PR-Developments

04/06/2026

Build #59 – It's Starting To Get Exciting

There have been a few occasions during this build where I've accidentally referred to the car as my car while talking to the customer. Thankfully, he understands.

The reality is that when I'm working on a project like this, I completely immerse myself in it. For 8, 10 or sometimes even 12 hours at a time, everything else disappears and my focus is entirely on the next job, the next problem to solve and the next improvement to make.

It's probably why I leave the workshop exhausted most days, but also why I sit at home smiling afterwards thinking, that was a good day. To be honest, that's been pretty much every day working on Build #59. It's been a genuinely enjoyable project and a pleasure working alongside the customer throughout.

Progress continues at a healthy pace.

The rear quarter panels have now been fitted, allowing the roll cage to be refitted shortly.

The new PDM system and complete vehicle loom are now installed.

The front calipers have arrived from Matt from Pug1off and simply require bleeding before they're ready to go.

The twin headlight conversion has been fitted.

And then came the fun part.

The newly designed airbox was assembled and laser welded. In all honesty, it felt almost unfair. What would normally take a considerable amount of time with the TIG welder was completed in just 13 minutes, and the finished result looks cleaner and more consistent than I could ever achieve manually.

Technology doesn't replace craftsmanship, but when used correctly it certainly makes some jobs look easy.

Next on the list is fitting the Dimma kit and reinstalling the cage.

Suddenly, this build is starting to look like a car again.

03/06/2026

Build #64 Begins

Originally this project was due to become Build #65, but the customer specifically requested the square number, so Build #64 it is.

With just 60,000 miles on the clock, this beauty has spent the last 10 years parked up. Thankfully, we're not dealing with any serious structural corrosion, just the typical flaky surface rust that develops when a car sits unused for a long period of time.

What starts as a partial rebuild will involve a substantial amount of work, including:

• Engine rebuild
• Gearbox rebuild
• Rear beam rebuild
• Underbody refurbishment
• Suspension rebuild
• Brake system rebuild
• Replacement fuel and brake lines
• Engine bay repaint and restoration
• Reconditioning of both the engine and lighting looms
• New exhaust system
• Fuel tank refurbishment and reconditioning

After a busy few days in the workshop, around 90% of the components have now been removed from the vehicle. The car is almost ready for the next stage, where the years of dirt, surface corrosion and grime can finally be cleaned away and the true condition of everything underneath can be properly assessed.

As with many projects, the initial scope sounds relatively straightforward on paper. However, once dismantling begins, the true condition of a 30-plus-year-old Peugeot starts to reveal itself.
The aim isn't to create a trailer queen or garage ornament. The goal is to return the car to a condition where it can be driven, enjoyed and relied upon for many years to come.

For now, the spanners are out, the parts shelves are filling up, and Build #64 is well underway. The strip-down phase is nearly complete and the clean-up can begin.

31/05/2026

One thing I've noticed over the years is that many customers already know exactly what they want.

The problem is they slowly talk themselves out of it.

A forum says one thing.

Facebook says another.

A magazine says something different.

Their mates have an opinion.

Before long, they're building a car for everybody else.

I've never understood that.

If you're going to spend years building something, make sure it reflects you.

Not a trend.

Not a forum.

Not the latest fashion.

You.

Most of the vehicles I've built create mixed opinions.

Good.

They're supposed to.

The best builds are personal.

They're not designed to fit in.

They're designed to make the owner smile every time they open the garage door.

After all, you're the one driving it.

Not the internet.

PR-Developments is an established (2003) Peugeot 205 & 309 GTI specialist in the Northwest

30/05/2026

Walk round of "The nail"

It's changed a fair bit over the years,

Ready for Mapping on the dyno

17/05/2026

17/05/2026

Prototype V2 is done.

The mount and shroud are now one complete piece. Extremely lightweight, strong, and a much cleaner fit.

It simply replaces the old cluster design using the same two screws. It’s not as wide, but it’s taller, clearer and much easier to read.

The dash is standalone with 8 direct inputs, plus CAN input, so it covers everything needed apart from the old speedo cable. By using the GTi6 gearbox sender, the speed signal can be wired in and calibrated to whatever tyre size you’re running.

Buy playing around with signal filters you can even have your needles behaving like the originals.

Direct dash inputs include:

Handbrake warning
Coolant level warning
Brake fluid level warning
Brake pad warning
Fuel light warning
Fuel gauge
Speedo

From ECU via CAN:

Oil pressure
Oil temperature
Coolant temperature
Lambda
TPS
MAP/vacuum
Fuel pressure
RPM
Boost
Turbo speed
Egt
Gear selection
Mpg

From PDM via CAN:

Battery voltage
Indicators
High beam
Dim dip
Side lights

The digital dash, ECU and PDM all communicate through the same system and loom, making it a complete package.

This has taken over two years of development and, as far as I’m aware, is the first of its kind for the 205 GTi. I’ve completed plenty of PDM installs on these over the years, but nothing to this scale.

I currently have two finished looms, both very different.

Of course I can tailor build any loom to work with any engine, Peugeot, ECUs and what vehicle components are necessary.

Loom 1 for the green dimma is a full car setup, including stereo, standard dash functions, electric windows, heated front screen and central locking, all working from the original buttons and stalks.

Loom 2 is for the blue Dimma a fast road/competition setup. Bare legal essentials, MOT passable, no stereo, no heater and no central locking, but still with heated windscreen, electric windows and digital dash, standard stalks and switches.

It’s roughly half the wiring of the full car loom the digital dash cuts down most of the wiring, therefore far cheaper to build and much more straightforward.

It’s been a massive amount of work, but seeing it all come together properly is exactly why we d

15/05/2026

The green ITBs are finally here for the Forest Green Peugeot 205 GTi Dimma, so we took the opportunity to sit a few different colours and sizes side by side for comparison.

The darker green and blue ITBs are 45s, while the laser green set are the larger 48s, which should look absolutely outrageous once fitted.

For both these projects, we’re now at the exciting stage of clearing the final jobs off the board needed to complete them. That point where everything suddenly starts coming together after months of parts chasing, fabrication, wiring, and wondering where you left the bolts you “put somewhere safe.”

Meanwhile, Build #64 and Build #65 are waiting patiently for a free ramp, which should finally open up next week. The queue never ends here.

08/05/2026

The PDMs have arrived, and just in time too, as the first loom is now ready for binding to connectors.

First impressions are fantastic. The product absolutely screams quality and, best of all, it actually comes with a proper manual. There’s nothing worse than trying to wire a car while balancing your phone looking through online PDFs with greasy hands and no signal in the workshop.
These units give us:

• 24 x 20amp outputs
• 4 x 30amp outputs
• 16 x inputs

That’s 44 channels in total. Worth mentioning because a lot of PDMs advertised as “28” or “32” channels are counting everything together, not actual usable outputs.

What also stood out was the customer service. Hardwire were the first company that didn’t sound like they were reading from a script or trying to dodge questions with sales talk. They simply answered the phone, explained the basics properly, and were genuinely helpful.

I managed to negotiate £200 off each customers units as part of a group purchase, which definitely helped make the jump into PDM systems a bit easier for everyone involved.

Big thanks to Max and George at Hardwire for the excellent product, service and support. Looking forward to getting these installed into the next generation of PRD looms.

06/05/2026

It’s been a hectic week in the workshop developing and test fitting prototypes for the digital dashs, 205 wiper axles and the new fuse board to house the PDM system… and that’s before building a loom board for an entire 205 GTi

The PDMs should be with us soon, then it’s straight into a full week of real loom-building chaos, producing 6 bespoke vehicle looms in-house.

Some people relax watching Netflix… apparently I relax by staring at wiring diagrams at 11pm wondering why French engineers hated future generations so much.

But it’s all moving forward nicely now and starting to become a proper game changer for the future of these cars.

04/05/2026

First prototype done.

High temp nylon with added carbon fiber filaments.

Testing time!