At Lane Motor Museum, where I work as education director, we continue to add to our collection of rare and unique European vehicles. One way we do that is through a shipping container that usually lives in a port in the Netherlands. When the museum acquires a car from mainland Europe, it gets sent to that container. Once its full of about 4-6 cars, along with parts and engines and the like, it’s buttoned up and sent to Nashville. We typically get a shipment once a year.
We just recently received our latest shipment last week. Excitement abounds because even with the names of the cars on the manifest, we usually have no idea what we are getting, or what condition the cars are in until we crack open the container doors. It’s like one of those Kinder egg toys, but instead of a .04 cent plastic toy that could possibly be a choking hazard even for adults, it’s, you know, a weird car.
Oh boy, the tension is palpable. It’s like Christmas or Hanukah in August. “Whaddya think that is? I hope we get something sporty!” the children exclaim.
Ah, then reality sets in. See, in order to maximize space, the loading crew in the Netherlands has packed things in there tight and have built wooden supports to create an upper level. The challenge comes in while trying to undo what they have built, sometimes really well, to get the cars out. Oh, and we have to do this as quickly as possible, because we have rented the semi-truck to transport the shipping container from the rail yard to the museum. We also have to return the container completely clean and nail-free.
The cars and parts on the bottom level come out pretty easily.
This pile of parts is basically a complete Citroën 2CV, minus the chassis. We already have one of those from a previous shipment.
Using our portable lift, we were able to get this homebuilt French three-wheeler off of the top rack. I’ll dive into what this car is in a bit.
By the time we got to the last car, another three-wheeler, presented us with the biggest challenge of the day. The lift is too wide to fit inside the container, so how are we going to get this thing out of its Dutch-built cradle and safely onto level ground?
We surmised that the car’s front wheels could be lifted out of the cradle, but how to support the rear wheel while lowering the rest of the car? A steel beam was located that fit the rear wheel just right. It was secured to the wood framing for some modicum of safety.
I figured our Suzuki Carry-All would be skinny enough to fit in the container, so I was volun-told to man the controls while everyone else lifted the car onto the makeshift very well-built steel ramp.
At this point, I couldn’t take pictures, because my hands were full. Let me set the scene: I was tasked with backing the truck up to get it close enough to set the car’s rear wheel onto the ramp. So, I had to reverse up a slight incline, all while not running over my coworkers, plus I had to keep my foot on the gas to keep the car running (it doesn’t have a choke). It was the ultimate heel-toe, with my feet pushing on all three pedals at once, then letting the clutch out while pressing the gas and easing off the brake, and at the right time disengaging the hand brake. All the while everyone is yelling at me either “whoa!” or “go!”. I’m still not sure which one they were yelling. Oh, and the heat from the running engine brought the temperature inside the container from 110 degrees Fahrenheit up to the core of the Sun. It was rather stressful, to say the least.
Success! Now, what did we get, exactly?
1982 GMT Rivelaine
This French fiberglass microcar is a sans permis car manufactured by Générale de Mécanique et de Thermique (GMT) from 1980 to 1983. This two-seater has a distinctive clear plastic hatch.
The Fitchtel and Sachs 47cc engine resides under the one-piece bench seat. I assume this came with cushions or something, because otherwise you’re just sitting on hard fiberglass seats.
[Editor’s Note: Oh, man, I love this thing! – JT]
1963 DKW F12 Custom Bodied Roadster
The original owner of this car took a production DKW F12 and rebodied it with this home-built fiberglass sports car body. He even made a clay model, which came with the car. Once the body was completed and set on the chassis, the owner decided to begin driving his creation before finishing the body and paint work.
It’s got this cool translucent look to it, and we’ve already discussed lighting the body panels from the inside to show it off. You can see what I’m talking about by looking through the front grill in this engine shot.
1962 Autobianchi Bianchina ‘Eden Roc’ Cabriolet
Autobianchi was founded in January 1955 with the signing of an agreement between Fiat, Pirelli, and Bianchi to produce a small, Fiat 500-based car. The result was the Bianchina, first shown in 1957. It used the complete mechanical setup of the 500, but clothed in a new body designed by famed designer Luigi Rapi.
This Cabriolet is the “Eden Roc” trim level, with its chrome details, two-tone paint, and upscale interior. The Bianchina Cabriolet was kind of the “rich man’s Fiat 500”.
1938 Castarede Special
This one-of-a-kind three-wheeler from France is a creation of Paul Castarede sometime after World War II. After the war, it was difficult to get a car for a multitude of reasons, so the French government had a provision that home-made cars were allowed on public roads as long as they passed a basic inspection. Monsieur Castarede took a 1938 Gnome and Rhone motorcycle engine and the remains of an Amilcar and created this car just to get around his village.
It’s not a perfect design, with its most obvious flaw being the gear shift sprouting from the backrest of the seat, since the motorcycle engine is behind the driver. That has to be one of the most un-ergonomic ways to change gears in the history of the automobile.
[Editor’s Note: I have to drive this thing. Please. – JT]
???? “Blue Car”
This home-made car is, um, a bit of a mystery. This is the three-wheeler that was stuck at the back of the container. It’s powered by a scooter engine of unknown origin, but it runs great. It’s a modern re-creation of some sort of French microcar, but we are not sure what to call it yet.
So, that’s how we unload a shipping container full of cars from Europe. I’ll update everyone as we get a clearer picture of these cars’ histories.
You guys should buy my 3wheel bmw Isetta.
It’s rear wheel is 2,5cm off-center, is cute and it is for sale!
Full Frog time…
First : why most of your cars have a modern French license plate ?
Did you get lucky at some barn sale in France ?
Second :
The front of that unknown Blue French Car looks a lot like a 2CV with mixed Diane parts ( the shortened hood )
I never heard of a French microcar looking like that, but I’m not an expert in that kind of thing… I just happen to live in France, and while the GMT and the Autobianchi rings a bell, that Blue Frankenstein doesn’t.
“the owner decided to begin driving his creation before finishing the body and paint work”
Who doesn’t? Who wouldn’t??
1. Function (required)
2. Fit (important)
3. Form (meh)
Great stuff – some of the best unboxing I’ve seen! I don’t have any name ideas for the mystery car, but “Torchinsky Torpedo” would be a solid choice if you ever decide to rename the Castarede Special.
Great to see the DKW again. I absolutely agree with your lighting idea and recommend it. My wife had this idea before we sold it to Lane. Really looked rad in the dark. Have poste some pictures on Facebook.
I’m still blown away by the craftmanship and how well executed the bodywork is. Playing with fibreglass is one thing, but doing it in a small garage in the early 60s with no experience (when fibreglass still wasn’t a big thing) and creating such a well designed car as your first build ever, is more than awesome. Guenter got all my respect. May he rest in peace.
He just did some test drives in 1968/1969 and after that, the car sat. So the odometer might be accurate as the car never had been registered in Germany. So it’s sort of “new”. He had inherited a fish farm and fell in love with this new task so he never got around finishing and driving this beautiful roadster. He never really presented the car. Only on one or two events shortly before he died some years ago. When I first saw it, I knew it had to go to a museum. I’m glad it’s now in the LMM. Couldn’t get any better and it’s a very good feeling to know that thousands of enthusiasts will see Guenters legacy so that he can get the respect he deserves.
Edit: And if you decide to leave the car this way (painting it would be a crime), you can use the originals molds to build the perfect twin that never happened. 😉
I’m so glad you took good care of the DKW. I’m also glad we are able to keep Guenter’s legacy alive. I’ll check out your pictures on FB, but in the meantime, what is Guenter’s last name? I’m sure we have it somewhere, but I haven’t dug that deep into the all the stuff that came with the car yet.
Thanks again for posting! It’s great when we know of previous owners.
You have a 4WD Kei pickup! YES! So awesome.
Consider putting grippier off road tires on it like they do in the philippines.It really suits them and is how most are used in real life.
That GMT Rivelaine the more interesting microcars i’ve ever seen.So neat,that clear bed cover/hatchback,those rotating-while-lifting windows.Very cool
The shirt sweat stained through and the mention of the container temp rising with the lil truck running in it, suddenly I feel sticky and tired and I only looked at the picture.
FWIU “Eden Roc” is the name of the full-convertible Bianchina, disambiguated from the “Transformabile” sunroof coupe which was the original body style of the Bianchina and as such made up the majority of the ones sold new in the US since their availability coincided with the 1958-9 import boom. There was also a 2-door wagon and (eventually) a 2-door sedan.
We just recently sold our project Trasformable, and we also have one of the wagons: https://www.lanemotormuseum.org/collection/cars/item/autobianchi-bianchina-panoramica-wagon-1970
God bless the weirdos, every one!
I saw an engine with pink spark plugs. It’s a good day, Tater.
Congratulations on the new arrivals!
May I add that one of the best car magazines I know, the Austrian „Auto Revue“ (in German, of course), had a backlighted Porsche 904 shell on the cover of it’s debut issue in 1965:
https://images.app.goo.gl/VLUU1xchtg58XYoh8
„its debut issue“ of course.
Several more reasons to visit the Lane. As if I needed more.
Thanks for the smile, Rex. The DKW gives me Jensen Healey vibe. Maybe paint one half and interior light the other, since I’m sure the shape is best presented with paint, but the unique material best highlighted with lighting.
The 1938 Casterede Special and the 1963 DKW F12 Custom Bodied Roadster interest me the most out of this fleet.
We need to do a Jason Drives segment of each of the vehicles at this museum.
That DKW roadster really sets a new bar for patina. Backlighting that would be cool as hell. I hope you can seal it safely without killing the translucence: I cringe thinking about leaning carelessly on that surface.
Thanks for showing us your Christmas in September
It shouldnt need to be coated in any way.It’s normal glass fibre.
In fact those could likely sand the color off the fenders to make it consistently translucent.I *think* that’s paint(it may not be)
Mighty cool! Looks like the Castarede can be added to the ever-so-slightly expanding list of cars where the spare tire is kept in the front (such as the Citroen DS, the Citroen 2CV Sahara, many early Subarus, VW Beetles, &c, &c.)
I absolutely love posts from the Lane! Gimme that Autobianchi!
IMHO the translucency of the DKW F12 shows better in the 2nd picture, in the footwell, behind the steering wheel.
Re: 1938 Castarede Special
How long does it take to get that spare out?
Agreed with you about the picture. I should have zoomed in on that second pic. As far as the Castarede’s tire, we’re not sure! I’m guessing half a day.
Anyone else absolutely love the fuel gauge on the Eden Roc? 0…1/2…4/4 Unreduced fractions are the best.
That DKW engine.. just wow, triple coils, floating water pump? the amazing generator (I assume) fan to the rear mounted radiator.. crazy, yet economical space wise?
Out of the bunch if I had to pick one I’d go with the 1982 GMT Rivelaine.
It looks amazing!
At first I read that as the Castration Special. Checks out.
That Bianchini is friggin’ gorgeous. I’ve always had a soft spot for shapely cars that are way too small for my body.
I love lights behind the grill on that homemade 3 wheeler. Maybe not the best for actual use, but it looks good.
Interior lighting the rebodied DKW is a great idea, and people would love to see it in the same way they love seeing the models of the human body.
Absolutely fascinating! Hope to see the Lane Museum someday! Need a good docent? Willing to relocate!
I am also the volunteer coordinator, so if you do move to Nashville, I’ll get you signed up!