Our Goggomobil Dart Restoration - Brisbane, Australia

Our aim was to restore it as close to original as possible.

Last Updated: 31 October 2018

Side note:

If you are restoring a Goggomobil Dart yourself, there are two sources you absolutely have to get to know:

Uwe Staufenberg at en.goggomobil.com/. Uwe sells parts for Goggomobils (if they are still available or if he has a source for aftermarket parts) and is a fount of knowledge. Word of warning... he travels regularly so get in early if you want things quickly.

Eric and Lynne Carswell.
ericlynnec@hotmail.com They run the Goggomobil Register from Lisarow in NSW.

June, 2010

We have a restoration workshop underway on the project and they have had the above body (and a spare we also got with the vehicle) soda blasted ready for some repair work.

The chassis has been totally stripped with a few minor replacement patches welded into the floor pans and front. There has also been a little bit of other sorting. The chassis now looks very straight. The seats have been removed (and sent to a new home as they are definitely not original!) and the old Toyota steering gear also sent on its way.

The motor is the 400cc version. This car was built originally in 1959 and is body 1141.

The body is now primed and will remain that way until almost to the end when we will get the final colour applied. The chassis is also finished. Currently the restorer is working on the mechanicals and we have lined up our upholsterer. The exhaust shop has copied an original exhaust/muffler system but done it in stainless for longevity. We have also had someone make another three sets of seat frames. (They didn't come cheap but look great!) The motor has been cleaned up and fitted to the chassis. Hydraulics have been installed along with main cables. We got new cables from Uwe but our project stalled when it looked like they didn't fit. It turned out the handbrake slot had been moved which explained those cables not being the right length. A good look at the manual and some tweaking meant the other cables are now fitted nicely. The rest of the mechanicals are nearly finished. Soon the car will go to the upholsterer and the panel shop will paint the body.

May, 2011

December 2013

The body has been sodablasted, the chassis sandblasted and both have had minor repairs done to sort them out. The chassis and body have been re-connected together temporarily and some adjustments made to them so that they fit nicely. The chassis has also had an anti-corrosive coating applied. Both have been primed and the chassis is now completely re-painted.

2013 through to October 2018

Sorry for the delay in updates. The restoration languished inbetween flurries:

• The body was painted. We wanted to paint it blue as per its original colour but it was difficult to work out what blue it was originally. (One of the Goggomobil enthusiasts said they were painted in Holden colours of the period which would mean more a pastel blue but that certainly wasn't what was on it. No doubt, people probably had an option of asking for a particular colour too.) As such we decided we would paint it in "Bugatti Blue" but after much research we discovered that there is no 'one colour' that is Bugatti Blue. It ranges from a mid-blue right through to quite a dark blue. We opted for a mid to lighter blue which absolutely pops!
• Things like the exhaust, wiring loom, windscreen wiper motor, battery, and so on were all fitted over time. As were the wheels. We had a new knuckle joint made for the steering column and the steering wheel was also restored.
• The car went to the trimmer to have the upholstery done. We opted for grey with white piping which is what the original Darts came with. We even spent ages examining another enthusiast's car to work out how many panels were needed for the seats and the back. The original cars only had rubber floor mats (presumably because they were often out in the weather) so we opted for the same.
• It then went back to the restorer and anything else that hadn't been fitted was put back on the car. They also spent ages trying to sort the carburettors. Then it was discovered the fuel tank was leaking so that had to be resolved (TIP: Make sure you sort out the fuel tank as part of the work to the body before you think about painting and fitting to the chassis. The fuel tank is part of the fibreglass body but modern thinking and options has some smart ways of making this more successful.) Back to the carburettor problem... after much angst and several goes over a period of time by the mechanic, we ended up getting a new/old one from Uwe in Germany. With this in place it was discovered that the problem was not solved... the car ran for a bit then stopped... so it was sent to some other mechanics to look at what else might be causing the problem. They found a few little things and voila! problem fixed. By this stage, Mark had decided to enter it into the upcoming Motorclassica event so there was a mad rush to get it finished. Deadlines certainly help make that sort of thing happen.
• We still had to get a soft top for it. The original trimmer hadn't had time to do that and still didn't so we engaged a new trimmer to sort that. Note: He didn't add the side curtains as he hadn't initially realised we wanted them and then didn't have time to do them. We still need to add those.
• Another issue was that the soft top latches needed to be chromed. They were sent off to the chromers who returned them at the last minute in an unsuitable condition. They had not taken out the pins and chromed the pieces individually. Pitting was evident. As such, we used another set and painted them black so we still need to get the original set properly chromed and fitted.
• We also still had the task of sorting the windscreen wipers. The Dart used Goggomobil Sedan wipers originally. These were a set of basic wipers with a rod attaching the two so the motor only needed to drive one arm which in turn moved the other arm. We ended up with a rod from Uwe, a set of blades from a Porsche 356 and a set of arms from a windscreen wiper place in the UK. Our restorer wove his magic, made it all connect together and installed them.
• Thinking we were nearly there and with only a few days to go before the car was loaded onto a truck for its trip from Queensland to Melbourne, we organised the detailer. About the same time, it was pointed out that we didn't have the hub caps on. Gosh! That was one of my first purchases so we sifted through the nicely labelled boxes that Mark had and located them. On they went. A couple of hours before the car was loaded onto the truck, some minor paint touch ups were applied by the painter. The car was then on its way.
• The car went down to Motorclassica where it had to be craned up to the first floor as the building, being old, only had small lifts. There it sat on display with all the other microcars and it took first place in the Post War Classic Open class. What a finish!

As a matter of interest this is how we have sourced things (at least that I can remember):

• Goggomobil writing, Front Goggomobil surround and Dart badges - we already had.
• Goggomobil centrepiece (for front badge) - sourced from Uwe in Germany.
• Rear tail lights (red/orange ones... unable to source original all red in a pair) - sourced from Uwe in Germany.
• Side indicator lights and front lights - sourced from Uwe in Germany.
• Rear numberplate lights - sourced from Uwe in Germany.
• Rear Buckle badge - do have an old one that needs work but have sourced a new one from a fellow in Adelaide, South Australia. After market.
• Front light perspex covers and rubber surround - sourced from a fellow in Adelaide, South Australia. After market.
• Front windscreen and surround - sourced from a bunch of parts, bodies and chassis' we got from Tasmania, Australia.
• Front aluminium centre strip - sourced from that same bunch of parts from Tasmania, Australia. That said, we have been able to purchase some of these from Uwe so will use a 'new one'.
• Windscreen rubbers - now sourced
• Side rubber surround and grey insert. Sourced but our supplier can now only make black with black insert and the minimum run sizes mean that significant interest must be shown to make it worthwhile. Interesting to note is that one of the Goggomobil Register members said that it was fairly straightforward to paint (or rather rough up and rub in paint) the side rubbers so for those that want the insert to be grey, there is another option. And this member said that after 20 years of use, the painted rubber he has is still going strong.
• Wiring looms - sourced from Scott's Old Auto Rubber in Victoria. We are aware we will need to make some modifications to account for the indicators.
• Exhaust/muffler - a new stainless one made by Exotic Exhaust although Uwe is now selling new original looking ones

We have also been able to purchase a second-hand rear seat from Uwe. Confusion surrounds as to whether the rear seats were ever an official option on the Darts. Some people say yes. Some no. If you have a way of authenticating one view or another, please get in touch.

And the good news was that we have sourced two complete and working seat frames that were also in the parts from Tasmania.

HELP WANTED:

When we purchased the car, it was actually running so mechanically, we are pretty well sorted for parts. The vehicle also came with boxes and boxes of spares - some useful - some not so useful. And the Tasmanian purchase has yielded yet more parts. So much so that we are now looking at restoring a second car but we will do one first before we get too carried away.

However, we are still interested in the following and any help or guidance would be appreciated. We would be happy to purchase outright or swap for something you might need:

• Rear Tail Lights (left and right) - We are still interested in sourcing some original red ones although we have the red/orange ones from Uwe in Germany.

The above list is dated 31 October 2018 and no doubt our requirements will change by the day. To get in contact, please email: Michelle

Our Dart has gone into our eclectic collection of microcars (we have a Messerschmitt KR 200, Bond Bug, BMW Isetta, Peel P50, Fiat 500 and a few I can't remember the names of right now!).

Finally, for a bit of fun, I'll leave you with a link to a little Youtube video I put together about the Goggomobil Dart and our restoration.