In the late 1970's, the french engineer Henri DANGEL developed an 4x4-drive conversion for the PEUGEOT 504 Break and Pick-up, which was presented at 1980's Parisien Salon. DANGEL 4x4 conversions were and still are done to brand new vehicles in the DANGEL factory in Sentheim, France, near Mulhouse. In 1986, DANGEL started the production of the 505 4x4 Break. More than 5500 of these wagons left the factory, mostly for official use (Gendarmerie Nationale, or in the  (former) french colonies) - and for enthusiasts like us, of course !

DANGEL converted PEUGEOTs took part in the African rallies (Tunisie-Atlas-Dakar), too. Pictured below is the 4x4 subframe of an 504 Pick up, including transmission, gearbox and suspension. Subframes for the Break had coil springs.

The Bandama Rallye 1975

In the sixties, PEUGEOT started with the 404 a long tradition of winning the African rallies. Peugeot was  in 1975 the first car manufacturer to participate in three famous events - with the 504 as Berline, Coupé and Break and great success:
The 504 was to win The Bandama (cross-country through Africa's Ivory Coast over more than 3000 miles) from 1974-76.

In 1975, only seven out of 52 entries finished the race. Three were 504s...A PEUGEOT 504 also won his class in the East African Safari 1975 and 1976, finishing 5th overall. Since the first East African Safari in 1953, PEUGEOT has won 19 trophies, including four outright victories...

The 5-day Rallye du Maroc 1975 saw the 504 placed first and second, after only 15 out of 102 starters crossed the finish line. Next year 1976 got even better, with 504s finishing first, second and third.

BTW you can identify cars which participated in The Bandama by their Cafe de Cote d'Ivore stickers.