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  1. #1
    Renato Piereck
    Spreading the Saab virus rpiereck's Avatar
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    Merks Motor Museum and Neumarkt Classic Car Day

    Bored at night last night and looking for something to do today I searched for a car museum in Nuremberg. I found out there is one car museum in the city, the Merks Motor Museum. Today I visited the Merks, and I found it to be one of the coolest small automotive museums I have ever been to. The Merks is a privately owned car museum, and it runs as a family operation, it is basically the private collection of Herr Claus Merk, a car collector from Nuremberg. The museum was empty today, it was a sunny Sunday and most Germans were out riding their bicycles and enjoying the sunshine.

    Arriving at the Merks I was greeted by Christine Merk, the daughter of the owner, a rather attractive German lady (most of them are...), she spoke better English than I did German, and I bombed her with a lot of questions about the museum, classic car meetings, etc in the area. She obviously grew up around her father's collection and was definitely a motor head too. She gave me lots of information, which is good because a lot of these local classic car shows are passed word of mouth and not much is posted on the web. After while she told me to go check out the cars in the museum and when I was done she would have some more stuff for me.

    Quote Originally Posted by Nürnberger Zeitung

    Museum owner Claus Merk and daughter Christine. From the Nürnberger Zeitung
    The collection is rather eclectic, encompassing everything from 1930s sedans, German microcars, Porsches, Ferraris, Italian econoboxes, tractors, typewriters, telephones, etc. Her father is apparently a guy who is in love with random machinery and found an organized way to maintain his collection and make money at the same time. I told her I liked SAAB and was active in an online SAAB community, and next weekend I am going to the SAAB meeting in Frankfurt, she said I had come at the right day, because today was the first day they had a SAAB 96 on display, her father had literally just towed the car in yesterday, all the way from Sweden.

    I spent a good hour walking around the museum, taking lots of pictures, I thought the entire collection was very interesting. It did not discriminate against more plebeian cars, and it featured a VW Golf sitting right behind a Ferrari 308 GTO. I thought it was cool they had the car my grandfather learned to drive on ( a Ford Model T), the car my mom learned to drive on (a DKW Sedan two-stroke) and the car I learned to drive on ( a Fiat 127, which in Brazil is the Fiat 147). Pretty cool. All the cars on the museum run, save for two or three, and her father often takes them out.

    After I was done I returned to Christine at the front desk. She was engrossed watching the Formula One race, she says she watches every F1 and DTM race (definitely a motor head), and she had written down on a sheet of paper a bunch of dates and places for many important local car shows and small races, all the way to the end of September, which is the end of car season here in Germany. She also gave me a stack of brochures and local free magazines, and highlighted some stuff for me. Very cool.

    Christine also mentioned that on any other day I would catch her father at the museum, but today he was down in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz with a Jaguar from the museum, as there was a big classic car meet there. She said it was only 45 minutes away and I should check it out. I thanked her, picked up my stack of papers, left her to watch her F1 race, got on the Autobahn A3 and headed south toward Neumarkt.

    Getting to Neumarkt I soon knew I was on the right place when there were a lot of rare cars on the road going towards downtown. It's not everyday you see a Messerschmitt KR200, a Steyr Puch Haflinger, and a Citroen Mehari just going down the road... I found where the show was being held, right at the center of town, and parked nearby. The roads leading to the show were blocked and guards at the entrance were letting only show cars and local's cars in. I walked in, saw a plethora of interesting cars, bikes, trikes, tractors, etc etc for show. Christine had said this show was for old cars only (what Germans call Oldtimers), but I saw a few Youngtimers, which are usually cars over 15 but less than 30 years old.

    I found the organizer's tent, asked for someone who spoke English, and I got information about bringing my car next year. Apparently there is no entry fee for the participants, you just write your information and you car is registered! The organizers apparently charge the local businesses who make a killing on a busy day like this, so for car owners it is free. One of the organizers asked me what kind of car I had, I said a 1987 SAAB 900. He asked me where was the car, and I told him it was parked outside on the street. He then told me to just drive through and park with the rest of the show cars, they had no SAABs today and I would be representing the brand. I wouldn't be eligible for any of the many trophies and prizes they give out since I hand't registered, but I could at least show my car. So I brought my car in, parked it next to an old Benz, locked it and left to explore the show.

    The coolest thing I saw on the show was a 1934 Royal Enfield motorcycle with a diesel engine. The guy found the bike in Chile, decrepit and rusted, but he had never seen a diesel powered bike before, so he bought it and shipped it to Germany to restore it. He said buying, shipping and restoring the bike was the easy part. The hard part was making it road legal in Germany. He took the bike to a few motorcycle inspectors near Nuremberg and Munich and no one would touch his bike, saying ti couldn't be made road legal since it did not have the original engine, but an engine made for a water pump. Then one day he found some guy who is a master inspector, who said that vehicle inspection rules in Germany date to 1938, when Hitler made the rules on which the current laws are based. But since this bike was made in 1934 it predates the rules and is therefore exempt from it! So he got his bike to pass inspection, and now he rides the only road legal diesel powered motorcycle in Germany. He says he rides it daily and has no problems at all, but gets lots of looks everywhere he goes with it. He says the bike is very hard to ride and brakes are terrible, but he takes it easy and goes slow, hasn't crashed yet!

    Anyway, today was a very cool day and as usual I took lots and lots of pictures. Some of them will follow, I will post a link to the gallery with all of them later.
    Last edited by rpiereck; 24 June 2012 at 21:20.
    Now: '00 Saab 9-5 Aero Combi - '89 Peugeot 205 CTI - '91 Peugeot 309 GTI
    Gone: '87 Saab 900i - '95 Saab 900 SE Turbo

  2. #2
    Renato Piereck
    Spreading the Saab virus rpiereck's Avatar
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    '00 9-5 Aero SC, 87 900i 8v
    Bristol 400, beautiful car!


    One room was full of miniatures


    Found a SAAB!


    Old abandoned Studebaker, literally found in a barn, and according to Christine the milk jug and wood crate came from the same barn as the car


    One room filled with typewriters and mechanical calculators, all made in Nuremberg on a factory that is now closed


    Relics of the past


    Modern classic


    Gorgeous Maserati 3500 GT Superlegera


    Glas Goggomobil T250-01 micro car with a funky paint job


    Just arrived at the museum




    Neckar Jagst 770, a German car I never heard of before. Basically a Fiat 600 made in Germany.


    More remnants of the past


    Old Trabant Wagon with DDR plates




    Two vintage Unimogs


    One of four halls filled with cars


    Some iconic badges












    Leaving the Merks


    Here is the link to the gallery with the other pictures from the Merks: https://picasaweb.google.com/1133845...eat=directlink
    Last edited by rpiereck; 24 June 2012 at 20:32.
    Now: '00 Saab 9-5 Aero Combi - '89 Peugeot 205 CTI - '91 Peugeot 309 GTI
    Gone: '87 Saab 900i - '95 Saab 900 SE Turbo

  3. #3
    Renato Piereck
    Spreading the Saab virus rpiereck's Avatar
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    '00 9-5 Aero SC, 87 900i 8v
    Pictures from Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz Oldtimer Treffen (Neumarkt Classic Car Meet)

    Just a Messerschmitt going down the road, nothing out of the ordinary...


    Alfa Romeo Montreal... this car's exhaust was akin to aural sex


    Auto Union DKW Coupe parked on the road


    Unidentified car going down the road. And old Opel perhaps (Olympia?)


    Two beautiful Benz, and a BMW Z1 parked in the background


    And those before were out on the street outside the show. Inside...

    Sprite always looks happy. Mazda copied it with its shit eating grin


    Very clean Lancia Delta Integrale wearing Porsche wheels


    Opel GT, aka Poor Man's Corvette


    Mercedes Bus with trailer


    This bug supposedly has a Porsche 6 cylinder engine, but the engine cover was closed and the owner wasn't nearby


    Pretty Escort


    Everybody loves fat guys on scooters


    Cool vintage scooter with matching trailer


    This guy was hand cranking this old Praga car (never heard of it), took him a few tries but it started after all


    Unrestored


    Back to the future


    BMW's 60's design


    Tractors of all sizes


    Ubiquitous Mog


    These guys came in traditional German farm costume (they could be from southern Bavaria in which case they probably dress like this every day anyway)


    Citroën 2CV, for sale for 6900 Euro


    The diesel powered Royal Enfield


    Some people didn't believe it and everybody was asking the owner if this was real


    Exposed primary gears with manual oiler




    The owner is the guy in the military uniform


    This huge tractor has a two-cylinder, 10-liter, two-stroke, diesel fueled engine. Made one hell of a noise


    75,000 Euro vintage convertible Benz. I saw one of those doing 115 mph in the Autobahn two weeks ago


    There's more to come...
    Now: '00 Saab 9-5 Aero Combi - '89 Peugeot 205 CTI - '91 Peugeot 309 GTI
    Gone: '87 Saab 900i - '95 Saab 900 SE Turbo

  4. #4
    Renato Piereck
    Spreading the Saab virus rpiereck's Avatar
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    '00 9-5 Aero SC, 87 900i 8v
    Classic convertible


    Alfa sedans are never as sexy as Alfa coupés but they do have their own sporty charm




    Matra Murena


    I like the wheels


    Super clean Fiat X1/9 with an interior that was a bit too much in white and blue leather


    BMW Isetta had people around it all the time, it was very hard to get a picture of just the car




    More cars driving in






    Fiat 126 with a 0.6 liter two cylinder air cooled engine, 26 horsepower


    Followed by an original AC Cobra with enough horsepower to eat the little Fiat for breakfast


    Triumph TR-3


    BMW 2002 Turbo


    DKW Munga with more guys in costume


    Ford Excort XR3i, these cars were all the rage when they were new in Brazil. They were the fastest cars sold in Brazil until VW beat it with the VW Gol GTi (Gol, not Golf)


    Classic Opels


    Vive la France! This car had a very funny and wimpy police horn, typically French, and everybody was laughing, it was quite a joke on the French, all done in good humor...


    They even had proper Gendarmerie caps


    The Citroën Méhari has a body made of ABS plastic


    That's a lot of chrome!


    Fast little car




    Apparently this Fiat was raced by Walter Rohrl


    Engine deck lid stays open to cool the engine and provide downforce on the rear driven wheels


    Lancia HPE Executive 2000


    Interesting shooting brake body


    Got bugs?


    Ford Taunus, shares the Ford V4 engine with the 96


    TVR


    Renault Gordini, these sold very well in Brazil


    One SAAB on the show!


    Facel Vega Convertible, this car is pure class, state of the art auto technology for its time


    Facel Vega interior


    Soon people started leaving


    Maybach Cabrio


    Here is the gallery with the rest of the pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/1133845...eat=directlink
    Now: '00 Saab 9-5 Aero Combi - '89 Peugeot 205 CTI - '91 Peugeot 309 GTI
    Gone: '87 Saab 900i - '95 Saab 900 SE Turbo

  5. #5
    Frank
    Administrator nordwulf's Avatar
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    Your 900 looks at home between all the other vintage automobiles!

    There should be more museums with common cars from the 70s and 80s and perhaps 90s. Love seeing cars like an Opel Kadett, VW Golf, BMW 3-series and other cars from when I was young. It's cool to look at expensive and unique old cars but I connect more with every day cars.



    Looks like a Ford Capri in the middle. My dream car when I just got my license. Unfortunately, a dream it always remained. Yeah, I know, I didn't have high standards or sufficient funds to own a sports car like that at the time..

    Compliments for the many pictures. As usual... wish I was there!

  6. #6
    Renato Piereck
    Spreading the Saab virus rpiereck's Avatar
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    Same here Frank, I love going to museums where you can see regular old cars in good shape. I know I will see some Ferraris, Porsche and Rolls Royces, it's when I see a Ford Capri, or a prototype late 70s Opel Kadett (below), unexpected cars at a museum, that I am truly impressed. Wanna impress me with a Ferrari or a Porsche? Let me see the thing run and the engine rev!


 

 

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