Vehicle Description
Ever wanted to drive your car into a pond, lake or other relatively
shallow body of water? Now you could, if you bought this Amphicar
770.
Designated the "Model 770," the Amphicar could achieve speeds of
seven knots in the water and 70 mph on land.
Dressed in a Lagoon Blue exterior, the paint and trim are in
overall excellent order. The car comes with a white, folding canvas
top, too. The top is in good, original order. The front windows
roll up and down while rear windows are there but missing their
regulators and do not roll up.
This amphibious car rolls on 50R13 wide whitewall tires with
original wheels. The tires and wheels are all in good, original
order with chrome, center caps. Stock gauges are inop but under
dash gauges are operational.
The Amphicar's engine was mounted at the rear of the craft, driving
the rear wheels through a four-speed manual transmission. In this
example, it has a rebuilt 1.5L engine out back, instead of the
factory 1.1L motor, which provides more power for boating in swift
water and when carrying passengers. In the water, the front wheels
act as rudders.
A whimsical touch include the bumper sticker, "I Brake for Fish,"
near the top center of the windshield. One Amphicar owner said, "We
like to think of it as the fastest car on the water and fastest
boat on the road." The 1500cc upgraded motor allows for more power,
particularly when going upstream on rivers and such.
For use in the water, the same engine drove a pair of reversible
propellers at the rear, with a second gear lever engaging forward
or reverse drive. Once in the water, the main gear lever would
normally be left in neutral. By engaging first gear as well as
drive to the propellers when approaching a boat ramp, the Amphicar
could drive itself out of the water. We have driven the boat into
water and it operated as it should - see video!
The orange and white vinyl bench seat is in very good order while
the floor has mats. A white, two-spoke steering wheel faces the
driver while the blue metal dashboard is in very good order. The
orange-and-white inner door panel are in good, original order. A
floor-mounted shifter and an AM radio complete the interior. The
body is all steel with no nown fiverglass and is sold and water
tight - see video!
Designed by Hans Trippel, the amphibious vehicle was manufactured
by the Quandt Group at L�beck and at Berlin-Borsigwalde, with a
total of 3,878 manufactured in a single generation. The name
Amphicar is a portmanteau of "amphibious" and "car."
A spiritual descendant of the Volkswagen Schwimmwagen, the Amphicar
offered only modest performance compared to most contemporary boats
or cars, featured navigation lights and flag as mandated by the US
Coast Guard - and after operation in water, required greasing at 13
points, one of which required removal of the rear seat.
Production started in late 1960. By the end of 1963, complete
production was stopped. From 1963 to 1965 cars were assembled from
shells and parts inventory built up in anticipation of sales of
25,000 units, with the last new build units assembled in 1965. Cars
were titled in the year they actually sold rather than when they
were produced, e.g. an unsold Amphicar assembled in 1963 or 1965
could be titled as 1967 or 1968 if that was when it was first sold.
Although the inventory could not be sold in the U.S. in the 1968
model year or later due to new environmental and USDOT emissions
and safety equipment standards, they were available in other
countries into 1968. The remaining inventory of unused parts was
eventually purchased by Hugh Gordon of Santa Fe Springs,
California.
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson owned an Amphicar. Johnson, a
known practical joker, was said to enjoy frightening visitors at
his Johnson City, Texas ranch by driving them downhill in his
Amphicar, directly into his property's lake, all the while shouting
that he had malfunctioning brakes.
If you collect eclectic cars, this is one to be sure to add to your
collection. Stop by MotoeXotica Classic Cars today to determine if
this floats your boat.
VIN: 106522756
This car/boat is currently located at our facility in St. Louis,
Missouri. Current mileage on the odometer shows 16,530 miles. It is
sold as is, where is, on a clean and clear, watercraft mileage
exempt title. Comes with New York registration if you want to apply
for an "automotive" title. State of MO only would allow one or the
other. Watercraft was chose. GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!
Note: Please see full terms and conditions listed below that
pertain to the purchase of any said vehicle, thank you.
