For those that might be interested this is a video of the 1964 Longford Motor race. Shows the 'Flying Mile' that Hubnut drove down and also where he went through roadworks was where 'Pit Straight' used to be. Runs for 22 min. Good car spotting video. My Mum and Dad took my sister, brother and me every year in our 1957 FE Holden....rather have gone in a 404...oh well. ua-cam.com/video/idVwSpxE9qg/v-deo.html
If you mean the car park that he started and finished at, that was Union St. Longford that leads down to the St. Esk River. Union St. also formed part of the original race track and it leads to the Hotel on the corner, now called the Chequered Flag. Union St. leads to a boat ramp on the river where the original old wooden bridge crossed the river as shown in the video.
@@millomweb Just worked it out after seeing another post with the same query. It is a flood levy with a gap in it for the road. In event of flood I think they have some means of blocking off the road/gap . River often floods at Longford.
Some additional factoids on this lovely 404: - as you can see on the inner fenders the car has McPherson strut front suspension, quite modern for that era - the engine has an aluminium head, Again quite modern for that era. - the head design is a HEMI. (Yes, just like a Chrysler). Notice where the plug wires pass through the valve cover. - the shortblock is a cast iron wet sleeve design which makes overhaul easy. It has a forged steel 3 main bearing crankshaft. - notice there is no petrol tank access in either of the fenders. The filler cap is hidden behind the registration plate. - also, notice that strange hole in the centre of the front bumper? That is an access hole for hand cranking the engine. So ever when the battery is almost flat, of it still has enough power to run the ignition jou can still start the engine by hand cranking it!
@@dogwalker666 Chrysler Europe was formed in 1970 after acquiring Simca (France) and Rootes (UK), this operation folded and was subsequently sold to PSA in 1978, many years after the 404 was developed. So those features could not have existed in the 404 just because Peugeot has bought Chrysler's European operations.
Surprisingly lots of cars even in the pre Chrysler Hemi era had good head designs incorporating hemispherical combustion chambers. Chrysler had the brainwave of trade marking the name Hemi, thus preventing others from calling their engines with hemispherical combustion chambers a hemi. Makes many think Chrysler invented the hemi whereas they only invented the term hemi. Daimler SP 250 comes to mind.
@@johnd8892 as a kid I only thought of hemi as being a massive American engine then one day I realised it was the head shape which supprised me as my dads car at the time had that design I had helped him polish it was one of my first big jobs on his car. It now makes sense I would love to drive a big dodge hemi, I loved my rover V8 but that was only 3.5L
One of the best French cars ever. In the Netherlands they were called ''French Mercedes'' And indeed they had the same excellent ride and build quality as a mid range Merc at that time. The DS was a masterpiece of design and engineering, but required a lot of expensive maintenance at specialized garages/dealers. The Renault 16 was a well thought through concept and just as good to drive, but had an unfortunate tendency to rust at vital body parts.
This gets a like before I even watch it. I've owned three and they're one of my favourite cars ever. I never used the handbrake but if you do it's easier to release it with your foot. Upward gearchanges on all mine could be carried out with an outstretched finger. Ride, seats, and handling IMO are better than many far more modern cars.
Finally driving the best family car of the 1960s. My first drive was a loaded up car over very C grade roads and I was used to metric speedos. I was wondering why it was battling to hold 80 on the speedo. Then the owner told me it was an imperial speedo.
Opposite experience for me in 1972 when we went to Portugal. I was 8 and was most impressed when I saw over the taxi driver's shoulder that we were doing over 100mph on the way to our holiday let from the airport! It was km/h of course 🙄. Dad hired a Morris Marina coupe for the time we were there. He had to park it with the petrol filler jammed against the wall 'cos the local kids would siphon the petrol for their mopeds 😁
Nice car and what a beautiful colour ! I'm french, and when I was a kid, my grand dad, who was a farmer in the south west of France, had a one of these, a Peugeot 404 "super luxe". It was in the 70's and early 80's. His car was grey metallic with leather interior. As my grand dad was deaf, he revved his car constantly, so it was not a quiet drive, on the contrary, rather rough, and yes, this car was robust, a classic Peugeot as we no longer do.
It is such a shame that French cars are utterly rubbish. Because only the French cars have some character left. All the brands in the world are copying the boring VAG cars and their horrendous park bench seats.
@@H4lminator I don't believe that current French cars are utterly rubbish. Peugeot have made vast improvements and have some very good cars - they just haven't look a bit German to sell. The general public just seem to think that German cars are reliable, quality vehicles. Now that is utterly rubbish!
@@H4lminator French cars are of good quality. In Canada we buy a lot of Japanese cars because they are reliable. They have a better reputation than Wolkswagen and for the rest of German cars they are unreliable at all because they are too sophisticated.
From my memory (and I'll stand corrected) but this is not a standard Australian assembled Peugeot colour. I'm trying to think of the 1969 colours - White (of course) Sunburst (a burnt orangey colour) I think there was a green. Someone may have a better memory than me.
Peugeots were (are?) also assembled and sold in South Africa. While living there, my mother bought a brand new 404 in 1972 and in 1978 I took my driving test in it. This video brings back lots of memories!
One of my uncles had a 504 and later a 505, covering a period when he had a farm in central Victoria through to retirement in Melbourne. The reputation they received from the Redex Trial success certainly carried them through that era, not without justification.
Our family doctor had a Peugeot 404, probably the only one in Oklahoma. I carpooled with him to my school in the suburbs. He had an interesting way of changing gears. He barely got moving in first before switching to second, accelerated for a while in second and then changed straight into fourth gear. The engine groaned slightly in fourth but then got back to normal very quickly. His car was a rather ugly dark brown color but I suppose that hid the rust very well. He must have had that car for over twenty years. He was a really great man, even volunteering to tend to prisoners in the local jail. On one of those visits, he felt kind of funny. He couldn't talk properly and his right arm started to go numb. Instead of going immediately to the hospital, he finished his volunteer work. By the time he drove to the hospital, his entire side was quite numb. He had suffered a stroke and never properly recovered. He was such an excellent doctor to everyone but apparently not to himself. I think he had to get rid of the Peugeot because he couldn't switch the gears on the column anymore.
Having lived in Central Africa and worked in the motor trade in the 1970s, I am very familiar with the 404 and indeed the 403 which had an incredibly good reputation locally for robustness and reliability. As it has to be said did the Holdens which we imported. It was great to see this road test and remember all the good things about the 404.
These older cars are so more interesting than a modern car. Excellent choice ian and you put across how much you were enjoying it. Thanks for another superb HubNut experience.
Thank you for the return to then experience. I had a 1971 (1970) model 404, after driving a 1965 404 for three years. It was a Perth doctor's former car and it was a pleasure to drive, the engine did sound rather jetlike, which impressed the petrol heads. I admit to leaving the traffic lights in second gear more than one... a day. The trips from Perth to places as faras Albany were always enjoyable and my passengers marvelled that we made it to our destination, expecting to catch a train at some halfway mark - the Oxford design deceived them all. Those naivetesse raised on bulk over finesse.
The memories come flooding back of my 1968 404 assembled at Thames , New Zealand. I remember been shown how to place the palm of your hand on the front of the spongy gear knob to place in first and down to second ,then behind the knob to lift to third and down to fourth. The one car I always regretted selling.
@@davebicker8618 He'll need to be either a bit flush with cash or have a sympathetic bank manager. They're more pricey than I imagined even here in France
You know, I was never very interested in these but this was a bit of an eye-opener. It seems a very easy car to live with and that engine sounds unusually smooth fot a 4 pot. Big squashy French seats too, what's not to love?
@@AUmarcus The French car manufacturers certainly understood that first and foremost, people want comfort in a car. For a time, they were the only nation that built proper luxury cars. IE: comfortable ones. Unfortunately, Peugeot, Renault and Citroen have lost their way and just follow the bone shaker herd nowadays. Such a shame. I think we need to start a 'Bring Back Comfort' campaign.
The first car I've known in my family was a 404 Familiale, I loved it with its three row seating. It was replaced by the second Range Rover imported in France but I think I still prefered the Peugeot as a kid.
Good to see you met some of our friends, the flies, while here in Australia. "The Aussie salute, also known as the Barcoo salute (after the Barcoo River) or Bush salute, is the waving of one's hand in front of the face at regular intervals in order to prevent bush flies from landing on it, or entering one's nose or mouth. Ecologist Eric Pianka characterizes it as a gesture that is "diagnostic of Australia".
Thanks for your post, very nostalgic for me. I had one for many years until rust took its toll. A common problem sadly. A local motoring magazine did a retrospective on Peugeot in Australia looking at the 203 through to the 404 and concluded that for its time the 404 was probably the best family sedan ever! They're tough as boots too and will go forever once quirks like the ignition switch are finally figured out. I had an extended trip overseas and asked my father to use the car, as they don't like sitting around, and he had fallen for its many charms too by the time I returned and was sad to hand it back. I could go on and on. Thanks again, this is the best 404 video I've seen on here!
Hubnut you little ripper, these Aussie gems you review are fascinating! When lockdown ends take a trip to South Africa, you will find equally fascinating gems there, such as the 404GL, which had lovely interior trim and the larger 1.8l engine from the 504. I have a copy of a roadtest, please let me know if you'd like a copy.
This takes me back! My father bought one of the last in the UK, MAA819L, 1973. When the RHS Macpherson Strut bearings seized, he took it off the road, and it became my first car after I passed my test :-). The knobs on the instrument binnacle: The left hand one winds back the 'Trip' odometer, the right hand one is a dimmer for the instrument lighting. The lighting stalk 8:15 works in a U pattern: Lift it anti-clockwise, (think signaling left), you flash the High Beam. Pull it up towards your face gets the side-lights, from there lift it anti-clockwise, (think signaling left again), gets the Dip Beam, from there, push DOWN (towards the floor), puts on the High Beam. The heater, 10:29 has 2 flaps to the bottom left and right. When lifted, it cuts the air, when lowered, it allows the air around your legs and feet. Both are 'open' here. Another oddity is that the wheels only had 3 nuts spinning onto studs. Surprising for what is a heavy car. Also, the petrol filler is behind the rear number plate that hinges downward. The spark plugs are recessed into the engine , and have long springs attached on the top, (they have a box-nut wrench to get them out), and special plastic pipes that fit over the springs, (about 5 to 6 inches long, if memory serves), that clip onto the plugs at the bottom, with the HT leads inserted into the top, to pass current to the springs. One car you can not cross-thread the plugs on! There used to be a guy in North West London who kept bits for old 404s. Business called TAPREX. I doubt he is still around, though, as that was nearly 40 years ago. It was a lovely car to drive. Good times. Just had quick Google search for Taprex. Still in Harrow, doing Pluming and Air Con work, if it is the same family. The cars were a side-line from the main business. www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.taprex.6ccf5cf55547e2bfde4b447fbb2994c9.html
You. Have brought some good memories back had one in 1979 bought for 750 pounds it was a 1972 maroon with a sunroof orange interim always remember getting the car and spending time looking for the petrol filler behind the number plate slight rust but lovely drive I was 21 at the time volvo ran into it in a car park written it off
Now that I have watched the video three times I can comment on a couple of details, the steering wheel has been fitted upside down (maybe the owner likes It that way) and the radiator fan is actually engaged by means of an electro-magnet, also on the inner side of the fan there are 3 thumbscrews that will let you fix the fan to the pulley un case the electro-magnet fails. Its all very clever.
Checked with the owner on the steering wheel. He said he has heard that comment once before however they have had 3 x 404's in their family and all steering wheels have been the same. So a bit of a mystery there. Maybe the Aussies turned them upside down as we are 'down under'????
@@peterriggall620 My 404 had the steering wheel upside down when I got it too, but you just have to take a look at the period ads and brochures available online and you'll see the steering wheel is always shown the other way around. I think this confusion comes from the fact that most other cars that have a two spoke steering wheel have the spokes pointing downward so people then see the 404 wheel with the spokes pointing upward and think it is the wrong way up.
@@vanpastel The owner got back to me today and Yes, you are quite correct. He checked a pic. in the owner manual and he agrees that his steering wheel is indeed upside down. Spotters prize!!!!
Talk about a trip down memory lane. Thanks Ian. Just a couple of points. We put Marchal quartz halogen globes in. The best headlights of any car I have ever driven. Great on country roads. Gave breadth and distance. The other mention is cruising speed. From memory the 1969 Peugeot 404 had a top speed of 94mph. However you could comfortably cruise at 85mph all day every day. The high cruising speed was really good. My 1969 Peugeot 404 did 140,000miles - a lot at very high speeds on country roads. I drove hard and fast. You just couldn't kill the 404. Best car I ever owned.
One of our neighbors back in the 70,s had a Diesel Break...and 10 children. It took one hour to fit everybody in an than an other hour to pre-heat it. But they never failed....i love these cars . Greetings from Holland.
@@julienbee3467 Not exactly... He still has the 404 but when in 1986 he sent the engine for a total rebuild it was stolen and since then there is no engine in the car. Then he bought a 505 which he still uses.
My dad had one from new in 1968.......it was the station wagon - three rows of seats......vinyl seats that got bloody hot in the summer........maroon it was...........we went all over Europe in it - great car!!
Another appreciated instructive vid. In this era and prior Peugeots were highly regarded in Australia. The 203, with a 1.3 litre 4, winning the first 1953 round Australia Redex Trial against many much larger and more powerful cars must have been a good starting point. Demand was such that Peugeots were assembled alongside Renaults in Australia at the Continental & General plant in in the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg West. In earlier times they also assembled a range of vehicles including Citroen, NSU and Studebaker. I think the NSU was short lived though. Later on a Ford model too. Result of the tax advantages of local assembly and local content then. In 1964, the company was purchased by Renault and stopped producing everything else, except for Peugeot models. The more in demand Pugs continued to be built alongside a few Renault models up until the 504 Peugeot model ended production here I think. It was then the only place where the two rival brands were assembled in the same factory. The flexibility of the company also had them building Cortina Station Wagons for the minor demand they had for the TC model wagon until about 1981. Perhaps the Cortina Wagons were a hindrance to volume Ford production. Not sure what the flow of parts was like from the nearby Ford main plant at Campbellfield to Heidelberg West. Not sure what is at Continental & General now. Much higher regarded than a BMC Farina 24/80 or Austin Freeway. Even with the six cylinder Blue Streak the 404 was just 4hp behind. Lots of torque as you found.The 4 speed all synchro gearbox, advanced suspension and near the best drum brakes around. So a market segment would pay more for the 404 here.
A bit of map archaeology turned up the corner of Dougharty Road and Kylta Road, now occupied by a mob called Marvel Bookbinding. Looks like the original buildings. I have Visited VDO in the area in the past and notice TÜV is on the same block. One of the former epicentres of Australian automotive manufacturing!
Oh wow - my late uncle (who lived in what was then called Rhodesia) had the estate version in that same colour. He said it was the best car he’d owned!
Peugeot engineers showing how it should be done. The 404 is also a record holder. A single seat diesel prototype in 1965 took part in a 72 hour endurance run using for drivers and averaging 99 mph without issue. In the process it set 22 world records. A month later Peugeot took it out again and it set another 18 records. This was all done to prove that Peugeot diesel engines were better than German diesel engines.
My Lecturer at Gateshead Technical College had one in late 70s .. pastel green estate. Diesel. Having been a Bus Fitter he was obsessed with fuel economy ... plus he lived up in the wilds of Durham. It was as clean as a whistle underneath. Thanks for the memory HubNut!
This brings back lots of fun memories, our family friends had a white 404, with a red interior, it also has a wide black stripe between the chrome and the bottom of the windows running the length of the vehicle… it’s was very exotic! Many trips with a tribe of kids in the car
French cars have been well engineered since forever, often more advanced than most British or German cars. Exceptions of course the mini and Austin 1100, which were very nice and advanced cars.
French cars have lost the market because of quality issues. I have had 5 French cars, I had my share of problems. The only car in the house just cannot be French. You need back-up.
One of Peugeot's best models. That's why they sold so many of them. They're scarce today, so I'm glad that you found one in good condition. Thanks Ian.
Oh yes! Now that is spot on. As much as I love a hydraulic Citroen, the indestructible nature of the Peugeot's appeals so much. There's just something about how they used to fine tune steering and suspension that is special. Wonderful car, I want one now!
The standard 404 petrol had a great 3rd gear, it was my racing gear....the steering was precise, accurate and had the best feedback...you know exactly what the front end was doing. I had great fun with it as a teenager. My dad used to take it into oil palm estates...Land Rover territory...
In my first office job in the 1980's I had a workmate who owned a Peugeot 504 saloon and he really loved it! I remember riding in it with him and it was a really smooth ride. The estate version would have made an ideal family car.
One of these is high on my list of cars I want, ironically in the last couple of days I've watched several long clips on UA-cam of french classics doing tours. The 404 featured a lot naturally, the coupe and convertible may be pricey but the saloon is still affordable and the estate is huge. My dream 404 would one decked out in period Tour de France team colours! It also has a bit of long distance rallying pedigree too.
My boss did Peking to Paris in a Pug 404, absolute beast, it still exists on the scene somewhere.... it sounds calmer than a BMC. Brilliant review Ian! 👍
My first car and a favorite. The bodies rusted quickly due to New York winters and the sunroofs leaked, but otherwise comfortable and fun. BTW, if I remember correctly, there was only one signal light on the dash - just showing you the indicators were on. I think they assumed you would know which direction you were turning. Thanks for bringing back fond memories!
Thanks for the great trip down memory lane, HubNut. My father had a new 1963 (first face lift version painted in Ivory White) 404 as a company car in Nairobi in which we drove many thousands of trouble free miles around East Africa. He had a choice between that or the Volvo P1300 Amazon, but chose the Peugeot after it won the East African Safari Rally that year, and the Volvo didn't! We then bought it off his firm and shipped it to Northern Ireland in 1969 when we emigrated, and then to England in 1971 before the tin worm got it in 1975, as it had absolutely no rust protection. I was especially intrigued to see that the gearbox in your test car was of a quite different pattern to ours. To engage first gear, you pushed away and down. Second was then eventually engaged where you were having trouble engaging 3rd! 4th gear was a pull towards you and up, and was referred to officially as 'overdrive'. Reverse gear was selected by pushing away and then Up. I was also interested to see that your car had none of the flat spot hesitation we encountered when pulling strongly away in first gear, when the car tended to kangaroo hop a little until you eased off on the accelerator pedal! Fantastic family car and a dear family friend to boot!
To my eye the Peugeot 404 is the most balanced and prettiest design of the three mentioned (the others being the Lancia Flaminia and the BMC Farina). It's also the most recent one. Perhaps Pininfarina didn't just recycle the same design; they made incremental improvements until it was just right. And in that colour... oh la la!
The 404 was the first car I owned, I worked at the local Peugeot dealership at the time so was able to restore the car with many genuine parts. It was a very well engineered car at the time, as all of the steering and suspension ball joints were rebuildable as well as the front shock absorbers. The gearbox casing and differential casing was made from cast aluminum. My 1972 model had the 5 main bearing crankshaft, bottom end was bullet proof. All of the bright work on the car that people think was chrome plated steel was actually made from stainless steel. The engine cooling fan was not a viscous coupling, but rather an electromagnetic design and if it stopped working for whatever reason, you had the ability to lock it up by adjusting the air gap on the clutch to zero
I was going to make the same point about the fan being electromagnetic and not viscous. The usual reasons for failure were 1. there was a wire with a carbon brush that carried current to the electromagnet. When the brush wore out or the wire broke the fan would not engage. 2. The thermostatic switch could fail (rare) and this would disable the fan. Our family had several 404s, including a 1960, 1963, 1964 wagon and a 1968 wagon. In the US the worm drive was dropped about 1968 and we missed that singing from the rear differential. Their only real weakness was body rust. The earlier models had a different shift pattern than the later ones, the older ones were like a regular column shift with an additional gear down and then up beside 2nd gear. They later changed it to the 4 H pattern with reverse at the bottom. Sadly they also changed to nylon bushings in the shift linkages which cracked over years and required replacement (unless you saved the ball and socket ones from an older car and replaced the nylon ones with these).
The 403 and 404 are a couple of my favorite French cars. I remember that the whole rear axle housing was aluminum. Several years ago, I read an article about Peugeot, including reasons why they eventually folded in the US. It mentioned that the electromagnetic fan was something alien to American mechanics and was often blamed for blown head gaskets and cracked heads. I think the 504 had them too. Until now, I never knew about the locking fan-clutch trick!
@@sunbeam8866 On the 68 404 wagon I bought used someone had spot welded the clutch together because they didn't know about the brush. About 2 years later the spot weld broke so I replaced the brush and the fan worked perfectly. Some asked about why didn't they just use an electric fan and the answer was this was developed before the alternator. At idle in traffic an electric fan would put an enormous load on a generator based system and the battery could easily discharge especially at night.
@@vanceblosser2155 I'm not sure when the wagons got the hypoid rear end, I think 1966 in Australia, that would be 1965 in the rest of the world. Still in an all-alloy housing.
@@raybell6984 You could easily be right, we had a 64 which was worm drive then a 68 which was hypoid, none in between. There was a pretty major update for 1968 in the US which included a new dash, alternator instead of generator, larger engine, and an improved interior. And back up lights (reversing lights).
Great video, driving and commentary, Ian - as usual. Great car of course. What fantastic condition both this 404 and the Wolseley Six are in - a great thank you to the owners too. Kind regards.
These cars were the staple in West Africa, they seemed to last forever. I do remember that column gearshift. They were replaced with the 504 in the 70's which had the added refinement of an independent rear suspension. That car proved to be equally bulletproof.
Lovely Peugeot! Sometimes around 1970-73 my parents rented a cottage and the neighbours had a white 404, an old couple. We had a VW beetle and boy I envied that beautiful Peugeot with fins ( I was only 4 years old 1970)! Please do test a 504 if you can find one, my uncle had one and I remembered it being a motorway cruiser!
Even more resistant than the 404, virtually immortal if properly maintained, it conquered the African continent. The break (family) variant was often used here (Martinique, FWI) as a 9 seat small bus. Some pickup variants of both 404 and 504 with the Indenor Diesel are still professionally used today, they are quite rare now but the owners just wouldn't give them up or sale them at any cost, period : simple, reliable, tough and more capable on bad roads than some 4x4 that appear to be too heavy in such context (the very same reasons behind their success in Africa!)
Glorious. Excellent idea to upload next to the Wolseley. Such pleasing design you can forgive absolutely any laziness there. There is no angle from which it looks less than gorgeous and I bet that is true of the estate version too. Definitely more utility than the BMC offering but with elegance in that simplicity. Some inspiration to the mechanical engineering also as you say. I had always wondered what the wires going to the fan were and had assumed that it was motor assistance for low engine revs. The clutch explanation is more logical.
I can just imagine leaving Paris and barreling down the RN6 towards Lyon in one of these overtaking on the original 3 lane route nationales, horn blowing as was the old custom when passing other cars. Hmmm memories 😊. Great report BTW 👍
That's what I love about old Peugeots. While not the most eye-popping in terms of styling, they were well designed and had that magic combination of ride quality, handling and comfort. Their ruggedness was well-suited to Australian conditions which saw them develop a following here for a time. Loved my old 505s and now my 405. My brother also ended up with a 406.
My dad had the estate version and towed a caravan many many many miles, rebuilt the engine and repainted it several times - came in an unusual blue -that you couldnt make your mind up if it was blue or very brilliant white! the registration of it was EUY 250J
Get the feeling you liked this one? Quite surprising but it does have an awful lot of good points and looks and sounds to drive a lot better than the BMC Farinas. Thank you for opening our eyes to a lovely old classic!
I had a fellow Park Ranger who owned one in the early 80s south of Sydney, remarkable cars the 404. Just a lovely car to drive and cover long distances in.
Used to go to cubs in one of these in Australia in the 1960s it was a friend mothers car, they always seemed exotic. It was a pink colour with cream interior fantastic! They were popular in rural areas because they were so well built and earned a reputation for bullet proof reliability.
A very nice car indeed! I love the noise of the engine. It has that lovely classic 60s 4 pot sound. And the worm drive on the diff was a nice way of giving a low floor in the cab.
Yeah i always looked at these as a french Austin cambridge, and always wanted to know more about them, Ian answers all the questions as always, thanks Hubs.
Lovely! I remember watching several 404 in Portugal, as a kid. And some of them were taxi cabs, with the Lisbon taxi colors, back then: black and the ceiling in lettuce green. Awesome video.
A hidden gem. My eldest bro once had a 505 and that was great too. He asked me & my other bro to bleed his brakes on that so we did and the bleed nipple snapped clean off just as we bled the last corner lol.
Been looking forward to a walk around video of a 404 for so long.. such an under appreciated car glad to see people finally showing it some well deserved love ❤️
Aah, the utterly brilliant Peugeot 404. Never a great looker but wow, what a terrific vehicle. So practical, comfortable, sturdy and dependable, drove at least a million miles in the saloon, estate and pickup versions I owned in Africa. They were all assembled in Rhodesia from CKD kits. Best column gearchange ever made.
My dad bought one in the seventies it was a estate car with three rows of seats , it was an unusual car in the uk , it was followed by a 504 GL saloon automatic with a sun roof, very more upmarket for us and still unusual.
I owned a 404 for many years. It was an earlier version with non assisted drum brakes, originally with riveted linings. The column shift was often a problen for inexperienced drivers. The trick is to not grip the lever and use an open palm. The strong spring between the 1-2 and 3-4 planes will guide a 2 to 3 shift effortlessly. It was possible to shift gears faster than a Porsche of the era. An automatic transmission version was made but I believe only one privately imported car existed in Australia. I wish I still owned one.
These were ubiquitous in diesel form in Majorca as taxis in the early 70s and were bombproof reliable too. I also remember one of these as a taxi in the UK, which had another side door and a bench row of three extra passengers. I'm sure I'm not dreaming this. It was truly the first people carrier that wasn't a van. They were truly great motors of their age. In fact, I think I like them over the Peugeots of today!!
That is a little gem. If only manufacturers would consider ride comfort today. It seems the firm suspension and tyres the thickness of liquorice is all that's offered.
I had a 67 404 way back in 1980. Kept it a couple of years and was the car I had when I first married. Very comfortable car to drive. Mine was a lightish grey.
Can confirm, there is no car before or after with the durability of this car. One landed in my hands at the age of nine years (my age not the car) on the farm, had "slight" accident damage, no windscreen but was a perfect runner. Much "racing" was done with it on and around the farm on tracks that would make a monkey reach for a walking stick. These were built in South Africa until 1978, the GL and Automatique fitted with 1800 engines.
Johann Viljoen I had this exact car (same colour too) in South Africa - bought it as soon as I came out of national service. Wonderful car - wish I could own one again!
What an absolutely beautiful car, I would sell a kidney to own one of these ….a superb example as well not a spec of rust anywhere, a real credit to its owner. Thanks for uploading !
I recall reading an article about the early coil spring Land Rovers having a habit of breaking springs when given a hard time in Africa. The locals would go to the scrap yard and take the coils from 404s and put them inside the Land Rover springs to beef things up a bit! As for the Renault 16, well I had a 1565cc TL and it was by far the best car I have ever owned, and the only one that had too much rearward seat adjustment (I'm a leggy 6'4") on the drivers seat. If you can find a 16 to test, good luck in the UK!
I've been waiting for this video for a very long time, ever since I discovered Mr Nut! I've wanted one of these since forever, they were kinda common in the SF Bay Area, I've not seen one since forever. Thank you, Ian!
For those that might be interested this is a video of the 1964 Longford Motor race. Shows the 'Flying Mile' that Hubnut drove down and also where he went through roadworks was where 'Pit Straight' used to be. Runs for 22 min. Good car spotting video. My Mum and Dad took my sister, brother and me every year in our 1957 FE Holden....rather have gone in a 404...oh well.
ua-cam.com/video/idVwSpxE9qg/v-deo.html
Great video. Thanks.
It was the embankment that Hubnut drove through 3 times that intrigued me - any ideas?
If you mean the car park that he started and finished at, that was Union St. Longford that leads down to the St. Esk River. Union St. also formed part of the original race track and it leads to the Hotel on the corner, now called the Chequered Flag. Union St. leads to a boat ramp on the river where the original old wooden bridge crossed the river as shown in the video.
@@millomweb Just worked it out after seeing another post with the same query. It is a flood levy with a gap in it for the road. In event of flood I think they have some means of blocking off the road/gap . River often floods at Longford.
@@peterriggall620 Longford no. 3 ! (not Vic or Ireland but TAS !)
Now I've found the place, yes it's flood defences.
"1.6L - To Australians, that's not even a sensible amount of milk."
That is one of the greatest lines ever uttered in a car review. Absolute Gold Ian.
You could have said, that is one of the greatest lines ever 'uddered' as it was all about milk!
@@jaguar53100 oye vey 😛
@@jaguar53100 " . . . as it was all about milk!" I think you can leave the explanation off -- it's gratuitous.
It had only 65hp and a top speed of 145 km/h.
Some additional factoids on this lovely 404:
- as you can see on the inner fenders the car has McPherson strut front suspension, quite modern for that era
- the engine has an aluminium head, Again quite modern for that era.
- the head design is a HEMI. (Yes, just like a Chrysler). Notice where the plug wires pass through the valve cover.
- the shortblock is a cast iron wet sleeve design which makes overhaul easy. It has a forged steel 3 main bearing crankshaft.
- notice there is no petrol tank access in either of the fenders. The filler cap is hidden behind the registration plate.
- also, notice that strange hole in the centre of the front bumper? That is an access hole for hand cranking the engine. So ever when the battery is almost flat, of it still has enough power to run the ignition jou can still start the engine by hand cranking it!
jfv65 Chrysler Europe was swallowed up by Peugeot and my Chrysler’s all had those features and the viscous fan. big coincidence I wonder.
@@dogwalker666 Chrysler Europe was formed in 1970 after acquiring Simca (France) and Rootes (UK), this operation folded and was subsequently sold to PSA in 1978, many years after the 404 was developed. So those features could not have existed in the 404 just because Peugeot has bought Chrysler's European operations.
Surprisingly lots of cars even in the pre Chrysler Hemi era had good head designs incorporating hemispherical combustion chambers. Chrysler had the brainwave of trade marking the name Hemi, thus preventing others from calling their engines with hemispherical combustion chambers a hemi. Makes many think Chrysler invented the hemi whereas they only invented the term hemi. Daimler SP 250 comes to mind.
@@johnd8892 as a kid I only thought of hemi as being a massive American engine then one day I realised it was the head shape which supprised me as my dads car at the time had that design I had helped him polish it was one of my first big jobs on his car. It now makes sense I would love to drive a big dodge hemi, I loved my rover V8 but that was only 3.5L
Robert Brink I know I was. Referring to the last generation avenger and the 1l sunbeam that are very similar I think they were copying the 404.
I've been looking for one of these, but
404 Not Found
I see what you did there
You only found 403 ?
hahaa
What nonsense is@@scaleop4 as a name ?
@@millomweb what does it matter
The 404 was a robust car, ideal for Australia. These were very popular and lasted years. Many went on to become an 18 year old's first drive.
@@grievuspwn4g3 superior to Mercedes in some areas
@@grievuspwn4g3 I'm talking mechanics not market segments.
What a blooming beautiful car I love that wish all cars still had caracter like that brilliant video Ian
One of the best French cars ever.
In the Netherlands they were called ''French Mercedes''
And indeed they had the same excellent ride and build quality as a mid range Merc at that time.
The DS was a masterpiece of design and engineering, but required a lot of expensive maintenance at specialized garages/dealers. The Renault 16 was a well thought through concept and just as good to drive, but had an unfortunate tendency to rust at vital body parts.
The dutch 404's also came with a sunroof as Standard.
I tough the 504 was called Frensh Mercedes?
403 , 404 , 504 the best Peugeot Qualty.
This gets a like before I even watch it. I've owned three and they're one of my favourite cars ever. I never used the handbrake but if you do it's easier to release it with your foot. Upward gearchanges on all mine could be carried out with an outstretched finger. Ride, seats, and handling IMO are better than many far more modern cars.
Finally driving the best family car of the 1960s. My first drive was a loaded up car over very C grade roads and I was used to metric speedos. I was wondering why it was battling to hold 80 on the speedo. Then the owner told me it was an imperial speedo.
Opposite experience for me in 1972 when we went to Portugal. I was 8 and was most impressed when I saw over the taxi driver's shoulder that we were doing over 100mph on the way to our holiday let from the airport! It was km/h of course 🙄. Dad hired a Morris Marina coupe for the time we were there. He had to park it with the petrol filler jammed against the wall 'cos the local kids would siphon the petrol for their mopeds 😁
One of the only French cars that never got a bad reputation here in North America! It seems the whole world loved these, and rightly so.
It was sold in the US ?
Yes, 404s were fairly popular by French standards.
Drove one about twenty five years ago. A memorable outing. The seats were very comfortable. Good suspension. 🐸
Nice car and what a beautiful colour ! I'm french, and when I was a kid, my grand dad, who was a farmer in the south west of France, had a one of these, a Peugeot 404 "super luxe". It was in the 70's and early 80's. His car was grey metallic with leather interior. As my grand dad was deaf, he revved his car constantly, so it was not a quiet drive, on the contrary, rather rough, and yes, this car was robust, a classic Peugeot as we no longer do.
It is such a shame that French cars are utterly rubbish. Because only the French cars have some character left. All the brands in the world are copying the boring VAG cars and their horrendous park bench seats.
@@H4lminator I don't believe that current French cars are utterly rubbish. Peugeot have made vast improvements and have some very good cars - they just haven't look a bit German to sell. The general public just seem to think that German cars are reliable, quality vehicles. Now that is utterly rubbish!
That colour, available on the 404s that were assembled in Australia, was called "Bathurst blue". I used to have a 1970 404 in that colour.
@@H4lminator French cars are of good quality. In Canada we buy a lot of Japanese cars because they are reliable. They have a better reputation than Wolkswagen and for the rest of German cars they are unreliable at all because they are too sophisticated.
From my memory (and I'll stand corrected) but this is not a standard Australian assembled Peugeot colour. I'm trying to think of the 1969 colours - White (of course) Sunburst (a burnt orangey colour) I think there was a green. Someone may have a better memory than me.
Peugeots were (are?) also assembled and sold in South Africa. While living there, my mother bought a brand new 404 in 1972 and in 1978 I took my driving test in it. This video brings back lots of memories!
They were also produced for 3 more years in South Africa
The best automatic ever built.A real workhorse in South Africa.❤
One of my uncles had a 504 and later a 505, covering a period when he had a farm in central Victoria through to retirement in Melbourne. The reputation they received from the Redex Trial success certainly carried them through that era, not without justification.
Our family doctor had a Peugeot 404, probably the only one in Oklahoma. I carpooled with him to my school in the suburbs. He had an interesting way of changing gears. He barely got moving in first before switching to second, accelerated for a while in second and then changed straight into fourth gear. The engine groaned slightly in fourth but then got back to normal very quickly. His car was a rather ugly dark brown color but I suppose that hid the rust very well. He must have had that car for over twenty years. He was a really great man, even volunteering to tend to prisoners in the local jail. On one of those visits, he felt kind of funny. He couldn't talk properly and his right arm started to go numb. Instead of going immediately to the hospital, he finished his volunteer work. By the time he drove to the hospital, his entire side was quite numb. He had suffered a stroke and never properly recovered. He was such an excellent doctor to everyone but apparently not to himself. I think he had to get rid of the Peugeot because he couldn't switch the gears on the column anymore.
Having lived in Central Africa and worked in the motor trade in the 1970s, I am very familiar with the 404 and indeed the 403 which had an incredibly good reputation locally for robustness and reliability. As it has to be said did the Holdens which we imported. It was great to see this road test and remember all the good things about the 404.
These older cars are so more interesting than a modern car. Excellent choice ian and you put across how much you were enjoying it. Thanks for another superb HubNut experience.
Thank you for the return to then experience. I had a 1971 (1970) model 404, after driving a 1965 404 for three years. It was a Perth doctor's former car and it was a pleasure to drive, the engine did sound rather jetlike, which impressed the petrol heads. I admit to leaving the traffic lights in second gear more than one... a day. The trips from Perth to places as faras Albany were always enjoyable and my passengers marvelled that we made it to our destination, expecting to catch a train at some halfway mark - the Oxford design deceived them all. Those naivetesse raised on bulk over finesse.
The memories come flooding back of my 1968 404 assembled at Thames , New Zealand.
I remember been shown how to place the palm of your hand on the front of the spongy gear knob to place in first and down to second ,then behind the knob to lift to third and down to fourth. The one car I always regretted selling.
You were shown the correct method - commmonly called the "palm change".
@@allanbriggs807 Thank you Allam
He's back! What a lovely car. I want one. Thank you for the re-upload.
I rather think Ian liked the Peugeot!
I think you may be right
Could something similar be on it's way to the HubNut garage soon...?
We shall see.
Peugeots aren't as sexy as Citroens but they sneak up on you and steal your heart. And your wallet.
@@davebicker8618 Either Ian or Mat - did you see his 505 estate review?
ua-cam.com/video/bvy1q4JW_UQ/v-deo.html
@@davebicker8618
He'll need to be either a bit flush with cash or have a sympathetic bank manager. They're more pricey than I imagined even here in France
You know, I was never very interested in these but this was a bit of an eye-opener. It seems a very easy car to live with and that engine sounds unusually smooth fot a 4 pot. Big squashy French seats too, what's not to love?
The French do know how to make a good seat....the 505 seat is the most comfortable I've ever sat in still to this day.
@@AUmarcus The French car manufacturers certainly understood that first and foremost, people want comfort in a car. For a time, they were the only nation that built proper luxury cars. IE: comfortable ones. Unfortunately, Peugeot, Renault and Citroen have lost their way and just follow the bone shaker herd nowadays. Such a shame. I think we need to start a 'Bring Back Comfort' campaign.
Peugeot know how to make engines and decent comfort, the 406 is still today better than many.
@@G-ra-ha-m Yes, but how many years ago was a 406?
The first car I've known in my family was a 404 Familiale, I loved it with its three row seating. It was replaced by the second Range Rover imported in France but I think I still prefered the Peugeot as a kid.
I spotted a nice old 203 today - have not seen one for years. Have a nice day all. CHEERS from AUSTRALIA.
Good to see you met some of our friends, the flies, while here in Australia.
"The Aussie salute, also known as the Barcoo salute (after the Barcoo River) or Bush salute, is the waving of one's hand in front of the face at regular intervals in order to prevent bush flies from landing on it, or entering one's nose or mouth. Ecologist Eric Pianka characterizes it as a gesture that is "diagnostic of Australia".
I love a 4 speed column change. A thing of the past.
Agreed
Thanks for your post, very nostalgic for me. I had one for many years until rust took its toll. A common problem sadly. A local motoring magazine did a retrospective on Peugeot in Australia looking at the 203 through to the 404 and concluded that for its time the 404 was probably the best family sedan ever! They're tough as boots too and will go forever once quirks like the ignition switch are finally figured out. I had an extended trip overseas and asked my father to use the car, as they don't like sitting around, and he had fallen for its many charms too by the time I returned and was sad to hand it back. I could go on and on. Thanks again, this is the best 404 video I've seen on here!
Hubnut you little ripper, these Aussie gems you review are fascinating! When lockdown ends take a trip to South Africa, you will find equally fascinating gems there, such as the 404GL, which had lovely interior trim and the larger 1.8l engine from the 504. I have a copy of a roadtest, please let me know if you'd like a copy.
This takes me back! My father bought one of the last in the UK, MAA819L, 1973. When the RHS Macpherson Strut bearings seized, he took it off the road, and it became my first car after I passed my test :-).
The knobs on the instrument binnacle: The left hand one winds back the 'Trip' odometer, the right hand one is a dimmer for the instrument lighting.
The lighting stalk 8:15 works in a U pattern: Lift it anti-clockwise, (think signaling left), you flash the High Beam. Pull it up towards your face gets the side-lights, from there lift it anti-clockwise, (think signaling left again), gets the Dip Beam, from there, push DOWN (towards the floor), puts on the High Beam.
The heater, 10:29 has 2 flaps to the bottom left and right. When lifted, it cuts the air, when lowered, it allows the air around your legs and feet. Both are 'open' here.
Another oddity is that the wheels only had 3 nuts spinning onto studs. Surprising for what is a heavy car.
Also, the petrol filler is behind the rear number plate that hinges downward.
The spark plugs are recessed into the engine , and have long springs attached on the top, (they have a box-nut wrench to get them out), and special plastic pipes that fit over the springs, (about 5 to 6 inches long, if memory serves), that clip onto the plugs at the bottom, with the HT leads inserted into the top, to pass current to the springs. One car you can not cross-thread the plugs on!
There used to be a guy in North West London who kept bits for old 404s. Business called TAPREX. I doubt he is still around, though, as that was nearly 40 years ago.
It was a lovely car to drive. Good times.
Just had quick Google search for Taprex. Still in Harrow, doing Pluming and Air Con work, if it is the same family. The cars were a side-line from the main business. www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.taprex.6ccf5cf55547e2bfde4b447fbb2994c9.html
You. Have brought some good memories back had one in 1979 bought for 750 pounds it was a 1972 maroon with a sunroof orange interim always remember getting the car and spending time looking for the petrol filler behind the number plate slight rust but lovely drive I was 21 at the time volvo ran into it in a car park written it off
Now that I have watched the video three times I can comment on a couple of details, the steering wheel has been fitted upside down (maybe the owner likes It that way) and the radiator fan is actually engaged by means of an electro-magnet, also on the inner side of the fan there are 3 thumbscrews that will let you fix the fan to the pulley un case the electro-magnet fails. Its all very clever.
Seems a bit bizarre for a car in Oz. One would anticipate using all of the fan nearly all of the time.
Checked with the owner on the steering wheel. He said he has heard that comment once before however they have had 3 x 404's in their family and all steering wheels have been the same. So a bit of a mystery there. Maybe the Aussies turned them upside down as we are 'down under'????
@@peterriggall620 My 404 had the steering wheel upside down when I got it too, but you just have to take a look at the period ads and brochures available online and you'll see the steering wheel is always shown the other way around. I think this confusion comes from the fact that most other cars that have a two spoke steering wheel have the spokes pointing downward so people then see the 404 wheel with the spokes pointing upward and think it is the wrong way up.
Agreed, it is upside down, I missed that during the clip.
@@vanpastel The owner got back to me today and Yes, you are quite correct. He checked a pic. in the owner manual and he agrees that his steering wheel is indeed upside down. Spotters prize!!!!
Another automotive treat. A lovely example of a rarely seen motor now, and what a lovely colour, thanks to the lucky owner and of course you Mr H.
A most delightful 'Pug'. I was in Egypt a few years ago and saw quite a few of these, working as taxis, in remarkable condition.
Talk about a trip down memory lane. Thanks Ian. Just a couple of points. We put Marchal quartz halogen globes in. The best headlights of any car I have ever driven. Great on country roads. Gave breadth and distance.
The other mention is cruising speed. From memory the 1969 Peugeot 404 had a top speed of 94mph. However you could comfortably cruise at 85mph all day every day. The high cruising speed was really good. My 1969 Peugeot 404 did 140,000miles - a lot at very high speeds on country roads. I drove hard and fast. You just couldn't kill the 404. Best car I ever owned.
How could it be a surprise that this car is excellent? Amazed you are amazed.
One of our neighbors back in the 70,s had a Diesel Break...and 10 children.
It took one hour to fit everybody in an than an other hour to pre-heat it.
But they never failed....i love these cars .
Greetings from Holland.
A friend of mine has a 1972 404 with sunroof and tan leather interior and has covered 995.000km
Did he buy it new ?
@@julienbee3467 Yes!
@@tasospappas6627 1 life 1 car
@@julienbee3467 Not exactly... He still has the 404 but when in 1986 he sent the engine for a total rebuild it was stolen and since then there is no engine in the car. Then he bought a 505 which he still uses.
why not million ? :)
My dad had one from new in 1968.......it was the station wagon - three rows of seats......vinyl seats that got bloody hot in the summer........maroon it was...........we went all over Europe in it - great car!!
Another appreciated instructive vid. In this era and prior Peugeots were highly regarded in Australia. The 203, with a 1.3 litre 4, winning the first 1953 round Australia Redex Trial against many much larger and more powerful cars must have been a good starting point.
Demand was such that Peugeots were assembled alongside Renaults in Australia at the Continental & General plant in in the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg West. In earlier times they also assembled a range of vehicles including Citroen, NSU and Studebaker. I think the NSU was short lived though. Later on a Ford model too.
Result of the tax advantages of local assembly and local content then.
In 1964, the company was purchased by Renault and stopped producing everything else, except for Peugeot models. The more in demand Pugs continued to be built alongside a few Renault models up until the 504 Peugeot model ended production here I think. It was then the only place where the two rival brands were assembled in the same factory. The flexibility of the company also had them building Cortina Station Wagons for the minor demand they had for the TC model wagon until about 1981. Perhaps the Cortina Wagons were a hindrance to volume Ford production. Not sure what the flow of parts was like from the nearby Ford main plant at Campbellfield to Heidelberg West.
Not sure what is at Continental & General now.
Much higher regarded than a BMC Farina 24/80 or Austin Freeway. Even with the six cylinder Blue Streak the 404 was just 4hp behind. Lots of torque as you found.The 4 speed all synchro gearbox, advanced suspension and near the best drum brakes around. So a market segment would pay more for the 404 here.
A bit of map archaeology turned up the corner of Dougharty Road and Kylta Road, now occupied by a mob called Marvel Bookbinding. Looks like the original buildings. I have Visited VDO in the area in the past and notice TÜV is on the same block. One of the former epicentres of Australian automotive manufacturing!
@Rodger Hodgson I had forgotten about the later Sydney production.
My friend had a 203 in Papua New guinea in the 70s
Oh wow - my late uncle (who lived in what was then called Rhodesia) had the estate version in that same colour. He said it was the best car he’d owned!
Peugeot engineers showing how it should be done.
The 404 is also a record holder.
A single seat diesel prototype in 1965 took part in a 72 hour endurance run using for drivers and averaging 99 mph without issue. In the process it set 22 world records.
A month later Peugeot took it out again and it set another 18 records.
This was all done to prove that Peugeot diesel engines were better than German diesel engines.
My Lecturer at Gateshead Technical College had one in late 70s .. pastel green estate.
Diesel. Having been a Bus Fitter he was obsessed with fuel economy ... plus he lived up in the wilds of Durham.
It was as clean as a whistle underneath. Thanks for the memory HubNut!
This brings back lots of fun memories, our family friends had a white 404, with a red interior, it also has a wide black stripe between the chrome and the bottom of the windows running the length of the vehicle… it’s was very exotic! Many trips with a tribe of kids in the car
French cars have been well engineered since forever, often more advanced than most British or German cars. Exceptions of course the mini and Austin 1100, which were very nice and advanced cars.
@Rodger Hodgson And you have verbal diarrhoea.
French cars have lost the market because of quality issues. I have had 5 French cars, I had my share of problems.
The only car in the house just cannot be French. You need back-up.
@Rodger Hodgson I hope your bowels get untwisted.
@Rodger Hodgson Calm down dear.
@Rodger Hodgson Ooh, how clever. Well done.
One of Peugeot's best models. That's why they sold so many of them. They're scarce today, so I'm glad that you found one in good condition. Thanks Ian.
Oh yes! Now that is spot on. As much as I love a hydraulic Citroen, the indestructible nature of the Peugeot's appeals so much. There's just something about how they used to fine tune steering and suspension that is special. Wonderful car, I want one now!
What a sweet car! Everything sounds proper, doors, horn, engine... As an automotive Francophile, Citroen is my first love, but I want a 404 now!
The standard 404 petrol had a great 3rd gear, it was my racing gear....the steering was precise, accurate and had the best feedback...you know exactly what the front end was doing. I had great fun with it as a teenager. My dad used to take it into oil palm estates...Land Rover territory...
404 Found! 😂 A family down the road have a 404 Break Familiale, always brightens up my day when they pass my house in the 404.
Are you in England ?
@@julienbee3467 Netherlands
In my first office job in the 1980's I had a workmate who owned a Peugeot 504 saloon and he really loved it! I remember riding in it with him and it was a really smooth ride. The estate version would have made an ideal family car.
One of these is high on my list of cars I want, ironically in the last couple of days I've watched several long clips on UA-cam of french classics doing tours. The 404 featured a lot naturally, the coupe and convertible may be pricey but the saloon is still affordable and the estate is huge. My dream 404 would one decked out in period Tour de France team colours! It also has a bit of long distance rallying pedigree too.
"Look at that for a wiper pattern" - is why I love this channel so much
My boss did Peking to Paris in a Pug 404, absolute beast, it still exists on the scene somewhere.... it sounds calmer than a BMC. Brilliant review Ian! 👍
What a joyous video and a joyous car, after a hot sweaty day at work in a flour mill that's cheered me right up.
Thanks Ian :)
My first car and a favorite. The bodies rusted quickly due to New York winters and the sunroofs leaked, but otherwise comfortable and fun. BTW, if I remember correctly, there was only one signal light on the dash - just showing you the indicators were on. I think they assumed you would know which direction you were turning.
Thanks for bringing back fond memories!
Thanks for the great trip down memory lane, HubNut. My father had a new 1963 (first face lift version painted in Ivory White) 404 as a company car in Nairobi in which we drove many thousands of trouble free miles around East Africa. He had a choice between that or the Volvo P1300 Amazon, but chose the Peugeot after it won the East African Safari Rally that year, and the Volvo didn't!
We then bought it off his firm and shipped it to Northern Ireland in 1969 when we emigrated, and then to England in 1971 before the tin worm got it in 1975, as it had absolutely no rust protection. I was especially intrigued to see that the gearbox in your test car was of a quite different pattern to ours. To engage first gear, you pushed away and down. Second was then eventually engaged where you were having trouble engaging 3rd! 4th gear was a pull towards you and up, and was referred to officially as 'overdrive'. Reverse gear was selected by pushing away and then Up. I was also interested to see that your car had none of the flat spot hesitation we encountered when pulling strongly away in first gear, when the car tended to kangaroo hop a little until you eased off on the accelerator pedal! Fantastic family car and a dear family friend to boot!
To my eye the Peugeot 404 is the most balanced and prettiest design of the three mentioned (the others being the Lancia Flaminia and the BMC Farina). It's also the most recent one. Perhaps Pininfarina didn't just recycle the same design; they made incremental improvements until it was just right. And in that colour... oh la la!
The 404 was the first car I owned, I worked at the local Peugeot dealership at the time so was able to restore the car with many genuine parts. It was a very well engineered car at the time, as all of the steering and suspension ball joints were rebuildable as well as the front shock absorbers. The gearbox casing and differential casing was made from cast aluminum. My 1972 model had the 5 main bearing crankshaft, bottom end was bullet proof. All of the bright work on the car that people think was chrome plated steel was actually made from stainless steel. The engine cooling fan was not a viscous coupling, but rather an electromagnetic design and if it stopped working for whatever reason, you had the ability to lock it up by adjusting the air gap on the clutch to zero
I was going to make the same point about the fan being electromagnetic and not viscous. The usual reasons for failure were 1. there was a wire with a carbon brush that carried current to the electromagnet. When the brush wore out or the wire broke the fan would not engage. 2. The thermostatic switch could fail (rare) and this would disable the fan. Our family had several 404s, including a 1960, 1963, 1964 wagon and a 1968 wagon. In the US the worm drive was dropped about 1968 and we missed that singing from the rear differential. Their only real weakness was body rust. The earlier models had a different shift pattern than the later ones, the older ones were like a regular column shift with an additional gear down and then up beside 2nd gear. They later changed it to the 4 H pattern with reverse at the bottom. Sadly they also changed to nylon bushings in the shift linkages which cracked over years and required replacement (unless you saved the ball and socket ones from an older car and replaced the nylon ones with these).
The 403 and 404 are a couple of my favorite French cars. I remember that the whole rear axle housing was aluminum.
Several years ago, I read an article about Peugeot, including reasons why they eventually folded in the US. It mentioned that the electromagnetic fan was something alien to American mechanics and was often blamed for blown head gaskets and cracked heads. I think the 504 had them too. Until now, I never knew about the locking fan-clutch trick!
@@sunbeam8866 On the 68 404 wagon I bought used someone had spot welded the clutch together because they didn't know about the brush. About 2 years later the spot weld broke so I replaced the brush and the fan worked perfectly. Some asked about why didn't they just use an electric fan and the answer was this was developed before the alternator. At idle in traffic an electric fan would put an enormous load on a generator based system and the battery could easily discharge especially at night.
@@vanceblosser2155 I'm not sure when the wagons got the hypoid rear end, I think 1966 in Australia, that would be 1965 in the rest of the world. Still in an all-alloy housing.
@@raybell6984 You could easily be right, we had a 64 which was worm drive then a 68 which was hypoid, none in between. There was a pretty major update for 1968 in the US which included a new dash, alternator instead of generator, larger engine, and an improved interior. And back up lights (reversing lights).
Great video, driving and commentary, Ian - as usual. Great car of course. What fantastic condition both this 404 and the Wolseley Six are in - a great thank you to the owners too. Kind regards.
These cars were the staple in West Africa, they seemed to last forever. I do remember that column gearshift. They were replaced with the 504 in the 70's which had the added refinement of an independent rear suspension. That car proved to be equally bulletproof.
Lovely Peugeot! Sometimes around 1970-73 my parents rented a cottage and the neighbours had a white 404, an old couple. We had a VW beetle and boy I envied that beautiful Peugeot with fins ( I was only 4 years old 1970)! Please do test a 504 if you can find one, my uncle had one and I remembered it being a motorway cruiser!
Even more resistant than the 404, virtually immortal if properly maintained, it conquered the African continent. The break (family) variant was often used here (Martinique, FWI) as a 9 seat small bus. Some pickup variants of both 404 and 504 with the Indenor Diesel are still professionally used today, they are quite rare now but the owners just wouldn't give them up or sale them at any cost, period : simple, reliable, tough and more capable on bad roads than some 4x4 that appear to be too heavy in such context (the very same reasons behind their success in Africa!)
Love the car but I mostly watch these videos because of your gentlemanly manner.
Glorious. Excellent idea to upload next to the Wolseley. Such pleasing design you can forgive absolutely any laziness there. There is no angle from which it looks less than gorgeous and I bet that is true of the estate version too.
Definitely more utility than the BMC offering but with elegance in that simplicity. Some inspiration to the mechanical engineering also as you say. I had always wondered what the wires going to the fan were and had assumed that it was motor assistance for low engine revs. The clutch explanation is more logical.
I can just imagine leaving Paris and barreling down the RN6 towards Lyon in one of these overtaking on the original 3 lane route nationales, horn blowing as was the old custom when passing other cars. Hmmm memories 😊. Great report BTW 👍
That's what I love about old Peugeots. While not the most eye-popping in terms of styling, they were well designed and had that magic combination of ride quality, handling and comfort. Their ruggedness was well-suited to Australian conditions which saw them develop a following here for a time. Loved my old 505s and now my 405. My brother also ended up with a 406.
Great to see the torque test actually. I had a V50 T5 and it’s party trick was starting off in 6th and staying there thanks to the huge torque.
My dad had the estate version and towed a caravan many many many miles, rebuilt the engine and repainted it several times - came in an unusual blue -that you couldnt make your mind up if it was blue or very brilliant white! the registration of it was EUY 250J
Such a pretty car and an enjoyable test. Peugeot really did make interesting cars back then. My brother had a 403. Cheers
Fab 😎 love it when you're impressed by something you weren't expecting 😂
My grandfather had such a car it was super experience to drive it.
I had a Peugeot 505 estate with the X2DS engine. Heavenly ride...
Owned a 404 years ago - just fabulous !!!
You could sense how this simple car does everything so capably and reliably -a dream car for the masses.
Get the feeling you liked this one?
Quite surprising but it does have an awful lot of good points and looks and sounds to drive a lot better than the BMC Farinas.
Thank you for opening our eyes to a lovely old classic!
Better than bmc farina is not a hard task.
I had a fellow Park Ranger who owned one in the early 80s south of Sydney, remarkable cars the 404. Just a lovely car to drive and cover long distances in.
That car has such character . Another one I’d love in my fantasy garage
Used to go to cubs in one of these in Australia in the 1960s it was a friend mothers car, they always seemed exotic. It was a pink colour with cream interior fantastic! They were popular in rural areas because they were so well built and earned a reputation for bullet proof reliability.
A very nice car indeed! I love the noise of the engine. It has that lovely classic 60s 4 pot sound. And the worm drive on the diff was a nice way of giving a low floor in the cab.
Love these 404s, pininfarina styling. The convertible looks very pretty too.
Yeah i always looked at these as a french Austin cambridge, and
always wanted to know more about them, Ian answers all the questions
as always, thanks Hubs.
Lovely!
I remember watching several 404 in Portugal, as a kid. And some of them were taxi cabs, with the Lisbon taxi colors, back then: black and the ceiling in lettuce green. Awesome video.
My late dad sold off his v8 Holden to buy the 404 in the 70#. He made a very good choice.
A hidden gem.
My eldest bro once had a 505 and that was great too.
He asked me & my other bro to bleed his brakes on that so we did and the bleed nipple snapped clean off just as we bled the last corner lol.
Ah yes. The joy of French bleed nipples. I'm convinced they don't actually make them out of any recognisable form of metal...
haha ian yes your probably right.
Been looking forward to a walk around video of a 404 for so long.. such an under appreciated car glad to see people finally showing it some well deserved love ❤️
Aah, the utterly brilliant Peugeot 404.
Never a great looker but wow, what a terrific vehicle.
So practical, comfortable, sturdy and dependable, drove at least a million miles in the saloon, estate and pickup versions I owned in Africa.
They were all assembled in Rhodesia from CKD kits.
Best column gearchange ever made.
My dad bought one in the seventies it was a estate car with three rows of seats , it was an unusual car in the uk , it was followed by a 504 GL saloon automatic with a sun roof, very more upmarket for us and still unusual.
I owned a 404 for many years. It was an earlier version with non assisted drum brakes, originally with riveted linings. The column shift was often a problen for inexperienced drivers. The trick is to not grip the lever and use an open palm. The strong spring between the 1-2 and 3-4 planes will guide a 2 to 3 shift effortlessly. It was possible to shift gears faster than a Porsche of the era.
An automatic transmission version was made but I believe only one privately imported car existed in Australia.
I wish I still owned one.
The best luxury taxi in Africa. This car was quite capable of towing a 16ft caravan on a 2000 mile journey.
That bonnet hinge though, my goodness, you could use that sound in a horror film!!! :P
I was trying to place that familiar noise, but it sounds just like the springs on a "Stira" folding attic stairs
I think a bit of lube would help !
As an engineer, I hate painters !
@@millomweb Absolutely... I've never heard noise out of one except if it had been lying around for some years. Lubrication is a help.
These were ubiquitous in diesel form in Majorca as taxis in the early 70s and were bombproof reliable too. I also remember one of these as a taxi in the UK, which had another side door and a bench row of three extra passengers. I'm sure I'm not dreaming this. It was truly the first people carrier that wasn't a van. They were truly great motors of their age. In fact, I think I like them over the Peugeots of today!!
That is a little gem. If only manufacturers would consider ride comfort today. It seems the firm suspension and tyres the thickness of liquorice is all that's offered.
I had a 67 404 way back in 1980. Kept it a couple of years and was the car I had when I first married. Very comfortable car to drive. Mine was a lightish grey.
Can confirm, there is no car before or after with the durability of this car. One landed in my hands at the age of nine years (my age not the car) on the farm, had "slight" accident damage, no windscreen but was a perfect runner. Much "racing" was done with it on and around the farm on tracks that would make a monkey reach for a walking stick. These were built in South Africa until 1978, the GL and Automatique fitted with 1800 engines.
Johann Viljoen I had this exact car (same colour too) in South Africa - bought it as soon as I came out of national service. Wonderful car - wish I could own one again!
What a revelation! Because of its looks, I always imagined an agricultural, slow and stodgy car. This is streets ahead of BMC.
I knew a fellow who owned the pickup version, really solid & reliable.
What an absolutely beautiful car, I would sell a kidney to own one of these ….a superb example as well not a spec of rust anywhere, a real credit to its owner. Thanks for uploading !
I recall reading an article about the early coil spring Land Rovers having a habit of breaking springs when given a hard time in Africa. The locals would go to the scrap yard and take the coils from 404s and put them inside the Land Rover springs to beef things up a bit! As for the Renault 16, well I had a 1565cc TL and it was by far the best car I have ever owned, and the only one that had too much rearward seat adjustment (I'm a leggy 6'4") on the drivers seat. If you can find a 16 to test, good luck in the UK!
I've been waiting for this video for a very long time, ever since I discovered Mr Nut! I've wanted one of these since forever, they were kinda common in the SF Bay Area, I've not seen one since forever. Thank you, Ian!
Lovely car, as usable today as then, never been in an uncomfortable Peugeot, as you say, most underated.
My father had a 6 seater estate of this when we were kids . Loved sitting in the every back row of seats going on holidays to Devon or Wales.