We classify a modern car as being fuel efficient when it achieves 40 mpg, but back in the 1950’s there were companies all over the world building cars that could achieve 60 mpg or more. Sure they might have looked goofy and weren’t very fast, but at least they were somewhat fun to drive. This rare little German micro car has lots of character and should make for an interesting project. It’s a 1956 Kleinschnittger F125 and the seller has already rebuilt the mechanical systems. So before buying a Prius, check this out here on eBay.
This little car could be one of the more interesting looking microcars we’ve seen in a while. At first glance, it looks much larger than it really is. To keep weight down, the body was crafted out of aluminum and the interior was kept as simple as possible. The single cylinder engine only put out about 5 horsepower and could propel the car to a top speed of 40 mph.
Seeing as there were less than 2,000 of these built, finding parts could be rather difficult, but other than body work and interior, there doesn’t appear to be much left to do. Getting those aluminum body panels straight is going to take a skilled body though, and that could get expensive.
The F125 above is what this project could look like once it’s all finished, but getting it to this point is going to be a good amount of work. The seller’s staring bid of $20k seems high given how small this car is, but once fully restored it could fetch double that at auction.
I’m imagining that this seller just picked up several more microcars at the Bruce Weiner microcar museum auction last week and he needs to thin out some of his stock to make room for the new additions…
http://rmauctions.com/results/result.cfm?feature=No&category=Cars&salecode=BW13&sort=lot&view=list¤cy=&toYear=&fromYear=&make=&lot=&model1=
The fully restored 1955 Kleinschnittger sold, @ Bruce Wiener auction for $48,300.
I guess, because it’s a smaller much simpler car a restoration project is more manageable ??
less work ?
more money ??
Looks smaller than an MG Midget and those are too small to drive safely on todays roads.
Bruce Weiner is the planet’s top microcar restorer, and all of his cars are about as close to perfect as they can get. So if a perfect Bruce Weiner Kleinschnittger sells for $48K at a Bruce Weiner microcar auction, then this one needs to be no more than a final-prep-and-paint-job away from perfection to be worth $20K.
Unfortunately, being 99% complete, with features that ‘work’ but aren’t necessarily perfect, and with no engine bay and underside photos, I doubt this car is close enough to perfection to be worth the $20K opening bid, and so far the market seems to agree. Good luck to the seller, who probably has more than $20K in the car. I hope he can make most of his money back.
Let’s see ……at one for each foot………that’s a bit to rich for my blood!