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Kubelwagen Replica
My mate sent me some photos I had long forgotten about so I thought I would post them on here.
About 25 five years ago Robin Mawson and I decided to add a German vehicle to the poorly resourced German sector of the Geelong Military Re-enactment Group. This was some time about 1996 we think. We decided on a replica Kubelwagen as that was the easiest thing that could be put together with what existed back then in Australia. Using a derelict 1967 Volkswagen Beetle which was stripped of its body our main reference source was a 1/9th Tamiya plastic model and a heap of photos. Back then no one was making replica Kubel bodys or panels or any parts that we were aware of and our budget was pretty limited. We just wanted something that resembled a Kubelwagen for re-enacting. The only genuine Kubelwagen we knew of then belonged in the Australian War Memorial so that was visited for photos and a close up inspection, complete with its upside down mounted spare wheel. Robin took care of the mechanical work which involved a left hand drive conversion, reversing the pedal cluster and adding the reduction rear drive from a Kombi van and readjusting the suspension torque rods to give the correct ride height. I took care of the bodywork. A skeletal frame was built up on the chassis using 25mm square tube and pipe and then I formed up panels which were welded directly to this frame. The ribs in the panels were formed using a bead roller after dies were machined to the correct size. The bead roller was identical to one I purchased to make the running boards for my 39 Ford ute recently. At this time I think we hired it for $50 for the job. It worked pretty well and small dies were machined up to press the ends of the ribs. The kombi were obtained the rear end from was a split screen model and after removing the rear end we cut it up mainly because we had not room or use for it and used some of the body pressings to fashion the rear engine bay area and some other sections I think. I remember a chap coming into the workshop in disgust that we had scrapped such a rare Kombi. I didn't know what a split screen Kombi was nor care at the time but I certainly wish we still had the body now as it was rust free and straight and now would be worth a fortune. The dash cluster and under dash fuel tank were copied as near as we could do and seats and hood bows and windscreen were all scratch built as near as we could do with the limited detail we could access.
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1943 Willys MB Willys Trailer 1941 Fordson WOT 2H 1941 Fordson WOT 2H (Unrestored) 194? Fordson WOT 2D (Unrestored) 1939 Ford 1 ton utility (Undergoing restoration) 1940 Ford 1 ton utility (Unrestored) 1941 Ford 1 ton utility (Unrestored) BSA folding bicycle BSA folding bicycle 1941 Ford/Marmon Herrington 3A gun tractor 1941 Ford/Marmon Herrington 3 gun tractor (Unrestored) 1941 Diamond T 969 (Unrestored) Wiles Junior Cooker x 2 |
#2
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I made a framework to use as a jig to fashion the guards and Michael McMahon did all the upholstery. For 16" wheels we removed the rivets from the 15" VW wheels and took the centres out. We sourced a set of Ford Prefect 16" wheels and did the same to get the 16" rim. The gap difference was 10mm so we got a 10 x 25mm steel bar ring rolled to make a spacer and welded the three pieces together. To align the wheels we pressed all three pieces together and then rotated them on the front hub and tapped with a hammer until they looked pretty good. All wheels had a runout of less than 1/8" and since we figured the top speed wouldn't be much more than 80 kph we figured that would be pretty good. Antique Tyres in Melbourne supplied us with the correct period knobby tyres which really set it off. We did make up another set of wheels with highway tyres to use on trips and the vehicle drove perfectly.
This vehicle was used for quite a few years and did a lot of travelling around Victoria and interstate for re-enacting displays and never let us down. Regrettably circumstances changed and we sold it, a decision we all regret now but we did have a lot of fun playing with it and it was a fun build back then when there was basically nothing available in replica Kubel parts. The vehicle currently is owned by a Sydney collector who changed it to field grey and has added quite a few genuine parts to it to improve its appearance. Someone else may be able to add some current photos.
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1943 Willys MB Willys Trailer 1941 Fordson WOT 2H 1941 Fordson WOT 2H (Unrestored) 194? Fordson WOT 2D (Unrestored) 1939 Ford 1 ton utility (Undergoing restoration) 1940 Ford 1 ton utility (Unrestored) 1941 Ford 1 ton utility (Unrestored) BSA folding bicycle BSA folding bicycle 1941 Ford/Marmon Herrington 3A gun tractor 1941 Ford/Marmon Herrington 3 gun tractor (Unrestored) 1941 Diamond T 969 (Unrestored) Wiles Junior Cooker x 2 |
#3
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That looks really good for a mock up.
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