Restoring a car?

[Woodeye]

Ok, so I decided to prevent one jewel from disappearing from the face of the earth. I decided to haul one of these http://www.vea.qc.ca/vea/v/peu40366.jpg away from the lamb shed where it has been staying for the last 35 years. Model -58. I know that I have a place where I can store it but that's about it.

My plan is to fix it, but I don't have the slightest idea how. And my mechanical thumb is firmly located in the middle of my palm.

What the h*ll should I do next? :eek: Shoot myself?

[GridGirl]

Might be an idea to get a mechanic to look at it and give you an idea of what is actually wrong with it before you start anywhere. Its always best to get the fundamental problems identified and sorted first.

[Iain]

Daniel will probably know all about it, being an old Peugeot afficionado.

[CarlMetro]

Well, before embarking on the project I would have had a bit of a poke around the car first, to make sure you know the basics what needs doing. From there I would have done a costings and practicality exercise on whether it is feasable to carry out the work, the cost and availabilty of replacement parts, to what standard of restoration I expect to achieve etc. Then and only then would I have purchased the vehicle.

I started doing up an old Beetle in my younger days but soon worked out that it was cheaper to strip it and put a beach buggy body on it than restore it to the 'Cal look' spec that I wanted for it.

[Daniel]

Ok, so I decided to prevent one jewel from disappearing from the face of the earth. I decided to haul one of these http://www.vea.qc.ca/vea/v/peu40366.jpg away from the lamb shed where it has been staying for the last 35 years. Model -58. I know that I have a place where I can store it but that's about it.

My plan is to fix it, but I don't have the slightest idea how. And my mechanical thumb is firmly located in the middle of my palm.

What the h*ll should I do next? :eek: Shoot myself?

Nice stuff :) Have you looked for any manuals or anything? If you don't have any luck I can see what I can do for you as my dad is a member of a Peugeot Car Club back in Australia and these people are very much interested in bringing old Pug's back onto the road.

Here are a few manuals I found on Ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Peugeot-403-Service-Manual-1959_W0QQitemZ110146919530QQihZ001QQcategoryZ45572 QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Peugeot-403-403B-404-Workshop-Manual-1956-1965_W0QQitemZ120137775551QQihZ002QQcategoryZ32084 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Peugeot-403-403b-and-404-Factory-repair-manual-on-CD_W0QQitemZ230151319875QQihZ013QQcategoryZ418QQss PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Even BETTER is a workshop manual

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peugeot-403-Workshop-Manual-Original-1958_W0QQitemZ110146408284QQihZ001QQcategoryZ18425 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Be sure to get any rust cut out of it or sandblasted out and get it painted in a nice period colour and you will have a very nice car :)

I want one of these :)

http://www.dyna.co.za/cars/Peugeot_81_Farrina_Cabriolet_504_White_sf1.jpg

[Daniel]

Ok, so I decided to prevent one jewel from disappearing from the face of the earth. I decided to haul one of these http://www.vea.qc.ca/vea/v/peu40366.jpg away from the lamb shed where it has been staying for the last 35 years. Model -58. I know that I have a place where I can store it but that's about it.

My plan is to fix it, but I don't have the slightest idea how. And my mechanical thumb is firmly located in the middle of my palm.

What the h*ll should I do next? :eek: Shoot myself?
I also forgot to mention that cars of this age are usually fairly easy to work on due to the fact you've usually got good access to most mechanical components. Read the workshop manual and do the easy stuff and leave the more difficult stuff up to someome more up to it :)

[Woodeye]

Nice stuff :) Have you looked for any manuals or anything? If you don't have any luck I can see what I can do for you as my dad is a member of a Peugeot Car Club back in Australia and these people are very much interested in bringing old Pug's back onto the road.

Thanks Daniel, I must buy one of those manuals for myself. The car should be in fairly good condition (as good as it can be after 35 summers and winters), but I think I'll get a clearer picture after hauling it to garage. I think I also have to contact Finnish Peugeot Club to see if they could assist me a bit.

Any more advice is more than welcome. :)

[Tomi]

Thanks Daniel, I must buy one of those manuals for myself. The car should be in fairly good condition (as good as it can be after 35 summers and winters), but I think I'll get a clearer picture after hauling it to garage. I think I also have to contact Finnish Peugeot Club to see if they could assist me a bit.

Any more advice is more than welcome. :)

I noticed you live in Helsinki, in Kauklahti (Espoo) there is a guy who is a mechanic and knows what there is t know about Peugeots, if you are interested i PM the details.

[Woodeye]

I noticed you live in Helsinki, in Kauklahti (Espoo) there is a guy who is a mechanic and knows what there is t know about Peugeots, if you are interested i PM the details.

That would be great if you could do so.

[LotusElise]

Is there an owners' club you can contact? They normally know loads about spares and where to get various bits. Also, start going to any classic car events nearby as there will potentially be lots of spares for sale there too, plus people who might be able to help you.

[FrankenSchwinn]

ah, a restoring rookie..... you have to poke around and assess the rust situation. locate replacement panels (get the exact ones too cause, as i know, it's a real pain to retrofit non-matching panels) and weld them in, or get them welded in. basically the bulk of your work (and money) will be in the bodywork. engines are easy to fix, or replace, but body work is where the tidious and anoying work is. manuals are good, joining clubs is extremely valuable because there is always a dude that has that part that you've been looking for stored on a shelf in the dry. they've all found the easier way to do something too. good luck.

[luvracin]

Step 1. Join Car Club.

Step 2. At Car Club, talk to people who have done it before.

Step 3. Buy Beer.

Step 4. Start working.......

[FrankenSchwinn]

Step 1. Join Car Club.

Step 2. At Car Club, talk to people who have done it before.

Step 3. Buy Beer.

Step 4. Start working.......

Step 5. Buy bandaids

[Woodeye]

Step 5. Buy bandaids

Step 6. Get a loan?

Thanks for all the tips. It's seems that I'm going to be poor, everything is going to cost like hell.

[Daniel]

Step 6. Get a loan?

Thanks for all the tips. It's seems that I'm going to be poor, everything is going to cost like hell.
Not necessarily. Sometimes people don't know what they've got or have no use for it so will sell it on cheaply ;)

[Kneeslider]

Restoring any car is an oddesy, or a voyage of discovery if you will. By the very nature of cars which are either 'discovered' or advertised as 'for restoration' they are all different, so what I have to say here is intended as generic, and can be applied to a wide range of projects.

Firstly, is this the sort of car that you are likely to actuall want to own? This is a more tricky question than you might think. If at all possible, try to drive a good example, and try to work out if it suits you, and it meets your expectations of practicality, handling, power etc. Just buying a car because it looks nice, and because lots of people rave about them doesn't mean that you are going to actually like the driving experience it affords. After all, this is what it is all about.

Once you have passed the above test then it is imperative that you become an expert on how much all of the more commonly required parts costs. When you go to look at your prospective project, you can make a list of what you are going to need, and cost it accordingly. Then add a bit for all the bits you can't see!

Thirdly, look at classic car dealers, auction sites, ebay etc, to get a feel for how much these cars actually fetch. It's pointless to spend £20k restoring a car when you can get a top notch example for £15k. Unless of course you really want to have the experience of restoring a car. Even if you can't afford to buy a restored or complete and running car, and want to go for a project for a lower outlay to spread the cost, have a look at a loan package, that spreads the cost, and you can have the car now, without having to go through several years of grubby mucking about.

Know that even if you do all the work yourself, don't get carried away thinking that you can make a profit out of restoring a car. You can, but it's very tricky, and will require a lot of resourcefulness. For example if you are a skilled machinist, then having access to a lathe or milling machine means that you can make parts, rather than pay for them, however this may have an impact upon the sale price at the end because some people value originality above all else, so swings and roundabouts there.

What do you want to actually use the car for? Will you want a concourse original example, or a fire breathing modified racer, or somewhere between the two? You have to make this decision very early in the build process. Bear in mind also that most cars from the '70s and earlier were just not very good (British sports cars in particular) and uprating and improvement are not just desirable, but vital if you want to do something ambitious like driving at night (Sealed beam Lucas 'Prince of Darkness headlights are rubbish!) or want to stop without soiling your trousers when matey in his repmobile anchors up in front of you.

Finally, if I haven't put you off, then go for it, it's a rewarding, frustrating mixture of emotions, and if you are truly mad, then you might want to go through it all over again.

[Woodeye]

I started this thread some time ago without the car. Now I have it.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n286/woodeye1/403/DSCN1550.jpg

So, what do you think, is it worth trying to restore? More pics:

http://s115.photobucket.com/albums/n286/woodeye1/403/

[Daniel]

I'd say yes :) lovely car. Got a workshop manual yet?

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I'd say yes :) lovely car. Got a workshop manual yet?

Only girls use a manual :p

[Daniel]

Only idiots don't use a manual when restoring a car though ;)

[Woodeye]

I'd say yes :) lovely car. Got a workshop manual yet?

Nope, don't have it yet, working on it now. I didn't want to buy it before I got the car.

I have beer though. :beer:

In the meantime I try to contact the Finnish Peugeot -specialists and seek some advice from there.

[luvracin]

Wow. That's quite the fix-er-upper. Does it run? Does it turn? Does it stop?.

My point is what works and what doesn't.

[Woodeye]

Wow. That's quite the fix-er-upper. Does it run? Does it turn? Does it stop?.

My point is what works and what doesn't.

Nope, I don't think it runs. Cannot be 100 % since it didn't had a battery and I didn't had the time to find one while I was in the same place where the car is.

It does turn, that's positive. And unfortunately it does stop, a bit too efficiently I guess. Right side rear brake is totally locked because of rust. (Handbrake has been on for 30 years...)

[CarlMetro]

My first concern about something that has sat for 30 years would be the condition of the chasis. My next concern would be the condition of the engine. Did you check to see if there was any oil in it at all? Did you at least turn the flywheel to see if the pistons moved freely? Last but by no means least have you checked parts availability?

Sometimes it's best to let a car go to the big scrapheap in the sky rather than losing thousands of Euros, your hair, skin on knuckles and you patience on restoring one ;)

[Daniel]

403 parts shouldn't be too hard to come buy as there are a lot of people restoring the things so there will be a lot of people sitting on engines and gearboxes and so on :)

[Woodeye]

Daniel is correct. 403 should be quite easy to find, even from Finland. And here's a club for old Peugeot owners and restorers that have accessibility to parts straight from France.

There was oil in the engine, as unbelievable it may sound. But no coolant.