Well, Bruce was a man of many words! He described all the faults and issues of the car along with many positives. He had owned the car for many years after a long history of other Peugeots including 403's. He'd crossed the country many times and had kept the vehicles going by ingenuity and luck. On one of the crossings he had a tight deadline to meet and the car knew it! It continually broke bits and stopped many times but his perseverance paid off. He was in sight of the final town when the muffler parted company from the car. He stopped, threw it in the boot and made the last few miles sounding like a stockcar!

 

Unfortunately, Bruce's doctor gave him some bad news about his health and his wife, Cheryl, made him promise to clear the yard and concentrate on his health. Cheryl is a tough lady, doesn't mince her words, and when we met her was wearing army boots with a summer dress! Although she did soften when she saw that Bruce and I were getting on, and that I was interested in the car.

 

So the next day Malcolm and I hitched the trailer to his Landy and drove over to Bruce and Cheryl's Greenwood home.

 

The car looked fairly rough and seemed to be missing a fair bit but once we gained entry to the shed, we found all the parts and more. Bruce had owned three of these cars and had kept the best bits from each of them. Three sets of stainless trim, extra doors, bonnets, boots, a spare engine and gearbox and more.

 

Bruce told us he had reconditioned the engine as well as put a new clutch in but hadn't yet driven it since the work was done. He had owner’s manuals, workshop manuals, receipts for parts and files on the car that he gave me. We felt like part of the family by the time we left and they both came out to the trailer to say goodbye and wave us off.

 

Since getting the car I have spent time sanding the roof back and working on the engine. The carby and fuel tank needed a good clean, and new sparkplugs replaced the originals. Alastair got me a very good price on a new battery and eventually we got it fired up!

 

It now runs very smoothly; no smoke or rattles and it's waiting patiently for me to carry on with the bodywork now the summer heat has dropped. When finished it will be repainted in the original tan/orange with a cream roof. I'm looking forward to the day I can bring it on a run.