I made up 2 large Earth cables for each side of the block, these then bolted directly on to the chassis of the car on 19mm bolts, so there will be no issue with the engine block being earthed, I used 25mm2 cable each side.

I re tested the starter using a brand new starter motor and still had some smoke, this time it was from the battery positive lead in the engine bay..bit of head scratching and called my mate, Al. He suggested running a big jump lead off the battery to the positive on the starter to rule out the battery pos which had been on the car since the early 90's....hey presto, no smoke and much faster cranking....it seems both the old pos and Earth cables were too small and probably over time have corroded.

I have ordered up 6m of automotive flexible 25mm and will run a new one right through the car (battery is in boot) and I have ordered a mk4 golf battery mounted fuse box as these have 110amp fused posts (plus 3 50 amp ones) on a bus bar so I can nicely fuse the power lead at the battery end. I have a nice fresh flexi type grommet that Peugeot kindly fitted to pass it through the bulkhead (it has a massive amount of rubber around it)

I ordered 6m as the alternator uses the same cable so I will re-do that as well.

The original cable looks to only be about 10-12mm but has very stiff and thick copper in it.

I have got the proper battery clamp tool for making off the ends and I have ordered the correct size and quality ends.