Comrade's KÃƒÂ¼bel

17,922 · June 19, 2012

Prompted by some discussion in this thread I thought I'd gather together all the VW-based specials from behind the Iron Curtain that I have in my files.... Turns out there I had a lot more than I thought, and this must be barely scratching the surface of the real number of cars like this that were built.

When WWII ended in 1945, the war-torn satellite states of the Third Reich were littered with the debris of conflict, remnants of the land-grabbing invasions that decimated these nation's population and industries. Amongst the wreckage of tanks, the twisted remains of heavy artillery and unexploded bombs, one of the most ubiquitous sights in Poland and Czechoslovakia would have been the KÃƒÂ¼belwagen, the military variant of the VW Beetle. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of the 'German Jeep' littered the countryside after being hastily abandoned by the fleeing German army.

With peace restored but Europe's economies in ruins, enterprising Czechs and Poles began collecting KÃƒÂ¼belwagens as salvage, fixing the most complete cars using spare parts garnered from other wrecks and selling them on as basic transport to the car-starved population. Poland's pre-war car industry had been negligible anyway, and the largest Czech car makers (Skoda, Tatra & Aero) had turned most of their factories over to the war effort, so there was little hope of any new cars being available for some time.

Whilst many repaired KÃƒÂ¼belwagens began new lives as civilian transportation in relatively standard form, for many Czechs and Poles the vehicles were an all too clear reminder of the Nazi occupation, their unmistakable shape and engine note signifying the oppression and atrocities of the last few years. Unsurprisingly, many KÃƒÂ¼belwagens had their standard bodywork removed and replaced with less offensive, more practical items, either salvaged from other cars or completely homebuilt. The preponderance of KÃƒÂ¼belwagens was such that people were still using these chassis as the basis for homemade cars some 30 years after the war had ended.

The residents of Poland and Czechoslovakia, like all residents in the USSR at that time, were encouraged to 'make do and mend' on an international scale. Materials of all kind were scarce and what was available was strictly rationed. From the late 1950s onwards, almost every country in the Soviet Bloc held an annual parade and competition for homemade cars. Everything that could be was recycled, and prize were given for the biggest displays of ingenuity in design and construction. Thousands of these cars were built throughout the USSR right up until the fall of Communism in the late 1980s, some with aluminum bodywork salvaged from the wreckage of WWII fighter planes, others from bizarre laminates of cardboard, wood, fibreboard or plastic that make the Trabant's 'Duroplast' body seem positively conventional. In Poland, these cars were so ubiquitous that a new word sprung up to categorise them; Samodelka, meaning self-made, which came from Samodzielny, or 'Indpendent'. This word is almost never used, however, being easily shortened to SAM. All self-made Polish cars were officially registered as SAMs, but for ease of understanding I refer to both Polish and Czech efforts as such.

At the same time, in the newly formed Deutsche Demokratische Republik, the situation was much the same as that in the USSR. Materials were scarce, manufacturing industry had ground to a halt and the population were desperate for cheap transportation. In West Germany, the rise of the microcar went some way to solve this problem, but in the East the recycling mentality prevailed and the abandoned KÃƒÂ¼belwagens - which were just as commonplace as in Poland and Czechoslovakia, if not more so - were scooped up by enterprising citizens who quickly set about turning them into 'new' cars, building everything from single-seat race cars to dour family saloons. In Germany these cars are known as Eigenbau, literally 'self-made' and were almost always registered as such. In East Germany, more so than the rest of Eastern Europe, there also existed several small coachbuilding firms who had been active before the war who used the KÃƒÂ¼bel and later the Beetle as a base for special coachwork.

The first modified KÃƒÂ¼bels were usually pretty rudimentary affairs, the standard bodywork given a makeshift roof and doors to make them more viable for the harsh winters of the East. A good example of such a car is this KÃƒÂ¼bel, which was built in Czechoslovakia by a young man named Vaclav Kral, from MladÃƒÂ¡ Boleslav.

Kral did a pretty decent job, but he was a car enthusiast and budding stylist, so a couple of years later he had another go and designed and built from scratch a modern 4 seater saloon body that vaguely aped the style of the Skoda 440, and convincingly disguised the rear-engined layout of the car. But for those distinctive wheels, you might never guess the origins of the running gear and chassis. He named the car 'Tmej'. Vaclav Kral went on to be a well-respected designer and design teacher in Czechoclovakia with many automotive designs to his name, and is still working in the design field today.

The 'half-way house' between lightly modified KÃƒÂ¼bel and entirely new bodywork was simply to drop the body of a pre-war car onto the VW chassis. Obviously size dictated what car was used but there was a surprisingly wide selection, in East Germany at least, that fitted the bill. One of the most popular, as we've already seen, was the Steyr 55 shell, which fitted without too much external modification. So popular was this conversion that a coachbuilder from Austria existed solely to create VW-Steyrs, albeit with heavily restyled nose sections. Alas, the wrong side of the curtain for inclusion here.

This example - provenence unknown to me - is rather more conventional, the grille has vanished from the front and some air-scoops have been added to the c-pillars but otherwise it looks pretty standard. Only when the 'boot' is opened is the secret revealed.

Another survivor which presumably dates from the mid/late-50s is this, which (I believe) is an early Ford Taunus body that has been adapted to fit a KdF chassis. Happily since this photo was taken the car has been reunited with the correct (incorrect) chassis and running gear and is being restored by an enthusiast. It was displayed at a recent exhibition of GDR eigenbaus. Again, the grille has been filled and scoops added but it looks otherwise standard.

Another of the museum exhibits is this little cutey, named 'Hans' and dating from 1958. It was based on a 1944 KÃƒÂ¼bel but other than that I've no further information. Obviously it's been the subject of a sympathetic restoration at some point and looks fantastic.

Just creeping into the last shot there is an eigenbau from the other end of the spectrum. This little red coupe is the Schmoz, built by Herr Schmoz in 1974 on a standard 1966 VW 1300 Beetle floorpan. The body is glassfibre. Presumably the Lada tail lights (and possibly the spoiler) are later additions. I think the hubcaps are 1970s Skoda items, which do a good impression of Fuchs alloys, which we all know are de riguer for any trendy VW...

Whilst many of the SAMs and eigenbaus were no more than basic transportation, many - like the Schmoz - were wannabe sports cars, the KÃƒÂ¼bel or Beetle platform became the equivalent of the Ford 10 or Austin Seven in England, a cheap and plentiful blank canvas for amateur car designers to create their fantasy machines. One of my favourite of these Iron Curtain Specials is this gorgeous coupe built by Czech Bogumil Szuba between 1958 and 1962.

Szuba lived in the city of Bielsko-BiaÃ…â€ša and was employed by Szybowcowych ZakÃ…â€šadach DoÃ…â€ºwiadczalnych, a factory that designed and built gliders. He applied the same basic principles of glider construction to his car, forming plastic laminate panels over a thin metal framework. The basis of the car was a 1942 KÃƒÂ¼belwagen. Lovely.

Interestingly, Szuba wasn't the only glider builder in Bielsko-BiaÃ…â€ša to have a crack at car building. His colleague WÃ…â€šadysÃ…â€šaw Okarmus, a famous designer of unpowered aircraft, built his own SAM on the base of a pre-war DKW. Like the Szuba VW it used a laminate body and followed glider design and manufacture practice. This one is still about too, although it now has a Saab engine. Nowhere near as pretty as the VW and not really within the scope of this thread but it's an interesting aside. Apparently there was yet another car built by a third colleague, but it is considered lost along with any other details.

Back to Germany for another crafty rebody, this time the shell is an IFA F9 (the East German equivalent of the DKW). This contraption originated in Dresden, and is actually the second incarnation of the car. The first version was completed in 1956 and used an earlier IFA body, a rare cabriolet version built by the Dresden coachbuilder GlÃƒÂ¤ser. Four years later the body was swapped for an F9 saloon body to make the car more practical. Ironically, this re-conversion was carried out by the VEB Karosseriewerke Dresden - the newly nationalised car builder formed from the ashes of the old GlÃƒÂ¤ser firm. VEB KWD were responsible for building the bodies for Wartburg 311s. Sadly this car was destroyed in a fire in 2007.

One more 'stealth KdF' of unknown provenance. The body is a pre-war Hanomag and those c-pillar scoops are the only giveaway thanks to the very un-VW like wheel trims. Presumably dates from the 1950s.

Ok, it's gone midnight so I'm going to leave it there for now... There'll be another exciting* installment tomorrow though!

13,914 · June 19, 2012

Thanks Barrett, It's great to have your knowledge back over here again

9,214 · June 19, 2012

It's the education hour. Electrifying reading, Barrett; genuinely superb. I'd rather like a big glossy hardback book about these curious specimens.

3,565 · June 20, 2012

Excellent. Thanks Mr. B.

Your knowledge of obscure and oddball rarities once again educates and entertains.

53,448 · June 20, 2012

I like this sort of modifying, and the history to go along with it makes for a very entertaining and educational bit of stuff. I wouldn't know that the majority of these were Kubelwagens if you hadn't said, they're very clever.

2,551 · June 20, 2012

Interesting stuff..i saw a forlorn SAM on a wee Poland tour I did from Berlin in 1993..and I thought how funny..imagine calling a car a Sado&Masochism!..and the number plates in Gdansk were GAY...and when I first went to Czechoslovakia in 91..i stayed with a military collecter called Zippy..and in his group they had an original Kubelwagen...same owner of that had TWO original Tatra's in his yard...they gave us an ejection seat out of an old MIG jetfighter.. explosives removed..and we shoved it in the boot of the Merc W115..the Austrian border freaked out when they saw it..we were ..like.. its junk..came out of a scappie..which was true..

33,708 · June 20, 2012

That was a very interesting read, I didn't know these types of car existed until now.

Thanks for sharing.

You should write a book!

3,549 · June 20, 2012

This is right up my strasse. I particularly like the Schmoz

9,989 · June 20, 2012

What a great article, thanks!

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