We think back to Peter W. Schutz, without whom Porsche would (probably) look very different today

Bruno von Rotz
10/31/2017

Porsche 911 4x4 1984 (© Porsche AG)

Many still remember the Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche from 1981 to 1987, Peter W. Schutz, instantly recognizable by his glasses and haircut. He died at the age of 87. Without him, Porsche might have undergone a completely different development to the one we know.

Peter W. Schutz (© Porsche AG)

Because when Schutz took up his job, the end of the Porsche 911 model series was already a foregone conclusion. After all, there was the 928, which was already being produced as the successor to the air-cooled rear-engined sports car.

In an interview with Automobil Revue in the summer of 1981 , he could imagine a diesel engine in the Porsche engine compartment as well as a further prosperity of the combustion engine with savings of up to 40%. So he was absolutely right.

His decision not to discontinue the 911 was also absolutely right, as the last 30 years have impressively shown. It was under his aegis that the 911 Cabriolet came onto the market. He accelerated the development of the Porsche 959 and thus the renewal of the 911. He also led Porsche back into the premier class of prototype racing in order to boost sales of his products. And here, too, he succeeded in doing what his predecessor had ultimately failed to do. Porsche's sales quadrupled under his leadership.

However, the sports car fan did not succeed in everything. When sales in the USA fell sharply in the second half of the 1980s, he had to step down in 1987. In 1981, he had said that he could well imagine retiring from Porsche. However, this would not have been the case until around 1996.

When asked whether he could imagine Porsche offering saloons one day, Peter W. Schutz said in 1981: "To this day, there are no plans to offer anything other than a sports car. Of course, I don't know what the world will look like in 20 years' time. Our current facilities and capacities are designed exclusively for the current model range." As early as 1981, he did not rule out the construction of non-sports cars, which, as we know, make up the majority of Porsche production today. He was simply a sales-oriented man.

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From the life of a journeyman mechanic - when the engine no longer wants to deliver its power

Der Mechanikergeselle
10/30/2017

Motor eines BMW 507 von 1959

A car of the higher displacement class came into the workshop; its owner complained that the car had not been running faster than 120 km/h on the highway for some time. Since the vehicle had only 40,000 km on the speedometer and an engine inspection had been carried out a few thousand kilometers earlier, the matter was still somewhat puzzling.

Nevertheless, the usual routine work that is usually carried out in the event of engine faults was started; the carburetor, the spark plugs and the ignition distributor contacts were checked or cleaned and replaced, and the ignition timing was also precisely adjusted. To complete the job, the mechanic replaced the capacitor on the breaker and checked the ignition coil.

After a satisfactory test run in the workshop, it was time to hit the highway. The journey seemed to be successful, as the car accelerated quite well on the way to the highway. But the joy was premature. At exactly 120 km/h, the engine began to stutter and stalled, so it was back to the workshop.

Now the mechanic became thoughtful and intervened to find the fault. In his opinion, it could only be the fuel supply. This time, the fuel pump was also removed, dismantled and overhauled. Before this, the delivery pressure was checked, which was at the lower limit. The subsequent test drive was again inconclusive: 120 km/h and not a kilometer faster.

The customer was then called and asked whether he had had to have something repaired at some point, perhaps on his last trip abroad. When he heard the word "abroad", he remembered that the fuel hose between the tank and pump had been replaced in Spain.

An inspection of this "Spanish" hose revealed that the rubber was not resistant to petrol and acids and that the inner cross-section had slowly shrunk due to swelling. At a speed of over 120 km/h, the flow rate was not sufficient to supply the carburetor with enough fuel, which caused it to stop. After the hose was replaced, the car ran at its old top speed again.

The lesson learned: ask the driver when and where someone last tampered with it. This often provides a clue.

This text comes from issue 22 of the 1959 edition of the magazine "Krafthand" .

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The 7th sense - three minutes of accident prevention at prime time

Urs Arnold
10/29/2017

Der 7. Sinn - Folge mit einem eindrücklichen Fussgänger-Stunt

The word "cult" is easily bandied about these days. However, "Der 7. Sinn" undoubtedly deserves this title. Between 1966 and 2005, a total of 1462 episodes of the legendary road safety program were filmed and broadcast on ARD.

In the mid-sixties, over 16,000 people died on German roads every year. An incredible number compared to the 3200 people who were killed in accidents in 2016. The German road safety organization Deutsche Verkehrswacht was therefore looking for new ways to increase road safety. They turned to WDR, which began filming three-minute educational films on the subject of road safety under the title "Der 7. Sinn" (The 7th Sense) and broadcast them weekly on ARD and the third channels. They were always placed in the evening program in order to reach as many viewers as possible. Even the jagged title melody demanded the unconditional attention of television viewers.

Der 7. Sinn - Signet

Accidents, injuries, deaths: road safety is a serious matter. "Der 7. Sinn" therefore focused on unequivocal prevention. The program often featured explicit accident scenarios: Children in go-karts were run over, passers-by were taken on their horns, cars hurtled down slopes. In the first 30 years, over 1000 cars were wrecked. Most of these were old vehicles that had been repainted.

The show achieved cult status partly due to Egon Hoegen's dry, deadpan commentary voice and partly due to the unintentional comedy of various episodes. The defamatory portrayal of women in road traffic, for example, is a child of its time. This can be seen in this compilation (unfortunately interspersed with inappropriate laughter), in which female drivers are accused of having a seatbelt-wearing problem, among other things:

Another gem from the archive is that of the overtaxed East German who suddenly finds himself confronted with modern vehicle technology after the fall of the Wall:

As mentioned, "The 7th Sense" repeatedly relies on clear descriptions of accidents. In this 1981 episode, however, the sound effects, which were intended to penetrate deep into the viewer's consciousness, seem almost more disconcerting:

Daredevil stunts were also incorporated time and again. The makers thought: clear announcements are more convincing than the admonishing finger. A particularly action-packed episode from 1995:

But there were also some rather unusual traffic situations, such as tanks on the road. It wasn't that easy to find topics for 1462 episodes.

Der 7. Sinn - die Folge mit den Panzern

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When the Fast Targa roof (T-bar top) was invented

Bruno von Rotz
10/28/2017

Datsun 280 ZX (© Balz Schreier)

It was seen on some Japanese cars such as the Datsun 280 ZX (pictured) or the Toyota MR2, but it was particularly widespread in the USA: the T-bar top, an open roof center section pierced by a bar, which could be opened by removing two covers, usually made of transparent material.

The T-bar roof was invented and patented back in the 1940s by Gordon M. Buehrig. The patent was granted in 1951. However, it was not until 1968 that a high-volume supplier installed this roof construction on a large scale, and that was General Motors with the 1968 Chevrolet Corvette C3. The roof construction became so popular with the Corvette that it replaced the convertible and of course encouraged many imitators to install something similar, and not just at Chevrolet.

The advantage of the T-bar top (also known as the T-top) was the smaller and therefore lighter parts that could be dismantled/assembled and which also easily found space in the storage compartment. In addition, the stability of the car suffered less from the opening, as there was a structure-preserving middle section. As a disadvantage, the two-part roof naturally provides less openness than a complete targa roof and thus diminishes the cabriolet impression. However, the draught and ventilation effect of a T-bar top is very similar to that of a Targa roof.

Triumph offered an interesting combination of Targa and T-bar top with the Stag. The roof covered the entire width, with the T-bar positioned underneath, so to speak. This combined the disadvantages of both designs, so to speak.

T-bar tops were used until the new millennium, but have since largely disappeared.

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When the spare wheel was still on show

Bruno von Rotz
10/27/2017

Rover P6 3500 von 1971

In the early days of the automobile, there were no spare wheels. Back then, a broken spoke was more likely than a flat tire anyway, as there was no air in the tire - it was solid rubber. As the demand for comfort increased, inflated tires came into fashion and with them a new cause of punctures. At first, however, this was usually solved by patching the inner tube (like on a bicycle).

However, because these punctures became more frequent as speeds increased, the concept of the spare tire was invented. This, which could be two, was usually mounted on the side of the car or optionally at the rear, as not every car had a trunk at that time - we are talking about the 1920s and 1930s.

Fiat 522 von 1932

In the post-war period, the spare wheels increasingly disappeared into the trunk or even the engine compartment, as showing the spare wheel was no longer considered chic. It also got dirty if it wasn't stowed away safely.

Ford Thunderbird von 1957 (© Daniel Reinhard)

However, the usually bulky spare wheels took up a lot of space in the trunk, which is why the "Continental Touring Kit" was invented. As with the Ford Thunderbird , the spare wheel was simply mounted at the rear. However, this fashion disappeared at the latest when people began to realize how important aerodynamics were for fuel consumption and driving performance. In the sixties, there were hardly any externally mounted spare wheels.

But one manufacturer (optionally) still screwed a spare wheel onto the trunk in the early seventies: Rover. Unfortunately, the Rover P6 (pictured above) had very little storage space, which was due to its design (DeDion rear axle, tank behind the rear seat for safety reasons). So Rover offered the "Continental Touring Kit" and the spare wheel was screwed onto the stiffened trunk lid. To prevent it from getting dirty, the spare wheel was wrapped in a tasteful cover, which of course bore the Rover logo. If the wheel had to be carried in the trunk, a Rover badge was screwed onto the attachment. The disadvantages of the bolt-on wheel were limited visibility to the rear and, of course, significantly poorer aerodynamics. On the other hand, the rear-mounted spare wheel is a distinctive feature of the car today.

Suzuki LJ80 von 1980

However, Rover was not the last car brand to mount spare wheels on the outside. This was and still is common practice for off-road vehicles right up to modern times. With these rustic cars, aerodynamic arguments (as with the Suzuki LJ 80) are hardly an issue.

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The thing with the Persian carpets

Bruno von Rotz
10/26/2017

Perserteppiche im Auto

When I bought my first car, an Alfasud, I protected the original carpets by laying waste carpet remnants in the right size over them. They weren't (real) Persian carpets, but they looked similar. That was over 35 years ago. Small carpets were also placed in the footwells of later cars to protect the original carpeting. That's what they used to do. And it actually looked quite classy.

Today, these "Persian carpets" evoke nostalgic feelings, because modern cars are of course usually supplied with two layers of carpets and, depending on the model, a third layer is added as an original accessory or rubber floor mats are used. If you want to protect your carpets at all ...

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Identity theft with classic cars

Bruno von Rotz
10/25/2017

Porsche 911 Carrera RS Lightweight

The topic of "identity theft" is hotly debated on the Internet and in films these days. A person assumes the identity of another person in order to conduct business or enrich themselves in their name.

What works for people using stolen credit cards and misused identity documents can also be found around old cars. Identity theft also occurs with classic cars.

It works like this: an old car is given a new/false identity using the identity documents of another car. The corresponding chassis numbers that match the new papers are stamped in and then all the necessary hurdles (H/veteran registration, expert opinion, FIVA certificate, etc.) are taken.

Why would you do this? Let's assume someone has put a lot of effort into turning a Porsche 911 T (market value around EUR 80,000) into a 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight clone. He gets hold of the papers of an RS that was scrapped decades ago and adopts its identity for his clone. The EUR 100,000 car became a EUR 600,000 car.

In fact, a brisk trade in identity papers is flourishing. However, luxury classic cars are just the tip of the iceberg; the majority of documents traded on eBay, for example, are for normal everyday cars. But here too, "new" papers can make life easier for an old car or its owner, for example when registration is made easier, when an import becomes a locally delivered car, when it is a stolen vehicle or when the original papers are simply missing.
Of course, this is all abusive and illegal. But identity swapping is also an outrage against history and an attack on the automobile as a cultural asset, as motor journalist and author Helmut Horn recently explained in a lecture at the Hamburg Motor Classics. After all, a vehicle that may not have a history worth mentioning of its own is also attributed with false previous owners and perhaps even a racing history.

Criminal motives are not always the cause of such identity theft. Some vehicle owners believe they are in a self-defense situation. They have bought a supposed original for expensive money, later realize that it is a recreation and solve the problem by giving the replica the identity of an original. Of course, there is still no old piece of sheet metal on the car, but the papers identify it as a cultural asset. And only in this way is it perhaps eligible for registration and can actually be driven. But the end does not justify the means!

Incidentally, Helmut Horn has proposed a number of countermeasures, for example that offering vehicle identities should be punished as incitement to commit a crime, that manipulated vehicles should be withdrawn from circulation, that databases should be kept on vehicles that can be proven to no longer exist, that backdating should be prevented and that more care should be taken when checking vehicle identities. However, as we all know, none of this is that easy and the link between a car and its history and proof of identity is usually only established via a few small stamped-in marks or a sticker in the engine compartment.

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From the life of a journeyman mechanic - high oil consumption

Der Mechanikergeselle
10/24/2017

Ein Roller von damals

Once again, excessive oil consumption was under discussion. This time it concerned a scooter with a four-stroke engine. As it was a new vehicle known to the workshop, which was still undergoing regular service work, the oil loss was considered proven. The amount of oil had already had to be topped up several times after inspection. A thorough cleaning of the engine and an inspection for oil loss to the outside after a short drive were unsuccessful. So it was time to remove the cylinder and look for the fault inside the engine.

However, we were astonished (and disappointed) to find the cylinder bore, piston and piston rings in perfect condition. No seizure, perfect piston contact pattern, no seized piston ring - everything was in perfect order. The engine was reassembled using new gaskets and - as was feared - returned to the workshop a short time later with the same complaint.

This time, a different journeyman was assigned to the job, and after some fruitless efforts, he too was finally able to examine the piston. However, he did not limit himself to looking at these parts, but began to lift the rings out of their grooves. When the oil ring was pulled off, there was a slight "crack", and in front of him lay the ring, broken in two, and thus the solution to the mystery.

The crack proved that the ring had been broken for some time. The lower half of the slit ring had still held it together, but only with a little tension. On closer inspection, the part of the ring that was no longer attached due to the reduced clamping force was also clearly visible. Oil was constantly leaking into the combustion chamber at these points. After fitting a new oil ring, the mysterious oil consumption in this engine was once again solved.

This text comes from issue 19 of the 1957 edition of the magazine" Krafthand".

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Hardly any classic/young car drivers use automatic car washes (question of the week)

Bruno von Rotz
10/23/2017

Poll/FdW 94 - Oldtimer in automatischer Waschanlage reinigen?

Cleaning and polishing classic cars is just as much a part of the classic car hobby as driving them. Car washes already existed in the sixties and it can be assumed that car manufacturers took their existence into account in their designs. So why not still clean your old car in an (automatic) car wash today? We asked our readersand their verdict is more than clear:

Three quarters (74%) basically never take their old car to the automatic car wash.

Only 17% use an automatic car wash from time to time to clean their classic/young car when the occasion arises

Just 5% clean their old car regularly in the automatic car wash and 2% did not find the right answer for them.

364 readers took part in this Question of the Week, the result is also shown here in graphic form:

Poll/Frage der Woche 94 - Ergebnis - Oldtimer/Youngtimer in der automatischen Waschanlage reinigen?

The next question of the week already asks for the opinion of Zwischengas readers. This time it's about whether you would buy your first car again today as a classic/young car years later .

And of course you can still read all the previous results of the "Questions of the Week" in the corresponding topic channel.

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Cars that became motorcycles

Bruno von Rotz
10/22/2017

Münch 4 TTS "Mammut" von 1974 an der Hamburg Motor Classics 2017

Well, the statement in the title is not quite right, because the car did not become a motorcycle, but there were a whole series of two-wheelers whose technology was adopted in part from the automobile.

Motor der Münch 4 TTS "Mammut" von 1974 an der Hamburg Motor Classics 2017

We remember, for example, the Münch 4 TT "Mammut" of the late sixties, which had the four-cylinder engine of the NSU Prinz/TT/TTS in its frame and thus became perhaps the first German superbike. 88 hp was enough for a top speed of 200 km/h, but also cost DM 17,500, for which you also got two VW Beetles.

Werbung für die MF 650 aus Frankreich

In France in the 1980s, there was the MF 650R, whose two-cylinder engine came from the Citroën Visa. MF stood for Motor Francaise. The list could certainly be extended considerably.

But the reverse was also true: BMW, for example, used motorcycle engines several times to power its own small cars.

And another addendum: Of course, much larger car engines have been installed in motorcycles, and knowledgeable tuners have even sunk an American V8 engine into the frame of a motorcycle. And still do today ...

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