Story by Malcolm Barnes
The DKW F7-700 described in this story was originally exported to Johannesburg, South Africa in 1938. It lived there for 37 years before I found it in mid-1975 standing on the side of the road in a derelict condition. The canvas-covered wooden body was in a very bad condition and the metal parts were quite rusted. The photo below was taken in 1975 at my wife’s parent’s farm near Johannesburg.
I paid the owner, Mr Lombard, in cash, as was customary at that time and enthusiastically started to work on the vehicle … starting with the chassis. I replaced the wheel and suspension bearings, fitted new brake pads, machined the brake-drums, etc. I was not able to make much progress after that as I got marriaged in 1977, followed by the arrival of our 2 children shortly after. I was also very busy with my work as an electrical engineer, which distracted me even further. Then in 1989 we decided to migrate to Perth and we brought the derelict vehicle with us, packed in the shipping container with our furniture. By that time, the wooden body had completely rotted and very little of the body or the internal seat upholstery and trim was salvagable. When the car was inspected by Customs, they looked at the derelict condition of the vehicle and never bothered to register either the Engine Number or the Chassis Number.
Being a migrant in a new country was hard work, but I was able to set myself up as an electrical engineer in the WA mining industry. Once again, due to the pressure of work, I was not able to make must progress until I retired in 2019.
Once I restarted work on the car in 2019, we decided to travel to Germany to visit the various Auto Union motor museums in Ingolstadt (now the headquarters of Audi), Zwickau and Chemnitz. This gave me an opportunity to look at many of the restored DKWs located in these museums and to see first-hand how the various models were constructed. After reviewing the various alternatives, I decided to aim for the colours, style and quality similar to this beautifully restored DKW F7 shown in the photo below.
The mechanical parts of the car including the chassis, suspension, wheels, shock-absorbers, engine, gearbox, mudguards, glass, interior upholstery, electrical wiring, etc, were all been refurbished here in Perth. There are people in Perth (including myself) with the technical skills and ability to successfully complete this work. The main problem I faced item that was imported from Germany in 2020 was the wooden body (Cab area where the driver and passengers sit). The templates for the construction of this Cab are not available here in Australia. The wooden cab was imported via shipping company Transitainer.
While I was in Germany, I travelled to a small Bavarian town called Selb to meet a man called Winfried Kuhl, who operates a small business (working from home) called DKW-Karosseriebau (DKW Body Builder). His name was given to me by Paul Markham (Secretary of the KBG Club in Perth). Winfried uses the original templates to build DKW wooden bodies for collectors mainly in Europe. He can build several alternative body styles for the F7 DKWs – Saloon Hard-top (above), Cabriolet soft-top (below), Sports soft-top, etc. The chassis and engines for all of these models are the same. I was very keen on the idea of a Cabriolet (ideal for WA sunshine) and luckily, he had already partially completed a Cabriolet body in the colours I preferred. After some negotiation, Winfried agreed to complete the cabriolet soft-top body and sell it to me. After arranging for the shipment, the body was packed into a crate and arrived in Perth in February 2020 as shown in the photos below.
While waiting for the wooden body to arrive, I was able to completely refurbish and repaint the steel chassis, check the wheel and suspension bearings, refurbish the brake cables, rebuild the shock absorbers, etc. When the body arrived from Germany in 2020, I was able to mount it directly onto the refurbished chassis. One can see the Cabriolet body style in the photo below. The metal mudguards and front-end were not yet completed.
The four mudguards, engine side-panels, bonnet and front grill were a huge challenge because they were quite badly rusted and damaged in many places. These metal components were repaired and painted during 2021 by Balcatta Panel and Paint to match the colour of the body. This work was completed in a very skilled and most professional way as can be seen I the photos below.
Fortunately, the five spoked wheel rims were in very good condition and did not require any repair work. So, I had them sand-blasted and powder-painted at S and S Powder Coaters in Oborne Park. The 19” x 4.5” tyres were sourced from Antique Tyre Supplies in Melbourne, who have a wide variety of tyre sizes available.
The internal and underbody surfaces of the wooden body delivered from Germany needed some additional attention. The underbody edges were finished off with a protective aluminium beading, which were fixed with stainless-steel screws. These surfaces were then all hand-painted with a satin-black epoxy enamel paint before installing and bolting the refurbished mudguards into position. In addition, there were numerous small metal parts located at various places throughout the body, such as the steering wheel, seat hinges, front door window winders, etc. Where necessary these metal parts were sandblasted and powder-painted at S and S Powder Coaters. For the exterior finish, I was able to source some new chromed hubcaps and chromed bumpers from a parts supplier in East Germany, so could replace the old rusty and damaged items with new shiny ones.
During 2022. the refurbished metal body panels and other parts were assembled along with the refurbished headlights, aluminium trim along the side of the body, spoked wheels and hubcaps, new tyres, chromed bumpers, door handles, windup window mechanisms for the front doors and install replacement window glass.
By the end of 2022, the bodywork was essentially complete except for the interior trim and seats. I was then able to focus my attention on the 6 Volt electrical wiring system, using the electrical wiring diagrams from a 1938 Workshop Manual as a guide. Several changes to the electrics were necessary because the original car only had one tail-light. To meet modern road requirements, I upgraded the tail-lights to LED lamps mounted on the back bumpers and, while I was at it, I added amber indicator lights (front and back) to replace the badly damaged indicator arms that were previously located in the door pillars. A directional lever on the dashboard was available to control the direction indicators. Another non-standard safety feature was to add side-mounted mirrors on both front doors. It was also necessary to repair the 6 Volt hooter and windscreen wiper motor.
Once the electrical wiring was complete, I directed my attention onto the engine/gearbox. Firstly, the exhaust system for a 2-stroke engine requires some special expertise to ensure that the back-pressure of the silencer (accumulator) matches the requirements of the engine. I worked with Gary Mason at Custom Exhausts to build a suitable exhaust system. Fortunately, I had the original (rusted and damaged) silencer and Gary used this as a template to fabricate a new exhaust system to match the requirements of this particular 700cc engine. Gary’s expertise was essential to achieve a successful outcome.
The refurbishment of the engine and gearbox took a lot longer than expected because the cylinders and pistons were badly corroded and needed to be replaced. Unfortunately, this work could not be done here in WA mainly due to the difficulty in sourcing suitable replacement 2-stroke pistons, rings, machining, cylinder head gaskets, etc. So, this work had to be done in Germany which, understandably, took a considerable length of time. Fortunately, these cars were very popular in Germany before WW2, so there are still many DKW enthusiasts in Europe with suitable mechanical expertise and spare parts to work on these engines. On these DKW engines, there is a flywheel mounted on the end of the crankshaft known as the Dynastart. The Dynastart is a combined Flywheel, 6 Volt Starter Motor and 6 Volt Generator. Fortunately, the original Dynastart was in good condition so we were able to reuse it without further repair or machining of the commutator. All it needed was a cleanup and some new brushes.
While the engine was in Germany, we had the opportunity to repair the seats and work on the interior trim. I was very fortunate to have met Kim Logue because he undertook to fabricate the seat covers and install the interior trim as shown below. Kim is a member of the KBG club, operates from a workshop next to his home and is very highly regarded by all those who have worked with him.
In addition, Kim assembled the engine for me, installed the machined cylinders and cylinder head using the parts that were machined and returned from Germany. He also connected the clutch and the gearshift mechanism, sorted out some problems with the carburettor, connected the choke and accelerator pedal, adjusted the brakes, connected the petrol tank, etc.
The engine cooling system is very simple and does not require a water pump. The cooling water is circulated through the cylinder head by thermal convection. The original vehicle did not have a temperature gauge, but I suspect that I may need to add one later. During December 2023, Kim successfully started the engine for the first time. Initially, the engine was very “rough” but Kim adjusted the timing and tuned the engine to run more smoothly.
I don’t know how I would have managed without Kim’s help to overcome the many difficult obstacles that arise towards the end of any project to get everything to work together. So may I add a BIG thank you to Kim for all his help and generous support.
The fuel for the 2-stroke engine uses a normal mixture of petrol and special 2-stroke oil. The two fluids must be mixed before adding it to the petrol tank. The tank is mounted in front of the driver in the engine compartment. Notice how the gear lever passes through the petrol tank.
The photos below show the result of the very long rebuild period between 1975 to 2024 – almost 50 years!!!!
A huge congratulations to Malcolm Barnes and everyone who worked on the project over the years. The outcome is magnificent.
Due to health reasons, Malcolm has now decided to sell the car. Asking price $20,000. Contact me here for details.
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