Houpty

My friend told me about this.

1959 AUDI 3 CYL 2 STROKE W/ COIL FOR EACH CYLINDER. Engine factory installed backwards. No title. Great body. Excellent glass. 2 dr fastback. Very rare. $995.

Would I be able to get parts for something like this? I am going to call and find out what model it is.

serf2k

<center><img src="http://www.dkw-autounion.de/DKW_Literatur/DKW_Pressemappen/1959_43_AU_DKW_PM-2.jpg"></center><p>It'll probably be a DKW or Auto Union 1000, with either a 900 or 1000cc engine. When they say "backwards", they mean that the radiator is between the engine and the firewall - all of the cars were like that.
You can get parts for the car - the bonus with the "big" (ok, they were big compared to my Juniors) Deeks is that they were produced in Brazil as well as Germany, and the Brazilian company (Vemag) continued to produce them after Auto Union was sold to VW and began producing Audis. The DKW Club of America (www.dkwclub.org) has some parts sources - the Club also has a newsgroup on Yahoo Groups : Auto_Union_DKW_Group
Yes, they are rare, and if you take a DKW to a car show you pretty much can guarantee that you'll have the only DKW there (mine was the only one at Carlisle this year) - and many folks will come out of the woodwork to say that they owned one.....or worked on one....or know of one sitting in a field.....
The key part is the engine - although there are quite a few to be found on eBay, etc., a running 2-stroke engine is often the hardest part to find. The engines have no valves (rather, they have ports in the side of the cylinders) - as such, it is common for a DKW engine sitting for a number of years to seize to the bore - aluminum pistons weld themselves to the cast iron cylinder bores and you've got a big paperweight. I know of one person who freed a 1000cc engine by soaking it in a barrel of diesel fuel for a year and then using the starter to break it free, but I have personally bent one crankshaft trying to free a motor, and took the pistons out in pieces in the second (but saved the crank, which is pressed together with the main bearings and conrods).
Let me know how you make out with it - if you end up not getting it, I'd appreciate some contact info to pass on to the Club.
Cheers!

Houpty

I will probally take a look at it this weekend and maybe take some pictures. I will list the contact info if I do not buy it.

The guy also said it could be a 1960 or a 1961 but said it had Auto Union writen on it but there was no badging for the model.

serf2k

Since WD-40 is only really good at displacing water (hence the "WD" part of the name) it must not have been stuck much. The reason for removing the engine and soaking in a barrel of diesel is that the side valves leak anything poured into the spark plug holes into the intake and exhaust manifolds....BTDT with a pool of ATF all over the floor under the leaky front muffler.
Hey, $1k for a decent runner is a fair deal. Just make sure that they don't run the car on straight gas - and don't trust the oil injection pump if it has one installed (started in 1962 models): I have mine merrily pumping oil back into its own reservoir and run 40:1 premix with Bel-Ray H1R synthetic 2-stroke racing oil (and you thought that _gasoline_ was expensive?)
Cheers!

Houpty

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/66387/audi_029.jpg"></center><p>

Houpty

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/66387/audi_004.jpg"></center><p>

Houpty

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/66387/audi_014.jpg"></center><p>That looks like a custom made radiator hose to me.

Houpty

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/66387/audi_007.jpg"></center><p>

serf2k

Looks like the undercarriage is pretty rusty from your pics......and I sorta doubt that there will be much left of that muffler resting on the dirt. Chances are, too, that if you pull the rubber floor mats back and look under what's left of the tarboard insulation you'll find an iron oxide floor. I'd also try to turn the engine over by hand - with the transmission in neutral it's not that hard to do by turning the fan pulley or even more directly on the crank pulley - not that I don't trust the guy (never met him), but it looks pretty dry in there for having 8 cans of WD40 sprayed in. If the "carb is not working" but it is still hooked up to the original fuel system, chances are the fuel pump is gummed up or the fuel lines are blocked. The fp is a diaphragm type that runs off of pressure changes in the crankcase - old gas sticks the valves closed and makes the diaphragm hard - you can replace the diaphragm with new one for a Suzuki outboard IIRC.
That's not a custom built hose BTW, they looked like that - cloth wrapped sorta like a mummy.
If you have a running engine and good glass for $900-ish, a decent bodied car will come along with a seized engine (getting it to you would be the hard part). One of the DKW Club folks just picked up a running '57 3=6 for a bit more than what you paid, although IIRC he said that the floor was solid. Not sure if he was looking to restore it, or wanted the engine for his vintage Formula Junior racecar (in which case the body may be for sale)....I'll let you know.
Cheers!

Houpty

The car could probally just have a few fixes and be driven but it definitely needs paint and this is just going to lead to the "While I am here..." syndrome which is pretty much a full restoration.

The guy is realy nice and I was probally there for over an hour. He has lots of antiques and really old tractors. He said he could fire the engine up if I was really interested but I turned him down.

I have about thirty pictures if you want me to email them to you. His name is Daniel and the car is in Lexington, SC. He would be willing to take into the $800 but he really wants to sell the car. His phone number is 1-803-359-3149 or 803-518-4495. The second number is his cell phone and probally the best one to reach him on.

I could not read the VIN plate under the hood real well but I think it may be a 1960.