Discussion
The first performance car I ever drove was a friend's 306 GTI-6, back in 2006.
I remember being blown away by how much energy the engine had, and how it seemed to pull just as hard, or even harder in higher gears.
I think the touring car-style gear ratios had something to do with it.
I've always wanted one, but never got round to buying one, either for financial reasons or not finding one that I thought was good value.
I was about to go and look at an immaculate 120k mile blaze yellow example which was up for £5750, and chop in my Toyota iQ.
However, when I set off, the clutch completely went in the iQ. Possibly a recent return drive to Modena via Switzerland had something to do with it. Still, 74k miles from an original clutch wasn't too bad.
So, instead I decided to go and look at a 142k mile example, up for £2395, which I ended up getting for £2200.
It has very little service history, tatty paintwork, the dash back lights don't work for nighttime driving, the front suspension is too low, the decat exhaust wreaks havoc with my asthma and the brakes are shot, but the engine is a masterpiece, the gearbox probably the best I've experienced, and the handling is sublime. Also, the last 2 MOTs have had zero advisories, and there has never in its history been an advisory for corrosion or rust, which is great. Just a shame I don't have a garage to protect it.
Also, according to the seller, it's "Mechanically sorted with just having the lower crank pulley (pug 1 off) and cambelt kit fitted 15 miles ago. at the same time a full engine service was carried out with premium filters bosch spark plugs and premium grade oil." - He seemed a very genuine guy, who ran his own classic car restoration workshop. The oil looks fresh and it drives excellently. There's also no rust! Genuine reason for sale too - he picked up an immaculate Rallye and didn't need 2 fast 306s.
So my plan is to keep the iQ for mundane driving duties, and spend up to £800 getting the '6' driving nicely, it might even become my new daily driver, who knows. But I feel obliged to use the iQ once it has its new clutch.
I remember being blown away by how much energy the engine had, and how it seemed to pull just as hard, or even harder in higher gears.
I think the touring car-style gear ratios had something to do with it.
I've always wanted one, but never got round to buying one, either for financial reasons or not finding one that I thought was good value.
I was about to go and look at an immaculate 120k mile blaze yellow example which was up for £5750, and chop in my Toyota iQ.
However, when I set off, the clutch completely went in the iQ. Possibly a recent return drive to Modena via Switzerland had something to do with it. Still, 74k miles from an original clutch wasn't too bad.
So, instead I decided to go and look at a 142k mile example, up for £2395, which I ended up getting for £2200.
It has very little service history, tatty paintwork, the dash back lights don't work for nighttime driving, the front suspension is too low, the decat exhaust wreaks havoc with my asthma and the brakes are shot, but the engine is a masterpiece, the gearbox probably the best I've experienced, and the handling is sublime. Also, the last 2 MOTs have had zero advisories, and there has never in its history been an advisory for corrosion or rust, which is great. Just a shame I don't have a garage to protect it.
Also, according to the seller, it's "Mechanically sorted with just having the lower crank pulley (pug 1 off) and cambelt kit fitted 15 miles ago. at the same time a full engine service was carried out with premium filters bosch spark plugs and premium grade oil." - He seemed a very genuine guy, who ran his own classic car restoration workshop. The oil looks fresh and it drives excellently. There's also no rust! Genuine reason for sale too - he picked up an immaculate Rallye and didn't need 2 fast 306s.
So my plan is to keep the iQ for mundane driving duties, and spend up to £800 getting the '6' driving nicely, it might even become my new daily driver, who knows. But I feel obliged to use the iQ once it has its new clutch.
Edited by Limited100 on Saturday 26th August 00:30
Thanks for sharing, nice that these are still somewhat affordable.
How does it drive at that ride height? Any plans to change the suspension? The rear height on these can just be re-set right?
I'd imagine it would drive best with the factory suspension setup, but depends how it's been done I guess.
105.4 said:
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
As an ex-owner of multiple 205 & 309GTI’s, I really lust after these, especially a white Rallye variant.
Will this be a daily driver or a weekend toy?
Thanks. Stunning aren't they. I adore 205s and 309s also.As an ex-owner of multiple 205 & 309GTI’s, I really lust after these, especially a white Rallye variant.
Will this be a daily driver or a weekend toy?
Weekend toy and tip runs / carting my road bike around until it's tidied up.
samoht said:
Thanks for sharing, nice that these are still somewhat affordable.
How does it drive at that ride height? Any plans to change the suspension? The rear height on these can just be re-set right?
I'd imagine it would drive best with the factory suspension setup, but depends how it's been done I guess.
It handles great but could do with some more modern tyres.How does it drive at that ride height? Any plans to change the suspension? The rear height on these can just be re-set right?
I'd imagine it would drive best with the factory suspension setup, but depends how it's been done I guess.
Because the suspension is so low, the front bumper can scrape which is really annoying and not what I want in a daily driver, so I've ordered these:
I've also ordered Greenstuff pads as DS2500 are ludicrously expensive and Yellowstuff take too long to warm up:
Couple of other niggles:
The locks need to be locked manually, so perhaps the key needs a new battery.
The passenger window winds up and down electrically but the driver's window does nothing, although it can work intermittently.
The engine temperature sits at 80°C which is perfect, but can creep up at a slow cruise, which concerns me, so I've ordered these:
If it isn't these, perhaps it could be to do with fan activation, or it might need a new Bitron box which sits in the wheel well and can fall victim to water ingress.
The locks need to be locked manually, so perhaps the key needs a new battery.
The passenger window winds up and down electrically but the driver's window does nothing, although it can work intermittently.
The engine temperature sits at 80°C which is perfect, but can creep up at a slow cruise, which concerns me, so I've ordered these:
If it isn't these, perhaps it could be to do with fan activation, or it might need a new Bitron box which sits in the wheel well and can fall victim to water ingress.
okgo said:
Owned two or maybe three of these back in the day. Amusingly even a decade ago they cost about what you paid!
The first upgrade was the tyres! Awful things the ones it came with.
Great cars, timeless look, terrible turning circle and even worse A/C
Turning circle is hilarious, apparently due to the bigger gearbox.The first upgrade was the tyres! Awful things the ones it came with.
Great cars, timeless look, terrible turning circle and even worse A/C
A/C doesn't work and probably never will haha.
Which tyres did you go for? I reckon Uniroyal Rainsports sound ok, or AD08Rs.
Limited100 said:
okgo said:
Owned two or maybe three of these back in the day. Amusingly even a decade ago they cost about what you paid!
The first upgrade was the tyres! Awful things the ones it came with.
Great cars, timeless look, terrible turning circle and even worse A/C
Which tyres did you go for? I reckon Uniroyal Rainsports sound ok, or AD08Rs.The first upgrade was the tyres! Awful things the ones it came with.
Great cars, timeless look, terrible turning circle and even worse A/C
What they’d be like on a 306 though, I’ve no idea.
okgo said:
F1 Eagles were always the go to back in the day on the 306 owners forum.
Not sure if still around but CG Cars in Leicester used sell a supercharger conversion kit to take them to nearer 400bhp. I took a ride in the prototype years ago - nuts.
Wow, I wonder if that's with stock internals. I've seen a GT28RS converted one in Poland.Not sure if still around but CG Cars in Leicester used sell a supercharger conversion kit to take them to nearer 400bhp. I took a ride in the prototype years ago - nuts.
okgo said:
I'm almost certain I bought that mag back in the day!Impressive considering the stock gearbox and driveshafts coped with 400 bhp.
okgo said:
That's a real blast from the past. Nick @ Lynx used to look after my 300zx and I'd run into Rich quite often when he was there working on his 306. It was frequently in bits, so I never got to go out in it.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff