1985 Gr Low Mileage

[I'm-no-mechanic 3 3 Cars]

Last month my 1987 205GL failed it's mot so I've put my lovely little 1998 205 generation back on the road.

 

Anyway, I'd been looking for another phase one car for parts to sort out my GL and last week i took delivery of a 1985 GR. I only saw a few pics of it before it arrived, but as I only wanted it for spares and the price was good I figured there was nothing to lose. Anyhow, it's arrived and is better than I could of expected, for a start it only has 67k miles, 20k less than I was told, interior is near perfect, original mats. From reading this forum it seems 1985 and earlier 205s are pretty rare, not only have they got time against them but they were more susceptible to rust, is this true?

 

It has rust on the wings and a bit on the arches, doesn't appear too bad underneath but haven't had a proper look yet, some rust around the rear window too, but it has evidently been garaged, tale tale signs on the boot of the tailgate catching on a garage door, had that on my very first 205 as well, I'm waiting for the v5 to see how many owners it's had but it appears to have been with the same chap since at least 1990.

 

So I'm going to try moting it as the mot lapsed a year ago, but it seems too good to use for spares, I can upload some pics on the weekend, but I'd be interested to hear what people think on this car and whether I should spend money restoring her?

[I'm-no-mechanic 3 3 Cars]

I don't know whether I possibly posted this on the wrong bit of the forum, being new. Moderators, if you think it would be better posted elsewhere then please move. Thanks.

Would appreciate some thoughts on these early phase one 205s.

[Leslie green 81]

Anything pre 1987 wasn't galvanised so can suffer very badly from rot but galvanised cars rot too though just not as badly (usually) , an 85 car will be 22 years old now and the cars left will be disappearing very rapidly once they fail mot so there won't be many left in a couple of years . Id get it moted and see what's needed ,only you can decide if its worth restoring as it will cost as much as a gti to restore but will be worth far far less when complete .

[Gaz205 50]

**32 years old now**

[Leslie green 81]

You right and it only seems a short while ago too !!! these cars are getting proper old now ...

Edited April 18, 2017 by Leslie green

[Mikey S 29 1 Cars]

I cut my teeth on these cars and you could still walk into a pug dealer and buy a new 205.......Man i feel old!

 

I'd be interested to see some photos of all of your old 205's.

 

Mike

[I'm-no-mechanic 3 3 Cars]

Only a few more years and they'll be tax free!

 

Thanks for your replies, I will keep you posted, I'll try to upload some picks of my 205s once I'm back home. The galvanising definitely shows as my 1987 GL with 148k miles, more than double this GR, has no rust at all.

[griffo 15 1 Cars]

Anything pre 1987 wasn't galvanised so can suffer very badly from rot but galvanised cars rot too though just not as badly (usually) , an 85 car will be 22 years old now and the cars left will be disappearing very rapidly once they fail mot so there won't be many left in a couple of years . Id get it moted and see what's needed ,only you can decide if its worth restoring as it will cost as much as a gti to restore but will be worth far far less when complete .

 

Hi, I'd like to know a bit more about this 'galvanised' aspect that I have seen mentioned on occasions.

 

Looking at the Peugeot brochures from the beginning they seem to suggest that the same anti-corrosion and paint processes were used through out the 205 production years and offered 6 year anti-corrosion warranties.

[I'm-no-mechanic 3 3 Cars]

Here's another old girl, low miles, but backing up the non-galvanised theory. Shame it hadn't been looked after properly in the last three years as sounds like it would of been great, still probably a good buy for anyone who wants one:

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/peugot-205-XR-1985-LOW-MILES-37K-GENUINE-/222484634715?nav=SEARCH

What do you think?

[griffo 15 1 Cars]

Here's another old girl, low miles, but backing up the non-galvanised theory. Shame it hadn't been looked after properly in the last three years as sounds like it would of been great, still probably a good buy for anyone who wants one:

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/peugot-205-XR-1985-LOW-MILES-37K-GENUINE-/222484634715?nav=SEARCH

What do you think?

 

'One swallow does not a summer make' or even two.

 

I'd be interested know if this corrosion aspect is peculiar to the UK but with the salting of roads across Europe in winter, I'm not surprised of corrosion in 25+ year old cars unless they have been garaged a lot of their life and meticulously cleaned if driven in these adverse conditions.

 

I wonder if there particularly bad winters and road salting in the mid 80s which accelerated corrosion or whether there were changes in the 'salting' mixture over time that might have had an effect on corrosion.

 

As I say, there is nothing in the PSA brochures across the complete 205 production period... well at least to '93 which is the last detailed brochure I have... that suggests changes to the level of corrosion protection and I would think if there were improvements then they would certainly highlight them.

 

Cheers

[I'm-no-mechanic 3 3 Cars]

Here, as promised are some pictures of this 1985 GR. As I said before I bought this for parts to do up my 1987 GL, but I'm now thinking of putting her through an MOT as she's better than I expected and has a lower mileage than I was told.

 

 

Both cars are currently in need of a bit of a clean, combination of birds and my cat who insists on climbing on them to sunbathe with muddy paws! Here's my GL looking a bit more presentable (plus my 1998 1.4 Generation in the back ground):

 

 

Before we get to the question of bodywork rust pre and post 1987 her are some pics of the interior of this 1985 girl, hadn't seen these chunky indicator sticks before:

 

 

 

note also the original mats, still there, front and back, after 32 years.

 

Here's the question then, why does this 1985 205 have so much more rust compared to my 1987 one?

 

Note the following:

 

Mileage: 1987: 148k, 1985: 67k

 

Owners: 1987: 5 1985: 3 (the second one of whom owned it from at least 1990 to late 2016, and there's evidence it was garaged for that period)

 

Both cars are very straight no indication of any major scrapes.

 

Lacquer Peel: 1987: typical patchy roof and sadly starting to spread. 1985: no lacquer peel but...

 

 

Both front wings are rough, and all the wheel arches have some rust, nothing at all on my 1987 GL. The boot is also suffering and there is a small patch of bubbling / rust on the roof.

 

 

However, it also seems to only have rust in certain places, I'd expected a rough boot, but was very pleasantly surprised when I peeled back the carpet, and the same with the recess under the rear seats (the picture of the boot is blurry, the boots a bit dirty but no rust at all):

 

 

 

There only seems to be one spot underneath that's suffering, I'd be interested in your thoughts on this, is this going to be an issue with an mot? The top surface has come off, the exposed area seems solid. Any thoughts much appreciated.

 

 

 

So, there you have it, ok, so there not GTI's, but these were and still are great little cars. It's a whole different kind of fun driving one of these early 205s, they don't go like my 1998 1.4, or your GTI's, but you really do feel like you're driving. Maybe it's just me, but they are a proper time warp and always put a smile on my face, turn up the stereo and let it bang out some 80's or 90's classics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gaz205 50]

Rust has Many factors, poor body work repair, spent time by the sea, hardly ever cleaned, and lack of basic maintenance. If you can keep them structurally sound then why not keep them both. Eventually if you see fit you could tackle any corrosion on the body work. A respray will more than likely exceed massively the value of the cars but 'patina' (if that's how you spell it) is a good look nowadays!

[toolie72 67 1 Cars]

Mates got a one previous owner '88 poverty spec (as well as the rally cars)

Had a shot in it and tbh it was a hoot, good fun and reminds me of the power the sunbeams etc that I used to tool about in had

My humble opinion is they should be kept going, somebody must have the time/space etc to commit to them

 

Unrestored versions of any disappearing car will always get a thumbs up from me

 

Vauxhalls of that age if they were metallic rotted, if solid colour it faded badly (but less rust)

Maybe it's simply paint that changed mid 80's in europe?

[Leslie green 81]

That spot underneath where its rusting is where someone has thought it was a jacking point (it isn't and bends very easily ) get it sanded down and some underseal on it before it becomes a problem ,if its sound it will pass mot .Mine has been jacked there and flattened it .

Cars from 1987 are " supposed" to be galvanised ,I have no proof of this but they in general seem to be far less rusty than other cars of the same era ,my 1991 car seems to have hardly any rust on first inspection , one little piece on the passenger inner wing behind the washer bottle where they all seem to go as water lies in the seam ,you would expect most cars that age to be proper rotten !

Laquer peel was very common on metallic peugeots on the roof ,the paint just wasn't very durable at that time.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Leslie green

[GLPoomobile 958]

When I was looking for my first car, which I guess would have been around 1997 ish, my dad and I went to view a local 205. IIRC it was a D reg 1.4, can't remember what trim level or if 3 or 4 door. It was rotten as a very rotten thing. It would have been about 10 years old then. The passenger floor had had a big bit cut out and re-plated due to severe rust there, to get it through an MOT, but as soon as my dad started poking and pulling at bits it was just crumbling apart. The sills were a total mess.

 

That car was at the time being sold in Exmouth, which is a coastal town, so we always put that experience down to it being badly affected by the salty moist coastal conditions. But I'm sure being an earlier non galv model was a big factor in that as plenty of later 205s have lived and survived far better in coastal areas.

[I'm-no-mechanic 3 3 Cars]

Thanks for your replies, appreciate the point that rust is going to be due to a multitude of factors, but, whatever the reason, there seem to be few cars pre 1987 D, and those that are left seem to be suffering with rust even though they may have very low mileage and of been garaged.

 

Thanks Leslie green for your insight on the patch under the car, I will deal with that if it gets through the mot.

 

Re keeping them both, I'd love to, but I got enough flack when I had two 205s, after all "you can only drive one at a time", three is going to be really pushing it, particularly as we're going to need a bigger family car and, ideally, these wouldn't be out on the winter roads.

 

Be interested if anyone has thoughts on patina, if that's a way to proceed.

[Gaz205 50]

Re patina - if it was a GTI then personally no. A lesser model hell yes!! Aslong as the car is structurally safe I think it'd be a good look. Please don't go for the vw 'euro' look of silly roof rack and stretched rims though haha