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1975 504 Wagon- 00051 Original Miles


kickywow

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Good Day.

New to the Peugeot community. I found this car with a friend and knew it needed to be shared. My friend will probably be posting it on the Facebook group as I don't have Facebook.

The story behind this car is short. You would think a car of this age would have some history and stories. Not this one. It has one story, from one day as that's all it was driven after being purchased. The original owner purchased the car in 1975 after getting a new job. He brought the car home, parked it in the garage and that's where it remained. One problem... he did not have a driver's license. The car remained in the same place until yesterday (May 12, 2020), one spot for 45 years. the mileage on the car? 51 miles. 29 Miles on the trip-odometer. Now I am not a Peugeot person but I am a car person (mainly into VW and Mopar) and knew that a car with this story needed to be taken care of, shared, and not sent to it's demise. I have taken a number of Pictures to document the car, going to upload a few tonight. 

Quick question: I have no keys to the car, but I can get a parts 1972 504. Can i take the ignition switch out of that car and use it in this one?

Thanks,
Nick
Vancouver.

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FrontCorner.JPG

FrontSeats.JPG

Mileage.JPG

Outside.JPG

Readytoroll.JPG

Rearcorner.JPG

Rolling.JPG

Underhood.JPG

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Wow - That’s one for the record books!  Auto or manual?  Being a diesel - that old girl might just fire up - but corrosion in the cooling system would have to me a concern being 45yo.

I think the best thing to do would be to have a good lock smith make you a key for it.  There is sometimes a key code in the owners manual that can be used, or they can also make a key from the tumbler itself.

If memory serves - you need the key in the cylinder and it has to be turned to a certain point before the pin that locks it into the housing can be pushed in and the lock removed.  Housing can be cut and bent to remove the lock but that’s pretty barbaric when it’s very easy to just pull the column and take it in.

Definitely keep us posted on progress!

Rabin

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Nick, that's cool, what is the VIN of the car? I have a list of all Peugeot VINs from ICBC but it'd be nice to link the car to the database.

This car was obviously sold by Brasso Peugeot because they always used that unsightly drilled (!) double barreled body side protector trim on the new cars they sold.

If it was a gas engine with 4 speed it'd be cooler still, as the car would have had the large Cibié Kangourou one piece headlights. 

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Thanks Nick!  Brasso Peugeot is where Mercedes-Benz North Vancouver is now, Marine Drive not too far from Pemberton Ave.  It was 1974 that Brasso in Calgary and Vancouver took on the Peugeot franchise and they sold a ton of them in Vancouver.  At least compared to their traditional sales level. 

A Victoria-based friend who is not on this forum wants to know if this car will be for sale.

Cheers!

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The car is a manual transmission.

I was once told by a friend that ICBC had a fire in the 80s at some point that damaged most of the records from before that. Could be just a rumor though?

I measured the distance from where the Brasso dealer used to be in North Van to where the car was located, it was about 25 miles- not far off the 29 miles on the trip-odometer.

Trying to decide on whether or not to give the car a detailed detail job or leave it as a time capsule with the dust and dirt from its one drive home and then years in storage. Is there any other low mileage time capsule French cars around?

You/your friend in Victoria are more than welcome to PM me with an offer, however we are in our research stage of looking into a value AND what work we will be doing to it (if any).   This car needs to go to someone that will give it the attention it deserves.  We do not have a price at this time. As the old saying goes...everything is for sale for the right price. Always interested in interesting trades as well.

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Interesting about the fire maybe getting rid of the older records at ICBC.

A mint condition show car 504 wagon in Germany would be worth close to 15K Euros according to Classic-Data GmbH; however this is not Germany and the car, though technically sort of new, is not mint, at least until it's deep cleaned, polished and running perfectly, like a new car, on new tires. 

Here in North America, it's hard to say, it would not be anything like $21K CAD - most Peugeot owners over here have been used to buying them cheap....so....it might actually get more interest from Europeans even though the cost of bringing it over there is a couple grand.  Hagerty only lists the Cabriolets, which were of course never sold here.

If it's sold as is, there are lots of unknowns so it'd be hard to assign a value.  Anyway, maybe that helps you a little.

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Super tough to even guess value, but I’m certain that the car would have to go to Europe to get any real dollars.  I’d also guess there’s no “value” in this as a “barn find” as these cars simply don’t have the collectibility this would have if it was a BMW or Porsche.

Edited for clarity:  My advice would be to detail the crap out of it, get it looking and like new inside and out, Change all fluids, and assess all the mechanical systems to see what exactly it needs.  Depending on the result you might consider rolling the dice with BAT.

Rabin

Edited by Bean
Edited comments for clarity
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That's fair....but to get the car running properly and safely again will cost thousands.  A few things to consider:

  • brakes will be totally shot, new hoses, cylinders, calipers
  • new Michelin tires required (Longstone Tyres) - these cars used XZX Reinforced to meet the wagon's load rating
  • all rubber hoses will need replacement
  • engine may be seized and even if it's not, it probably needs to be partially torn down to verify its condition
  • injection pump may need a rebuild
  • suspension bushings may be bad too (hopefully, not)
  • wiring may be eaten by rodents

So in doing all that work it ups the ante on the return from a sale considerably, although there is a chance that the eventual selling price could begin to approach German values if sold to a European.  Selling it as is will be far, far easier and lower risk to the seller but the return will be much, much lower, due to the uncertainty of the costs of putting it in "like new" condition.

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I edited my comments for clarity since Mike’s version of “looking and running like new” is pretty jaw dropping spectacular!

 My point was that if you do nothing the car isn’t worth much at all as there are just so many unknowns.  If you put some labour in to detail it and identify the exact mechanical condition you have a chance of making more.

All those systems need to be touched at the very least, but you cannot assume they need replacing until you assess actual condition.  Might get lucky!

Rabin

 

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Not sure if you guys have the ability to do a proper paint correction to really get that paint back - But making it look as nice as possible would be huge.

I’m too far away to consider it, but man would it ever be a great car for the xd3t 5sp from my 86 505 TD sedan.  

:)

Rabin

 

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Hey Mike T,  

I am the other owner of the car with nick.  He is away this weekend and I am doing most Facebook posts and nick will be doing forums and other.    This vehicle is a cool car because of its milage.  It makes it extremely unique.  And there are may different opinions for what should be done to this car.  Some say leave it the way we found it and let the new owner have the joy of cleaning and restoring it.  Some say clean it and sell it, and others say restore it.  This car is a complete wild card and the value is unknown, because after all, it's a Peugeot.  They aren't the most desirable of cars.  but I can tell you there is not another one like it in the world!   The value is unknown and it will probably have to go to a global web site auction after Covid boarder restrictions are lifted to reach true value.

Yes, This car will need a complete going over.  I am a car enthusiast with a small car collection. very rairly do engines get seized from sitting. so besides a complete fluid flush of all fluids (including diesel)  I have no reason to believe that this car wouldn't run the same like the day it was new!  Currently it sits with all original fluids still in the car!  yes, hoses and belts would need to be changed as well as the brakes and hydraulic clutch.  but honestly it wouldn't take much money to do all that.  the most difficult part would be tracking down the parts locally

The underside of the car is my favorite. It is so cool seeing the yellow paint marks from its final inspector from where it was made on all calliper bolts, and various areas in the engine compartment. And then finding Blue and white inspection paint marks on the steering, and suspension parts. None of the bushings or seals on the steering/suspension are hard and cracked.  they are in like new condition!.  the car still has "rubber hairs" on the tire tread that would normally be worn off.  And I use the term rubber hairs loosley because they molded these tires differently in 1975 than they do now.  The valve train can be seen when removing the breather on the valve cover and the valve springs are as clean as a whistle with pure gold oil on the dip stick.  All original filters and belts as well. 

It is a cool find and we are having a bunch of people msging us wanting to sell it and asking for a price.  In the mean time, we will entertain offers and cool trade offers, but it isn't  "listed" for sale...YET.  We are both in the research stage of what to do with it and how much to ask for it and if to sell locally or on a web auction globally.  It is safe to say if someone makes a firm offer that both nick and I feel is fair, they will get it.  

Oh, and Mike...We have had offers much higher than the $1,000-$2,000 that you say its worth!  Just saying...

Feel free to find the posts in random facebook groups about this car, I am the one managing them.  I will let Nick take over this post.

Cheers!

Phil

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Great, I hope you get fair value for it, whatever that ends up being.  For my part, I've spread the news among my Peugeot buddies worldwide.  Most hardcore US and Canadian Peugeot guys figure Peugeots should just about be free, with a few exceptions.

I have never wanted a 504 even though they're cool.  I drove two in the seventies, but with gas engines.

My 1966 404 Coupé with Kugelfischer injection keeps me busy.  It's had a rotisserie/nut and bolt restoration.  It's a wee bit prettier and faster than the 504 wagon.

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How many viewers did you have on your FB live video tour?

Not the best time for any of the automakers, but hopefully it works out.  There’s reports that Renault might not survive this pandemic shut down...  

Rabin

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Hey guys,

Sorry for the delayed response. Yes we did find the original keys, hard to believe but they did find their way back to the car. We had a peak of about 70 people watching the video live and almost 3,000 views since the video has been up.

After the video that night we hooked up a battery to the car to see how the wiring has held up. Headlights (Low and High Beam), signals, hazards, horn, wipers, interior lights all turned on and were working. 

Some questions were raised about the engine's condition, well it spins without much effort by hand. Good news!

Might do a video showing all the lights turning on and some of the functions working soon.

-Nick

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Will be curious to see what path you guys go with the car.  

Did you guys lube the tops of the pistons before turning motor over?  Any other prep?  (Pistons would have been exceptionally dry if it had not run in years)

High compression diesel turning over easily by hand is a tough one - Awesome it’s not stuck, but hopefully you could feel compression.

Rabin

 

 

 

 

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