Car restoration can be a very slow process. Rewarding, but slow. Back in September 2022 I recieved the engine back and reinstalled it in the car. It seemed like I would be able to make some rapid progress at last, but not quite! There is always another obstacle.
Firstly, I thought I lost the carburetor. It was one of the first things I'd removed from the car when I got it home. I cleaned it up and put it in storage with my parts collection. However, I when I sent my engine for rebuilding, I could not find it anywhere. This was a problem! I did manage to find a spare carburetor I had obtained from Audi Tradition - back when they still sold DKW NOS parts - which I have been messing around with, but it is missing the mounting flange and the air-filter connector.
Like almost all DKW F89P parts, this is rather a rare part on the spares market. I'm still looking through my parts as I'm sure it has to be there somewhere. I mean, I haven't searched the fridge yet....but if you have a lead, I'd like to hear about it.
The radiator was in good condition and only needed a clean up, flush through and repaint. The pipes are attached and I mounted it back in the car. The original aluminium fittings mounting to the engine had eroded considerably but I managed to acquire modern reproductions, however, these appear to be for an F89L and not all of them fit the sedan. I reverted to the original engine top pipe. The bottom pipe (see below) fits okay but the other (top left) will need to cut to fit correctly.
Some assembly required
This piece is for an early F89L as the radiator is not behind the engine but mounted at an angle, tilted forward to left side of then engine (looking forward).
A simple slice and dice
And done.
Once the radiator was back in the car I was able to connect up the gear shifter, which runs through the top of the radiator housing. I was always uncertain how the gear shifter would work in practice. The gear lever is linked to the gear rod by a piece of rubber. When I acquired my car, the rubber was completely rotten and had fallen apart so I'd never seen how it worked. After connecting the two rods with an appropriately sized piece of rubber I was amazed how easily the gears shifted. It will take a little bit of getting used to however.
Update 6 December 2022
Thankfully, with a bit of searching in Germany an F89P carburetor flange has been found. Thanks Dirk. And it goes on (Jan 2023): https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2023/01/dkw-meisterklasse-project-update.html
Previous update: https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2022/09/dkw-meisterklasse-project-update-engine.html
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