Peugeot 205 Saloon Libre

[Cameron]

Hello all..

This is my Sports / Saloon Libre project that I've been working on for the past year, a Peugeot 205 with a double wishbone suspension setup. I'm a total newbie to the world of racing, other than Formula Student while I was at university and a bit of karting, but have always intended on entering hillclimbs. I'm a very keen (possibly bordering on over-ambitious) designer and fabricator, so I have been doing all of this work myself and will continue to do so.. I reckon on it taking a year or so to get this thing running - budget permitting!

So, with introductions out of the way, here's where I am at the moment. I've spent the past year taking rough measurements of my previous track day 205 and using them to design a double wishbone suspension package that will be as "bolt-in" as possible. I've used a suspension simulation program from my uni days, CAD package and a whole host of self-developed Excel calculators to get my basic design sorted and am fast approaching the point where I start to build the car.

I bought the project base a couple of months ago - a 1.6 Auto base model for a cool £250.



It has to be the tidiest 205 shell I've ever seen, having owned about 6 of them over the years; though most of it will be tossed in the scrap bin it's nice to have a base that doesn't require any initial prep work! I need the shell to be up high enough that I can work under it for long periods, and I also need it to be dead level, so knocked up some stands to put the chassis on:



And fabricated some nice little lifting brackets so I could hoist the thing up high enough with my engine crane:





Then set about stripping it back to the bare shell.. Only 4 images per post so more will follow in a few mins!

[Cameron]

Just realised those images are massive and don't resize! If they're too big let me know and I'll try and just put up clickable thumbnails.

Anywho, once the thing was up in the air I set about removing all the junk from it.. I'm getting a pretty decent sized box of scrap metal! I'm also trying to weigh all the metal brackets and studs etc that I remove for an idea of how much weight I've taken out of the shell.





My scrap bin gets pretty full pretty quickly at the moment!

[Cameron]

So the first big step towards fabrication came a couple of weeks ago when I got my first batch of machined parts! These are the mounting bosses for the rear double wishbone subframe, which will bolt up to the original beam axle mounting points. I wanted to use subframes at the front and rear rather than welding everything in place, as it will make maintenance and repairs (you never know!) much easier. Being a weight conscious tart I made them hollow.





They fit to the original mounting points like so.. I did breathe a sigh of relief when they slotted in tbh, always a bit of a nervous moment when you've only ever seen parts on a computer screen!



I made sure to leave plenty of thread on the top, as there will be roll cage reinforcement plates welded here to tie the suspension in to the shell.

[Cameron]

Since my garage floor is about as smooth and level as.. err.. a not very smooth or level thing.. I'll be making a smooth and level platform underneath it that I can measure to. This takes me up to where I am today (or last night to be more accurate) - about half way through making the platform. I cobbled together some home-brew plumb-bobs(sp?) and dropped them through the front and rear suspension mounting points to establish a rough centreline; a more accurate one will come later, once the measuring platform is done.



I put a wheel down to give an indication of how the track width will be, I opted for 1.5m front and rear as a target so it's nice to get some prespective of how that looks on the car. The ride height is going to be low, the minimum ground clearance target I set at 30mm to avoid scraping the bottom on any rough courses which makes the ride height about 80mm; I'll be installing a flat floor and primitive underbody aero, too.



The large rectangle shows the extent of the measuring platform - not a lot of room in a single garage!



I had originally planned to just shim the stands up to get it level, but wasn't really happy with the work that involved (jacking the shell up etc) so had a bit of a re-think. I opted to use some heavy duty adjustable feet instead - one under each stand and one at each corner of the platform, so I can adjust the thing quickly and easily. I got some M12 bosses off eBay and welded them into place on the stands last night.

[Cameron]

This is the last post I promise!

With the adjustable feet fitted to the stands last night I set about levelling the shell, the image isn't the clearest but I'd tied the two stands together before raising it up on the feet.



I got my trusty spirit level set out and levelled the shell front-rear along the base of the sills, and side-side with the strut tops and rear suspension mounting points.





Finally, this is how it looks at the moment:



I'm building up the measuring platform around the stands, then once everything is level and square I'll tie them both together and lay some wooden sheets on top. This platform is what I'll draw my permanent centre lines on, and from those I'll be able to accurately (I hope) position the suspension hardpoints.

[Ian Johnson]

nice project, will be interesting to follow..............you need to check your 30mm ride height though

[PumaWestie]

Originally Posted by Ian Johnson

nice project, will be interesting to follow..............you need to check your 30mm ride height though

As above - looks entertaining but pretty sure min ride height is 40mm

[RobertT]

Very much look forward to watching this one

[Cameron]

Thanks for the comments! The ride height is ~80mm, 30mm was the minimum ground clearance when the suspension is fully compressed.

[EdCherry]

30mm minimum ground clearance cam, what you building a monster truck!!