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Having raced these a few years ago you cant beat the look of the drop tail gate starlet, a mate of mine is currently putting a YB in his yellow starlet
Thanks for all of the nice comments guys, really appreciate it! The car and the bay look immaculate in the flesh, now it's had a full bare metal respray and lots of things tidied up... will get the bodywork "resto" pics up over the next week or two.
sridgett - yes it is the same car but massively brought up to spec, Mick was a lovely guy but the car was a bit rough.
AndyP - thank you, yes my Saff is the only car i ever regret selling, 1) because it was mint and could have been an amazing car by now, and b) because the best mate I sold it to crashed it. : (
Stevie - get some pics up, and tell your mate he won't be disappointed with the outcome!
Tev - battery is in the boot will get some pics...
With regards to the dump valve, it doesn't go off easy, I wasn't going to get one but James reckoned with "man boost" as he calls it, it would be a good idea! Not sure what it sounds like, can't say i've noticed it to be honest? : /
I did think about moving the map sensor and ign amp, but they left unsightly marks on the inner wing so we decided to leave them, I made the loom split at the bulkhead though so all the cables have a free run, so they could very easily be relocated later.
Glad you like the work Ben, I loved doing it, it's not often I get to do stuff like this with the space constraints I have but luckily this one is so small I always had space for it lol
We do Black HT leads now too!
Last edited by James @ M Developments.; 03-01-2015 at 11:44 AM.
Thanks martin,
I agree, and still a work in progress but its getting there - will get the bodywork pics up soon it's the same guys who painted your vauxhall ; )
James,
Mega mega mega mega (etc) happy! Brilliant standard of work and brilliant result, will email you soon quite fancy a price on a long studded 200 block pocketed pistons etc to have ready when... I mean if... this old 205 gives up! ; )
Yes it does surprise a few! Scalps so far in its limited time on the road include gt3 rs, jag xfr v8, ac cobra, v8 m3 and amg c63 thing.
James, nooooo not more power lol! Just a spare engine for when the 205 goes pop... for reliability more than anything... ok so maybe with pockets I could get a bd14 in it for more lift and a tad more power lol?! Reaaaaally doesnt need it though!
Thanks again for all of your kind comments, really glad most people like it as I love the car! Onto the next stage...
When I bought the car it was described as "mint"... to be fair to the old owner, it was in fantastic condition for an old Starlet, and is totally solid and clean underneath and wears all of its standard panels... but...it wasn't mint by my standards!
The old owner kept it in good mechanical condition but the paint was a bit tatty - he'd touched up chips and the car had a few scratches on it so I always had it in my mind to get it sorted properly at some point. The time came when after buying a top of the range car cover, and one day finding that it had micro blistered the entire car!
I got in touch with an old mate Darran Moss from Escort Tec, who in my eyes has one of the best finished cars the scene has ever seen (orange Mk2 Escort Cosworth turbo). Darran and his business partner Mark no longer paint cars, but recommended me to a company called Xtreme Restorations near Horsham. Now, any recommendation of Darran's is high praise indeed, as he is just as fastidious as me (OCD?!)... and after meeting JD, Trevor and Pete I knew the car was in the right hands.
First up, they stripped the whole car and took it back to bare metal -
As you can see, the car had succumbed to a bit of grot, but the only affected places were the rear valance where it met the bottom of the rear arches... essentially where all of the crud from the road gets flicked up and sits in.
Other than that though, the car was mint! Pete, (en ex-McLaren bodyshop guy) who has been into the scene - as well as the air cooled VW scene - for years, got busy with the welding kit and replaced all of the rot with mint new metal... from new Jag E-Type panels no less!
The guys also filled up the ariel hole as the ariel was snapped off anyway, and also filled all of the little dings, some of which I couldn't spot with the naked eye but Trevor and the guys could!
Then it was on to guide coat, plenty of rubbing down and repeat, then repeat again! The guys really did put love into the car which is rare these days - much better going to somewhere like this where they love the cars and their job rather than a bodyshop that does insurance repairs etc.
Ending up in 2 pack epoxy primer...
The guys even did little touches with me not even thinking / asking about it... such as getting all of the bumper brackets blasted and painted in a lovely satin black (pics show them before paint) - again, testament to the care and attention they put into their work.
Then... paint time!!!!
I will take some pics of the car all back together, but the car is another gravy now, I am so picky and I can't pick a fault with it - the amount of prep the guys put in really paid off as the paint is just like glass and miles deep... hopefully you can see the amount of depth and shine it has, especially in the rear quarter panel in the side on pic... I want to swim in it lol!
In my opinion bodywork is the hardest thing to get done to a high standard in this country, and the amount of people - myself included - who have been left disappointed or worst stitched up over the years is shocking. Xtreme Restorations really did surpass all of my expectations with their work and how the car turned out - I paid for every hour so this isn't a load of blag advertising, I really cannot praise them highly enough. Turns out they painted Martin Hadland's Vauxhall too, only found that out when I picked the car up!
So a massive thanks to them and not only is their work amazing but they're a really lovely bunch of lads too who are really into the scene.
I must say the guys also stripped the bonnet top and bottom as it was rusty on the inside, they painted the mirrors, window wipers and rear screen wiper, stripped and painted the slam panel which was a bit tatty, and even painted the tailgate badge to my spec... loads of little jobs that really add up to make such a massive difference to how the car looks (will take pics of all of this over time).
See you soon, wheel restoration and new tyres next, then I'll get some pics of the car when it stops raining!
Thanks everyone, and yes thanks James it is a completely different car now! Just had the wheels refurbed and new tyres on which all makes the car look and drive totally different.
PS - you have email re: pricing something up for me ; )
01-01-2015, 11:38 PM
That Map sensor bracket would have to go though 
