(first posted 4/29/2013) “Car Show”, said the sign pointing into the church parking lot a couple blocks from my cave in the far north suburbs of Houston. “Probably just the usual bunch of ‘Vettes, Camaros and Mustangs”, I thought to myself as I walked up the drive. Well, yes there were some of those, but there were several less-expected, more interesting vehicles as well, not least this small, blue sedan with a definite late ‘50s European-yet-somehow-American aspect to it. Once I got closer, it took me a few minutes to realize what I was looking at (a sign in the windshield and the four rings on the grille helped a bit): a gen-u-wine 1962 DKW Junior Deluxe.
The story of DKW is ably covered in this 2011 CC post , so I’ll stick to discussing the Junior and its variants. Put into production at Auto Union’s Ingolstadt works in 1959, the Junior was aimed at roughly the VW Type 1 (Beetle) market, and carried on with DKW’s long-time preference for two-stroke power and front-wheel drive, but with thoroughly modernized styling.
The base model, sold through ’62, had conventional body-on-frame construction, rode on 12-inch wheels and was powered by a three-cylinder, 741 cc engine mounted ahead of the front axle. The Deluxe, represented by the pictured car, sold alongside the base version in ’61 before itself becoming the default standard in ’62. It carried a slightly larger (796 cc) unit on 13-inch wheels. Both power plants were rated at 34 HP, but the larger motor presumably provided a bit of extra torque and a slightly higher top speed. A four-speed manual transmission delivered the power, with a steering column-mounted shifter.
Here’s a view of the mighty three-banger and its interesting layout, with the shaft-driven fan and radiator located behind the engine, and individual coils for each spark plug. In 1963, engine size was increased again to 889 cc, boosting horsepower to 40. This, along with minor updating of the bodywork, was celebrated by a name change to the somewhat anodyne F12. Later the same year, a version with the 796 cc engine was re-introduced as the F11.
In ’64, a rather pretty roadster variant was released, with the 889 cc engine now achieving 45 HP. The F12 roadster, and the F11-F12 sedan, lasted until parent VW pulled the plug in favor of reviving the Audi name (with four-stroke engines) in 1965.
I was sort of dimly aware that DKWs were imported to the US (they were sold by Mercedez-Benz US Sales, itself controlled by Studebaker, hence the South Bend address-Ed.), but can’t recall ever seeing any, and in any event, this didn’t seem like a Houston sort of car at all. Well, it wasn’t.
The owners (a guy in his mid-thirties and his 70-ish father) explained that it was a barn find from the estate of a deceased Michigan relative. According to them, these vehicles enjoyed a bit of cultish popularity the region due to relatively good winter performance, via their narrow, snow-cutting tires and front-wheel drive. The trade off, of course was that most of the DKWs used in this manner had long since rusted away to nothing. This one, in unrestored condition and with what appears to be its original paint, runs, seems quite solid and obviously was put away in storage before the tin worm could take hold.
The owners mentioned that a considerable cache of parts came with it, including three engines, so they should be able to keep their Junior Deluxe on the road for quite a while. They have to be selective about where and when the exercise it, however. Despite the factory claims of a top-speed around 70 MPH, they said they can only coax their machine up to 40 or so. Nevertheless, they appear to be having a blast with it, and it makes a nice change from yet another customized ’64 Impala hardtop. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
“Connoisseurs drive DKW” indeed.
No autobahn-cruising for this one, I suppose. A fascinating little car. I am intrigued by the way the door and side-panel sheetmetal rises up to the bottoms of the windows. Such an odd little metal lip.
I could see these being quite popular in Studebaker showrooms in 1962, if only to make the Larks look like such fabulous cars! The idea of Mercedes and Audi being allied is strange to my ears in 2013, but I am sure that it was not much more than a marriage of convenience in 1962.
A great find. Something like this in the US has to be virtually irreplaceable.
Hey, it had a top speed of 71 mph, which was faster than the Beetle until the 40hp version arrived in 1961. Then it topped it by one mph.
Styling reminds more than a bit of a 1956 Ford, eh?
I remember seeing these on very rare occasion, usually sitting immobile in someone’s side yard or such.
Oops; I missed the part about them only getting this one up to 40. There must be something wrong with it. These were considered fairly lively in their day.
Its like a baby 56-57 Ford with a little 57 Plymouth in the rear.
DKW was very into American Fords for awhile…
I have a DKW f12 which has the 998 engine (40bhp) and regularly attend the international meetings in Europe (see my youtube video rapsport )
This car will cruise all day on the autobahns at 70mph!
Great little car and 100% reliable if maintained properly
Found in Michigan! Unbelievable. But if there’s anyplace that values snow-worthy cars, it’s Michigan.
Agreed, until the hot rod crew shows up. Anyways, some of the weird cars I have seen at local car shows include a GMC Sprint (badge-engineered El Camino) & a Stutz Bearcat (will do CC when seen again).
In my limited experience, you are likely to find unusual cars in Michigan because they are owned by engineers.
That engine is identical to the one in a ’85 Wartburg I used to own- down to the three coils and three sets of points operated off of the crankshaft- adjusted through the hole in the bumper. If you think synchronizing twin carbs is fun, wait til you have to adjust three sets of approximately assembled East German points! With a later Warty engine and Jikov 2 barrel Skoda carb, that thing would scream down the motorway. These things sound so nice on full throttle- very smooth and lusty- a buttery smooth straight six on power, a diesel with a bad head gasket at idle.
What a fantastic little machine. I love coming across oddball stuff like this. Props to the owners for keeping it roadworthy.
The reason it wil only go 40mph could be that it hasn’t been run fast. The exhaust fills up with soot.
Procedure- adjust the overall distributor & all the points to each cylinder, done properly with a dial indicator on each piston for each set of points.
Put the car on a hoist with a helper inside & heat up the low points of the exhaust with a torch.
Have helper start the engine & rev it a few times. This pleases everyone else in the shop with the noise & smoke & carbon coming out.
Quickly get out & do an “Italian tuneup”, with more smoke & carbon blowing on following traffic.
Sometimes there’s no choice but to change the muffler.
Where’s the air filter?
Sounds about right.
Nowhere but at Curbside Classic: How to tune up your DKW! I’m impressed.
The only thing more fun than this is to start a 2 stroke from cold in an underground car park. Five minutes of full choke idling to get it up to running temperature and I couldn’t see to get out! The eco-friendly people of Brugge were NOT happy with me. Luckily, they only saw the German export plates, so they were cursing the Germans, not the crazy American/UK expat.
Great find. Where did you find this collection. I live in Conroe and think I must have been sleeping. I think our lack of winter probably gives us as many unique cars as the PNW. Look forward to seeing more.
Just off Woodlands Parkway. I neglected to check what organization put on the event. There were only about 15 cars. Pick of the litter, IMO were this one, an American Bantam, a ’39 V-12 Lincoln (visible in a couple of shots) and a ’39 GMC flatbed.
As also seen on an Accord in our neighborhood, painted steel wheels are growing on me; them seem a nice alternative to ubiquitous fake-aluminum wheel covers.
I think DKW had a bit of history rallying, especially in Kenya. Also that engine compartment looks a lot like a Saab 96 2 stroke, I think partly because Saab used a DKW as the launch pad for the 92 and partly convergent evolution.
What a great find rare little beasties sounds like that one has a clogged exhaust a common 2stroke problem I havent seen a DKW live in decades. Out here they suffered from being German and taxed accordingly made these cars expensive to buy like VWs they were vastly overpriced compared to the opposition and being nearly as slow as a Volkswagen doesnt attract many customers here these little bombs really are flat land cars and back in the days there were not many places you could thrash a VW up to top speed in NZ except the Auckland motorway on rural NZ highways a Vdub at 100kmh is a frightening thought a DKW well nobody wanted them.
Slight correction there are quite a few DKWs here but ive only seen one this model, and that was a long time ago. VWs are much more common
Parents owned a 1959 DKW 1000 4 door. Friend of ours also owned one. And a co-worker of dad’s ( Navy ) had a 1962 Jr. The drivetrain from it ( Jr ) sits downstairs in the garage. Nothing sounds better than to hear one screaming down the road and then lifting on the throttle. Japanese cars with fart can mufflers have nothing on a properly tuned DKW with a large exhaust system. 😉
“… makes a nice change from yet another customized ’64 Impala hardtop. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
You’d better believe there isn’t a single thing wrong with that. Ditto for my avatar!
While a lot of these Euro cars are rather cute, and that the economy and market were much different, other than outside styling, they have little appeal to me, especially after reading all the details and how really crude they were. Glorified tin cans…
When comparing the level of technical sophistication of early sixties German cars to domestics of the same era, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to conclude that it is generally domestics that are the “crude” ones.
Horsepower, size and styling geared to North American tastes do not equate technical innovation.
Auto Union, the parent company, was bought by Mercedes in 1957 and I think it was Mercedes who designed the Auto Union car that was re-badged as Audi when VW took over control in 1964.
I do hope the owner of this little “Deek” realises you have to mix oil with the petrol – that 40 mph top speed sounds ominous.
As I remember Mercedes owned Audi and Auto Union until something like 1967. The DKW would have been a competeur to VW. Not a sub mark.
some friends had one of these in Hong Kong, is the engine similar to a SAAB which also a 2 stroke 3cyl job.
Das Kleine Wunder
The DKWs were king of the hill in the 750 cc stock car class in Mexico City in 1963. The Alfas ruled the 1300 cc class, and the 225 cu in Valiant was the dominant, if not the only car to run in the over two liter class.
“De-carbonizing” was a necessary tune-up procedure for two-stroke Saabs as well. It was also part of the regular maintenance for my friends that owned two-stroke motorcycles.
Cute,I never knew DKW made cars til I came here.The DKW 125 motorcycle was probably the most copied bike ever made,BSA,Harley Davidson and Yamaha were just 3 i can remember.
Kennen : knowledge
From wikipedia: A connoisseur (French traditional (pre-1835) spelling of connaisseur, from Middle-French connoistre, then connaître meaning “to be acquainted with” or “to know somebody/something.”
Kenner=Connoisseur Same origins, undoubtedly.
Reminds me of the old joke. What does DKW stand for? Deutsche Kinder Wagen, or German kiddie car.
I once owned a DKW Junior! When I was in grad school in the late 1970s a bunch of us discovered one of these and got very enamored of it. In person you get the actual scale, it looks like a fifties American car that got left in the dryer too long. I was already infected with fascination around the three-pot two stroke, having looked for a decent Saab 96 (without finding one) for my first car. Simple, “elegant”, just seven moving parts!
It had been sitting in a Massachusetts field for many years, but didn’t look too rusty. We paid $25 and had it towed to the house. I got my socket set and pulled the head off, just a few bolts with no valve gear. What I saw looked like the insides of rusty tin cans. These cylinders were not just frozen, the walls and pistons were solid thick rust.
Oh well. The fascination wore off quickly, and we lacked the tools, time, money or skills to carry it further. It sat in the driveway a few months, finally I put an ad in Hemmings. A guy came, gave me $25 and towed it away.
Kenner Schlepptau DKW!
My German relatives in Northern Germany (Kassel) owned nothing but DKW’s and, later, Audi’s. That might have had to do with the location of their house- about 10 miles out of town, on the top of a hill, next to a forest. I mentioned northern Germany, right- it snows… sometimes by the foot. Think roughly Calgary and you’ve about got the weather.
They had a 3=6 Wagon in the business, my aunt had a 1000S Coupe, and my uncle drove a small F11 when they came out.
We had one when I was around 10 years old! Loved it, remember the engine had to be on the boil the whole time, has a wonderfully musical engine note, such character. Didnt stay round very long, not sure why. Probably where my love of white steering wheels and column change came from.
It reminds me a bit of the Amphicar.
As a little 1970´s boy I was absolutely floored when I once witnessed an Amphicar slip down into the river Rhein.
My brother and I screamed ecstatically and asked my dad to stop the car instantly and turn around to check out what was going on.
From then on it was constantly: Dad…when are WE gonna get an Amphicar ???
😉
As if Mercedes cars were not enough of a culture shock to the mechanics at Studebaker dealers, there was the DKW that joined the lineup around the time this one was sold.
As if Mercedes cars were not enough of a culture shock to the mechanics at Studebaker dealers, there was the DKW
Probably as much of a shock as when AMC dealers were confronted with Renaults.
From the Studebaker annual report.
Maybe a wider track and larger tires would have helped the looks of these things. I am more interested in the lovely blue car in the background of pic #6 – what is that?
Looks like miniature version of a 1956 Zephyr or Consul. Same C pillar, same stubby fins. Even the “face” has similar look.
Even in Berkeley, where we had plenty of Saab 96 2 strokes, Borgwards, Isettas, Vauxhalls, Ford Zodiacs and the first-gen Capris, these DKW’s were not a common sight by the early ‘60’s when I became aware of the cars around me. If they ever were.
I actually got to drive one of these during my stint as a filling station attendant and all around helper at a busy 4 bay shop conveniently located down the road from an IBM location known for research. Some of the employees there were actual scientists and many had unusual cars. My boss rented the place paying cents on the gallon of gasoline sales – don’t remember how much though. We had two frame contact lifts, a mechanics lift and a wheel alignment rack. We somehow got plenty of foreign car work even though our level of expertise was not high. Maybe it looked like we knew what we were doing. The Deek’s clutch wouldn’t release and my only assignment on that job was to get the thing parked way in back. I think it was gone a couple of days later. May have been the same car my across the street neighbor owned about six years earlier. Same bright yellow with white top. I must have been about twelve at the time he owned it. Never will forget that great 2 stroke sound and smoke and smell!
When my car consciousness awoke by the early to mid 70s, these cars were no longer to be seen on German roads.
I do remember the chattering, rattling engine sound though from its slightly bigger sibling…Auto Union 1000 DeLuxe
Picture shows one like we owned. Right down to the color. Mom learned to drive on it on Cyprus. She didn’t learn how to use the clutch until it was warn out.;-) M-B dealer replaced it for $25 in 1959. Mom was going thru one of her boxes the other day and found her 1959 Cyprus driver’s license and her 1960 Turkish driver’s license.
Great! That’s why I like reruns, there’s a lot I’ve missed.
I can’t get over that rear mounted radiator. I’m just picturing the same hot air going around and around inside the engine compartment until the motor cooks itself.
Air in the grill and out without any problems. Same as the 60 and 2 heating. Air from the radiator was directed to the passenger area and could be helped by opening the rear windows a bit. A Jr would cruise at 74mph and was flat out at 76mph. The 1000 did better than that but if you really knew the terrain and the Deek, you could get 50 mpg out of it. The 1962 Jr engine downstairs is oil injected so no 50:1 oil in the gas.
De luxe modellen hadde oljepumpe og varsellys for trykk. Da brukte den mindre enn 1:50 alt etter hvordan den var justert. Da var det bare å fylle ren bensin, og olje på oljetanken. Jeg brukte vanlig motorolje. Min -62 mod. var oppgitt med en toppfart på 120 km/t. Den klarte 110 på 3. gear og ikke noe mer på 4.
Maybe that’s why it’s so thick. Thickest auto radiator I’ve ever seen. Wonder how many rows?
No water pump either. Thermo siphon flow. The 1000 were no slouch with the light weight of the cars. Had one for a bit and loved the sound from the rusted out exhaust. Ziiiiiing burr burr burr burr ziiiiiiiiing. It sounded like it would rev into the stratosphere.
Erik, DKW did some things with the engines at the factory. The best hp ones were pulled for racing use. The next best ones went into the 1000s. We owned one from 1959 to 1965 when dad sold it to a friend because we were going to Japan. RH drive car in NY got a second look from a cop ( u-turn ) as I was sitting on mom’s lap in what should have been the driver’s seat. 😀
i have one of these little DKW Jr 1960 bought at a farm junk sale in Nebraska, no drive unit and pretty rough shape but i saved it from the crusher so I’m glad about that, some day look to build it?
it was a good day for a sale but not many buyers most the cars ended up in a Big pile and crushed then hauled off and shredded ! so sad!
I had a F11 de luxe from 1962 with oil-pump and warning-lamp for pressure. You could adjust the amount, and I found ca. 1 : 70 was OK (no smoke)