Boss Todd’s Garage, Episode 10: The 1961 Amphicar

Camaro Burnout pics only!!! - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards
[source]
[A 1985 Camaro IROC-Z squeals its tires, bursting onscreen to the sounds of Judas Priest’s “Breakin’ The Law”.]

BOSS TODD IS FUCKIN’ BACK, BITCHES!

[source]
All eyes on basketball this week, which I guess means that I’ll be a little distracted from thinking about my old man passing last week. Great dude, that Dick. Gonna miss that fuckin’ guy. Will rip a few parking lot donuts in his honor for sure. Or better yet, might even jump in this bad boy this week and go swamp all those fucking yacht club assholes pulling up to shore… Love you, Dad.

The 1960s Amphicar 770 was neither a decent car nor an accomplished motorboat - ABC News
[source]

THE AMPHICAR MODEL 770

Model Year: 1961

Total units produced: 3878 between 1961-68

Vehicle type: Two-door, four-seater amphibious convertible

Engine: Triumph Standard SC inline-4, 69 cubic inches, 43 HP

Drivetrain: Rear engine, rear wheel drive

Transmission: 4-speed manual

Gross weight: 2324 lbs.

0-60 time: 38.3 seconds

Top speed: 70 mph on land; 7 knots on water

Vehicle cost: $2800-$3300

What makes this car interesting?

West Germany has one of the finest automotive engineering and manufacturing industries in the world. For decades, makers like Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Mercedes and BMW have been renowned as key scions of innovation and quality in vehicles worldwide. From the humble original Beetle all the way through the modern 911 Carrera, the Germans have their vehicle designs clearly figured out – and their consistent popularity is a testament to their skill in this area.

And then there’s the Amphicar.

Germans, as we know, are all about efficiency, which is perhaps what inspired this initial design, I suppose. Why bother owning multiple vehicles – which is expensive and takes up too much space – when you could combine their functionality all into one vessel? To the Germans’ credit, Hans Trippel legitimately solved the problem.

Germany had several amphibious predecessors to the Amphicar – the VW Schwimmwagen and Trippel’s earlier creation the SG6, among them – but they were all design exclusively for military use. After the end of WWII, as West Germany rebuilt itself under the Marshall Plan using financial aid from the Allies, civilian automotive production ramped back up, and Trippel and other manufacturers had room to experiment again.

In 1961, the Amphicar was launched, and while it didn’t especially catch on in Europe, American customers were fascinated, and are believed to have purchased about 90% of all the models produced in its eight-year production run. The car had a cutaway nose that sat just above the water line, and twin propellers at its rear that connected to the main engine via a separate transmission. The water steering came from turning the front wheels from side to side, acting as very basic rudders.

1965 Amphicar 770 Convertible - Sports Car Market
[source]
It really, truly did work as advertised. It could drive on land, navigate properly in the water, and then return to land, all without risking life or limb to any vehicle occupants. And its price point, equivalent to about $33,000 today, meant it actually would have been relatively affordable in its time. What ultimately tanked this car was the USDOT clamping down on emissions regulations, which killed the biggest source of exports from West Germany, forcing Hans Trippel and the Quandt Group to shutter their factories for good at the end of 1968.

Win An Amphicar
Even Cadbury staged a competition to win one of these – who wouldn’t be thrilled to get this as a grand prize? [source]
The Amphicar remains a quirky piece of ’60s culture – it had such a unique niche in American automotive culture that it made for an ideal sweepstakes prize, as noted in a few print ads below. Even today, there are some that remain not only on the road, but in the water as well – each year in Ohio, American Amphicar owners regularly stage a “swim-in”, meeting up in their vehicles.

What makes this car stupid?

Well, it sure wasn’t fast. With such a tiny engine in it – essential for keeping the weight low and also evenly distributed across the body of the vehicle – its top speed of 7 knots in the water was pretty puny. That’s not always a deterrent, though – lots of dipshits in this country are too poor choose not to purchase cars that go fast as fuck. Their loss.

No, really, the real problem with this car is that every time it left the water, there were 13 spots on the vehicle that needed to be immediately re-greased in order to keep all the parts from seizing – including one that required removing the rear seat, which was a pain in the ass to do. As we know, most people suck absolute fucking shit at preventative maintenance on their vehicles, so one can only presume the number of these that died a premature death due to lack of factory quality control or consumer dumbassery.

At the end of the day, it’s probably fair to say that the quality of the ride both on land and in water was sub-par. But that’s what happens when you try to reach a compromise to meet both needs.

CAN YOU GET PUSSY IN THIS CAR? 

BROTHER, AS LONG AS THE TOP IS DOWN AND THE SUN IS SHININ’, YOU CAN DO WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT IN THIS BITCH.

So long as you’re in international waters, I think.

Amphicar: The Rise And Fall Of The Amphibious Car
Shit, even LBJ took a rip in one back in the day! [source]
How can BOSS TODD fix this thing? 

Only problem I see is that it can’t drive underwater. That’s the last step, really. But shit! Nothing a little bit of aluminum plating, a welding torch, and a snorkel can’t solve, right? Hell, the Germans figured out how to make tanks drive underwater. Tuning up one of these bad boys should be a cakewalk by comparison.

BOSS TODD out, bitches. See you in hell.

[The Camaro burns out again, with “Breakin’ The Law” blaring once more.]

***

Information for this article taken from here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Banner image by The Maestro. 

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The Maestro
The Maestro is a mystical Canadian internet user and New England Patriots fan; when the weather is cooperative and the TV signal at his igloo is strong enough, he enjoys watching the NFL, the Ottawa Senators & REDBLACKS, and yelling into the abyss on Twitter. He is somehow allowed to teach music to high school students when he isn't in a blind rage about sports, and is also a known connoisseur of cheap beers across the Great White North.
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WCS

East Virginia! Furred Men!

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King Hippo

WCS, I apologize in advance for turning your fixture on.

WCS

’twas a good game, and a good rebound season. We needed to make some noise in the Big 12 this year, and show some progress. Huggy’s got a little more left in the tank, and I know he’s looking forward to next season’s squad.

This was pretty much exactly what I wanted to see this year. Yes, beating those fuckheads out east would have been nice, but, we beat those fuckheads from the north, and were a pain the ass for mostly everyone to get to the Tournament. Not bad for a team picked to finish second-to-last, and below .500.

WCS

Kedrian Johnson channeling Jerry West and Hot Rod Huntley with the dribble-drives.

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King Hippo

King of Track Suits wearing a tight mumu to show the moneymakers off?

WCS

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King Hippo

Otherwise…I ain’t eatin!

King Hippo

What should we call the Fur Men? Landing Stripz? We’ve Got Bush?

LemonJello

Merkin Merchants.

BrettFavresColonoscopy

Obviously I support

King Hippo

Not exactly giving Wahoowa a close shave today.

King Hippo

Uh…. stand corrected do Hippo

WCS

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I’m liking that WVU defense.

WCS

IT’S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SPROTS DAY OF THE YEAR

King Hippo

Get them cousins fucked and fucked DEEP

WCS

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WCS

I sincerely hope “Boss Todd Out, See You In Hell” is both Dick and Todd’s epitaph.

2Pack

The boys getting a ride after punking out some Germans and taking their lunch money.

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LemonJello

I prefer American made.

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2Pack

A Cadillac by comparison. Hitler should have known better than to mess with Detroit.

blaxabbath

[email protected]

Yesterday’s email was about teachers using Trump’s small penis as proof of CRT; rather than just treating it as an Evangelical Christian Leader choosing to raw dog a porn star and party her off to peirce his campaign.

Not sure what’s next. So much misinformation being taught to these poor children, so little time to report all the abuses….

LemonJello

The communist plot to dilute and extract the essence and precious bodily fluids from Americans?

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Brick Meathook

When I was very little I would see a couple of these tooling around the Potomac River by the boat ramp next to National Airport. At that time the last of the Lockheed Constellations were in regular service on the Eastern Airlines Shuttle, so I would see both at the same time and think wow this is great and we’re also landing on the moon. Then all three things disappeared.

Last edited 1 year ago by Brick Meathook
King Hippo

Well, we blew up the moon. Can at least explain that.

Brick Meathook

Blowing up the moon was understandable, but with car-boats we don’t need bridges.

ballsofsteelandfury

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Game Time Decision

Will it make it across the English channel?

LemonJello

“CARBOAT!”

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LongtimeLionsLoser

International waters!

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Last edited 1 year ago by LongtimeLionsLoser
BrettFavresColonoscopy

Even the cast of Friends refused to be seen in a VW Schwimmwagen

Horatio Cornblower

This either deserves to get you the banner or arrested for crimes against humanity. Still haven’t figured out which.

BrettFavresColonoscopy

Crimes against Humanity it is