Heinkel Scooter Project: September 2024

Thursday, September 26, 2024

Rotary Club of Como Classic Car Show - Sunday 29th September 2024

The Como Rotary Car Show is held annually in October at Wesley College and attracts over 200 cars of all makes and ages. It's a pleasant and relaxing show and one of my favorites on the motoring calendar.

Six members of our KBG club attended the show covering a wide variety of unusual vehicles. Attending were a 1965 Saab Monte Carlo, 1959 DKW F94, 1964 Panhard 24CT, 1965 Skoda Octavia and 1944 KdF Kubelwagen.

And the sixth vehicle - a 1969 BMW R69

The Saab 96 Monte Carlo was a sports tuned version of the Saab 96. It is powered by a three cylinder 850cc two-stroke with triple carburetors. Saab enjoyed a particularly successful rallying history.

Saab and DKW continued with two-stroke powerplants long after it was dropped by other European manufacturers. The advantage of two-strokes was their simplicity of construction and maintenance (no need for tuning, valve timing, oil changes, less things to go wrong) and with excellent power to weight ratios, but by the mid-1960s they were definitely seen as a 'poor man's motor'. Emission control legislation in Europe spelt the death knell for the engine.

My DKW F94 is powered by an 886cc three-cylinder two-stroke

Another small-engine, high-performance motor car is this 1965 Panhard 24CT from France. Powered by a 750cc air-cooled boxer engine, highly tuned to squeeze every last horsepower out of its small engine. Like the Saab and DKW, Panhards performed well in rallying.

1965 Skoda Octavia was powered by a sturdy four-cylinder four-stroke motor of 1200cc.

The military version of the KdF Volkswagen served in all European theatres, from the deserts of North Afrika (as this example is painted) to the frozen Russian front. Ferdinand Porsche's incredibly robust low-compression four-cylinder air-cooled boxer was able to perform in all conditions.

A magnificently restored BMW R69.

Jaguar Kougar

Renault 4CVs

Fiat 500C Topolina

Ferrari

Ford Thunderbird

Replica 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500

Austin Healey Sprite

Porsche 356 Roadster

Morgan Plus Eights

Aston Martin DB5

1930 Ford A

Chevrolet Blitz

Studebaker Lark

Bedford van

Vauxhall Club

Holden FX

For more information check out the website: https://comorotary.org/como-rotary-car-show/

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

The Autocar January 1949 - Survey of German Car Production

After the complete destruction of German industry in the Second World War, Germany had to rebuild its auto industry from the ground up. The terrible state of affairs in 1945 has been reported in detail in this survey by German engineers: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2022/07/state-of-german-motor-industry-1945.html

Of all the companies, Volkswagen was in the best shape and despite being earmarked for destruction by the British authorities, the company would survive and thrive, becoming one to the biggest automakers in the world. https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-death-and-resurrection-of-volkswagen.html

This report on the state of affairs in Germany was published in the British motoring magazine, The Autocar on 21 January 1994.

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Perth Classic Car Show - Sunday 8th September 2024

The Classic Car Show is Perth’s premier classic motoring event, bringing together over 100 of WA’s finest motoring clubs for a display of classic cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles.

From the latest sports supercars, through to wooden wheeled veterans, there will be more than a century of motoring heritage on display at this family friendly event.

Check out the new and improved website for more details: https://classiccarshow.com.au/