After looking at Adam's (ad_dturbo) cheap VW Jetta he bought for trackdays it got me thinking.

Do away with any more mods to the vRS and get a cheap/fun track day car. After speaking with my manager @ work all last week it became apparent we are DEFINATELY going to do this.

We have narrowed it down to essentially a Peugeot 205 1.9 GTi or a cheap Rover 220. We have seen both for around £400 (£200 each), but we really are trying to do this on a budget, so the cheaper the better -> even £100-£200 for one which needs a bit of work but nothing expensive.

The plan, similar to Adam's is to get a car, strip it completely, put some bucket seats in and enjoy it on a track.

My future father in law is a mechanic with his own garage @ his house with every tool conceivable and he really is great, so making sure the car is pukka in the first instance is a must but hopefully should be easier since he is ofay with older cars.

What car should I get though? the Peugeot won't need many modifications as it's already fast and awesome handling but it'll of been thrashed most of it's life and they aren't that reliable.

Any help appreciated!!

Chris.

The 205 1.9GTI had a reputation as the widowmaker because it won't give you much warning it's about to let go, so definately a roll cage require.

You would be supprised at how well the engines in the 205 will cope and they are reliable for a car of that age IMHO. An engine recon on those things isn't that expensive either from what I remember.

Anyway I would definately say go with the PUG, or if you can get a 306 cheap they are even better handling cars IMHO and give a lot more warning they are about to let go of the road.

Should be able to pick up a 2.0 MI-16 converted 205 fairly cheap. Barrels of fun.

The Peugeot (205 or 306) is potentially a great track-day bargain. IIRFC there's a great article about them on msn cars. Renault 5 Turbo is also an option, harder to find though - or what about a Fiat Uno Turbo ?

drove a pug 205 with MI16 engine in with twin webers on it about 15 years ago , wow what a beast of a car , but it has a scary back end , better off with the 309 with this engine , should be more stable and less scary

Wasnt it Jimmy that was selling a MI16 205 a while back?

Well we've got the money together now, just need to pick one up. I've seen a good one in my local Autotrader which im going to look @ this weekend.

no such thing as a cheap track car! Costs a bloody fortune, as I'm finding out. The faster you go the more it costs..

the 309 is truely scarey, it understeers like anything. IIRC the most popular reason to nick a 309GTI was because it used the same parts as the 205 1.9GTi so said ******* could drop the mechanicals onto a 205 and have an uber quick car.

£205 is more outright fun, 306 gives you a lot more warning before it throws you off the road. I know which would be cheaper in the long term if you don't stuff it into a fench.

Out of interest the 306 sedan is a saloon, it's a lot better weight ballanced than the standard 306 and chepaer to buy too

You want a 205, stripped out with some grippy tyres up front, and a rear beam off a 309 gti.

Boyced, i wouldn

How about an old 3-series? Reasonable power combined with RWD should be a lot of fun

Chris

Old 325i Just happen to know 2 people who have done just that rather good fun

Or how about a Sierra 4x4 or better yet, an XR4i? Seen them having lots of fun on track and they are cheap as chips if a little heavy on fuel.....

(

Ive already done the ring and it didnt cost me and my brother anything like that.

Anyway I dont include that in the cost of the car anyway as that trip would have cost the same if i had done it in the Vrs and I still have a trackday car for other trips when i want.

Adam

going to see an xr2i tonight, £230 he wants for it. it looks like it has been worked a little in it's life though as it's got a BIG straight through exhaust, induction kit and a superchip (or equivelant) and lowered 60mm!

Which means I wouldn't need to modify anything other than completely stripping it as it comes with recaro's already. Mileage is 67,000 with FSH and to make things even easier he's a friend of my father in law so if he says it's pukka when he drives it/checks it tonight and i get it for £200 it could be a bargain.

That sounds absolutly perfect. Works out probably a fair bit less than

A Ford, Chris? You'll be publically shunned on here

Chris

A Ford' date=' Chris? You'll be publically shunned on here

Chris[/quote']

:P plenty of ex and current Ford owners on here and many of us are still very positive about them . For the record, prior to the Octy I had a Mondeo and before that a Sierra and they both did their job fine (although the Sierra was knicked and used in an armed robbery ... guess I can't hold that against it though )

Thanks! Cant wait to try it out. Apparently the guy also has a roll cage sat around from his old Sapphire track car that he says he'll dig out for me just to see if it's any good. Maybe a bit of trimming here and there. Luckily my Dad can mig weld eh?

I think roll cages need to be some racing body approved if you are going to use them on track for races.

I think roll cages need to be some racing body approved if you are going to use them on track for races.

Some trackdays might ask for them but generally I think that is only for proper racing series and not your average trackday.

Adam

ad dturbo where did you put the second gearknob you bought for the Jetta:confused:

A pug 106gti? Not sure what the price of them are at the moment though.