Ashley 288 Posted January 5, 2010 Report Share Posted January 5, 2010 Re Imp engines, once saw and nearly bought a Norton motorbike fitted with an imp engine! It sat transverse in the frame with chain drive to original motorbike gearbox took off from some "invention" in place of the imp starter, you kicked the thing up! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Limey 242 Posted January 5, 2010 Report Share Posted January 5, 2010 It was a fairly popular engine in racing sidecar outfits. Very easily tunable and would rev very freely. It was a remarkable engine for its time - the biggest problems were caused because coolant chemistry was not in-step with the engine metallurgy and many issues arose from corrosion inside the engine due to the coolant. I think this contributed to the overheating and warped head issues that plagued the early versions! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catfan 14,793 Posted January 6, 2010 Report Share Posted January 6, 2010 <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>1958 Messerschmitt </span> Of course, My art teacher at Trent Bridge School J.B.Simons, had one. Never a Crap car of any decade, Very collectable now, try Ebay? At hucknall last year. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catfan 14,793 Posted January 6, 2010 Report Share Posted January 6, 2010 How about this one: No, I did not own one! I owned one of these, 1970 ish, same colour too. Vauxhall HA Viva ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catfan 14,793 Posted January 6, 2010 Report Share Posted January 6, 2010 One of my all time favourites. Best car I ever owned, never any trouble in 5 years, still gets 50+ mpg on a run. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley 288 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Remember The Daf with it's variomatic gearbox (think such copied off an early belt drive Raliegh moped) they used to advertise it on tv with Johnny Briggs (Coronation Street,s Mike Baldwin) sounding like a parrot "forward for forward, back for back" as a doorman looking about ready to orgasm because he got chance to park one! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Limey 242 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Remember The Daf with it's variomatic gearbox (think such copied off an early belt drive Raliegh moped)... Actually it was very advanced - it used two belt drives - one for each rear wheel, which also meant that it had the same effect as a limited-slip differential. It was used with great success in some rallycross cars! (Powered by Lotus Twincam engines!) It is correctly called a "Continuously Variable Transmission" or CVT, and is now making a big comeback in place of a conventional automatic transmission. It now uses steel belts to handle the higher power of modern engines, and is only a single belt, so no limited-slip, but they are very effective. The most common application is the Toyota Prius (and other hybrids), but it is available over here on a number of vehicles! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 I seem to recall Volvo trucks having a heavy duty form of that transmission at one time with great success. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Limey 242 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 I believe they did! It was probably a direct development as Volvo bought DAF cars! Although DAF trucks were kept separate (they are now owned by PACCAR, the same group that own Kenworth and Peterbilt). My guess is that a version of the truck transmission is still used in Volvo buses! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley 288 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Yes, my mother had one new, heres another one any guesses? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlebro 234 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 NSU Prinz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley 288 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 spot on, I thought at first it was a photo of the Daf but that was later, probably 1974 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlebro 234 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 The NSU factory is in Neckarsulm, Germany. Look what they make now! There is also a car in production that takes its name from the NSU, any guess's what it is? Certainly not a "crap car" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Limey 242 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 It must be one of these: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlebro 234 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 No, the old NSU and the current model has 4 wheels Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catfan 14,793 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Yes, my mother had one new, heres another one any guesses? I passed my test in one of those, same colour too ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Limey 242 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 No, the old NSU and the current model has 4 wheels Then it must be the "TT"? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlebro 234 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Right on Eric Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlebro 234 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 My memories of the Prinz was the gear lever that was as precise as a broomstick in a bucket of wallpaper paste and the dyno-start. In other respects they were akin to the Imp Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley 288 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 That brings back memories, the NSU Slowly. re the TT I had a bonnet thus on a Bond 3 wheeler, finished up flying over the roof! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tich 0 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Quakers tells me he had one of those NSU thingies in 1972/73 bought it new like all the motors he buys, from a showroom in Bulwell, the name of the showroom escapes him at the moment. He says he will sort a picture of it out when he’s got time, busy at the present polishing his new silver Porsche 911 his Picasso has gone. ttfn x Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 I started my working life as an apprentice motor mechanic at Automart (Later to become Ledleys) on Mansfield road, and one of the first main tasks you were given (Apart from sweeping and making tea!!) was changing drive belts on Dafs. We used to have races to see who could do them quickest, me and Mo Chowdry the other apprentice, on one occasion up went the ramps in unison off came the cover plates and then a scream came from the other side of the room , Mo appeared from under the ramp covered in maggots !!! It turned out that the female owner of the car had lost her cat a few weeks previous , it had crawled in there to get warm and she must have driven off without noticing!!! There were several models of Dafs (33, 32, 44, and the DAFfodil spring to mind) and of these only the 44 survived the Volvo buy out for a while. The 32 only had one drive belt, and there was one model that actually had a prop shaft, the usual 'gag' on the poor newbie, was to be sent to change the drive belts on one of these, to then be greated with the call off (Where do they keep them on these ?? one lad (Danny) was actually caught looking under the bonnet for a clue as to there location!! The Mess of scmidts 'bubble cars' used the old cockpit of the famous fighters and they built a car round it!! so I was lead to believe. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tich 0 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Quackers had a look and found this little jem below, he tells me the boxer dog in picture was his first ever boxer. The dog would be quite young in the picture and so was Quackers. The picture was taken at a bungalow at Mablethorpe which they hired for the week, the weather was beautiful for all the time they were there, needless to say the nearest pub was only five minutes walk away...nothing changes there then. You can just make out the front of the Red NSU 1000c, air cooled engine made by VW. He loved that little motor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlebro 234 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Beefsteak, Here's an image from foyer of DAF factory I took in 1972. In the centre is a chromed transmission unit. I recall the DAF factory in Eindhoven was more impressive than the then Mercedes factory in Stuttgart. Sorry for poor quality, it is rescued from a faded slide. I remember Automart, bought many parts from them. Was the storeman a very small guy? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paulus 541 Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 !! How about the Moskvich, a fine example of Russian engineering, Tractor engine and an 'umbrella handle' handbrake that came out just below the steering column!! In a smash it would be certain to castrate the driver............another cunning plan from behind the Iron Curtain?? !bravo! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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