Voitures Anciennes

[Hotrodder]

Would have looked much better with wirewheels.

Pretty much anything looks better with wire wheels, but not so sure about the Mehari.
Looked classy on my Toyota van though.

HiAce van.jpg

[curtis]

Presumably you had to change the hubs. What did they come from?
Certainly not on the Méhari.

[Hotrodder]

I removed the front hubs and rear axle shafts and sent them to an engineering workshop to have the bolt pattern redrilled to Ford 5-stud pcd. The wheels were manufactured by London Wheel Company (probably no longer trading). Then bought a set of MGB knock-on spinners and slightly modified them on my lathe to attach them to the wheels for the finishing touch. They were a bitch to keep clean but they did look good.

[curtis]

A lot of work but a neat result.

[RobertArthur]

No, not about detective Columbo's iconic convertible, never officially sold in the US. An estimated 23,000 of standard Peugeot 403s were sold in the USA. When Peugeot officially entered the American market in 1958, the 403 served as their flagship model, before sales of the successor 404 took over. The sixties, the 'golden age' of advertising, here the Peugeot 403 in May 1960. Of course, for a little more money, you could also buy something made in the US.. Not quite the perfect fit for the narrow streets of, say, the mountain village of Bergamo in Italy, where the Fiat 500 felt more at home. And from what I’ve heard, there are still Americans who wonder why those stubborn Europeans import so few American cars...But there is still hope, sometimes a ray of light from above can help us gain new insights. The only thing you have to do is to visit the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.






Not in showroom condition anymore, this 403 break.

[Hotrodder]

There is a trend lately for lazy (or broke) restorers to call it "patina". As a styling trend I think it sucks. They will just put a clear sealing coat over the rust. Sacrilege!