Simplex front Derailleur

Herb Whitfield said:

I just bought a used Peugeot mountain bike at a thrift store. It is in excellent condition and looks well maintained. I have no idea when it was manufactured. It has three gears front and back [12 speed]? The front derailler is broken and has the name Simplex stamped on it and the word Brevete also." Made in France" is lso stamped on this part. This part is located on the Center vertical support that also has the seat on its top end.
The serial # on the frame is Y603 584.
I would really appreciate some data on the bike and a location where I could obtain a new or serviceable front derailleur.I would also like a owners manual?😕

Is it actually broken, or simply rusted so that it doesn't move?

If the latter, then for three-or-four consecutive days, put a couple of drops of 'household'/(3-in-1) oil on the pivots ... on the fourth day, try to move it manually by pushing/pulling on the cage with your hands ...

If it doesn't move, then add a couple of more drops of oil, and wait another 24 hours. Repeat until you can move it. Then add a couple of more drops of oil, move the pivots, wipe the excess oil ... repeat until the oil runs clear without signs of rust particles.

If the front derailleur is actually bent/smashed/whatever & you want to replace it, then you can probably replace it with almost any 8-speed SHIMANO front derailleur (there are other brands which will probably work and which will probably be less expensive, but harder to find). The front derialleur cable will attach from above-or-below ... you can either buy a derailleur which can use either attachment OR one that is specific to the direction the cable is coming from.

Post a picture of the derailleur and/or bike to clarify its status ...

BTW. I doubt the "original" owner's manual will tell you anything meaningful since they were usually pretty generic -- they are like looking at a Chilton's manual where there may-or-may not be some real information specific to what is depicted on the manual's cover, but usually the info is as generic as can be.