Funkwagen Kfz 17 with FU 11 SE 100

[Funksammler]

Yes, it did make some noise :. It was pumping a lot of unburned mixture into the exhaust manifold which resulted in some spectecular explosions. If it was loud enough outside, imagine that in the confines of my garage! Not good for the valves or my eardrums!

Once the advance mechanism was working agian, one of the contact points gave up so it was running on one bank only. This is more difficult the spot because the engine appears to be running OK at first, only by driving the car you notice the lack of power.

That is all sorted now and now she runs smoothly with hardly any smoke. Not bad for a 70+ year old machine!

regards,

Funksammler

Does it run correctly now ?

Not misfiring anymore ;-)

Regards,

Ton.

[Val]

That is all sorted now and now she runs smoothly with hardly any smoke. Not bad for a 70+ year old machine!

Aah, that's nice. What fuel she is consuming? I belive fuel industry
has changed a lot since then...towards higher octane fuel...
Btw, any image of the generator in question?

[Funksammler]

The Funkwagen moves again! Quite a relief as the last few months the Horch has been largely stationary while I sorted some driveline issues.

First of all I had a sticking rear brake, causing overheating of the drum brake. On closer inspection I found that the brake lining was damaged, so it had to be replaced. Once that was sorted the brake was still not releasing properly so it was time to check the brake lines. This revealed that the rubber flexible brake hose (connecting the fixed brake lines on the chassis to brake lines on the wheel mounting) was blocked. Over the years, the rubber seems to have swollen up to a point where the brake fluid just moves through when the brake pedal is depressed, but does not flow back properly when the pedal is released, resulting in a sticking brake...

I decided to replace the hoses on all four corners of the car. Interestingly the old rubber hoses were marked "Lockheed" so I concluded they must have been replaced some time after the war. A restorer friend of mine then told me that the German maker was taken over by Lockheed before the war and that they were probably originals! German Wehrmacht vehicles drove around with Lockheed branded brake components!

The next issue I wanted to address was a rather wobbly left front wheel. Since the Horch does not have a wheel bearing adjustment, it was likely that the bearings needed replacing. I tried to improvise a hub puller but whatever I tried the hub would not budge. In the end I had to invest in a hub puller, with that the hub released from the drive axle with a loud bang! Both wheel bearings were indeed rather loose (the horch has a single race outer bearing and a double race inner bearing on earch corner).

I sent off the wheel hubs to get new bearings pressed in which I received back just before Christmas. I re-fitted the hub on Boxing day and got the car ready for a careful test drive. The brakes were now OK in that they released properly and did no longer overheat but I still got a nasty scuttle shake at higher speeds. I put the car back on supports and found that the left front wheel was rather wobbly. I removed the wheel to check that the hub was straight and the wheelbearings were still tight, which thankfully they were. It was a slightly bent wheelrim that was causing the problem. I exchanged the left front with the left rear wheel and took her out for another test drive.

Now the car drives smoothly, the bent rim does not seem to cause any problems when fitted on the back. I have driven the car over 200 km in the last week and it runs like a dream. It cruises comfortably around 70 km/h and I have managed to achieve a top speed of about 90 km/h. I have done some good off-reading too, as due to the incessant rain all the tracks are rather muddy. I only once needed to pull myself out using the low gearing. The car got a nice "Russian front" look covered in mud, fortunately some nearby roads are also flooded, allowing me to wash some of the mud off.

During all this abuse the car behaved impeccably, the engine runs like a dream! I am really impressed with the 70+ year old beasty!

regards and happy new year,

Funksammler

[Val]

The Funkwagen moves again! Quite a relief as the last few months the Horch has been largely stationary while I sorted some driveline issues.

Good news

[Etienne B.]

That's good to hear.Loved seeing it at the militracks this year.Will you be there this year too ? would like to see the inside

regards,

Etienne

[Funksammler]

That's good to hear.Loved seeing it at the militracks this year.Will you be there this year too ? would like to see the inside

regards,

Etienne

No plan yet to take it to Overloon, it all depends on finding a cost effective transport solution. I am planning to drive it around the Normandy area for the D-day commemorations and the rest of the summer so if you are planning to visit Normandy I am sure we can work something out....

regards,

Funksammler

[Etienne B.]

That's nice to hear.Actually I will be in Normandy in the summer this year.In some small place called St. Aubin-sur-mer

Etienne

[Funksammler]

That's nice to hear.Actually I will be in Normandy in the summer this year.In some small place called St. Aubin-sur-mer

Etienne

That is not too far from here, just send me a PM closer the time...

regards,

Funksammler

[Etienne B.]

That is not too far from here, just send me a PM closer the time...

regards,

Funksammler

greatly appreciated

Will send a pm in time.

Etienne

[miliman]

The last few years the majority of my hobby time and resources have gone to a major restoration project. The restoration is now nearing completion and I am giving this forum the post restoration "premiere".

The Kfz 17 Funkwagen is the smallest fully enclosed Funkwagen built for the German Army. It was built on the chassis of the "Mittlere Einheits Pkw"; most surviving examples seem to be Horch 901 or Horch 901 Type 40 chassis with Horch V8 engines.

A nunber of variations of this body type existed, the Kfz 17 radio car version with antennas for Long Wave radios, a telephone exchange version and the Kfz 17/1 with a VHF antenna configuration. My story is about a "Type 40" Kfz 17 long wave radio version.

The "Type 40" version of the Horch 901 chassis was a slightly simplified version to speed up production, introduced in 1940. Previous models had a so called "Stutzachse" where the spare wheels, one on each side, were mounted on rotating hubs. The idea being that if the vehicle "bellied out" in the terrain, it would roll on it's spare wheels and would not get stuck. In practice however this caused the vehicle to loose traction so in the "Type 40" the "Stutzachse" was replaced by a single fixed spare wheel on the left side. For the Kfz 17, other changes included the replacement of the upper body work from wooden slats to pertinax sheeting and the fitting of a more effective folding roof antenna.

A walk around the Horch 901 Type 40 Kfz 17:

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The vehicle has two antennas fitted. The large roof antenna can be used while the vehicle is moving. It sits on four insulators which can turn on two spring loaded axis. In this way the antenna can be pulled down to reduce the overall height of the vehicle during transport. Togehter with the chassis, the roof antenna forms a large capacity so that a relatively large antenna current can be produced in the short leads connecting the transmitter to the chassis and antenna. Using a 100 W.S., the roof antenna would have a range of 40-60 Km using morse code, 10-20 Km using voice.

Second antenna is the telescopic KM8 "Kurbelmast". In static situations a "Sternantenne" would be placed on top of the Kurbelmast and the mast would be extended:

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With the 100 W.S. the "Sternantenne C" would be used. The "C" is similar to the "Sternantenna A", but the antenna rods can be extended to 2,5 meters to create a larger capactive area. The actual antenna is a 7,5 meter long "Antennezufuehrung" wire between the Sternantenna and the fixed antenna connnection on the left side of the vehicle. A small insulator arm prevents the antenna wire from hitting the side of the vehicle and roof antenna. To extend the range further, counterpoise wires would be connected the the rear wings of the vehicle. In stationairy configuration the range of the 100 W.S. could be extended to 160-200 Km using morse and about 60 Km using voice.

The complete radio installations have a lot of "Zubehoer" and the vehicle is equiped with a variety of storage compartments, the main one in the back of the vehicle:

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The rear compartment contains the Fu51 lamp set, a GG600 generator to recharge the batteries with a jerrycan of petrol and a can of oil. It contains herrings, earthpicks etc to build an external antenna. Further more is contains the "Tornister" backpacks of the crew and tent materials. When not in use the battery box for the Torn.E.b can also be stored in a special compartment. The framework in the storage compartment is removable so that access can be gained to the rear maintenance hatch above the rear fuel tank in the chassis.

The interior of the Kfz 17 is split in two compartments. The front compartment contains the seats for the driver and commander of the Funktrupp:

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The dashboard is pretty much standard Kfz 15/17. The controls are pretty much as in any 4x4, the unsynchronised 4 speed gearbox taking some getting used to. The lever between the seats engages the 4 wheel drive and low gearing. The car has automatic self locking differentials so it should be pretty good in rough stuff although at 3,5 ton fully loaded it has some weight to haul around.

The E.W.c vibrating power supply for the Torn.E.b is placed on the left wall next to driver. If required, an additional E.U.a "Umformer" can be placed between the seats.

The commander of the Funktrupp would sit in the co-driver seat. The right hand door contains a collapsible table on which the Enigma machine would be placed for en/de-crypting the messages. the right hand wall also contains the "Schaltkasten (Fu) b" connection box for the 12 V installation which supplies the radios.

The ceiling contains a number of compartments for storing documents, some of which can be locked.

The car is fitted with two batteries, the standard car battery plus a special battery on the floor under the radio table. These two batteries are placed in parallel and charged via a heavy generator on the engine. In stationairy position the GG600 Generator would be placed next to the vehicle to keep the batteries under charge.

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A special fusebox connects the two batteries with the 12 V connection box. If need be, the radio installation plus the radio battery can be removed so that it can be set up away from the vehicle.

The rear comportment contains a large table for mounting the radio installation and accessories:

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The table runs the comple width of the vehicle. The top of the table is fitted with "rails" to which the "Spannband" belts of the radios can be fixed. A hinged portion of the table can be used as a writing surface, or can be folded down when not in use. A special bracket for the morse key is attached to the hinged section.

On each sidewall above the table are two 12 V "Bosch" sockets and a "Gegengewicht" connector for the Transmitter and the receiver. The 12 V sockets are used for the E.W.c power supply and for lights mounted on the radios.

The left hand side furthermore contains a connector for a field telephone and for the external antenna. On the right hand side has two holes, one for transferring the generator cable for the GG600, the other for an external antenna. The connectors and holes are covered by small sliding doors on the exterior of the vehicle.

Under the table are a number of storage compartements. On the left hand side for example contains the "Kunstantenne" for the 100 W.S. and spare batteries for the Torn.E.b. On the right is the power supply for the transmitter, in this case a U100. The middle lockable compartment contains the Enigma cyphering machine.

A bag fixed to the right rear door could be used to store the morse key and microphone for the transmitter.

The two "Funkers" sat on box type seats:

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The seat cushions can be removed and special "drawers" placed under the seats can be accessed. The boxes contain more "Zubehoer" such as paperwork and writing utensils as well as kit to measure and repair the radios. Also loose bits such as antenna insulators etc are stored here. The complete seat frames can be easily removed to give access to the middle maintenance hatch, which gives access to the rear differential and middle fuel tank.

A "Zbg N 12" box is placed between the seats, this contains three special lamps to fit on the radios so that the sets can be operated in the dark. For this reason the vehicle would be fitted with blackout curtains in front of all windows as well as between the two crew compartments. Brackets to hold two rifles for the crew could also be placed between the seats against the back wall (a further two rifles could be stored in the front compartment, either side of the dashboard).

The Kfz 17 could be fitted with various radio installations, in this example the FU 11 SE 100 consisting of the Torn.E.b and 100 W.S.:

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Both the Torn.E.b and 100 W.S. are placed on special shock mounts and are fixed to the cable using special "Spannband" belts. In this way the set is securely fixed to the vehicle which is espeically important when driving through uneven terrain. The U100 power supply is fixed with special brackets and bolts to the bottom part of the table. Holes in the table allow the various cables to be tucked away. The "Gegengewicht" terminals on the transmitter and receiver are connected to the terminals on the sidewalls. The Antenna cable of the transmitter is connected to either the roof antenna or to the external antenna.

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A long copper antenna lead is mounted on the upper part of the dividing wall between the two compartments. It connects to the external antenna connector on the top left wall of the vehicle. A shorter copper lead connects to an insulator going through the roof connecting to the roof antenna. The antenna lead is fastened with a wingnut to either antenna. A "Funkeruhr" station clock is placed in a bracked in the middle of the top dividing wall.

The "parcel shelf" behind the rear seats can be used to store the crew's equipment. Four clothing hooks could be used to hang tunics or helmets. On the left of the parcel shelf is a bracket to hold a FF33 field telephone. A connection runs on the righthand wall to the telephone connection bracket next to the table.

Of the approximately 7 to 10 surviving Kfz 17's, "WH 473 938" is currently probably the most complete example in existance. The Norwegian army museum also has a reasonably complete running example. There are another 5 or so restoration projects in various stages of progress. Still "WH 473 938" needs a lot of detailing before it will be 100% complete and correct.

regards,

Funksammler

Fantastique travail !!!bravo
miliman

[rv12p2000]

Hello Funksammler

Tresor of the net !!! : http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GcaZXeMfG2...S+%2816%29.jpg

I don't know in listening
In transmitting i think an other problem hi !!!

Regards RV12p2000

[Etienne B.]

Hello Funksammler,

Do you know this small book already.Its the story of a SS funker.Some really nice pics inside

http://u0093139720.user.hosting-agen...type%5D=search


Etienne

[Funksammler]

Thanks for the links. The chicken-pen is one of my favourites, I wonder what maximum speed the chicken could take!

regards,

Funksammler

[cTapocTa]

Is it just me or is it impossible to order from this site as it always gives you a message the code is wrong?

[cTapocTa]

Is it just me or is it impossible to order from this site as it always gives you a message the code is wrong?

never mind.