01-01-2019, 10:28 PM
(01-01-2019, 01:11 PM)Nick Lettington Wrote:(01-01-2019, 12:24 PM)Peter Naulls Wrote: What a lovely photo. Dixi chassis were used by several coachbuilders, Ihle being the most prolific.
Peter.
Is the information in the source book that states that Ihle only rebodied second hand Dixis incorrect?. I came to think the BMW double kidney grille started on the 1931 Austin 7 streamlined racer and was copied by Ihle on their 600s in 1932. Some Ihle have earlier registration dates than 1931 but this is explained by the 'upcycling'. Hard to be sure from the photo, but the truck moving chassis isn't signwritten...
That's interesting Nick. According to my BMW book Ihle began making bodies for the Dixi in late '34 / early '35. They would either body a customer's second-hand chassis or sell a body ready for fitting, none of which would account for the chassis I the photo! However there were vans bodied by Assmann in 1928, Grossklaus in 1930 and also Albert Hess around about the same time.
I also read that body production only began at Eisenach in 1930, prior to that it was in Berlin-Johannisthal - so presumably chassis (and possibly completed cars) would have been constantly shuttling backwards and forwards between the factories. It's a complex story with Ambi-Budd's involvement as well as the transition from Dixi to BMW.
The book is "The Development History of BMW Automobiles 1918 to 1932" by Simons and Zeichner. A weighty tome which I picked up at the excellent BMW factory museum in Greenville, U.S.A.
Peter.