2stroketurbo
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This Messerschmitt was offered to the "Schmitt Talk" yahoo group first as a courtesy. It was determined through the group, for better or for worse this 1955 Messerschmitt is a "Les Klinge" special 1955 Messerschmitt cabriolet. Directly below is a description of the car before the connection was verified. Since Les was a Messerschmitt resale and enthusiast the car may be more accurately identified an original "Les Klinge" 1955 Messerschmitt KR 200 Cabriolet.
This is a completely original, 1955 Messerschmitt KR 200 Cabriolet. When I say original, I mean it has never been restored or repainted. This car is in super nice original shape and wears it's original patina. As many of you already know, an iconic microcar like a Messerschmitt is a treasure to find. This car is the deluxe model with two tone paint. The upper body is dark red with a aluminum trim line separating the black lower exterior trim. The interior is red vinyl with white piping around the edges and is original as well. The identification plaque in the foot well area indicates this car was produced in 1955 and is serial number # 55539. The frame stamp on the engine cradle exhibits the same 55539 number. The odometer registers 30449 miles, and the speedometer is in MPH not KPH. At one point in the cars life, the Plexiglas dome was discarded and a cabriolet snap top fitted. This car appears to have all the original tidbits, the wind up clock, the towel rack bumpers, a suitcase rack, fancy hubcaps, and most every original knob and trinket little detail part is intact. Except the fuel valve, no odd parts were added, nor has the body been cut. I see no major rust bubbles, the paint has lots of tiny bumps when examined up closely, this is what I would expect for 56 year old original paint. I did not expect the paint to shine so well with a little buffing. The aluminum trim could use a lot of rubbing to make shine. There is a very small amount of soft metal in the floor pan seams in two spots. The engine turns over when put in gear. All the gears work. Again, this car has never been restored and is an excellent survivor.
My connection to the car:
I do not own the car. I am a microcar enthusiast, and just happen to own a blue 1962 Messerschmitt that I restored a few years back and I enjoy very much. I offer services to restore cars like this red 1955 Messerschmitt offered here. You can check my website ' mphspecialties.com '. This car has been not been running and has been sitting since the early 1980's. My client brought the car to my shop out of long term storage for me to examine. We discussed a bare minimal budget of just getting it running. The car needs some work to be road worthy and reliable. I know it needs the basics like the fuel system/gas tank cleaning, the rear brake cable is frayed, I suspect there is grease inside the rear drum, and wheel bearings all around should be replaced. Although the engine has not been started in almost 30 years it appears complete from head to toe. There are no missing parts. A complete NOS engine gasket set was in the car and goes with the sale. All the tires are new-ish 4.80x8 high speed trailer tires and hold air. The spare is intact and is a 4.00x8. The car really deserves a full restoration. I am selling the car for the owner and I am prepared to answer any questions. The car is located in Portland Or. and is available to view during business hours any time 9-5 Mon-Fri. E-mail with questions if you would like.
A detailed video of the car:
YouTube - 1955 Messerschmitt KR 200 Cabriolet
A note from the current owner:
Quote:
Whatever I have associated with this Messerschmitt will go to the new owner.
From the papers that came with it, it appears this Messerschmitt originally came from New Jersey, from a man named Lester Klinge (Photocopy of DMV ownership included).
An article about him says he is/was the founder of the U.S. Branch of the Messerschmitt Owners Club.
In 1978 he transferred title to Joseph & Lois Pearson, in Glenview, Illinois (Photocopy of Certificate of Title included).
In 1984 it was sold to Heinrich Rupp, and shipped to Colorado. It ran for awhile, then sat when he accumulated other cars and projects. He died in 2005, and someone attempted to steal the car out of his shop, causing damage to one fender and possibly a side view mirror. Fortunately, they did not understand Messerschmitt hand brakes. ( all three wheels of the handbrake were engaged and locked ) The car was dragged a short distance until the thieves gave up
It was brought to Oregon in 2006, in hopes of eventual restoration.
In 2009, the title was transferred into Mrs. Rupp's name.
The clean Colorado title is signed by the current owner and ready to go to the lucky purchaser.
The other paper items to be included are:
-An original Sachs 200 Manual
-An old photocopy of a Messerschmitt KR 200, KR 201 Owner's Manual
-Two pages of handwritten notes from Mister Klinge to Mr. Pearson about the car.
-Miscellaneous old photocopies of articles about Messerschmitts.
-A stack of newsletters of "Kabinews" from 1969-1980. Not every issue, but quite a few.
I hope this is enough to give someone the incentive to bring the car to life again!
End Quote:
**** New information that I believe to be more accurate about the car.****
Since chatting with fellow Messerschmitt enthusiasts on the Yahoo group "Schmitt Talk" many new important corrections have come to light. Please read below some of the new found news
Quote by Harry Connors:
That is a great video and good rundown of the car, if I may I would like to offer some comments as a long time "Messerschmitter". My schmitt is a USA export 1955 KR 200 56032.
That car is one of Les (Lester) Klinge special's.
From what he told me back in late 60's-early 70' he had purchased all of the remaining stock of Messerschmitts from the original importer. He was also purchasing schmitts from folks all over the USA at the time as well but he was into selling not buying so he was not paying much for them. He fabricated those cow catchers (bumpers) and if you come across another schmitt that passed through his hands you will find that the "bumpers" are the same. The workmanship especially the welding is "interesting". The ones that the original dealer manufactured were a lot better made. The factory did not make the bumpers and left them up to the importer to do as they were not a federal requirement as back then the States made the rules for what was required on cars being registered in their State.
The convertible top is also a Les Klinge special made item as they all have that zipper rear window. He did not have any extra plastic tops so he remade all of his cars into convertible sedans. I believe he told me that his wife sewn/copied them from an original one that he had from the factory. We had a few words about that as the factory never offered the zipper rear window, nor the loops on it for the top bows to go through. The front wind deflector (red piece above the windshield) originally was aluminum from the factory convertible conversion. Those offered by the club and various members over the years range from plastic to steel.
Another unique item that are one the cars he "restored" is that the front Messerschmitt bird emblem is mounted wrong, the birds head should be more to the right as you are looking at it. From a distance it should look like the Mercedes star mounted upside down. Those extra small trim strips on either side of the nose had to be one of his additions as I have never seen one of those on any other schmitt.
If you check those front turn signal lights on the fender I think you will find that they are USA made as are those rear view mirrors. He also painted the inside of the original turn signal lens as he felt their location was too confusing for the average driver. The hole for the location of the rear view mirror is blocked by a small screw on the front left side of the lifting section.
Of interest is that he has the same two small screw holes in the middle of the aluminum top assembly above the windshield. This was for the interior rear view mirror that appears to have been on the 55 schmitts. I do not recall seeing those holes on any other model year from the factory at least. Peter please correct if I am wrong.
The little red lamp mounted above the license plate light, was normally the location for the original brake light (missing here) on the 55 Messerschmitts. The one on this car is from a trailer, USA made. I also am not sure why the two rear lights have the license plate lens as the car has a license plate light. They would normally be solid housings if the car has a plate light.
The speedometer is not correct, it is an after market model, I think from a scooter. The original is all white with the Messerschmitt bird on it and should read backwards, i. e. the 0 should be on the right side of the dial. As an export model it has the correct white-faced clock with the Messerschmitt in the hole on the left side of the dash. The small light on the dash next to the clock is the turn signal indicator.
The ash tray not correct, they were not offered on the 55 and on the later models were on the right side panel (from the factory as dealers did mount on the dash).
Those extra hub caps have nothing to do with a schmitt except for the one "dog dish". The hub caps on the vehicle are also after market hub caps that were offered by most dealers back then.
There is no issue with the latch spring, you need to keep the T-handle to the open position until the lid is down and then turn the handle to secure the top.
The little bit of rot shown is typical for a 55 as those are the common areas that water gathers in unless some drain holes have been drilled into the floor.
In all I would say that it is a good price for a solid schmitt, that could be restored with little effort.
Since it came from Les I would be hesitate to call it all original or even that it had the original paint.
Again a great video and layout for the vehicle.
Harry
***** Another quote from a highly respected Messerschmitt enthusiast and Messerschmitt historian*****
Quote from Peter:
Very enjoyable tour of the car, Mark. Thanks.
And a good job of going over it, Harry.
I'm glad David mentioned Les Klinge, his observations open the door to what this car is really about.
We are not looking at the patina of an original 1955 car. For that you have to see the original cars at Charles Gould's place. We are looking at the patina of a car done over in the seventies, by someone whose coarse priorities were a quick sale, and with access to a large stash of mix n' match Messerschmitt dealer parts. The idea of Originality is a fairly recent one, and of little concern to owners of these cars 35 years ago.
The original dark red paint has been gone over in a more saleable brighter shade inside and out. The original matching maroon plastic fender piping has been painted over. The original maroon window rubber filler strip remains at the top, but the rest of the windshield has been reset in a more recent non-filler strip type rubber. The original leather-grain vinyl seats have been redone in a smooth Naugahyde-type vinyl, panels are still original. Early-type vinyl trim inside under the windshield is gone. The nicely done Cabrio roof is of course pure Les Klinge. A heater muffler might be hard to find.
Both instruments are original, the bird wasn't on the faces on early cars. Too bad about the missing knob. Nice to see an unmolested dash, as repro indicator lamps have been incorrect for decades.
The mirrors are very saleable British Lucas, found on many import sportscars of the day. Most are cheap repros now. The original hole for the rectangular mirror is still visible in the door side. And yes, Harry, the holes are for a missing interior rearview mirror. Winglamps are boat or truck cab roof, modern rear lamp is from a trailer. US cars usually had two vertical red Hella brake lamps, but I wouldn't rule out a single horizontal one. The small silver Hella license lamp is a rare original one, fitted for the smaller US plates. Separate license lights were often illogically seen together with windowed taillamps on overseas cars.
Rear bumper original, front a reconstruction. Cabin door seal rubbers have been replaced incorrectly.
Spare wheel looks like a rare, original, smooth-sided survivor, hard to tell. Hubcaps are fabulous period Vespa accessories, very collectible now.
Looks like a good sound base for a proper 21st century restoration.
Best regards
Peter
End Quote:
***Quote from "Bubbledrome King" Chas Gould***
Hey Mark,
I think that all of us just wanted to point out what was done by Messerschmitt and what was done by Les Klinge. I don't think that anyone was ragging on the car or on your description, and in fact, I think that each of us stated that it was still a great price for a nice (almost) original, unmolested car in that condition. I specifically stated that I thought that it was a remarkable example and worth the price, and I also think that Les' involvement actually contributes to the history of the car, as he was so influential in his day. No crititcism intended, only comments for accuracy. I hope that we weren't too hard on you. That certainly was not my intent.
Chas
End Quote:
Price : 13,500.$ USD
Please contact Mark for more information
Sorry, but NO trades
503-331-7132
