Clunker?

Driving to Idaho I noticed a w126 in a distant field next to a dealership. Any old Benz is worth stopping to get a closer look; turns out this is a gray market 500SEL with 107,000 on the clock, very straight exterior and a more-than-decent interior. A call to the dealership reveals it was traded in as part of the cash for clunkers program and cannot be sold or parted.

Great Automotive Failures: Volkswagen 411/412

The Volkswagen Type 4 was arguably the earliest whispers of the company's trend to move into more up-market segments. Despite intentions by VW to find a possible replacement to the Type 1 Beetle with the Type 3, the Beetle still sold strongly on its reputation as an economical, reliable, and affordable car. The Type 3 was not successful as a replacement, but it had shown Volkswagen that there existed a market for more refined vehicles in its model line-up. The 411 was introduced in late 1968 as a mid-sized car that would be a step up from the Type 3. In terms of the modern Volkswagen model line, one can think of the Type 4 as the earliest predecessor to the Passat, while the Type 3 was more like a predecessor to the Jetta.

The 411 was the first VW to do away with a torsion bar suspension setup, having MacPherson struts in front, and coil springs in the rear. Also notably, this was the first production car from the company to be available with four doors. Body styles included a two and four door fastback as well as a wagon version, commonly called the "Squareback".

While VW's traditional rear-engined and air-cooled powerplant design remained, a completely new engine made it's debut with the introduction of the 411. It was overall larger in design and displaced 1.7 liters. Like the Type 3's engine design (which was essentially the same as the Beetle), the new Type 4 had its cooling fan mounted directly off of the crankshaft. This allowed for a much lower deck above the engine for a lower luggage compartment floor. After the launch, the Type 4 engine received Bosch electronic fuel injection, which was a major technological advancement for a relatively low-cost car during the era. The engine was carried over to the Bus range and also famously used in the Porsche 914 four-cylinder models. In the Type 4, however, the performance wasn't exactly stellar, especially if equipped with the optional three-speed automatic transmission.

The 411 was not a bad car. It was typically solid, as VWs were, reliable, and quite practical. However, its biggest problem was cost. Other manufacturers offered similarly equipped models for significantly less money and likely an overall better value. Sales were hardly booming. Perhaps VW was hoping that those who had purchased a Beetle as a first car or as basic transportation would eventually move up-market within the brand. However, perhaps the name VW was not yet what people wanted to have on a more expensive car. Furthermore, just two years after the introduction of the Type 4, VW began selling the K70 - a former NSU design - which was front engined, front wheel drive, and more traditional looking than the somewhat bizzare 411. Neither the 411 nor the K70 was a huge marketing success though. (The K70 is of course, a whole other story)

In an attempt to refresh the Type 4, the 412 was unveiled in 1972. The engine displacement was increased now to 1.8 liters and the front end was changed to a new headlight and nose design. Sales remained poor. Through its lifespan, under 368,000 411 and 412s were made compared to over two million Type 3s and over 15 million German built Type 1 Beetles.

By 1974 VW had made full advantage of its aquisition of Auto Union/Audi/DKW and NSU. The new Passat was a far more modern vehicle than the Type 4, featuring front wheel drive, an Audi sourced water-cooled four-cylinder engine, and crisp modern styling from Giugiaro. The Type 4s and 3s quietly ceased production and it was the beginning of the end for the air-cooled era at Volkswagen.
Without a doubt the most successful part of the Type 4 project was the engine. It lived on in Porsche 914 until 1976 and the one-year-only 912E (US Market) and finally in the VW Bus and Transporter models until 1982 when it was then highly modified to water cooling and became the "Wasserboxer".

MG 1100/1300

This sad old MG 1100/1300 was spotted in the brush near a set of railroad tracks outside of Erie, PA. The interior has some boxes of parts and pieces inside and it appears as if at one point or another, somebody had some thoughts of restoring the car or at least making it road worthy. Unfortunately, it's probably too far gone to be worth the effort unless of course somebody out there really has a thing for BMC AD016 bodied cars.



The AD016s were produced from 1962 though 1974 under a variety of names including Austin, Innocenti, MG, Morris, Riley, Wolsely and Vandan Plas all in either 1.1 or 1.3 litre form. The designer was none other than Sir Alec Issigonis who was responsible for the original Mini. They were constructed for the most apart within the UK though some were manufactured in Spain by Authi or Italy by Innocenti. While quite popular in the home UK market, the AD016s were not quite as sought after in the States. Most of the few examples you're likely to see today are either like this poor specimen here, or perhaps lovingly cared for or resorted by a devoted British motor enthusiast.

Race Oddity: Chaparral 2J "sucker car"

Texas racing driver, team owner, and oil man, Jim Hall had become rather succesful in the Can-Am series by the time the Chaparral 2J was put on the track. Hall and his Chaparral cars had become known for pioneering aerodynamic developments from the start and the 2J of 1970 was perhaps the most advanced - if not outlandish - of the time.
The Can-Am series was a perfect test-bed for new ideas as the rules were extremely open to design variances. As Hall already knew, aerodynamic downforce was extremely important to keep a 700+ horsepower race car sticking to the track. Chaparral's previous models had sprouted wings and air-dams already though the 2J sort of "went to hell with the joke".




To create downforce, the 2J used a 2-stroke snowmobile engine to power two large 17 inch fans which literally sucked the car to the track. The suction was comperable to adding 1000 lbs of force to the car's tires. The car was skirted with Lexan to create a seal between the underside of the chassis and the track. The fans ran at a continuous speed, and therefore the downforce of the car remained nearly constant at all times regardless of the speed of the car.



To actually drive the wheels, a Chevrolet ZL-1 Corvette V8 was mated to a three-speed semi-automatic gearbox which was essentially a manual with torque converter rather than a clutch. It was rather similar to Porsche's Sportomatic transmission. Between the massive power and the massive downforce the 2J was a remarkable force to be reckoned with. Though extremely fast, the Achilles heal of the car was reliablity. Despite this, the potential was there, particularly with Jackie Stewart behind the wheel and McLaren in particular was not pleased. Due to complaints from that team, and others, that the car's fans kicked up debris from the track and als violated the rule banning 'movable aerodynamic devices' the SCCA outlawed the car. 1970 was the only season the car competed.

Three fours.

To demonstrate that one can't have too many cars, here is the latest addition to my fleet, a 1985 Renault 4.

It sat on the side of a neighbor's house for about six years but he never got around to doing anything with it. He is moving and I ended up with the car. It runs and drives, has a very strong motor and everything electric works. Previous owners include the French military police (Gendarmerie) which explains the dark blue and the little plugged hole on the roof where a siren used to be.

And the fleet grows.

My latest acquisition: A 1971 BMW 1600.

This BMW was built in January of 1971 before being delivered to the BMW dealership in Fort Worth, Texas. It was acquired by a gentleman named "Mr. Johnson" of Lubbock, Texas, and it made its way through a handful of other North Texas owners before I bought it a few weeks ago. It has somewhere around 120,000 miles on the body, but the real kicker is under the hood.

In place of the standard 85-horse 1.6-liter four-cylinder, it received in 1992 a bored and stroked Metric Mechanic 155-horsepower 2.2-liter four cylinder with a Weber downdraft carb. Its suspension has been lowered about half an inch (standard practice for these cars) and it rides on upgraded shocks and keeps its wheels planted via increased diameter sway bars. To deliver the power to the rear axle, it uses a four-speed short-shifter transmission. The engine has about 40,000 miles on it.

The car was originally painted Nevada, a brownish gray (Google "BMW 2002 nevada" and you'll find a few pictures) and it featured a brown interior. A recent repaint gave it a color closer to BMW's common Sahara shade and it has a brand new black vinyl interior from World Upholstery. It also features dealer-installed Frigiking air conditioning.


When I bought it, it had sat under a car port almost unused for three years. I've since given it a thorough scrub (shown in some of the photos), removed the fading window tint and I swapped out the pitted BMW 320i alloy wheels for a set of correct hubcaps and steel wheels (I like the look).

The car is a driver, but the body is straight and essentially rust free. Only a few surface dots under some of the chrome trim reveal that it was stored under a carport for three years. It's unlikely that it has ever seen salt. To top it all off, this BMW came with a whole complement of parts, including brand new turn signals, a hood, a trunk and more.



Today:



Before the first wash:

On the test drive with the 320i alloy wheels (I like the look and lighter steering feel, but I really like the steelies, plus these were pitted).

Traction Avant.

Here's a car that doesn't get featured amongst these pages very often: a Citroën Traction Avant. Launched in 1934, this was the first front-wheel drive French car. While it was officially called by its engines (7, 11, 15, etc), the drivetrain layout meant that most everyone called - and calls - them Traction Avant, or front wheel drive in French. It also featured a unibody construction.

Its history during WWII is rather ironic, first of all the German army used them for their own missions after France fell in 1940. What they are most remembered for, however, is as the car of choice for the French resistance, most with "FFI" (forces françaises de l'intérieur) painted on the body.

Since there wasn't time after WWII to design a whole new car immediately, car manufacturers dug out what they were producing before the war, in Citroën's case the Traction, keeping the same body but with minor changes throughout the car. In 1954, some models had their rear axle equipped with Citroen's new hydraulic suspension system, a system that would be featured on all four wheels a year later on the Traction's replacement, the mythical DS. Despite its replacement, the Traction soldiered on until production finally ceased in 1957.

I believe this is a 1952/1953 11B, I saw it at a body shop in a small town between Toulon and Marseille. It doesn't appear to have been registered since 1985.