PR-Developments

26/10/2026

Build #37 – Built back in 2018. Blimey, where have those eight years gone?!

This one belongs to a close friend who's been far too busy with work and moving house to enjoy it. Last seen on track around 2020, it's spent the best part of six years locked away in a container.

And it shows! The poor thing has grown its own skin of mould. Never seen anything quite like it. We've basically got our own penicillin factory going on!

Anyway, half a day's work and it was a bare shell, engine out and stripped down. Unfortunately, both the block and head were rotten, so replacements were needed.

A few days later, the engine bay and entire chassis have been painted and are nearly ready for reassembly. The replacement block and head have been blasted and are ready to go off for machining.

And before anyone gives me any credit, I'm taking absolutely no responsibility for this one! All the hard work has been done by John himself and John Kershaw, with me just offering the odd bit of advice and recommendations.

Not bad going, lads! It'll be good to see #37 back where it belongs, on the track!

22/10/2026

The season never ends at PR-Developments!

I've not posted much lately, but it's certainly not because things have been quiet. As usual, everything seems to turn up at once, and the only real bottleneck is me occasionally shouting, "She cannae take any more, Captain!"

This isn't quite how I normally go about engine building. I usually work in batches of five, around three times a year. But between the chassis builds, trying to find a bit of spare time and the ever-increasing challenge of sourcing parts, things have got a little out of hand!

A nice change from working on the cars, I suppose.

So, currently we've got 9 engines upstairs ready to be built, five XU9 Mi16s and four GTis.

There are more engines downstairs on stands, waiting their turn, along with others still at the machine shop. Thankfully, a few customers aren't in any great rush, which gives me a bit of breathing space.

I've also got another three completed engines tucked away in the far corner, waiting for their cars to return from the paint shop. I've even had to rearrange the old office, now the machine shop, just to make a bit more room!

The engines downstairs, the Turbo Technics and XU10 Mi16 should be sorted before Christmas, with Will's Mi16 unfortunately looking like it'll be around the same time.

There's a bit of everything in this batch. Four competition engines, a few restomods and two OEM builds, including one for a 309 which I'm particularly looking forward to.

The thing I enjoy most about these builds is that every customer wants something slightly different.

Nine engines might sound like a lot of the same work, but they're really nine completely different projects. Some are being built for competition, others for road use, and some are simply about bringing an engine back to how Peugeot intended it to be.

Everyone has their own ideas about how they want their car to feel, how they'll use it and what matters most to them. One person's ideal engine isn't necessarily right for the next, even if they start with exactly the same engine.

That's why I spend quite a bit of time talking things through with each customer before settling on a specification.

06/10/2026

Build #63

With every stone now turned over, things should only get better from here. The painting is finished, and we’re finally at the stage of building the front end back up.

It’s not always bad news. This engine bay is actually in fantastic condition, with only a few areas needing attention. The driver’s side front panel has been replaced at some point in its life. The great big dollop of weld and accompanying pop rivet were subtle clues. Nothing quite says “that’ll do” like mixing your joining methods and hoping for the best.

Other than that little piece of engineering heritage, it’s been a straightforward job. Two days to get everything sorted, sealed, primed and painted. A refreshing change from uncovering another reason to stare silently at the workshop wall.

Now comes the fun part: putting it all back together.

The engine going into this one is going to be a proper ripper. More details on that soon!

05/10/2026

Build #63

Before anyone thinks I’ve lost count, I’d skipped #63 because a previous customer wanted a square number for their build. Apparently, even the numbering system comes with customer specifications.

You may remember this 205 Mi16 arriving about a month ago. The one leaking oil from holes drilled into the back of the cylinder head, with copper plumbing running down to the sump. Somewhere, a plumber is still wondering where the rest of his fittings went.

The replacement head is now back from the machine shop. However, after some lengthy discussions with the customer, we decided to pull the engine and strip it down to see whether the rest was just as… experimental.

I’m rather glad we did.

Sump off first, revealing an XU10 windage plate adapted to fit the XU sump spacer. Credit where it’s due, that part was actually pretty good.

Unfortunately, that was where the good workmanship appeared to clock off.

The homemade trapdoor sump wasn’t great, and the chain guard was held in place with JB Weld. It was already loose before I’d even removed the end plate. Always comforting to find something inside an engine preparing to go sightseeing.

Clearly, there had been plenty of ideas. Turning them into something reliable had proved more challenging.

The bearings weren’t as bad as I’d feared, but they were scored from contamination. Given the adhesive and some of the worst TIG welding I’ve seen in years inside the sump, that wasn’t exactly a mystery worthy of a BBC drama.

Out came the GTi liners, and the overall condition suggested it hadn’t covered many miles since being assembled.

The crank was fractionally undersize, with polished patches on the thrust areas of the bearings adding another item to the list.

ARP fasteners had been fitted, but some were massively overtightened, others much looser, and there was no sign of the supplied assembly lubricant. The expensive parts were present. The instructions appear to have been given a decent burial.

The block, however, was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Something genuinely worth praising amongst the archaeology.

The annoying thing is, I’d actually praised this engine when it came in. Good oil pressure, no knocking, and it sounded healthy enough.

Clearly, it had rehearsed for the viewing.

Then came the wiring.

A generic management loom had been fitted, with the original GTi loom cut in half and joined to it over the gearbox. The whole lot was looped around the engine like someone had tried to capture it with a lasso.

To be fair, the original ECU and tachometric relay had been removed. Unfortunately, the remaining link loom still looked a mess, routed over the exhaust area. A bold choice for something that objects to heat.

Under the dash, the ignition barrel wiring had been cut to ribbons, with multiple feeds tapped off it, half an immobiliser and alarm still attached, and pigtails borrowed from other circuits.

No wonder half of it didn’t work. Frankly, the working half deserves a reference.

So, what started as a cylinder head job has turned into an engine strip and a proper investigation into the wiring.

There’s a very good block here and the opportunity to put everything right. Now we know what’s inside, we can rebuild it on a sound basis and give the customer something they can have confidence in.

Another day with a 205. You lift the bonnet looking for an oil leak and end up investigating three previous careers.

05/10/2026

Well I had no idea this was happening, it was quite the surprise, when the customer sent the link.

He should have taken it to 7k, that's where all the fun starts!

The Peugeot 205 Rallye is a stripped out GTi with a smaller engine,...

03/10/2026

Before I advertise else where.

1989 Peugeot 205 1.9 GTi Track / Competition Car — “The Nail”

Two purchase options

£25,000 — as it stands

Available in its current specification, with the fibreglass bonnet and headlight blanks supplied but not fitted. Excludes the digital dashboard and new 2.5-inch exhaust system.

£30,000 — tailored to the driver

Includes the digital dashboard, new 2.5-inch exhaust system, fibreglass bonnet and headlight blanks, all fitted, with the car tuned and its setup tailored around the driver and intended use.

Available as a dedicated track car or prepared for sprint, hillclimb or gravel competition, with the requirements agreed around the chosen discipline. New, in-date seats and harnesses will be needed for competition.

To commission a 205 to this specification today would cost over £60,000, before accounting for the years of track time, testing and development invested in refining it. The asking price represents a fraction of those costs.

The car

An extensively rebuilt, naturally aspirated 205 with a serious engine specification, a solid non-sunroof shell and a history stretching back to the beginning of my business in 2003.

Recently dyno tested at 207.7 bhp at the wheels, approximately 244 bhp and 184lbft at the flywheel, based on an estimated 15% drivetrain loss. The existing 2.25-inch exhaust is holding it back, and a new laser-welded 2.5-inch stainless system is being built for the £30,000 package. The aim is over 250 bhp, to be confirmed through further dyno testing.

The engine has been freshly rebuilt, the exterior repainted and the engine-bay electronics and wiring rebuilt. The latest specification now needs its first proper shakedown.

The history

Known affectionately as “The Nail”, this car has been with me from the start. Originally owned by a customer and close friend who later moved to Cyprus, it subsequently passed to another good customer and returned for further development.

The most recent owner decided at his first track day that it was more car than he could handle, and we agreed a swap for another car of mine.

Over the years, we must have completed more than 30 track days in this 205. There are plenty of memories of Oulton Park, sideways moments, tears of laughter and expensive performance cars discovering that an old Peugeot was rather harder to get away from than expected.

We used to wait for what we called a “Scooby snack” to pass before heading out for a bit of entertainment. Nothing ruins a flash car owner’s afternoon quite like a 205 refusing to disappear from the mirror.

In its previous 216 bhp specification, it lapped Oulton Park International in under 1 minute 57 seconds, on road tyres and carrying a 16-stone passenger.

Having now built over 70 cars, I consider this the fastest naturally aspirated car I have built. It deserves a driver who can make full use of it and competition worthy of its ability.

I have managed to keep it within reach for the past 23 years, but I am now short of workshop space and need a house deposit. Otherwise, it would be staying.

Chassis and bodywork

- 1989 Peugeot 205 1.9 GTi non-sunroof shell with V5.
- Solid, rust-free shell.
- Acid dipped approximately seven years ago, then sealed and painted.
- Fully resprayed in Diamond White last year.
- Interior refreshed, sealed and finished in Raptor.
- Fibreglass double-skin bonnet, supplied loose with the £25,000 option or fitted with the £30,000 package.
- Fibreglass headlight blanks, supplied loose with the £25,000 option or fitted with the £30,000 package.
- Heated windscreen.
- Plastic windows.
- Cut-out door inner panels.
- Currently SORN.

Freshly rebuilt engine

- Aquablasted components with zinc-plated bolt kit.
- Forged connecting rods with ARP 625 bolts, specified for 9,000 rpm capability.
- Wiseco 83.5 mm forged pistons.
- 12:1 compression ratio.
- Westwood competition liners.
- 290-degree race cams with 13 mm lift.
- Solid lifters.
- Double valve springs and retainers.
- One-piece oversized valves: 35.5 mm inlet and 31 mm exhaust.
- Enlarged valve seats and port matching.
- Flowed inlet and exhaust ports.
- Piper vernier cam pulleys.
- Fully balanced internals.
- Lightened crank pulley.
- TTV lightweight flywheel.
- Brand-new clutch.
- Maniflow exhaust manifold.
- Existing 2.25-inch exhaust.
- New laser-welded 2.5-inch stainless exhaust included in the £30,000 package.

Induction, ignition and fuel system

- 45 mm Jenvey throttle bodies.
- GMR inlet manifold.
- Custom-built sealed airbox.
- Matched Bosch Green Giant injectors.
- All new fuel hoses.
- K20 coil-pack conversion.
- Camshaft position sensor.

Engine management and protection

- ME360 ECU running fully sequential injection.
- Knock control.
- Lambda control.
- Oil pressure failsafe.
- Coolant temperature failsafe.
- Oil temperature failsafe.
- Custom-built ECU wiring loom with integrated protection systems.

Lubrication and cooling

- Pace dry-sump setup with Pug1Off components and AN12 hoses.
- 19-row oil cooler.
- Lowered alloy radiator installation.
- Digital radiator fan controller.
- Silicone coolant hoses.
- K2 alloy header tank with sight glass.

Transmission

- Hybrid BE3 gearbox with ATB limited-slip differential.
- Satchell gear linkage.
- 309 GTi driveshafts.

Suspension and steering

- Fully seam-welded front subframe.
- Rebuilt steering rack with Quaife quick-rack conversion.
- Adjustable front strut top mounts.
- 309 GTi front wishbones.
- GAZ Gold front struts with 300 lb springs.
- Eibach 22 mm anti-roll bar.
- Powerflex Black Series bushes.
- 309 GTi rear beam with competition mounts.

Interior and electrical

- Safety Devices six-point roll cage.
- Professionally modified exhaust tunnel to allow the seats to sit correctly at a lower height.
- Flocked fibreglass dashboard.
- Motorsport steering wheel.
- Push-button start and removable cut-off key.
- Full-width motorsport rear-view mirror.
- Three Stack gauges displaying oil pressure, oil temperature and coolant temperature.
- Eight-channel PDM.
- Custom-built chassis wiring loom.
- 10-inch digital dashboard connected to the ECU via CAN, included in the £30,000 package.

Brakes, wheels and tyres

- Servo-less pedal box.
- Twin brake master cylinders with adjustable bias bar.
- 285 mm brake disc conversion.
- EBC Yellowstuff front pads.
- EBC Greenstuff rear pads.
- PTS Peugeot Sport magnesium wheels.
- Yokohama track-day tyres.

Preparation for the next owner

The £25,000 option offers the car in its current specification, with its latest rebuild and upgrades requiring a shakedown.

The £30,000 package includes the additional parts listed above fitted, tuning and setup tailored around the driver. Any discipline-specific preparation, seats, harnesses and class requirements will be agreed before work begins.

This is a car with 23 years of history, considerable investment and plenty of character. I would love to see it go to someone who will use it properly and enjoy it as much as we have.

02/10/2026

Build #67 🔧

It’s been a few weeks since the last update. This sucker actually managed a holiday! Briefly experienced life outside the workshop, then came back before I got any dangerous ideas about enjoying myself.

These photos are from last week. This is the second Graphite Grey Dimma, recognisable by its Morette twin headlights, in for a mini rebuild of the engine and bay.

Now fully stripped down, with no stone left unturned, we’ve uncovered the usual surprises.

First up, the frisbee covering the interior fan intake. Always reassuring to find sporting equipment doing the job of a Peugeot part, particularly when the carpets are damp.

A quick look under the red carpet revealed underlay in a thousand pieces and that unmistakable smell of the damp ’80s. Somewhere between a condemned caravan and a school changing room. oh and the welded gearbox mount, cos no bolts included.

While I was there, a look under the steering column revealed the familiar DIY Mi16 conversion loom. Chopped up 8v wiring, a live tachometric relay and household wiring thrown in free of charge. All the ingredients for central heating, whether you wanted it or not.

Nothing particularly new in a day in the life of a 205 fanatic. You either develop a sense of humour or start talking to the blastwash.

Anyway, onto the engine bay. Once home to a Turbo Technics conversion, it still carried the scars: dents, marks and deep scratches from pulling the turbo off to replace broken studs and cracked manifolds. A lovely period conversion, particularly if you felt weekends were something that happened to other people.

Thankfully, the bay was sound, with no welding or replacement panels needed. A rare moment where poking an old Peugeot didn’t result in daylight appearing somewhere expensive.

Eleven cans of primer. Eleven. By the end I was on first name terms with the bloke at the paint counter and financially supporting his family.

Three cans of colour and two of clear later, the bay is now straight, sealed and painted to a finish better than it left the factory with. Here’s to another 20 years, by which point I’ll hopefully have recovered from the prep work.

Martin

11/09/2026

Get your free ticket here. Peugeot 205 and 309 owners only unless you've spoken to me,

Pugs and Mugs Sep '26

Date: 20 sept • 10:00

A meet at the workshop to chat all things Peugeot, followed by optional karting at Apex Kart (karting must be paid in advance)

11/09/2026

11/09/2026

PUGS & MUGS UPDATE

Sunday 20th September
10am–2pm
PR-Developments / Apex Karting, Deeside

Not long to go now!

Karting tickets will be going up publicly in 24 hours and there aren’t many places left.

If you want to go karting, contact me directly on WhatsApp before they’re gone.

All the usual Pugs & Mugs stuff:
Free tea, coffee & cakes
Race simulator competition
Free use of the inspection ramp
Bring parts to sell
RC cars welcome
Best Engine Bay trophy

Non-karters are completely free to attend.

See you next Sunday!