THE AMPHICAR

I borrowed this from a web site. It was the easiest way for me to explain the AMPHICAR 

My dad bought his red Amphicar in 1963. It has passed hands a few times. First to my brother and now to my nephew. Unfortunately the restoration of this treasure is not a job for a young father trying to raise 4 kids. It will have to wait. Perhaps it will be his "retirement" project and that is several years away.  However the stories still live on and I intend to blog about them some day. But for now here's a brief history of the Amphicar.

The Amphicar was built in Berlin Germany. The years of production were 1961 to 1968. The production totaled 3,878 vehicles before it was shut down. Of these, 3,046 Amphicars were imported into the United States between 1961 and 1967.
The Amphicar was the only civilian amphibious passenger automobile ever to be mass produced.  It uses a rear mounted 4 cylinder British-built Triumph Herald motor producing 43hp.
The Amphicar's electric system was supplied by Lucas and is a 12 volt positive ground system.
Some of the components were made by other manufacturers such as Hella and Bosch.
The Amphicar has a top speed of 70 mph on land water and 7 mph on water. I've been told that was where the model 770 came from.  The land transmission was a 4 speed plus reverse and the water transmission was a 2 speed transmission that was only used in the Amphicar. It had one forward speed and one reverse. The water and land transmission could be run separately or together. This came in handy when launching or retrieving the car from the water.
The front wheels acted as rudders while the car was in the water. It was propelled by two nylon propellers.
The U.S. Government's EPA and DOT regulations that went into effect beginning with 1968 model year vehicles caused a major financial disaster for the Amphicar since the USA represented about 90% of all Amphicar market.
The plant closed in 1968.

Stay tuned. The entertainment will be worth the wait. Here's a taste of what's to come.

<getting stranded outside of the break water in Lake Michigan

<fish jumping into the "car"

<tail gaters getting wet when dad turned on the bilge pump

<seaweed hanging from the props as we drove down the highway

<Great Aunt Aggie panicking when the car hit the water

<forgetting to lock the door seals before entering the water

< and much MORE:-)