The Ascort corporation was producing other fibreglass items other than the Ascort car. This included silos, fuel tanks, domes for buildings and boats.

This is the Ascort Sonic boat, which was designed to be able to be towed or carried by a VW.








Home movies of the sonic show it to be quite a performer and looks like it would be a ton of fun. It would be a great addition to have for my Ascort, but I do not know where I would find one. I wonder if the car on the brochure could be my car, as mine is the only one that I am aware of with a tow bar. (see the photos of BXL-022 above)

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I finally have more photos and details of an Ascort that has been hidden away on the other side of the country, in a shed for over 18 years. :thumbup:

In the overview, the car is the neat blue car. The photo was taken some time around 1980 after a fresh paint job. Rumour said that the car now had body damage from a low speed roll and that the car was fitted with a 40hp engine rather than its proper Okrasa TSV 1300 😞 .

It had also been reported to me in the late 1970s that the interior was "mutilated". I had always assumed that this meant that the original guages etc may be gone and that the original trim was gone. As the car had obviously had a tidy up in the 1980 photo, I had guessed that it must have been re-trimmed.

Here are the pics of its current condition.







The high definition pics that I have do not show any significant damage. The engine is the original Okrasa. The engine was running at the time of being parked and it still turns. All the correct guages and fittings are there. The trim is original, although the hood lining and some carpet is gone, and condition is not great. The pan is mostly sound with minimal rust.

The car looks to be almost complete and very original and should be a great starting point for a restoration. :thumbup:

The car is now in the process of being sold to an Ascort enthusiast and will be shifting back to the Eastern side of the country. :thumbup:

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I suppose that I should admit that the car is now mine and hopefully should be starting its journey home in the not too distant future. :thumbup:

My current car was quite incomplete, and I am having to re-create quite a bit. I am hoping that I can keep this car as original as possible. It should also help me complete my current car by showing how things should be. Can't wait to get it home. :drool:

Mark

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Hi Mark,

You got it.
Congratulations. :thumbup:

Patrick

Congrats Mark...
You deserve that car.:thumbup: Thanks for sharing
The best part is that it is complete . You can make a mould out of the good one to restore the bad one. I did that once for a buggy.
I have no clue on the Digits in the Okrasa engine what they stood for.

Your new year is over yet, ours still to come, but I wish you all the best for the next season.
cheers.

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Thats BRILL dont forget to Keep those photos comming and a on going thread of the re-build :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:



Andy W

Thanks guys.

As my current car is probably the first car built after the prototype, I can see that there are lots of little differences between the cars, but having the two will make work a lot easier in many areas. What I have in the way of bits and pieces now will aslo assist with the blue car as well.

In my collection photos I have photos of a dark blue Ascort which is most likely the same car. In the photos of the blue car I can see bits of the dark blue paint showing through.

If you look at the bonnet stays, they are dark blue and there is also dark blue paint near the boundary of the blue and silver where the paint has flaked.



This interior photo of the car when new seems to match up quite well and I can see no features that would suggest that this is not a match.



It was not a bad looking car when new.



One of the things that is special to me about this car is that it is fairly original and unmodified. Of all the existing Ascorts, this car would seem to have the most original condition engine bay. From what I have seen, all the other cars have either different engines fitted or cosmetic changes made. To me that makes it important to keep it that way and just tidy it up a little.

Some parts of the interior are rougher than a couple of the other cars, but at least it is unmodified. I have the remains of the original interiors of 2 other cars. One of these interiors is from the old New Zealand Ascort, which has the same trim colour. (The engine numbers are only 2 numbers apart). I would like to see if it is possible to re-create a fairly original interior with what I have. (I am missing carpet)

Mark

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I thought that I would add a few photos of the new car to detail how Ascort's are put together.

This first photo details the dash. It shows:
Petri steering wheel (some cars had a simple horn button, rather than the full horn ring)
Steering lock
The acrylic sun visors are missing from the rod. (Porsche?)
Instruments are from the right: Smiths Vacuum, VDO oil pressure, VDO 100mph speedo with trip, Motometer 3 in 1 (amps, fuel, temp), VDO electronic tacho, motometer clock (60mm).
The indicators are on the left of the column and is a Hella with the red light on the end of the stork. Headlight dipper is on the right of the colums and should have a blue light on the end of the stork.
The windscreen washer can be seen under the strrening column area.
This car has a roller accelerator pedal, but most had a pedal. I have not checked the pan number to get a chassis build date as the body sits over the number in the rear armrest area.
It can be seen that a stock beetle pan was used and not the wider Ghia pan.
The windscreen is Peugeot 403.


The second photo shows the front seat area. It shows:
The porsche 356 recline mechanism. This is only on the outside, with the pivot placed further back on the tunnel side. This allowed the seats to fold toward the car centre to allow easier access to the rear seat area.
The cream carpet which was originally used through the car covers the rear of the seat.
On the passenger side the door trim can be seen. An aluminium strip helps hold the top of the door trim in place.
On this car there is an alloy trim above the door which would have secured the edge of the hood lining. (My other car uses a conventional door trim)
The door is very similar to that of a Ghia, except that it uses beetle catches.


The third photo shows:
The glove box, the 60mm motometer clock, the Continental Coachworks emblem. (Continental coachworks is the name of company used to produce the body). This is similar to the bonnet emblem. I assume that under the lion sits 2 x letter "C"s (for Continantal Coachworks). One is tall and narrow, the other elongated horizontally.
Above the emblem in the centre of the dash is the ashtray. This came from a late 1950s GM Holden (FE / FC model).


The fourth photo shows the rear seat area:
A short adult can sit quite comfortably, but an average height male will have their head hard up against the rear window.
Under the removable armrest is access to the inspection plate on the transmission tunnel.
Unfortunately the body is mounted right over the top of the chassis number.
The ashtray is from a 1950s GM Holden. It was originally the ash tray on the back of the front seat for the rear seat passengers of the Holden.
The area of the vinyl that has collapsed down was originally a headrest cushion section.
On each side of the seats is a flat surface. This is the area where the fuel tanks sit, just ahead of the rear wheel. There is an 8 gallon fuel tank on each side (modified from a Ford 105E Anglia) which are linked by cross feed tubes. The filler cap is on the left tank only. With 16 gallons of fuel, the Ascort had a range of over 1000km on a tank full of fuel.


The fifth photo is the engine bay showing:
The Okrasa TSV 1300 engine which according to tests gave a top speed of around 98mph.
(For those who are not up on Okrasas, check out the vintage speed area of the forum. The engine started as a 36hp and then was modified with stroker crank, dual port heads, twin carbs etc.)
The shape of the fibreglass around the engine is almost identical to a ghia and indicates that the Ghia was used as a basis for much of the design.
This car has a fram oil filter fitted, but it does not seem that all cars had this feature.
The tail lights are from a Humber Hawk.
The rear window is Austin A95.


Sixth photo is a closeup of the engine.
The Ascorts have had the engine number uniquely numbered with an ACA prefix. My car is ACA0916. It is presumed that the ACA stands for Ascort Corporation A/sia.


The seventh photo is the air intake area.
The vents are narrowed oval window beetle speaker grills.
The rear bonnet is a very similar shape to a ghia, except for the addition of the air scoops and recessing of the number plate.


In the future I will add details of the boot area.

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The Ascort has quite good boot space for the body style, especially when it is considered that the Karmann Ghia has played a major part in the Ascort's development.

The May 1959 issue of Modern Motor included this photo to show the large luggage capacity of the Ascort.
(I am sure that they have cheated and removed the spare tyre though). :sneaky:



The car in the photo is the prototype (often seen in photos with a "D72" numberplate), and differs from production cars in that it does not have a smooth firewall and has different bonnet hinges and a bonnet stay.

These photos detail the luggage space on my car. The luggage space is an area which which is seldom seen in detail in photos of the cars.

I have just noticed on my "new" second car that it does not have the front bumper area boxed as shown in the photos of my other car several posts above. (I think my first car was really a pre-production car and was probably the first built after the prototype. I suspect that my blue car was one of the last complete cars built)



As I have said previously, the spare tyre was designed to be energy absorbing in the event of a front end impact.
The battery sits in a recess under the spare tyre. The bolt that holds the clamp holding the tyre is actually a stud which doubles as a body mount. It threads into one of the stud holes of the frame head of the pan. (There is a nut under the clamp which is tigtened onto the body. A wingnut then holds the clamp. There is a bolt on the other side of the car.)
The black cable across the firewall is the speedo drive cable.

The next photo shows the drivers side. (It is understood that all Ascorts were right hand drive, except for a left hand drive prototype which was developed for the American market, but was never completed.)
The bulge on the lower firewall is to allow space for the drivers control pedals to operate.
The steering column passes through this area and the brake master cylinder reservoir is tucked beside the column.
A removable fibreglass cover is fitted over the steering box.
The windscreen washer reservoir hangs on the side of the boot area.
Spring loaded bonnet hinges were used on production cars.
An electrical junction board with relays is fitted to the right wheel arch, tucked away from the luggage area.





There should be an ID plate fitted to the firewall above the pedal area ... but it is missing 😞 This is how it looks on my other car.



A few of the cars that have not been modified or played with too much (such as my blue car) have silver paint in the luggage area snd engine bay, or silver paint under the black that they are now painted (as with my first car). I suspect that the silver paint in luggage areas and engine bay may have been common to production cars, but I cannot be certain on that point.

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Ascort Survivors Overview Update

Due to a change of ownership of a car and only basic information previously given, I decided that I should do an update of the Ascort overview. As well as a current photo of each car, I thought that a photo taken in each car's past may add a little more interest.

I will split the overview into 4 parts. This will be done by which state in Australia where the cars now reside.

These are the only existing Ascorts that I am aware of, but it is quite possible that more could exist out there somewhere.

It is understood that 19 cars were constructed with the final 6 cars being sold incomplete when the project collapsed. Copies of original receipts that I have suggest that the prototype was built and then the parts to complete 12 cars were then purchased from Germany.(from Dipl.Ing.G.Oettinger and Gebrueder Titgemeyer) It would seem that there may not have been any further bulk order of perts to complete any more cars. 13 of the 19 cars are known to have survived in some sort of condition. One Ascort owned by Kevin Young was involved in a 5 car smash in the 1970s. It is not known if this car was ever repaired.


South Australian Ascorts.


The first car is currently the only restored roadworthy Ascort. The car was sitting derelict in a front yard in the early 1980, it changed ownership and work on the car was commenced. Weork on the car stopped and it again sat incomplete for many years before being rescued by a car enthusiast in Sydney. Parts from the New Zealand Ascort were used to help complete the restoration and it was fitted with a 356 engine and brakes. The car was sold at auction to a South Australian owner who added the orange stripes, lowered the car and changed the engine to a large capacity VW engine. This has now been changed back to the 356 unit.



This car was never completed when new and was sold as an incomplete car when the Ascort project failed. The car sat incomplete until recent years when it was purchased by a South Australian VW enthusiast. The car has been made mobile and has been used for motorsport competition with a rat look. The car has a large capacity VW engine fitted and is quite a quick car.


This car is owned by the same South Australian owner as the blue car above. The car was the personally owned car of the Ascort designer, Mirek Craney, for about 16 years. The car was sold to one of Mirek's workers, who had the misfortune of running it under the back of an unlit truck. The nose was badly damaged, but eventually a very rough repair was carried out. Following Mirek Craney's death the car was bought back by the Craney children, but the poor state of the car led them sell the car. After changing ownership a couple time it was purchased by the South Australian owner. The car is unrestored and still has the poor nose repair.


The fourth South Australian car was originally bought by a New Zealand owner. The car fell into a poor state of repair and was involved in an accident where it was rear-ended and badly damaged. It was bought by a VW enthusiast (who is on this forum) but sold the car back to an Australian owner. On its return to Australia, the Okrasa engine was separated and the car was sold to the restorer of the silver car above. The car was used as a donor car, before the bones were given to the South Australian current owner. (I have the interior) The body is in pieces, but still exists. Repair panels have been moulded off other cars and it is hoped that one day the car may be reconstructed.

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Victorian Ascorts

This Victorian car would be one of the best condition original cars, although the Okrasa has been replaced by a stock 40hp unit. The car was originally owned by a TV personality Elaine McKenna before beign sold to the father of the current owner in 1961. The new owner was a motorsport enthusiast who ran the car in the 1962 Templestowe Hillclimb and would also take the car when he went to various racing circuits to work as an official. The car was maintained by the current owner who was a VW mechanic. The car has sat in a shed for a number of years now and it is understood that a 3rd generation family member is likely to assume onership.


This Victorian car has been owned by the current owner since 1975. The car is currently not on the road and is understood to be in pieces. The owner tells me that he is considering restoring it. This car was featured in a number of articles in magazines and club newsletters. It can be recognized by having twin side mounted filler caps and imitation wire spoked wheels. The car still has the Okrasa engine.


This car is one that I do not have a lot of details on. It was modified in the late 1970s and is currently owned by a Victorian owner who is a car enthusiast and collector. I have heard that the current owner is the nephew of the owner who modified the car, but this has not been confirmed. Despite being modified in the body and interior seating, it does still have the Okrasa and also has the original instruments and some other fittings.

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New South Wales Ascorts

This New South Wales cars is another car at risk. In this forum I have been advised that the car is sitting derelict and is deteriorating. The car has been in the same family for over 30 years and it is understood to have recently been given to a son. The car is said to be on a late model pan with a larger more recent engine fitted.


This New South Wales car was originally owned by a person said to be connected with the Ascort project. The car was restored in the early 1980s and on the owners death in about 1986, the car passed to a brother in-law who owned the car until it was passed to his daughter and her husband in about 2002. The car has been de-registered since then and some basic work has started. The car is very sound and complete and still has its Okrasa engine fitted.

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Queensland Ascorts

This Ascort was the prototype Left Hand Drive car which was being developed for the American market. The car was not completed and is understood to have been owned by the same original owner of the red New South Wales car. The car changed ownership to the brother in-law who lived in country New South Wales and it is understood that he did a conversion to Right Hand Drive. On getting the red car, this car was sold to a friend and the car sat with little or no work done on it for about 25 years. On this persons death the car was sold to the current Queensland owner, who intends to complete the car.



This Ascort is one of the bodies that was not completed new. It was found several years ago sitting in a shipping yard in Brisbane and was purchased by the current owner. The car has since had some fibreglass work done and it is hope that further work will continue soon.


This is the first of my cars. It is believed to be the first car built after the prototype. When the car was near new, the designer ran off the road in it and hit a tree. The car was repaired and then little is known of its history until it changed owners and moved to Queensland in the early 1970s. It must have been treated badly as it was quite derelict by this time, with no interior, no original dash and no engine. I purchased the car in the mid 1970s, did quite a bit of work, and then the car sat in a shed untouched while I persued other interests and worked in a different location. Work has recommenced in recent times. Most body work is now done and most of the hard to find bits have now been collected and restored. It is planned to use an Okrasa replica and keep the car as authentic as possible.


This is the second of my two cars as mentioned in previous posts. The car was owned by a Melbourne doctor (unsure if he was the original owner). The car sat unused under a tree for several years in the mid to late 1970s and was then repaired and put back on the road and owned by the doctors's daughter until the late 1980s. The car was then sold to the Western Australian owner who stored the car for almost 20 years before selling the car to me in recent months. The car is in need of restoration , but is quite complete with Okrasa engine, full instruments and other fittings.

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I have been working on the development of an Ascort web page. It still has some way to go, but I thought that I should upload what I have done so far.

My darling geek daughter says that I have to thank her helping use ftp to upload the files. Thanks Kat. :thumbup: (She owed me this assistance for chewing up this month's internet allowance in only 2 days 😶 )

I still have to pull the history section together and write information on the surviving cars and decide which photos should go into the album. Let me know if there is more that you think that I should add. (I think that I should add links to other sites such as Pre67VW etc)

www.ascort-tsv-1300.com

Let me know any constructive comments or thoughts that you may have regarding the site.

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It's a good read Mark and an excellent start.:thumbup:

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You're off to a great start!

Malc :smile:

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Thanks John and Malc.

I want to put a site together that gives some real information on the cars. Some years back there was almost nothing on Ascorts on the internet, and little in publications. I knew little myself after having my car tucked away in the shed for years. Would you believe that I went for 20 years without having contact or knowing another owner or person associated with the cars.

The person who restored the silver Ascort contacted me some years ago and we shared what we knew and when he sold his car I decided to continue with the great work that he had done in tracking down other cars and collecting history. Since that time I have collected lots more information, located another 2 cars and have formed a friendship with the Craney family (Mirek Craney designed the car) who have helped and encouraged me considerably.

The research work that I have done has given me as much pleasure as the restoration work, and has given a personal touch to the story, with better understanding of the person behind the car, what was happening in his life and what he was trying to achieve.

With the web site I hope to try and give a bit more of the Ascort story than just the clinical information on the car make that is typically found. Hopefully I can achieve that a little and make it interesting.

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For any who are interested in the Ascort history, I have now added data to the History section of the web site.

https://www.ascort-tsv-1300.com/History.htm 

Writing this section was much harder than I expected as I found it hard to know what to add and where to stop writing this section. I am still not sure that I have got it right.
:?

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Thanks for the heads up :thumbup: Hope all is going well.





Andy W

I think the page hangs together well Mark. You're very lucky to have as many pictures as you have. I've been trying to get pictures of the Judson workshops for nearly 15 years without success which makes a "History" section very dry.

As a small aside, I seen the original Ghia has a RHD modification. Pre 1960 Ghias only came out of the factory as LHD but there were a couple of companies in Aus and GB who advertised the conversion.

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