LAD track day special 205 GTi ??
Discussion
Anyone out there got one of the refurbished/tuned 205 GTis that LAD sell for track days??
I used to have a 1.9 and it is still the 2nd best fun car I've ever driven... one with 50 bhp more, proper suspension and brakes, and still only 950 kg sounds like a great fun little car.
Does anyone know how good these will be on a track day compared to the usual suspects (911s, TVRs, etc). One certainty is that they'll be much cheaper to run...
I used to have a 1.9 and it is still the 2nd best fun car I've ever driven... one with 50 bhp more, proper suspension and brakes, and still only 950 kg sounds like a great fun little car.
Does anyone know how good these will be on a track day compared to the usual suspects (911s, TVRs, etc). One certainty is that they'll be much cheaper to run...
Yeah that's what I heard. Unfortunately there's a load of abuse on the Peugeot Sport Club forum about LAD being a bunch of con artists - apparently someone there took them to court (and won) over trading standards...
Anyone out there got any real experience?? Barring myself claiming that I'm the editor of Performance Car magazine (didn't Brett Fraser have an LAD'd 106 he was very happy with?) I'd really like to get one of these cars, without the aggro that the PSC guys reckon... Ernie Larton himself seems a friendly and knowledgeable bloke, from a phone chat at least.
Anyone out there got any real experience?? Barring myself claiming that I'm the editor of Performance Car magazine (didn't Brett Fraser have an LAD'd 106 he was very happy with?) I'd really like to get one of these cars, without the aggro that the PSC guys reckon... Ernie Larton himself seems a friendly and knowledgeable bloke, from a phone chat at least.
I had one built earlier this year. Went for a 205 with MI-16 engine (supposed 220bhp), roll cage, new suspension, stripped out etc.
Quite agree they are nice guys and having read a lot about them in EVO etc i had faith in doing business with them.
The car was very quick round donnington park, but to anybody thinking about doing it I would advise you to do it yourself or entrust the work to a local garage.
I had probs getting my car, after paying sigificant deposit it took 30 weeks of constant chasing instead of the promised 8, then it looked like a shed with a cracked back bumper and badly fitted roof, then it would not idle as the carb mainfold was not fitted correctly, then i put it on a ramp and realised the back dampers were a pair of old ones painted to look new.....well, if you are going to take liberties on the visible bits then i must confess i started to doubt the existence of the special pistons etc in the engine.
put it on some rollers to cure a misfire (i live 250 miles away from LAD) and then found it only had 120bhp at the wheels (so engine power was being massively overexaggerated), and after sorting the manifold they noticed the jets in the carb were drilled out rather than using the specific ones - after a hour it had 150 at the wheels.
After all when you do the maths even the best 205's are under £1500, factor in a proper engine rebuild, a new set of koni's etc, some decent brakes etc and you would still get change from £3.5K
If you want a decent engine i would reccomend clifford cox engineering in Reading.
Bennno
>> Edited by bennno on Wednesday 11th December 00:33
Quite agree they are nice guys and having read a lot about them in EVO etc i had faith in doing business with them.
The car was very quick round donnington park, but to anybody thinking about doing it I would advise you to do it yourself or entrust the work to a local garage.
I had probs getting my car, after paying sigificant deposit it took 30 weeks of constant chasing instead of the promised 8, then it looked like a shed with a cracked back bumper and badly fitted roof, then it would not idle as the carb mainfold was not fitted correctly, then i put it on a ramp and realised the back dampers were a pair of old ones painted to look new.....well, if you are going to take liberties on the visible bits then i must confess i started to doubt the existence of the special pistons etc in the engine.
put it on some rollers to cure a misfire (i live 250 miles away from LAD) and then found it only had 120bhp at the wheels (so engine power was being massively overexaggerated), and after sorting the manifold they noticed the jets in the carb were drilled out rather than using the specific ones - after a hour it had 150 at the wheels.
After all when you do the maths even the best 205's are under £1500, factor in a proper engine rebuild, a new set of koni's etc, some decent brakes etc and you would still get change from £3.5K
If you want a decent engine i would reccomend clifford cox engineering in Reading.
Bennno
>> Edited by bennno on Wednesday 11th December 00:33
Had a similar experience with Mr Larton and my Saxo VTR (before it was supercharged). Engine power was a claimed 120 but in acual fact was 105.
I would agree that Clifford Cox in Reading is good. I have had several engines built there and unlike Mr Larton, have a Superflow flow bench.
How LAD can say they know where to take metal off a cylinder head in exactly the same place time and time again is baffling. Having watched Berek at CCE take tiny amounts of metal out of a port and seen a significant difference on the flow bench - it makes you wonder what planet LAD are actually on
I would agree that Clifford Cox in Reading is good. I have had several engines built there and unlike Mr Larton, have a Superflow flow bench.
How LAD can say they know where to take metal off a cylinder head in exactly the same place time and time again is baffling. Having watched Berek at CCE take tiny amounts of metal out of a port and seen a significant difference on the flow bench - it makes you wonder what planet LAD are actually on
OK then guys what do you reckon. Press Mr Larton for a full refund of the deposit (he can't have started the build yet) - on the basis of bad press on the 'net, or simply get him to provide a full written schedule of the work to be done and the car to be delivered, at a specified time in the future.
Any lawyers out there know whether this would do the trick if I were to end up receiving a Bennno car with fake dampers etc?
I am starting to get nervous but I have heard some good things about him, and I reckon a 220 bhp 205 GTi would be excellent fun to drive and certainly would wind up a few of the flash car boys on track
Any lawyers out there know whether this would do the trick if I were to end up receiving a Bennno car with fake dampers etc?
I am starting to get nervous but I have heard some good things about him, and I reckon a 220 bhp 205 GTi would be excellent fun to drive and certainly would wind up a few of the flash car boys on track
Mine was the only other 220bhp one he has built, if you saw some photos of a white one with a cage that was it.
I asked for a full refund after 10 weeks of non activity, but he refused. Car supposedly sat at a bodyshop for best part of 20 weeks, the delay was not his fault?
I also asked for a detailed specification but only got general comments ie. fit sports dampers and lowered springs etc....even when i travelled all the way up to Lancashire to collect it he had not written anything on paper - but by that stage i was £3K in so had to stick with it.
I would request a full written spec for the car in respect of the deposit paid and make it clear that your insurers have insisted on a full independent inspection when it is finished to confirm full roadworthiness and therefore make this a condition of acceptance.
forgot to mention mine also pissed oil all over my drive thanks to the clever idea of venting the oil breather on to the floor and a leaking sump gasket, has a dodgy track rod end after 4 weeks that he refused to sort out and the rear brake pipes needed replacing after 5 months on safety grounds as they were corroded.
If you e-mail me i will send you the photos and copies of my correspondence
Bennno
I asked for a full refund after 10 weeks of non activity, but he refused. Car supposedly sat at a bodyshop for best part of 20 weeks, the delay was not his fault?
I also asked for a detailed specification but only got general comments ie. fit sports dampers and lowered springs etc....even when i travelled all the way up to Lancashire to collect it he had not written anything on paper - but by that stage i was £3K in so had to stick with it.
I would request a full written spec for the car in respect of the deposit paid and make it clear that your insurers have insisted on a full independent inspection when it is finished to confirm full roadworthiness and therefore make this a condition of acceptance.
forgot to mention mine also pissed oil all over my drive thanks to the clever idea of venting the oil breather on to the floor and a leaking sump gasket, has a dodgy track rod end after 4 weeks that he refused to sort out and the rear brake pipes needed replacing after 5 months on safety grounds as they were corroded.
If you e-mail me i will send you the photos and copies of my correspondence
Bennno
Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9 Track/Sprint/Road Car 1987/E 22 days old
ref: 6763
80,000 miles. Silver, Standard Alloys, Avon ZV1 tyres, MOT & History.
Kent Cam, lightly worked head, K&N, Full Janspeed and Vernier.
Spax Adjustable shocks, poly bushed all round. Front Strut Brace, Rear Cage, Group N front discs and pads. Corbeau seat & Luke Harnesses.
Price: £1,300
Contact: Robert Wood [Norfolk, UK]
Phone: (01485) 542273
Email: CLICK HERE TO EMAIL ME
ref: 6763
80,000 miles. Silver, Standard Alloys, Avon ZV1 tyres, MOT & History.
Kent Cam, lightly worked head, K&N, Full Janspeed and Vernier.
Spax Adjustable shocks, poly bushed all round. Front Strut Brace, Rear Cage, Group N front discs and pads. Corbeau seat & Luke Harnesses.
Price: £1,300
Contact: Robert Wood [Norfolk, UK]
Phone: (01485) 542273
Email: CLICK HERE TO EMAIL ME
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