A pick-up is not the first choice for long-distance travelling. Especially when it was built ages ago, and has spent the last 15 years in hibernation. But – hey – it´s a challenge! So I washed of the dust, overhauled the brakes, put some new oil in the engine and mounted wooden boxes from the attic on the flatbed of this Peugeot 403 Camionnette. E voilà, my interpretation of an adventerous cruiser! In 14 exciting days, we travelled to the Vosges Mountains in France, further south to the Mediterranean, along the Pyrenees to Biarritz on the Atlantic coast – and back home.
To our surprise, the old pick-up reeled off 5.200 kilometers without any problem. Its flatbed turned out to be an ideal terrace and picnic deck. The cockpit, however, was really cramped. Comfort was not in the specifications for a French utility vehicle of that era. But its charme, unrivalled reliability and awkwardness made us fall in love with “Franz”. That´s its new name, and at ribute to our desired destination.
