Old delivery vans: why do we love them? In effect, this 1960 Peugeot D4 is a workhorse and a slow one at that, but its charm is undeniable. The cherry on top is the Coca-Cola livery, which is anyone’s guess as to whether it’s genuine or was done in an attempt to add some fake patina to this unusual import. However, throughout Europe, there are multiple instances of vehicles owned and used by the soft drink giant being carefully restored to preserve their crude paint jobs when put into service delivering soda. This Peugeot is listed here on Facebook Marketplace for $5,700 in Yorba Linda, California.
A few years ago, there was a group of Volkswagen Bus enthusiasts who uncovered a nearly demolished Type 2 split-window van and were working feverishly to restore it. Why, you might ask? Because it was a verified delivery vehicle for Coca-Cola. The connection between a cherished vintage vehicle and its use as a commercial hauler is an intriguing one, but for those of us with certain vehicles fascinations, it makes total sense: knowing that a car or truck you now seek to collect was used like a GMC Savanna commercial-grade van back in the day has an undeniable “cool” factor. This Peugeot, whether its Coke connection can be verified or not, was a popular choice in Europe for trades workers and anyone who had to make deliveries in a confined or crowded environment.
Interestingly, these vans are front-wheel drive, which isn’t what you’d expect from an automaker like Peugeot. That’s because these vans started out under the masthead of another manufacturer known as Chenard-Walcker CPV, and it began life with a two-stroke, two-cylinder engine (shout out to Curbside Classics for the background.) Eventually, it grew to have a 1.4L inline-four paired with a four-speed manual transmission with overdrive, which is what this van likely has – however, in 1959, a diesel option was available, so you never know. The seller doesn’t seem to know much about it other than highlighting that it obviously has engine parts missing, but he did install new tires.
Here’s the VW Type 2 Coke van I mentioned, which we actually wrote up years ago here on Barn Finds. The van was an absolute wreck, but at last check-in, the restoration shop that bought it was actually trying to save original panels and hammer out what it could. Saving an old workhorse like this is no different than those of us getting excited when we find an old Chevy Fleetside pickup with faded, hand-painted lettering on the door denoting that it once belonged to a long-shuttered TV repair shop. It’s history no matter how you slice it, and hopefully someone will determine if this old Peugeot was a former beverage company’s delivery rig.
I’m saying that it’s a cool little van with fake patina, it’s just too consistent top to bottom and end to end for me to believe.
PAINTina. Not well executed IMHO
I give the seller credit for at least trying to make it a little bit more desirable.
The lead photo looks totally AI generated. Other photos look more real, so maybe the fake patina is blurring the body lines a bit.
I hate fish eye lens for this reason.
Folks need straight pic.
Stop the garbage…
I dont help sell
(2 me)
Anyone know what the box on front of it? Thanx
That’s probably the result of putting a liquid-cooled in-line 4 engine in place of the 2-stroke which may have been air-cooled. Longer engine plus rad equals a Jimmy Durante-style schnozola.
A closer look at the pic showing the seat cushion inside the window and, no engine/rad cover visible on the very left edge of the photo. Hmmmm….
Fake as a three-dollar bill. This thing is silly…and Coke would have never bought anything like that. Give me a break. Ridiculous.
Nor, in period, would the French have drunk Coca-Cola. Touché, mon vieux!
There were lots of Peugeot Coke vans. It’s what there was and what worked. There really is a world beyond America thankfully, even Coke drinking French folks.
It only has whitewall tires on the driver’s side. That must be to impress the scads of vehicles which overtake it as it crawls along in the slow lane.
Real or AI, that’s one ugly van IMO.
Okay, I did some extra credit research( BFs helicopter, so close) and the French/Europeans do/did indeed drink Coca-Cola, and did for years. Most European Coca-Cola truck images show mostly yellow paint, and bigger trucks, like bottle rack types, although there were some images of vans for smaller places. I too thought the “shnozze” was tacked on an air cooled van, but I read the 2cyl/2 stroke was liquid cooled too, so chalk it up to the crazy French, Citroen made a similar Coca Cola van.
By the way, it should be noted, Germany alone will consume 6.8 BILLION liters of Coke this year. Globally, 2.2 BILLION servings are consumed everyday. :0
Nice work, Howard!
The French call it a “pig nose” and yes, the nose was added to accommodate the larger engine that Peugeot put in the original Chenard-Walcker van. I suspect this is the same van featured on BF in 2023.
https://barnfinds.com/swine-snout-1960-peugeot-d4b-panel-van/
https://classicvirus.com/2023/02/01/business-ready-1960-peugeot-d4/
The radiator sticks out in front of the engine, in one photo you can see the fan and some of the engine is even or beyond the front sheetmetal (this was in 2023). Listing was from Santa Ana which is about 10-15 miles from Yorba Linda (near where I am), wonder if it’s the same van with a rattle can paint job?
This has been for sale for what seems like years. It was in gray primer, and now it has the faux Coke patina (an effort to make it more desirable?). I don’t think it works, but maybe it will catch someone’s eyes.