Hello everyone, after a bit of an absence I'm back with an 80's tastic sedan that would be worthy of my car of the week trophy any day and to prove it I've actually bought this one; the Peugeot 405 Mi16. Let me explain the reasons why this car ended up in my shed and what my plans are for this legendary bit of French tin.
Why a 405?
You may recall a while ago I blogged about my love hate relationship with the
Volkswagen Golf a car which at the time I was fixing up. The clutch had just decided to disintegrate though and to say I was peeved would have been an understatement, however that was months ago and the Golf is now fixed and with a new owner. Freed up for a new project my criteria was simple. If it was rare, a bit niche or just slightly random I was keen; oh and as long as it wasn't a Volkswagen! This led me to Peugeot's performance hero of the late 80's and early 90's, the 405 Mi16.
Strong bloodline
From the same engineers that brought us the iconic 205 GTI the sporty 405 was it's slightly rarer older brother. Originally powered by a 1.9 litre 16v but later upped to a full 2 litres (the car I have) it produced 160bhp, that's around 115Kw of high revving naturally aspirated goodness. A car I'd first seen in magazines and spotted only once on the road back in the UK it certainly ticked the rare box and with fewer than 20 still registered back home when the chance came up to own one down under I couldn't say no. Personally I also think 405's brought the sexy back to boxy designs. Yes square design was the in thing in the 80's and while many manufacturers just turned out hideous slab sided depression inducers, (here's looking at you Hyundai Excel) by enlisting Pininfarina Peugeot nailed it. Throw on the Mi16's equally edgy body kit and wing and this car just optimises what was good about car design at the time. My car in particular was also rather good value, came with a full service record, had pretty straight body work and despite being laid up in a garage for 9 months started first time. With all this going for it, the car just needed me to own it, even if I didn't know that much about classic Peugeot's! But that's what projects are about right? Learning...
What need's fixed?
So with learning in mind there are a few jobs to be done, the biggest actually being getting the thing road legal. For this to happen it needs a new CV boot and a rear engine mount. Once this is done a squeaky engine pulley needs some attention, sway bars will need replacing, some trim pieces require fixing and there's a rather large crack in the dash which needs filling. To top things off a machine polish probably wont go a miss before I'll be good to launch a frantic FWD attack on the epic roads I'm blessed with in the Northern Rivers.
Project Mi16
The whole project will be documented right here and also on my shiny new
YouTube channel, should you be interested in hearing me prattle on. So as well as keeping the blog a little more updated with regular content, check back for project Mi16 updates.
