Auto Union DKW Owners

Started by AutoUnioNZ, December 23, 2015, 09:55:26 AM

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AutoUnioNZ

Thanks for the kind words D'Arcy!

Now - I thought I'd show you the very attractive Beutler-bodied 1959 Auto Union 1000SP which was first shown at the 1959 Geneva Auto Salon.  It is not known why the car was built and what happened to it;







AutoUnioNZ

The 1962 Araraquara race in Brazil



This race was won (1st overall) by "Marinho" Mario Cesar Camargo Filho in a DKW Vemag (number 10); in 2nd place came Christian "Bino" Heins (who died in the Le Mans 24 Hours) in a  Renault; in 3rd place came  Antonio Carlos Avallone with a Simca Vedette (is that a "Chambord" model?) seen on the first row on this photo (number 58) and in place 4th  place was Antonio Luis Grecco in a Renault.

"Marinho" is one of the most celebrated of the DKW-Vemag competition drivers - born in 1937 he began racing DKW's in 1959 and had an illustrious career - including driving the famous DKW Carcar? (although he did not drive it on its record breaking attempt).



Here is the same driver on the 1963 event;


brian

I notice that a Graber DKW has pretty much the same lines as a Graber Alvis
Škoda Fabia 1.0 TSI Race Blue

AutoUnioNZ

 ;) ;)Brian

Here is another coachbuilt Deek - the first of the Malzoni's, built by Italian-Brazilian DKW magician Rino Malzoni;



Genaro "Rino" Malzoni was born in Italy in 1917 and came to Brazil with his parents in 1922, then five years old. The Malzoni family , however, had already been in Brazil for more than fifty years then. His grandfather, Genaro, immigrated in 1859, but unlike most Italians who came to Brazil in search of work, he came to Brazil to invest. Early on, he bought land, where he established a farm, and began to grow coffee, then the main Brazilian agricultural product.

Entrepreneurial, certainly, Genaro Malzoni not only produced, but also exported coffee. He opened a warehouse in Santos,and, along with his brothers, a bank, the Banking House Brothers Malzoni. Rino's father,  Francisco Neto Malzoni, was born in Brazil and went to Italy in 1898, when his father decided to return to the homeland. He studied there and later married Imaculatta Matarazzo, with whom he had four children: Genaro (Rino) , Catherine Fulvio and Tereza. Before Francisco decided to return to Brazil, the family faced the tumultuous years of World War I , between 1914 and 1918 - a very tough time in Italy.

The first automotive design Rino Malzoni worked on in the late 1940's, was  a huge Lancia  "torpedo" (open body with four seats) in a two - seat roadster, inspired by the sporting MG's popular with young Englishmen at the time. He also modified the front of an Austin A90 Atlantic Convertible in S?o Paulo. Another project ​​in the same genre was the modification of a Maserati coupe.

Soon he would create his own body from scratch...

The creation of the first GT Malzoni - and those cars immediately following - involved a simultaneous learning process. The first car took nearly two years to complete, with the parts being made ​​and modified numerous times. On the workshop of the wall was a drawing of the car in 1:1 scale - which was constantly modified.

Rino started the project with constructing a steel car.  The steel sheets and frames were covered with cardboard and the car hammered into shape over a series of body bucks.

The first car (sometimes called the Malzoni I) was an elegant 2 + 2 (with two small seats in the back) and was completed in 1963. A major mechanical change it brought was the incorporation of a floor gearshift, over the normal DKW column shift.





brian

I can see why we didn't hear of these!!!!
Škoda Fabia 1.0 TSI Race Blue

AutoUnioNZ



Then came the second car - this model, called the "GT Malzoni Type II" , was a much more evolved version, starting with the chassis shortening, which gave the car an agility that became legendary on the tracks with tighter turns. His great supporter was "Marinho" - M?rio C?sar de Camargo Filho - a racing driver for DKW- Vemag. It was he, who, after driving the 2 + 2 Malzoni I,  convinced Rino to build the new version - the Malzoni II.



"Marinho" followed the step by step development of the car, including suggesting some details such as the lowering of the roofline. Even with steel body, was immediately transferred to Vemag racing team and successfully tested in some races.

It was, however, just a stepping stone to what was to come...


AutoUnioNZ

The Malzoni -DKW IV

That leads us to the final and finest of Malzoni's DKW based cars - the Malzoni IV, which, in time, became the Puma-DKW.

Here is Rino Malzoni with the car in 1965;



There were two other steel-body versions of the earlier Malzoni GT. The last variant - now called the Type IV, was used as a sample for a much lighter version, in fiberglass. Commissioned by the Vemag Team and under the monitoring of the expert in fiber glass, Celso Calvari, three additional cars were created. At that time, this new technology was cutting-edge in Brazil.

The following step was preparing the new Type IV to be displayed at the S?o Paulo Auto Showroom in 1964. That demanded careful engineering. The prototype which was painted no less than five times before it was finally deemed ready - it arrived late at the show.

Despite all of the challenges, it was one of the highlights of the year at the show.



The fiberglass Malzoni GT production car was the result of a partnership among Rino, Marinho, Milton Masteguin and Roberto. That set the establishment of the Lumimari Company. The car, boasting the DKW Malzoni badge, was available in two versions. The first, the ?Spartan?, which was used for racing, had a rudimentary finishing and little internal comfort. The other, geared to the ordinary public, was a more sophisticated one, with leather upholstery.

There were only a few units made of the first ?commercial? Malzoni. The exact number is not known, but it is estimated that there were between 43 and 45 cars made. Despite the small number of cars, the car was tremendously successful and well-received by all who tested as it was publicized in the main Brazilian motoring magazines at the time.

By 1966, the model needed an update. Rino then decided to create a newer model, under the support of his friend and designer, An?sio Campos and Jorge Letry, a former Vemag racing manager,  the manufacturing of  the PUMA car came about - essentially a development of the Malzoni IV.

With a focus on the daily use, smoother lines, more precise measures and more careful finishing, the PUMA GT turned out to be an immediate success. Its success was even more obvious when it was awarded, in 1966, Brazil?s Most Beautiful Car by the magazine ?Quatro Rodas? which included in its jury the Italian carrozziere Nucio Bertone. The success immediately impacted sales: 135 units were swiftly sold. This number could surely have been higher if Volkswagen which had bought Auto Union, in Germany and Vemag, in Brazil, had not discontinued the manufacturing of the DKW lineup. Those were hard days for PUMA, but Rino did not allow the crisis to interfere on his business..

The end of DKW-Vemag (due to the parent company Auto Union AG) in 1967 was a severe knock-back for Puma, which was just starting to get settled. But, Rino had an ace card up his sleeve: he recovered a dormant project he had. Thus, what was initially meant to be a race car made on the Karmann-Ghia?s platform, became the prototype of a new GT. After nine months of hard work, the Puma Volkswagen became reality. The small sports-car had a bright career: besides the success in Brazil, it was exported to more than 50 countries, including the United States, Japan and many others in Europe.

RACING

In March 1965, the first fiberglass Malzoni, 150kg lighter than the previous version, raced in its inaugural event in Recife. In May, it raced in Rio de Janeiro and lost to two powerful imported Abarths from the Simca Team, a result that would recur on the following month in Interlagos, S?o Paulo. In September, at the 400 Years GP in Rio de Janeiro, it came in second place, behind the Ferrari 250 GTO of Camilo Christ?faro.

The second victory took place on the streets of Piracicaba, S?o Paulo, when Marinho, Eduardo Schurachio and Francisco Lameir?o raced in their Malzonis. The three white prototypes were defiant and defended their positions superbly. Although with engines less powerful than those of their competitors, they were right on their heels. Besides the drivers from S?o Paulo, Marinho, Francisco Lameir?o, Eduardo Schurachio and An?sio Campos who raced for Vemag, there was Norman Casari from Rio de Janeiro who, driving a Malzoni, claimed his second state championship title in 1967. He celebrated his victory over competitors with cars like a Ferrari GTO, an Alfa GTA and a Dacon KG Porsche.


Another driver to be remembered is Henrique Iwers, from Rio Grande do Sul. He came in fifth place in 1968 in the Antoninho Burlamaqui Road Race. In that same year, he arrived in third at Porto Alegre?s 500 Kilometer, right behind Chico Landi and Jan Balder?s BMW, a car utterly superior, and competed until the very last lap against the legendary Vit?rio Andreatta?s Ford ?Carretera?.
The Malzonis from Vemag and independent drivers disputed at least 54 races, claiming fifteen victories, twelve second, and seven third places.

Some races were epic, like the GP Faria Lima in Interlagos which was raced in three heats. Francisco ?Chiquinho? Lameir?o won the first one and came in second on the second heat. Both Lameir?o and Jos? Carlos Pace, driving a Dacon Karmann-Ghia Porsche, put on an unforgettable high performance show. Pace was faster on the straight sectors, but in the winding sectors, Lameir?o would be right on his tail. During the third heat, a stone punctured the Malzoni?s radiator and the damage spun him off.


Another legendary episode occurred in 1966 during the Brazilian One Thousand Miles. The Malzonis were dominating the race in great style with the youngsters Emerson Fittipaldi and Jan Balder coming in first, followed by Marinho and Schurachio. Running third, Camilo Christ?faro and Eduardo Celid?nio were driving the powerful Corvette Chevrolet with no less than a seven-liter engine. On the last refueling stop, the engine of the leading Malzoni faltered and refused to restart. Balder and Fittipaldi lost precious time in the pits and dropped down to third place. Marinho, who had taken the wheel to finish the race, was then the leader, with the Corvette Chevrolet getting dangerously closer. The end of the race was movie-like: Celid?nio overtook when entering the final straight, leaving Marinho no chance for reaction. As mentioned by the innumerous chronicles published then, the highlights of the race were unforgettable to those who were mere spectators ...and to those who participated.

(most of the text has been translated from rinomalzoni.com)








AutoUnioNZ

And now for some local news...

Grahame Smith of Papamoa Beach in Tauranga has completed the restoration of his 1958 DKW 3=6 F94.  He is temporarily running a 60 bhp Wartburg engine, as his original 3=6 motor developed a crank issue.  As soon as the original motor is repaired it will be refitted.

Here it is:




AutoUnioNZ

And....on another local note, I was in correspondence with Southwards Museum at Paraparaumu recently with regards their lovely original 1960 Auto Union 1000S Coupe equipped with Saxomat.  They obliged by sending me a lovely file photo of the car to share with you all - here it is:


AutoUnioNZ

And still more local news!  This car arrived in Auckland on Friday from Nelson for a friend of mine - I'll be storing it and helping him get it going again.  Here it is "as arrived"  it needs an engine rebuild and some rust repairs, but otherwise its not too bad;




AutoUnioNZ

#230
I'll be taking a "Tiki tour" of the South Island with my '57 DKW 3=6 during November (complete with wife and kids!).  We are well-versed in each others ways though - over the last 15 years we toured vast swathes of Southern Africa with it;

5 November: Onewhero to Taupo
6 November: Taupo -Wellington - Picton
7 November: Picton -Nelson
8 November: Nelson
9 November: Nelson -Greymouth
10 November: Greymouth - Franz Josef Glacier
11 November: Franz Josef - Wanaka- Queenstown
12 November: Queenstown
13 November : Queenstown - Oamaru
14 November: Oamaru - Christchurch
15 November: Christchurch
16 November: Christchurch - Kaikoura - Blenheim - Picton
17 November: Picton - Wellington
18 November: Wellington
19 November: Wellington - Taupo
20 November: Taupo - Onewhero



For those of you who see the car along the way - it has an interesting story - here it is (it's rather a long story - so bear with me, I'll present it in two parts.  I've also used the photographs as sparingly as possible - I have LOADS of them for this car);

Story of this 1957 DKW ?Big?3=6 F93 Sonderklasse




Date delivered          -           6 May 1957 (ordered 1955)
Built by -                             Auto Union Gmbh, Dusseldorf, West Germany
Sold new (dealer) -               Bos Motors, Pretoria, South Africa (delivered at the factory in  Dusseldorf)
First registered in -               Dusseldorf, West Germany
Original Colour-                    Sandgelb (AU252)
Interior Original Colour-       Brown cloth/Beige kunstleder.

(The story below was related to me by Mr Bower and his daughter Dorothy in November 2010, at their home in Pretoria, South Africa, where, at 101 years of age, Mr Bower was in amazingly fit and healthy condition, relating the tale, ?as if it were yesterday? with great clarity and detail. Mr Bower passed away suddenly three months later in February 2011, a few days short of his birthday, at the Masonic Haven For The Aged in Pretoria)

This car was ordered in 1955 by its first owner Thomas (Tom) Bower from Jacob Bos at Bos Motors, a DKW agent, in Pretoria, South Africa.  Mr Bower had been very impressed (as were a great many other people) by the 1955 model DKW?s (F91) then being demonstrated and sold at Bos Motors.  The car was to be an export specification  ?spezial? DKW F93 (the next latest model, due for release as the 1956 model), to be collected at the Auto Union DKW factory in Dusseldorf in 1957 (there was a two year waiting list for DKW?s in those days).  Mr Bower was very specific, that this car should be in colour code AU252 (Sandgelb), a colour he liked very much at the time and considered practical.

Since he had left the Army in 1946, he and his wife, Laura, had been saving to take a long European holiday ? Mr Bower had long wished to show his family some of the places he had been to during World War II and to visit some family in the UK. Mr Bower had been a plumber before the War,  after his marriage to his wife Laura in April 1937, and birth of Dorothy in 1938, joined the military in September 1939, where he served as an engineer and eventually as a ?Sapper?.

After the War, he worked at the Pretoria Municipality until his retirement in 1966 ? where both he and the DKW were well known and remembered.

In February 1957 the Bowers received notice from Mr Bos by telegram that their car would be ready for collection on Friday 3 May 1957. Thus, Mr Tom Bower, his wife Laura and their daughter Dorothy (who had just finished school at the end of 1956) sailed to Europe to collect their car (flying long distance was yet to become a routine activity).

They duly arrived at the Auto Union factory (this was an old armaments factory, the Rhienmetall-Borsig factory) at exactly eight o?clock on the Friday morning , with all their baggage, ready to collect their new car. Mr Bower, a keen amateur photographer, had his camera at the ready.

  After a short formality, the new car was driven out.  However, the car was green!  Mr Bower was most upset, and demanded his yellow car, producing a copy of the order from Bos Motors?. Herr Schultz from the Auto Union Export Office was summoned?   The rather cross Mr Bower was then told, by the affable and portly Herr Schultz, that his request would be honoured ? he would, however, have to wait until Monday, 6 May, to receive his yellow car.  Apparently, the cars were painted in colour batches per day, and thus the ?Sandgelb? batch would only be ready on the Monday morning.  Thus placated, Mr Bower and his family retired to the Hotel Berger in Dusseldorf for the weekend.

The family then arrived back at the factory on Monday morning 6 May 1957, again at eight o?clock sharp (this time taking the precaution not to cancel their room at the Hotel Berger!) with suitcases and cameras.  As they arrived, the yard was filled with Sandgelb DKW?s of various models ? Mr Bower took a snap of the cars awaiting delivery;



In short order, with much apology owing to the delay, their yellow car was handed over to them. Herr Schultz was kind enough to snap a photograph of the family at the gates of the factory, before handing Mr Bower his camera back.



  Then Mr Bower took the car, showing on the odometer, a delivery mileage of 7 miles over to the nearby pumps for a tank of Petroil (a full tank of fuel apparently not being part of the purchase price ? only 5 litres were in the tank when sold!), before departing on their trip of Europe in earnest.  The car?s logbook records this 44 ? litres of Petroil as having cost 30 Deutsche Marks and 70 Pfennig.



They spent the night of the 6th May 1957 again at the Hotel Berger, where they met another South African family, the Van Wyks? who had also purchased an ?Export? F93, in dark red, which was also taken to South Africa (there is a photograph of the two cars together outside the Hotel Berger with this article).  It was here, in Dusseldorf, that Mrs Bower put the first sticker on the dashboard ? and today that collection remains preserved.




Next morning, they set course for Mainz, in the Rhineland, a distance of 230 miles away ? passing Frankfurt (where the car received its 300 mile service on the 10th of May)  Cologne, Bonn ? these cities still showing scars from the War only 12 years earlier.  Here, they explored for a day or so, before driving on to Triberg in the Black Forest and exploring the Black Forest thoroughly, continuing on over the next couple of days through Southern Germany, into Bavaria. A beautiful photograph was taken in the Black Forest at the ?Stag?s Leap? ( German : Schwarzw?lder Hirschsprung), with the DKW in foreground and the famous stag statue erected in 1907, in the background).



At Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the small Bavarian resort town, they paused for a short while to refuel the car. Here, Mr Bower calculated that the 930 miles of the tour of Germany, thus far had seen the little yellow DKW use 174.5 litres of fuel ? in total costing DM123.60.



From there they made their way to Bad Ischl in Austria, pausing to see along the way (from a distance, as it was not accessible to the public in 1957), Hitler?s retreat at Berchtesgaden.

Crossing into Austria, they made their way to the Grossglockner and Franz-Josefs Hohe.





That night they stayed the Hotel Schlosswirt near Gro?kirchheim in Austria.  The hotel had just been constructed and construction was completed only a few weeks before.  The hotel still exists in its original  form: http://www.schlosswirt.net/  ;





They continued through Salzburg (where fellow South African, famous opera singer, Mimi Coertse was performing as ?Belmonte? in Mozart?s ?The Abduction from the Seraglio? ? which she had sung since September 1956) to Mariazell in the North Styrian Alps ? visiting  a Lime Wood carving of the Virgin Mary, reputed to produce miracles.  The Alpine driving no doubt accelerated the little car?s fuel consumption somewhat, as only 120 miles after taking on 20 litres of Petroil in Mariazell, the car needed another 20 litres ? this being taken on in Vienna.





After some days in the beautiful Capital of Austria they drove another 200 miles to Klagenfurt, where the car received its 1500 mile service at ?Dolf Wurm? in Klagenfurt ? no adjustments or replacements were made.



From Klagenfurt, the car?s nose swung towards the Adriatic Sea and the Bower family headed for Bologna in Italy via the ancient city of Venice from there, the headed still further South to Castiglione dei Pepoli.

Here, at Castiglione dei Pepoli, the Bower family paused ? Mr Bower had been involved in action here during the War, and took the time to visit some his fallen comrades at their graves;

Castiglione South African Cemetery was started in November 1944 by the 6th South African Armoured Division, which had entered Castiglione at the end of September and remained in the neighbourhood until the following April.

Many of the burials were made direct from the battlefields of the Apennines, where during that winter South African troops held positions some 8 kilometres north of Castiglione.

The majority of those buried in this cemetery were South Africans, the remainder belonging mostly to the 24th Guards Brigade, which was under command of the 6th South African Armoured Division.

In the cemetery there is a memorial building originally erected by South African troops, which contains two tablets unveiled by Field-Marshal Smuts; they bear the inscription in English and Afrikaans:

TO SAVE MANKIND YOURSELVES YOU SCORNED
OM DIE MENSDOM TE DIEN HET JUL VEILIGHEID VERSMAAI

The cemetery contains 502 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.

(Unfortunately the slides of the Bower?s visit to the cemetery have become very faded by age ? there is a slide of the yellow DKW in the gate of the cemetery.  I have included a recent photo of the memorial building, also, below)





  From there they made their way to the ancient city of Rome (driving out a full 40 litres of fuel exploring Rome!).  A visit to the leaning tower of Pisa was made and then onward to Ventimiglia in Northern Italy, via Livorno on the Ligurian Sea (in Italian Tuscany). This photograph was taken near Ventimiglia;



From Ventimiglia, the Bowers visited Monaco ? and the sight of Juan Manuel Fangio?s greatest-ever victories ? on 19 May 1957, Fangio won the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix ? with greats Stirling Moss and Mike Hawthorne crashing out?



From Monaco (famously called ?a sunny place for shady people? by writer W. Somerset-Maugham) the little DKW 3=6  drove on, up to Gap, Hautes-Alpes, France?s highest Prefecture, and from there further up into the Alps to Chamb?ry, en-route to Martigny in the canton of Valais in Switzerland, on the eastern edge of the Rhone Valley.

They crossed the famous Furka Pass (later, in 1964 to feature in the James Bond film Goldfinger in a chase scene with a Ford Mustang and a Aston Martin DB5). The Furka Pass, with an elevation of 2,429 metres (7,969 ft), is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps connecting Gletsch with Realp. The Bowers visited the Rh?ne Glacier (German: ?Rhonegletscher?), which is a glacier in the Swiss Alps and the source of the river Rh?ne and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the Swiss canton of Valais.

Mrs Bower affixed a decal bought from a souvenir seller, to the dashboard of the Deek;



Still further on into Switzerland , at Andermatt? the Bowers took another 20 litres of Petroil on board, 3420 miles showing on the DKW?s odometer.  At Andermatt they took some lunch at this roadside caf?;



From Andermatt the car made the 160 mile journey to Interlaken, on the shores Lake Brienz ? where they refuelled and spent three days exploring and accumulating another 200 miles of driving. The town of Interlaken is located on the B?deli, between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and alongside the Aare river that flows between the two lakes.  This beautiful photograph was taken there, on  the shores of Lake Brienz;



Here is the car on the famous "Old Axenstrasse" - Upon completion in 1865, the Axenstrasse was the first way to get to Uri that did not involve navigating Lake Lucerne. The route between the Axen Mountain and Fl?elen existed in 1776 as the Landstrasse (country road). Construction on a new road to connect Fl?elen to Brunnen began in 1861, and was completed in 1865. It was named the Axenstrasse because the road is located along the Axen Mountain.



From here, they drove across the famous Br?nig Pass (3307 ft altitude) (the car seen here at the highest point) ? note the accumulated snow on the front bumper;



Now the Bower family turned northwest and headed to Paris.   Paris in the summer of ?57 was evidently a great place to be, from what I?ve been told. Mrs Bower affixed a beautiful ?Paris? decal to the car?s dashboard (still there).  Mr Bower recounted the story of how they became terribly confused trying get around the Arc de Triomphe and ended up going around and around (and around) and eventually managed to get out. Here the little car drank 30 litres of Petroil and then headed for Boulougne-sur-Mer and the Channel Ferry, where it drove aboard the good ship SS Twickenham Ferry (which had been a minesweeper in WWII).

The SS Twickenham deposited the car at Dover, where the Bowers made the 50 mile or so journey to Chatham.  I understood from Mr. Bower that this journey had been made to collect ?Granny? (I?m not sure if this was Mr or Mrs Bower?s mother), who then toured in the little Deek with them.

From Chatham, they drove to Solihull, Coventry and then, after a 4500 mile service at Ken Jervis Ltd in Hanley at Stoke-on-Trent, on to Wales ? where they refuelled en-route at Hanmer and Chester and spent the night at Llandudno, where this photo was taken of the Deek on the ?Promenade?  at Llandudno? the ?Grand Hotel? is visible in the distance ? I believe this photograph was taken by Dorothy?s ?Box Brownie?, as Mr. Bower was unloading the car at the time;

 

They, then backtracked a bit and drove the 148 miles to Windermere in Cumbria, where with 5103 miles showing on the odometer, the car drank 5 imperial gallons of fuel with a pint of oil.



Mrs Bower, taken with the car, near Newton Abbott in Devon, September 1957

---------------------------------------------END OF PART 1-----------------------------------------------------------------




AutoUnioNZ

Thanks Rob!  Very interesting link indeed!

Now - I may have to come back to you with part II of my yellow car's history.  Instead - we spent all of November touring the South Island in it. Our 3700 km (2200 odd miles) trip in our little 1957 DKW has now come to an end. The car is dusty, covered in dead insects, and now resting quietly in its garage - but has faultlessly carried us over mountains (we've now done all the highest roads in New Zealand in it) through valleys, over rivers, through cities and survived an earthquake (well, not really,we didn't feel it in Oamaru) without complaint! We've had a lovely family holiday - the kids and adults alike have had a ball. Even managed to catch two minor milestones on film - 190 000 miles and 191 000 miles! We've met and visited so many friends along the way.  I'll share some photographs here with you;

Firstly the obligatory stop at Taupo for a photo with DC-3 ZK-CAW (sorry about my finger over the lense!)



Then a quick stop to snap a photo with DC-3 ZK-APK at Mangaweka - sorry about the quality!



Straight to the ferry in wet Wellington!


A visit to the Argosy at Blenheim


Said "hello" to Graham Wiblin who has this four door (file photo - apologies);



A visit to Michael De Vigne in Nelson - he has a 1958 1000 Coupe (maroon), 1960 1000S Coupe (orange) and a 1962 1000S four door (white);



A visit to see progress on Frank Davidson's beautiful restoration on his 1960 1000S four door at Mapua;







Then - a trip to visit EG595 at WOW (World of Wearable Arts);











Then a "landmark" - 190 000 miles!;


Stopped for lunch a very, very wet Westport;



A beer at the Punakaiki Tavern!



Approach into Greymouth;



Packing the car at the Motel in Greymouth - how did I fit everything for the car  (12 litres of two stroke oil, snow chains, water, a few tools and a few parts), two adults, two kids for two weeks (baby's pram, porta-cot etc..) and parts for DKW owners all over the South Island in??? Easy - here it is!



At Franz Josef - this car is the only car in the world, to my knowledge that has visited BOTH Franz Josef's in the world (The other is in Austria, which the same car visited in 1957);



OK - here is the 1957 visit to the "other" Franz Josef;



Lovely West Coast Roads;













A visit to the National Transport and Toy Museum in Wanaka to catch up on some more DKW's - a 1960 Auto Union 1000S four door (evidently once owned by an NAC employee), and a 1965 DKW F102;














Then - something to test all of the DKW's 900cc and drum brakes - the summit of the Crown range, near Queenstown!





Beautiful Oamaru!


Stopped at Timaru briefly;



In Christchurch I found out that the 1000S four door previously at Yaldhurst was in fact the black car at Wanaka.  I also visited Warren Burge who enjoys this absolutely beautiful 1962 Auto Union 1000S four door (he will be changing the personalised plate which came with the car from its previous owner);











Waiting in line for the ferry at Picton (Did the 600km from Christchurch in one hit (via Murchison)) ;



In Wellington I met up with a friend - who took these photos on the foreshore in Petone;



(I don't pose for photos often - but here I am with the car in Wellington)



Afterwards we went to Southward Museum, where I had pre-arranged to photograph the 1960 Auto Union 1000S Coupe (with optional Saxomat) on display there.  They kindly obliged and allowed me behind the ropes;













Cruising home through Waikato;




brian

Nice tour and some great pics
Škoda Fabia 1.0 TSI Race Blue

D,arcy

Great photos,some very nice cars there too. Pleased to see that you bypassed the earthquake area ok.

D,arcy

Lee

Good write up ..enjoyed all 16 pages  .thanks

Just as a matter of idle curiosity ...can you still buy the 3 cylinder engine parts?

AutoUnioNZ


AutoUnioNZ

#237
The 1956 Monte Carlo Rally Part 1



The DKW F91 of M.Grosgogeat/P.Biagini - they won their class and came third overall

There is a delightful film here of this race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQHeiEn1tM

A DKW appears at 11 minutes in with the commentary "The two-stroke German DKW, is a force to be reckoned with in International Rallies".

Here is the period account from Motorsport magazine


                                         ----------------------------------------------------
Motorsport Magazine, February 1956
THE 26th MONTE CARLO RALLY


"Mastery of Man Over Machine Gains Jaguar Victory

MONTE CARLO, January 21st.

THIS year's Monte Carlo Rally could be divided into three separate events; the first consisted of a long and tiring drive about Europe which was easy and within the capabilities of the rawest amateur Rally driver, the second involved a steady run from Paris to Monte Carlo, during which the conditions and schedules got increasingly more difficult and in which the driver and timekeeper had to keep in constant touch, and the third and final part was a free-for-all " Targa Florio " over a 150-mile mountain route, in which driver and car had to give all they had.

All told 351 cars were prepared to leave the various controls spread about Europe and follow set routes which converged at Reims and then followed the same route to Paris, where the reliability and road section of the Rally, which was fairly simple, terminated. For most of the competitors the imposed schedules were easily maintained, there being ample time for quick meals, brief sleeps, pauses by the wayside, and, for a rather alarming proportion of the British cars, time to make repairs, fit replacements, and generally bodge-up the accessories. There were numerous makes, such as Austin, M.G., Ford, A.G. and Standard, which suffered unnecessary troubles with electrical components, batteries, shock absorbers, wheels, brakes and so on; typical sufferers being Mrs. Mitchell, whose " works" M.G. was so laden with extra lamps, heaters, de-frosters, horns, etc., that the dynamo could not cope and the battery went flat, while a rear axle oil-seal failed and the bonnet would not shut; the Easton/Garnier A.C. Aceca which threw its suspension away, consumed shockers, swallowed its overdrive and destroyed its wipers; and the Grant/Davis M.G. Magnette, a " works" car with alloy body and tuned engine, which ruined its dynamo and flattened its battery. So the complaints went on, but fortunately the time allowed to reach controls before Paris was ample and most of the sufferers were able to visit the various agents and have the cars rebuilt, and all this in less than 2,000 miles !

The starters from Stockholm, travelling south via Denmark, Germany, Holland and Luxembourg, probably had the most interesting " tour," for most of the way across Sweden was on snow-covered roads, which while not being difficult was interesting. Cars from the east of Europe, from Athens, Munich and Rome, were joined by the group from Paris who were making a round tour back to their starting point. All had to concentrate a bit on the ice-covered autobahns in Germany, while from far away Lisbon there was much rain encountered and the accent was on water in large quantities.

The run from Glasgow was probably the simplest of the lot, the only difficulty being fatigue from continual motoring, but this, of course, applied to all the routes. Arriving in Paris competitors were then given the average speeds they were required to maintain on the remaining 600 miles down to Monte Carlo, by way of the Maritime Alps, so that the navigator/timekeeper had to get busy with calculating machines. The first stage of this part of the trip was fairly easy, the time allowance to Chambery being within the capabilities of all the " Sunday dodderers." On this final 600 miles there were no breaks in the journey, it being accomplished non-stop apart from signing-in at controls. From Chambery to Grenoble things became more difficult for the road went over a very narrow mountain pass during the hours of darkness and to add to the hazards there was some fog. This section Was by no means impossible, for 58 competitors kept to time and lost no marks, but the slightest easing off of concentration, especially with the lower-powered cars, meant dropping behind schedule with subsequent loss of marks. It was this section of the whole road part of the Rally that sorted the competitors out, a large proportion of the entry losing marks, and 30 lost the maximum of 1,900 on this run. Immediately following came another mountain run from Grenoble to Die, not so difficult providing the driver kept at it, and then in the early hours of the morning as dawn broke there came a fairly easy Section from Die to Var, where most of the competitors arrived in bright sunshine.

All this was taking place on the fourth day on the road, after missing three nights in bed, and though the driving was not difficult, most of the crews were feeling very tired and longing for a good wash and a proper meal. With Monte Carlo now almost in sight there began a short sharp tricky part of the Col du Rochette, a narrow winding mountain pass on which the schedule called for flat-out driving from all drivers, no matter what type of car was being used. This 45-kilometre winding road brought competitors to the top of the Mont des Mules hill that descends into Monaco and here they had a braking test. On the timed sections since leaving Paris the average speeds were varied for the class of car, divided into two groups, standard and non-standard touring cars, with four different capacity classes, and it was pretty obvious that it did not pay to be running a gran turismo car or a hotted-up normal saloon, especially if you were baulked on the final section, which was very narrow. The system of giving drivers their average speeds was to quote the number of seconds allowed per kilometre, the total for each section being known. Naturally when climbing the mountainside there was a tendency to take longer than the permitted time per kilometre, especially if held up by a slower car, and this meant that the navigator had to do sonic quick sums to find the increase over the set time when descending the other side.

To conclude the road-section a time was taken for a downhill rush through two hairpin bends, over a distance of approximately 1,000 metres and stopping between two lines. Failure to stop or crossing of the second line involved a large penalty. A quiet trickle through the streets of Monte Carlo took the competitors down onto the harbour front, where every part of the car was checked over and marks lost for anything not working, or damaged, after which the ears were put in a closed park. By Thursday evening all the finishers were in and they numbered 233 out of the original 351. The missing number was made up by 42 failing to start, 71 retiring for various reasons, ranging from mechanical breakdown, through accidents, to sheer tiredness, and 5 were disqualified for infringement of regulations. Taken as a whole the first two parts of the 1956 Monte Carlo Rally could not be considered difficult, especially for a reasonable driver with any semblance of a good motor car. Anyone who had found the opening stage to Paris difficult must have been a terrible driver or else had a pathetic motor car, while the tuned section from Paris to Monte Carlo was only a dice for those with unsuitable cars, either large and gormless, under-powered, badly geared or badly prepared.

During Friday, the results of the foregoing were analysed and the best 90 were moved from the original closed park to another one, all the remaining competitors being allowed to collect their cars. The select 90 stayed in the park for another night, preparatory to tackling a rather super special-test on Saturday. * * *

A good selection of British cars left Glasgow, there being 21 Fords,. 10 Standards, eight Jaguars, seven M.G.s, six Austins, five Sunbeams, three each of Bristols and Rileys, two Vauxhalls and one each of Humber, Allard, Daimler, Rover, Jowett, Aston Martin and Wolseley. The works-entered and sponsored ears were well equipped with all the latest aids to navigation and comfort for on and off-duty occupants, and a number of new fittings were noticed in some of the privately-entered team ears. To take the works cars first, it was noticed that the Fords were fitted with darkened facia panels, reclining seats and hooded headlamps for use in fog; other Fords had average-speed indicators and bonnet louvres to deflect warm -engine air on to the screen. The Sunbeams were fitted with a device called a Halda speed pilot, which is a Swedish-made instrument consisting of a normal kilometres-per-hour instrument with a pointer for setting to the required speed and to the right of it a clock with a similar pointer which is set when the car moves; all that is then required is to see that both needles coincide for the average speed to be maintained. Austins are likewise well equipped with compasses, map-reading lights, stop-watches and additional windscreen defrosters.

An especially well-equipped M.G. Magnette of Mr. E. Lambert, later to be involved in a collision with a lorry, was a joy to see, being fitted with almost every conceivable type of gadget, such as a power assisted passenger seat, electric razor, wash-basin, eine camera, marine-type revolving headlamp-glass wipers, and other more normal pieces of paraphernalia, demonstrating some of the time that is taken by some of the non-works-entered vehicle owners to beat their opponents at their own game.

The route for Glasgow entries goes by Stranraer to Carlisle and then down central England to Barnby Moor, where lay the first control, then on to London, where a police escort took them through the City, and finally the last British control at Dover loomed up and there was a brief respite as papers were checked and cars loaded on to the British Railways steamer The Lord Warden for transit to Boulogne early on Tuesday morning.

At Dover, on this mild winter night, the Glasgow participants began to draw in after 9 o'clock on the Monday to embark on the special boat which left at about L30 a.m. for Boulogne. Of the seventy-three starters due in at this check point two were missing. They were Dr. A. D. Mitchell, in a Wolseley, who was unfortunate enough to collide with a bus very soon after leaving the start, a sad beginning to such an adventure; the other, Reg Harris, the Wen-known sprint cyclist, reached Stranraer early but was delayed due to adjustments having to be made to the brakes of his Jaguar. He later retired from the Rally. Accompanying the competing cars on the boat were two A.E.C. coaches, one (the " Pyjama Express ") detailed to carry baggage, and the other (the " Wives' Special") taking wives and friends of the competitors to Monte Carlo. Both were scheduled to arrive at the finish the day before the Rally entrants reached the Mediterranean. * * *

On the way down to Monte Carlo from England we made contact with the route at various points and finally followed it in detail from Die to the finish. At the Reims control, where all the routes were converging before heading for Paris, everything was well organised by the A.C. de Champagne, the club being very -happy, having just had its permanent circuit at Gueux passed as safe and ready for motor racing by the French commission that is inspecting circuits for this year's racing. The control, where competitors had to get their road books stamped, was immediately outside the headquarters of the club, with space on the wide pavements roped off for parking the cars, each starting point having its own section of pavement. There was a brief respite here for those who were on time, and a champagne lunch had been laid on by the club. Preferring motoring we headed east towards Metz and Strasbourg, the first signs of the approaching competitors being the two baby Renaults of Condrillier and Mlle. Thirion running in close formation, followed later by Gatsonides with his Phase III Vanguard. In ones, twos, threes and even fours, the long stream of cars swept past on their way to Paris, all appearing to have plenty of time in hand, taking villages at the regulation speed limit and barely showing signs of tyre scrub on hairpins out in the country. After motoring through the night we joined the Paris-to-Monte Carlo route down in the Maritime Alps and drove over some of the mountains in fog that kept us down to 35 m.p.h., heading for Digne. Over more hills the morning sun appeared for the first time for Many days and we paused on a fast downhill section and drew off the road. Here there was more urgency in the way the cars were going and most of them were pressing on, but none so furiously as the Redex service van, which we later met towing a Zephyr that had slid off the road and damaged its clutch housing and front-end. The warm sunshine and damp roads, slippery -in many shaded parts, were keeping the drivers busy, but most passengers and navigators seemed to have time to sleep, Ground's co-driver in his Mark VII Jaguar being " out-to-the-world " in his special front seat. On the winding road down to the control at Var, Nutall's XK140 coupe was all for hurrying, but was held up badly by a Jaguar Mark VII driver who was so tired he forgot to drive on the right-hand side of the road. Allard in his blue saloon, Lord Avebury (Jaguar) and Davis (Sunbeam) were all hurrying along without fuss and Mrs. Ashfield and Mrs. Clark in their Phase III Vanguard were driving very prettily. The control at Var-was on a long straight road where competitors could see it and had plenty of time to stop before it and wait until they were on time. Without any pause the ears had to leave the main road and tackle the winding climb over the Col du Rochette which developed into a speed hill-climb. Observing on a hairpin, with a view of more than a mile of the approaching road, Lespiat (Salmson), Shillabeer (Humber), Wharton (Austin), Dugat (Dyna-Panhard), Lumme (Skoda), Von Zedlitz (Mercedes-Benz), Verzijl (Fiat 1,100), Gerdum (Mercedes-Benz) and Masson (Panhard)all treated this winding road with contempt and hurled their cars round the bends with screaming tyres. Kvarnstrom in a gigantic American Ford V8, Wollert (VW) and Nysten (D.K.W.) were outstandingly neat, whereas Kenyon (Zephyr) hadn't a clue, Lindgvist (Opel) only just got round and Prydz found his Borgward a bit of a handful but cleared the rock outcrop. Reece's Anglia, which lie found much to his liking for this sort of work, was baulked by a VW and much hooting told of similar predicaments lower down the hill. Baxter had a spirited dice in the 13.13.C. " works " Austin Westminster, which had a special four-speed gearbox with " real " gearlever and two-carburetter engine, his intrepid passengers wearing crush-hats; we noticed crash-hats carried in other ears, witness of the sort of road race that the final regularity test was to he. Some speculation was caused by the fabric hood of Hocquard's Panhard Junior in a Rally closed to sports cars.

Leaving this " speed " still in progress we were able to reach La Turbie before the finish of the downhill braking test. Here the Skoda drivers changed down to assist their brakes, engines revving furiously. Baxter put up a fine show. but Birkett (M.G. Magnette) braked too early and lost many marks, Grantham's Zodiac struck sparks from its Wyresoles, while Vilreon (Porsche) put up a splendid performance, stopping effortlessly from a high speed. This car made best time (41 sec.), the runners-up being Adams (Jaguar) and Becker's Mercedes-Benz (both 42.3 see.), Dobler's Porsche (42.4 sec.), Persson's Porsche (43 sec.) and I,eston's Aston Martin DB 2/4 and Nutall's Jaguar (both with 43.2 sec.). It is significant that after their long and in later stages arduous drive, only one car?Brady's Simea?failed this test completely, although Wagberg's D.K.W. looked pretty brakeless (64 sec.) and Ingices Skoda scored all-time-low (11 mm. 32 sec.) in an exercise completed by the majority in under 50 sec. Brooke created a diversion when his Standard Ten arrived at, the start of the test motoring on three wheels and a brake drum; it had broken another wheel earlier on. This test concluded the road section, particularly for one of last year's winners, Gunnar Fadum driving his Sunbeam, for his clutch disintegrated and the car had to be pushed in. Down on the Harbour front the .scrutineering was under way. Many cars already showed evidence of contact with hard objects, particularly Wagberg's D.K.W., and the Allard was an ocld shape where the " alligator hood" had yawned while the car was in motion. Nevertheless, marks lest were quite moderate, from 100 in the case of a Riley without a spare wheel to lesser penalties for damaged or defective lamps, Gibson's Austin losing 30 because it had no " audible warning of approach." The cars having been locked away for the night many of the crews were car-less and obliged to walk, take a taxi or cadge lifts to their hotels, or remain to ?drown their fatigue in the B.M.C.R.C.C. coach full of Haig Whisky. * *


The 1955 DKW F91 of Madame Helen Spiliotakis takes a left hander

It can truly be said that the competitors who accomplished the first two parts of the Rally with a sufficiently small loss of marks to get in the first 90 in the general classification were compensated for the tedium of driving for four days and three nights, for on the Saturday morning they set off on a 150-mile regularity-test over second-class mountain roads which proved to be a nine-tenths dice over the whole distance, and was nothing more than a very thinly disguised motor race.

After leaving the ears in the closed park overnight each crew had to present itself on the starting line at a given time and leaving at intervals they set off on the test of regularity around a set course through the mountains behind Monte Carlo. The results of the first two parts of the Rally had given first place to Adams, Bigger and Johnstone with a Mark VII Jaguar, followed by Schock and Mcill with a 220 Mercedes-Benz and Grosgogeat and Biagini with a D.K.W. It was noticeable that a large proportion of the successful 90 competitors had started front Stockholm, while outstanding among the ears was the fact that five out of the six new Citroen DS 19 models had qualified. Peugeot, Panhard and Simea had done well by sheer weight of numbers in the entry list, but atnongst British cars Ford, Standard and M.G., in spite of large numbers at the start, had only five, one and one, qualified, respectively. Alfa-Romeo were equally poor, with only two cars out of sixteen entries in the final test. A.C. and Bristol both had one car left in. Among the British drivers Adams was ably backed up by Harper/Humphrey (Sunbeam) in fourth place, but then there was a long list of Continentals down to 17th place, taken by Ray/Cutts (Sunbeam). Although there were 24 British teams in the final 90 they were. mostly near the end, but at. least there was the consolation that they had qualified. Among the 24 British were three ladies' teams : Mrs. Mitchell/Miss Hindmarsh/Mrs. Reece (M.G. Magnette), Mrs. Johns/Miss Moss/Miss Riche (Austin Westminster) and Mrs. Cooke/Mrs. Hamilton (Ford Zephyr).


The DKW F91 of M.Grosgogeat/P.Biagini getting unstuck from the snow...




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#238
(Part 2)

Although the route for this mountain test was known beforehand the average speeds required for the various classes and categories was kept secret until immediately before the start. Taken generally the weather conditions appeared to be pretty fair, but even so it was obvious as soon as the competitors received the time schedules that this-150,mile drive through the mountains was going to be a miniature Mille Miglia. Providing everyone could keep on time at the venoms check points around the course then the classification at the end of the road section would stand, but naturally the possibility of that, happening was pretty remote. It seemed quite impossible for Adams to drive his. large unwieldy Mark VII Jaguar around the narrow mountain roads quick enough to keep up with a D.K.W. for example, while the British women. teams with Austin, M.G. and Ford Zephyr could hardly hope to deal with the 1500-c.c. Porsche, especially as it had a large lead on points to begin with anyway. For some tennis, such as Sidvaderi/Coombs/Young with their Ford Anglia, the position was hopeless, for they had arrived on three cylinders, with no brakes and a second gear that kept jumping out. That they had qualified in the first 90 is all the More credit to them but it was useless for them to attempt the mountain circuit, as once the ears arrived at Monte Carlo no work was allowed to be done on them. Another team in a bad position was Mrs. Melander/Mrs. Lindberg, whose 220 Mercedes-Benz was in a very sorry state, running badly and having negligible brakes. With the fastest ears starting first competitors left Monte Carlo and set oft up into the mountains for some three hours of continual twists and turns, coupled with climbs-to as high as 5,000 feet and returning to sea level.

Watching on the Col du Brous descent, just before a series of tight hairpins followed by some fast downhill bends. That impression of a Targa Florio-cum-Mille Miglia was heightened by the appearance of the first seven competitors, driving 1,900 Alfa--Romeo, Lancia Aurelia G.T., Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, Zagato Alfa-Romeo Sprint, 2.3-litre Salinson, and Lancia G.T.. respectively. all going flat-out downhill just about on the limit. just when it seemed that British ears were going to get left behind Wharton appeared with his " works " Austin Westminster, completely out of control, but going at a terrific! pace and getting round the corners by sheer skill alone; then came Adams doing wonderful things with his Mark VII Jaguat, followed by Burgess dicing on the extreme edge with :mot her Austin Westminster. Not far behind came three more " works " Austin in the order Gott (Westminster), Scott-Brown (MO with M.G. gearbox) and Mrs. Johns (Westminster), the last-named doing great things to keep up With the " mere" men. Unfortunately-a bit farther on the brakes failed on her Austin and she had no alternative but to put the car sideways and hope for the best; it turned over and by a miracle all three women climbed out unhurt. Of the Sunbeam entries Harper and Ray were going great guns; though the latter had to stop momentarily to shut the bonnet, which had sprung open. Mrs. Coialte (Ford) and. Bremner (Riley Pathfinder) had both made very solid contact with rocks and walls, but were eentintting with badly battered motor ears. The Continental drivers were not without their troubles, for a Dyna-Panhard 54 rolled right over, smashing all the glass crushing the roof and buckling a wheel; it was put back the right way up and continued at unabated speed. An American Ford V8. driven by a Swedish team, was delayed by rear axle trouble, and the Belgian girl, Mlle. Thirion, had a puncture in her baby Renault, but. continued after fitting the spare. As was expected among the women drivers, Mine. Blanchoud hardly had to hurry in her Porsche, while Mrs. Mitchell was hurling her M.G. Magnette about furiously in it hopeless endeavour to keep up.

On the far side of the mountain circuit the roads were covered with frozen snow, while on the highest points clouds were down on the roods, reducing visibility to 20 yards just where the course began a sharp descent through numerous hairpin bends. Row the drivers of the large and unwieldy ears managed to hurl them round the blind corners, With rocks on one side and stone parapets on the ether is one of those skilled mysteries of fast motoring that is born in a driver and not developed. Of the 90 cars that had spent two nights in the closed park only 70 returned and many of them were bent and battered almost beyond recognition, while around the circuit others lay derelict, here a Skoda with a rear wheel broken off, there a D.K.W. crushed into a wall, somewhere else a Riley (Bremner's) in a ditch. No one had been hurt, everyone had enjoyed an almighty dice, which after all is the whole purpose of motoring competition, the spectators hind loved every minute of it, and the big factory. representatives were beginning to arrange for the collection of their heaps of wreckage that once were shiny new motor cars. The outcome of this wonderful day of dicing was that most people had managed to retain their positions in the general classification,the British cheered loudly for another Jaguar competition victory (the first in the Monte Carlo Rally), the Irish and the world in general acclaimed the skill of Ronald Adams for the way he handled his car, which had run faultlessly throughout the event, and many drivers had improved their position in the results: Of the 24 British crews who tackled this motor race, 20 arrived at the finish in spite of having unsuitable cars for this type of going, and between them they more than made up for the poor impression made by the majority during the first two parts of this long and varied rally.






Wagberg's damaged DKW -  crew Harry Wagberg, Carl Zaine - rather amazingly, they actually listed amongst the finishers - 90th overall

The final Classification of the, whole Rally was sorted out on marks lost during the three parts of the event, but the system used was somewhat complicated. Some unfortunates, such as Mrs. Johns and Bremner, who both wrote their cars off in an attempt to do the final test, dropped 40 or more places, down to the bottom of the list of 90, while others who were in no position to even start the mountain test in spite of having qualified, lost the same marks and only one or two positions, the bottom of the list being the lowest paint anyway. Due to reasonably good weather and an absence of any serious ice or snow the 26th Monte Carlo Rally turned out to be comparatively easy and success or failure depended on accurate timekeeping during the 600-mile test front Paris to Monte Carlo, aided and abetted by skilful driving during the final Mountain Circuit trial. "


Results;



The DKW F91 of M.Grosgogeat/P.Biagini

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#239
From the South African "CAR" magazine (various issues through 1961 and '62 via Rinus van der Berg).  The Muhl Brothers from Rustenburg with their shiny black Auto Union 1000S Coupe "TRB 9" and Sarel van der Merwe with his Auto Union 1000 (with navigator seated in the back seat) and 1000SP wheels, became the stuff of legend;