Nice idea. Possibly nice 'cause I don't have to pay the bill :-)
Of course, that's the most critical stuff to check, IMO.
You should mean "pushing far beyond the limits", I don't think a 305 could cope with the 160HP of the fast-revving XU (6000+RPM).
I've heard of such a thing, even if I can't remember wher I've heard it... Good choice Jean, as the 4WD & central engine & turbo engine was the way to go. The RWD + N/A engine + front engine was outdated (watch out the Lancia
037 "Stratos", you'll see what I mean).
Same thing with my friend, he reaches the 190KPH mark with his 1.9 engine, like he did with the 1.6 *but* now, reaches it like a bullet. A common thing to do when you consider running a car in hillclimb races is to take a 205 GTi 1.9 and to fit a 1.6 gearbox. I don't need to explain why, I think.
Not the problem. The problem is, the brakes shoes are now stuck with some kind of glue on the shoe "frame" (metallic kind of "U" part). In ancient times, they were nailed to them... This involves the following behavior : when the brakes don't heat up (i.e, cars not running a lot, or "engine braking" specialists, or fluid motorway traffic runners), moisture comes in the drums and it puts the shoes off - about the same way you remove a post stamp (using vapor) if you collect them. The problem is (that's the way I felt it with my car) the brake pedal is much softer and moves more than usual - here you'll have to keep in mind that on cars like 205s, the rear brakes aren't *that* used, so you don't feel a significant brake power loss, excepted the pedal course.
*** THE WORST CONSEQUENCE OF THIS PROBLEM*** occurs if, by some miracle, the "free" shoe comes with wheels revving, to place itself between the "valid" shoe and the drum, this causing an immediate wheel blocking. Sometimes it happens when you're in reverse gear, so it's just annoying (I imagine you reverse at 3MPH or so), but it could happen on the road at 60MPH. So it could well be "bye Cascade blue 305" and perhaps also "bye Chris" - I have to agree it could have been "bye metallic Quartz grey 205" and "bye GT" too...
BTW, most important point : my brake shoes where 18 months & 20,000km old (replaced before I bought the car, as I bought it from a Pug agent which saw the shoe fell off when he controlled the car before selling it).
Oh, sorry... I have to say that, although I never feel nor sick nor scary in a car, that the BX is the only car where I don't feel that good (once I was going to puck, eh). Bloody hydraulics !
We had, I answered one of your posts on Jan, 01 2003, subject "306 Bendix Brake shoes 'auto' adjust problem". I told you the same :-)
I don't think the adjusters are faulty. Indeed, you only feel they have to be set up when the handbrake course is a bit too long, AFAIK.
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