203 engine increase to 403 capacity

JohnW said:
Good grief, Carlin and Gazzard!! Are they still going? That's a name from the past.
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Yes John , I just called them to see if they had any record of the 203 being repainted but they said it was too early on and no computers in the 90’s.
 
Russell Hall said:
The 203 left here on a new set of Michelin ZX on the 15 inch 403 rims I provided. The 16 inch rims that the car normally ran on were in the car. Six of them. Somewhere the 15 inch rims have disappeared and the 16's refitted. The tyres on the 16's were at least 30 years old and the car had sat flat on them for years. Never gave trouble but I did wonder about them.
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Peter Dobe had Pirelli Chrono tyres fitted to 6 x 16 inch wheels so the changeover from 15 inch rims happened before Peter’s time.
 
Russell Hall said:
When dealing with the leak at the back of the head don't rule out a pipe leak. When I put the head back on after the heli coil I was presented with a head that had not been skimmed and was still coated with the remains of gasket cement that had gone hard. I cleaned it as best I could but wasn't happy with it. It never came back for re-tightening so I'm not that surprised the gasket later went. The car didn't have a temp gauge but I suspected it was running too hot.
The bumpers and hub caps were quite rusty and the electroplater in Portland did an excellent job that lasted. Other people have obviously stuffed it around but I always thought it was an exceptional original example. Gordon Miller agreed. The seats were re-done in vinyl not leather from memory but it didn't detract. I would have preferred the original blue. Sadly my photos of the car during restoration were taken away and I can't recover them.
Bill Faroe wanted $1000 and Basil gave him less, maybe $800 which was good value considering the genuine piston and sleeve set it came with. It was a low mileage car although I thought it might have done a few more than the 35,000 on the clock given the wear on the drivers seat. But everything was sweet and tight in it. The speedo needle waved a lot and I don't know if it was fixed. I don't know if you'll ever get on top of minor oil leaks. But you have a good car and I hope a good investment.
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I replaced the speedo cable and the speedo is rock steady now. Curious 20, 30, 40 and 50 mph indicated equates to 40, 60, 80 and 100 klm/hr checked with gps.
 
Russell Hall said:
The car had new genuine pistons and liners. The white metal bearings weren't touched and will need doing. The performance was up to 203 standards and it pulled well. It had a heli col done on a plug thread before it was sold. It was restored on the principle of leave well enough alone so the wiper motor was tired but not touched and starter motor/generator not touched. That diff always had more play than I liked. The distributor gave problems. If the motor was pulled down and all put back the way it should be the car will have a satisfactory performance for a 203. The body was really quite good and the paintwork by Carlin & Gazzard of Mt Gambier (taken on as a project) still seems good from photos. It's an early 203 with a solid provenance, that is where it's value lies and if it's modified it quickly loses it.
Some of the larger capacity motors have been disappointing.
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Can the con rods be changed that have slipper bearings and what about the mains?
 
Wilko said:
What’s a NOS kit?
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If you arelooking for instant power on demand, then bolting a nitrous oxide kit to your car might be something for you to consider. Nitrous Oxide—sometimes known as laughing gas, nitrous, or NOS, is the chemical compound N2O.

When you heat nitrous oxide to around 570 degrees, it splits into separate molecules of oxygen and nitrogen. What this means is that when nitrous oxide is injected into an engine that is running, the splitting of the molecules creates more oxygen than the engine can use during combustion. Because you now have more oxygen, you ad more fuel. Adding more fuel and oxygen to a given engine, allows the same engine to produce more power. Nitrous oxide is one of the simplest ways to provide a significant horsepower boost to any gasoline engine.
 
You can use late 203C or 403 connecting rods with bearing shells. I don't think the mains were replaced.
 
Russell Hall said:
The car had new genuine pistons and liners. The white metal bearings weren't touched and will need doing. The performance was up to 203 standards and it pulled well. It had a heli col done on a plug thread before it was sold. It was restored on the principle of leave well enough alone so the wiper motor was tired but not touched and starter motor/generator not touched. That diff always had more play than I liked. The distributor gave problems. If the motor was pulled down and all put back the way it should be the car will have a satisfactory performance for a 203. The body was really quite good and the paintwork by Carlin & Gazzard of Mt Gambier (taken on as a project) still seems good from photos. It's an early 203 with a solid provenance, that is where it's value lies and if it's modified it quickly loses it.
Some of the larger capacity motors have been disappointing.
Click to expand...

Russell Hall said:
When dealing with the leak at the back of the head don't rule out a pipe leak. When I put the head back on after the heli coil I was presented with a head that had not been skimmed and was still coated with the remains of gasket cement that had gone hard. I cleaned it as best I could but wasn't happy with it. It never came back for re-tightening so I'm not that surprised the gasket later went. The car didn't have a temp gauge but I suspected it was running too hot.
The bumpers and hub caps were quite rusty and the electroplater in Portland did an excellent job that lasted. Other people have obviously stuffed it around but I always thought it was an exceptional original example. Gordon Miller agreed. The seats were re-done in vinyl not leather from memory but it didn't detract. I would have preferred the original blue. Sadly my photos of the car during restoration were taken away and I can't recover them.
Bill Faroe wanted $1000 and Basil gave him less, maybe $800 which was good value considering the genuine piston and sleeve set it came with. It was a low mileage car although I thought it might have done a few more than the 35,000 on the clock given the wear on the drivers seat. But everything was sweet and tight in it. The speedo needle waved a lot and I don't know if it was fixed. I don't know if you'll ever get on top of minor oil leaks. But you have a good car and I hope a good investment.her
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Russell Hall said:
When dealing with the leak at the back of the head don't rule out a pipe leak. When I put the head back on after the heli coil I was presented with a head that had not been skimmed and was still coated with the remains of gasket cement that had gone hard. I cleaned it as best I could but wasn't happy with it. It never came back for re-tightening so I'm not that surprised the gasket later went. The car didn't have a temp gauge but I suspected it was running too hot.
The bumpers and hub caps were quite rusty and the electroplater in Portland did an excellent job that lasted. Other people have obviously stuffed it around but I always thought it was an exceptional original example. Gordon Miller agreed. The seats were re-done in vinyl not leather from memory but it didn't detract. I would have preferred the original blue. Sadly my photos of the car during restoration were taken away and I can't recover them.
Bill Faroe wanted $1000 and Basil gave him less, maybe $800 which was good value considering the genuine piston and sleeve set it came with. It was a low mileage car although I thought it might have done a few more than the 35,000 on the clock given the wear on the drivers seat. But everything was sweet and tight in it. The speedo needle waved a lot and I don't know if it was fixed. I don't know if you'll ever get on top of minor oil leaks. But you have a good car and I hope a good investment.
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Here's a photo of Basil Moran and son Michael in two 203's. Basil is in the car I now own and not sure about the car that Michael is in.
I took a photo of this photo that Basil had sitting on their sideboard when I was in Casterton in Dec 2020. Don't know when the original was taken but Michael looked pretty young.
 

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I took that. The grey car is mine with my son in the drivers seat. Taken around 1995. I completely forgot about that.
 
The mains are replaceable bearings. The crank has never been turned so use original size. There are lots of 403 connecting rods and bearing caps about. Just weigh them first, they used to be weight graded and loose ones get mixed up.
 
Having followed this thread for a few days I've come to the conclusion the the problem is not with the car. Rather, it's with the driver. You need to learn how to drive a 203.
The first lesson is anticipation. A good 203 (and 403 for that matter) driver must think at least a couple of kilometers ahead at all times. If you anticipate passing a slow moving vehicle which appears in the far distance you cannot expect to accelerate when close up. Start winding up speed as early as possible. You can always brake if a passing opportunity disappears at the last minute. Pull back and build up speed again.
With regard to hills, I see that you are not afraid of using a few revs. At a true 110km/h a 203 is doing around 4000 rpm (c16.8 mph/100rpm). To get up hills you again need anticipation. Look out for said hill and get a good runup where possible. Change back to third gear when speed drops to between 55 and 50 mph. These speed equate to between 4500 and 4000 rpm (c12 mph/1000rpm). The higher figure is where a 203 runs out power and ability to rev under load. At both points you need to lose all sense of mechanical sympathy and sensitivity to noise. Otherwise put up with a loss of velocity .

In short, a 203 driver should have the cunning of the proverbial lavatorial rodent.
 
My early car has a very high second. I have learned that if the revs aren't kept up on a steep grade it becomes obvious a syncro first would have been useful. There is a point where the revs have dropped to a level where recovery is impossible. Lookouts really require a stop and engagement of first. But on the road it still pulls well and climbs the Pentlands in third. A good 203C isn't much different to a 403 unless you are loaded or have a very long grade. A 403 in third will pass a 203 in second climbing the Buninyong grade. But Wilko's car pulled extremely well. So well I accused Basil of secreting a 25 tooth wheel in the diff somehow. But perhaps I have one of the rare 21 tooth wheels? The gearing between the two cars in second was just so different. But it's not going but stopping that troubles me at the moment. My truck brake place no longer bonds linings but sends them to Adelaide. The new linings would seem to be designed for power brakes because braking is like stopping a car with the engine off. Not the old brakes at all. When the restrictions are off I will have to seek better linings.
 
Russell Hall said:
My early car has a very high second. I have learned that if the revs aren't kept up on a steep grade it becomes obvious a syncro first would have been useful. There is a point where the revs have dropped to a level where recovery is impossible. Lookouts really require a stop and engagement of first. But on the road it still pulls well and climbs the Pentlands in third. A good 203C isn't much different to a 403 unless you are loaded or have a very long grade. A 403 in third will pass a 203 in second climbing the Buninyong grade. But Wilko's car pulled extremely well. So well I accused Basil of secreting a 25 tooth wheel in the diff somehow. But perhaps I have one of the rare 21 tooth wheels? The gearing between the two cars in second was just so different. But it's not going but stopping that troubles me at the moment. My truck brake place no longer bonds linings but sends them to Adelaide. The new linings would seem to be designed for power brakes because braking is like stopping a car with the engine off. Not the old brakes at all. When the restrictions are off I will have to seek better linings.
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I have a set of genuine linings still in Peugeot box, just watch out for the Asbestos! I can send these to you for the cost of postage Russell.
 
Commerciale said:
Having followed this thread for a few days I've come to the conclusion the the problem is not with the car. Rather, it's with the driver. You need to learn how to drive a 203.
The first lesson is anticipation. A good 203 (and 403 for that matter) driver must think at least a couple of kilometers ahead at all times. If you anticipate passing a slow moving vehicle which appears in the far distance you cannot expect to accelerate when close up. Start winding up speed as early as possible. You can always brake if a passing opportunity disappears at the last minute. Pull back and build up speed again.
With regard to hills, I see that you are not afraid of using a few revs. At a true 110km/h a 203 is doing around 4000 rpm (c16.8 mph/100rpm). To get up hills you again need anticipation. Look out for said hill and get a good runup where possible. Change back to third gear when speed drops to between 55 and 50 mph. These speed equate to between 4500 and 4000 rpm (c12 mph/1000rpm). The higher figure is where a 203 runs out power and ability to rev under load. At both points you need to lose all sense of mechanical sympathy and sensitivity to noise. Otherwise put up with a loss of velocity .

In short, a 203 driver should have the cunning of the proverbial lavatorial rodent.
Click to expand...
Hello Commercial re your comments about my “problem” - I think that after 56 years of driving including owning and driving a previous 203 in the 60’s as well as my current 203, I might just have worked out the art of anticipation!
I wouldn’t have bought another 203 had I not had a great respect for this model.

My sole purpose for this line of enquiry was to see what is possible in increasing the capacity to from 1390 cc to 403 capacity as many others have done, as an increase of 20hp is significant. Machining the original block to house the bigger liners and acquiring pistons/ liners is quite an expensive exercise and as others have said, keeping the engine in its original form maintains the vehicle’s value more than if it were modified.

Now, regarding the figures you quoted on speed versus RPM, they are incorrect in my 203’s case, which is 18.2 MPH / 1000RPM in 4th gear and not 16.8 MPH / 1000 RPM as you have quoted.
I confirmed this today with a gps and installed tachometer, such that at 3000 RPM the speed recorded on the GPS was 55 MPH.
So at 110 Klm/hr ( 68.35 MPH ) that equates to 3,755 RPM.
At 2000 RPM in third gear, the GPS recorded a speed of 28.5 MPH which equates to 14.25 MPH / 1000 RPM.
If the figures you have quoted are in a vehicle you own, the discrepancy may be that you are running smaller 15 inch tyres or a different diff ratio.
 
Gearing changed on the early cars.
La Vie Automobile, March 1949 gives the gearing as kph per 1000 revs
1st 5.9 2nd 13.160 3rd 20.335 4th 26.640
L'Automobile in 1951 gives
1st 6 2nd 13 3rd 21 4th 27.5
 
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