Reply With QuoteFantastic! Looking forward to seeing her underway!
Technically not in the workshop for repair. Let me explain:
More than 50% of the workshops time is spent on repairing / restoring classic Jaguars. That's also the reason why the Dutch JDOC members come over for their annual tech meeting. The meeting is tomorrow. It's always nice to have something that people like, e.g. a workshop spot repair, a presentation about spark plugs and ignition etc. This summer one of the JDOC members came over with his XJC. When drinking coffee he told us the he has a bunch of classics next to his classic Jag. Mostly microcars like Messerschmitt, Isetta, Peel and... not so micro... an Amphicar! So, in the middle of the summer, we agreed that he would come over with his Amphicar. Which he did!
We talked to a local farmer who has a large pond on his land and he was (is) more than willing to provide access to the pond, a big Fendt tractor as standby and drive plates (sort of ramps) between the main road and the edge of the pond!
Yesterday, the Jag/Amphicar owner came over with the Amphicar on a trailer behind his daily driver (Tesla X), unloaded the Amphicar and took the car for a 'swim' in the pond. I wasn't there myself, but according to stories today it was a big success!
For now a bunch of pics and I hope to take a few more tomorrow when the Amphicar is swimming again!
Menno
Last edited by thieuster; 9th November 2019 at 14:35.
Fantastic! Looking forward to seeing her underway!
F.T.F.A.
Ahoy Skipper!
I recall seeing one of those years ago.
I seem to remember somebody crossed the Channel in one!
Cheers,
Neil.
Last one I saw was parked on a street alongside the open market in Pula around 2008.Originally Posted by Neil.C
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Really looking forward to seeing more photos of this in action
Great to see cleats fitted to car bodywork!
Appears to be in surprisingly good condition . Very scarce nowadays. Look forward to seeing more photos. We'll all need one soon with the current weather and flood warnings
dunk
"Well they would say that ... wouldn't they!"
Thats looks as if it handles like boat.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Our next door neighbour has one, takes it for a swim on the Medway most weekends...
It’s incredible to think that this was considered to be a good idea, but the surviving examples certainly have curiosity value. Would've been a useful form of transport in the recent floods!
Live from the Tech Meeting.
About 60 JDOC members present. Great talk about SU’s and now the... Amphicar.
I can honestly say that this is one of my greatest classic car experiences ever!
image upload site
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
Great pics Menno.
That water looks surprisingly high up the windows.
Cheers,
Neil.
That looks cool!
Dave E
Skating away on the thin ice of a new day
Why would you need a fire extinguisher under the dash? You could just open the door! 😋
They are not seen about often thanks for sharing.
4 tall men in the car...
great pics Menno thanks.what car were they based on,looks a bit triumph heraldish to me ..
James May had the same idea... he didn’t manage to sail out of Dover harbour, fortunately
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Technically a wonderful mix of Volkswagen Beetle and indeed Triumph (engine).
The ancestry are the Schwimmwagen and Kubelwagen.
The desígn is popular styling of the era really.
Cheers,
Neil.
The gearbox that drives the wheels and the propellors is made by the factory who makes (used to make?) Porsche gearboxes as well. There's an ordinary 4 speed gearbox. Not the Porsche 'dogleg-box'. And there's a second ín-out shift stick for the wet conditions. In the water, it moves forward freely with a modest speed a little over tick-over. There's no need to go full throttle. The speed will not exceed 7 mph. Even less when the water is choppy.
When leaving the water, it's essential to get the timing right: put the 'swimming gear shift' in neutral and engage the normal gearbox just before the wheels touch ground so that you can pull out of the water easily.
Only 3800 cars were built. Sold mostly to the US. All LHD. Lyndon B Johnson had one. The cars were manufactured in Lübeck and West Berlin.
Menno
When I was 3 or 4 years old we had a Dutch au-pair. It turned out her family were quite wealthy and invited us to Holland for a holiday and one of the few things I remember of the holiday was an outing on water in one of these. One reason it stands out was because it looked to me just like my grandparents' car which was indeed a Triumph Herald.
A 60s British car on the road is OK, but in the middle of the sea or a lake?...........not for me
Dutch men and women my age (±60 y/o) grew up with a Flemish TV show for the youth called 'Kapitein Zeppos' (Captain Zeppos). A man who's trying to solve a mistery with the aid of a handful youngsters. In total 3 seasons and 15 episodes (I had to look that up!) between 1964 and 1968. In the second season, the Amphicar was introduced.
That TV show made a lifelong impression on me; When I hear this tune, I always remember: "Zeppos' theme!" I even played this song on my phone last Sunday when we took the car to the pond!
Saw the few they have in service at disney springs in florida - all original and running all day - you get a discount on a trip if you eat at the boathouse restaurant
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