I started this blog in 2008 with the intention of documenting the restoration of a 1954 Heinkel Tourist 104A scooter. The scooter was an absolute basketcase and I spent a lot of time scouring the internet for documentation and sources of parts. Actually, in restoration terms the Heinkel Tourist is very well supplied with resources, with an excellent and dedicated owners club that is able to supply everything in terms of owner and repair manuals, documentation and spare parts. If only all vintage machinery was so well supplied. https://www.heinkel-club.de/t3/en/ml/home1.html
The Heinkel proved to be a little beyond me, so I diverted my attention to a second scooter I had purchased at the same time - a 1964 IWL Troll from East Germany. Information about IWL scooters was, as to be expected, thin on the ground. Being East German, there were few fans in western Europe and virtually nothing on the web in English. I determined that I would document everything I could find about IWL in English so that any other restorers would not have as difficult time as I'd had initially. https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2008/05/iwl-history.html
The investigation into IWL led me to Motorrad Zschopau (MZ), the East German motorcycle manufacturer, as they provided the engines for the IWL scooter brand. MZ was the successor company of DKW, Germany's premier two stroke engine and motorcycle company. DKWs had been exported to Australia so I determined I would find one for myself. This proved harder than I imagined however. While on the lookout for a DKW, I stumbled upon a British motorcycle, the 1958 Ariel Leader. https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2010/07/please-dont-let-me-be-misunderstood.html
I had not been particularly interested in motorcycles, but there was something appealing about the unorthodox Ariel Leader. My particular example was purchased from a second hand vintage motorcycle dealer somewhere near Bendigo. I had phoned him to ask about the bike. We'd exchanged a few messages and he sent me a recording of the bike running as evidence that it was in riding condition. The bike had come from a farm, where it had sat in a shed under a tarpaulin since the 1980s. The owner had been forced into a care home and his children had been clearing out his place. The bike had been placed with the dealer on spec. Although intrigued, I had decided against the purchase. Three months later the dealer called me again and said he'd been speaking to the owner. Although he had another offer from a guy who wanted to strip the bike, the owner had decided that he wanted to sell the bike to me, as I had showed real interest in the machine. I advised him that I did not have the money, but the seller was okay with that. I could pay it off over time. We settled on $500 a month and 6 months later the bike was mine. The dealer did a good deal on transport. Shortly after I obtained the bike, the original owner passed away. God bless his soul.
I documented my restoration challenges with each of these machines over the years. The Heinkel I eventually sold on as I decided I would not get to it for many years and I had too many projects on the go. For a long time the blog ticked along with little interest until I wrote about the development of the DKW RT125 motorcycle and its outstanding little two-stroke engine. This story had been driven by my realization that the DKW RT125 was the most copied motorcycle in the world, being built everywhere from the two Germanies, Britain, USA, Soviet Union, Hungary, and Japan (and many places besides). https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2010/04/das-kleine-wunder-story-of-remarkable.html This story 'went viral' as far as I was concerned. 30 or 40 people were reading it a day! I'd obviously tapped into something, so I began looking deeper into DKW and what an interesting story that was. I became a little obsessed with the history of DKW and Auto-Union and began to intensify my search for a DKW motorcycle. That search came to nothing, but it did lead me to DKW cars. https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2017/06/dkw-auto-union-archive.html
I had not realized that DKW also built a range of two-stroke engine cars, starting in 1929 until 1965. I was instantly taken with the DKW 3=6 model with its very distinctive look, but there were virtually none in Australia so I thought acquiring one would be a pipe dream. Then, one day at work, I was chatting with a couple of my South African colleagues and they began discussing the vintage car market in South Africa. A lot of European cars made their way to South Africa and thanks to the dry climate could still be acquired in good condition for a reasonable price. I knew there was a dedicated DKW following in South Africa and I commented that I was interested in DKW cars. I pulled up an advertisement for one on South African Gumtree to show as an example, as some of the guys did not know about these cars. "Ahh, the Dee Kah Vey - German Shit Car!", one of them commented. Another guy took a good look at the advert of the nice blue and white four door sedan and said, "That car is just near my father's place. Do you want him to go and have a look at it for you?" I had never thought of importing a car from overseas as it was simply too risky an undertaking, but now I was being presented with an opportunity. Yes, I said. Several weeks later I was advised the car had been inspected and was in excellent condition. Did I want to make an offer? I did and... the rest was history. That DKW - Daisy - has never let us down and is our favorite vehicle. https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2011/10/importing-south-african-dkw.html
My wife, Shelly, then decided she wanted a classic car of her own. She chose a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. We acquired one from Melbourne after much searching and discovered - to our horror - just how bad rust can be in a Volkswagen. A lot of effort was put into the car's restoration. She looks magnificent now and, like Daisy, Molly is a reliable beast. https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2013/09/new-addition.html
From there I made two rather foolish purchases. Firstly, I'd been surprised to discover there was a Tatra in Western Australia. The York Motor Museum had a 1952 Tatra T600 Tatraplan in their collection. I had always been fascinated by these streamlined, rear-engine cars and said to Shelly at the time that this was my 'dream car.' I never expected I would own one. Several year's later the museum put the car up for auction. I watched it leave for Melbourne with a sense of sadness expecting it would disappear overseas, but it was passed in without a bid. It passed through several auction houses over the next 12 months, being passed in at each without any interest. The fact was that during the 30-odd years the car had sat at the museum it had rarely been driven and was in need of some serious recommissioning if it were to run properly again. Later I was having a coffee with some classic car enthusiast friends and the Tatra came up in conversation. Someone was observing that the Tatra would never sell at the prices being asked as there was no market in Australia for such an unusual vehicle and it was in need of a lot of work to get back on the road. They rattled off a number they felt it was actually worth - a very small number. I jumped in to say "I'd pay that." The other person asked me if I was serious as he knew the seller and if I was really serious he would let them know. I flippantly said "Sure!" not for one second believing that the seller would accept such a low-ball offer. Two days later the seller called and said "Done!" I was the owner of a 1952 Tatraplan.
I had not expected this outcome and now needed to tell Shelly. She was not impressed. I had bought the scooters and motorcycles without permission and now I was buying another classic car (we had a one car open-air carport at the time). She did concede that the Tatra was interesting however. It took a long time to get roadworthy, mainly due to the time it takes to get into specialised mechanics' shops. Although she was running very badly, she did not need too much work. The engine needed a complete retune, the brakes needed rebuilding, fuel system and carburetors cleaned and tuned and then she was back on the road. The paintwork had deteriorated considerably as she was shuffled from auction house to auction house and she had been stored outside in Melbourne's miserable weather for some time, which did not help. And there was the problematic gearbox. When Shelly and I went overseas on long service leave I placed the car with my mechanic friends to take care of a few minor jobs and warned them - don't strip the gearbox - but they couldn't help themselves. Once apart, it could not be put back together as the parts were too worn. I then went on a two-year odyssey to find a replacement gearbox and associated parts. Let me assure you Tatraplan gearboxes are virtually unobtainium. While the car was laid up I had her stripped and repainted. She looks magnificent now. In May 2022 the Tatraplan was placed on temporary display at the Motor Museum of WA in Whiteman Park for around 15 months. https://tatrat600.blogspot.com/2022/01/my-tatraplan-temporarily-on-display-at.html
While overseas in Germany we visited the Audi Tradition museum and I became enamored with the idea of owning a DKW New Meisterklasse (or IFA F9) from the immediate postwar period. I particularly liked these car's archaic features, such as the walking stick gear stick that protruded through the dashboard. Both these models are quite rare now. When one popped up for sale in Portugal, it looked good and solid and I bought it. Shelly was not happy at all. Neither was I when the car arrived and proved to be in much poorer condition than advised. Even worse, the car was seized by Border Force and impounded as it was found to contain asbestos, which the government had imposed a zero tolerance policy on. It took six weeks of frustrating negotiations just to get permission to remove the offending material (brake shoes and a couple of gaskets). Once I had the car at home I found the engine was seized and the floor rotten and rusted. It took two years for my panel beater friend to become available to work on the floors. It's done now. The engine is out of the car and being rebuilt (now finished). https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2021/05/1953-dkw-f89p-meisterklasse-import.html
This year, at long last, I managed to acquire to a DKW motorcycle - a 1954 DKW RT250H. This machine is running and licensed. Phew. https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2022/03/1954-dkw-rt250-h-motorcycle.html
This blog has evolved from a vehicle restoration blog into an events calendar and events report blog, an automobile history blog, and many things in between. I am always amazed that people from all over the world are looking at it. I think I passed the 1 million views earlier this year but I had not really paid attention. I only really noticed today - 27 May 2022 - and thought wow! Thank you for visiting.
There are so many posts on the blog that some of the marque specific posts are hard to find. To make it easier, I have created several sub-blogs dedicated to those marques, such as:
DKW Auto-Union - https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot
Tatra - https://tatrat600.blogspot.com/
Vidal and Sohn (Tempo) - http://tempohanseat.blogspot.com/
Military History and Museums - https://militarymuseum.blogspot.com/
British DKW Club Archive - https://dkw-gbclubarchive.blogspot.com/
German Auto-Union Club Magazine Archive - https://auvc-archive.blogspot.com/
Motor Kritik Magazine Archive - https://motor-kritik.blogspot.com
