The Peugeot J9 is a real workhorse. From the first moment you take a seat behind the steering wheel, you immediately have the feeling of staying in a small truck. The cabin is simple but complete and functional. The J9 is available with many additional options and designs and that quickly turns it into a luxury delivery van.
Once you have taken a seat behind the almost flat steering wheel through the sliding door, it is comfortable for a van to stay in the cabin. Driving with the sliding door open is less responsible in the J9 because the side mirrors are mounted on the sliding door. The instrument panel is uncluttered and there is a wide view out thanks to the enormous windscreen. The J9 was equipped as standard with electric windshield washers, two-speed wipers, sun visors, interior lighting in the cab and a heater blower. In addition, there are numerous storage compartments.
For the real self-indulgence there is a luxury “Comfort Cabin” package containing a padded dashboard, more storage space and luxurious, adjustable and window cloth-covered seats with headrests.
Characteristic are the sliding doors at the front and the long flat cargo area with a surface of 4.6m² and an effective loading volume of 8.7m². With the closed van, the doors can be properly folded up so that the loading space is 100% free. Ideal for real pallet and box scrapers. A sliding side door and an intermediate shot at the cabin are available at an additional cost. A polyester elevation provides even more interior space up to 10.3mᵌ at the short wheelbase and 16mᵌ at the long wheelbase.
The number of variations seems to be countless, as no fewer than 19 different basic versions provide a wide range of possibilities for practical conversion and construction. There are two basic versions and they are based on the payload. The 1500 version (petrol 1510 kg. / Diesel 1410 kg. Payload) and the 1900 version (petrol 1910 kg. / Diesel 1810 kg. Payload), including driver and / or passengers.
The J9 ‘1500’ is equipped with a 1,618 cmᵌ petrol engine or a 2112 cmᵌ diesel engine and the J9 ‘1900’ has a 1971 cmᵌ petrol engine or a 2498 cmᵌ diesel engine. Later a 2304 cm³ diesel was added. It is not going to be fast. Maximum speeds are between 103 and 115 km / h. And thanks to the special spark plugs, only a pre-heating time of 7 seconds for the diesel engines, that’s right!
All engines are equipped with a fully synchronized 4-speed gearbox. The braking system includes disc brakes with floating calipers at the front and drum brakes with automatic readjustment at the rear. The braking system is equipped with a brake booster. A load-dependent brake force regulator, acting on the rear wheels, constantly regulates the braking force required by the rear wheels, resulting in optimum braking effect and the shortest possible braking distance.
The J9 was available in numerous versions. Almost any conversion or conversion was possible. From minibus, livestock vehicle, shopping cart, camper, aerial platform, tipper to even a mobile office. That also made the J9 attractive to other bodybuilders. They could deliver special designs, with a factory guarantee. A completely bare “Chassis Cab” could be purchased on which special conversion and superstructure could be placed. The Chassis Cab was delivered from the factory with metal reinforcements to transport the car from the factory to the body shop.
The production period of the J9 has been very long for such a commercial vehicle. From its launch in 1981, the J9 has been available in Europe until 1991 and a total of 245,057 vehicles have rolled off the assembly line. The Turkish manufacturer Karzan produced the J9 under license from 1981 to even 2010.
Anyone who has ever been to France knows the image of a small market in a picturesque French village where bread or fresh Camembert is sold from a J9 shopping cart. The J9 is frequently used by the fire brigade, police, hospitals and municipalities. That is why the J9 can rightly be called a strong number.
