate recess. Then I filed the corners round so there were no sharp edges. The front plate position is something that really bugs me about 205s.

Thanks mate, I may try the same. The recess bugs me too. You are fortunate in that you have a "1" in your plate. All my numbers are wide ones if you see what I mean so there isn't much I can trim off.

[easty86]

Love the base model 205's mate! It all starts off as just a bit of lowering and tidying up then this happens.....

[Deleted]

as I said on another thread....1 of my favourite threads on here is a 899cc fiat cinquecento...its not a sporting or anything fancy...just a base model....but what the guy has done...its amazing

you don't need a T.O.T.R. car with a stonking engine to be cool.....and this 205 falls into the same catagory

[Mike]

The XE has been doing sterling work as my daily for the last 6 months, but there are a few bits that need attending to (wheel bearings, top mounts and some other bits and bobs), so it'll be coming off the road soon. The overtly-stiff coilovers have highlighted every little thing thats not 100% on the front end.



And it'll be replaced by this:



Another 1989 Peugeot 205! This one is a GL tho, and has a whopping 1124cc engine.





It's nice and tidy, has an awesome reg plate, and only needs a couple of little bits for the MoT. Some of which will be donated by this:



My third Peugeot 205... Starting to think i might have a problem... This one has already donated some bits for mine.

The plan is to get the white one on the road for as little outlay as poss, then get the XE in the garage for excessive lowering and an engine swap.

[rlloyd91]

Love the start of this thread, will be keeping a eye on this! I have always loved the 205, especially the non gti models!

[Matt Hesketh]

Getting some serious want for a 205 at the moment, i'm loving these low spec models.

[Matt Hesketh]

Getting some serious want for a 205 at the moment, i'm loving these low spec models.

[Mike]

*Boring Update*

I've been out in the cold fitting new track rod ends and an exhaust backbox to the white car today, what a pain in the ass that was... Still, done now.

Progress shot:



That's the MoT fail points sorted, just need to get it booked in for a re-test now.

[gavs1]

love these old french fancies, spesh the phase 1 models, i had a more door gt b reg with a 1360 lump on twin choke and it used 2 keep up with everything on the track
on oe carb not long after this race i put a twin choke carb from a cvh

painted yellow and finished in the top 4 against much bigger engines

[Mike]

So on Monday morning, full of god-awful manflu, I walked out to the car to go to work and found this:



Aren't people great? They really are just brill. Luckily I found an Ebay seller with a window locally, got it bought and changed that day. Slightly better.

Just to add insult to injury I lost my job on Friday, so have had to temporarily change car plans. No engine change for now, but I figured I may as well press on with the other stuff, hey?! Damn right.

So I lowered the beam on the scrap car as much as I dared and test fitted my wheels.



Ok, so that'll work The extra weight of interior/doors and stuff on the XE will bring that arch gap down too. Front next!