Abigaba used Shs30m to restore his Peugeot 203

“The owner of the Peugeot 203 could not remember when last it had been used. Nothing worked; the seats were damaged beyond recognition and the engine appeared as though it had never run. Some of the front door windows had been removed and so, restoring it meant starting from scratch,” Abigaba recalls.

The process

After acquiring the Peugeot 203, Abigaba transported it to a garage in Lungujja, a Kampala suburb, by car carrier. The first step to restoration was removing the rust and most components of the body. It involved gas welding that cost Shs5m, which was just filling the rusted parts without spraying. The whole underpart of the vehicle was replaced with galvanized steel. One aspect with these cars is that they do not have metal frames. The body acts as the frame, which means it has to be strong.  

“Restoring the car’s body took six months. We had to scrape it, apply primer and look out for faults later. After this was done, I hired another mechanic who carried out another phase of redoing the body work, this time round to include aspects such as spraying. To get the car roadworthy, the whole restoration process took three years,” Abigaba says.

Sourcing for spare parts

One of the sources for spare parts needed during restoration included the United Kingdom where headlights and rear lights were imported, albeit after a long search with the help of Abigaba’s UK-based relatives. The seats were made locally while the complete engine and its matching gearbox were bought from Nairobi, Kenya. At this stage, Abigaba faced a number of challenges, especially since some parts of the engine were missing. The gearbox and engine cost close to Shs10m. This, to Abigaba, was a fair deal since online sources put the cost of the engine and gearbox at approximately Shs20m. 

It was test driven for 12km two weeks ago around Entebbe Town and during the drive, it was discovered that a few things such as plugs and coils need to be replaced.

Specs

Abigaba’s Peugeot runs on a 1400cc petrol engine and carries 40 litres of fuel, making its fuel consumption economical. During engine compartment restoration, the mechanic often used half a litre of fuel and left it idling for a long time. However, it is not yet clear how much mileage it covers per litre of fuel.

“It has three gears with the fourth being the reverse mode. During test driving, when I engaged gear three, it could climb hills without going back to gear two. This was proof that old cars run on basic technology,” Abigaba says.

It has five seats, three seats at the rear and the driver and co-driver’s.

Total cost

According to Abigaba, the total restoration cost is approximately Shs30m. He adds that some things that seem small and are taken for granted end up costing a lot.  For instance, the logos and chrome strips on the sides had to be imported on top of the cost of buying them.

About

According to marquenews,com, an online portal, during World War II, Peugeot had been planning a new post-war model and was able to introduce the new 203 as early as the autumn of 1947. It was a sensationally modern car with a streamlined unitary body and a new four-cylinder 1290 cc engine. Although it would continue to be manufactured for many more years, its replacement had already appeared in 1955; the Peugeot 403.

“While it is undoubtedly true that the 203 was a common sight on French roads in the 50s, the main reason was that they were good. Some 680,000 were built between 1948 and 1960,” the portal partly says. 

Peugeot 203 Coupe

Production: 1948–1960, 685,628 produced

Class: Small family car (C)

Body style:

4-door saloon

5-door estate

2-door cabriolet

4-door cabriolet

2-door coupé

Layout:  FR layout

Produced on: 2011

Engine Code: 1GR-FE

Fuel System: EFI