20 hours in 1st gear!

Dave W · October 24, 2008, 01:43:17 PM

Quote from: drbassman on October 24, 2008, 12:14:00 PM
An Amphicar! I didn't realize that's what the Isetta was. What a great idea. Ted Kennedy should have had one!

No, sorry for any confusion, I was talking about two different cars. I had mentioned several German oddities in an earlier post.

The Isetta, IIRC, was designed by an Italian refrigerator company and licensed. BMW built most of them, including the ones imported into the US.

The Amphicar was pure German madness. I remember reading a road test that claimed a top speed of about 60, maybe even a bit less. But you could drive it across a lake if you didn't mind getting splashed a little. That alone makes it a collectors item today.

drbassman · October 24, 2008, 03:12:05 PM

Well, I owned several Beetles growing up and they were the perfect car for a high school student (except at the drive in movies!)

SKATE RAT · October 24, 2008, 07:13:27 PM

my first car was a '74 Beetle.i wish i still had it.

Barklessdog · October 25, 2008, 04:56:17 AM

Quote from: drbassman on October 24, 2008, 03:12:05 PM
Well, I owned several Beetles growing up and they were the perfect car for a high school student (except at the drive in movies!)

My friend had one it had no heat so in the winter he wore a full one piece snow suit and had to continually scrap the wind sheild from the inside as he drove!

lowend1 · October 25, 2008, 05:58:37 AM

Quote from: Barklessdog on October 25, 2008, 04:56:17 AM
My friend had one it had no heat so in the winter he wore a full one piece snow suit and had to continually scrap the wind sheild from the inside as he drove!

Yeah, the VW "heater boxes" actually used exhaust heat diverted to the passenger compartment. They were made of stamped steel and when they broke or rusted, could be downright deadly, since the potential was there for exhaust gases to get into the heated air. At the shop where I worked, the mechanics would literally run and hide if a Beetle, Karmann Ghia or Squareback rolled in on a Saturday.
For those who care:
http://www.vw-resource.com/heat4.html

drbassman · October 25, 2008, 06:26:03 AM

Yep, my Porsche 912 has the same exact heater boxes. I got two new ones that had been powder coated and shouldn't rust for quite awhile. Besides, I'll only drive it in good weather to keep it dry!

drbassman · October 27, 2008, 06:06:01 AM

OK, here she is! What a van! Actually, it doesn't look as bad as it was. We got her fixed up pretty good before we left South Carolina. We took the comprehensive insurance off last year since it had 150,000 miles and we were just keeping it for hauling stuff once in awhile, didn't really need a fourth car! I put her up on eBay motors last night for parts and someone bid $500 the first hour! Man I love the open market!

TBird1958 · October 27, 2008, 09:12:34 AM

It looks so sad in this picture $:-\$
It knows you plan to sell it...........and that it'll get knackered up for parts!

Dave W · October 27, 2008, 10:37:32 AM

It's great that you have the option of eBay motors. A dozen years ago you'd have gotten a fraction of that from a local scrapyard.

drbassman · October 29, 2008, 10:07:52 AM

Well, TB58, she's not as sad as us! We'll miss her. Hauling kids, 4-H stuff and band gear was great with her.

You're right Dave, we'll do fine on this deal. The local yards buy by the pound and it's not worth it. A friend sold a conversion van in better shape than mine and got a whopping $300. I'm ahead already!