[moralfibre]

ID 265: It is definately an AMC but I am trying to find which one. The number plate suggests it is an AMC though.

EDIT: Its the AMC Rambler. (Thanks to Google power)

[pawan]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

ID 265: It is definately an AMC but I am trying to find which one. The number plate suggests it is an AMC though.

EDIT: Its the AMC Rambler. (Thanks to Google power)

yes it is a amc rambler a 1964 jut saw that the number plate says 1964amc that a nice umber plate.

[V-16]

ID:266 Guess this rare white convertible cutie?

[Ram]

Originally Posted by V-16

ID:266 Guess this rare white convertible cutie?

Hey Gogi, this was a piece of cake. Your rare white convertible cutie ID:266 is a German 1955 Kleinschnittger F125.

They were made of sheet aluminium, hand-hammered with rubber mallets over shaped wooden bucks. The Kleintje was arguably the world's smallest and slowest sports car ever made. They were also made in Belgium where they were called Kleinstwagen.

Produced in the fifties until 1957 (the year I was born).

The Kleinschnittger came with small motorcycle type single-cyl. 2 stroke engines, not unlike the one that came with our early Rajdoot motorcycles. The 123 cc engine output 5.5 bhp and could breeze up to 70 km/h, bettering 33 km per litre.

It had front and rear suspension made of -- would-you-believe-it? -- strong rubber-bands!

There was also a F250 three-seat monocoque coupé with an Ilo 250 cc 2-cyl 2-stroke engine that did 14.8 bhp @ 6000 rpm. An electric starter, "Dynastart" was optional.

These little babies were exported to 22 countries including to a distributor in Chicago, USA. A Fiat 1100D would tow them on a rope 15 at a time from the factory to the railway station.

Here is an interesting video:
A black late-model Cadillac Escalade EXT and a red 1955 Kleinschnittger drive in to a parking lot and find there's only one slot available.
The Escalade EXT owner promptly folds his rear seats and his midgate.
The dimunitive red Kleinschnittger, driven by a female (what else?) is loaded into the pickup bed of the Escalade and everyone's happy.

YouTube - Kleinschnittger in Cadillac Escalade ad film

The unique German Ilo also deserves some mention. Ilo was once the biggest 2-stroke engine mfr. in Germany. "Ilo" is a word in the synthetic language Esperanto. It means worktool. It's also correct to spell it as Jlo.
Until they shut shop in 1990, Ilo made snowmobile engines, engines for street-sweeping/washing machines, compressors and vibrocompactors.

Ram

[V-16]

Yes Ram, ID:266 is indeed a Kleinschnittger F-125. A 1953, altough there was not much to diffrenciate it down the years.
A little more on the Kleinschnittger;
When I was told of these cars by a friend from Germany who had seen these cars there with collectors. The information he gave me is more than what I could find even on the net.
Kleinschnittger cars were made in Germany between 1949 to 1957.
It was a midget among midget cars. Powered by a 123cc two stroke engine, producing 5.5 bhp barely enough to take it to 40 mph. The car had no starter motor or battery. The engine was started using a rope on a recoil starter as with lawn mowers and outboard motors on boats. Around 2,980 Kleinschnittger F125s were made between 1949 and 1957.

A little more info on these cars since even Wikipedia is not very eloquent about them. A walk into Kleinschnittger history:

Post war Germany’s demand for transportation grew largely. Infrastructure was badly damaged and during the mass exodus, cars were left behind on the eastern front, motorcycles had been taken as booty and trains did not run because of wide spread bomb damage. This was the time, yourself efforts at building small cars was undertaken. Paul Kleinschnittger was an engineer who undertook such a venture. His first “Motorcycle with a Fairing” made its first test run in 1947. This “Car” was powered by a 98cc DKW RT motorcycle engine and even tough the car was not fully enclosed, people were lining up to buy it. In 1949, Kleinschnittger found himself the finance and a workshop to assemble his cars. The F-125 was produced with 123cc ILO motor, producing 5.5 bhp, powering the front wheels. The gearbox was from a motorcycle meaning that there was no reverse, so the 130 kg car had to be literally pushed backwards if the need arose. The single cylinder engine was placed in front of the front axel to leave space under the bonnet for the driver’s and the passenger’s legs. There were no doors or windows. There was a canvas hood tough, which people left at home, as it did little to keep anything out.
The Kleinschnittger grew in size over the years as did other cars. There was a 250 cc car designed to go into production in 1957 but the Kleinschnittger himself went bankrupt due to personal reasons and his financers shut off their finances, thus bringing an end to the Kleinschnittger Cars. So according to the info I have, the 250 was never made but who knows, maybe a few were actually made and given/sold as testers?!

[Ram]

ID:267
What is this unusual little white convertible with skyblue ragtop?
Please indicate model year too!


Ram

[egangsta]

Ram, ID 267 is an Amphicar that were produced from 1961 and the production ended in 1968.Got loads of pics of the car saved in my PC n keep them as background images,some real neat pics on their websites.

Cheers Ed.

[V-16]

Love what you've written on the plates Ram. A Don of a car!!
The amphi came with a herald engine. Heres another pic .



and technical drawings of the vehicle

[V-16]

ooops only one image got downloaded. Heres the full page



Some facts about the Amphicar.

Produced in Berlin Germany between 1961/2-67. About 4500 were made, most of which were exported to the US. It is totally watertight. The engine is in the rear, it is the same as used in the Triumph Herald, 1147cc, 43HP, transmission driving the rear wheels through unique land/water gearbox.

The Herald engine [1147cc (1200)] of 1961 was considered the best small engine in the world for power/weight ratio and ability to run cool. This is why it was chosen for the Amphicar. Subsequently in 1964 a more powerful version was developed called the 12/50 and so on in 1968 (the 1300cc), followed by the 1500cc (in 1971). The '72 engine was also used in the Spitfire which engines can be used in Amphicar but do not run as well at low speed, because of their more "racey" camshaft.
The chassis of the Herald and the Amphicar is different tough. The Germen versions also came with a Blaupunkt Radio.
Altough it had so much going for it, the Amphicar failed as, even tough it was a unique concept, it was too expensive for its time, the Americans had not publicised or marketed it properly. There were engineers hired to sell the car, not salesmen. Also the body being made of mild steel, was prone to rust. Water and rust.. not a good combination.
The Amphicar had great off road capabilities as its ground clearance (10") was better than a jeep, its bottom totally flat and the rear wheels narrow. That gave it great traction and this was one of the best cars to use even on snow bettering many 4X4s.
In water it can be steered by the front wheels and does upto 6 knotts in water and 70 mph or 90 mph on land depending on the engine. It also had the largest/tallest fins, any car had. These fins were an inch bigger than a '59Cadillac

[Ram]

ID:268
Old Hindi movies are a treasury of old cars.

Here's a scene from the 1958 movie, Chalti ka naam Gaadi.
The actress here is Sahira, chasing after Anoop Kumar.

The main character in the movie is this ragtop roadster, nicknamed "Champion", bearing licence plate no. CPV-65. Many scenes in the movie show the car with the top up and with the top folded down.

Do identify the car: make, model and year.



Ram

[V-16]

ID:268 is a 1928 Chevrolet. This car featured in the Movie in the song "Babu Samjho Ishare" and througout.This was owned by the Ganguly family and if i remember right it saw its last days in the family bunglow at Mandwa, Alibaug. The same car if im not mistaken was also used in another Ashok Kumar film called Bada Kabootar but im not sure of that. The car may or may not be there now.... a sad end.

[karlosdeville]

One of my favorite movies....havent seen it in a while though. I always remembered the car being a chevy, though in these pics im inclined to say shes a Ford Model A. Any more pics Ram?

[Ram]

Karl, you're right about it having been a Ford.

Gogi, it was not a 1928 Chevrolet !

ID:268, the 1928 "Champion" in Chalti ka naam gadi was a 1928 Ford Model "A" roadster.

The 1928 Chevys always had plate wheels or solid wooden-spoked wheels.
They had a taller radiator than the 1928 Fords





The 1928 Fords always had wire spoked wheels.
Also note the fuel filler on the cowl ahead of the windshield, as also the shape of the twin-bar bumper.

Ram

[V-16]

Yup on close inspection i have to admit that it is indeed a Ford A and not a chevy. My memory is fading with age at least I got the year right. Also I wrongly mentioned Mandwa as where the car lay at rest, its actually Khandwa which is in MP and no where near Alibaug

[karlosdeville]

ID 269

I spotted this quirk in Panjim in March...she was lying derelict and forlon with a citroen DS, a 52 buick and some other assorted Americana giving her company...Now I cant figure out what the hell this is...can you? Couldnt get better pics as a rather curt caretaker refused to entertain me or let me meet the owner...she was muttering something about how Goa's going to the dogs coz of us nosy tourists!