This 205 revival has been a very rewarding one to be involved with. While going through the initial plans with its owner Donald, it became quickly apparent that he was very mechanically & technically minded having owned a family caravan supply & servicing business. Discussions lead to the fact he wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and do as much of the work as he could, not only to help keep the costs within his budget but also to be able to say he had an actual hand in the project, leaving only the things he was unable to do himself to us. As such the car actually arrived at us completely stripped and minus its engine, which let us get on with the bodywork required almost straight away.
Although there was still a lot of work required, it was actually one of the less intensive metalwork restorations due to the fact Donald chose the right point in time to do the restorations and caught it before the dreaded rust took over. Unfortunately nowadays, many 205’s are almost as much rust as they are metal and can throw up more than a few nasty surprises when stripped down, this was a good base and is definitely a prime example of not letting the car get too far gone before deciding to restore it.
We are particularly proud of how well this wee 205 turned out, so proud, in fact, we even put it in our reception as a showcase for a few days before it was collected by Donald – the first time we’ve ever displayed a car in our 20 odd year history, although to be fair our COVID restrictions helped us achieve that as the reception would usually also be our waiting area and too full for a display car. The paint is absolutely stunning in the flesh, hopefully the various reflection shots in the gallery will give even a small idea of the depth and quality of the finish. Scott, our painter, has really outdone himself here!
