PEUGEOT IN A STORM
by Mike
Aube
I left Williamsburg, Ontario, at 12:35AM Friday morning
headed for Boston to look at the five old Peugeots offered
for sale there. Picked up the other Peug nut that was going
down with me in Montreal and on to an adventure we went.
At 5:30 AM, we stop in Lebanon New Hampshire for breakfast
and gas, and from there the fun begins. Coming out of the
restaurant, we headed the rest of the way into a heavy snow
fall. It took us 4hrs to reach Boston, which was only approximately
70 miles away.
Then we pulled into the dealership
where the cars are stored and livened up instantly as we
spotted a 203 sedan. In our excitement we forgot to check
in with the salesman and started looking over the car. As
I was lifting the hood, A technician came over and accompanied
us to the front office. We were expected, so no big deal,
check them over boys!
The first 203 needs complete restoration,
no heavy rust anywhere other than light surface rust, the
floor is solid and tight (held three inches of water with
no leaks underneath), the engine is not seized and had good
compression turning it over by hand, mouldings are all there
along with carpets and insulation pads, interior is usable
but should be redone, all the rubber door and window seals
need to be replaced as they were either rotted or nonexistent
(hence the water in the car), an easy restoration project
for someone loves this model and doesn't mind spending beyond
the value of the finished product.
The 403 is much in the same condition
with some bent bumpers and rear lid that will not close
properly.
The second 203, needs all of the above plus some panels
replaced, but still easily restorable.
The two 404s, now there's another story! The 67 automatic
is forget it! The other sedan needs some serious floor and
rear 1/4 panels repair plus everything else that was mentioned
for the first 203. Frame rails and inner fenders are good
and solid though.
We left Boston around noon in a raging rain storm which
quickly turned to snow once we were out of town. Top speed
I could manage most of the way was 30 MPH and passing just
about everyone else on the highway. The old turbo handled
great, as long as the turbo and posi didn't kick in that
slush and ice. I was surprised at the number of Volvo's
that were offroading (driver error maybe?) along with a
couple of police cruisers.
For a car with 340,000 kms (now 341,370 , left at 340,001)
I was impressed. It is my first long trip with that car
( more than 200 kms) and I was pleased, not a glitch or
miss through this bad weather trip. Some streets we took
in Boston had to have 6 inches of water or more and the
old Peug just kept on trucking.
©VEA
|
