Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
That's a sweet little motor. What a tight, simple lil' package. 
The restoration of Kettenkrad 116714
- Thread starter XRCD011
- Start date
No its a Opel (Carter style downdraft) and while usable is not the Opel-Fallstromvergaser 221237 that would be correct, I rebuilt this carb that came with the vehicle and will use it till the correct model (I have a good lead on one) comes available. The kett had two carbs available the Opel (Carter) and the Solex-Geländevergaser. The FAR more complex, rare and crazy expensive (like $2,500, unrebuilt) Solex carbs are more commonly found in early war kettenkrads, later in the war the simpler Opel became the standard.
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UPPER BODYWERK (PART ONE)
With the lower body now one unit I now focus on the upper body which again like the lower half will be broken down into upper front and upper rear. The upper sheet metal is four large panels that appear to have a stiffening "pipe" running about the top edge. The pipe is actaully the sheet metal rolled back on itself. I drove the chopped off rusted panels down to Ohio to hand them off to David Crompton to replicate, then pick up at a later date at his shop in Michigan.
I could not resist clamping the front uppers on one day and was shocked at how big the body "grew", after working on small sections in isolation to each other I had lost prospective of the ketts size.
Old and new sections of upper body.
Constantly measure, measure measure and check, check, check, then measure and check again. Forming the radius for the gas tank fronts.
Test fit a couple hundred times, then test fit again.
Laying out the pattern for the inside panel of the upper rear, thankfully enough original panel was there to draw from.
Sandwiching the new 18Ga (lower body is 16 Ga) between two pieces of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) to ding in the flange for the correct profile of the arc. MDF is a restorer friend and has a thousand and one uses for stuff like this.
UPPER BODYWERK (PART TWO) Will be the collection of a jumble of sheet metal panels into a kettenkrad reborn.
A sneak peek.
With the lower body now one unit I now focus on the upper body which again like the lower half will be broken down into upper front and upper rear. The upper sheet metal is four large panels that appear to have a stiffening "pipe" running about the top edge. The pipe is actaully the sheet metal rolled back on itself. I drove the chopped off rusted panels down to Ohio to hand them off to David Crompton to replicate, then pick up at a later date at his shop in Michigan.
I could not resist clamping the front uppers on one day and was shocked at how big the body "grew", after working on small sections in isolation to each other I had lost prospective of the ketts size.
Old and new sections of upper body.
Constantly measure, measure measure and check, check, check, then measure and check again. Forming the radius for the gas tank fronts.
Test fit a couple hundred times, then test fit again.
Laying out the pattern for the inside panel of the upper rear, thankfully enough original panel was there to draw from.
Sandwiching the new 18Ga (lower body is 16 Ga) between two pieces of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) to ding in the flange for the correct profile of the arc. MDF is a restorer friend and has a thousand and one uses for stuff like this.
UPPER BODYWERK (PART TWO) Will be the collection of a jumble of sheet metal panels into a kettenkrad reborn.
A sneak peek.
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- Location
- West Quebec
You sir are an artisan..
After all that time, money and trouble on the engine some discreet bypass filtration might be a good idea?
Like a lot of early vehicles I see no provision for an oil filter at all. I was just reading an article the other day on how many shops and individuals are in the habit of glass beading engines when rebuilding without remembering how that grit embeds itself everywhere, and then can come out later to wreak havoc.
Like a lot of early vehicles I see no provision for an oil filter at all. I was just reading an article the other day on how many shops and individuals are in the habit of glass beading engines when rebuilding without remembering how that grit embeds itself everywhere, and then can come out later to wreak havoc.
Just use a non detergent motor oil of the appropriate weight and you'll be fine.
The detergent oils don't have detergent to clean, but an additive that suspends the metal particles in the solution so they can be trapped by the filter.
Without that additive the particles will fall to the bottom of the sump and stay there till the next oil change.
The detergent oils don't have detergent to clean, but an additive that suspends the metal particles in the solution so they can be trapped by the filter.
Without that additive the particles will fall to the bottom of the sump and stay there till the next oil change.
Good observation, the late war kettenkrads where not equiped with oil filters. My kettenkrad, and the CWM kett even left the NSU factory with early style (superceded) non-hydraulic dampened forks, and further, CWM kett has early style ribbed steering brake drums that should not be there AND a 1939 Opel Olympia car motor. Proof that things where going poorly for the Germans by then and had to do whatever they had to to produce vehicles, even if it involved drawing obsolete parts out of storage. My kettenkrads original motor was hot tanked at rebuild time, or at least what passes as hot tanked in Ontario, so no media to worry about.
Klunk: yes it was tight and at times crazy in the garage, oh yeah.
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Once again...I admire your exceptional work skills and patience, thanks for sharing.
An interesting fact I gleaned from the wiki article on Kettenkrads, states that the principle steering was accomplished by using the front wheel and past a certain point the handlebars actually engage the track brakes. It also states that you can operate it without the front wheel at all! If that's the case, you my friend will have a mini-tank by the time you're done!
An interesting fact I gleaned from the wiki article on Kettenkrads, states that the principle steering was accomplished by using the front wheel and past a certain point the handlebars actually engage the track brakes. It also states that you can operate it without the front wheel at all! If that's the case, you my friend will have a mini-tank by the time you're done!
UPPER BODYWERK (PART TWO)
So to recap here is 116714 as it arrived, obviously there was little concern about dinging the body work or paint at this stage as a major restoration was in order for this kettenkrad. Some people have wondered about the point of investing so much time/money and effort into restoring this old kett. For me there is no one defining reason but several 1. its a piece of history that was there back then 2. its rarer then moon rocks and rocking horse poop 3. they command big bucks for those who just have to have one, 4. its the challenge of seeing just what I can do with my two hands and brain and 5. I have met some really excellant people and made deep friendships along the journey. So lets start.
D-Day, it arrives.
After much cutting, grinding, fabrication and welding its time to get the body restored/reborn. Starting from the front with gas tanks and front upper to get spacing and sizes correct.
And so begins many, many test fits and measurements before commiting to welding
Getting a random jumble of sheet metal panels to start looking like something remotely like a kettenkrad. Clamps and tape measure are your best friends.
Test fit of the "tombstone" Notek taillight , trailer plug receptical and license plate mount and engine louver panel.
Just about there for fitting and mocking up panels.
Still need to attach the hand hold panels, but starting to look more like a kett.
Front lower before.
Same front lower and steering knuckle section, brought back from the grave.
First test fit of the fork, I just had to do it because I could. My little kett has turned the corner from being a sad rusted pile of rust back into a vehicle.
NEXT UP - OFF TO PAINT
So to recap here is 116714 as it arrived, obviously there was little concern about dinging the body work or paint at this stage as a major restoration was in order for this kettenkrad. Some people have wondered about the point of investing so much time/money and effort into restoring this old kett. For me there is no one defining reason but several 1. its a piece of history that was there back then 2. its rarer then moon rocks and rocking horse poop 3. they command big bucks for those who just have to have one, 4. its the challenge of seeing just what I can do with my two hands and brain and 5. I have met some really excellant people and made deep friendships along the journey. So lets start.
D-Day, it arrives.
After much cutting, grinding, fabrication and welding its time to get the body restored/reborn. Starting from the front with gas tanks and front upper to get spacing and sizes correct.
And so begins many, many test fits and measurements before commiting to welding
Getting a random jumble of sheet metal panels to start looking like something remotely like a kettenkrad. Clamps and tape measure are your best friends.
Test fit of the "tombstone" Notek taillight , trailer plug receptical and license plate mount and engine louver panel.
Just about there for fitting and mocking up panels.
Still need to attach the hand hold panels, but starting to look more like a kett.
Front lower before.
Same front lower and steering knuckle section, brought back from the grave.
First test fit of the fork, I just had to do it because I could. My little kett has turned the corner from being a sad rusted pile of rust back into a vehicle.
NEXT UP - OFF TO PAINT
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infideleggwelder
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
one of those was featured on American Pickers last night. was up for sale for $60 000 euro. was in bit better shape.
