Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

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eifion
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Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by eifion »

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I knew this van for a few years before I bought it as it was owned from new by a local woman. When she retired from driving she gave it to the local garage who had always serviced it. They'd then used it as a courtesy and staff car and while they'd looked after it mechanically, it was rarely washed and was full of rubbish.

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A few weeks ago my XM burst a hydraulic pipe and I took it to the garage for repairs. I was offered a Vauxhall Astra as a courtesy car but was given the van instead when I asked for it. Over the next few days I grew increasingly attached to it as I drove it to work and back. It was very different to drive from the automatic XM, but wasn't slow or uncomfortable and had noticeably better fuel consumption. When I went back to the garage a week later a deal was struck and I picked it up for a very reasonable price.

The first thing we did was tidy out and hoover the interior. The original owner had owned dogs and the carpets were full of dog hair. Next we jet washed it to get some of the long-term grime off the bodywork and to remove the field's worth of mud from under the wheel arches. We then gave it a T-cut and wax. The results were quite impressive and I took it to its first classic car show last weekend.

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There are a few faults with the van. It could do with a couple of new tyres, the exhaust is blowing a little and I suspect that the shock absorbers are past their best. The headlining is missing, too, having been removed by the garage when it got into a fairly unpleasant state. Having been owned by an elderly lady there are a number of minor bumps and scratches that will need to be sorted out but for a 27-year-old vehicle it's in pretty good condition. I plan to use it for commuting while generally improving its condition. It seems that there aren't many of these vans left so it'll be worth looking after.

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EDC5
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by EDC5 »

A few years ago (before I could drive on the road) I had the use of a 205 1.8 diesel as a "field car"... It was great. I even convinced my dad to take an angle grinder to everything north of the bonnet to make a convertible.... good times!

I hope you take considerably better care of yours :-D

The 205 and the XM must be on opposite ends of the PSA spectrum so I'm sure it's a bit of a shock to your system.
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CitroJim
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by CitroJim »

Excellent! Looking forward to reading all about this lovely little van!

Rare indeed... I know of a red one fairly local to me but I'm not sure it is presently on the road... It was under a sheet last time I saw it...
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red_dwarfers
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by red_dwarfers »

The owners of the local Peugeot specialist used to bomb around in 205s until around 5 years ago. The sister had a green N reg Inca diesel and the brother had a red van with twin amber lights mounted on the roof bars and recovery decals on the side. I recently learnt the bloke died which was a shame as he was a lovely chap, a proper character and always smiling.
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van ordinaire
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by van ordinaire »

Don't know about not many left, as far as I know, there weren't many in the first place.

Any knowledge/sightings of the other 2 versions?
Citroens:-
'81 2CV Club :cry:
'05 C15 :!:
'97 Xantia Exclusive estate [-o<
others:-
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ekjdm14
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

van ordinaire wrote: 15 Aug 2017, 22:06 Don't know about not many left, as far as I know, there weren't many in the first place.

Any knowledge/sightings of the other 2 versions?


Same here, the Mk3 Fiesta 1.8D van was much more commonplace. I really would like another 205 D and a van would be brilliant, wonder if I'll ever see one in the flesh though let alone own one?
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
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van ordinaire
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by van ordinaire »

Must admit I didn't even know we imported the vans - but then Pugs aren't really my thing (might've been different if a possible 205GTi hadn't, somehow, become a BMW 323i)
Citroens:-
'81 2CV Club :cry:
'05 C15 :!:
'97 Xantia Exclusive estate [-o<
others:-
Jeep XJ Cherokees x 3 :?
'96 Cadillac Eldorado
'99 Cadillac STS :|
& the numerous "abandoned projects" #-o
eifion
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by eifion »

One thing I've noticed since I bought the van is the rather sporty note from the exhaust. A quick look underneath showed a couple of small holes in the front downpipe near where the clamp is. Armed with two 13mm spanners and an 8mm allen key I quickly had the clamp off. A little poking with a screwdriver revealed the full extent of the holes (and a small third one) and a relative who can weld had them filled in ten minutes or so later. Back when I was a teenager I might have thought that a noisy exhaust was impressive, but I'm long past that now.

If all jobs on this van go as well as this then I'll be very happy with it.
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van ordinaire
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by van ordinaire »

I rather liked the exhaust note of my C15 after the tailbox fell off, but thought the MoTester might have other ideas. Still tempted to replace it with a straight length of pipe. :wink:
Citroens:-
'81 2CV Club :cry:
'05 C15 :!:
'97 Xantia Exclusive estate [-o<
others:-
Jeep XJ Cherokees x 3 :?
'96 Cadillac Eldorado
'99 Cadillac STS :|
& the numerous "abandoned projects" #-o
eifion
Posts: 26
Joined: 09 Aug 2017, 19:24
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by eifion »

I've never really been one for cleaning and polishing cars, but the van was so neglected when I bought it that I had to give it a clean. As the exterior came up quite well I decided to have a go at the engine bay today. Here it is in its 'before' state.

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Armed with a bottle of Traffic Film Remover and a hosepipe I set to work and soon years of grime was coming off. I also removed the scuttle cover and removed years of leaves from underneath, including the ones in the heater blower motor that were causing it to make loud complaining noises whenever I turned it on. After I'd finished the car refused to start and I had to take the distributor cap off to remove the water that had got in. Still, that aside, it's come up pretty well.

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The air filter's going to get sorted out next, and I could still do with a radio for it, but I'm making progress.
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CitroJim
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by CitroJim »

Wow! That's a seriously good engine bay clean-up :D

I quite agree on exhausts; I like them lovely and quiet these days too ...
Jim

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EDC5
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by EDC5 »

Good job on the engine bay!, the small TU looks lost in it haha :lol:

My field 205 had a XUD so the bay was suitably stuffed 8-)
eifion
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by eifion »

EDC5 wrote: 26 Aug 2017, 20:31 Good job on the engine bay!, the small TU looks lost in it haha :lol:

My field 205 had a XUD so the bay was suitably stuffed 8-)


Thanks. I probably wouldn't have attempted it if there wasn't so much room in the engine bay. There's little in there that you can't get a hand to.
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Zelandeth
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by Zelandeth »

Just keep the TFR away from the rest of the paintwork...It'll strip all the wax and everything off it in seconds leaving it completely matt until you polish it again. Fine on paint that's got clearcoat on it, but not for older finishes like this.

Twice I've had my cars doused with it at hand car washes, and have had to spend many hours afterwards re-polishing and waxing the car again...
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eifion
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Re: Eifion's Peugeot 205 Van

Unread post by eifion »

Zelandeth wrote: 28 Aug 2017, 22:34 Just keep the TFR away from the rest of the paintwork...It'll strip all the wax and everything off it in seconds leaving it completely matt until you polish it again. Fine on paint that's got clearcoat on it, but not for older finishes like this.


Thanks for the tip. I only used it under the bonnet, but I'll bear that in mind for the future.