1989 205 XLD Diesel. Hello Smurf.

[V8Tej]

Oct 11, 2016 10:07:54 GMT stevietuck said:

Thanks mate they are great cars eh.
Yours is looking good.
I need to decide what I'm going to do with my gti valance now. I cant match the blue paint because its sunbleached, so I'm thinking I will have to go for grey, like the bumpers.
cheers steve.

They are quirky little fun machines that's for sure. I like how it feels fun to drive even with only 60 bhp. It feels like it corners on rails but in reality, I know my much bigger and heavier Merc can go round the same corners at much higher speeds but you don't get the sense of speed. I think the shape of the 205 just gets better by the day and it won't be long before they are bonafide classics. I often get thumbs up from other drivers so their image has improved over recent years it seems.

IMHO, I think you should try and match the paint for the GTI valance. They really need to be body colour to get the full effect and it actually changes the overall shape of the car due to having 'more' bodywork. It's your car afterall but I would try and get a paint shop to mix up a close as possible match. You won't regret it I think the original valances look worse than they are due to being grey rather than body colour. Some models did of course have the standard valances in body colour and they don't look too bad for it. I think it makes all the difference

[stevietuck]

V8Tej I think your right about the body colour for the valence. There are some rust scabs at the top of the windscreen that need sorting out. I will have to try and match the paint for them so I may as well try and get some and give it a go.
I'm just not confident that it will actually match lol!
Cheers steve.

[stevietuck]

grifterkid Cheers mate.
Lowering the front was just lowering springs, for the rear, I would recommend that you google welshpugs guide. It gives step by step instructions with pics, and tells you how to rebuild the beam ( new bearings/shafts ) and how to lower it. Its a really good guide, cheers welshpug
I found it easier to get the beam apart off the car, the torsion bars can be a pig to get out, I needed heat to get one out and couldn't do it on the car because its right next to the plastic fuel filler neck.
I'm really pleased with the ride height now.
Cheers steve.

[V8Tej]

Oct 11, 2016 12:31:22 GMT stevietuck said:

V8Tej I think your right about the body colour for the valence. There are some rust scabs at the top of the windscreen that need sorting out. I will have to try and match the paint for them so I may as well try and get some and give it a go.
I'm just not confident that it will actually match lol!
Cheers steve.

I remember years ago there used to be paint shops who would mix up the exact shade and even put it in to a can for you. This was about 18 years ago and they used to be about £8 for a fairly large can at the time. They are probably more like £20 a can these days (if you can find them) but still cheaper than getting them painted. My Wheels and Valances were painted with the same 2 pack paint and even they are very, very slightly different shade even though the paint code and swatches were matched. You can't tell which should hopefully be the same result for you

[stevietuck]

V8Tej I live in the north of Scotland,so don't have a lot of paint suppliers to chose from. There is a place in Inverness ( about 25 miles away) that say that they can scan my paint and mix some up for me. Only thing is they can't put it in a spray can, so I'd need to get someone to spray it for me.
If the paint doesn't match well it could all be a waste of money. Maybe I could try brush painting something to see if it matches before paying someone to spay the valence.
Then there is the ghosting lol! what do I do about that? All I can think of is getting more graphics to cover it with, but cant find anything I like.
Any ideas?
Cheers steve.

[V8Tej]

What's the ghosting bit about? Sorry I can't remember and had a quick look through the pages but couldn't find it.

I see your issue about the paint. You can't rush this. Just take your time and do some research/planning before you go ahead. I suppose I take it for granted with all the shops/service round my way. Even more so as my brother is a sprayer! Downside to this is that I don't always get the stuff back quick. My Rallye arches are still not done....

[stevietuck]

V8Tej The ghosting is from when I removed the graphics from down the sides and back...








Its from where the paint has been protected from the sun by the vinyl. Maybe what I need to do is try cutting the paint somewhere out of sight to see if it will come back to the greenie blue colour its supposed to be, or if its bleached right through. I don't know how paint works lol! so don't really know if this is likely or not.
The thing is though I really like the sun bleached colour it is now, and i'm not that keen on the colour its supposed to be.
I did think about getting more graphics to cover the ghosting, something like this....





That one is ok but I think its too modern for a 205, and wont suit it.
Cheers steve.

[V8Tej]

I think that should polish out no? Mine had 'INCA' stripes and similar text on bootlid. I lived with it for a bit and then got excited with some polish one day and they are now gone. If you looked very carefully, in a particular light and at a particular angle you may still see some feint pattern but it's not easy to see. I suppose it's harder to see in white. Have you had a go with T-Cut or similar? Even a good polish would work so save time on cutting first and then polishing.

I see what you mean about the faded colour actually looking better. I agree certainly from looking at the photos. I also agree that those stripes in your pic are too modern for it. Maybe you could create your own design on it? There is a chap on here with a White BMW E28 518i who did such a thing. This one:

retrorides.proboards.com/thread/185700/518i-road-queen-square-pics

May be an idea?

[jamesv]

I may have missed something, but surely if you get the car mopped (machine polished) then it'll cut the paint back to the original colour, no ghosting, and no colour matching issues? Probably find your local bodyshop, or valeting guy (I know you're in the back of beyond, but they must exist up there) will do it for about £50 or so...

[stevietuck]

Yeah Rich's bmw looks really good
I'm in no great rush to do anything with the paint, to be honest I'm really lazy at bodywork stuff because I hate doing it. In fact I only washed the smurf for the second time the other day

[stevietuck]

jamesv the only thing you may have missed is how horible the original colour is

[Tired Drew]

stevietuck just caught up on your thread over the last couple of nights, car is looking really good, always fancied a 205. Also love the wheels, you did a great job on them

Looking forward to seeing what's next for the Smurf!

All the best,

Andrew

[stevietuck]

Tired Drew Cheers mate.
Got a few jobs that need doing, wheel bearing, engine mount, but its my birthday so they wont get done till next week

[stevietuck]

Went and got this a few weeks ago....





Thats the turbo engine. I've done nothing at all with it yet other that stick it in my mate garage.
The smurf has been problem free since my last update, well by problem free I mean it only has the same problems as it had at the last update.
Its due its mot next month so I need to get it up on my mates ramp and give it the once over.
Thanks for looking steve.

[ToolsnTrack]

A fully reliable car is still a valid update. Go Smurf!

[stevietuck]

Well with the mot due at the end of the month I thought I better get on and do the lower engine mount and p/s/f wheel bearing that I hadn't bothered to do over the winter months.
My mate Sandy let me use a ramp last Saturday, so once the wheel bearing was done it was on to the engine mount. This is when I found the water leak that had been hiding from me for the last few months. Just above the lower engine mount there is a plastic junction where three water pipes connect.One of the jubilee clips was knackered and wasn't holding water so with that changed its now watertight again.I was really pleased to find this water leak as id looked for it a few times but could never find it. It wasn't a massive amount of water loss but there was always a 50p sized puddle when i pulled away. Anyway all sorted now and mot booked for Tuesday, wish me luck.
Cheers steve.

[mattiwagon]

Good luck mr Tuck!🤞

[s1105117]

Good luck indeed sir!

I hate MOT's,in ten years of driving I have never had a car pass first time, so hopefully you will be better than me! to be fair your pug looks very smart, and should these testers should appreciate it!   though this thread makes me look on ebay too much! 

[grifterkid]

Good luck with the MOT sir...

These 205's are bloody brilliant cars aren't they?!

I will await the good news...!!!

[ToolsnTrack]

Love a cheap win on a job, no better feeling when you fix it yourself as well.

Good luck with the ticket hunt!