barrett Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Despite not having any money or storage space, I recently went halves on another silly old car for no other reason except that it's really freakin' cool. Helpfully it was being sold by a friend so we have worked out a GR9 'payment plan' which involves selling everything we own to try and scrape the cash together and then giving it to him at some point in the future... Time will tell how well this system works out before any lawyers have to get involved. Anyway, this is what it is DSCN5453 by barrogance, on Flickr Last week the co-owner did a huge schlep across Sussex-Oxford-Sussex to get it. Any car that has to be collected on a trailer and not driven home should be a depressing sight, but JUST LOOK AT IT. The dog remains unimpressed. photo2 by barrogance, on Flickr It's a 1965 car, in the UK for around 13 years but never registered. It was MoT'd three years ago which was probably the last time it was used. The huge history file shows it was pretty comprehensively 'done' in the mid '80s including a full respray. We think it might have only had one French owner before coming here. It was sold on the understanding it would need a full engine rebuild as it sounded like the proverbial skeletal onanist on start-up. A note under the bonnet says the last oil change was in 1985... the dipstick was showing below minimum and the oil was black and sludgy. We found this brilliant period can (still with oil in!) in the boot, which probably matches the last change. Trying to get the filler cap off sort of explained why - it took five grown men (one a professional mechanic, all owners of vintage cars) about 35 minutes to get the thing off with the help of a hairdryer and a big hammer. Oil topped up, it instantly sounded better and after being run for ten minutes was beginning to sound almost healthy... We are assuming it was noisy tappets from years of no use? DSCN5454 by barrogance, on Flickr JUST LOOK AT IT photo by barrogance, on Flickr IMG_20131206_160615 by barrogance, on Flickr I took it up and down a private road and it's lovely! four-speed column change works brilliantly, brakes are great. We can't see anything obvious that would stop it getting an MoT so the next step is to get a test and then register it so we can actually drive it on the road. Also, a bloody good clean inside and out and trip to a classic fuel injection specialist to give the complex Kugelfischer system a proper overhaul. This will probably all have to wait til next year, sadly, as we will be far too busy between now and xmas with 'real life' to get it sorted. The plan is to have it ready for March, and drive it down to Italy next summer for the Villa d'este concours. WCPGW? In the meantime it's tucked up in a friend's garage, a little corner of France in East Sussex France, 1965? by barrogance, on Flickr Asimo, HMC, michael t and 28 others 31 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SambaS Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Wow what a pretty little car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Speechless!!!! One of my all time fave motars, so jealous you have one, they just look fantastic!! Way cooler that lots of similarly aged stuff at 4 x the price IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 re the oil can- was going to say datsun 240z but it looks like an early 70s le mans Daytona entry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twiggy Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 That`s a delightful looking wee thing........ brilliant ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Switch the Bearded chap with Audrey hepburn and life is just about perfect!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_lihp Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 What a pretty car, glad to hear the engine's OK after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 That is quite impossibly cool. You jammy, jammy git. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad D. Conelrad Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Okay, that's pretty good. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrett Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share Posted December 7, 2013 Speechless!!!! One of my all time fave motars, so jealous you have one, they just look fantastic!! Funnily enough, I was just looking at your S-Type this morning and thinking much the same thing... This is definitely the best thing I will ever (half) own, I cannot wait to cruise around picking up 1960's French birds in it. If anyone has any period French- or English-language 404 Cabrio material I would be interested in buying it, I cannot find any evidence of a UK brochure specifically for the coupe/cabrio but there must be one, they sold them over here and even made a handful of RHD models (only one survivor) Also, it's not a little car despite how it looks, it's bloody huge and one of the worst exercises in packaging I've ever seen, the boot is shallow and small and the 'rear seat' is nothing more than a bitch-rack (The dog fits fine thoug, so no biggy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 I think you should put Morris badges on it. Junkman, Sigmund Fraud, barrett and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigmund Fraud Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 I am very, very envious ! Well bought, sir ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigger Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Gorgeous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skizzer Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 That's just beautiful. Jealous beyond words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdelasal Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Looks good - looks the same as what 'columbo' drove? ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bergerac Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Beautiful. I've always thought that the 404 Coupe and Convertible were stunningly attractive. I am green with envy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel bickle Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Very,very nice. They don't look big, do they- guess they're kinda in proportion, but I recall the first time I saw my 403 pickup. 'King huge. I thought it would be similar in size to a VW pickup -its nearer a damn Transit! Excellent mota Sur, look forward to seeing it 'in the flesh'. A real keeper.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lobster Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 That is absolutely immense! Congratulations, whatever the cost it was worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike13 Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Stunning looking car,very envious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Beats a fugly E-Type every day. Rocket88 and KruJoe 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Looks good - looks the same as what 'columbo' drove? ! Nope. Columbo drove a 403, which is a fair bit chunkier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Moog Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 oof... its like when your mate turns up down the pub with his fit new bird.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlo Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Beautiful cars Barrett, looks really good from the pictures. These don't tend to come cheap either! Presume you have all the Motor/Autocar stuff on them (not that there was much), but I do have a rather nice 3 page UK test of a 404 Cabriolet injection which looks like it might have appeared in a raunchy British magazine of the 60s, judging from the text. PM me if you'd like a copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Bo11ox Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Blimey, what a stunner!!!! I remember some story from C+SC back in the day when someone (probably buckley) had a massive battle getting the kugelfisgher bits (on a 504) working properly, almost sent him insane, eventually he found a Peugeot main dealer who could do something with it amazingly! Heres one that used to be festering the bushes near Mutha_Ba11s' house, sadly now disappeared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrett Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share Posted December 7, 2013 Yeah, you need some impossible-to-find specialist tool that was only ever used by approved Peugeot dealers (in France) to access the injection system... fortunately, the chap we bought it off (who owns a mint later car) managed to find one after two years of looking so we have use of it when we need - Jaymic (the BMW '02 people) 'did' his system for an absurdly small price so it will be going up there soon. I think without access to this mysterious tool these are pretty much impossible to sort if they're not running absolutely bob-on so we've dodged a bullet there I think edit to add I think it was actually Mick Walsh who had the 504 cabrio but Buckley probably had one too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Bo11ox Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Sounds interesting! Try and get a picture of it and find out what it does! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlo Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Blimey, what a stunner!!!! I remember some story from C+SC back in the day when someone (probably buckley) had a massive battle getting the kugelfisgher bits (on a 504) working properly, almost sent him insane, eventually he found a Peugeot main dealer who could do something with it amazingly! Heres one that used to be festering the bushes near Mutha_Ba11s' house, sadly now disappeared. I had that ex-Buckley 504 Coupe for a while in the late 90s, bought it from a chap who Buckley sold it to. Injection system was running fine until I managed to put a fuel can full of water into the petrol tank by mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Bo11ox Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 I've seen a 504 koop in a garden on my way home from work lately, its not a rotter like. The place seems to be the home of a high grade shiter as there is also a derelict Gilbern Invader estate in there. eddyramrod 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrett Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share Posted December 7, 2013 Get some pictures man! Gilbern estate is on my shortlist (I have an actual list wot I wrote down on a bit of paper - it starts with Hyundai XG30 and ends with Lancia Flavia coupe). Anyone with an old Pug coupe and one of them has to be a bit of a hero. Or maybe it's actually me, come back from the future and living in The North? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexg Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 That is heart stoppingly beautiful. What a lucky boy you are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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