New Old Car

[moppylhd]

Hi all.
Have just bought my very first Peugeot as my old Escort has finally kicked it. Its a '94 405 Diesel Estate. A few minor dents but with 11 months MOT and 6 months tax its not bad for £450. I will mainly be using it for work as the back is enormous with the seats down. Another reason for the estate is camping. We have two teenage dustbins and one aged seven. I done a dry run with all the gear fitting in the boot (under the sliding panel for safety) and two very large suitcases in the roof box. So if you see the car (light metalic blue) with three kids fighting in the back and the wife snoozing up front on 1st Aug 09 am on the coastal route between Brighton and Paignton, give us a toot. Will keep you posted on the Scotts camping saga and the cars behaviour.
PS. I was thinking of calling the car l'escagot as it will have our house in it (for a week), probably fairly slow, and it has got scot in the name. What do you think ?
Regards
Mark Scott
photobucket.com/moppy

[elemwalker]

Hi Mark,

Nice to see you here! Great old car too, my parents had one of these in Southern France, they eventually gave it away to a local builder who continued to ferry all his stone around in it, inspite of the sun removing most of the paintwork.
A forest fire sadly rushed through his little hamlet destroying most of the houses and livestock. On returning to total devastation, an even sadder sight of a burned out 405 still sat there (they left in a hurry)
He stuck the keys in just out of curiosity.. and guess what? She started first time!
Good cars these Peugeots!
Like the name too. Mine's called 'Peggy the Wondercar'.
Best wishes
Luke

[blackbess]

Mine's called Black Bess, after Dick Turpin's horse, and was bought from a friend who put all sorts of rubbish in the back for 3 years. Is it a turbo or straight diesel? I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the torquiness of it, they have a very wide power band and can cope with most things as long as they are well looked after. Recently I lost 2nd, 4th and reverse, but with what was left we still happily made it home up some big hills. (the bolt holding the gear linkage to the rack was loose) They don't call it "the drive of your life" for nothing! Happy holidays!

[moppylhd]

Hi all.
Been back from the camping trip a couple of weeks now. The old car was almost perfect, even with all that weight in it. Just a slight bind on one wheel when taking off the hand brake. Probably cased by parking in a wet field on a slope.
PP, Its a straight diesel. Good pulling power on the hills and no problem with stop start on the holiday routes. (3 1/2 hours on the M5).
Thinking of towing a small trailer next year, so more weight for it to handle.
Will try to post some pics of the huge tent soon.
Mark.

[moppylhd]

[moppylhd]

[moppylhd]

[blackbess]

Wow she looks really tidy!
Re handbrake - it's a notorious weak spot with these. Try the simple solution first: remove both drums, clean up everything, check the retaining pins and springs on the shoes are in good order and haven't pinged off, lube up the handbrake cable etc. Then on reassembly line up the drums - don't just whack them back on and tighten the screw, they will never sit straight and always bind. Take your time, gently ease them on, keep spinning the drum at every turn of the screw, until it is tight and the drums spin free. Only then put the wheel back on. You'll find taking 10 minutes to set up the drum correctly will really pay off.

[moppylhd]

Thanks PP. Will give it a go when I have a bit of time and it stops raining.
Also I'm having problems with the AC sensor in the dash. The motor wont stop rattling. Ive taken it out and it runs smoothly, but when I put it back it just rattles again. Do you think I can disconnect it as I dont intend to run the AC.
Cheers.