Ownership Verified: Second Life: Peugeot 106 Rallye 1.3

Lastsoul

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2005
Messages
2,180
Location
Finland
Car(s)
MX5, 406 Coup?, 106 Rallye, Porsche 924, X300 Six
Autumn 2013 we had a small #gear.fi gathering in a generic gas station. Casually talking about cars public mentioned a Peugeot 106 Rallye about to be crushed. As a fan of lightweight and basic fun cars it caught my attention. Few pictures from his iPhone surprised me: it was the earlier S1, which meant prefacelift body and a 1.3 liter engine originally from the 205 Rallye.

What made the 205 and 106 Rallyes special was the fact, that they only existed because race car. They're homologation specials for junior rally racing, and Peugeot Sport (formerly Peugeot Talbot Sport) actually also sold race prepped cars with full roll cages and other stuff. To homologate those road going versions had to be made. Rallye isn't about ultimate power: the 1.3 8V SOHC spins freely beyond 7000rpms where it generates a lovely 100hp. However, were it a Porsche, it would wear an RS badge. Lamborghini would call it Superleggera. At 800 kilograms it's all about lightness: less sound deadening, minimal equipment. This example doesn't even have a glove box, thought I'm not sure if it's just gone missing. Much of the suspension is shared with a common 106 XS, and the body shell apparently has reinforcements from the GTi.

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It had sat six months outside, some of it with window open. Public had closed it during his regular CSI inspection, after which he said its in surprisingly solid condition. As I'm aware that his definition of a car being in savable condition is much tougher as mine, I agreed to buy it. Unseen.

Last weekend the time had finally come to pick up the car. I had only seen few pictures and had no idea what I was about to buy, but the idea of saving one of the few original Finnish S1 Rallyes was too good to skip.

6AM Saturday morning I started the 500km journey to Kokkola with my father, as my driver's license doesn't allow me to tow anything beyond 750kgs. Sometime after midday I called to public to inform that I'm around Kokkola. He guided us to the car after a couple of detours around the local industrial area. And then finally, in a tight gap in a small corner between two demolished cars sat a faded red 106. The stickers which had once shone brightly around it's flanks were faded to white.


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After sitting six months it didn't look very happy. Like a forgotten puppy it looked rather sad and forgotten. Arch extensions had turned pink and paint was so dirty it could've been matt. However public had been extremely right: underneath all the grime and neglect was a straight, rust free and unmolested example of possibly one of the 90s greatest junior hot hatches.

Bodywork was free of external rust, but I was a bit worried about the interior. Quite a lot of water had entered the cabin before the window was closed. That was obvious when I opened the door: apparently French cars can smell worse than French cheese. Mould had done it's job. Carpet was full of black spots, black Peugeot Talbot Sport -liveried seats had white ones. It was only optical and removable, but anything could've happened to the sheet metal underneath all the carpets and sound installation.

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Checking out the condition of the interior floor wasn't the task for today. To our surprise the brakes weren't stuck, so the car could be pushed and winched to the trailer. My old 406 was awoken from six month hibernation. During the trip from South-Finland to Kokkola and back it did more miles than it had done in last six months, before it's duty as my daily driver was downgraded to my parents trailer hauler. I guess I could give it an overdue oil change, as once again it made the trip without showing any signs of it's nationality.

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After sorting out the paper work and the mandatory coffee we left public and started the long journey back home. At that point I still wasn't sure what I had just bought, but I was happy about my purchase.

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To be continued...

Mandatory proof pic spoils a bit:
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I'm just as happy causing car deals as making them myself... :lol: I'm really happy you got to save it. It'll turn out great.
 
Well done to you & public. I think it's great to give old, unloved and unwanted cars a new home and a chance to be on the road again. Especially a limited edition vehicle.

Just hope that whatever you want to do with the car won't cost too much. :cool:

(I think we all have the EU licence standard towing limit of 750kg, unless you get the extra test.)
 
I remember one of these driving around in my hometown, back when they were still fairly new.


Congrats on the purchase, now get it back on the road ASAP!
 
A cool little car to be sure, though I wonder how how well parts are available?

Still, nice catch. :cool:
 
Congrats. Sounds like the whole paperwork process to acquire this wasn't too hard, was it? :D
 
So, what's it like under the hood? Is the engine somewhat usable or has it rusted away?
 
A cool little car to be sure, though I wonder how how well parts are available?

Still, nice catch. :cool:

Most of the parts are shared with 106 1.4 XS. Shock absorbers, ball joints, brakes... The rallye specific stuff is mainly anti-roll bars, engine and all the parts it doesn't have :p My only concern is the engine. Previous owner told me its neglect started when it began to overheat. As all the fluids are removed at the moment I can't say what kind of mixture between oil and water there is, but only the radiator cap had a small amount of mayonnaise. I've to do a compression check and a brief test drive. These engines have a reputation of blowing head gaskets, and mine has had the head skimmed once before. Apparently it's now on the skimming limit, but thicker head gaskets are available and it's always possible to go a bit beyond the minimum thickness without any danger of knocking. Worst case, I've to source a new cylinder head, which is also shared between the 1.4 XS apparently. Block, cam etc are different.

- - - Updated - - -

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Engine bay doesn't look too bad. It has new air filter and cam belt seems to be quite new too. Obviously I'm going to change them if the cylinder head has to come off. Anyway, cam cover has leaked for a long time. It's been off quite often, as the valves need adjustment quite often. Doesn't look bad from upside, but the block is covered in thick tar.
 
Looks great! Of course there's work, but it doesn't seem like a total disaster :) This will surely be a happy little thing when finished.
 
Looks great! Of course there's work, but it doesn't seem like a total disaster :) This will surely be a happy little thing when finished.

Yeah, exactly. :) I'm doing a part II of the original post concerning more about the current condition of the car.
 
Wow, the exterior is way better than I expected. Just the straight body makes this one worth saving. Seriously, usually there's atleast a tweaked bumper or some other sign of a visit to a ditch.

Really looking forward to project updates! When it runs it'll be well worth your trouble. :nod:
 
Yeah, when public said it only needs lots and lots of detailing to look great I decided to get it.

Hopefully I can get first impressions of running it when I get the plates, as they had been returned. I ordered original number plate in non-EU versions of course. I want to check the situation with overheating before tearing up the engine.
 
Looks really solid under the carpets there. Definitely worth saving and your main obstacle looks like the engine which can be sorted. This will be in interesting thread indeed. Good show! :thumbup:
 
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:thumbup:
 
Cool! That mould looks tasty, just like a properly mature french cheese :D All it needs now is a cheesy name.
 
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