Kr200 (modified)

[Jonathan Poll]

Hello,

  Here is a weird schmitt, don't really like the dor, but its well made.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1955-Messerschmitt-KR-200-Serial-Number-55583-/110676774788?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19c4d98f84#ht_500wt_1182

[Jonathan Poll]

Hello,

  Here is a weird schmitt, don't really like the dor, but its well made.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1955-Messerschmitt-KR-200-Serial-Number-55583-/110676774788?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19c4d98f84#ht_500wt_1182

... and that car is now in oiur garage ready to be restored!

[marcus]

Excellent! Glad there's another back in Europe.

[Jonathan Poll]

Excellent! Glad there's another back in Europe.

We didnt buy it, but my dads gonna restore it for soemone.

[Big Al]

Told my bud to buy that but he did not bother despite having early parts to go on it. Horse, water, leading.

[Jonathan Poll]

Told my bud to buy that but he did not bother despite having early parts to go on it. Horse, water, leading.

Luckily he didnt! The ad said "some rust on floor, but rest is solid".

Floor is REALLY rusty, loads of holes, probably not tough enough tio stand on!

Its quite early, but nothing compared to our early one, but its still got a few features ours has but not others, like gear lever bolt and a few more things.

JP

[Big Al]

Yep gear lever and mounting should be different. THe thing is it has its original floor. That means it can be copied as it will be different to a later floor in all probability. Not all 'schmitts are the same but they become ever more homogenised as people restoring using identical, if wrong, parts.

[Jonathan Poll]

Yep gear lever and mounting should be different. THe thing is it has its original floor. That means it can be copied as it will be different to a later floor in all probability. Not all 'schmitts are the same but they become ever more homogenised as people restoring using identical, if wrong, parts.

Where there early and late floors? My dads very early car has a normal floor I think :S

Yep, and you cant even get the bolts for the gear lever!

[Big Al]

From memory - The hole for the cables was not present. The stiffeners brackets at the rear for engine mount not fitted, The ribs (swages) in the floor were a different shape and I think a different number. The nose floor obviously has the centre horn and again the form is subtly different with the flange having more fasteners? Do not recall looking at the crossmember. I recall discussion that the inner wings were also slightly different. But this is chassis 50251 and 50259 we were looking at at the time. The first cars had an element of hand building. Number 50008 is totally at odds with a standard KR200. Mine had a square section bit of steel on the engine frame instead of the normal round and ovaliod tubing - why?. Had three part mudguard, odd number boot grills, hand made front wings and so on. The wheels were like 175, early form brakes. The later the chassis the more settled the construction but it is noticeable that small stiffeners appear in areas of stress as the found their way and adoptions were made in production to ease or save time on the line as well.
My currant early cars are later and more normal save the real oddball one which definitely has 175 overtones but sadly fairly pre-buggered so it is hard to know exactly what was going on. Might even be a shunted car rebuilt using new panels available cheap. Therefore I discount it until evidence is found doing it up or in archive that it is something more than I think it is. I need to measure its front track as 50008 is a lot wider.
Be great to have a special rally to get as many '55 cars together as possible and line them up in order. It could be most interesting.

[Jonathan Poll]

From memory - The hole for the cables was not present. The stiffeners brackets at the rear for engine mount not fitted, The ribs (swages) in the floor were a different shape and I think a different number. The nose floor obviously has the centre horn and again the form is subtly different with the flange having more fasteners? Do not recall looking at the crossmember. I recall discussion that the inner wings were also slightly different. But this is chassis 50251 and 50259 we were looking at at the time. The first cars had an element of hand building. Number 50008 is totally at odds with a standard KR200. Mine had a square section bit of steel on the engine frame instead of the normal round and ovaliod tubing - why?. Had three part mudguard, odd number boot grills, hand made front wings and so on. The wheels were like 175, early form brakes. The later the chassis the more settled the construction but it is noticeable that small stiffeners appear in areas of stress as the found their way and adoptions were made in production to ease or save time on the line as well.
My currant early cars are later and more normal save the real oddball one which definitely has 175 overtones but sadly fairly pre-buggered so it is hard to know exactly what was going on. Might even be a shunted car rebuilt using new panels available cheap. Therefore I discount it until evidence is found doing it up or in archive that it is something more than I think it is. I need to measure its front track as 50008 is a lot wider.
Be great to have a special rally to get as many '55 cars together as possible and line them up in order. It could be most interesting.

50008 is very interesting... We saw it at Anders, and it has millions of small modificatios. Some of them, I have no idea why they changed! Our early car also has this, but the alu bracket that holds the steering column to the dash is a different shape. Thwey had to make a completely different mold for the new similar one...
It has very unusual hubcaps, our car shoudl have had them too. Still, nice to compare them with other cars.

Its funny, in our property we have  the 3rd oldest car (ours) and the latest car known in the world (to restore).

JP

[marcus]

Specifications change due to various factors, including ease of manufacture and materials cost. Also new machinery, equipment and tooling can sometimes make it easier to change the spec of an item even if it seems pointless to an observer. I once had to change the specs on one of my drums when I no longer had access to a Capstan Lathe, and the clutch on my timpani also had to be completely re-designed because of this. I reckon in 30 years time drummers and timpanists around the world will be scratching their heads at all the changes I have made which to someone not in the know would seem to be odd.

[Jonathan Poll]

Specifications change due to various factors, including ease of manufacture and materials cost. Also new machinery, equipment and tooling can sometimes make it easier to change the spec of an item even if it seems pointless to an observer. I once had to change the specs on one of my drums when I no longer had access to a Capstan Lathe, and the clutch on my timpani also had to be completely re-designed because of this. I reckon in 30 years time drummers and timpanists around the world will be scratching their heads at all the changes I have made which to someone not in the know would seem to be odd.

Still daft! The aluminium bracket has a different shape at the top. More rounded than the newer version...

[marcus]

The brackets may have come from different suppliers, perhaps the old ones were difficult to pull out of the casting die, tricky to assemble, prone to cracking, hundreds of reasons and we will probably never know the answer!

[Big Al]

[

Its funny, in our property we have  the 3rd oldest car (ours) and the latest car known in the world (to restore).

JP

Mix the bits and get the two middle most cars. Ah, that doesn't work does it. It would like half the cars left. Doh!