I left Los Angeles a good number of years ago, and I still miss the cars. I mean sure, there’s cars everywhere, even interesting cars if you’re willing to look, but LA is a special case in that the number and variety of interesting cars is so vast that you barely even have to look. Unexpected things just pop up, like hamberries in a hamberry muffin. That’s what happened when Autopian contributor Emily Velasco was velocipeding around the El Monte area and spotted this remarkable orange wonder: a 1971 Peugeot 404 diesel pickup! There can’t be more than a handful of these in America, if that, and this one has some details that tell us it comes from an even more unexpected place. Let’s dig in.
The first thing I noticed about this delightfully ratty yet charming pickup truck was a small yet significant detail: those little white reflectors under the headlights. There’s only one country in the world that required cars to have white reflectors up front, and that country was South Africa. You can see them in this ad for South African Peugeot 404s:
The South African origin of this truck is further confirmed by the fact that it’s right hand drive, too. The fun thing about little facts like these are that sometimes they’re exactly what’s needed to uncover even more facts, which is why I was able to find the actual car itself in a Reddit post, along with more pictures. Based on the post, the last time the truck was registered before the current owner was in 1982! The bed of this one may be a South Africa-unique item, because the European 404 pickups seem to have had a different bed, though there are examples of this bed in other markets, too.
That rear bumper looks like it came from a Volkswagen Type 3 Squareback, cut in half, and separated a few inches, leaving a gap that the earlier photos showed once held a tow hitch.
Inside, we see a dash that looks in surprisingly good shape, along with a seat that seems oddly well-preserved, too. The shifter looks column-mounted, with a white shift knob that reminds me of a marshmallow stuck on a stick, awaiting the kiss of flame.
What fantastic little truck! Good find, Emily!
It still has a South African rear license plate, so I think some of that sleuthing could have been skipped. Great write-up.
My Dad had one of these, a petrol 404, back when I was in kindergarten. I’m a bit nostalgic as at a point it was the family hauler. Also, it seemed every shade tree mechanic had parts for it and could have it fixed on the side of the road. Not to mention it seemed to handle rural Kenyan roads very well. It was also my first time seeing brake failure first hand, when my uncle had to pump the brakes when approaching a busy roundabout. If I recall correctly, the Kenyan assembled trucks had white reflectors as well.
My granddad was a Peugeot mechanic so I grew up in 203s, 403s, 404s, 504s etc starting in the late 60s. The ride quality in the 404 was wonderful. They were bulletproof. Find a good one and you could DD that sucker even today.
Hey Torch, can you do an explanation on CA emissions and vehicle inspection requirements? I always hear that it’s impossible to keep old cars in CA because of their regulations, and DT’s stories about moving out there seem to confirm that, but then you see cars like this. How do these cars exist in CA? Are they registered somewhere else, or are there exemptions for pre-OBDII or classics like in other states?
Help me understand!
CA emission Laws are for cars after 1975. Anything Pre 75′ gets a thumbs up to be on the road without SMOG checks. hope this helps
Damn you Torch. I found a cheap one close to home and now I’m considering putting my finances in jeopardy again!
Questionable choices must be made. Ask Tavarish.
Speaking of South Africa market uniqueness, I recently learned a version of the AMC Hornet called the Rambler Hornet was built in South Africa – in a factory owned by Toyota and powered by a Chevrolet engine.
Those Chevrolet engines (the old 230ci six and four-cylinder derivatives) were installed in tons of machines, due to South Africa’s local content laws which were based on weight. A locally built, heavy-ass engine made a lot of sense.
A pickup truck perfectly suited for Lieutenant Columbo! 🙂
…Just one more thing……..
I can smell the inside of that car.
A family member had a contemporaneous 504 and there’s something about the seat vinyl + motor fluids smell that’s unmistakable.
I kinda love the SNCF Orange color. It feels like the perfectly French equivalent of Forest Service green.
And what about the Peugeot 505 sedan you can see in the first and 3rd of the 404, is it the same one, not sure I can’t enhance this page, I think it’s an error 404.
can confirm, shifter is column-mounted, 4 speed. OE the knob is grey soft plastic. Source: the 1970 Peugeot 404 I learned to drive on in S. Africa..
That was a terrific car, shockingly reliable and sturdy. Thank you and Emily for showing this one, now I need to visit LA and that Peugeot specialist shop..
We used to have a Peugeot 504 Diesel pick-up work truck.
Terrible but also unkillable. We did just awful things to that truck.
My first day at work we drive to the beech and ate a bag of chips (think really fat French fries, I’m not sure what you call them over there), then rattled our way to the supplier down the coast to fill it up with cast iron doodads, then scrapped our way back to the warehouse. I learnt a lot about workplace skiving at that job, and this was before we had the internet on phones to help with that.
Wait they made a 504 pickup truck?!
Yep, I have a 1982 French brochure for a 504 pickup and saw them all over Israel. They are effectively the French HiLux. One of my daydream custom ideas was to fit a 504 pickup with US spec hquad headlights, bucket seats and a floor shift, plus alloy wheels as a custom mini truck
Yep, we still have quite a few on the road here in Brazil where I have lived for 30 years. All Diesel. Built in Argentina. Damn Brazilian government only allowed imports of the ute version, but not the 4 door saloon sadly.
My mother photographed a four-door 504 Pickup in Brazil, amazing vehicle.
I love this about SoCal! I never know what I’ll see next. Yesterday I saw a Spectre.
Cool. My Dad owned several old models. The first one was a car like Colombo drove. Very cool back in 1960 or so. Thanks Torch.
The designers left a perfectly flat place to mount good-sized taillights aside the tailgate. And then they placed tiny ones in a terrible position down low.
That is some good Autopian.
LA is THE car spotting town
You had me at “Peugeot diesel pickup”. What the hell? I didn’t even know there was any such thing.
I think that truck is ripe for a conversion to an L28 motor, preferably massaged by Rebello Racing.
Looks like Emily found a little treasure trove of Peugeots. There’s one parked behind the truck, and another a little further down the street. Color me intrigued.
Looks like it’s a Peugeot specialist
https://www.peugeot404na.com/peugeot-na-gurus
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0616866,-118.0304714,3a,75y,270.03h,90.82t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sCRBLH39Oq1QmHDU3z2dGjA!2e0!5s20220601T000000!7i16384!8i8192
That google street view gave me some feels.
thank for the 404na link.
Well worth reading on there, an account of the 404 performance in the African rally races of the 60s..
Tippett – Article Africa Rally | peugeot404na
Crazy it hasn’t been towed or ticketed. Everywhere I’ve lived, you can’t street park an unregistered vehicle.
Didn’t you see Lethal Weapon 2? It’s South African – DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY!
touché
I’m fixated on the ad copy, specifically the misplaced hyphen in the phrase “fine tooth-comb.” Did tooth-combs precede toothbrushes, or were they an evolution? Do they untangle and straighten your teeth? So many questions.
The tooth comb actually predated floss. We always had brushes but you needed something more rigid to get in between the teeth.
It really should be “fine-tooth comb,” but people can’t be expected to get every detail right.
It really should be “fine-toothed comb”, since it is describing the comb as having fine teeth.
The ad also describes the trucks as being “Thoroughly built”, which I think we can all agree is perfectly accurate. 🙂
That is a perfectly cromulent description.
Fun fact: tooth-combs were only ever marketed in the UK.
Did they ever catch on though?
Apparently not…
https://melmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/1l-jxmhcvOnRk3oNv8KIebg.gif
It’s got a different rear window, too. Man, what a neat little truck though.
I wonder, is there maybe any particular reason the owner has “RIGHT HAND DRIV” in mailbox letters on the tailgate? Just aesthetics, or general quirkiness perhaps?
Helpful note to any cop who may pull them over?
I suppose? I feel like it would maybe be pretty obvious to anyone following behind the truck lol
Between that and “DIESEL” it seems to be a subtle warning to drivers behind to chill out, because they’re not going anywhere quickly.
Actually it says “DIESE” I’m assuming the “BOFA” fell off.
Good catch – that slow, you probably want to conserve weight wherever you can.
i was watching some show or movie recently and a U.S. miltary truck in the UK had the warning: caution left hand drive painted on the tailgate. it’s a thing for fish out of water?
Cool discovery. This, car builders, this is what a small truck looks like, remember? Make something this size.
I love this truck but it is underpowered, unsafe, difficult to drive, and not mainstream attractive. The Ford Maverick Hybrid (which I also really like) is the closest you will get to this truck in the modern world.