Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

As above. Looking at getting one of these as a fun car. Will have around 1.5-2K to find one. Is there that much difference between the 1.6 and 1.9 in terms of driver enjoyment?

What are the main things to watch out for? Will have around £1500 to play with and it hasn't got to be a showroom example. As long as everything works, i'll have fun! Is these a reason amount?

All info and views appreciated.

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

Had the 1.6 version, dropped a 1.9 engine and box in it, and from what I gather on my very brief spurts in it, was that there was noticeably more power from the 1.9. This may have just been a placebo effect though


There is a cracking one for sale in the Essex section atm

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

This one?

https://www.scoobynet.com/private-sa...05-1-9gti.html

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

Thats the one,

CrisPDuk

I've never driven a 1.6 but the 1.9 in my opinion almost proves that it is definitely possible to have too much power


My heart belongs to these though:

Dream Weaver

1.6 handles better than the 1.9 and is defo more chuckable, not much in it performance wise.

Mine was quick and fun when it had the 160bhp Mi16 engine, it now has a 200bhp Mi16 engine and is a bit too quick at times.

£1500 will get you a decent one, but you will have to spend money on it to keep it going. I renewed all my suspension stuff last year and it cost over £1600 to do that, and that was using a second hand main suspension kit (albeit only 6 months old).

Look out for the rear beam and make sure it isnt seized, can cost up to £300 to sort it. Engines are easily replaced so make sure it has good bodywork, and check for rust around the front, mainly near the suspension - not many do rust but some do.

92 on models suffer from paint fade and lacquer peel.

Join 205gtidrivers.com, superb forum.

Tobisausage

I had a 1.6, they are fun cars indeed but it felt like it was made out of paper and it wasnt that fast (nippy yeah, but not fast). You have to remember they are very old cars now and finding one that has been looked after properly is hard.

A lot went wrong with it, rear drum exploded, coolant pipe exploded dumping everything from the radiator onto the motoway, gear linkage ball joint broke (fun being stuck in 5th not), dizzy had a mind of its own (went through 2 before it started when I wanted it to), most wheels leaked air depending on what position you parked it in and the mud flaps kept falling off.

I would also suggest inducing the lift off oversteer in a safe environment so you know what it feels like.

Dream Weaver

On the contrary, I've had a quite a few GTI's and an XS now and had nothing majorly wrong with any of them.

Providing you look after them properly they will go on for years, my current fully rebuilt example is ultra reliable.

Plus they are cheap to look after once you have a good one - £80 for front discs/pads, £140 for 4 Yoko tyres, easy to find replacement gearboxes, engines etc.

Although mine has cost me £8k to fully rebuild (all parts replaced), after 4 years its still worth £5k ish so has good depreciation, and it costs me about £60-80 a month to run including MOT, tax, servicing and insurance - insurance is only £350 FC with all mods declared.

LOO is good fun, use Druids at Oulton in the wet to safely practice it

Tobisausage

This is the problem though, finding one that has been properly looked after. Mine obviously had'nt been even though I had a tonne of service history.

Steve Whitehorn

iTrader: (13)

Having owned both.
The 1.6 was the better all round car as a complete package.
the 1.9 was a bit quicker.
A well set up 1.6 is what I would go for.

Petem95

I've owned a few 205 GTi's including a couple of 1.9's, a 1.6 and a 1.9 Turbo.

IMO the 1.6 wasn't that impressive - performance felt quite a lot down on the 1.9's and I didn't notice the handling being any better myself.

If you get a 1.9 take it to a garage with Bosch diagnostics kit and get them to get it setup after changing oil and plugs etc. This made a massive difference to all the 1.9's I had.

Still by far the best cars I've ever driven - best of all being the standard 1.9 IMO.

NUTTYNICK

Great little cars to have. I had one before releasing it to the wild and getting a new 'family' car.

Like DreamWeaver says, get on the 205gtidrivers forum and search search search.

Same things as all old cars really, oil leaks blah blah blah. Worst thing is the rear beam. If it's worn out, then your'e looking at a good scrapyard replacement with new parts from a Pug dealer (£180 for parts less labour).

I once wrote a natty little guide on sorting the rear beams out

Cheap to sort out handling wise (ie tame that oversteer slightly). Masses of parts available and a huge amount of experience on a well run, if not strict site. My preference really.

The 1.9 is a better base model to work on. Mi engines are pretty good but will need a rebuild and those that have been rebuilt, need to be done properly. There are new and better methods of engine replacement now though. Getting over 190BHP from a 405 Mi is either very expensive, far fetched or the usual rolling road saga.

I did a lot of development with the torsion and anti roll bars before they were released to the tuning companies. Suspension on these things was my love and I must have spent a lot of money of trying all sorts of things out.

It's the only car I've felt sad about selling, despite knowing that it needed to go.

Get one!!

Dream Weaver

Damn right, my rebuilt engine with Piper 270 cams, ported/flowed head etc cost £1700 to build, throttle bodies (home made by me, GSXR750) were over £700, ECU, loom etc were over £1200 etc etc

Result is 199bhp, and a 205 that is too fast

bob r

iTrader: (46)

I had the 1.6 then the 1.9.

They were both extremely reliable and back in the day I thought they were very quick. The 1.9 was marginally quicker but they both sounded really tappety, which is how they all sound imo.

I lowered the 1.9 which meant adjusting the rear torsion bar to suit the front springs and after it handled like a dream. I do miss it.

StudentScooby

1.9 with a 1.6 gearbox!

NUTTYNICK

I remember following your posts, and you know from experience.

I had the 1.6 box on my Mi with the Mi 5th gear installed. Massive drop from fourth to fifth but it made motorway cruising bearable.

Besides, all the fun with these 16valve engines was in the first four gears really (back roads at least, track days a little different)

ScoobyJawa

Buy a 1.6 and you'll always want the One-Nine - theres so little in it the extra's on the 1.9 and extra power makes it the choice to have.

By modern standards neither are particularly fast either - bloody great fun though.

dome

I'd go with the above, although if a good 1.6 comes along I'd take it, you can always have the 1.9/mi16 engine fitted at a later date.

I've had a few of these, my last one a couple of years ago had full history and 170k mile on it. Seemed in good nick and well looked after, however after a few "enthusiastic" B road blasts a crack appeared in the front strut top

Go for body condition above anyhing else, you can bolt new bits onto a good shell but a bad shell will be a world of pain!

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

And if you look at a 1.9 in particular, boot it, lift off and look out the back for smoke. If i remember right they had a bit of a thing for valve stem seals...

5t.

rb5_336

I have 1.9 8v as a track car. There are some great psots on the drivers forums regarding what to look for rust wise, worth taking seriously.

What ever you buy it will no doubt need work, so get ready to geat your hands dirty

track-monkey.co.uk

ScoobyJawa

They do, though find a good mech who knows his stuff and its an easy none expensive job now

projectsubaru

Id say 1.9 remeber the main difference between the two is the length of stroke and a slighty higher compression in 1.6 engines. Get the 1.9 look out for h/gaskets, stem seals exhausts have a tendancy to crack, dodgey idling can be lumpy, starter motors have a tendancy to go often but all in all there cheap to repair and most jobs can be done by a half competant DIY mechanic.

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Would a 106 or 306 gti be a better bet then?

Bald Speed Racing

im just bout to drop a 1.9 lump in my 1.6 shell as my timing belt snapped the other week. so yeh 1.9 lump running on a 1.6 gearbox breathing thru some weber 40's or machined out to 45's if needed

rob878

This is my current project car, soon to be on the road, from the little blasts i've had running on 40's it is a right giggle.

projectsubaru

Here a picture of my 205s engine bay

MrJim

I,ve had both and i think the 1.6 is much better than 1.9 and handles better Jim.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

If you can get your mitts on a good one, try a 309 GTI, not quite as fast but still damn good fun and usually cheaper, 1500 quid will get you a fairly good goodwood nowerdays, but if your still after a 205 then the 1.9, ensure there is no play in the rear beam, only a few hundred quid to fix but you will feel it whilst driving (that goes for pretty much any pug, rear beams are a pain )

Tony

ukdave

Sister had a 1.6 yrs ago an never rated it would have to be the 1.9 for me-mate had one yrs ago an were just a good allrounder gears just seemed to go an go, had a series 2 escort RST at the time(std-ish) 205 just made it look daft.

Mates got a 205 with a mi16 in it he bought recently, its in bodyshop at the mo but all bein well we`re building bk up at the weekend when he gets it bk after full respray pics as it were-

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...0today0018.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...6/DSC01123.jpg

Dream Weaver

Here's mine as it is for now: