(first posted 4/28/2013. revised 7/7/2016) How many saloon racing cars can claim the title of curbside classic after fifty years? This is the story of a highly modified 1951 Peugeot 203 saloon that competed in a number of races at the Killarney racetrack near Cape Town in South Africa in 1963, and nowadays graces my curbside in the picturesque university town of Stellenbosch, about 30 miles from the track.
This very special car, which has for over thirty years been nestling in the forests of the Tsitsikamma National Park in the sleepy holiday resort of Nature’s Valley – about 370 miles from Cape Town – recently made a return appearance on the Killarney Racetrack with its new owner – yours truly – after competing there with great gusto fifty years ago. Most racing cars have a short life and are often discarded and forgotten when the drivers move on to something faster and better, but luckily not this one!
Philip Wagener started the project that would become a lifetime adventure, when he bought an unroadworthy 1951 Peugeot 203 sedan from a friend for £75 (about $100 then) early in 1962. The 203 was Peugeot’s all-new post-war car, one that begat a long line of classic RWD Peugeots: 403, 404, 504, 604 and 505. This line began here, and each subsequent generation was a further evolution and enhancement of the qualities and specific engineering solutions that went into the initial 203.
The 203’s new engine, a modern over-square inline four with an aluminum hemi-head cylinder head, had 1290 cc and was rated at 41 hp (later versions had 44 hp). This basic engine architecture would evolve to be used in all of these subsequent RWD Peugeots (as well as light trucks, vans and the military P4), all the way through 1987.
Soon after he had revamped the car, he and his wife Rika and young son Robert were involved in an accident where a pickup went straight into the side of the car. Nobody was injured, but the 203 was a write off.
Another body, originating from the gravel roads of neighbouring country Namibia (then South West Africa), which had no serious accident damage, but lots of rust, was bought. The newly acquired body was stripped and built up from scratch and the already modified engine and other mechanical components from the first car were transplanted. Voila! They had a Peugeot again.
At that time the distributor was already moved to the front of the engine to accommodate the inlet manifold and carburettor arrangement. The radiator was moved forward to accommodate the distributor.
The inlet ports had been enlarged and separated and two Solex carburettors were fitted to a custom made inlet manifold. The exhaust manifold had four 900mm equal length pipes. (Very much the same as Italian tuning expert Nardi had done on the European 203s.) There were stiffer valve springs and stronger valve spring retaining collars were machined from high tensile steel. Compression was raised from the standard 6.8:1.
Still during 1962 ( I suspect he had a lot of fun playing around…) Philip made another inlet manifold from aluminium for two SU carbs (1½ inch). With this state of tune he participated in the Camps Bay Hill climb in Cape Town and came second!
Not long after this he changed the gearbox to a later C2 unit and designed and made a floor mounted and very precise short throw floor gearshift. A tachometer was made from a discarded speedometer and the cable connected to the gear where the distributor used to be. Philip hand-painted the face of the “rev counter” himself and you have to look twice to see that it is hand done! An electrical fuel pump (SU) and seat belts followed. The standard mechanical pump would never be able to feed those carburettors and gutsy little motor!
Early in 1963 Philip started practicing at the Killarney race track near Cape Town and he realised that he could not stay upright in the standard seats around corners, especially when changing gears. Two real bucket seats were taken from a 1935 Riley Kestrel and fitted. The passenger seat in the front was adapted to hinge forward and a 12 volt battery lives underneath.
For racing (more playing around in the workshop…) four SU carbs, a racing camshaft and a front anti-roll bar were fitted. All this proved worthwhile as Philip came third in all three four lap “Scratch” races in which he participated. That was against racing aces like Koos Swanepoel in his Ford Anglia and Emmot Barwell in his Alfa Romeo Guiletta. Only three gears were used, reaching 7,000 rpm at the end of the longest straight.
Although this was the end of the short racing career of Philip and his red Peugeot 203, it was by no means the end of the development of the car. In fact, it seems as if it had only started, even if the car was now more used as a sport sedan for daily transport. Straight after the racing at Killarney the two SU carbs were refitted as well as a camshaft that was more suited to road use. The 15 x 400 rims were changed for 15 x 380 rims – better acceleration in top gear?
During 1964 a new exhaust manifold was made: four 18 inch pipes going into two 24 inch pipes going into one pipe all the way to the single free flow silencer right at the back. (Getting those exhaust manifold pipes around the right hand drive steering column was no mean feat and there was a little cutting done to the monocoque body structure…). In racing form the exhaust had no silencer and it came out just in front of the rear right wheel!
In 1965 extensive modifications were made to the then standard size 1290cc block. The 203 block was bored out with a specially made hand cranked tool. It was not bored out to fit the wet sleeves of the next engine size, that of the bigger 1468cc 403, but to that of the now quite popular 1618 cc 404. This must have given a lot of extra power – it was an increase of 25% in engine size!.
In the beginning of 1966 Philip changed jobs and had more time and equipment at his disposal. During the next three years he widened the rims from 4½ inches to 6 inches, (yes, he raced with standard rims and tyres!); the 203 cylinder head was modified to take bigger 404 inlet valves and bigger Leyland truck outlet valves were fitted – everything is not Peugeot….
In September 1968 Philip took over the workshop and now he could buy his own machinery and tools, and in his own words: “Toe kon ek lekker werk wanneer ek tyd gehad het” (Roughly translated from the Afrikaans: “Then I could enjoy myself when I had the time”). A Meissner (local tuning expert) no 7 profile camshaft (suited to road and track) was cut and two Weber 40DCOE carburettors fitted. The bigger inlet ports were matched to four short rubber tubes for the Webers. (The 203/403 engine is highly suited for this kind of adaption as you only have to remove a plate on the side of engine and fit the inlet manifold of your dreams, unlike the 404 engine, where you only have one small inlet port – a source of huge frustration!)
Soon after this a 403B bell housing, 404 gearbox, shortened 404 driveshaft and torque tube and the later 404 differential and 404 half shafts followed. The engine got a new 403 (still three main bearing) crankshaft and by this time the compression ratio was 10:1. A special intake was made for the air cleaner taking in air from just behind the grille. The intake on the right hand side of the engine is for a specially designed heater for the Cape winters.
This was now a substantially modified car and I would think quite fast for its day. In a late 1980’s interview I had with Philip, who was a humble and gentle man, with a great sense of humour, he told me the top speed was about 180 km/h and that it could spurt to 100km/h in 10 seconds! His wife Rika recalls with great amusement how she once beat a big noise V8 at a traffic light in the nearby town of Knysna…
But this discreet little hotrod had to stop. The huge standard Peugeot drum brakes on the front wheels were changed for Ford Zephyr Six disc brakes, Triumph callipers and a brake booster (made in Australia). At the rear a flat oval home made stainless steel silencer tried to keep the sound down, but that was only up to about 2000 rpm. Beyond that chaos breaks loose! (The car now runs with an additional small stainless steel silencer just in front of the rear axle. One has to consider the neighbours and your own ears….)
It seems that at this stage Philip considered the development complete. Apart from stripping the paint to the bare metal (second time in twenty years) and respraying the car in 1982, the only modification that was added many years later was Luminition electronic ignition. Luckily I have two letters, one written and one typed by Philip himself, in which describes the story.
For most people it looks like an original fifties Peugeot 203, and it does give that impression, because everything that has been done to the bodywork and interior has been done quite discreetly. For those who know these cars well, there are some serious changes!
Firstly the colour! It is a beautiful deep red, but in those days 203s were mostly boring dove grey. Some guys were lucky to get a drab olive green and the really special ones were black. Here and there some buyers got a beige or cream one. In Europe there was a beautiful deep maroon. I remember my grandfather had a charcoal one with a sun roof and the early small rear window.
On the Wagener Spéciale the small rear window was changed to the later more panoramic version. The bumpers and grille are painted glossy black (instead of body colour), but one must admit, it does look good. The widened wheels make quite a statement – even with the standard 165xR15x80 tyres! The headlamps with halogen globes are not standard but that only a purist will notice. The simple little polished stainless steel number plate lamp holder at the rear is another of Philip’s own creations. Some experts will notice, perhaps.
The inside is another story. The basic colour is black and the seats have white piping -.totally non-original! Those Riley Kestrel bucket seats are a real giveaway that this is a modified interior. Then your eyes move to the very short stubby gear lever in the central carpet covered gearbox housing. No steering column shift here. The instrumentation is all changed. Gone is the central panel with a square speedo with little square gauges. In the centre is a big round speedometer (Smiths!) and four smaller round gauges (fuel, oil pressure, ampères and water temperature) to the left and right of the central big dial. Right in front of the driver, through the polished flat aluminium spokes of the custom made wood-rimmed steering wheel is the cable operated hand painted tachometer.
The original plastic knobs for the controls have long disintegrated into powder and Philip turned a set of beautiful wooden knobs. One of them for another modification: a windscreen washer! And there is also a hand throttle – much too boring to use on this car… The starter handle is original: on the left hand side of the dashboard is a little black handle. That you must pull out with two fingers to get the starter going! When you switch on the ignition, you hear the new (the electrical SU fuel pump packed up) Facet pump ticking away, a light goes on under the dashboard to light up your feet, you pull the starter with two fingers and as the engine starts with a healthy surge, the light at your feet goes out!
How did I get to know of the car? If I remember correctly, another 203 enthusiast, Johan Fourie of Witbank, told me about it and one year, in the late eighties, whilst holidaying nearby, we made a pilgrimage. Our two families immediately bonded and we became friends. On that first visit I was granted the rare privilege of driving the car. The power going up the Grootrivier Pass and the acceleration as soon as we reached level ground gave me the impression that this little car was faster than my 1985 2,2 litre ohc fuel-injected Peugeot 505GTI… We are still have to see to that in a duel! I estimate the horsepower in the region of 110 plus…
And so the friendship grew with me drawing as much information out of Philip as I could during each visit. The fascination with the car stayed, but I never even had a wild dream that I would one day own the car. That was until August 2011 when Rika phoned me and said that Philip had passed away at 81 and that she would prefer that I buy the car! We settled on a price and on 13 October I took delivery – with quite a load of spares, including a gearbox and differential. The return journey of about 550km went without a hitch. I just scared some people up some steep hills…
In 2012 Johan Loubser, vice chairman of the Peugeot Club, and I took it around the Killarney track during the Sunday lunch time parade at the South Easter Historic Races during the weekend of 4 and 5 February. It was a great feeling.
No, I am not going to race the car! I have never raced, it costs too much money, and if anything breaks I am in big trouble as this car actually exists in the mind of Philip Wagener, who is no longer with us! That is apart from the fact that both Rika Wagener and my wife have forbidden me to race it! So I am going to enjoy and nurture it for as long as I can. But beware at the traffic lights and up steep hills, fellow curbsiders!
What an excellent little car. Very impressed by the builder, although architect would probably be a better name.
hi there i have some parts for a peugeot 203 any one interested give us a email roy.konarski@gmail.com
great car and story
Hi Roy, I’m looking for a ‘working fuel tank float/sender unit’ for my 203c it’s a 1959 model. An interior courtesy light complete with cover. 2 x chrome wing mirrors and 2 x roof parking lights, I have 2 fitted but the domes are not original. I know the list is a tough ask but maybe……..
Thanks in anticipation,
Joe Gallagher
Simonstown
0721848889
Love this.
Fabulous story.
Awesome car I saw one of those recently getting new sill panels at a local panelbeaters, Quite rare in NZ and nobody is classic racing one here. Peugeot 203s did well in the Ampol reliability trials in Aussie tough little cars and to have an ex race car in that sort of condition is amazing. Early saloon car racing in SA sounds like the run what ya brung set up here back in the day highly tuned family cars getting flogged around a track the ones that won became legendary hence the tuning programn for my Hillman once considered race car of choice between 59 & 64.
Truly an amazing hot rod story. I love it!
The first thing I did after I read this story was read it again. A fascinating tale, and very well told.
Such a pretty little car, and what an amazing story! Thanks for sharing it.
Love that car. Is that a factory color? It looks so right on the car.
I love the evolution of the car. It’s rare that someone keeps a car like that and just continually makes it better. You did a great job with the story and I’m glad you bought the car.
+1!
+2
+3 🙂
+4 🙂
+5
One of the best stories I’ve ever read here, and that’s saying a lot!
Every car has a story and some, like this one are truly extraordinary. Great pics too. Thanks!
To all commentators! I am humbled by your comments and am very pleased that I can share the story and experience of this little treasure with you. Thank You!
Yes, Philip Wagener was more of a designer than a builder. I cannot stop being amazed every time I discover something new on the car and how well everything was thought out and built. Well, he took many years to develop it!
Yes, the colour looks very good on the car, just the right tint of red – Philip would only to the appropriate thing – but it is very far from any original colour. I have seen other modified 203’s in red, but this red is best – Peurari red??!!
If anyone would like to know more about the 203 Wagener Spécial I will gladly share information, experiences and pictures at dcbotha@adept.co.za
Be patient, I have more stories to share about extraordinary curbside classics here!
A lovely car and an amazing story. I am glad the 203 is in good hands. I love reading about Peugeots, as they are so seldom seen in the U.S. these days. Thanks for sharing Dawid!
It really is a pleasure! Good stories must be shared! So sad that so many collectors keep their cars under wraps and stored away, as well as the stories behind the cars. I will even let you drive mine! When are you visiting us?
Dawid
Thanks for the additional photos! I look forward to your next contribution to CC.
In case you missed it, Dawid shared two incredible back-country trips in Africa that he took in his 1973 Peugeot 404: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/ultimate-cc-road-trip-across-remote-south-africa-via-back-roads-in-a-1973-peugeot-404-wagon/ The link to the second trip is at the bottom of this one.
Charming and thoughtfully crafted – both the car and the story! Thank you for sharing.
Totally amazing – the car, the story, the pictures… I love everything about it. I had typed up a (much) longer comment where I completely nerded out about this car last night, but didn’t finish it before I fell asleep. Forget it, I can sum this whole thing up much more concisely:
I read once that the English DJ John Peel said his favorite song was The Undertones’ “Teenage Kicks” (a good choice, IMO) because there was nothing that could be added or taken away from it that would improve it any. This has always struck me as a beautifully simple and objective method of evaluating things that are notoriously prone to individual tastes, and it’s a piece of wisdom that has infiltrated the way I think about any and everything more and more through the years. It can apply to anything that first exists conceptually in someone’s mind and takes tools, steel, musical instruments, concrete, watercolor paints – whatever – to become a finished product. Somewhere along that line from the lightbulb going off to the painting hanging on the wall there is a “most ideal” point where everything conspires to be somehow just right.
So, of course I’m going to say that this car is the “Teenage Kicks” of Peugeot 203s. Everything that has been done to it from the person who first penned its shape on a draftboard to its current caretaker who penned its story on this page and everything in-between makes it perfect in every sense of the word; all while keeping it true to the intention and feel of the original car that rolled out of a factory. I love the canvass on its own as well, and I truly would not have known this was anything but a beautiful restoration or survivor (from the exterior) had I not been told. Like Tom mentions above, Peugeots have become an extremely rare sight in the US and anything pre-504 is totally foreign to me. I’ve never really thought too much about these before since I’ve never been that close to them, but DAMN that is a good looking car! The red paint and wide wheels really bring out its muscular side, almost like the late 40s American fastbacks (which I also love).
OK, I’ll wrap it up – because this will get very long if I don’t watch myself…
Dawid – thanks for sharing once again. I love your car(s) and everything you’ve written on here. I bet this is such a blast to drive and I can’t even imagine how good it feels to hear those Webers open up or click that shifter through the gears. Please never change a thing about this car, because it could never be any better than it is right now!
Dear Sean, You must come and visit us in the Cape! Don’t worry, I have more stories to come! Your comments are a real tribute to the creator of this very special car, Philip Wagener. Yes, driving this little blitz is a really a THRILL!!
What a great read. I like the 203’s due to the Redex Trial history, as Bryce also mentioned. There have been a couple of commemorative re-run events in recent years with good numbers of 203’s taking part, friends of mine entered a 203 van in one.
The “world’s fastest” tag made me think of a Peugeot V8 that was built back in the 1950’s by a local man out of two four-cylinder engines, but that was a 403 not a 203. I saw the engine years ago in the museum at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit (where the MotoGP races are held).
What a lovely car then properly and carefully modified .
Thank you for sharing the story .
-Nate
I’m glad this was re-posted. Great story about a beautiful car.
This is an amazing and gratifying story, as much about its creator Philip Wagener as about the car itself. Many thanks to Dawid for writing it and to Dawid and Paul for bringing it to us again.
Gotta love the 3-lug-nut wheels.
Even had that on my 1982 LeCar.
What a great story. Missed this the first time, happy it was re-posted.
A beautiful (and fast) car built by a talented, great friend. His wife was wise to sell it to you so it will be cared for and preserved. Beautiful color and tasteful exterior modifications as well, not to mention the custom drivetrain and interior modifications.
Everything about the car, its history and the write up of the story are outstanding. It makes me a bit sad that I passed through Stellenbosch and Knysna this past winter (summer there) and was completely unaware of this story, having missed it when it first was published. If I ever go back, I will be on the lookout for a lively sounding (and driven) red Peugeot 203!
Wow, now that’s a story! An antipodean anthology. That car truly has the heart of a lion — both a Peugeot and an African one! And the fact that it was crashed yet the owner manages to find another shell hundreds of miles away and rebuilds it!
It’s like a ZA version of the Darl’Mat, in a way. Those were the French “official” customized 203s back in the ’50s. Could reach 180kph also, if you put a blower on them. But Darl’Mat modified the body a bit (chopped roof, spats, special grille, tiny rear fin, deleted trafficators, etc.), which doubled the price of the car.
The Darl-Mat was exclusive. But that South African 203 is unique.
I have a feeling Mr. Wagener was aware of the Darl’Mat and maybe this was his way to obtain one in his home country, given that importing one into SA would have been stupidly expensive.
Darl’Mat, frontal view
This looks like what you’d get if you customized a 203 using ’49 Cadillac parts. And yet, somehow it works!
awesome story Dawid!
I always believe cars are more than the sum of their parts and have their own personalties. you have painted a picture of a happy little Peugeot that was given a second chance at life and has lived it to the fullest!
What a fantastic story indeed! The builder/architect’s work was clearly a labor of love and the result was quite impressive, and this special car’s future is assured by its current devoted owner. A happy ending for all.
Hi, that is one awesome 203!! Love it and love the color. My first car in 1969 was a 1955/6 203 . Reg. No. GWC 536. A ripper it was .. Had a floor shift in it. Otherwise stock. Certainly had some breakdown moments and plenty of good fun . Unfortunately it had to go due to family expanding. Wish I could get on to one now!!
Brian benson . Victoria. Australia . Sept 28. 2016.
I am still humbled by all the comments!
There has been some twist in the story. The car started missing and after an examination it was found that the rings had gone – after 98 000 highly modified miles! Luckily 404 rings were easy to find as Philip Wagener bored the 203 block out to take 404 sleeves and pistons!
The job took about two years….but the little Pug is whirring about town again! The two big 40 Weber carburettors were somewhat disturbed by die engine overhaul, but after quite a lot of tuning, everything is going well now.
Presently I am only running her in to about 4 000rpm, but soon she will be able to do ‘
7 000 rpm spurts again!
Kind regards to all the Peugeot 203 ffans!
Dawid
Stellenbosch
South Africa
Hello,
I plan to modify the engine of my peugeot 403 like your 203.
I found two Solex dual body carburetors, equivalent to your Webers, but it is necessary to move the igniter. can you tell me where was your 203 installed, and how was it adapted?
I thank you in advance for these clarifications, and any photo you deem useful.
An attractive aspect of this build is that it built on and accommodated the original car, and modified it from there, rather than ripping out huge sections of the thing and substituting something completely different. One can follow the line of “what needs to be dealt with next” and then see where things went.