Solved: Wendax 609 - Pilot for Gösta Wigersand

[Wendax]

Grey sky outside. So let's have a grey puzzle car today.

For one point, please respond and identify this car, its maker and the year it was built.

[Wendax]

up

[JonathanPoll]

Pilot Galette, 1953, Ydral motor.

I saw the ebay advert for it recently!

[Wendax]

Well done, Jonathan.

Supply the name of the builder, and I will be glad to give you your first (or second, by then?) point. Locked for you, of course.

Welcome at AutoPuzzles, where microcar experts are always welcome.

[JonathanPoll]

Well done, Jonathan.

Supply the name of the builder, and I will be glad to give you your first (or second, by then?) point. Locked for you, of course.

Welcome at AutoPuzzles, where microcar experts are always welcome.

Hehe I am kind of a microcar nut

[Wendax]

Some more pictures while we are waiting for Jonathan's answer. 

[JonathanPoll]

hmmm can't seem to find the name in the advert

I'm still new here... Can I post the link to the advert?

[Otto Puzzell]

hmmm can't seem to find the name in the advert

I'm still new here... Can I post the link to the advert?

Nope:

http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?topic=20153.0

[Wendax]

In the German ebay advert the name is mentioned. You can also search AutoPuzzles with one part of the name and you will find the name. 

Still locked.

[JonathanPoll]

How long is a lock anyway?

[Wendax]

It depends. Usually the lock will last until the puzzle owner unlocks it explicitly. If there wasn't any answer within let's say 2 or 3 days, the lock will be lifted after a prior announcement. Sometimes the lock will be granted just for 24 hours or until the next answer.

[cljo]

Hello

I´m a little bit confused here. Can it be true? The last time I saw this lovely little car it was a wreck and I was the owner.

This should be a home made car from Bollnäs in Hälsingland, Sweden. Not in any way french.  I  gave it to a friend of mine in Germany. The car was in a poor state, lacked engine and floor etc but the aluminum body was in one piece and the steering etc worked. What confuses me is the covered front wheels and the taillights etc. When I had it it had wire wheels and was completely raw.

However. It was built in 1947 in a local cycel shop. The engine was a british two cylinder boxer engine. It was built for a Mr Gösta Wigersand who suffered from bad legs, so a special hydraulic (automatic)  transmission was ordered from US.
The threewheeler was never fully completed and the engine ended up in a boat. The transmission was transplantet into a Lloyd by a well known swedish racing driver.

I sure would love to know more about the car s whereabouts, the (new?) owner and if it is running today. I may have som more information to share in my archives.

Regards

cljo

[cljo]

And yes, it was partly built from a "Pilot" blue print. But it did not have a real name, due to the fact that it was never completed. By the way, the door handles are Opel Kadett.

cljo

[cljo]

Hello

Do you need more info to label this mystery "solved"? The "Pilot" drawing was made by an engineer at the aeroplane maker Saab in Linköping. He sold the drawing through ads in magazines and from catalogues. There were quite a few Pilots made in Sweden, all having three wheels but looking quite different compared to each other.

Regards

Cljo

[cljo]

On it´s way from snowy Sweden to its new owner i Germany – a journey that had to be cancelled due to the bad weather, but some months later it took off to its new home.

Still not solved?

Cljo

[JonathanPoll]

designed by Ulf Cronberg

[cljo]

Hello
Here is a "Pilot", built from Mr Cronbergs drawings. Not many similarties with Mr Wigersands car, but some construction ideas can be found in the chassi. The Pilot is made mostly of wood, The Wigersand car is steel tubes and aluminum.

Cljo

[Wendax]

Hi Claes,

you certainly know more about that car than I do. 

I was offline for two weeks, spending my vacation at the Baltic Sea. So I couldn't declare this puzzle solved. I love your picture with the puzzle car on the Rekord roof. Ulf Cronberg is the name I was looking for, having just the ebay description as a source. I think JonathanPoll and you both have earned a point, even if my source is doubtable. Well done!

[Wendax]

I've reread my source. It calls this car just Pilot. The Galette is a similar French car of the same design. Headline altered.