Eigenbau of the month

[Wendax]

Eigenbau of the month: February 2025

Another month has passed and again I stick to something seen here before. Like last month I happened to find a new picture of a car featured in one of my Enigma Variations puzzles of unknown cars (#9 in https://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/the-black-hole/enigma-variations-(postwar-edition)-opus-3). This time the Eigenbau is accompanied by three ladies instead of a gentleman, so that the rear end of the car still remains unknown. The picture was taken in 1958 in a village called Roßdorf near Jerichow according to the writing on its back. My best guess would be that it is a NSU-Fiat 500 A ("Topolino") with an altered front end, done perhaps after a front crash. The VW-like engine hood is much bigger than the original one which makes the car look larger than it really is. At first sight it gives the impression of a front-engined VW highlighted by three Buick-style portholes at the sides. The car was registered in Eastern part of Berlin. So one may assume that the owner was visiting relatives in the countryside.

[Wendax]

Eigenbau of the month: March 2025

Cleaning up this site regarding puzzles of unidentified cars I will feature a car this month again that was part of an Enigma Variations puzzle before: (Car #8 in https://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/the-brand-new-2025-vehicle-identification-board/enigma-variations-(postwar-edition)-opus-3/). In my files I have collected some more pictures of this microcar that was obviously inspired by the German Messerschmitt Kabinenroller and maybe the French Inter Auto-Scooter (https://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/2009-37/solved-pj128-inter-1954-(swiss-version)/msg59540/#msg59540). I don't have an exact year for this microcar, but with its rounded shape and the tailfin it looks a bit more dated than the Inter. If I had to guess I would estimate the year 1953 for its construction.

[pnegyesi]

This car appears in Jan De Lange's new book on French microcars as "unidentified"

[Wendax]

Thanks for the information. That's a book still on my wishlist. 

[Wendax]

Eigenbau of the month: April 2025

This thread usually deals with unknown homebuilt cars found on old photographs. But no rule without exception: This month's car is an Eigenbau whose builder is known. Furthermore the car still exists and the pictures were taken by me just some months ago. The car was built in 1955 by Johann Späth from Austria. The little roadster copied the looks of the 1950 Buick, but was powered just by a single-cylinder two-stroke DKW engine of 300 cc capacity. Only 11.5 hp propelled the light car (450 kg) up to 80 km/h. What I find rather amazing is the existence of a drawing done by its builder showing a design very close to the real car. Just a few details (hood ornament, port holes, vent windows, bumper guards) differ or went missing over the years. The car is on display at the Zylinderhaus museum in Bernkastel-Kues at the river Moselle. Johann Späth thought of starting a series production, but the car remained a one-off.

[Wendax]

Eigenbau of the month: May 2025

This month I'll feature another Eigenbau already posted as part of one of my Enigma Variations as #11 from https://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/the-brand-new-2025-vehicle-identification-board/enigma-variations-(postwar-edition)/. It is a nice-looking three-wheeiled microcar from Vienna, probably built in the first half of the 1950s. This time you can enjoy some more pictures than in the previous post. Two of them show the car with the license plate W 45.109. As the white lettering seems to be on a lighter background than usual I assume it is one of the blue preliminary plates for test drives (just like the Prova plates in Italy). The car obviously seated the two adults and one child (apparently the builder and his family) quite well. The other pictures show the car with a regular license plate W 23.776 on a holiday trip together with another couple from Vienna on a motor bike. Can anyone identify the locations where the pictures were taken?

[Wendax]

Eigenbau of the month: June 2025

This month's Eigenbau happens to be the rare case where a home-built car is up for auction. The car is based on a 1939 BMW 326, so it fits quite well in here as it is not the only BMW-based Eigenbau in this thread. It was built in 1949 by Bror Sköldner (1928-2024) and Birger Eriksson (1926-2010) from Lima, a small village in Southern Sweden. The coupe bodywork is still influenced much by the original 1930's style but showing modern design at the front, the lack of running boards and the larger windows. The car obviously has been repainted and worked on a bit when you compare its current looks with its sad state seen on the last two pictures, but still much work seems to be necessary. Let's hope it will find an enthusiast who gets it back on the road.

[Wendax]

Eigenbau of the month: July 2025

Last week I acquired three pictures showing an extensively modified Wartburg 311. The front is dominated by a large rectangular chrome grille, supplemented by larger bumpers, incorporated fog lights and horns, and some unusually formed sheet metal to connect the bonnet to the new grille. The rear end is the American dream come true: huge tailfins with rocket-like taillight and indicators. The trunk was enlarged, so the only way to tell from the back that it is a Wartburg is by looking at the rear window. Just like up front incorporated rear lights and reflectors (divides into three sections like a Mercedes star) and rectangular bumpers were added. The sideline stayed almost the same except for some extra chrome at the rear wheelhouses and the tailfins starting behind the doors. The car was registered in the Frankfurt (Oder) district in the Eastern part of Brandenburg.

[Wendax]

Eigenbau of the month: August 2025

This month I stay in roughly the same area, but the Eigenbau is from another time and of a different kind. It was already part of one of my Enigma Variations group puzzles before (car #4 in https://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/the-brand-new-2025-vehicle-identification-board/enigma-variations-(postwar-edition)-opus-3/). I don't know anything about this sporty roadster, but I think to recognize some prewar BMW parts like the hood or the fascia. Other parts seem to be home-built in order to give the car this sports car appearance. The front end treatment might have been inspired by the radiator grille of the BMW/EMW 340. The headlights and the turning lights look as if they originate from the Robur Garant truck. The photo was taken in Schönwalde east of Berlin.

[Wendax]

Eigenbau of the month: September 2025

This month's featured Eigenbau is somewhere between a child's car and a microcar as it could be driven by adults and kids as well. It was built in the 1950s in the  small town of Teuchern in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is just 160 cm long and 80 cm wide. The engine is a 50 cc MAW (VEB Messgeräte- und Armaturenwerk ,,Karl Marx") unit built as an auxiliary engine for bicycles. This lovely vehicle survived and is momentarily for sale. Any design similarities with such American beasts as the Autoette or the Motorette are purely coincidental.