Screwdrivers On Tour, Homecoming!

1951 Tatraplan - STROMLINIE!

Since we left Germany with an empty trailer, we had to check up on an old lead in southern Sweden...

We have a special interest for the "non-revolutionary"-part of the design history of the Volkswagen Beetle. Mr Porsche was a genious - and wise enough to utilize a lot of the contemporary ideas of automotive design, when he had to design "the peoples car" in no time, and for very little money. A court-settlement defined later how he had copied a lot of inventions, ideas and concepts from his friend Hans Ledwinka - chief designer at Tatra in Tschecoslovakia. The big pre-war T87 and T97 V-8 models were the pioneers, yet a much larger and more luxurious car than the VW was to be. Therefore, the post-war "Tatraplan 600" is really the Tatra that has the most in common with the Beetle - rear mounted aircooled boxer 4, tunnell/floorpan-chassis, the unreal "stromlinie"-design and ..... 5x205 bolt pattern.

We struck a deal on this fantastic patina-Tatra and loaded it on our empty trailer and headed north in minus 10 and snowing. In the same family since 1958 and it came with loads of spare parts as well. The front fenders are rusty - the rest is not. It was driven into its storage-place about 15 years ago and it really should not take a whole lot to get running again.

So - we crossed the border into Norway with a big smile on our faces - thanks #7 for a great trip! And thanks a whole whole lot to everybody we met during this great trip.... The Grundmanns, Björn Schewe, Tomasz & driver, Kreutzi, Dieter, Jürgen and Patrick - we will be back.

Screwdrivers On Tour, Part 7

Headin' north:

Late Monday night: Our towtruck is l-o-a-d-e-d with various parts and "stuff".....it is minus 1 degree and snowing heavily. Every German we see uses summer tyres and traffic avergaes about 7 kmh on the Autobahn. Our GPS is set for an old barn in northern Germany where a Split Karmann is resting waiting for a new owner...yet our ferry over to Sweden is soon to leave..

Our GPS was set for "allow backroads" and in an abandoned forrest we found an amazing abandoned castle. In the end, we manage to spend about 3 minutes with the Karmann and its owner. Enough to decide to leave with an empty trailer. After dark we were the absolute last car to make it onto the DFDS ferry to Gothenburg - phuii...

Screwdrivers On Tour, Part 6

Dieter Schmidt Lorenz - worth a visit!

If you have not been shopping from http://www.vw-teile.de/ yet - it is about time. Dieter is a true enthusiast himself and has found a unique and "priceless" niche in the hobby - he only deals with genuine, real-deal NOS Volkswagen parts.... and he has been doing it for 20 years with great success. His shelves and warehouse is full of the genuine blue boxes that you were told are rare, but here in the Hamburg shop is a commodity. An amazing selection that is always changing, depending on what he finds. We tested him on a few...."White knobs for Pre-A Porsche vent windows?" .... how many do you want? How about a horn button for a Barndoor? ...-I am sorry but the bow is a little worn, but here it is..... Right off the shelf!! Amazing. Be sure to check in on your next restoration.

What we really liked was the storefront and the amazing showroom... All old and unique sales-equipment, shelves and stuff... very very period correct and very nice. Thanks for the talk Dieter!

Screwdrivers On Tour, Part 5

Hamburg:

Our good friend Kreutzi from the legendary DFL-club offered a couple of beds and an "advents-stake" to two worn out Screwdrivers - thanks a lot! Kreutzi collects Matchbox-cars amongst other things and he was our perfect guide in Hamburg for a whole day.

Hamburg has a lot to offer for early VW-enthusiasts - but unfortunately the fantastic PROTOTYP museum was closed on the Monday we were there.. But - Himmelservice with its new boss was open for business and our first stop for the day. We picked up a new inner headliner for our '53 Karmann - very good to see the tradition being kept up by a new generation - if you're looking for an interior for your vintage VW, there is no better place.

Screwdrivers On Tour, Part 4

Rometsch #225:

The Rometsch Room in the Grundmann Collection is one of our favorite places on earth and this is where virtually every artifact from "the real" Rometsch in Berlin now resides. Drawings, pictures, tools, parts, build-logs, two "Rose of Geneva" and...cars. An amazing collection and a great place to leave our banana #225.

The steel and wood have been welded and re-made by our good friend The Norwegian Blacksmith (try google) over the last few years and now it is time for Traugott and his team to straighten and correct and then re-skin with old and new aluminium. We are really looking forward to next time we bring our trailer to Hessisch....!

Screwdrivers On Tour, Part 3

VW 38/06:

While in "mecca", we had to approach "the alter" and see in flesh the single car that has meant the most for the VW-hobby the last few years. VW38/06 is the sixth Beetle of the first Porsche prototype series that had the final shape of the Beetle. Very little separates this design from what was produced up until November-1952, but it is all in the details.... And the details and handcraft that has gone into this unbelievable restoration is nothing short of a miracle. When we stopped by, most parts had been found and/or fabricted and the chrome was just being sent off to Poland before the body left for the painter a few days later.

An amazing job by Traugott (the thinker) and Mathias (the metal-man) and Christian (parts-hunting) that has gone into this car. A single reason enough to plan your trip to Camberg, if you have not already...

Screwdrivers On Tour, Part 2

After a nice boat-ride and after the German customs office stole 3 hours (!!) of our precious time, we finally arrived at our destination; Hessisch Oldendorf. The unwrapping of our "Norway Christmas present" could start.... Rometsch #225 needs some skilfull massaging of its aluminium skin and we are lucky enough that the expert team of Traugott-Christian-Mathias has offered to help - thank you oh-so much for this opportunity!