There is a handful of Peugeot 203 Commerciales in Australia. The one in
superb condition is a former French embassy vehicle which is in good hands.
That has a rare feature for here _ it has left hand drive.
Another has been restored mechanically and has just done a 11,000 km rally
in company with other Peugeot clubs cars.
It is very deceptive in appearance because it looks as if it was either
wheeled out of a barn or hauled from under a tree and had the tyres pumped
up.
Maybe it was just as well it was not tarted up with a two-pack paint job
like some of the other cars in the run. It distinguished itself in a speed
event on a country racing circuit by doing a barrel roll.
It must have hit a kerb, then flipped 180 degrees, touching the ground
briefly with a front guards and the front corner of the turret before
landing on its wheels. The driver recovered his composure, pulled the
starter and it fired. He would have been ready to resume his speed trial,
but the officials red flagged him until the car had a safety check.
There were dents in both front guards and the turret, and the passenger door
would no longer latch (a simple bolt and clasp were fitted), but no glass
was broken and the huge roof rack was untouched.
The driver, a laconic country guy, conceded that he was very lucky.
The 203 continued on the event with the other cars on the event and
continued to be pressed hard inthe competitive segments.
The other vans are not restored and one changed hands recently.
Another 203 rarity is the 203 Styleside utility (pick up), an Australia-only
model, which now attracts a premium.
The 203s sedans, wagons and vans were at first imported assembled but
unpainted, and later in knocked down kits for local assembly. They were very
popular with farmers because of their ability to handle rough surfaces,
their great point to point speeds and their almost dustproof construction.
Country dealers reported a demand for pickup versions and some were
improvised, 25 being cut down from vans, which gave them a nicely curved
back corners on the tray area.
A few have survived and some are under restoration. A friend reckons he has
put 600 hours into work on his, because although it was a rusty basket case,
he knew it would be worth the effort. But he stopped work on it a few years
ago to restore later cars.
Peter Wilson in Sydney
1995 405 SRDT etc
Recommended format for your email subject lines:
Model # [Model Letters] Year Subject
Examples:
505 88 V6 Mileage
405 Mi16 89 Ignition Coil source?
To unsubscribe from this list send a blank email message to PEUGEOT-L-UNSUBSCRIBE@EGROUPS.COM
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peugeot-L/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
peugeot-L-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Received on Thu Jun 1 06:43:28 2006
