Good things come to those who wait.
- Thread starter XRCD011
- Start date
- Location
- Manitoulin Island
Somewhat off topic, but I had a Dodge Shelby Charger 2.2 back in the day. It had a carb problem and I looked into getting it repaired at local dealership. They wanted to sell me a new Carb. I said ``order me a kit and I`ll fix it myself if it is beyond your ability`. They agreed to put in a rebuild kit. It was a lot cheaper. Even back then the replace rather than repair was the thing.
Tommy, I will praise Carburetor Rebuilders to the rooftops, It may be worth while to mail your carb to them and have them sort it out. NV Shooter at #31, the little kettenkrad has had that indignity done to it already by "Euro Bubba" back in the immediate post war years.
^ This is my vehicle info for its display sign.
Nice write-up about the Kett....Amazing to think of its journey over the years and the hands that have touched it....Can't help but wonder what (if maybe anything) is left in the corners of farmers fields around Europe....Probably picked dry by now, especially Western Europe, but there's still got to be some neat gear tucked away in the far reaches of Eastern Europe....
^Thanks Tommy. I suggest if you are taking a vehicle to a show or event have some sort of board telling as much as you can other wise you will be answering the same question a couple hundred times per day. For the 166 I get five basic questions asked.
1. What is it?
2. Where did you find it? (generally asked like I just opened up last months edition of Auto Trader and there it was).
3. Is it German? Military?
4. Why does it have a paddle or prop?................When told that the car is amphibious you will 100% of the time be asked 5.
5. Have you taken it in the water yet ? (BTW yes to 5. before I get asked here).
The history boards are something I made up using Word, cut and tape everything together, take to Staples and have them enlarge on their big honking photocopier and have them plastic laminate also. I have one each for the Kettenkrad and Schwimmer and a bunch of enlarged pics of the vehicles back in the day.
As for "stuff" being out there. It is, but ultra rare and prices have shot clean through the roof. I was blown totally away to actually seeing the Quebec barn find schwimmer last winter here in Canada, I never thought I would see a "barn find" 166 but there it was just waiting to be brought back to its former self.
1. What is it?
2. Where did you find it? (generally asked like I just opened up last months edition of Auto Trader and there it was).
3. Is it German? Military?
4. Why does it have a paddle or prop?................When told that the car is amphibious you will 100% of the time be asked 5.
5. Have you taken it in the water yet ? (BTW yes to 5. before I get asked here).
The history boards are something I made up using Word, cut and tape everything together, take to Staples and have them enlarge on their big honking photocopier and have them plastic laminate also. I have one each for the Kettenkrad and Schwimmer and a bunch of enlarged pics of the vehicles back in the day.
As for "stuff" being out there. It is, but ultra rare and prices have shot clean through the roof. I was blown totally away to actually seeing the Quebec barn find schwimmer last winter here in Canada, I never thought I would see a "barn find" 166 but there it was just waiting to be brought back to its former self.
The Kettenkrad Debut Year just took a HUGE leap forward today. Kind of anti climatic really, hooked up the snow blower gas tank (temp), connected the battery, dropped about 10cc of fuel down the carb, turned the key and after it cranked about ten seconds it chuffed a couple times then fired right up. Sounds amazingly good also and its not even timed yet !!
Mr. Dynamite
CGN Regular
- Location
- Northern Alberta
How 'bout a Kettenkrad story for the evening!
I worked on an oil lease out in the bush of northern Alberta where the medic was an old guy whose father had been a SS tank commander on the eastern front during the war. He ended up in Canada, and in the Canadian military serving in Germany around the 60's. He told me they were based somewhere where there were a bunch of old bunkers and pill boxes (he was saying it was the siegfried line). On their leave off base they were checking them out and found a big bunker that had been hit and the roof had collapsed into the center, but he said by getting right down on the ground you could see under the rubble, and up against the far wall, protected by the caved in roof, was parked one of "those tracked motorcycle things." He said they spent the longest time trying to figure out how to lift the roof and get it out, but were not able to ever get it. I wonder who ever pulled it out, or if is still there rusting?
I worked on an oil lease out in the bush of northern Alberta where the medic was an old guy whose father had been a SS tank commander on the eastern front during the war. He ended up in Canada, and in the Canadian military serving in Germany around the 60's. He told me they were based somewhere where there were a bunch of old bunkers and pill boxes (he was saying it was the siegfried line). On their leave off base they were checking them out and found a big bunker that had been hit and the roof had collapsed into the center, but he said by getting right down on the ground you could see under the rubble, and up against the far wall, protected by the caved in roof, was parked one of "those tracked motorcycle things." He said they spent the longest time trying to figure out how to lift the roof and get it out, but were not able to ever get it. I wonder who ever pulled it out, or if is still there rusting?
No shop wants to repair anything. Ever gone to the shop with air conditioner issues? Most will only replace the entire system even if its just a minor issue. They don't want to take the risk of opening up a huge can of worms.
NIce! There is probably a lot of stuff still buried like that! Unfortunately, burying stuff (or leaving it buried) was the prefered method of disposal
after the war. There is a rumour that the Alaska highway building machinery was all buried as well as any South Pacific island equipment.
Any one have confirmation of these rumours or reports of successful extraction of antiques!
Another good thing came in, a next to impossible to source schwimmer central lube system banjo fitting and special bolt for it from the Nederlands. Only took six months to track that down it came in yesterday and today I finished that work off.
^ This pic only shows one side, all the grey lines are grease tubes and things did not look so tidy when it arrived, more like a snarled up ball of lines and problems. Parts manual perfect now.
^ This pic only shows one side, all the grey lines are grease tubes and things did not look so tidy when it arrived, more like a snarled up ball of lines and problems. Parts manual perfect now.
That is an incredible piece of engineering! The driver could take the machine for a swim or a mud bog and then use grease, on the fly, to push
mud and water, out of the bearings! All serious 4X4s should have that! Are CV joint rubber boots, what these came from the factory with?
mud and water, out of the bearings! All serious 4X4s should have that! Are CV joint rubber boots, what these came from the factory with?
Close on the grease and lube system for post schwimm lube to drive the water out but it was only for the steering, the wheel bearing are fed 90W oil that travels down the sealed axle tube (its the tube running down at an angle) and is totally sealed from water or dirt. My front beam came with the original leather boots which I swapped out for new CV boots and had to MacGyver up clamps to work on the hub housing. German vehicles tended to use a inordinate amount of rubber and why the wartime Germans used leather boots is beyond me as it just seems like a small amount more of rubber being used in the grand scheme of things.
^ the red arrow points out the seam, I "could" use these be would rather trust new CV boots less then 70 years old to do the job.
That is amazing ^^ ! I had heard of German efforts to make use of synthetic rubber as much as possible but the stuff must not have been
good enough for high stress use or to be in contact with petrochemicals. Leather is a great solution but it is amazing that it has endured in
such good shape for this long! Interesting engineering solutions on neat old stuff.
good enough for high stress use or to be in contact with petrochemicals. Leather is a great solution but it is amazing that it has endured in
such good shape for this long! Interesting engineering solutions on neat old stuff.
