Monday, November 19, 2012

More parts sourced

Vidal and Son built several hundred thousand Hanseats between 1935 and 1958. In 1955 over 100,000 were registered on the road in Germany, but now there are only about 80 known survivors. Although not a complex machine, many parts are now extremely hard to source. There are virtually no Heinkel engine guides and information about them is almost impossible to find. Parts are also very hard to find. It took a fellow restorer I know five years to locate some replacement parts for his Heinkel engine. Consequently, when I started this project I expected it would be a very long, slow venture, primarily tracking down random unobtanium parts. To my very great surprise, this has not been the case. After a very slow start, I have been bombarded with offers of parts and assistance.

The term ‘barn find’ has dubious connotations these days. It is used incredibly often throughout eBay in often futile attempts to drum up interest in a mediocre piece of machinery. I mean, who can seriously talk of a ‘barn find’ 1985 Holden Commodore? Very occasionally though, a 'barn find' claim proves to be exactly what it says it is - a real genuine rarity dragged out of a dusty, shuttered garage.

Tempo Christian pulls another Hanseat into the light.

This year has been the year of Tempo barn finds. By my reckoning at least five have been unearthed, mainly from Eastern Germany. These finds also included a large number of spare parts. This probably should not surprise us. By the late 1950s the Tempo Hanseat was largely obsolete in the West, but as transport was still very limited in the East, many of these old machines drifted across the border where they continued to serve, well past their use by date. Stocks of spare parts were built up by their owners in order to keep the machines on the road.

A recently discovered Hanseat from East Germany. It came with a load of spares in its tray. The seller indicated that there were plenty more like this in the East.

With this sudden abundance of spares on hand, Tempo-Dienst club member, Tempo-Rolf has been an invaluable help for my project. Not only has been a great source for parts, but he has provided good advice and assistance. He can be contacted through the Tempo-Dienst website.  http://www.tempo-dienst.de/

I've been pleased to secure most of the critical parts required for my project. The most important part of the Tempo - the kettenkasten or "chain case." The chain case was specially designed by Vidal and Son for their Tempo three wheelers. It contained the chain drive to the front wheel, was partially shock absorbing, and was also weight bearing. Manufacturing a replica of this component would have been a challenge to say the least.



Cab Arrives

The cab finally arrived and has been placed in storage while other parts trickle in. Pleasingly the cab is in great condition with no signs of real rust. The back plate has been damaged however when someone has cut it off the chassis, but that's not a big problem to fix. The doors are temporary hung and fit snuggly.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Paul,
    I've bought a Tempo Hanseat 1952 few months ago in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
    I think it was assembled in Uruguai and then sold in Brasil.
    To tow the vehicle I needed to dig a hole in order to lift the front suspension. The poor Tempo was abandonned outdoor for thirty years. The rust was in heaven.
    To begin the re-construction I bought a new central pipe and then we transfered the suspensions and the cabin support to the new "chassis".
    Now, we are waiting the cabin retrofit.
    The Heinkel engine was disassembled. The parts were covered by dust and old oil. We sank all the engine parts into diesel for a week and then the roller bearings became new again (too much, but they are OK).
    Well, we need the dashboard lights switch and the battery indicator and the other indicator (we don't know what it indicates). The tach is OK and the main switch too.
    Can you help us to find this parts?
    Congratulations by your blog. Is your Tempo Hanseat "better than new" now?
    Regards
    Paulo Galindo

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    Replies
    1. Hello Paulo

      Congratulations on your project. It sounds a bit like mine - a LOT of work to do.
      I have no chassis. Did you build a replacement or find a replacement? If you built one I would like to know the spec - such as the type of steel, size, etc, so I can get one made up. My project is on hold at the moment while I wait for some more parts and work on my Volkswagen Karmann Ghia project.

      I sourced most of parts from Tempo Rolf in Germany. He is part of the Tempo-Dienst club and has a large stock of parts for sale. He supplied most of my instruments. Email me and I'll send you his contact details.

      Send us some photos of your Tempo before and during.

      Paul

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  2. Hi. Found your blog today. I need a MAGNETO to complete the engine of my 1940 TEMPO HANSEAT, do you know where can I find this? THanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello. I obtained most parts through the Tempo Dienst enthusiast group in Germany. Here is their page https://tempo-dienst.de/
      There is a forum where you can ask questions. It's mainly a German forum but Google Translate will be your friend.
      It is possible that the magneto (maybe a Dynastart?) will be common to other German vehicles of the period. Tempo did not manufacture these parts but purchased them from supplier businesses.

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  3. Also search German ebay.de and ebay small market - https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-tempo-dreirad/k0

    ReplyDelete