Ruining Peugeot 305s

[Ged]

I figuired I would make some posts about my 305's with the main one being my maroon GLD saloon. I have owned the car since 2021 where it had been off the road since 1998 so I replaced many components before taking it for an MOT where it eventually got a pass however the engine had a ring related issue so much so that on the first proper acceleration onto a dual carriageway it began running away on itself which may be why it had been parked up. I replaced this engine with another N/A diesel from Garbaldy which I ran for some time but after briefly owning a BX TZD Turbo I wanted the same engine for my 305.

I seeked out a engine / donor car and ended up with a Xantia Turbo D from Loserone after bypassing the heater matrix so I could drive it back which I fitted and the car drove great. Unfortunetely I cooked this engine after unknowingly loosing coolant likely due to either a slight head gasket issue or a leaking radiator and before I realised the cylinder head was badly cracked. I attempted to replace the cylinder head with the engine in place but unfortunetely the block turned out to have quite a low spot around cylinder 1 where the new MLS gasket couldnt properly seal and immediately failed the block test I did after so I removed the engine and fitted another one which also happened to have a slight head gasket issue.

Demotivated I drove the car for atleast 5000 miles in this state and it did not worsen much requiring occassional top ups of the coolant it would shoot out of the overflow and began rebuilding the original turbo engine I removed from the Xantia, the block was decked which required it to be completely stripped down so I decided I might as well fit HDi rods and ARP studs to go with a GT2052 turbo which led to a front mount intercooler and full 2.5" exhaust. I have no idea what power it is running but another big improvement is how quickly it comes on boost with virtually no black smoke. I will hopefully have this on track at Knockhill soon enough as I have done with my estate.

[loserone]

As you will see from my posts in the Morocco thread, it's nearly 50 years since these came out and I am angling for getting another and taking it there myself.  

 

Souped up engine sounds great.  Can I have a go mistah?

[Ged]

I may take it to festival of the unexceptional and some other events this year if I can be bothered so you might see it there although my standard 1.5 petrol one would be more appropriate.

[mat_the_cat]

I've taken my V8 powered Stellar to FOTU, and that's been met with interest so I wouldn't worry too much.

[Ged]

This is my formerly pink GLD estate, it was never properly up for sale but I was informed about it and it wasn't too far away so I drove there and after finding the owner I agreed to pay probably too much. It had been off the road since 2012 and didnt really run unless you held it full throttle.

With the car back I did manage to get the original engine to run well but decided to change it out anyway for a turbo diesel along with a long list of other necessary / unecessary repairs on what could be considered a scrap car. Once it had passed its MOT I got some 106 xsi alloys and fitted those along with the idea of painting the car with coach enamel and a roller. I did paint the bonnet this way as a trial but decided instead to use a spray gun after doing some welding repairs to the doors.

After all of this it has been a good enough car and I ended up taking it on track at Knockhill which was actually quite fun despite the engine running relatively standard power. I have considered a 405 as a daily for part availability and other reasons but after doing a clutch on a TD A/C one in a driveway along with various other stuff I definetely prefer 305's.

 

[Ged]

Had the maroon saloon on track at Knockhill on Sunday, was quite fun even with it being on its original very soft suspension and did atleast 3 hours out without any issues. The fuelling increase is quite light on it and I have left it at that as it really doesent smoke at all for a XUD even when lugged full throttle which is nice for normal driving not accidentally deploying clouds of smoke and never overheats, I may increase this more for next time as the boost is there for it.

Eventually I am going to mess with the suspension but I really want to do it properly as to not just ruin it, my current plan is to make adapters to fit turreted mk1/2 Escort rear gaz coilovers at the back without modifying the arms or car in any way, factory rear springs and top mounts for these are unobtainable / very expensive and the top mounts tend to disintegrate so doing this is also beneficial to solving that.

Here is a few of the laps https://youtu.be/5_71X8ZhPtk

[dome]

Excellent work. I saw the pics posted on FB and thought that if the owner wasn't on here then they should be 🤣

Speeds look pretty decent, with some suspension you'll be surprising/annoying some "faster" cars in no time👌

[motorpunk]

What fantastic lines on that car. The proportions are spot on. Fun to see it on track!

[High Jetter]

Brilliant, great to see 305's getting some love!

[Tenmil Socket]

17 hours ago, Ged said:

Had the maroon saloon on track at Knockhill on Sunday, was quite fun even with it being on its original very soft suspension and did atleast 3 hours out without any issues. The fuelling increase is quite light on it and I have left it at that as it really doesent smoke at all for a XUD even when lugged full throttle which is nice for normal driving not accidentally deploying clouds of smoke and never overheats, I may increase this more for next time as the boost is there for it.

Eventually I am going to mess with the suspension but I really want to do it properly as to not just ruin it, my current plan is to make adapters to fit turreted mk1/2 Escort rear gaz coilovers at the back without modifying the arms or car in any way, factory rear springs and top mounts for these are unobtainable / very expensive and the top mounts tend to disintegrate so doing this is also beneficial to solving that.

Here is a few of the laps https://youtu.be/5_71X8ZhPtk

Calendar shot right there!

[yes oui si]

Mmmmm305s

[Ged]

My speedo broke so I have decided to "modernise" by programming a replacement on 3 ESP32's with LCD panels to also save me scattering gauges around the car.

[Ged]

Why keep a good 305 when you can move onto a rusty one on 200k miles that does not have a single online MOT record, it only needs some patches, an engine, exhaust, brakes, suspension, radiator, and a few other minor bits and pieces. I have a XUD9TE with head studs and rods to go in it just needs made solid first but it turns out welding cars isn't too much fun or quick. I am not trying to restore it or remotely hide the patches it will stay looking pretty rough but should make a good daily driver.

 

 

 

[alcyonecorporation]

If you ever end up changing the seats I have friends with a 305 Automatic that would be very keen. 

Loving the fleet, from a three-time 305 owner, but whom probably won't be able to afford another. 

[carlo]

Absolutely love 305s, have had four of them including two GTXs, what a machine that was.  I can still feel the comfort of those superlative seats now.

 

[dome]

On 20/03/2025 at 23:10, Ged said:

My speedo broke so I have decided to "modernise" by programming a replacement on 3 ESP32's with LCD panels to also save me scattering gauges around the car.

I've seen the burgundy one around Dunfermline, it looks very cool. Looking forward to seeing this one too.

Also, tell me more about the LCD panels? That looks very cool and I'd love to do something like that with my Manta.

[Ged]

1 hour ago, dome said:

I've seen the burgundy one around Dunfermline, it looks very cool. Looking forward to seeing this one too.

Also, tell me more about the LCD panels? That looks very cool and I'd love to do something like that with my Manta.

They are WT32-SC01 panels, I basically just drew up the gauges and needles created them as images then used the LVGL library to display them and set the angle of the needle based on the value, it would be more efficient to programmatically create the gauge faces mathematically which maybe I will get around to. They don't have much in the way of IO so I would use a different board to process the sensor values and send them by serial to the displays. It's a lot of messing about but the market for good multi sensor gauge displays is either very vacant or very expensive.

[garbaldy]

On 18/02/2026 at 22:00, Ged said:

Why keep a good 305 when you can move onto a rusty one on 200k miles that does not have a single online MOT record, it only needs some patches

Is that Camerons old car ? 

[RetroShite]

39 minutes ago, garbaldy said:

Is that Camerons old car ? 

Yes.

[dome]

14 hours ago, Ged said:

They are WT32-SC01 panels, I basically just drew up the gauges and needles created them as images then used the LVGL library to display them and set the angle of the needle based on the value, it would be more efficient to programmatically create the gauge faces mathematically which maybe I will get around to. They don't have much in the way of IO so I would use a different board to process the sensor values and send them by serial to the displays. It's a lot of messing about but the market for good multi sensor gauge displays is either very vacant or very expensive.

Thanks. Sadly none of that means anything to me being computer illiterate but I love the idea of having a digi dash replicating the original, the Tolman 205 GTi restomod has one that looks ace but costs ££££.

 

Good to know there's another way of doing it< i'll look into it.