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Archive for October, 2009

Car Lift

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

Lifting up an old car with a post car lift means having to be extra careful, not to cause damage.

Especially if you happen to have an old British car with lots of woodwork.

It is really important that the points of the car lift are underneath the framework and not underneath an edge of the body or any fairly soft wooden parts. You have to raise the pads so that the car goes up level and save.

Before you lift up the car though, you have to make sure that the doors are open.

If not the lifting can cause damage to the door locks not only of cars with woodwork but of all classic cars. It might be difficult to find the right points for the pads because every old car is different and you have to make sure not to damage any parts like e.g. the main brake cylinder.

Lift the car up a little bit and then try if it is save before you lift it up completely and start to work.

Volvo Amazon

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

The Volvo Amazon, designed by Jan Wilsgaard,  was a mid-size car produced by Volvo in Sweden from 1956 to 1970. 667,323 cars were produced during that time. The car was first called Amason, the name was then changed to Amazon and later it became known as the 120 Series. It is said that the rights to the name Amazon belonged to a German two-wheeler manufacturer. The design of the Amazon was more or less resembling the American cars of the 1950s.

From 1962 to 1969 73,000 estate cars were manufactured.


Specifications of the Volvo Amazon

  • Class – mid-size
  • Body styles – 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan, 5-door estate
  • Engines – 1.6 L 1583 cc I4 B16, 1.8 L 1778 cc I4 B18, 2,0 L 1986 cc I4 B20
  • Transmissions – 3-speed manual, 4-speed manual, 4-speed manual with overdrive, 3-speed automatic
  • Wheelbase – 102.0 in (2,590 mm)
  • Length – 173.0 in (4,395 mm)
  • Kerb weight – 2,400 lb (1,100 kg)

About 60 % of the cars produced were sold abroad.




The Bulli

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Until 2007 Bulli was the unofficial name of the Volkswagen Transporter.

In 2007 the Kaessbohrer company sold the rights to the name to Volkswagen. The T1 was the first of the T-series and produced from 1950 to 1967. First in Wolfsburg and later in Hanover.

Three different models were produced, the minibus (VW Bus), the panel van (VW Kastenwagen), and the pick up truck (VW Pritschenwagen). Typical for the T1 was the split windscreen. The early T1 had the Beetle flat-4 engine, a flat engine with 4 cylinders, and 25 hp, rear-wheel drive, drum brakes and a swing axle in the rear and torsion springs. The coachwork was constructed for a payload of more than 900 kg.

The T2 (1967-1979) was an improved version of the T1 and the T3 (1979-1992) had a totally different design and was bigger. The T4(1990-2003) was the first with front-wheel drive, and the T5 (since 2003) is the latest model.

Car Parts English-German Part 1

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

This is my car parts dictionary. It certainly isn’t complete but it might be a little help for those who restore German cars and don’t have an English manual. Every month I will add more parts.

English German
accelerator cable Gaszug
air filter Luftfilter
armature Anker
automatic gear-shift lever Automatik-Schalthebel
automatic gearbox Automatikgetriebe
axle drive shaft Antriebswelle
back seat Rücksitz
backup light Rückfahrscheinwerfer
ball rod ends Spurstangenköpfe
battery Batterie
bearing bush Lagerbüchse
bodywork Karosserie
bonnet Kühlerhaube
boot Kofferraum
brake Bremse
brake Bremspedal
brake chamber Bremszylinder
brake fluid Bremsflüssigkeit
brake hose Bremsschlauch
brake shoe Bremsbacke
breaker Unterbrecher
breeches pipe Gabelrohr
bumper Stossstange

Triumph Roadster 1800/2000

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

The Triumph Roadster 1800/2000, designed by Frank Callaby, certainly was a very special car.

First sold in 1946, it was to combine luxury and sportiness and was one of the first cars produces after World War II. A soft top  convertible. It was far from being sportive though, with only 65 bhp (68 bhp for the 2000) and a pretty high kerb weight of about 1200 kg.

Even though it was a beautiful car, just by the way it looked, only 2501 of the 1800 and 2000 of the 2000 were sold. Only 184 of these were exported.

Mini

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

As during the Suez Crisis in 1956 more and more German Bubble Cars were sold in Britain, the head of BMC, Leonard Lord, decided to design a miniature car.

It was ‘to drive the Bubble cars off the roads’. The car should be no bigger than 10 x 4 x 4 ft (3 x 1.2 x 1.2 m) and an already existing engine was to be used.

A front-wheel-drive car with a conventional BMC A-series four-cylinder water-cooled engine was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis. The engine was mounted in transversely, with the radiator on the left and had an engine-oil lubricated four-speed transmission in the sump. The Mini was born. The first of the in Birmingham produced cars were sold in 1959. And from 1959 to 2000 5,387,862 cars were sold.

The Mini became at least as popular as the Volkswagen Beetle.

Here are some of the specifications of the Mini:

  • Production – 1959-2000
  • Manufacturer – BMC to MG Rover and Innocenti, Authi
  • Class – Supermini
  • Engine – A-series 850-1275 cc 14
  • Transmission – 4-speed manual, 4-speed automatic, 5-speed manual( a few models only)
  • Wheelbase – saloon: 80.3 in (2.14 m), estate and commercials: 84.3 in (2.40 m)
  • Length – saloon: 120.1 in (3.05 m), estate and commercials: 133.9 in (3.40 m)
  • Width – 55.1 in (1.40 m)
  • Height – 53.1 in (1.35 m)
  • Kerb weight – 1,360 to 1,512 lb (617 to 686 kg)

There will be a Mini4kids Show at Gunway Quays, Portsmouth on Sunday, October 11, 2009. All Minis and Mini based cars are welcome.