Four Oh! Five.

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Spiny Norman
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Four Oh! Five.

Post by Spiny Norman »

Thought I'd do a wee post on my current mode of transport, a 1994 Peugeot 405.
Bought from a bloke on The Beige when my previous car failed its MOT rather more drastically than I'd been hoping (often the reason for a new car for me), this cropped up just at the right time and right price.

Somehow the 405 had completely passed me by, I can't for the life of me ever remember driving one up till the night I drove this home but they were meant to be a bit good so why not?
The main thing you notice straight off about these is how comfy they are, from the traditional French suspension to the big, soft, squishy seats which despite their age and non-premium origins are still in fine form. Mechanically it's OK, I had to put an exhaust on it and replace the heater blower controller and give it a bit of a tidy up but so far it's been a faithful old hack.

They still look great, even when in 'pre-enjoyed' condition like this one.

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Junkman
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Re: Four Oh! Five.

Post by Junkman »

One of the nicest properties of Four or Fives is that they pass most people by.
They are a bit of an insider thing.
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Re: Four Oh! Five.

Post by NergleFuttocks »

Is that a 1.6? I had a red one while my car was annexed by boss’ boss as he had stuffed his 7 series and organized a loan car for me. That car and I had the most fun blasting along fenland B roads - it felt so much sweeter than my 1.9.

Daren’t drive one today as maybe the passage of time will show it up a little, but forever a fond memory.
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Re: Four Oh! Five.

Post by Spiny Norman »

Junkman wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:13 pm One of the nicest properties of Four or Fives is that they pass most people by.
They are a bit of an insider thing.
I know what you mean. Despite their relative popularity in the UK it's a car that hadn't ever crossed my radar until I found myself owning one.
It's also the first true repmobile I've ever had for any length of time, apart from a Mk2 Cav which was a company car.
I've never had a 1.6GL version of anything before, it makes me feel pleasantly average.
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Re: Four Oh! Five.

Post by Spiny Norman »

NergleFuttocks wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2019 11:00 pm Is that a 1.6?
Daren’t drive one today as maybe the passage of time will show it up a little, but forever a fond memory.
Aye, just a boggo 1.6. It's quite nippy though, 90bhp in a car that weighs bang on a ton is plenty for keeping up with modern traffic both in town and on the motorway.
It holds its own against modern stuff in most of the ways old shite does. You can see out of it which makes positioning it and reversing a doddle, which is why the bumpers aren't a mass of scrapes and cracks. As mentioned already it's comfy due to its soft, long travel suspension (many moderns are dreadfully jarring and rough on Glasgow's cratered roads) and as a bonus it's doing 35-40mpg in my mostly town running.

As you'd imagine for an old Frenchie it's got its faults but overall the experience is pretty positive for a sub-£500 car.
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Re: Four Oh! Five.

Post by Junkman »

Spiny Norman wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2019 12:34 am
Junkman wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:13 pm One of the nicest properties of Four or Fives is that they pass most people by.
They are a bit of an insider thing.
I know what you mean. Despite their relative popularity in the UK it's a car that hadn't ever crossed my radar until I found myself owning one.
Funnily enough that's pretty much how I got into them, too. Full story here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=302

Since the first one had arrived, the Junkhousehold doesn't really want to be without one, but they must be two litre autos, which I think are the proper sleepers of the bunch. They are genuine 125 OMGMPH cars.
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Re: Four Oh! Five.

Post by Junkman »

Spiny Norman wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2019 12:44 am
NergleFuttocks wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2019 11:00 pm Is that a 1.6?
Daren’t drive one today as maybe the passage of time will show it up a little, but forever a fond memory.
Aye, just a boggo 1.6. It's quite nippy though, 90bhp in a car that weighs bang on a ton is plenty for keeping up with modern traffic both in town and on the motorway.
It holds its own against modern stuff in most of the ways old shite does. You can see out of it which makes positioning it and reversing a doddle, which is why the bumpers aren't a mass of scrapes and cracks. As mentioned already it's comfy due to its soft, long travel suspension (many moderns are dreadfully jarring and rough on Glasgow's cratered roads) and as a bonus it's doing 35-40mpg in my mostly town running.

As you'd imagine for an old Frenchie it's got its faults but overall the experience is pretty positive for a sub-£500 car.
It doesn't take a lot to keep up with "modern traffic" consisting of dawdlers that brake for every bend in the road, or being stationary in a congestion 90% of which are caused by those dolts just not driving the fuck ON. You can keep up with that so called modern traffic there with a 1920s car quite nicely.
And it's not that the old stuff needs to hold its own against that newfangled tosh, it's the other way around. Every time I put in some "spirited" driving, I notice how that modern shit struggles to keep up, what with their Nürburgring tuned suspensions, steerings that feel like the ones of a computer game and half a ton of pure unadulterated morbid obesity nobody needs nor ever asked for.
And the only fault I can find with this old Frenchie is that it weirdly wasn't available with the 3.0 V6, I guess mainly because the 605 existed for some odd reason.
Last edited by Junkman on Thu Jun 20, 2019 2:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Four Oh! Five.

Post by Conrad D. Conelrad »

The V6 alone would not be enough to negate the 605. You would also need the motorised flap covering the radio.
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Re: Four Oh! Five.

Post by Junkman »

I did not say that. What I said is that the existence of the 605 may be the reason the V6 was not installed in 405s.
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Re: Four Oh! Five.

Post by bub2006 »

Wouldn't a V6 have been a too tight squeeze in the engine bay? From memory they aren't the most capacious.
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