History Amphicar H20 ..Old vs. New ....

Reading thru a magazine called COASTAL LIVING and ran across a story on the AMPHICAR ... http://www.coastalliving.com/coastal/living/people/article/0,14587,1822631,00.html

The Amphicar was built in Germany from 1961 to 1968. Total production was 3,878 vehicles. The Amphicar is the only civilian amphibious passenger automobile ever to be mass produced. 3,046 Amphicars were imported into the United States between 1961 and 1967. The Amphicar is rear engined and uses a 4 cylinder British-built Triumph Herald motor producing 43hp. All Amphicars are convertibles, and the civilian models were originally offered in only 4 colors, Beach White, Regatta Red, Lagoon Blue and Fjord Green (Aqua).

The backbone of the Amphicar's electrics is basically a Lucas 12 volt positive ground system with certain items such as the horn, lighting and switches made by other manufacturers such as Hella and Bosch.

The Amphicar has a top speed of 7mph on water and 70mph on land. Hence, it was dubbed the "Model 770". The Amphicar is moved in the water by its twin nylon propellers. A special two-part land-and-water transmission built by Hermes (makers of the Porsche transmission) allows the wheels and propellers to be operated either independently or simultaneously. The "land transmission" is a 4-speed-plus-reverse unit similar to those found in the old Volkswagen Beetles. The "water transmission" is a 2-speed offering unique to the Amphicar featuring single forward and reverse gears. In the water, the front wheels act as rudders.

When new the Amphicar sold for between $2,800 and $3,300, depending on the year. Later model years actually sold for less than those of early years. No 1968 model year Amphicars were directly imported into the USA. This was because of the U.S. Government's EPA and DOT regulations that went into effect beginning with 1968 model year vehicles. This caused a major financial disaster for the Amphicar Corporation since the USA represented about 90% of all Amphicar sales. The Amphicar factory in Berlin, Germany closed for good in 1968, and the remaining inventory of unused parts was eventually purchased by Hugh Gordon of Sante Fe Springs, California. Hugh's Gordon Imports remains the Amphicar owner's primary source for spare parts

Looks like there is a newer verison hitting the H2O called The Aquada..http://www.gibbstech.co.uk/aquada.php

How many you remember this car and have any pics for sharing ....

 

I recall a dealer in Vancouver staged a demo of an Amphicar. Some smartass stole the spotlight when he caulked up the leaks in a VW bug and drove it in the water, where it floated like a cork! He could even drive it by spinning the wheels, and the fronts acted like rudders. I don't remember how much work he actually did to the Bug, but it sure was cool!

 

Check out this Amphicar thread I started last year.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=210625

 

Lucas Electrics and water.... that has to be a good combo.

 

Wonder how many of those things are "sleeping with the fishes" ?

Rich

 

Coca Cola filmed a commercial at Hanson Dam in the San Fernando Vally with the Amphicar racing down the boat-ramp and making a big splash entrance in to the water. What you didn't see in the commercial was the Amphicar sinking after the big splash!

 

There is a guy near DFW airport that has one, he dumps it out into Grapevine Lake for a spin every so often.

I remember seeing a magazine in the '80s with a Pro Street Amphicar. Dare to be Different I guess. I bet he choked when he saw what one auctioned for a couple years ago.

 

LBJ, the President, owned one and loved to take unsuspecting guests for a ride around the ranch with a quick and totally unexpected side tour through a pond or two.
He also enjoyed driving those big old slab-sided Lincolns at high speeds off road with reporters and other guests as passengers.

 

I remember seeing one in the late 60's, churning through the lake. It was quite a sight. Everyone was afraid that some smart ass with a big boat would swamp the thing with it's wake.
I owned a Herald too. I knew it was slow, but 43 horses seemed more like 43 donkeys.
It figures that these were built in Germany. Probably as a cover for a stealth U boat type thing.
I saw one on the road not that long ago, and wondered if it's owner dared to get it wet. I know that I wouldn't.

 

About 20 years ago I got to ride in the back seat of one on Lake Quannapowitt(sp?)in Wakefield Massachusetts.With just 3 of us in the car the water was coming dangerously close to the tops of the doors.Those pictures you see of people riding in rivers obviously have a serious death wish or they are great swimmers.To me;as Paul Stookey of Peter,Paul,and Mary used to say,"Swimming is survival in the water".

Here's a picture of Bob Adams' aqua Amphicar.He has a picture next to it of him driving it around in some lake(if there is a Lake Orion then that's where it was taken as that is where he lives).

 

Our illustrious former member of the provincial legislature has a taste for bizarre stuff and has one of these things squirrelled away. He spent lots of money on the car after it pretended it was the Cunard liner Titanic and went down on it's maiden voyage. The joke around here was that he forgot to put in the drainplug......

This is also the same guy, who as a politician, and on the evening news, told the reporters that there wouldn't be an unemployment problem in Saskatchewan if all the welfare bums went to work. He also spouted some rhetoric about gays being anti Christian. Figured his house would've been Molotov'd after that one. His piece de resistance, though, was when he was asked about some problem the provincial government was happening, his verbatim answer to the tv reporters was: "the issue is like a woman's brassiere - a point here and a point there, but the whole thing is kind of shaky in the middle."
Too bad he didn't go down with his ship.........

 

The dealer in yonkers ny lived about 5 houses away from me ,his kids were driving them all the time. I know from personal experience you can drive it into the resavor it might not drive out.

 

I remember watching a special on T.V. about the amphicar a while ago.

Apparently some guy, an amphicar collector has figured out that he can hit the water going fast enough down a boat launch to do a "Water Wheelie" in the thing and pop the nose up in the air

No thanks.

Shawn

 

I've had a few of them over the years, still have one.







not a good car and not a good boat, but certainly unique!

 

There are a couple of these up here that come out during the summer. I was asking one of the owners how stable it was. He said they work fine in the calm water, but there are so many of the small personal water craft stirring up the waters these days he seldom takes it out anymore.

 

Tom is building a complete custom Amphicar. He's on the HAMB too.
http://www.amphicar.com/finzilla.htm

 

There is supposed to be one sitting on the bottom of pewaukee lake. lots of muck in the lake, most likely burried by now, but a friend of mine keeps looking for it.

A few years ago on Post Lake (northern WI) I saw one crusing around the lake, it was cool to see one in use.

 

There is a good reason for that because it didn't sink! That entry was @55MPH which is a bit faster than I enter the water. It vwas not an ideal launch, but there was no sinking.

I have launched at 35+MPH (see below). I have owned quite a number of them and currently have a few myself and always looking for more in ANY condition. I also exclusively restore Amphis and former president/webmaster of the International Amphicar club.



There are a lot of similar mis-statements out there that have (ahem) been floating around for years. They are very sea-worthy and the only ones that sank were due to operator error. Opening a door, being in too big of seas with the top down (swamping), lack of maintenance and such. I take mine out in 5'+ waves as often as I can. Nothing lie looking through clear water up over the windshield!

here is one from a couple winters ago here in Colorado. Yes, that is ice all around me and in the rearview mirror!

Here is one now restored that is being rescued after 17 years at the bottom of Stockbridge Bowl, Boston. She looked great, air in the tires, his wallet still in the car. She landed upright in 52" of water. Sorry, this page is sadly out dated but here is the whole story with more pics.

 

there's an amphicar being restored about 5 miles from my house....
wouldn't be one of yours, would it?

btw, what lake you floating around in in those pics?

 

what material is the body/hull made from? i would assume fibreglass?

 

In the first pictures, I see that someone had installed WWW. I guess they forgot to paint the wheels red. Amphicars... the new flat black.

 

Made of steel, at least IIRC the one that was in a junkyard here. Could still be there for all I know, I never got to go back and look. Yard was funny because a lot of 70s stuff in the back and edges, but late model up front and primarily a late model wrecker.


I think that's the only Amphi I've seen in person.

 

interesting that that amphi was in that lake 18 years and didn't show any signs of major rust

 

A fellow in my hometown had a red one in the early 70's. I got to ride in it on Clear Lake in Riding Mountain Nat'l Park once, very cool!

 

The www are stock as you see on the green car below and the black on the wheels is just lake muck. They are actually the correct white. Only white ones had red wheels. The car had very little rust and in fact the engine still runs! I have it, the owner (and the guy who sank it) installed a hot rod engine and did some custom things.

Tom - You may recognize that lake as Carter Lake! The splash was taken at the north ramp. Those Amphis you see are indeed mine. I just finished a green one in August. Here is a link to the AACA forums detailing it. Due to a head-on wreck I am currently in the hospital for a couple more months.

Here is a pic of the last Amphi I did in Aug. This is the reflection of my white Amphi in the 1/4 of the green one below. We didn't have time due to the customers last minute stepped up schedule to do one more 4000 grit sand/buff so the shine is lacking some. You get the idea...

 

do they gots a trollin motor and a live well?

 

Fun cars,

This is a friend of mine's.




They are a blast to drive.....riding in one is really neat BUT nothing feels more odd then driving one into the water for the first time......half way down the ramp I think to my self......what amd I doing, I am driving my friends expensive car into a lake!!!!!

 

I have a few friends that have em here. Been in em a couple of times on the lake here. My buddy Cal has 4 or 5 of em. Hes addicted to em! My buddy Mark has one, maybe two. Theres also another friend who has one on the lake all summer, he even had a cool garage/ wharf/ car-boat ramp built for it!
Apparently more were sold here on Vancouver Island and Kalamazoo Michigan then anywhere else, krazy eh.

I heard of a guy who was about to go into a police roadblock that was checking for drunk drivers, he made a sharp turn and took off into the lake! Sat out there until somewhat sober and pulled up the ramp on the other side of the lake! Coppers got him but he was sober!!

-Shiny

 

that's what i was thinking...
carter lake is about 5 miles west of me.
funny, there's one at a body shop near there, wouldn't be one of yours, would it?