Messerschmitt 3 wheeler cars

[Lourens Scheepers]

Hi All,

I haven't visited the forum for quite a while but since contacted a few days ago by Zerkie Bergh, an old classmate, I read most of the posts including these about the Messerschmidt and BMW cars in Oranjemund.

As far as I can remember there were two Messerschmidt three-wheelers, one belonging to someone working at the hospital and the other one to the English teacher, the dreaded Mrs Castle. A few years ago a friend of mine was looking for one of these cars and I phoned around in Cape Town in the hope of finding the Castles. With my second call I got hold of the husband of Mrs Castle who was living in Blouberg at the time. He told me that he had sold the car to someone in Bloemfontein.

Mrs Castle had passed away and so did her son, Philip who was killed on the border a few days before he was due to return to SA. The other son is Peter who is a director of Primi Piatti. Perhaps some of you remember them - they had a sister Gwen.

The BMW bubble car belonged to Mrs Anna de Pinto. I visited her in Blomtuin, Bellville a few years ago.

Those cars are now worth a fortune. If only we had known that .......

regards to all

[SandyB]

Thanks Lourens for  reinforcing  the who owned  what .. as said its all  posted there , just  that some people  could not seem to remember  ...

[John Haycox]

Hi Lourens,

I remember when Mrs Tinka Castle brought that car to town.  It was the first private car in town.
Those day anything you brought in stayed there.  So she never expected to ever take it out again.
Thing have changed, they let it out after all.

The next private transport appart from ordinar bicycles was my father's BSA Winged Wheel.

This was an engine built into the back wheel of a bicyle. 

[SandyB]

I remember the BSA's with the engine ,, then there was a German woman that also had one of those " help my trap " thingies  also a glorified bicycle but the engine was on the front  top of the wheel and drove the front  wheel through friction contact  ( the name Solex comes to mind , did a search check pic .) , then  some italian  models came in .. not vespa more standard small shape  two stroke engined ,, ah now name comes .. Mopeds .. Kenny Gotsch  was a dab at repairing them and keeing them going

Here  pics  first one the solex  second  a dutch model but very close to the  italian ones  in appearance ...

[SandyB]

The winged wheel first 

then the cycle master 

all pretty similar

an extract from the cyclemaster

CYCLEMASTER
Probably the most well known of the cyclemotors, the Cyclemaster was a complete powered wheel that replaced a bicycle's normal rear wheel.  The earliest models had a 25.7cc engine; this was increased to 32cc for later versions.  Nearly a quarter of a million of these machines were built in the UK between 1950 and the early 1960s; several other countries also produced their own versions of the Cyclemaster

[georgswa (Georg Ruf) (RIP)]

@ Sandy, when was 16, i had exactly that solex.

Used 1 L / 100 km, top speed about 30 kmh, 2 stroke 50 ccm

When you run out of petrol just use it like a bycicle, eventually it was stolen from me.

Remember having made a tour to Heidelberg those days...........

[Clive Symes]

Sandy, help me out here, look at the photo below.
Did Viv and some other appies not have a Zundap or a Puch?

[SandyB]

Could  be .. a bit  vague  .. but yes i  remember well the italian   on vespa  as per the one pic  models very  well ...  did you know that   slang for  motor scooters here in SA  is a puchie  pronounced  pooghie .. obviously  after the steyr puch  numbers of many years ago ...

[georgswa (Georg Ruf) (RIP)]

Sandy, help me out here, look at the photo below.
Did Viv and some other appies not have a Zundap or a Puch?

That was the dream of all youngsters in my time in the late 50

[georgswa (Georg Ruf) (RIP)]

I had a Solex 50 cc at first ( bycicle engine in front), later the 125 cc and 150 Vespa ( 2 stroke unbreakable) then the Heinkel 150cc 4 stroke wih a heavy sound LOL

[Juliana Bester (Petersen)]

How nostalgic!! I remember my dad bought a red BMW bubble car for mum and they were not allowed to take it into Oranjemund because it had 4 wheels! Only the 3 wheelers were allowed. It got left with me in Bellville and my brother drove it around the streets there. What a noisy car it was! When we moved I sold it for a song and now would give my right hand for one! What good memories. I wonder what happened to it??

[Clive Symes]

Remember a few of the Solex's parked in front of the shop.

[Chris Macpherson]

My mom also had one of those , which i crashed one day on the road at back of mule derby and soccer field.

[Clive Symes]

Leaon you may remember this

[Leon Sumter]

Hi Clive
Was that your 750 Honda?
There were quite a few of us who owned 750 Hondas, you, me, Charlie, Keith, Dereck, Terry,..............