DKW Meisterklasse Project Update - December 2020

The Meisterklasse project continues to make slow progress forward. To remove the engine you must first remove the half axles from the drive. I struggled to find useful guidance among all the literature I have on this site. Unfortunately, Auto-Union did not develop a workshop manual for the F89P model so I had to rely on partial instructions related to the prewar F8 model (here - https://dkw-gbclubarchive.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-dkw-car-history-tuning-and.html) and the recently acquired Austrian repair guide (here - https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2020/12/english-translation-of-austrian-dkw.html).

To remove the drive shaft you must disconnect the top bolts holding the wheel hubs to the transverse leaf spring. There are two sets of bolts, the main ones (in photo) and a smaller set just above them.You will also need to remove (or at least disconnect) the shock absorbers so that the wheel hub can be maneuvered sufficiently to extract the drive shafts.

With the bolts removed, the wheel hub can be swung downward and maneuvered around until the drive shaft is slipped from the drive hub. Unlike the triple cylinder engine models, the drive shaft is not flat and spade-like, so the axles do not need to be any particular alignment to be removed.

The guides suggested that two people could easily remove the engine without needing to remove the bonnet. As I am working alone, I employed an engine hoist. The engine is mounted to chassis by four large bolts - two at the front of the engine, which were easy to get to, and two at the rear, which were very hard to get to. The bolts are right beneath the radiator mount that sits atop the transverse leaf springs.

Obviously one must also disconnect the clutch and freewheel cables and speedometer cable, along with all wiring. This took me much longer than expected as each time I attempted to lift the engine I snagged some cable or wire. Once I was satisfied I had removed all cables, bolts and wires, I attempted to lift the engine. The instructions say to lift the engine up and out from the front, but I discovered that engine snagged on the side of the engine bay. I weighed the option of removing the bonnet but felt the easiest solution would be to remove the side panel. The wings comprise two panels - one inner and one outer. Both were easily removed, which opened up the whole side of the engine. This allowed the engine to be swung up and out with ease.



This view of the engine - finally out of the car - shows the bolt holes for the rear engine mountings. Ahead of that is the drive unit, the gearbox is in the centre and the primary chain on the right.

Several hours with degreaser and a wire brush and the engine begins to look a little more presentable.

On the left is a very rotten front engine mount. There are a lot of parts I naively hoped I would be able to get away with not replacing - but this isn't one of them!

January project update: https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2020/12/dkw-meisterklasse-project-update.html

DKW Meisterklasse Project Update - September 2020

I had hoped that the hibernation enforced on us by the Covid lockdown madness would have given me more time to work on the DKW Meisterklasse project. Unfortunately I was not able to get as much done as I had hoped. As I've covered in my earlier updates, I finally got the seized engine the apart, but was prevented on proceeding further as the pistons and crankshaft I had sourced were stranded in Germany, unable to be shipped due to postal restrictions.

The next major job I started was replacement of the brakes. I had been forced to dismantle the brakes at the dockside when the car had first arrived in Fremantle. The asbestos skins of the brake shoes had been seized but I retained the mechanisms. After discussions with my mechanic friends, I decided to completely replace the brake cylinders, rather than recondition the old ones. I'm pretty sure the car had sat in water at some point in the past, at least as high as the axles, due to rust marks in brake drums, so there's no telling how viable the old cylinders would have been. Again, I thought I'd have been able to make a start on reassembling the brakes, but they too were stuck in Germany with no ETA when they'd likely be on the move.

June passed, then July. I spoke with my parts suppliers, Ralf Muller and Martin Hesse regularly to see if the post reopened. It wasn't until August that packages began to flow again. This last week 'the postman rang twice.' Once with Ralf's package and once with Martin's. A few other random bits and pieces had also arrived recently.

A table full of goodies

A complete set of F89/F91 brake cylinders.

A pair of new condensors

Body mounts - while the rust was being cut it out it was apparent that the old mounts were completely rotten.

Yep, those are toast!

Water pipes. The old ones were completely rotted.

I have had an engine block honed for the new pistons.

The new pistons are neatly fitted in the block.

This is a D89L Schnellaster expansion chamber. It's not really correct for the F89P, but mine is cactus (see below). I will give it a try. If it doesn't suit, I can always sell it.

The F89P's expansion chamber. It's only useful as a template for a re-manufactured one. That's still on the cards if the Schnellaster chamber doesn't work out.

Update: 10 October 2020
Almost a month after the first parts arrived, the second box arrived, even though they were all posted at the same time. This package was diverted through Melbourne - where there is a FULL LOCKDOWN - so it was inevitably delayed. Now I have my refurbished crankshaft. Great news! Now it's time to get the engine out and begin reassembly.

Blogger News - every couple of years Google performs a major upgrade on Blogger - I work in IT and fully understand this. But as this is Google, which has nothing but contempt for its users, they always manage to totally and utterly F everything up. So, now what used to be a simple process of posting up a couple of photos and adding a bit of text requires painstaking review and reformatting, including the editing of every single HTML coding for every single photo so that it formats correctly on the page. This because the people who work at Blogger obviously don't use the product and don't have the slightest interest in looking after the people that do. So, this is probably going to mean fewer posts until I find a work around to Google's F-ups or - God forbid - they fix it. Thanks again Google!

The previous update: https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2020/05/dkw-meisterklasse-project-update-may.html

DKW Meisterklasse Project Update - June 2020

The corona virus lockdown has given me a lot more time to work on the New Meisterklasse project. For earlier updates, check out these links: https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2020/04/dkw-meisterklasse-project-update-april.html

As mentioned in earlier posts, the rusty floors have been replaced by solid metal. I must thank Ken Feast for his excellent work. The floor is very solid now and we can expect it to last for many more decades without problems. He also painted the floors and underbody with primer for me.

The rear floor did not need any metal work.

My wife Shelly has also been an active participant in the restoration work we are undertaking.

After cleaning up we have painted the floors in black anti-rust paint.

Looking good. Reproduction carpets / mats no longer exist so I have acquired some rubber matting and will fit it to shape shortly.

Nice and clean and ready to fit the new mats.

The engine in the car was seized so I had the cylinders sitting with diesel and penetrating oil. It really didn't achieve much and remained stuck fast. After removing all the bolts holding the block to the crankcase and spraying penetrating oil into the seal I was finally able to lever a screwdriver into the gap. After a lot of levering, the block began to move.

With a little bit of levering, more oil, and more levering each day, the block slowly began to move. Funnily enough, although the left hand piston was the one that was originally seized fast (diesel in the cylinder would not seep through, while it would easily penetrate in the right cylinder). once the block began moving however, the right piston stubbornly refused to move, eventually splitting at its base.

Millimeter by millimeter the block slowly came away

Until it finally popped off.

An examination of the pistons and their wear in the block suggest that the engine was probably run without oil in the fuel until it overheated and seized.

I was very excited when the engine block came away!

Update 18 May 2020

The boot had obviously been leaking for years and the back of the seat and the parcel shelf had rotten out. Note the white cloth handling down - that is the headliner, which is basically just white cloth.

I've filled the gaps with MDF paneling. Looks neat.

Now the wooden storage shelf is back in. It's pretty oily and greasy, but I've left it 'as is.' I've put rubber matting on the floor. The box in the back is a set of DKW hubcabs.

Wheels are off now as I plan to work on the brakes. The front axles need to come out anyway so that the engine can come out.

I hadn't noticed this before, but one of the rear wheel hubs comes from a later model. I need to find a spare wheel hub anyway. I've sourced tyres from our good friend, Richard's Tyrepower: https://www.richardstyrepower.com.au/

Update 19 June 2020

The rear seat was in a terrible state with springs completely rusted, rotten and falling to pieces.

From the top you can see how bad the interior is. Rusted and broken springs are pushing up against the vinyl.

After unpicking and removing the vinyl, the original seat was exposed. The original cloth seat had obviously worn through on its leading edge so the worn edge was covered with padding and new vinyl overlaid over the original seat. The seat was filled with horsehair and straw, which was absolutely rotten. That's all gone in the bin.

The metal spring frame was completely rusted and unsalvageable. After a lot of searching on the internet for advice on repairs and restoration, I came up with a new plan.

The only salvageable part, except the vinyl, was the frame.

The frame was rather rotten and falling apart and needed a lot of sanding and preparation. I used metal brackets to make it solid again.

I decided there was no point in building a spring frame, so put in a plywood floor on the seat frame.

The plan comes together

The restored frame.

The spring seat frame was replaced with a custom foam insert from https://www.foamsales.com.au/. Foam Sales in Norma Road, Myaree did a great job and provided excellent service. The foam I used was 38-200, over which I applied Dacron cushioning.

The interior of the vinyl was dirty and moldy but it cleaned up well with soapy water and disinfectant.

The Dacron filling

The foam backing was inserted and the vinyl re-stretched over the frame.

The vinyl is reattached.

I am very happy with the outcome. It looks great

And it goes back in the car. Another job done!

The next update: https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2020/09/dkw-meisterklasse-project-update.html