DKW Meisterklasse restoration update

Following the importation and asbestos saga in March 2017 (see story here:  http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com.au/2017/05/personal-vehicle-import-warning-new.html )  I have made only slow progress with the DKW Meisterklasse. I gave the car a quick once over when the car was port-side and realised that it was in worse condition than I had been led to believe. It was a disappointment but that's the luck of the draw when you're importing a car.

We had to pull the head off the engine at the port. That was a hard enough task. The engine itself is seized and will need to rebuilt. I already expected it to need rebuilding but it being seized just makes it a little worse. I've had diesel sitting in the cylinders since April and the engine is still stuck fast.The water channels were blocked with calcium build up. These have been flushed. The gearbox and radiator seem fine. All the pipes and all the electrics were rotten. I've got replacements for all rubber and tubing from  http://autokultur.eshop.t-online.de

There is rust in the boot which was covered by a layer of mastic. I assume the rust has come from an internal leak as the rust goes from the inside out. There are several patch welds over earlier rust holes. The condition of the boot floor is pretty bad and will probably need to be entirely replaced.

I have spent several weekends working up a sweat with a wire brush, scraper and Goof-off to remove the mastic. It's pretty much down to the bare metal now.

The front sills and floor where it meets the firewall are badly rusted. The floor had previously been cut and welded earlier - and then lathered in mastic (my word they loved their mastic!). The drivers side sill is not too bad but will need to be replaced.

The passenger side floor and sills are worse than the drivers side.

You can see here the passenger sill has lost its structural integrity and begun to collapse. I have a quote for the floor rust work and it's very reasonable. After the Tatra is finished (and the bills paid) I'll get this sorted out. Very pleasingly the BODY is extremely sound. There is no rust in any of the doors, panels or wheel arches.

The chrome bumper trim is extremely poor condition. The metal is very poor quality pot metal, not like the stainless steel trims of the later F93. The difference in build quality and quality of the materials between 1953 and 1959 is striking.

The headlight trim had lots of marks and pocks.

But a couple of hours with WD40 and aluminum foil and they look pretty damned good. Yes, the aluminum foil trick does work.

The upholstery is in very good nick. It was one of the selling points of the car. There was minor surface rust under the rear seat and on the rear floor.

After sanding down and treating with a rust converter.



This is how I envisage the car will look when finished.

Personal Vehicle Import Warning - Australian Asbestos Policy

In 2012 I imported a DKW 3=6 sedan from South Africa. Although it was a lengthy process it went smoothly enough and the car arrived safely with a minimum of fuss. Whenever people asked me advice about importing a vehicle under the personal imports scheme, I recommended it as a viable means of obtaining vehicles that are otherwise rare in Australia and explained the many of the nuances and things to consider. http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/importing-south-african-dkw.html

However, in 2017 Border Force (formerly Australian Customs) implemented a zero tolerance policy on ALL asbestos containing materials and began to actively target classic car imports. If you are considering importing a vehicle from overseas then you should immediately read up on the new regulations before committing to a purchase.

Zero Tolerance for ALL Asbestos Material
On 4 March 2017, without prior warning to shipping and Customs agents, Border Force announced a zero tolerance policy for ALL materials containing asbestos. This change of policy was a knee jerk reaction to two recent incidents involving Chinese manufactured products; one being building materials supplied for the new Princess Margaret hospital, and the other being Geely and Great Wall cars, all of which contained asbestos. I am given to understand that some Chinese companies have deliberately provided false declarations to Customs about asbestos content.

The upshot of this is that ALL personal vehicle imports to Australia are now subject to rigorous inspection and testing of all parts that possibly contain asbestos. This includes testing of brake linings, gaskets, fibrous washers, heat shielding and soundproofing materials, mastic coatings and clutch linings. As all vintage and classic vehicles may possibly have some asbestos material they are are a prime target for inspection and seizure. The penalties for failing to adhere to these restrictions are extremely harsh and can include substantial fines on each item found and seizure and destruction of the vehicle, at the importer's cost.

Details of the new policy and its implications are extensively documented here: http://www.border.gov.au/Busi/cargo-support-trade-and-goods/importing-goods/prohibited-and-restricted/asbestos



My Experience in 2017
When I saw a very rare 1953 DKW F89 ‘personenwagen’ posted for sale on an international DKW forum, my interest was piqued. These cars, the first built after the Second World War, are quite rare as most owners disposed of them as soon as better models became available in the mid-1950s. This interim model, powered by the smaller, pre-war engine, instantly became unsaleable and most of the 60,000 cars built ended up being scrapped. http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/dkw-f89p-new-meisterklasse.html

Anyway, this car, off the road for many years, appeared to be complete, largely unmolested and in reasonably fair condition. It was also very cheap and after discussions with the seller I agreed to purchase the car. The car left its home in Lisbon, Portugal in January and was expected in Fremantle on 12 March 2017.

My car arrived at the Fremantle docks the week after the new rules were introduced and was consequently subjected to asbestos testing. The rear brakes, the head and manifold gaskets and in a mastic coating on the underbody all tested positive for asbestos. The car was immediately impounded and now the real problems began.

At that time procedures to deal with this problem were not in place and neither the shipping agent nor Border Force could agree how to proceed. After a discussion with the shipping agent, I proposed that myself and my mechanic friends from Classic Gasoline (who did sterling work on my Tatra and 59 DKW) attend the depot and remove the offending material. This offer was rejected by Border Force as we were not ‘authorized’ to enter the dockside area. Border Force insisted I needed to engage a professional asbestos remover, but there were no asbestos removers who had the requisite automobile experience to work on a vintage vehicle. Further discussions were held and we then proposed to attend together with the professional asbestos remover in order to provide them the necessary technical guidance to work on the car. This offer was however refused.

Amusingly I have discovered the ABF are using this photo of my car in their Asbestos Policy briefing pack

We were forced to wait while affected industry bodies unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate some sort of workable process with Border Force. Eventually Border Force agreed to our original proposal to remove the asbestos ourselves under supervision. After completing the necessary paperwork, obtaining permits and booking a time to attend the depot, Border Force realized that conducting these repairs in a storage depot without the appropriate facilities might be unsafe and our permit was cancelled.

Discussions now turned to taking the vehicle to an offsite location where the work could be done safely. Border Force first declined and then approved a suggestion to transport the car to the Classic Gasoline workshop. Then they changed their mind again and advised the car could only be moved to a certified asbestos removal centre. After they realized that there was no such thing as certified asbestos removal centre, they relented and approved the car to be moved to Classic Gasoline. Paperwork recommenced, but once again we were thwarted at the last minute when Quarantine intervened. Quarantine advised that the car could be moved for removal of the asbestos only after it had been spray cleaned, but that it could only be spray cleaned after the asbestos was removed. Catch 22 meets Franz Kafka.

We returned to our original plan to remove the asbestos onsite and re-booked a time to attend, but once again this was cancelled at the last second by someone in the Border Force hierarchy who again demanded the work be done by an asbestos specialist. After another frustrating round of calls, it was finally agreed that the asbestos inspector, Rhys and Wayne from Classic Gasoline and I would attend the car and complete the removal of the asbestos material under Border Force's supervision. This occurred on the morning of Wednesday 26 April 2017.

Despite the less than satisfactory environment we were forced to work in, it only took us four hours to remove all the offending material – thanks to the sterling efforts of Rhys and Wayne. We were very fortunate that the DKW is a simple car with a very small engine which could be removed without the use of a hoist. Were the car something American this would have been far more problematic. Border Force certified the removal of the identified asbestos material and arranged its formal seizure and destruction. A great deal of paperwork was involved.

Mastic coating in the wheel arch to cover a bad rust repair

After scrubbing with degreaser and a wire brush

The offending material is bagged up for disposal

Lessons for Personal Vehicle Import
Please be aware that ALL privately imported vehicles are now subject to testing and the consequences for non-compliance can be serious. Do not think that you can just 'wing it' and deal with it if you are caught out. Take all necessary precautions to ensure the vehicle is certified before it is shipped. Do your research, read the Border Force website and speak to your shipping agent BEFORE committing to anything.

I believe my car was the third personal import vehicle impacted by the new rules in Australia, consequently, my experience may not be typical. I would hope that Border Force and the shipping industry formulate a coherent process for handling asbestos contaminated vehicles in the future.

A snippet from an article in Auto Talk 27 April 2017. http://autotalk.com.au/industry-news/autohub-expands-qld-operations-mvsa-decision-looms

"Another key issue for importers is asbestos in imported vehicles and changes announced recently by the Government. “A complete lack of consultation” with the vehicle imports industry over the change could impact businesses, McIntyre says. “We were caught by surprise – it’s very disappointing a change like this would be made without proper industry consultation.

The main impact is just more red tape to import a vehicle. “Many vehicles are from Japan which has been asbestos-free since the early 2000s so it should not have affected any of them, apart from more red tape which the Government said was meant to be reduced.” “The Australian Border Force (ABF) has still not released enough information for us to know how they intend to police the vehicles for asbestos, what origins if any they are targeting, which is very frustrating for importers and customs agents across Australia. “We are still are not sure of the impact on the older vehicles entering Australia via the pre-1989 scheme.

We will continue to pursue ABF for more information.” Importers will now need to declare their vehicles do not contain asbestos before receiving ABF clearance. Vehicle components of most concern are brake pads, head gaskets and transmission components.

Like Autohub, the Australian Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association is concerned about the confusion over the change and says it will be urgently speaking with relevant government authorities to seek clarification."

Link to an article by Mike Sheehan of Ferraris-Online about the asbestos issue. The experience of the Mustang owner is appalling. http://ferraris-online.com/pages/article.php?reqart=FOC_201707_SS2

 FAQ from Cargo-online



Further Updates:
There are now a lot of articles out there about Australia's asbestos policy and the chaos it has caused. My experience has been repeated quite a few times. Border Force itself have a photo of my car in their literature!
http://autotalk.com.au/industry-news/stopping-asbestos-docks
https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/motoring/australian-border-force-detects-asbestos-in-classic-cars-owners-risk-thousands-of-dollars-in-fines/news-story/558ae57b52f7e995237f6e3193ea62b1
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2017/08/04/crackdown-on-asbestos-essentially-halts-collector-car-exports-to-australia/
https://oldtimerdaily.com/asbestos-law-blocks-import-of-classic-cars-in-australia/
https://nswcorvettes.com.au/forum/index.php?topic=11610.0
https://www.asbestos.com/blog/2019/06/10/asbestos-classic-cars/
https://www.raidermoto.com/blog/asbestos-warning-for-all-australian-importexports/

The asbestos issue continues to cause problems across the auto industry. There is lobbying behind the scenes from a number of directions to restore a degree of sanity to Australia's asbestos policy. Border Force continues to enforce a zero tolerance rule. Their position is outlined here:
https://www.abf.gov.au/importing-exporting-and-manufacturing/prohibited-goods/categories/asbestos
The main problem an importer faces can be summed up in Border Force's comment "lists are not exhaustive and are subject to change."

The DKW is licensed!

After failing an initial inspection, Daisy the DKW is licensed for the road. It seems a long time coming, considering the car was delivered in February, but then good things are worth the wait.

Following the first inspection I had a small list of issues to address. These were relatively minor - tyres, headlights, a couple of minor suspension tweaks and the replacement of a torn CV boot. It was the CV boot that proved to be the most challenging item to address and again this was more due to the time it takes to get parts shipped from Germany.

I ordered two boots from http://www.dkwhesse.de/ largely because they have a presence on ebay.de which made purchasing easy. Auto-Masters in Fremantle installed the boot the day after they arrived and I booked the car in for inspection the next day. As it was a re-inspection it was a pretty quick affair - a quick confirmation that all the highlighted issues have been fixed and then we were done!

I would have liked to have kept the South African plates on the car but unfortunately that's not legal so we have Western Australian plates.

The first inspection: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2012/04/dkw-crunch-time.html

DKW Crunch Time

The wait for the tie rod ends and gauges seemed interminable but they arrived on 13th April. Over the weekend I installed the gauges and on Monday dropped the car off at Auto Masters Fremantle for them to install the tie rods.

Tuesday 17th April I took the DKW to the vehicle inspection centre at Welshpool. It's first come, first served so its best to get there before they open at 7.30am. I arrived at 8 and there was already a huge queue. By about 8.30 they were turning away cars.

The Deek was inspected just before 12. The inspector was also into vintage cars - he owns a Riley - so we had an interesting discussion about Wartburgs and Messerschmitts. Who knows about the Wartburg in Perth?? I even got to walk under the car when it was on the hoist and look at the underside. It is at least free from rust but you do get a different view of the car from there. Then the inspector took it for spin around the block. I was really worried what he would say but he seemed pretty happy.

Sadly though the Deek did not pass. But all is not lost! The list of defects are pretty straightforward to fix and that is all in hand now. I'll book a re-inspection for Friday and - touch wood! - we'll be on the road in time for the Classic Car Show at Whiteman Park on Sunday 22nd. If we do make it, we'll be parked with the Special Interest Vehicle Association.

Update - the car was reinspected and passed: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2012/05/dkw-is-licensed.html

We attended the Classic Car Show, which  was a real success. Here is a link to our photos: http://www.heinkelscooter.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/classic-car-show-whiteman-park-2012.html

DKW Repairs

I organised a temporary movement permit (http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/licensing/20779.asp) which allows you to drive an unregistered vehicle on the road for the purpose of repair or registration with the intention of taking the straight over the pits on Wednesday morning, but after I'd reviewed the car and taken it for a short drive I changed my mind. The brakes felt weak so I thought I should get them checked out. There'd be no sense taking the car for inspection only to fail on something so obvious.

I took the car down to Auto-Masters in Fremantle. The guys were puzzled by the car but happy to give it the once over.

It turned out the brakes were okay, needing only a top up of the fluid and little adjustment. They are about as good as 50 year old drum brakes get. The underside of the car was 'immaculate', without a spot of rust. But they did advise that the right hand inner tie rod end was worn and this was making the steering veer, especially when braking.

As I needed to import the tie rod end anyway, I considered replacing the drum brakes with disc brakes, which DKW introduced as an option in 1960. Spares can be found in Germany, South Africa and Brazil. In Brazil DKW-Vemag manufactured DKW cars right through to 1968 and many thousands are still on the road. Dekabras still manufacture spares and performance parts and have begun advertising internationally. Their website is - http://www.dekabras.com.br/inicio.php The website is in Portuguese and needs some work but they responded very promptly to my emails and sent me photos of their spares and disc brake kits. Here's a photo:

Nevertheless, after some correspondence I opted not to pursue this option. Replacing the drum brakes would require complete replacement of the front axles and all the brake cylinders. After the Auto Masters guys retuning the brakes they proved to be quite good enough.

Then I needed to fix two defects in the instrumentation requiring specialist parts.  Firstly, the petrol gauge didn't work. This is a common problem with old Deeks and there are no spares/replacement parts available. Arne Guldenstein at Mobilitaeten offers a repair service, so the gauge was shipped over to Germany for repair.

The temperature gauge was also faulty so it also went back to Germany. While the petrol gauge was easy to remove, the temperature gauge was not. The whole instrument, from the sensor to the gauge is a single piece. The sensor was easy enough to unscrew and feed back through the firewall, but removing the gauge was a challenge that required removing the dashboard instrument panel. That required a lot of fiddling around under the dash to undo the tiny screws holding it on and then some real grunt to pull it through - without scratching the paintwork or disconnecting any of the wiring. I pray that I'll be able to get it all back in without damaging anything. I'm hoping that the instruments and the tie rods will be back in about three weeks. Crossed fingers!

Update 2 March 2012
I heard from Arne that the parts have arrived in Germany but are with Customs who may take up to two weeks to inspect and release them. This is disappointing. It doesn't sound like the parts will be back by April.

Here is a link to DKW spare parts suppliers (including Mobilitaeten) - http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/dkw-spare-parts-suppliers-and-repairers.html

To part two: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2012/04/dkw-crunch-time.html

The DKW Arrives

The Tijuca arrived in Fremantle in the early hours of 2 February 2012. She stayed in port long enough to unload her cargo before setting sail for Melbourne that very day. I was quite surprised at the speed of the turnaround as I see plenty of cargo carriers parked dockside for days. I had intended to ride down and see the ship unloading but it wasn't to be.

Cargo Online handled all the import paperwork, Customs and the obligatory Quarantine inspection. Quarantine can request vehicles be steam cleaned and this can take up to a week to arrange. Fortunately I had arranged with Marcelo to have the car thoroughly cleaned before it was shipped so Quarantined passed the car.

Only authorized drivers are allowed dockside so Jason from Cargo Online organized for the car to be delivered directly to our house. It was dropped off on Tuesday 7th February 2012.

Rolling down the ramp

This is my first view of the car as I arrived home after work.



The walk around. Although there are some little flaws in the paintwork the car DOES look as good as it did in the pics from South Africa.

The interior is all original and unrestored.

Settling in behind the wheel. It still has that old car smell that I remember from my old EH Holden (1963); the smell of real leather upholstery.

The moment of truth! The transporter driver said the battery was flat but clearly he didn't know how to start it. I inserted the key, turned it to 'Fahrt', pressed the starter button and the engine whirred into life. I was surprised how quiet the engine was. It simply purrs.

DKW Shipping: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2012/01/das-auto-kommt.html
DKW Repairs: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2012/02/dkw-repairs-and-spares.html

Das Auto Kommt

After almost three months the DKW is finally on its way. The lengthiest part of the process was obtaining the import approval from the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure. The usual timeline for processing an application for import approval is between four and six weeks. In my case it took slightly longer at seven weeks, but I guess that's within an acceptable margin.
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/importing_vehicles/general/index.aspx

The time it takes to turn around an international car sale certainly makes it an unattractive proposition for the seller. Without Marcelo's patience and willingness to help this process would have been impossible. He assisted with organising the South African police clearances, insurance, vehicle inspections and valuations as well liaising directly with the shipping agents. Thanks Marcelo for all your help.

For shipping I used Cargo Online, who were also very helpful. Thank you Scott for your advice. http://www.cargoonline.com.au/. Most of the legwork was done by Maurita of Lochhead White and Womersley Pty Ltd in Durban, who co-ordinated things on the South African side. Thank you Maurita for all your good work.

The cost of shipping from Johannesburg was almost half the price of the car as vehicles need to be shipped in a container, which inevitably requires specialised handling with all associated costs. It's much cheaper to ship as 'roll-on,roll-off' cargo from ports so we arranged to transport the DKW on a car carrier from Johannesburg to Durban. The car was picked up in Johannesburg on Monday 16th January and dropped off in Durban on Wednesday 19th. As long as there are no delays with the ship, she will be loaded on the MV Tijuca on Thursday or Friday.

A week prior to pick up the DKW was steam cleaned to remove any dirt from the underside.

The final inspection before shipping at Marcelo's house.

Photographs and a vehicle condition report noting any scratches and scrapes were provided to the shipping agent for insurance purposes.



Two boxes of spares and manuals in the boot.

Steam cleaned engine bay. This should satisfy the Australian Quarantine Services.

The car goes onto the carrier. It's with no little sense of irony that she shared the journey with a new Audi! Now I just hope and pray that the Tijuca doesn't hit a rock or an iceberg.