NSU Prinz4 - German weirdness

[engineer]

I've developed a taste for orphan cars (the brand no longer exists) and quirky cars. Often these cars come with a challenge for parts availability, people are afraid to work on them or they some getting used to in driving. And... often can be had at a good price. With classic cars seemingly on a spiral of just getting more expensive that is a thing as well.
Perhaps one day I'll make a museum out of it but for now its all stored  and I just take it out to drive and to events as often as I can. Currently my storage is full, although with some measurements I found out I can store just one more small car. So a small car was added.

First a few links to my other threads:

Orphan cars
Disappeared in 2011 - Saab 96 V4
Absorbed into Citroen and the brand was stopped in 1967 - Panhard 24BT
Absorbed into Audi and the brand was stopped in 1977 - NSU Prinz 4 (This thread)

Quirky
Suzuki SC100 Whizzkid
AlfaSud
Alfa Romeo 164

And my childhood dream car Corvette

Now back to the small car purchased!

NSU is probably mostly known for their Rotary engines (dominantly the Ro80). They however also had the Prinz line of rear engine, rearwheeldrive, aircooled, etc.
In the '50s they started with it and this was their first post-war attempt to make their own car. Motorcycle and mopet sales were going down so they had to change their business model.
In 1961 they replaced the 3 previous Prinz generations (all essentially the same apart from details) with the Prinz 4. Biggest difference; a little bit bigger body that was very much inspired by the Chevy Corvair and much better use of the available space. Technology-wise the same as the previous Prinz generations.


This means: 4-stroke 2-cilinder line engine aircooled and a 4-speed all synchronized gearbox integrated into the engine. It comes with overhead cam but is driven by excentric driveshafts rather than gears or a chain. Also it uses a Dynastart (starter-generator in one). 


Now you may know the Prinz more as the 1000, 110 or TT. Those are enlarged Prinz 4 bodies with bigger wheels and a 4-cilinder aircooled. Easily recognized because they have larger or dual headlights and they have the tailights split in different sections. The 2-cilinder models are quite a bit smaller; think classic Mini.






This one is from 1973 which is the last year they build this model. All the other rear-engines NSU's had already gone out of production. By this time it was sold as a Audi-NSU. They kept the Ro80 for a few years longer and when that went out of production the brand was gone.
Most of these Prinz models were sold in Germany and Italy (it was the best selling import in Italy for years) and also this car originates from Italy. Actually from Ferrara.
The brown colour is from the VW-Audi range and it suits it very well. For these last years they put all the luxury options as standard so this is fully equipped. Means you got a clock and a horn ring and thats about it. There was a optional extra (disc brakes front) which this one got as well.
It was with the original owner untill 1996 when it was imported into the Netherlands. There have been 2 owners in NL before me, neither drove a lot.

Remarkably; this car has never been restored, repainted or any major work done. It has one small rust hole to be fixed, that's it. It does have some scratches and dents but this is so original and cool I'm going to leave it and call it patina.






More to come!

[DarrenW]

That's lovely. I've got a bit of a soft spot for the TTs but I've never really looked at a Prinz properly, looking forward to more!

[horrido]

I never knew these were substantially different to the Prinz4 and TT. Lovely original condition. What a great find.

[grizz]

Gotta say, that is gorgeous.

I share your love of weird, quirky orphan and different cars.

[thomfr]

Gaaf!




(for our English friends: Drive a Prince and you are a King!)

[engineer]

We had to do some tinkering on the first day. I picked it up on a lovely sunny day and had a 2-hour drive. All smaller roads, though it drives quite OK at 80km/h.


The Corvette was the support car

A first fuel fill was needed. NSU was very proud that unlike previous cars (and also VW Beetle at the time) the Prinz4 no longer had the fuel filler directly on the tank. Meaning if you spill fuel it is all over your luggage. On the Prinz 4 they integrated it a bit more, though still not on the outside.



On restart after refueling the battery was too weak. I had a small jumper pack so no issue. The battery sits right under the rear bench. When the rear bench gets a bit older the springs go a bit deeper and can touch the battery terminals..  Quite a few of these Prinz 4 died in a short-circuit-started fire. Typically you find them to be modified and have the battery next to the engine but this one was modified with a cover on the top of the battery.

About 2/3 on the way home the engine started to have some misfires. It felt like dirt in the carburetor. Idling was also a challenge. Being a bit challenging if you have to brake and downshift coming to an intersection. I managed for a while but in the end, the engine did stall. And with the dead battery (and jump pack empty) I could not get it started again. So first trip ended with having to push it from the road.



With the Corvette we went and got a new battery and some more tools and after installing I got it running again. Still had the occasional misfire but was able to get it home. None of this was surprising given how long it had been sitting.

At home time for some cleaning. Here the (pre-clean) Dynastart unit. It makes a very different sound when you are cranking. 

Not unique to NSU but at least on this one the ignition parts are also integrated in it. Just like a 2CV it fires both sparkplugs though is is a wasted spark. Different is that this one has a coil per cilinder.
A lucky surprise: it turns out the engine mountings are pretty new. Over time and with all the vibrations they have to endure these wear out. Not expensive but quite a bit of work to replace. Lucky find.


With the airfilter removed (it's a oilbath type - haven't seen those in real life before) you get a good view of the carburator. The "tower" next to it is the entry for cooling air. Build on the clutch is fan which sucks in the air from the top (less dirt) and then blows it around the cilinderhead in that black housing around the engine. Seemingly without this tower there is a chance for overheating.


Quite a dirty carburator. I cleaned it in the outside, sprayed cleaner in it and removed the idlejet and cleaned it with air. Then I placed a extra fuel filter in the hose towards the carburator. That seems to have done it as misfire are few and are getting less. I had to adjust idle slightly to ensure the generator light stayed off on warm idle. 

I have a classic car event coming up in a week or so where I plan to take this one. After I'll give the engine a bit more service, maybe some new plugs and oil. Also the Dynastart brushes need some cleaning periodically. And then just drive it for a while to see what comes up. Brakes might need a clean in the future.

[misteralz]

That's fab. I love it. Does the Prinz have the hidden reversing lights, or was that just a TT thing?

[engineer]

It does not have reversing lights at all, which is typical for the time. Surprised to learn a TT would have it actually.

[westbay]

Any familial relationship to this ?

1974 zaporozhets ZAZ 968a thommass

[ovimor]

Hmmm.... That fuel tank neck/filler cap is soooo Hillman IMP.

Cool as penguins nadgers, that 👌

OVIMOR

[braaap]

Jun 8, 2023 11:28:22 GMT westbay said:

Any familial relationship to this ?

1974 zaporozhets ZAZ 968a thommass

Nope, just another corvair inspired car.

[brachunky]

That's proper little gem and must be a treat to drive. The tail lights look very similar to those fitted to the old BMW 2002's (according to my not so sharp memory!)

[mrbounce]

This is all kinds of cool.

I remember when I was about 3 my M|um used to take my brother and I on long walks and we'd often see the local Prinz 4 (which was blue) smoking around - I seem to recall that the owner drove it like a rally car. It was nothing like as well-looked after like your beauty though!

[engineer]

Jun 8, 2023 11:52:16 GMT braaap said:

Jun 8, 2023 11:28:22 GMT westbay said:

Nope, just another corvair inspired car.

It is suspected they had a good look at NSUs also for the technical parts. But other than inspiration there is no link. 
You would be surprised how many cars took design inspiration from the Corvair. 

[Brigsy]

Looks great. Great writeup too nice to see some tech info about the engine setup.

[braaap]

Jun 9, 2023 5:46:27 GMT engineer said:

You would be surprised how many cars took design inspiration from the Corvair. 

I always wondered what was there first, corvair or Karmann Ghia 34?

Corvair started a little bit earlier, but the developement must have been in the same time, so who "copied" who?

[engineer]

Jun 9, 2023 7:17:19 GMT braaap said:

Jun 9, 2023 5:46:27 GMT engineer said:

You would be surprised how many cars took design inspiration from the Corvair. 

I always wondered what was there first, corvair or Karmann Ghia 34?

Corvair started a little bit earlier, but the developement must have been in the same time, so who "copied" who?

The Corvair was presented in 1959 in Geneva. Some months earlier already in the US.

From both Panhard and NSU it is known that the designers first saw the Corvair at that time (notes were found in the company archives). The first design for the Prinz 4 had been rejected by the board just before the Geneva fair.

I'm doubting myself if it was Geneva or Brussels..  But thats just details.

The NSU entered the market in 1961 so that means they had about 1,5 year to rework their design more like the Corvair. Panhard took till 1965 but they had a very different front end. So it's possible that the 34 might (like the NSU) existed in rough form but they did finetune it to be more Corvair-like.

BTW: cool that you mention it. I had completely forgotten about the 34!

[braaap]

Jun 9, 2023 7:42:30 GMT engineer said:

BTW: cool that you mention it. I had completely forgotten about the 34!

You're welcome. But I still can't imagine what panhard You might mean?

That Saporoshez came 1966 and is said to be inspired by the Prinz 4. I just read that Claus Luthe was responsible for it and inspired by the corvair. He later became a very important BMW designer.

[engineer]

Jun 9, 2023 8:00:07 GMT braaap said:

Jun 9, 2023 7:42:30 GMT engineer said:

BTW: cool that you mention it. I had completely forgotten about the 34!

You're welcome. But I still can't imagine what panhard You might mean?

That Saporoshez came 1966 and is said to be inspired by the Prinz 4. I just read that Claus Luthe was responsible for it and inspired by the corvair. He later became a very important BMW designer.

The Panhard 24 is Corvair inspired as well; the amount of windows with narrow pillars, the line across the body and the hollowed side and rear body panels leading up to that line. That's what the Panhard designer said. This was his last car design before retirement.

On NSU side it was indeed Luthe. He also designed the Ro80. After the merge with Audi-Auto-Union he left for BMW.

[pedalcarjoe]

Jun 9, 2023 7:42:30 GMT engineer said:

Jun 9, 2023 7:17:19 GMT braaap said:

I always wondered what was there first, corvair or Karmann Ghia 34?

Corvair started a little bit earlier, but the developement must have been in the same time, so who "copied" who?

The Corvair was presented in 1959 in Geneva. Some months earlier already in the US.

From both Panhard and NSU it is known that the designers first saw the Corvair at that time (notes were found in the company archives). The first design for the Prinz 4 had been rejected by the board just before the Geneva fair.

I'm doubting myself if it was Geneva or Brussels..  But thats just details.

The NSU entered the market in 1961 so that means they had about 1,5 year to rework their design more like the Corvair. Panhard took till 1965 but they had a very different front end. So it's possible that the 34 might (like the NSU) existed in rough form but they did finetune it to be more Corvair-like.

BTW: cool that you mention it. I had completely forgotten about the 34!

I think I could adopt one of those little orphan cars