Dkw's in Ireland

Interestingly, the only Dkw factory outside of Germany( in 1952) was in Ireland, on what's
now the site of Aldi supermarket in Ballincollig, County Cork.
In 1952, Hennessy's Ltd, Motor Engineers and Importers were given the franchise to
Import, assemble and sell new Dkw's that came to them in kit form.
This company had previously imported Studebaker cars and Oliver brand tractors
from the Usa.
Hennessy's built and sold the full range of Dkw products, cars, motorcycles and
vans and combine harvesters. Their output was usually one car per week and the cars
were sold through their showrooms in Cork City, along with full parts and service
facilities.
Irish production ceased when Volkswagen took over Auto Union in 1964.
Apparently, the Dkw sign was still visible on the assembly premises in
Ballincollig up until 2001, close to 60 years since the last car was built there.

pictures from the Irish Dkw plant.

Good Dkw's these days command high prices. Pristine examples of 50's and 60's
models regularly top £10000. At the time of writing there's a fully restored F4 (1936)
listed with an asking price of £17000 and a fabulously restored F8 Cabriolet in Germany
that has a huge price tag of 42.500 Euros! (1939 model)
Even restoration projects command very high prices and four figure sums in many
cases.
Dkw's are great examples of two stroke cars and if your budget is high, they make
an excellent choice.

However, if your budget is rather more modest, buy a Wartburg or a Trabant.
The technology is the very same, there's loads more available and they can be
bought very cheaply (still).

The Dkw Munga 1956-1968.

1961 Munga 6

The Munga was an extraordinary four wheel drive, jeep and utility type vehicle.
It was really a cross between a jeep and a car.
The word MUNGA is an acronym for the German "Mehrzweck UNiversal Geländewagen mit
 Allradantrieb" which translates to multi-purpose, universal, cross country car, with all wheel
drive.
It was a favoured vehicle used by the West German Border Guards during the Cold War,
who used it to monitor their side of the Berlin Wall, whilst their East German comtemporaries
on the other side were using Trabant Kubels.( ironically both were using 2 stroke engines of
Dkw origin)

How it came about is interesting.
After WWII the West German Government initiated a competition for German marques,
Borgward, Porsche, and Dkw with the objective of producing an alternative, home grown
alternative to the Land Rovers they'd used before the War.
The Land Rover was really the only viable 4x4, apart from the American Willys Jeep, both
of which must have been hugely expensive for foreign countries to buy.
Dkw got the contract and this was the start of what would become the Munga.(wasn't named
the Munga until 1962)
The Munga was made in 3 main variants, Munga 4, 6, & 8 respectively which referred to the
number of seats each model provided.
All Munga's were identical apart from the back seat configuration which determined whether
it had individual seats or  bench type variants as in the 6 and 8 versions.

1961 Munga 6 Interior

Production started in October 1956 and ended in December 1968, with almost 47,000 having
been produced.
It was first unveiled to the Public at the Frankfurt Motor Show in late 1957, and was
at first only available to Government Forces and Services, such as the Fire department.
It was very popular with the Bundeswehr German Army and many other forces within Nato
including the Dutch Army who bought it in large numbers.


It was available to the general public from late 1957 and was priced at 9,500 DM ( approximately
$2300 at the time, which would have made it pretty expensive). Nonetheless it was popular with
farmers and forestry workers and those whose work demanded a tough, no frills vehicle that
would go anywhere in all weathers and in any terrain.

It shared the 900cc, 3 cyl, 2 stroke engine that was used by the Dkw 3=6, although the
torque settings were arranged to suit the off-road capabilities of the Munga.
It was front wheel drive, engine in the front and had a top speed of 50mph.
It was water-cooled and had a 4 speed gear box.

They had a soft-top roof and no windows and were extremely basic vehicles.
They were also remarkably tough and resilient and stood up to all kinds of abuse and
hardships. The 2 stroke engine ensured easy starting in even the coldest of Winter climes.

The Munga sold particularly well in South Africa and parts of South America where roads
were extremely poor.

I have seen some of these on Ebay for £600-£800 requiring total restoration, whilst good ones
are fetching 4500+ euros in Germany.

Great day at Kilbroney Show

Kilbroney show 2011 with my Wartburg 311

Had a super day on Saturday at the  Kilbroney show.
4 of us went in my 311 and we covered about 180 miles in comfort and without stress or fuss.
There was a good turn out of both people and cars, but I was a bit disappointed there wasn't more cars that's of specific personal interest, like Citroen's or Dkw's, particularly.
The only other Eastern block car on display was a rather shabby Lada Riva 1200.

The Wartburg got a lot of attention and admiration. Every time the bonnet was open,men flocked around to view and discuss it.
At previous shows, the Wartburg 353 and the Trabant would get the occasional derisory comment or smart remark as to their design by some ignorant moron or two, but the 311 seems to appeal to all and the attention for it was 100% positive.

I will be attending the show in Trim next month which is always a good day out. I may attend one or two before that as well.

Heading off to Kilbroney Show tomorrow!

The car has been polished inside and out, tyre pressures checked, toolkit checked and all we need for the day loaded up for the car show we're attending tomorrow in my 311.
The show is in Kilbroney Park which is in Rostrevor, County Down and around 1000 cars are expected.
I expect my 311 to be the only one there.
Not sure how the weather will be tomorrow, but we're going anyway, unless it's lashing rain.
More to follow.

The Dkw F1. The 1st mass produced Two stroke car with front wheel drive.

This is the car that put Dkw on the map as a car manufacturer and was the start of their Front
wheel drive cars that continued until 1966. It was the first mass produced, Front wheel drive
car with its engine mounted transversely.
'F' stands for Front and the F1 would be quickly followed by similar but improved versions up
to F8 and the onset of WWII in 1939.
Car makers 'Ruxton, Alvis and Cord' all made their version of a front wheel drive car in 1928
(Alvis) and 1929 (Ruxton and Cord) but they were all expensive failures.

1931 Dkw F1

This car was built for the harsh economic climate that existed in Germany and pretty much
worldwide in the 30's, and at the time was the cheapest car you could buy in Germany at
approximately 1750 Reichsmarks.
The car was built at the Dkw main factory in Zschopau in East Germany, except for the
bodywork which was made at their Berlin- Spandau plant.
Not surprisingly the F1 sold exceptionally well, as did all the 'F' cars that followed.
By 1939, over a quarter of a million front wheel drive Dkw's had been built, which was
impressive numbers for those times.  Over  100,000 were built in 1939 alone as cars
became more increasingly more affordable.

Dkw F1

The car was a two seater roadster and firstly powered by a 500cc( 490), two stroke engine
that gave 15 hp.
. The body of this car and all of the early 'F' range of cars was made out of plywood,
 which was covered with imitation leather.
The car used a very simple wooden ladder frame chassis.

 Later the engine size increased to 600cc (594) and still comprised of
2 cylinders. The first 600cc powered car put out 18 hp at 3800 rpm and it is this engine
that the Trabant would later be based upon for decades thereafter.
The F1 had a 3 speed gear box and like all Dkw's was water-cooled.

Why buying Wartburgs and Trabants makes sense today.

1. They were made up until around 1990, so there's still plenty available although they
are more scarce every year.

2. They're remarkably cheap as far as classic car values go. A really good Trabant that
needs no work can be had for around £1000, or 1250 euros with 12 mths test.
Wartburg 353's in the same condition are a little dearer, but £1500 or 1800 euros will get
you a really good one.
Tatty cars with mot can be had for 500/600 pounds and euros, so easy to buy.

There were approximately 3 million Trabants made and about 1 million Wartburg 353's.
Trabants are easier to sell on and currently have more of a following
but the Wartburg will fetch more money when you find
the right buyer.
They'll also appreciate more in time as they're that little bit rarer than the Trabant.
The 353 will become more sought after in time, as they become rarer.
Even older cars, 30+ years can be bought very cheaply( if more expensive) compared
to Dkw's and Saabs of the same era and they're really very similar underneath, so
these cars represent great value at the moment which will change one day.

3. Wartburgs and Trabants are the closest thing to modern day Dkw's, yet sell for a pittance
compared to Dkw's.
If you want one for regular use get a late 80's or 1990 example, they still use the original
 Dkw technology albeit they may also have electronic ignition fitted,
which makes them more reliable and better suited to regular driving than the old points systems.
Their rugged simplicity added to the electronic ignition and an electric fuel pump( 353) gives
them a reliability that matches modern cars.



4. Later cars used a fuel mixing ratio of up to 50:1, petrol to 2 stroke oil.
(although personally I would prefer 40:1) and need very little maintenance.
Older cars need their lubrication points greased more regularly and require
generally more maintenance.

5. Later cars had the most advanced ( if that's the right word when discussing archaic
2 stroke engines) engines and are more fuel efficient, at least in the case of the Trabant.
The Trabants from the mid 80's had a different carburettor fitted than previous ones that
gives slightly less acceleration but more mpg.
The Trabant Kombi I had returned over 50 mpg.
The 353's I had were harder, the saloon returned an average mpg of about 35 and the
Tourist estate only about 28-30.
The 311 remarkably returns more mpg than the 353 and will return 40 mpg on a journey.

6. I believe these cars if maintained will rapidly accumulate in value over time as their
uniqueness also increases.

7. You find many Trabants and to a lesser extent, Wartburgs popping up on Ebay regularly.
Some of these cars will have been driven from Eastern Europe to the Uk and not registered.
Tread carefully, but if you do , you can often get good cars and save the expense of going to
Places like Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary yourself.
The poorer countries of Eastern Europe as afore mentioned usually are the best places
to buy as the cars will have been used as regular transport and are not viewed as classics.
Poland and Bulgaria in particular I've noticed some cracking cars at really low prices.
Germany too has many fine examples for sale but prices there have got a lot higher in
recent years and will be double what can be had elsewhere in Europe.
of course, going to these countries and driving a car back or having one shipped
 incurs much expense, plus insurance etc, so has to be budgeted for and factored into
the overall expenditure.

The Wartburg/Trabant IFA club also often has cars for sale through club members, often
at good prices. I would recommend this option as a starting point if looking to buy as most
members are enthusiasts and tend to keep their cars better than non-enthusiasts.
Cars often appear through the club at very low prices.
The reverse is also true though, the club is not a good place to sell your car unless it's
cheap.

8. They're surprisingly decent transport if you get a good one that are cheap to run and
maintain. If you want a car just to take to shows, then you will pay more for an older car
in good condition but will also get free road tax and classic car insurance if old enough.

9. Their simpicity is understated and in itself makes these cars extremely robust and hard
to kill. All parts are available from Uk or certainly Germany including new pistons and new
crankcases, so even if you buy a non-runner that needs work, it's a lot more doable than
many other classic cars.

Points to watch for.

1. Most of the body panels on the Trabant are made from duroplast so do not rust.
Underneath these panels though is steel underpinnings, basically a steel body shell
which of course can and does rust. Along the bulkhead/firewall in Trabants, particularly
under the battery tray are common rust traps.
The door sills often also rust badly.
The floor can also rust badly and moisture often seems to gather and sit in the front
footwells in some cars.
Remember, anywhere underneath those duroplast panels can rust. If you notice
rust anywhere where the duroplast and steel meet, you can be sure there's more under
the surface. That said, Trabants and Wartburgs are pretty good compared to most other
cars of the same vintage as regards their tendency to rust.

2. The Wartburg has a separate box frame chassis, is not a monocoque like the Trabant so
the chassis can be replaced if necessary. However, this rarely is necessary as rustproofing
was carried out in the factory when made and they're remarkably sturdy and solid by nature
anyway. The front wings on the 353 are prone to rusting, but skins can be got from Germany.
Of course, the Wartburg is a steel car, no duroplast excepting the rear tailgate on some
Tourist models so it can rust anywhere. The above mentioned are the most common I've noticed.
The steel used in the Wartburgs is a much heavier quality generally than that used in the
Trabant and resists rust better. Remember these are generalisations, cars differ!

FSO SYRENA, TWO STROKE CAR FROM POLAND 1957-1983

Syrena 100, 1957

The Syrena made its introduction to the motoring world in 1955, when it first debuted at the 

Poznan Trade Fair in prototype form.

It's inception began in 1953, when the Polish Government instructed it's factory for

small cars( FSO) to begin work designing prototypes for an affordable people's car.

Fso's intention was to make the Syrena with a monocoque body and to use a four

stroke engine. To combat steel shortages and to cut costs it was envisaged that the

car would use a wooden body that was to be covered with a leather type material, similar

to the pre-War Dkw's.

By December 1953, they had assembled two working prototypes.

The engineer who was given the task of designing an engine for the car was Fryderyk Bluemke. 

The 1st prototype was the work of  Stanislaw Pankiewicz, who made his car with a wooden

body. The second Prototype was made by  Stanislaw Lukaszewicz, with an all steel body.

Both prototypes must have been credible as the factory combined elements of both and made

a car that used the design of Pankiewicz's car and the steel body of Lukaszewicz's, except

for the roof which was to be made of wood.

By March 1955, Fso had 5 working prototypes of the Syrena and used them in an 

experimental rally in September to test the car's strengths and weaknesses.

They covered a distance of 5600 km and the fallibility of the wooden roof proved a decisive

lesson that resulted in the death of one of the drivers, Karl Pionnier when he crashed his car.

The Engineers wisely decided after this, to construct the car entirely of steel.

When the Polish Government saw an enthusiastic reception for the car from the public at

the 1955 Poznan Trade Fair, they decided to put that prototype into production.

This was the Syrena 100.

1955 prototype

As Poland was Communist, the engineers at Fso had many restraints placed upon them,

mainly financial and otherwise, as to what they could and couldn't do.

Like Wartburg and Sachsenring, if what they wanted to do cost money to develop, it was

usually quickly rejected. It's no surprise therefore to learn that the two stroke engine that

appeared in the Syrena 100 and all subsequent models, would be based on the existing

Pre-War Dkw technology that was already freely available to them, through their 'Socialist

brothers' in East Germany.

The Syrena, although developed independently, was very similar to the Zwickau P70 and the

Trabant P50 , that was developed at approximately the same time.

To cut costs yet further, the Syrena would use some parts and much switchgear from their

larger, existing 'Warszawa' four stroke car.

Syrena 102, 1962

The name 'Syrena' means mermaid in Polish and is synonymous with Polish mythology

and folklore as there was a mermaid who guarded the Wisla river in Warsaw.

A mermaid also features in the city's coat of arms.

Syrena Bosto minibus 1960

It was available to buy from 1957 and was manufactured until 1983, giving it a lengthy

production run of over 25 years with only minor changes.

The models ran from the 100,101,102,103,104 and 105, with light commercial van and minibus options, known as the Bosto.

The twin cylinder two stroke was later updated with a similar engine and that was eventually replaced with a 3 cylinder, 2 stroke unit of 842cc, which was based on the Wartburg 1000 engine.

The Wartburg 1000 engine was also available as an option on certain, top of the range 102 and 103 models, which was the most powerful variant ever fitted to the Syrena.

Syrena 104 1968

The Dkw Schnellaster Van 1949-1962

This pioneering vehicle was probably the very first mini-bus and people carrier of its kind.

Available in a wide range of body styles, there were 9 seater buses, vans, pick-ups and  
crew type vans. There were also many customised versions too, camper vans, fast
food wagons and Public Service vehicles etc.

Created in 1949, after Dkw left Zwickau for West Germany, these commercials were of
paramount importance in rebuilding Dkw's reputation and also their finances which took a
hammering during the War and forced the company to leave their factories in Soviet hands
with no reparation. It was this innovative and hugely practical vehicle combined with
Motorcycle and car sales that ensured the company prospered once again and ensured
their future in the very lean post-war years in Germany.

The Renault Espace advertised their vehicle was the first people carrier,
 from 1984 which it certainly wasn't as there were always a legion of Van based buses
  made by many manufacturers from at least the 1950's onwards.

 Renault championed this Front wheel drive box, with its transversely mounted
engine,  cube like body, a flat floor and versatile and flexible seating.
Although, they can hardly be compared as similar, the Schnellaster had all these
characteristics from 1949 and managed to do everything with a tiny two stroke
engine. The early ones had a twin cylinder, engine of just 700cc( this was copied
by the IFA for their F8 and would appear in modified form for the Zwickau P70 in
1958).

The Schnellaster shared it's engine, gear box and chassis to the F89 and thus the
F8.

The Engineers at Dkw must have had a sense of humour.
The word Schnellaster, when broken down into two words Schnell and Laster
translates as 'Fast Truck', of which it certainly was not.
It could also be a reference meaning ' Fast delivery' .

The 700cc engine put out just 20 Hp, which was good for just 70 kmh( 43 mph), but
as small freight vehicles mainly, they were set up to produce torque and pulling power.
Speed wasn't important, so their naming of the truck must have been 'tongue in cheek'
or it was named so to appear desirable and sexy.
The output was increased in 1952 to 22 hp and increased further to 32 Hp in 1955 when
it received the 3 cylinder, 900cc engine from the Dkw 3=6 car.
They were made up until 1962.
The load carrying capacity for these remarkable little vans was 3/4 of a Ton, which
is excellent considering the size of their engines and that some  small vans of
today  have powerful diesel  engines and they carry less.

The van derivative had access to the cargo area via a large back door, it had no side
doors. What set the Schnellaster apart from its rivals was it's unparalelled cargo area
for a small van. The van had 5 feet, 8 inches of standing height from floor to ceiling
and an overall cargo space equal to many larger vans.

The engine and transmission of the Schnellaster sat well forward of the front wheels
so it didn't cut into the passenger compartment and space was thus maximised.
I'm pretty certain that this van was the first mass produced, front wheel drive product
of its kind. When you consider most vans were still rear wheel drive in the 1990's this
was extremely ahead of its time.
It also had a clever and effective suspension set up that used rear trailing arms that
had springs built into the cross bar assembly. This was extremely advanced for a vehicle
of this kind when most cars didn't even have it.
They were like all Dkw's, Water-cooled.
These vans had wooden floors.
In addition being made in Germany, they were also made in Ireland and Spain from
1952 and 1954 respectively.
As with the Trabant and some others including Lloyd car's, the Schnellaster's fuel
tank was under the bonnet, next to the bulkhead.

Dkw's biggest rival in this market would turn out to be VW, who launched their 'Bulli'
Transporter, based on the Beetle in 1950.
The first versions had an 1100 c engine and produced 24 hp, so comparable in this
respect to the output of the Schnellaster.
The VW outsold the Dkw, but they were both a huge success.
In fairness to Dkw, they wouldn't have had the production capabilities at this time that
Vw did, so couldn't really compete if the demand was there anyway.
Also, the Vw was available in many more body type options and had a large contract to
provide Emergency Services vehicles for respective Police, Army, Ambulance and Fire
Brigade.
By comparision, the Vw was rear engined and rear wheel driven, with a 4-stroke engine,
and aircooled. The complete opposite to Dkw.
As far as space goes, the Schnellaster won hands down as the rear engine of the Vw
eliminated any chance of  a completely usuable flat floor cargo area.
Furthermore, the Schnellaster cargo area had a standing height of 5 feet 8 inches, and
a low loading height which made it unbeatable as far as space was concerned for its size.

There's very, very few of these vans left nowadays anywhere and when they are
available they're usually sold within DKW circles, through  clubs etc.
There's currently only one that's on the road, in all of the Uk and Ireland.
It's a 1958, 9 seater minibus, owned by Bill Ryan from Cork in Ireland.
It's been restored to a fantastic condition and the owner told me it was formerly
owned by the Rasmussen family, who created Dkw.

I did see one for sale on American Ebay a couple of months ago, a 1958 Van that
had been previously used as part of a tv repair business in the States for 12 years and
had been lying up since 1970. It needed extensive restoration, although it was a good
base for such. However, the engine wasn't turning freely.
 It made $9,300 ( £5700 sterling approx), so you can only guess what a
cracking example would cost if one became available.

There must be a few of these vans lying in fields or barns around the place, probably
rusted through and mostly unrestorable. There may even be a few not far from me
in Ireland lying in perpetual slumber.
What a pity!

Forget about buying one of these and buy a Barkas instead while you still can.

The first Two Stroke Saab. The Ursaab/Saab 92

From the Saab Museum in Trollhatten, Sweden. Amazingly this prototype is still in working order today

Aircraft Company, Saab, realised as World War II came to a close, the market for Military
Aircraft which had been their bread and butter for so long, was also ending.
They had been manufacturing Aircraft since 1937, when the company was set up for
specifically that purpose by the Goverment.
Their first Planes were copies of German models that they built under license.
Shortly after this, they began to make their own aircraft and quickly obtained a
reputation for making high quality, fast planes.

They knew that in order to survive financially, they had to diversify into other things.
They considered many things including, Fitted Kitchens, Motorcycles, Cars, Vans and
Trucks.
Most of these fields already had established manufacturers in Sweden already, lIke
Scania for Trucks and Volvo for Cars.
Saab realised though that Volvo cars were quite pricey and what Sweden needed was a
small, affordable and reliable car for families and people of average means.
So, Saab sought to develop such a car and fill a niche in the marketplace.

This project was given the name 'Project 92' and twenty people were recruited to develop it.
Out of these twenty, about fifteen were Aircraft Engineers.
Stylist Sixten Sason  was responsible for designing the body of the car, and
Engineer Gunnar Ljungström was the brain behind the technical aspects.

All two stroke Saabs had a freewheel fitted and all were water-cooled.

The Ursaab

A 1:10 scale model Ursaab was tested in a wind tunnel  and gave a drag coefficient of 0.32,
an impressive figure even by today's standards.
Ursaab is Swedish for 'original Saab'.
The body drawings were completed by January 1946 and a full sized model was ready by
April of the same year, reputedly coated in black boot polish!
(whether there's any truth to this, I don't know.)
Although nowadays, the beautiful styling of this car is apparent to all lovers of classic
cars, at the time there was a mixed reaction to the styling and it came in for quite a bit
of criticism and trepidation on the part of Saab's own management team.
Engineer Ljungstrom said "...if it can save 100 litres of fuel a year, it doesn't matter if it looks
 like a frog."
This first prototype was given the number 92/001 and was made using a steel body,
an 18hp DKW two stroke engine, an Auto-Union fuel tank and many other parts were
sourced from scrap yards.
The car was front wheel drive, with a  monocoque body, which was very unusual and
advanced for it's time in the 1940's. The styling and sleek aerodynamic lines show it's
Aviation inspired pedigree.
Saab have always been considered to have been a little bit different and unconventional
from the norm of Car makers( at least until they were taken over in modern times by Gm).
The prototype was ready by the end of the Summer, 1946 and was immediately tested
night and day under the most rigorous conditons.

The testing showed ways in which the car needed to be improved.
One of the problems encountered was that the car's wheels were too close
to the bodywork and would get easily clogged up with snow in Winter.
It was decided also that the doors were too thick, heavy and impractical.
Otherwise the car stood up remarkably well to the rigours of it's testing.
One Swedish newspaper of the time, reported that Ursaab had "...defied all efforts
 of its driver to destroy it." (Over 50 years later, this Car can still be seen in the
Saab Museum in Trollhatten, Sweden and is still in full working order.)

There were three of these identical prototypes used for testing and between
them clocked up over 530,000 km- equivalent to thirteen journeys around the
world to ensure thorough testing under every known driving condition.

Any colour as long as it's green, baby!. Rear shot of 1951 car.

In 1947, their factory in Trollhatten was adapted for mass production to
build this car. They had to bust a hole in the roof to install a tall body
stamping press.

Further pre-production prototypes were tested and it wasn't until June, 1949 that
the Saab 92 was launched to the Public and Press.
Full scale production started in December of that year and  1246 cars were
made by the end of 1950.
All of these 1950 cars were painted in Green, similar to Henry Ford's mantra of
any colour as long as it's black,albeit green in this case.
An unsubstantiated rumour is that the Saab had vast stocks of this paint left
over from their manufacture of military planes and used it as a cost cutting measure,
which I believe is highly probable.
Only 17% of the Saab 92 was made from imported materials.

1947 Saab 92

Saab 92  1950-52

They managed to produce around 9000 cars in the first four years of production, yet
waiting lists were large, such was the demand for the car.
The Saab 92's engine was similar to the Ursaab prototype, of DKw origin but with a
higher power output of 25hp and a displacement of 764cc, with water-cooling.
This was a two cylinder engine, very similar to the one that would later power the forerunner
to the Trabant, the Zwickau P70 and was also transversely mounted.
So typical of Dkw engines, the radiator sat behind the engine, close to the bulkhead.
It had a three speed gearbox with a column change.
It's maximum speed was 105 kmph(62.5 mph), which was excellent performance for these
times from such a small engine.
The suspension was extremely clever and I think, anyway, heavily influenced by Dkw, and
utilised torsion bars.
The boot could only be opened from inside the car, making it not very practical.
The car had a 6 volt electrical system.
It's fuel-mixing ratio, petrol to two stroke oil was 25:1.

Saab 92 De-luxe, 1951.

The only change Saab made to the 92 in 1951, was the dashboard instruments were
changed from the American 'Stewart-Warner' type to the German Vdo brand.
It's not clear why this was change was implemented. I suspect the VDO were easier
obtained and probably more cost effective.

Saab continued to update this car and make many improvements with subsequent models, 93,95, and the Saab 96 for a time, was the last one to use Dkw two stroke power until 1967 when a v4 Ford engine was implemented and two stroke Saab production ended.

The Two stroke Saab's had remarkable success on the World Rally circuit with many, many victories and successes.

Famous Rally driver Erik Carlsson in particular had many big wins to his credit.

1951 Saab 92 Interior.

The 1st People's Car from Japan. Two stroke Subaru 360:

Subaru 360:  1958- 1971

1958 Subaru 360

With it's engine of just 360cc, you might consider this to be in the microcar class, but
this car did provide room for 4 passengers, albeit small ones and also produced
commercial versions, a flat bed truck and panel van.
Furthermore, the Subaru was an excellently engineered car.
 It was the first car mass produced car to be made by the company.
It's cute styling and shape earned it the nickname 'ladybird'.
It looks a little like the Beetle and also the Fiat 500 of the time.

360 engine

Whilst Dkw, the Pioneers of Two stroke technology, also made their cars front wheel drive,
Subaru followed the VW Beetle with a rear wheel drive, rear engined layout that was also
mounted transversely. Like the Beetle it was also air cooled.
The car taxation policy in Japan at the time ruled that cars with engines of less than
360cc displacement qualified for the lowest taxation bracket, called the Kei class.
The reason this low tax incentive existed was to ease the congestion in Japan's cities
that was growing at an alarming rate. The Kei class was implemented in 1955.
In addition to the engine restriction, to qualify, there were also dimension restraints to
comply with.
Cars had to be no longer than 9 feet, 10 inches.
Owers of K class vehicles were also permitted to park their cars overnight in city
streets, which was forbidden at the time to all other vehicles.

Subaru Sambar Flat bed truck

The Subaru 360 came in at just under 9 feet, 6 inches ( 2990mm) and 356cc, so
it was clearly designed to fit into this class.
It's tiny engine was pretty powerful for these times and the 2 stroke unit developed
16 Hp in its initial format. This added to a low body weight of around 1000 lbs made
the car perform remarkably well given its small engine.

Top speed was 60 mph and it was claimed by Subaru that the car was capable
of returning up to 65 mpg. ( my own feeling here is that the car was undoubtedly
economical, but not to the tune of Subaru's claims)
The decision to use a 2 stroke engine must have been an easy one, given that
two strokes pack twice as much power into the same space as four strokes, and
are also lighter, simpler and cheaper to make.
A four stroke engine of just 360cc would've been a lot slower.

The Subaru was a one piece, monocoque construction which was still unusual and
pretty forward thinking in 1958.
Early models needed their 2 stroke oil premixed with the fuel, of which the fuel cap
doubled as an oil measuring cup
Later models had the 'Subarumatic' automatic oil mixing  lubrication system.
This appears to have been more successful and somewhat simpler than the ill-fated
system made by Dkw in 1961.

Subaru Sambar Minibus

The 360 despite the negative press it got in the Usa, was a well engineered and competent
car that enabled the fledgling Subaru company to get a foothold in the world of car manufacturing.
It spawned a Kei class 'War' that saw rival companies such as Honda and Daihatsu build
alternatives that were spawned on the success of the 360.
What set the Subaru apart and makes it so commendable is the fact that the car was designed
exclusively in-house, from its styling to its mechanics. For a manufacturer new to car making,
it was an excellent achievement. Most car makers using two stroke engines at the time were
either getting their engines from Dkw or had copied Dkw's designs.
In the Post-War period that existed in Japan, there was little innovation and much copying.
This was due to both lack of money for development and a lack of technical expertise.
What the Japanese  became famous for was for first copying or adopting technology,
 then improving it over time.

Interior view of the Subaru 360

To put Subaru's accomplishment in making the 360 into perspective, at the time of the
360's inception, Nissan were producing Austin A50's in Japan under license.
Isuzu and Hino were doing the same with the Hillman Minx and Renault 4CV respectively.
All of these companies would eventually thrive with designs of their own, but not until
later and after they had ' cut their teeth' in manufacturing 'old' Western designs.

1950's Japan was desperately rebuilding itself ( like Europe) after WWII.
Most people couldn't afford a new car, only a motorcycle or Scooter.
The 360 bridged that gap and enabled people in the market for a two wheeler, to buy
a proper car for the first time, such was its competitive pricing.
In this sense, the 360 was the first genuine people's car of Japan.

1967 Subaru 360

Great car, the 311

Having had the car out a few times and over 300 km of driving, I can say that the 311 is a super car.
There's not a rattle from anywhere on the car and the handling is brilliant on corners, thanks to the leaf spring suspension, without the body roll that afflicts the Wartburgs 312 and 353.
Wartburg 311's were actually imported into Ireland before the Uk, in the late 1950's or early 60's.
Very little information exists on this and they were only imported into Ireland for a short time and were not big sellers.
I believe that mine is currently the only 311 on the road in Ireland.

Having had 2 x 353's, I can say that the 311 is a far better car with a much better build quality than the 353.
Although they share mechanical similarities under the bonnet, the 311 oozes class and with its sleek body lines and curved panels and glass,  it's no surprise that the same workforce that assembled this car used to make luxury Bmw's in the same Eisenach factory. To compare the fit and finish of the bodywork seams and panels, between the 2 cars is like night and day.

For a car first made in 1955/56 the 311 must have been years ahead of contemporary competition as they drive so well and are not difficult to manoeuvre. Visibility for an old car is also very good.
I doubt anything that Dkw were producing of the same era was as good, which is praise indeed, given that the Wartburg's mechanicals owe so much to the former.

The only downside to the 311 compared to the 353 is that it requires more maintenance, namely the many greasing points that must be regularly addressed. But, that's a small price to pay for such a wonderful classic and all 50's and 60's cars usually have them.
Interestingly some early 311's were fitted with a central lubrication system that the driver activated periodically with his foot to pump grease into the required points. I wonder why they later discontinued this system, whether drivers were neglecting to do it or it became problematic, I don't know.

My car has been retrimmed at some point with white leather seats. Whether they were originally leather or cloth is anyones guess as they came in both. The seats are reminiscent of classic French cars as they're softly sprung and comfortable.
The large steering wheel is a lovely feature,a s is the column gear change whose ratio's operate in nearly the exact opposite to that of the Trabant. 1st on the Trabbi is in and down, whereas it's in and up on the 311 and so on.

There's a battery isolation switch under the dash which is a lovely feature which will not only stop someone from stealing the car but also eliminates the need to disconnect the battery from the terminals when laying the car up for a time.
Another nice feature is the foot operated dip switch for the headlights, which I'd never seen before.

The car has electronic ignition and an electric fuel pump fitted, so makes it much more suitable for regular driving, not to mention more reliable.

There's a nice original 'Stern' radio fitted to the car that works.

The chrome on the car is practically perfect, the last owner having sourced 'new, old stock' chrome from Germany and fitted it which is a real bonus due to the high cost of re-chroming and the copious amounts of it that this car possesses.

I gave the car a wash and wax after getting it home and the bodywork is in really excellent condition.
The car isn't concours but it's in superb condition throughout.

The spares package that I bought with the car is also brilliant. I can't list everything that came with the car as the list is exhausting, but the main items are:

*spare 311 engine which is free and compression is evident. It's also a factory replacement engine, made in 1979, which has seen some use but looks very fresh and almost new.*

* spare gearbox*

* 2 spare drive shafts*

*full new exhaust system*

* a spare front and rear windscreen*

* the original side-draught  carburettor that was on the car*

*Brake cylinders*

* spare dashboard*

311's are becoming very rare in good condition and fetching big money these days, even in Germany which is usually the only place to get one. You sometimes see the odd one in Poland come on the market, but they're getting thinner on the ground with each passing year. Some part's too are now difficult, not to mention very expensive when available.

The Remarkable Barkas Van. The Mule of East Germany.

The Barkas            

This was a range of light commercial vehicles, namely vans and trucks of many derivatives.
They were made in East Germany, so part of the collective IFA, the body that governed all
East Germany auto production.
So, these commericals had much in common with the Trabant and especially the Wartburg,
which is evident in so many aspects of the design, trim and switchgear used.
You may recognise the door handles as being from the Wartburg and Trabant.

me in the Frankenberg Museum

In some ways, the Barkas was very advanced for its time.
From 1961, it had front wheel drive, bigger loading capacity than most vans, and a unique
and very good suspension that featured semi-trailing arms. It was very unusual for its
time.

The Barkas was the only van manufactured in East Germany and came in a full range of
body styles.

fire service version

Barkas 1100 prototype with Moskvitch 1500 engine.

The factory for these was in Karl-marx-stadt, known nowadays as Chemnitz, with the
engines made in the Wartburg factory in Eisenach.
The new Barkas factory was built on the site of the old 'Framo'  car factory, which was
seized by the Soviets and everything useful, machines, tool presses etc were boxed up
and sent to Russia as payment for War reparations, which was standard practice and
rampant throughout East Germany.
The 1000 signifies 1000kg payload, or one ton, which is the standard carrying capacity
for most average sized vans.

that almighty chassis!

But, remarkably this vehicle  was powered by a two stroke engine of 991cc, namely the same
 engine that was used in the Wartburg car.
Unusually, the engine was in the cabin, positioned between the two front seats.
 The engine was tuned to a lower power output (42hp) than the Wartburg car
but with a higher torque output for better pulling power.
This higher torque was largely created by the use of a cleverly designed exhaust
system that could extract torque in large quantities from the engine.
Top speed was a claimed sixty miles per hour, depending how heavily laden!
The vans were roomy and had a handy low loading height, from both the side and
rear doors.
Perhaps the most unique thing about the Barkas is it's fabulous suspension set up.
It's one piece body shell was mounted onto one hell of a sturdy chassis, which had
a huge outrigger bolted onto each side. These steel beams took the bulk of the
vehicle's weight off the body, whilst also adding stability.  Simple, but also ingenious.
The strength and solidity of this chassis has to be seen to be believed.
The bodies of the Barkas were hand crafted by and utilised many small, gas spot welds
which must have been very labour intensive.
The B1000 had 12 volt electrics from the start. All previous commercials made by the
factory had 6 volts electrics.

Prisoner transporter, Hohenschonhausen Prison

disguised on the outside to look like a delivery van

The weak spot on the Barkas was its clutch. Again, shared by the Wartburg car, to which
it was perfectly suited, sadly for a commercial vehicle it was inadequate and would often
be replaced during the life of a vehicle.
A fully laden Barkas could weigh close to 2.5 tonnes, so expecting a car clutch to cope
with this kind of weight was a little optimistic.

Interestingly the factory made a prototype in 1972, the Barkas B1100 which used  a
four stroke 1.5 engine  of Moskvitch origin, based on the Moskvitch 412 car, but approval
to build it was never granted. The prototype produced 75hp, with a top speed of
120 km/h( 75mph). The design, whilst boxy was quite futuristic and modern for its time.

They had a six-wheeler version, made as a car transporter, which used a 1500cc
Lada engine, and did make it into production from 1978 onwards.


Main change came in 1989 and the Barkas got the 1.3 Volkswagen  engine, shared with
the Wartburg 1.3. Barkas with this engine are signified by 1000/1.

There remains very few Barkas in existence today, at least good ones  and
a restored one or one in excellent condition will fetch more than three thousand euros
these days. They are so unusual though, that I feel if you could get one, they'd make a
super investment as they'll soon be rarer than hens teeth, especially when you consider
what Volkswagen  T2 vans are making currently. The two vans are comparable and
personally I'd much rather have the Barkas.
Main problem with their longevity was that old nemesis 'Rust' which gets many old cars
in the end. There must be hundreds of rusting Barkas hulks in barns and scrapyards
all over the former Gdr.


Just over 175,000 Two Stroke Barkas were made and almost 2000 four stroke models.

IFA F9 Road Test from 1955.

IFA F9 Road Test Review.

Zwickau built F9 1950-1953

This road test dates from 1955 and appeared in a Finnish magazine titled " World of
Technology".
Until the late 1950's, virtually the only cars available to the Finns were Eastern Block
vehicles and their choices were thus limited to Skoda, AWZ ( Automobilwerk Zwickau
(Trabant), Wartburg and Moskvitch.

Interior view of early Zwickau F9.

Reason for this was that Western cars were strictly rationed and only available to those
wealthy enough to get them, due to the hefty War reparations that had to be paid to
the Soviets.
Also, Western cars had to be paid for in Western currencies, which alienated this
possibility beyond the reach of the ordinary person.

Eisenach built F9 1953-1956

IFA F9

There cannot be anybody in Finland, who has not heard more or less unflattering
anecdotes about the IFA F9. Partly for this reason we wanted to find out what this
vehicle is really like. As we have no owner experiences as regards the durability of
the car, we shall refer to the appended statistics and tell you what it felt like to be
behind the wheel of a well sorted IFA.
When first stepping into an IFA F9, one notices the curved-backed aeroplaned-type
seats, which provide a steady, pleasant seating position.
The sharply falling bonnet gives good visibility ahead, but the visibility in other directions
is only average.
There seems to be sufficient room for four passengers.
The handling is enhanced by front wheel drive, which makes the IFA excellent in sharp
bends, as long as they are taken correctly under acceleration.
Another noteworthy characteristic is the freewheel, which saves both fuel and engine.
The correct way is to accelerate at intervals and then allow the car to roll under its own
impetus.
The steering is super fast rack and pinion, which feels odd after driving larger cars.
The unevenness and potholes in roads are felt unpleasantly through the wheel, but otherwise
the handling is brilliant.
The gear lever is handily placed on the dashboard, but gear changes have to be carried out
with care, for otherwise the gearbox will make nasty noises, especially when changing down.
The combination of the 3 cylinder, 32 hp engine and four speed gearbox gives the F9
reasonable powers of acceleration.
On tarred roads we got the following times:
0-50 km/h 9.5 seconds, 0-80 km/h 20 secs, and 1 kilometre from standing start 50 secs.
The engine noise is rather intrusive, especially in older models.
Braking  was not the best in the IFA's we drove, due to hard brake linings.
Handling is so good however, that this small inconvenience hardly deserves a mention.
The gauges worked perfectly and we did not notice any particular inaccuracies in the
readings.
The IFA F9 is reasonably comfortable. There is plenty of room inside and the doors are
sufficently wide to allow easy entry.
The body is reasonably tight and draught proof in Winter. This is helped by the presence
of inside lining of the body.

Eisenach F9 1953-1956

Good Points:

Good handling, cheap to buy, comfortable seats, low fuel consumption, widely available,
good starter in winter, roomy inside, freewheel spares engine and saves petrol.

Weaknesses:

Dodgy electrics, low quality tires, paintwork and chrome, expensive to repair, badly
finished, low quality springs, rubber joint in steering, central lubrication pump,
Non-professional repair personnel.

Technical Data:

Engine: Three cylinders, two stroke, output 32 bhp/limited to 3800 rpm.
Compression 6.8.1.  Cylinder dimensions 70 x 78mm, capacity 0.9 litres.
900cc.
25:1 Mixing ratio, petrol to two stroke oil.

Cooling: Water-cooled, radiator behind engine. 10 litre capacity.

Transmission: Dry single plate clutch, four speed gearbox with freewheel.
Gear ratios: 1st 3.27  2nd 2.133,  3rd  1.368, 4th 0.957 and reverse 4,44:1
Gear lever on the dashboard. Front wheel drive.

Suspension:   Half-elliptic crosswise springs front and rear.

Dimensions: Length 4.2 metres, width 1.6m, height 1.45m.
Wheelbase 2.35m. Width of front track 1.18m, rear 1.26m.
Unladen weight 870 kg. Load capacity 380 kg.
Top speed 110 km/h ( approx 69 mph)
Petrol Tank capacity 30 litres.

Fuel consumption: Urban 9.6 litres for 100km (62.5 miles) Approx 29.6 mpg.
Based on a metric gallon 4.55 litres.

Open road consumption: 8 litres for 100km (62.5 miles) Approx 35.5 mpg.

Other classics I own

It would be fair to say that I love classic cars of all eras.
In addition to Two strokers I also have a passion for vintage vans and trucks and also modern classics.

My daily driver is a Rover 216 Coupe, 1995. It's one of the Rover's that was fitted with the Honda 1.6 16valve fuel injected engine and it's a cracker. It's quick, yet still reasonably economical and is nicely finished and appointed inside being a Rover. The car drives like a modern car, yet is stylish and looks like a 5 year old car rather than one that's 16 years old.
The seats are particularly comfortable on long journeys and the double, detachable  glass roof is a very nice feature.

The car was resprayed at some point to a high standard and the original Rover alloys are in very good condition.
I bought the car last November, when it had 73k miles on it and full service history from new.
I've since done about 4k miles on it and it's been utterly reliable.

Mot is due soon and I have replaced both CV joints and the silencer and given the car a full service myself, so she's on the button. I might be tempted to sell the car  with a full mot, as I could do with a diesel van for practical reasons.

I also have a '93 Leyland Daf 200 ( 2.0 petrol van) that I bought as a project.
The van has a bit of corrosion on the bottom of the back doors and on the wheel arches, but needs very little to sort out for the test. It will also need an exhaust., but that's about it. The van drives perfectly and the engine runs like a sewing machine and is very quiet.  The van is quite decent to drive despite no power steering. But, once on the move it's fine.

It was originally a mini-bus, so has glass windows down each side.
Someone at some point took out most of the seating except for the row behind the front row, making it like a 6 seat crew type van. Of course the seats just bolt in and out, so this row could be removed also to create even more space and a standard van.

This van could easily be made into a camper van quite easily with a rock n roll type bed fitted as it already has the windows down the sides and being originally a mini-bus the floor area is done out in carpeted plywood.
An electrician had this van before me, which explains why it's so clean inside.

I'm unsure what I'll do with the van, but |I'll probably do what I need to for the mot and decide after that.
These vans are very spacious for their size and are similar to a Ford Transit room wise.

New Car coming shortly

I've bought another two stroke car and will be flying to England to pick it up on May 11th.
All I''m saying at this point is that it's a lovely car in two- tone paintwork and is from the 60's era.
I plan on taking it to the top shows here in Ireland this summer.

More details to follow.

The Framo/Barkas Museum in Frankenburg. Visited 23rd Feb, 2011

The Factory Museum for the Framo and Barkas Commercial vehicles is in
the small town of Frankenburg, which is about 15km from Chemnitz.
Without my Garmin Sat-Nav we would have had difficulty finding the place
as it's not signposted and is not in the centre of the pretty little German town.
The Museum here is a small, very low key affair, but in some ways it was the nicest
of the 3 museums we visited.

Outside front of Museum

I had noticed that most days and on the day we were visiting, they only opened
from 1pm-4pm. I knew I was returning to Berlin that day, when planning our trip and had
emailed this museum in advance asking them if there was any chance we could
visit around 10.30-11.00 am.

LT 200

Surprisingly, and with typical German efficiency, the lady who works there daily,
emailed me back and said that that was no problem.
Not only that, but when we got there she had arranged an ex-factory employee to be
onhand to show us around the museum and presumably to answer any questions I had.
I say presumably because the poor man didn't speak any English and I only have a handful
of  German, so our meeting initially was somewhat farcical as I realised he expected
me to speak German. I had used an internet translation site to send them an email in German,
so I knew he expected me to be more conversant than I was able to be.

LT300

The Woman receptionist there has a few words of English and regardless of what language
anyone speaks or doesn't speak, it was obvious that these two people were delighted that
someone from Ireland wanted to visit their museum and learn about the history etc.
The man left us to wander around for a while and when I was taking pictures he helpfully
opened the bonnets of the cars so I could take shots of the engine bays and also invited me
to sit into any of the vehicles I wanted to.
Small kindnesses and gestures mean a lot especially when it's difficult to communicate.
This was a nice gesture after visiting the Horch Museum and the one in Eisenach, where the
cars are all kept locked and the Horch museum all had signs up saying 'Don't touch'.

Barkas B1000 

The Museum is small and I doubt it receives many visitors. I met a Trabant Rally driver
who lives only 15 minutes away from it and he admitted he'd never been to see the exhibit.
But although small, it has an impressive selection of vehicles and an interesting history.
The Museum opened to the Public in 1993.

The brand FRAMO is the predecessor of what would become BARKAS and  started
up here in Frankenburg in 1923. Framo is short for Frankenburg Motor Works and the company
was founded by the man behind DKW, Jorgen Rassmussen and two colleagues Richard Blau,
and  local man Paul Figura.

Barkas B1100 prototype with 1500 Moskvitch 4 stroke engine. 1972

Intially though the company was named Metall-Werke Frankenberg GmbH (Frankenburg
Metal Works)
The company was set up to manufacture Motorcycle parts for the DKW Motorcycle Plant
in Zschopau, which it did successfully until 1927.
Then, production started in the Frankenburg factory of a three wheeled motorised Tricycle, the
TV 300. This was no ordinary trike and was sturdily built as a freight vehicle for the transporting
of goods and merchandise for local businesses.
As the name suggests it was powered by a 300cc, 2 stroke engine with only one cylinder.
The engine came from DKW.
The lightweight design and reasonable price made these trikes popular with tradesmen and local
shopkeepers like Butchers and Bakers.
Further, similar designs would follow in much the same vein, with slight variations and engines
 usually of either 200 or 300cc.

Production moved from Frankenburg to Hanichen in 1934 and the company would soon branch into
four wheel vehicles, including a car called the Piccolo.
It is from 1934 that the company was renamed as Framo-Werke Hainichen
 The Piccolo car was not a success and sold in few numbers,
 after which the Factory reverted back to making small commercials with three and four
wheels.

1961 Framo V901/2

In 1938, the Company brought out a range of small vans and pick-up trucks that used a 500cc
DKW engine, with two stroke power and two cylinders.
 This was known as the V500 and was a big success for Framo.
Then development stopped with the onset of War and the factory was retooled to supply weapons
for the German Army.
Around 500 Female Prisoners of War were conscripted to work in the Hanichen Factory for the War
effort. These prisoners came from the nearby Flossenburg Concentration Camp, that had a
sub-camp in Hainichen.

When the War ended in 1945, this area of course was within the Russian Sector and the factories
were dismantled, crated up and sent to Russia as War reparations.
The Hanichen factory regrouped eventually and started again to produce their V500 model from
1949, with the models designated as V501/502.
In 1951, the larger but cosmetically very similar V901 and V902 were created and displaced the
smaller 501 and 502 eventually.
The V900 models used an adapted version of the IFA F9 engine, itself a DKW pre-War design and
copy.

In 1961 a new factory was built in Karl-Marx-Stadt ( now Chemnitz) to produce a new commercial
van type vehicle, named the Barkas.
That year, the Barkas B1000 was launched and was way ahead of its contemporaries
 and the competition.
It used the Wartburg 353, 2 stroke engine of only 993cc and the gear box from the
same car.
Surprisingly it went rather well and wasn't as seriously underpowered as you would think, thanks
to an ingenious exhaust system that generated huge amounts of torque that enabled it to pull
a ton of weight plus its own.
The downside to this was poor fuel economy. Nomatter how hard or easy they're driven, it seems
that 20-23 mpg is all they return. Top speed was good for approx 60mph.
Their weak spot was the clutch that wasn't strong enough for a commercial vehicle, having been
made for the Wartburg 353 car and most Barkas's would have seen a clutch or few in its time.

3 fine Framo's with 500cc 2stroke power

The Barkas was made in several variants, a van, pick-up, flatbed truck, a minibus
 and customised versions for the Army, Police, Ambulance and Fire Department.
It was comparable in quality, usability and reliability to the VW Transporter van of the same era.
It's pretty remarkable that a one litre engine could carry a Ton of weight, which added to its own
would be close to 2.5 tonnes, yet the Barkas was well up to the job and was the only small
Commercial of its kind made in East Germany, so it saw plenty of use from Emergency
Services to Tradesmen to Delivery men. It was manufactured  in two stroke form
until 1990 and until 1991 in four stroke, when it received the VW engine that the Wartburg
1.3 got in its final stages of production.

that superb Barkas chassis!

So how did it manage to pull and carry such weight?

front view of chassis mated to 1.3 VW engine

The answer is a combination of things, but the biggest single factor in this is the chassis
of the Barkas which needs to be seen up close to be believed and appreciated.
It's an incredibly sturdy creation made from heavy steel that incorporates a huge outrigger
on each side that takes the bulk of its payload and by so doing, takes the pressure and
stress of the engine and gear box. This, added to the huge torque supplied by the
ingenious exhaust system and you have a very capable, commercial vehicle that belies
its small engine.
The van was also front wheel drive, typical of the Dkw inspired mechanicals, but very
unusual for a commercial van type vehicle in 1961.
The suspension also used semi-trailing arms which was quite advanced for this type
of vehicle.

engine bay of Barkas B1000 between front seats. Two stroke engine

There's a particularly fine Barkas, custom made for Hohenschonhausen Prison in East
Berlin and displayed there. It was made to look like a fish delivery van from the outside
but inside had six individual holding cells for prisoners.
The engine of the Barkas is situated between the two front seats, so the body shape
really makes the most of the space it has inside. The 9 seater minibus type has loads
of room inside and is more spacious than the VW model of the same time.

Barkas, like AWE and Sachsenring made many prototypes of both engines and vehicles
that never made it into production. The Museum has a fine Barkas B1100 prototype that
looks like a fine vehicle, especially when it was made in 1972 and was intended to replace
the B1000. This prototype used a 1500cc, Moskvitch Four stroke engine.
Sadly, this and many others from all the East German auto makers was denied by the
powers that be who would spend as little as possible on new technologies.

I really enjoyed this visit to all three museums and getting to see parts of the former
Gdr was good too. I expected general costs to be cheaper, most consumer goods
and eating out was more expensive than Berlin.
But, Berlin is a very cheap city to spend time in. More competition I guess is healthy!

Author pictured in Barkas B1000