Repair Manual

WAHOO! The previous owner found the repair manual! It is very very very cool. It has great diagrams showing how to fix all sorts of things on the Prinz. It is a great tool will help me bring the Prinz back to life.

And to set the record straight. No, I have never really done a restoration before. I have owned a number of weird cars that I have worked on here and there but this will be my first true restoration. I have been banned by the other half that this will also be my ONLY restoration until it is up and running on it's own. *sigh* There was one point in our life together that I had collected 5 random cars in various states of repair. Some people save animals, I want to save cars.

Last week I went up to the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. On the day I was there the Antique Auto Mushers of Alaska were showing off their cars. After talking to some of the members I plan on becoming a member myself. They offer lots of help, advice and knowledge of the world of car restorations. And I think I could use all of the above.

This Ford is owned by one of the Antique Auto Mushers members. It was a very sweet looking car. They did admit that antique cars are an addiction. I can defiantly agree to that! My dream house would come with a warehouse to store all my toys!

The Prinz is my only toy car at the moment, but I also have a 1966 Skamper pop-up, and a fabulous Serro Scotty travel trailer. The Scotty was a pregnancy gift from my amazing other half. It is so great having a other half that gets it. The Scotty was the world's most perfect present for a car geek like me.

The plan for the Scotty is that it is to become my art studio. Living in a small house means that in the winter it is very easy to heat. And being in Alaska that is ALWAYS a good thing. But it also means that there is little space for my other hobbies such as making Ukrainian Eggs, painting, quilting, and a number of other art activities. The Scotty will be the extra room just for me. I know that this is the NSU Prinz blog but updates from the Scotty will be include in here from time to time too.

A Little History

Taken from the Microcar Museum Atlanta GA

1960 NSU Prinz III
In 1955, the NSU engineering department was instructed to build a new small car. 7.5 million marks were borrowed to build a new plant for the project.
The car was ready for the Frankfurt Auto Show in September 1957. Its attractive body carried a 583cc twin-cylinder 4-stroke motor which featured the technically interesting Ultramax cam-drive using eccentrics and rods.Production began in Mar. 1958, and in 1959 came the Prinz II which featured better trim and an all-synchro box. A high performance 30E (export) version gave 30 hp.
The Prinz III arrived in October 1960 with a new stabilizer bar and the 30hp motor, making it one of the fastest small cars of its time-at 120kph. This attractive car was also technically well sorted out and built.
It was succeeded in 1961 by the Corvair-like Prinz IV.
Volkswagen took over NSU, and then merged it with its Audi subsidiary to form Audi NSU Auto Union AG. The Neckarsulm plant is currently building certain Audi and Porsche models.
Manufacturer: NSU Motorenwerke AG, Neckarsulm, Germany
Model: Prinz III
Motor: NSU 4-stroke
Body: Steel unit body
Years Built: 1, II , III Sept.57 -1962
No. Cylinders: 2
Chassis: None
No. Produced: 95,000
Displacement: 583cc
Suspension Front: Coil
No. Surviving: N/A
Horsepower: 30
Suspension Rear: Coil
Length: 3 150 mm
Gearbox: 4 fwd. + rev.
Steering: Rack & pinion
Width: 1 420 mm
Starter: Dynastart
Brakes: Hydraulic.
Weight: 496 kg
Electrics: 12 v
4 Wheels: 4.40 x 12"
Interior: 4 seats
Ignition: Coil
Top Speed: 120 kph

OOOOHHH BOXES OF BITS ARRIVED!!!

I am so excited! The former owner found a couple of boxes of bits for the Prinz including the instrument panel, hubcaps, spare tire and a whole lot more!

It's getting dark so I can't go through the bits tonight. AURGH! Seeing how I have the patience of a flea it's going to be a long night. I so hope tomorrow is sunny!

Missing bits....and a big decision

OK so I finally went through all the boxes that came with the Prinz. The good news is that there are LOTS of extra parts. The bad news is that there are some key parts that are defiantly missing.

Extra bits include a gas tank, oil filters, fabric to recover the back seat (yes, it does have a back seat in case you were wondering), a very cool valve cover that sports the letters NSU, and I think enough bits to make an entire spare engine. Of course the extra engine is currently in a million pieces and the previous owner has not been able to lay his hands on the owners manual. *Sigh*

What I don't have is the ignition, air filter housing, front back and curved side windows (I have a very bad feeling that they are going to be pricey to have custom made with the curve of them), instrument panel, and I am sure there will be more more but I have not had the joy of figuring out what they are yet.

So now comes the decision....do I attempt to make the little beast come to life with the engine that it currently in it? Or do I start to rebuild the extra engine and see how far I get?

Well enough playing with the toy, it's my turn to mow the lawn.

NSU Prinz Sales Brochure

In the mail last night I received my copy of a 1960 NSU Prinz sales brochure purchased from Ebay for $9.00 including shipping. It's in great shape and has lots of cool information about my little car. Ebay rocks! Where else in Anchorage Alaska would I have been able to find such an item??

The brochure boasts that the 1960 Prinz is a wunder car made in Neckarsulm West Germany. In this brochure it tell all about the fact that it has an all aluminum air cooled engine, gets up to 50 miles to the gallon, Hydraulic Brakes, Rigid ram, All Steel Body, Speedy Acceleration, Lasting Lacquer Finish, Large Luggage Space, Superb Roadability, AND uses Regular Gas! How cool is all that?