Text submitted by Victor Van Tress.
Today, we’ll go over the story of how I came upon owning, for many years, an ’86 Peugeot 505 Turbo that had a brief, yet prominent, role in boosting its maker’s image in the US. All this being the result of my love for stock car racing and vintage cars.
As a number of you may know, for many years there has been a category in motorsports racing called “Showroom Stock”. Both Sports Car Club of America and the International Motor Sports Association had variations of the class throughout time; however, they were never highly modified cars. In fact, even the roll cages were bolted-in so as not to stiffen the car more than stock. They were also required to be no more than 4 years old. You can check Dave Wolin’s book, aptly named “SHOWROOM STOCK”, for a complete description of the sport.
In my case, I wanted to be able to drive my race car daily; drive it to the racetrack, drive it home and then to work. All in keeping with the motto: “To Finish First You Must First Finish”, which, as I previously told, was ingrained into my world.
In 1986 Peugeot announced that they would pay highest to a finishing 505 Turbo in the SSB class (Showroom Stock B). Well that was right up our alley and we signed up right away for the 1987 season.
When we were at Peugeot Motors of America, we were told there were some “parts cars” that had been used in a TV commercial. That “Peugeot: Dispelling The Myths” TV spot featured a red 505 Turbo crashing through a window and over a bed. To create that piece, they had wrecked two cars and had an additional one, lesser damaged, also shown in the commercial. We bought that latter one because, beyond a flattened oil pan, it was ok. It became known as “The Bedroom Car”. I named it Red.
That car went from 14 miles on the odometer to 64k after its last race. We raced it 44 times and made $80k with it:
- Sears Point, CA (x3)
- Laguna Seca, CA (x6)
- Carlsbad, CA
- Holtville, CA (x2)
- Phoenix, AZ (x2)
- Firebird, AZ (x4)
- Portland, OR (x2)
- Seattle, WA (x2)
- Pueblo, CO
- Second Creek, CO
- Texas Motor Speedway, TX
- Hallett, OK
- Ardmore, OK
- Road Atlanta, GA (x2)
- Riverside Raceway, CA (x6)
- Willow Springs, CA (x8)
After its last race and its resale value being rather low, I decided to just drive it every day. So, fifteen years later it had 180k miles on it. It has never broken or been unreliable in any way. Then I bought an additional 1987 red Turbo, which I drove to 140k miles, and bought an additional 1989 Turbo. Today I still have the ’86 Red, the ’87, and the ’89 (named Deuce and Tres, respectively).
A reliable long-term ownership of three Peugeots. That’s truly dispelling the myths.
Related CC reading:
Thanks for the story; I was hoping you’d write about the Peugeot after recognizing your name from your MGB post. I raced Showroom Stock out of San Francisco Region briefly (and with much less success than you), first in an SSB Alfetta and then in an SSC Ford Fiesta. 1978-1980. Mostly Sears Point and Laguna, once Portland, never down south. And of course that was before Thunderhill and Buttonwillow. Both my cars were usually my daily drivers, though the Alfa got totaled at Sears. The Fiesta was pretty worn out after two seasons of racing plus a few Solo 1’s and autocross but remained my commuter for a few years after it got too old for SSC. Obviously the Peugeots were made of stouter stuff.
I remember the Alfetta’s. As I recall there were some that got damaged on the ship coming over from Italy and sold into racing rather cheep, too.
Hmm, mine had some hidden damage … I wonder. I bought it 2nd or 3rd hand just a few years old. It was T boned after spinning and getting hit in the Esses at Sears, and I drove it home with about a 6” crabwalk, requiring 45° of steering lock to stay straight, then sold it for parts. You can see it here https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/my-cars-of-a-lifetime-43-years-of-mostly-mundane-motoring/
I knew a few people with Peugeot 505s during this era who all suffered from frequent or terminal mechanical issues, but none of the 505s were gas powered turbos. I knew plenty of people who had turbocharged cars during this era who all suffered from frequent or terminal mechanical issues, but none of the turbos were Peugeots. I would not have thought that it was possible to combine ’80s turbo engines with Peugeot 505s and end up with durable, reliable cars. Amazing.
One of your racing images shows you leading a 200SX. I had a friend with a 200SX Turbo that was a few years old. He refused to drive it fast, as he felt like it would blow up if he extended it. My own experience with turbocharged Saabs, Chrysler products, Porsches, Fords, Volvos and even a Renault Fuego suggested that he was probably right.
Peugeot did a couple things right in turbocharging the 2.2 gas motor. One was water cooled turbo center housing, Two was the intercooler. Three was Bosch Jetronic fuel injection as it changed the fuel mixture and timing according to load, heat and octane.
Belated congratulations on your wins and long-term 505 ownership. These were tough cars as you have more than amply proven.
What’s it like getting parts currently?
I had 3 504s and was disappointed when Peugeot pulled out of the American market. Until they pulled out, I’d been thinking my next car would be a 405, preferably an Mi16.
My typical answer is “I don’t need Peugeot parts. I need Bosch parts occasionally.” Even the wear parts, like brake pads, were ATE (Albert Teves) as used on many foreign cars and the 5 speed was used in Jeep 6 cylinder Cherokees if I needed a clutch. Upper and lower radiator hoses are a little tricky as the water cooled turbo causes a hose to intersect each otherwise standard hose (so you put “T” in it) However bottom line is Peugeot is still a very large manufacturer. So your replacement parts are not going to be on Pep Boys shelves but there are people all over the US and the world happy to help.
Your comment about the radiator hoses reminded me of this article, which I remembered from when it first ran:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/vintage-reviews/vintage-rt-feature-owners-report-100507-miles-in-an-mg-1100/
The owner said he carried a spare (3-ended) radiator because it would be impossible to improvise.
I’m from a small town in South Carolina. Back in the 1980s, when I was in high school, one of our teachers had one of these French beauties. Dark gray with tan interior. We also had a teacher with a beautiful SAAB 900 in the same color combo, plus there was an Isuzu Impulse also in dark gray and tan. I loved these cars way more than the Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Fords that filled the teachers parking lot. The French, Swedes and Japanese just had a different sense of style that made our cars look frumpy by comparison.
I still have some Peugeot’s, 86 Turbo S sedan, 88 Turbo S wagon, 76 504 sedan and 82 504 Diesel wagon, all a pleasure to drive, people who have never driven a Peugeot or sat in the front seat of a 504 don’t understand the attraction.