BZ's BMW Isetta 300's

Isetta Body - Part 2

2012-02-01T21:44:00.000-08:00

Creative Classics in Independence, MO is doing the body and paint work on my Isetta. Creative Classics has been in business for over 30 years. The owner and my father go waaaaay back, so it's gives me peace of mind knowing my baby is in good hands.

Jerrod O'Conner is doing the bodywork on my Isetta. Jerrod has been working at Creative Classics for 13 years and has 100's of restorations under his belt. As I mentioned in a previous post, I wanted the car taken back down to the bare metal and any rust cut out and repaired with new metal.

The Isettas door stripped down to the bare metal.

Interior down to the bare metal.

After sections of the car are stripped down to the bare metal, a black epoxy sealer is used to protect the metal during the restoration.

Some of the Isettas misc. body parts that have been stripped and shot with the epoxy sealer.

These were a couple of areas of rust that Jerrod cut out and welded in new metal. The left rear quarter panel of my Isetta was really rough. In addition to the section of rust that was cut out, it was pretty banged and also had some splits in the metal.

New metal has been welded in, the splits in the rear quarter panel have been welded, and work on smoothing out the panel is in progress.

Moved to the rotisserie for further work.

A final skim coat of filler and then it will be sanded smooth before getting a coat of grey primer. In the photos below, the body work for the most part is complete and the car has been given a coat of grey primer.

Next stop, the paint booth!

Isetta - Previous Life

2012-01-20T19:03:00.000-08:00

I recently visited the original owner of my two Isettas. I asked her if she might have any vintage photos of when her and her husband drove the Isettas that I could use for my blog. She graciously agreed to let me search her vast collection of slides and photos. Jan and her husband were world travelers and prolific picture takers, so it was quite a task searching through thousands of slides looking for Isetta pictures. I still have more searching to do but already we have found a lot of great pictures of the Isettas which I'll be posting gradually. Since it's winter in Missouri, I'd thought I'd start with some winter time Isetta pictures. Upon seeing these slides again, Jan related to me how challenging it was to drive an Isetta in the snow because the rear tires did not follow the same tire tracks as normal cars.

Roller Mobil Kleinwagen - April. 1958

2012-01-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

Isetta Body - Part 1

2012-01-03T20:02:00.000-08:00

I'm finally ready to have the body and paint work done on my white Isetta. When I started my restoration, I decided to restore the white one first because it seemed in worse condition than the red Isetta (at least in terms of the body).

The right side of the car is in pretty good condition. It has some cracking of the metal around the engine door which is a pretty common thing. There is also some light rust under the front wheel well.

The underside looks pretty good from this angle. Whats not real visible in this angle is a black hard undercoating that is smeared on the back underside of the car. I'm not quite sure what it is, but it's very hard and looks like it was spread on with fingers. I'm having my body shop remove this as well as the sound deadening material on the inside of the car. The body shop will be taking this car back to bare metal.

The left side of the car is a lot rougher. The original owner of the car told me her husband rolled the car on this side. There is damage to the roof and numerous dings and dents on this side of the car.

In addition to the ding and dents, there is a split in the metal in the rear quarter panel. This is also a fairly common. Because the Isetta rear bumper is not attached to the frame of the car, any rear bump would flex the quarter panel and cause the to crack or split.

Nice solid floor pan! While there may be various dings and dents, one thing I'm grateful for is there is very little rust on either one of my Isettas.

The left and right inside wheel well. You can also see some of the black tar paper type sound deadening material that the body shop will be removing.

Off to the body shop!!!

I'm not spilling the beans yet as to the color scheme I'm going with other than to say it is a very classic period correct color scheme that I have not seen on any other Isetta in the United States.

Owners Manual Update

2011-12-28T17:58:00.000-08:00

I've updated the Owners Manual with an annex for the U.S. model Isettas. It includes a wiring diagram for the U.S. Isettas.

New Muffler

2011-12-14T18:14:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post I was complaining about the fit and quality of a muffler and heat exchanger I purchased from Group Harrington. I recently decided to replace the Harrington muffler with a quality German made muffler. The new German made muffler is an exact match to the Isettas original muffler and it was a perfect fit with no modification.

Roller Mobil Kleinwagen - Sept. 1958

2011-10-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

BMW Isetta - Press Photos

2011-09-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

Hella Turn Signal Lenses

2011-08-25T21:37:00.000-07:00

Something that my Isettas and Goggomobil have in common is that the both use the same Hella front turn signal lenses.

The lenses on my red Isetta are in pretty good condition, but the lenses on my white Isetta are discolored, crazed, and cracked.

The lenses on my Goggomobil are cracked and broken around the holes for the mounting screws.

Back when I first bought my Isettas, I purchased a set of after market lenses on ebay. As you can see in the photo, the aftermarket lenses are not quite the same quality as an original Hella lens. The screw holes are much larger and missing the metal grommet that is used in a Hella lens. You can also see bubble inclusions in the plastic.

The backside of an aftermarket lense. While the quality is not the same as a Hella lens, you rarely see NOS Hella lenses, or if you do, they're pretty pricey. I was planning on using these aftermarket lenses on my white Isetta, but recently there was a seller on ebay selling NOS Hella lenses.

I managed to pick up a few sets of the NOS Hella lenses for about the same price as I paid for the aftermarket lenses. I think the difference in quality is pretty evident in these photos.

Hella lens on the left, the aftermarket lens on the right.

Since I needed another set of lenses for my Goggomobil, I'm really happy to have found these NOS Hella lenses for a reasonable price.

Isetta Animated Advertisement - 1950's

2011-08-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

Goggomobile Cutaway Display Car

2011-07-31T12:19:00.000-07:00

This Goggomobil cutaway display was made by trade school students in Germany and presented to BMW's Werk's 2.1 museum in Dingolfing. Click on the photo to go to an interesting webpage with more photos of this car.

Isetta - Speedometer Update

2011-07-11T19:38:00.000-07:00

I just got my speedometer back from Palo Alto Speedometer and it looks great! It got a complete cosmetic and mechanical restoration. To see the before and after photos click here.

Isetta - Carburetor Bing #1/22/98

2011-07-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

A couple of new photos of the carburetor with the cables and rubber boots installed. Click here for more carburetor info and photos.

1959 Goggomobil T400 Limo

2011-06-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

I had a very exciting and exhausting weekend. I purchased a 1959 Goggomobil T400 with 7000 original miles. The car was located about 900 miles away. I drove 14 hours on Saturday, picked the car up on Sunday morning, and drove 14 hours straight back to KC. The trip was full of drama, trailer problems, bad weather, road construction delays, but I made it back and the Goggo is safely tucked in its new home. The car is very low milage. The body is excellent, virtually no rust anywhere on this car. The engine is partially disassembled and will need rebuilt, and the interior is rough but complete. I have my parts catalog ordered from Uwe Staufenberg, and can't wait to start the restoration of this gorgeous little Goggomobil.

Dymaxion Car - Buckminster Fuller

2011-06-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

Once again I'm getting a little off the topic of Isettas or even microcars, but recently I picked up a book that is so awesome, I feel compelled to do a post about it. I've admired Buckminster Fuller for a long time. Several years ago while in Japan, I was fortunate enough to see the Buckminster Fuller exhibition "Your Private Sky - R. Buckminster Fuller - Art Design Science" The sole surviving incomplete Dymaxion car was not in this show, but there was a nice model of the Dymaxion as well as many historical documents, photographs, and films. Recently a new book has come out titled "Dymaxion Car Buckminster Fuller". It is published by Architecture Ivory Press. There were originally three Dymaxion cars built. The first one was completed in 1933. Of the three cars built, there is only one incomplete survivor owned by the National Auto Museum in Reno, NV. In 2008 the British architect Norman Foster decided to recreate the Dymaxion. Foster enlisted vintage race car specialist Crosthwaite & Gardiner to build the car. Working with the Dymaxion Chronofile at Stanford University and the National Auto Museum in Reno, Crosthwaite & Gardiner set out to recreate as accurate as possible recreation of the Dymaxion #3. The Dymaxion Car book is kind of divided in half. The first half of the book is dedicated to the original three Dymaxions. Lots of great historical documents, drawings and photographs. The second half of the book is dedicated to documenting the recreation of a forth Dymaxion car commissioned by Norman Foster and built by Crosthwaite & Gardiner. If you're a fan of Buckminster Fuller or have an affinity for automotive history, design, engineering or fabrication, this is a must have book.

Rear view of car #1 with framing in progress, July 9,1933.

The framed up "hull" of car #1, 1933

Completed Dymaxion car #1, 1933

Interior of Dymaxion car #1

Dymaxion car #3 photographed at the Chicago World Fair in the summer of 1934.

Patent application drawing. Patent #2,101,057 was granted on December 7, 1937.

Detail of the steering gear housing for car #3, dated December 13, 1933.

Drawing of the never built triple engine Dymaxion D-45, 1942

Crosthwaite & Gardiner building the frame for Dymaxion #4.

The chassis, engine and running gear in the process of being dry assembled.

Steven Aspden of Peter Freebody & Co at work on the ash frame.

Fitting the aluminum body panels to the frame.

The final body panels were made by Roach Manufacturing - a company with expertise in forming complex aluminum body panels.

The completed rolling chassis waiting for the delivery of the body.

The bodywork being fitted to the chassis.

Click on the photo to view a video of Norman Foster driving the Dymaxion he commissioned Crosthwaite & Gardener to build.

Here are a few more links about Dymaxion #4 that you might want to check out:

http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20110315/one-for-the-road

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20110318/qa-norman-foster-and-the-dymaxion-car

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/arts/20iht-design20.html

My personal opinion is that this is a really great thing for Bucky's legacy that Norman Foster has done. Once again people will be able to experience first hand the imagination and ingenuity of Buckminster Fuller. There is no doubt that Buckminster Fuller will continue to inspire future generations of forward thinking visionaries working towards more sustainable and harmonious ways of harnessing the resources of planet earth. Definitely a man way ahead of his time. One last thought, how about a Revell 1/18 scale die-cast of the Dymaxion. I would think that virtually every museum shop and design store would want to carry it, and a portion of the sales could benefit the Buckminster Fuller Institute. A Dymaxion die-cast sure would look cool sitting next to my Revell Isetta w/ Camper.

ROLLERei und MOBIL - Sept. 1955

2011-06-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

Isetta - Center Brake Light

2011-06-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

As far as I know, most of the sliding window export models that found their way to the United States did not have center brake lights. Most of the Isettas exported to the US had a black opaque plastic insert manufactured by Hella that provided illumination only for the license plate.

As you can see, my tag light lens is in pieces. One side of the lens was already broken when I removed the housing. After I had carefully ground the head off the rivet on the other side, I was pushing it out and broke the other side. WARNING - these lenses are VERY brittle and easily break.

The plastic of the US tag light insert looks to have been crudely notched by hand to accept a different type of bulb and socket than what was originally intended. I guess either Hella or BMW did not want to spend the money making a new mold for the US export models.

I wanted to have a center brake light on my Isetta so I picked up a new reproduction brake/tag light from Isettas "R" Us. Now I need to call Werner and see if he has a replacement for the tag lens I broke.

Rheingold Beer

2011-06-08T20:05:00.000-07:00

Isetta - Cushion Between Frame & Body

2011-06-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

The Isettas original padding between the frame and body was kind of a fibrous webbing type material. I'm not sure what it was made from, but it was pretty crumbly when I was scraping it off the frame. For it's replacement I picked up a roll of 1.25" wide x 3/16" thick camper top weather strip from Metro Molded Parts (look under universal parts). A 25' roll sells for about 17.00. Metro Molded Parts also sells exterior rubber kits for the Isetta as well as the bumper to body seal, engine cover bumpers, and the stop bumpers for the front steering knuckles. Even though Metro is the manufacturer of these items, often Isetta parts suppliers sell them for less than you can purchase them for from Metro.

Isetta - Speedometer

2011-05-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

For me, the Isetta's VDO speedometer is another iconic design feature of the Isetta. Anybody who knows Isetta's instantly recognizes the graphics of this beautiful little speedometer. I'm getting ready to ship mine off to Palo Alto Speedometer to be refurbished. I'll update this post with some pictures of the refurbished speedometer when I get it back.

7/11/2011 - I just received my speedometer back from Palo Alto Speedometer. It received a full cosmetic and mechanical restoration. As you can see from the photos, they did a beautiful job. I can't wait until my car is painted and this baby is back in the dash.

The original number dials which were replaced during the restoration of my speedometer.

Saab 96

2011-05-24T23:05:00.000-07:00

On my way to the hardware store yesterday and saw this Saab 96 sitting in a parking lot. Ok, it's not a microcar, but I still like them. I get the impression that old Saabs aren't that popular with collectors in the US which is fine by me. I've seen some pretty nice ones sell on ebay for very reasonable prices. While I was snapping these pictures, a rather grumpy man informed me this one was NOT for sale.

Microcars Swarm the Big Apple

2011-05-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

An ultra rare 1932 Martin Martinette. Clicking on the photo will take you to a post on Hemmings Blog about the great microcar exhibit at this years New York International Auto Show.

2011 Kansas City Microcar Meet

2011-05-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

Isetta Record Covers

2011-05-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

Dick Smart and Continental - 1959

Carlitos Romano Tangos - 1960

Small Car Parade - July 1959

2011-05-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

Isetta- Brake Lines

2011-05-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

The sliding window Isetta 300 export version's brake lines consist of three hard lines and three flexible lines. When installing new hard brake lines, having a pair of brake line pliers will help facilitate nice smooth bends without crimping or pinching them. I picked a pair up from Harbor Freight for $14.00. Compared to other pliers I've seen at Harbor Freight, these are OK quality. I suspect they're coming out of the same factory as the ones Eastwood or other suppliers are selling for twice the price.

The Isettas hard lines are 4.7mm (3/16") diameter lines with what's referred to as a "bubble flare" The thread of the coupler nut is M10 x 1.0. This is a fairly standard size flare and thread for most European cars. The lengths of the three lines are:

Left Front - 24.75" (629mm)

Right Front - 40" (1016mm)

Rear - 44.5" (1130mm)

Isetta brake lines in the correct lengths are readily available from Isetta parts suppliers, however if you have access to a flaring tool, you can purchase steel brake lines from your local auto parts supplier and save a considerable amount of money. Virtually every auto parts store in the US sells hard lines manufactured by Poly Armour. You will want the PAE series (Poly Armour European). You can purchase the 40" line the correct length, however for the Isettas 24.75" and 44.5" line you will need to purchase lines that are longer and cut and flare them to the correct length. The parts numbers of the three lines I purchased are PAE-330, PAE-340, and PAE-351. The cost for all three brake lines was about $20.00.

Because I'm restoring two Isettas, It was less expensive for me to buy a tube flare kit and brake lines from my local parts store than it would be to buy two sets of brake lines from any of the Isetta parts suppliers. When I was researching tube flare kits, I noticed a lot of complaints about cheaper sets. The most common complaint about cheaper sets was that no matter how tight the brake line was clamped, it would slip in the clamping device which results in an incomplete flare. I ended up buying a bubble flare kit by KD Tools which gets very good revues. That being said, you do have to be sure you have the tube clamped VERY tight. I had bought an extra brake line to experiment with bends and test the flare kit. My first couple of test flares did slip because I wasn't getting the clamp tight enough. Once I realized how tight the brake line needs to be clamped, the KD Tools flare kit did a great job.

A couple of pictures of the old brake lines.

The old steel brake lines removed from the chassis. This is what the factory bends look like with the exception of........

When I was removing the body from the chassis, I could not separate the connection between the front flexible brake lines and the hard lines. I finally gave up and just cut the lines for the sake of getting the body removed.

A few picture of the new brake lines installed.

The Isettas three flexible brake lines are all 15.25" (387mm) in length. One end is male, the other end is female. The threads are M10 x 1.0. The outside diameter of the female end needs to be 14mm to work with the brake line brackets on the Isetta. One feature I like of the European Isettas with the horizontal front shocks is that the front brake line brackets are attached to the frame as opposed to on the body as they are on the export version. The advantage of that is you can completely install the entire brake line system with the body off. With my export versions, I'll have to wait until I have the body back on to install the two front brake lines.

Rear flexible brake line installed.

Motor Trend - November 1954

2011-04-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

Isetta - Stripped Threads

2011-04-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

It would be extremely rare (if not impossible) to restore a vintage vehicle and not encounter stripped threads at some point. Up until now, I had only encountered two stripped threads on my white Isetta. The drain plug on the chain case was stripped, and one of the threads on the engine case that holds the coil was stripped. As I had mentioned on an earlier post, I had a lot of problems with the quality of manufacturing and fit of a muffler and heat exchange that I had purchased from Group Harrington. I had never completely tightened down the muffler system because I thought I might either try to salvage the extremely poorly made heat exchange or do some additional tweaking of the bend on the header pipe. I finally decided to give up on the heat exchange and just use the header pipe that came with the muffler. After some additional tweaking of the fit of the header pipe and muffler, I decided to tighten down the muffler system. That's when I encountered two more stripped threads. The bottom two threads of the cylinder head that hold the header pipe on were stripped.

Thankfully there are a couple of styles of thread repair systems that work very well. For repairing the cylinder head threads I using a helical insert style of thread repair kit. Most people refer to these as Heli-coil which is probably the most popular brand of helical inserts.

To give myself a little better access to the stripped threads, I removed the cooling shrouds from the engine which also meant removing the carburetor.

Repairing a stripped thread with a helical insert involves drilling the stripped hole out to a slightly larger specified diameter, and then tapping the hole to accept the helical insert.

After the hole is tapped, the helical insert is thread into the hole with a special tool that has a slot that fits over the tang of the insert. After the insert is threaded to the correct depth, a punch is used to break off the tang at the rear of the insert. I then blow air into the hole until the broken piece of tang comes out of the hole.

A photo of the repaired threads.

For the stripped threads in my chain case drain plug hole I used a different style of thread repair called a Time-Sert. Time-Sert's are more expensive than helical style inserts (unless you borrow it from a friend like I did) but Time-Sert makes kits specifically for drain plugs and spark plugs which I felt might give me a better seal than a helical style insert.

Road & Track - February 1958

2011-04-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

Microcar Papercraft

2011-04-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

In the United States papercraft or paper models are not as popular a hobby as they are in Japan and Europe, however the internet may be changing that. Since papercraft models can be easily downloaded and printed at home for little or no money, their popularity has sky rocketed worldwide. There are numerous websites and blogs devoted to a wide variety of papercraft model making. In Japan it is very popular for manufacturers of consumer goods to have a section on their website where you can download models of whatever product it is they might manufacture. Whatever your interest, there's probably a papercraft model available.

A great resource for micro and mini car paper models is Ichiyama's Paper Cards. Ichiyama's website has an excellent selection of micro and mini car paper models available as free PDF downloads. Not only is there a nice selection of cars, most of them are available in many different colors. Domo arigato Ichiyama!!

Isetta - Spark Plug

2011-04-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

The most commonly recommended spark plug for the Isetta 300 is the Bosch W7AC (WR7AC new version). It used to be the Bosch W4AC, however many people feel the W4AC does not work as well as the W7AC with modern fuels. Speaking of modern fuels, if you live in the US or Canada and you're concerned about using ethanol blended fuels in your vintage vehicles, there's a website called pure-gas.org that list gas stations by state that sell ethanol free gas. Of course there are many other brands of spark plugs that work in Isetta's. Another popular choice is the NKG B6HS. People have also reported good results using plugs with a longer reach (thread) such as the Champion N6YC. If you're wanting to use a brand other than Bosch, NGK, or Champion, a good resource for cross referencing spark plug brands is Club Plug USA. Another useful online resource for diagnosing engine/spark plug related problems is NGK's "How To Read A Spark Plug"

The spark plug recommended in the Isetta 1957 Export Owners Manual and Repair Manual is the Bosch W240T1. These NOS W240T1's recently popped up on ebay. They're not cheap, but if you're planning on entering your Isetta in the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance these babies will probably score you some extra points. If you're planning on actually driving your Isetta, I'd go with some much less expensive and better performing Bosch W7AC's.

Kansas City Area Microcar Meet

2011-04-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

Spring is in the air which for midwest microcar and minicar enthusiast means it's time to bring your babies out of their winter hibernation and start enjoying them. The premier event for microcar-minicar enthusiast in the Kansas City midwest region is the Kansas City Area Microcar & Minicar Meet and Swap Meet. This year the date is Sunday, May 15th, 2011 from 1:00PM to 4:00 or 5:00PM. The event is held in parking lot of Westwood City Hall located at 4700 Rainbow Blvd, Johnson County, KS. (near KU Medical Center). The event is organized by Jack Vetter. For more information about this years meet, contact Jack at: jwisettavetter@aol.com. Last year mother nature did not want to cooperate, but as you can see in the following pictures from 2 years ago, the event does draw a nice group of microcar-minicar enthusiast.

Photos - Evin Moore

Southwest Unique Little Car Show 2011

2011-04-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to a nice album of photo's of the 2011 Southwest Unique Little Car Show that took place in Upland, CA on April 2nd. The 31st annual SWULCS was hosted and organized this year by Greg and Kikki Hahs. Thanks to Vadim Koning for posting these great pics so that those of us who couldn't attend can still enjoy seeing this unique gathering of little cars.

2011 Southwest Unique Little Car Show

The Motor - March 13, 1957

2011-03-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

Isetta - Paint Swatches

2011-03-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

A set of Isetta paint samples that were recently on ebay from a seller in Germany. I would have loved to have these, unfortunately $168.87 was a little out of my price range.

More information on Isetta factory colors can be found on Bruce Fullerton's IsettaTech website. There is a chart in PDF format that list the 30 BMW Isetta factory colors that were available from 1955-1962. The chart includes paint names in German and English, the BMW color code, as well as the Standox and Dupont color codes. There are also samples of color chips here and here.

BMW Isetta - Repair Manual

2011-03-25T06:57:00.000-07:00

Cover and title page

Table of contents

Special tools for BMW Isetta

Ramp and dolly for Isetta

Technical data for 250ccm and 300ccm Isetta

Group M - Motor

M1 - Removing and refitting engine

M2 - Removing and refitting engine with transmission

M3 - Removing and refitting clutch

M4, M6 - Readjusting and basic adjustment of clutch

M9 - Dismantling and reassembling engine

M12 - Replacing connecting rod bushing

M14 - Installing new cylinder

M20 - Adjusting valves

M22 - Overhauling cylinder head

M24 - Overhauling crankshaft

M26 - Overhauling oil pump

Adjusting ignition timing

Group G - Getriebe (Transmission)

G3 - Dismantling and assembling transmission

G5 - Adjusting gear control linkage

Group H - Hinterachse (Rear Axle)

H1 - Removing and refitting the rear axle

H2 - Dismantling and assembling rear axle assembly

H4 - Adjusting Chain

H6 - Replacement of chain

Group V - Vorderradaufhangung

(Front Axle)

V1 - Removing and refitting a front suspension assembly

V10/11 - Front wheel alignment, checking toe-in

Group V - Vorderradaufhangung

Front Axle - Annex For Export Model

Coming Soon - The rest, I'll be gradually updating this post until I have the complete repair manual posted.

Motorsport - September-October 1955

2011-03-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

Isetta - Muffler & Heat Exchanger

2011-03-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

These are pictures of an original muffler off one of my Isetta's. As you can see in the last photo, it's probably time to replace them. Both of my Isetta's have the old style header pipe without a heat exchanger. Unfortunately both of my Isetta's are also missing the under seat heaters meant to work with this style of header pipe. I've been trying to find under seat heaters for my cars but so far have been unsuccessful. I've seen a few on ebay over the years, but they're either in horrible shape or I've been outbid on them. If anybody happens to have one available, please contact me because I'm still looking for two of them. Anyways back around the end of 2009, since I had been unsuccessful at finding a heater, I decided to purchase a stainless steel muffler and heat exchanger from Group Harrington. Harrington is a British owned company manufacturing their parts in Vietnam. At the time I purchased these, it was close to $500.00 for the pair with shipping. Quite a substantial bit of money for me.

The photos on Harrington's website and on their ebay auctions show a muffler with the correct hanger and mounting brackets. The above photo shows the muffler I received from Harrington. You can see the hanger bracket is missing and the mounting brackets are incorrect. The hanger bracket serves an important function in addition to facilitating installation of the muffler. It also prevents the muffler from dropping to the ground and wrapping it's self around your rear axle in the event of a hanger strap failure. I contacted Harrington by email with a photo of the muffler I received. About a week later, I received an email stating I should take the muffler to a metal shop and have them bend the brackets. Not exactly the response I was hoping for.

Had I only ordered a muffler, I would probably not have been so upset because it's a relative easy fix for me, but the heat exchanger I ordered with the muffler had far more serious issues. The heat exchanger I received was so poorly made it was basically unusable. The result was I ended up having to use the "old style" header pipe that came with the muffler instead of the heat exchanger I ordered with the muffler. I might also mention that the bend on the header pipe that came with the muffler was not even remotely close to being where it needed to be to connect with the muffler. It was at least 8" off where it needed to be to connect to the muffler.

This is the heat exchanger I received from Group Harrington. You might say that doesn't look so bad. Well, lets have a little closer look.

The biggest problem with the heat exchanger is this flange that mounts to the cylinder head. You can see that this flange is welded to the exhaust pipe crooked. Tightening the flange to the cylinder head caused the heat exchange box to be so crooked, it hit the air filter canister box before I could completely tighten it to the cylinder head. I'm actually getting a little ahead of myself though. Before I could even try to tighten the cylinder head nuts, there were other problems.

This is a view of the same flange from the side. In this photo, I've already cut about an inch off of the exhaust tube that extends past the flange and inserts into the cylinder head. The reason I had to do that was that the bend in the tube continued past the flange, and was severe enough that that it would not insert into the cylinder head.

Here's another view of this flange. The holes are huge compared to the holes in an original header pipe. Even as big as these holes are, the flange barely fits on the studs of the cylinder head. If I had been able to use the heat exchanger, I probably would have done some filing on the holes to get a little better fit. In addition to the crooked flange, the heater control flap was very crude and hard to operate, the heater box did not align correctly with the engine cooling shroud, and the bend of the pipe to connect to the muffler was incorrect (although not as bad as the header pipe that came with the muffler). When I contacted Harrington by email with photos of the problems with this heat exhanger, I never received a reply. In the end, I'm stuck with a useless heat exchanger. I regret buying this muffler and heat exchanger from Harrington. They were poorly manufactured and their customer service was dismal. Needless to say, I probably won't be placing any more orders for Isetta parts from Harrington.

das Auto Motor und Sport

2011-03-05T18:31:00.000-08:00

Isetta - Shocks

2011-03-02T21:36:00.000-08:00

The original Boge shocks on my Isetta's are in pretty bad shape, so I'll be replacing them.

Building a spring compression tool will really help facilitate the removal of the front shocks. Bill Rogers has a PDF file with dimensions and instructions for building a spring compression tool as well as many other useful resources for the restoring Isetta's on his website.

The original Boge part number for the vertical style shocks on the sliding window Isetta's (as opposed to the horizontal style front shock of the bubble window Isetta's) is ToS 22-310. As far as I know, Boge no longer makes this shock, but thankfully reproductions are available from Oldtimerteile and Isettas R Us.

New reproduction front shock installed.

The original Boge part number for the rear shocks is ToS 22-381. Again I believe Boge no longer makes this shock but reproductions are available from the Isetta parts dealers mentioned above.

Another cheaper option for rear shocks is using shocks intended for a Chevy Luv truck 1977-82. I've heard people say these are too stiff for an Isetta because they were designed for a light truck, however many Isetta owners have used these in their restorations with no problems as far as I know. The one minor glitch in using Chevy Luv shocks is the bottom bolt hole is SAE and slightly larger than the metric size bolt that attaches the shock to the chain case. I simply made a bushing and pressed it into the shock hole to give me the correct fit around the metric bolt. Often I see blue Monroe shocks used on Isetta's which bugs me. I found these black Gabriel shocks on ebay for $20.00 a pair which are a smaller diameter than the Monroe's and are also the correct color. If money wasn't an issue, I'd have gone with reproductions, but since I'm often scraping to come up with the money to do my restorations, I'd thought this was one thing I'd try to save a little money on.

New rear shocks installed.

Isetta Brochure - Cary Grant

2011-03-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

Isetta - Steering Damper

2011-02-22T14:07:00.000-08:00

From what I've heard, not all Isetta's were equipped with steering dampers. Fortunately for me, both my Isetta's did have steering dampers. If you don't have a steering damper, and are wanting to add one, hopefully this photo will give you an idea of the placement of the brackets on the frame and tie rod. My replacement steering damper came from a VW parts dealer called CIP1. the part number is VWC-211-425-021-A. They are currently priced at 35.95.

Original Boge GmbH steering damper. Boge part number ATP 22-165-01

Isetta Decoke - Motorcycle Mechanics, July 1961

2011-02-17T18:26:00.000-08:00

Isetta - Tires

2011-02-08T18:06:00.000-08:00

Most (not all) German made Isetta's rolled out of the factory wearing Metzeler tires. The British made Isetta's typically were fitted with Dunlops. Both of the German built Isetta's I'm restoring have (had) Metzelers. The rear Metzelers have a pretty aggressive knobby tread pattern, while the fronts have a less aggressive tread pattern. The tread on my original tires really isn't that bad, but the tires are severely cracking and need to be replaced. I have to say that there is not a very big selection of 10" tires available in the United States.

Ever since Kumho quit making their 145R10 radial tires, 10" tires have been getting harder to find and more expensive. A couple of years ago I paid $27.00 each for Kumho's from TireRack.com. The least expensive radial tire I've been able to find recently are Falkens (made in Japan) from Coker Tire which sell for $53.00 each. If you're planning on running radial tires on your Isetta, due to their wider profile, you might also want to consider using the wheel spacers that I mentioned in a previous post on your front hubs. Isetta's originally came with bias tires, so if you're wanting to use bias tires, Coker also sells BF Goodrich bias tires available in whitewall or blackwall. The BF Goodrich 480-10 bias whitewalls run $117.00 each. The blackwalls run $102.00 each. Coker also sells the correct bent stem 10" inner tubes for $13.95 each.

Falken 145R10 Radial Tire

BF Goodrich 480-10 Whitewall Bias Tire

BF Goodrich 480-10 Blackwall Bias Tire

480-10 Bent Stem Tube

Hey Bibendum, where's Isetta on that list of small cars?

Hobby - July 1955

2011-02-05T17:58:00.000-08:00

Vintage Isetta Photos - W M 521

2011-02-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

Isetta - Decal Set

2011-02-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

Available from - Isetta Classics

Isetta - Steering Wheel

2011-01-12T18:02:00.000-08:00

The pivoting steering wheel attached to a single front opening door is probably one of the Isetta's most unique design features.

I believe that most Isetta steering wheels were an off white / almond color from the factory. It would have matched the color of the directional and dimmer switch housings. On most of the unrestored Isetta's that I have seen, the paint is worn through in spots revealing the black rubber rim of the steering wheel. I'm guessing that's why the previous owner of my Isetta's painted over the original almond color with black.

I wanted to restore my steering wheels back to the original color. Bruce Fullerton has an excellent step by step article for restoring steering wheels on his Isetta Tech website: http://isettatech.com/RestorationText.html#S

I really hate using paint strippers so I thought I'd do a little experiment in the bead blaster. I don't recommend it. Bead blasting easily pits the rubber once you've broke through the outer paint. I also don't recommend sanding. Any grit that is coarse enough to cut through the paint leaves deep scratches in the rubber that will require lots of fill work and fine sanding. As much as I hate using it, paint stripper is the way to go. Bruce mentions using JB Weld epoxy for filling cracks. Another suitable epoxy for filling cracks would be PC-7.

I used RustOleum Almond Appliance Epoxy for painting my steering wheel and the dimmer and directional housings.

One other small change I made was to not paint the cast aluminum steering wheel hub. Instead I masked it off, and lightly polished it after painting.

I bead blasted the steering column and steering guide and painted them the original silver / grey aluminum color. I also replaced the nylon bearings in the steering guide, the brass contact ring for the horn, the sliding contact brush for the horn, and the plastic piece that fits under the dimmer and directional housings on the steering guide. All the replacement parts for the steering column came from Isetta's R Us.

Restored steering wheel and column.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T15:18:00.000-08:00

Bacon the microcar loving bulldog wishes everybody a happy new year !!

Ebay Oddballs - Aerocar Prototype?

2010-12-27T20:17:00.000-08:00

The seller of this vehicle knew very little about it's history. It is believed the vehicle was built at the Grumman aircraft facility in Witchita KS in the late 40's to early 50's.

The seller had these original black and photos that were included in the sale. The photos listed the names of the builders from left to right as: Cameron Baily, Max Ray, Kelly Krentz, and A.A. Reddy.

While reminiscent of the Taylor Aerocar, it's definitely not an Aerocar.

Isetta - Heater/Choke Levers & Shift Rod

2010-12-26T22:45:00.000-08:00

Driver side interior panel removed.

Heater and choke lever assembly before restoration.

After a little bead blasting, paint, and nickel plating.

The top metal cup and rubber bumper removed showing the bottom brazed metal cup on the shift rod.

All the components of the shift rod were bead blasted. The shift rod was painted the original silver/grey aluminum color. The stick and metal cup nut were nickel plated, and the joint bushing was replaced.

Dash Dog Food Contest

2010-12-26T22:12:00.000-08:00

Dash Dog Food Contest from the March 9th, 1959 issue of LIFE Magazine.

Dirty Oil Wears Out Motors

2010-12-20T20:09:00.000-08:00

Especially on a car with no proper oil filter! Change you oil regularly and get yourself a magnetic oil drain plug. A magnetic oil drain plug that fits Isetta's is available from BMW motorcycle dealerships. The BMW part # is 11-13-1-744-329

A Few Photos Taken In Japan

2010-12-16T22:19:00.000-08:00

I was recently in Japan and was happy to see this 1989 Nissan Pao sitting in someone's driveway. The Nissan Pao is one of my favorite retro-style vehicles. My other favorite retro-style vehicle is the Nissan Figaro also produced in 1989. There was a Figaro in front of my hotel but unfortunately I couldn't really get any pictures of it because of traffic and the crowds of people.

A Citroen 2CV navigating Tokyo traffic.

On the way to my favorite store Muji, I spotted this food vendors Subaru Sambar Combi Van masquerading as a VW.

I was doing a little architectural tourism checking out the Prada Aoyama Tokyo store designed by Herzog & de Meuron when this small one seat micro came cruising by. Amazingly there was just enough gap in the traffic to snap this shot.

Isetta Brochure - USA Model 1956

2010-12-16T21:34:00.000-08:00

10 Guys 1 Isetta

2010-11-19T20:21:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit - George Rogers

These photos were taken in 1960 in Ontario, Canada. The guys in these photos look like they're having a lot of fun, but I sure feel sorry for this poor Brighton built Isetta. It couldn't have been much more than 3 years old in these photos. For the full story and more photos visit:

http://hotrodsandjalopies.blogspot.com

British Isetta Brochures

2010-11-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

Under license from BMW, Isetta of Great Britain began producing Isettas (the sliding-window variety) at Brighton in 1957 with selected British parts. The Isetta was initially not popular in Great Britain until a three-wheeled version was introduced. The three-wheeled version was taxed at a much lower rate than the four-wheeled version. Isetta of Great Britain continued to produce four-wheeled Isettas, but only for export to Canada, New Zealand, and Australia

I've never seen any reference to Isetta's without a clutch pedal until I came across this Smiths Selectroshift brochure. I'd be interested to know if anybody drives one of these British Selectroshift Isetta's.

Preis Liste 1956

2010-11-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

German price list for the 1957 models

Score!

2010-10-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

It doesn't happen often, but on rare occasions I've had awesome Isetta parts scores on ebay. I picked up this pair of NOS fuel petcocks for under 20.00 with shipping. Obviously the seller had incorrectly listed these, but I was lucky enough to stumble across them, and pick them up for his minimum bid amount. SCORE!!!

The same seller as the petcocks had also incorrectly listed this pair of pistons which I also picked up for under 20.00 with shipping. SCORE!!!

Another awesome score was this pair of NOS Hella old style headlights complete with new bulbs. These were correctly listed, and I was expecting them to sell for at least 3-4 times what I paid for them. I was stunned what I got them for when the auction ended. SCORE!!!

Or how about a box of Bosch W7AC's for $10.00. SCORE!!!

I also picked up a Bosch NOS regulator awhile back for a much better price than I see used or reconditioned ones selling for. I really needed one of these. SCORE!!!

Eagle Comics - May 17 1957

2010-10-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

Focus - March 1955

2010-10-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

Bubble Trouble

2010-09-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

Isetta - Heater Knob

2010-09-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

After making the shift, directional, and dimmers knobs, I've had several request to do the heater knob. Unfortunately both my Isetta's are missing their heaters, so another Isetta owner graciously loaned me a heater knob to copy.

The picture on the left shows an original heater knob next to my reproduction. I'm not sure what the story is with the color of the old knob. They usually matched the color of the shift, dimmer, and directional knobs. The shape of it is correct. Now that I have heater knobs, all I need are 2 of the under seat heater assemblies. The picture on the right shows the complete set of Isetta knobs.

Isetta - Knobs

2010-08-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

These are the original dimmer, shift, and directional knobs that are still on my red Isetta. When I was disassembling my white Isetta, my plan was to just clean the grime of the knobs and leave the original patina that the ivory had developed over fifty years. The only problem with that plan was when I unscrewed the knobs, the threads turned to dust, and the shifter knob crumbled into several pieces. I thought about various ways of rescuing the original knobs, but in the end decided to just make new ones.

The first step was to make a jig to hold the knob material through the turning process. The first photo shows facing a piece of delrin on the metal lathe that will become the turning jig. The material I chose to turn the knobs out of is ivory colored Corian. The second photo shows the turning jig mounted on the wood lathe with a Corian blank threaded on.

Since I went through all the trouble of making jigs and templates for these, I've made a few extra sets. If anybody is in need of a quality set of knobs for their Isetta, my email address in in the sidebar menu.

Isetta Brochure - 1956

2010-08-29T21:41:00.000-07:00