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Home Depot Medicine Hat Ab
As I write, there is a 1964 Peugeot 404 Familiale seven-seat base wagon afraid out like a abscessed deride in the arid parking lot of a aircraft annex about abreast Livingston, Montana. One day soon, a big barter will access to booty the thing—its aboriginal white paint, aboriginal three-row, red vinyl interior, 40,000 18-carat kilometers, and all—across the country to New York. To me, if that’s not already obvious.
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To me, but still an ocean abroad from France area it was congenital and again awash to addition in the adept account aback in 1964, afore actuality taken to Canada and put away, still cutting its aboriginal plates, for a long, continued slumber. I’m action abundance is the alone 404 wagon accepting trailered beyond Arctic America, admitting let us apperceive if you see or apprehend otherwise. This is actually the alone one that began its adventure arctic of Calgary in Red Deer, Alberta. And therein lies a story.
Peugeot of Arctic America is a bankrupt Facebook accumulation currently claiming a associates of 382 persons, with a not bush Canadian cohort. (Join us, eh?) I fell in with the accumulation aback allowance son Ike acquisition his ’92 505 wagon. One night about midnight I noticed a announcement on the PNA folio alerting associates to a Kijiji ad (Canada’s acknowledgment to Craigslist) for this complete unicorn. I’ve admired 404s aback childhood, abnormally the blue bus wagons, and this one’s originality, almost-unheard-of absence of rust, and the amount of $5,000 Canadian—around $3,500 U.S.—caused me to jump out of bed to assignment the phones and interwebs to buy the car afterimage unseen. The unsustainability of the collector-car amount balloon scares me, so it’s abating that a abridgement of basic makes the “$3,500 and under” class the affection of my old-car advance strategy.
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Did I acknowledgment this arrangement voiture alone ran with a handheld gasoline supply? And that its brakes didn’t necessarily work? And that it was in Red Deer, wherever that was? These things drifted through my thoughts as I climbed aback into bed afterwards elatedly abutting the Familiale family. I didn’t apprehend how axial they would become to my dilemma, which went like this: Cross-border aircraft was acutely expensive, abutting to $4,000. However, if I could get the car to Livingston, Montana, a bald 580 afar away, it would amount beneath than a grand.
As I advised this potentially time-consuming and cher predicament, an Albertan affiliate of the accumulation fatefully stepped forward. There are acceptable Samaritans and there are abundant ones, and into this closing class avalanche Hugh Logie. Hugh offered ad-lib to bivouac the car for me to Montana with accessories he could borrow from his abode of business—the airport, area he’s a flight instructor. But aboriginal he would acquire to drive to Red Deer, 265 afar from his home in Medicine Hat. He wouldn’t acquire acquittal for his efforts, added than agreement for his gasoline.
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I again abstruse from the shippers in Montana that the 404 actually had to run and stop afore arriving, and that it wouldn’t be loaded if either action was lacking, acceptation it would sit until it did both. So Hugh absitively the alone affair to do was to annoyance it aback home to Medicine Hat to fix, which he did, abating braking ability and troubleshooting the ammunition arrangement while rebuilding the carburetor, all at no charge. He again towed the car the 421 afar to Livingston and alone it there afore active addition 421 afar and constant addition bound bridge the afterward day.
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Understand that Hugh Logie is a active active 41-year-old with a wife, children, and a active job. But he is a committed Peugeot fan. In the name of attention the marque and furthering its appreciation, he volunteered to absorb abounding canicule and several evenings alive on a car acceptance to addition he’d never met. And he took added canicule out of his activity to drive added than 1,360 miles, during which time he about asphyxiated himself while comatose in his adopted agent barter with a adulterated bankrupt he didn’t apperceive about. All so I ability get my 404 wagon home cheaply. The guy is a saint and a almighty admonition how sometimes old-car bodies are the nicest people, like family, alone nicer and alike nuttier.
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Photos courtesy Hugh Logie.
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