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
