Identification- Motor & Frame

Occasionally I get asked, how do I go about finding out what my VIN number is. It isn't easy to get to, but it is located under the center console. If you follow the gearshift and center tunnel back towards the engine, there is a small inspection cover to get to the linkage. Just to the front of that cover your VIN number should be stamped. 


I also get asked on engine identification, and here is the story on that. It is easier to get to the the frame VIN. If you look at the base of the oil filler/generator/ alternator cast bracket where it joins the block there should be your engine number stamped in the block. You can Google VW Beetle Engine Numbers and get the year and assembly location, displacement. 

Hopefully this helps as you investigate what you have and match parts to it.

Factory or Kit- You decide

I know you probably hear this as well, but it keeps coming up, "your car is nothing more than a kit car". I can live with it, and actually when I first bought the Mini Mark I had suspicions it was as well. The more I researched the car and its rich history I learned otherwise, a factory or "coach built" car.

Original factory pictures discovered show around thirty five different Bremen cars coming down the line. Of those thirty five cars, a mixture of Creightons, Sebrings and Mini Marks, I can count around fifteen Mini Marks just on the day this picture was taken.

Coach-building goes back to the 1450’s when wagons were built. In fact there were so many coach-builders that almost every city had one. In the late 1800’s as horseless cars came to life, coach-builders began to customize the frames and engines coming off the assembly lines. From those beginnings until around 1920 coach-builders bought artistry to the square boxy cars coming off the evolving assembly lines. The more the assembly lives developed: thanks to Henry Ford, and cars started to have curves and character, coach-building diminished. By the war years only the rich could afford the work of a coach-builder, and car companies were not willing to sell frames to coach-builders. They were designing their own stylish bodies during those years. With the end of the wars, most of the coach-builders had disappeared, and only the assembly line designs were available.

This brings me to Bremen Motors. Although they were not known as traditional coach-builders, they took a chance to bring artistry to a simple and plain Bug type Volkswagen. Their cars were not cheap by any means, actually around 9-10 times what the Beetles were. If you purchased one of the original 300-400 factory built Mini Marks, you had to like the design and be able to afford it, around $15K, expensive for the day. 

Here is a list of some of the documented coach-builders in the USA, Brewster & Co., Brunn, Budd Company, Derham, Earl Automobile Works, Fisher, Fleetwood, KEM Motorworks, LeBaron, Locke, N2A Motors Inc., Murphy, Rollston, Willoughby, SSZ Motorcars. Some of you may recognize the Earl Automotive Works, it was the company of Harley J Earl of GM and Corvette fame. I am not putting the Mini design in the same league of the Corvette, but it is stylish and innovative. It didn’t copy the much duplicated MG design of those years, that many “kit cars” did. It had a character of it’s own, and yes it did borrow other car designs, but have you seen a "new: design in any car brand or design?. 

There was a “kit” option for the Mini Mark, and I found the factory sheets on assembled and kits. I was told that at least up until the 80’s when ownership changed hands, not many, if any kits were sold. If you notice the date on the "kit" paperwork it is 1981, near the end of production. 

So you decide, there are probably some hints in craftsmanship on what you have, but with this many coming down the line, chances are you have a factory built, let someone prove otherwise, and many will try.

Still a Winner

 Sunday July 30, 2017 the Four A's Car Club hosted a car show at the VFW In Three Oaks, Michigan. It was a beautiful day for a car show and many great cars came out to show off. This is a judged event and there were many different classes for the cars present.

The Mini Mark went thru judging and when the day was over, awarded second place in it's class. This was the biggest trophy it has taken, and that is in a literal sense. As you can see from the second picture here it is a large trophy. If you own or drive a MIni Mark, you very well know the restrictions for space. With a lawn chair, cooler, car display board, and other items, there wasn't much room left to drive the trophy home. 

Propped up in the front seat and with a hand on it most of the way home car and trophy finally pulled into the garage. Many many thanks to the Four A's for the show. They have a small group of eighteen members, but put on a first class show. 

The car shows I go to aren't about winning trophy's. I go to show off the car and educate people on it. I would say eight out of ten people who come up think it is a kit car. I have a large car display board which shows the plant and all the cars going thru, I have a sentence on the board, "not a kit car" but I keep getting that comment. A guess is you do as well? As I have said before, many many cars since the very first ones went off to coach shops for custom bodies. The Mini Mark in reality is not any different. Custom bodies were molded and installed on VW frames, frames which went thru a refurbish before being assembled. After explaining all the facts and talking with those who stop, they walk away a bit better informed. Most walk away with "I never knew that" and that it was a factory built car in Indiana. 

Enjoy your Mini Mark, take it out and show it off, take it out and explain what it is all about. Spread the word! Above all have fun with your car!

Fuel Problems!

The Mini Mark has been back together for around five years now and I have had a lot of fun driving the car around. Three years ago I learned of the Bremen Firemen's Car Show on the 4th of July Weekend. The first year I went I learned a lot about the car and talked to people who worked there as well as learning the name of one of the founders. After that great day driving home the coil went out and the Mini Mark had to be towed back home for replacement. The next year weather was not good and opted not to drive the hour to the show. This year the weather was great and started the drive to Bremen. About half way there I stopped for gas and a few miles later the car sputtered and died on the side of the road. I was able to find a driveway and after a few quick checks found out the car was not getting gas. I blew the fuel line back which started a fuel flow. Hooked everything back up and on the road again. Well, a bit too much optimism as between there, the car show and back home I had to blow the fuel line back six times. NOT a fun day driving. I actually began to think the car didn't want to drive back to where it was made and acted up as a child would!

The next day I drained the fuel tank and found the problem. There were four silicone slugs in the tank. It was clear silicone which I never use on the car. I only use black RTV and did not ever use any in the fuel tank area. The slugs were actually push out from a gasket sealing, where the screws go thru. Clear silicone expands when in gasoline which really made a bad situation. The tank has a dip where the outlet is, so these slugs rolled and were sucked into the outlet blocking the fuel.  I flushed the fuel tank numerous times and scoped it to see if I could find anything. Just the four slugs, the rest was clean. 


I did find out there is a baffle welded in the middle of the tank! which I did not know about. Good design since it keeps the fuel from sloshing back and forth in the tank and when taking corners. 

After finding no other "junk" in the tank I wanted a fail safe just in case anything ever got in the tank again. I was tired of blowing and sucking gas during what should be pleasant drives.

Just as a side note, during the winter months I had removed the brass fuel line elbow from the bottom of the tank and replaced it with a shut off. Didn't want to take any chances with the car parked of fuel leaking into the oil sump or flooding the garage.

After sorting thru my box of springs, I found one which I could force into the shut off valve. It is heavy gauge steel and I bent the tail to make an even tighter fit in the valve. Anything like these slugs gets close to the outlet again the spring should stop it from blocking the fuel flow completely. 

The inside of the fuel tank wasn't too rusty considering the age. I have been using fuel additive since the rebuild to keep rust to a minimum. Lastly before putting it back on the road I pulled out the original carburetor and put a rebuild kit in it. After a few frustrating days the car was ready to go again. Have put around seventy miles on it since than and it is running GREAT! Hopefully that problem is behind me. For any of the smaller particles which might get thru I have a GF61 in line fuel filter between the tank and the carburetor. 

I would suggest to owners out there, put a shut off, large steel can fuel filter and if you can a spring in the outlet. It may save the car from fire, and also avoid a fuel starve if something gets in the tank.

A Bit More Chrome

During spring 2016 while looking at some of the traditional sport roadsters I came across a few that had rock shields on the front of the rear fenders. I liked the look and started wondering how I could make a set for the Mini Mark. I contemplated finding someone with an English wheel and trying to roll them. The only problem was that it was really a compound form. The contour of the fender and then the roll over for the flair. Thinking about it most of the year I finally came up with the idea of finding something "close" and customizing it. 

I went web browsing and started looking at trailer fenders. Stamped 15" trailer fenders were close to what I wanted, and they had the compound roll. I was able to order just one at a reasonable cost, and started the customization process. I made a cardboard pattern of the design I wanted and started cutting metal. I then made a pattern of both contours and with body hammers, made the final adjustments to get a perfect fit to the fender. One side down, one to go! After all the hammering, I started sanding and metal finishing the shields. Finally I was able to get a mirror like finish and only then did they go to chrome plating. 

When they came back I put a thin sheet of rubber behind the shields and drilled a few holes mounting them to the fender. I think they look good, and keep the unexpected flying rock from chipping the paint there. As with most areas of working on the car I learned some new skills on this project.  

Retrospect

As we in 2017 appreciate the Mini Mark and the small family of cars from Bremen Sport have we ever thought of what it took to create them? 

A team of men starting a car company building dune buggies in a chicken coup. To have the vision of not only one, but a complete family of cars, Citation, Creighton, Mini Mark, Maxi Taxi, and Sebring. Each car having different styling and design. Each car requiring unique engineering, and mating each to a drive train, or in the case of the Creighton, a custom frame to an existing power plant. Fine tuning each design to make it look correct and flow. To then match interiors, lighting, hinges, tires, wheels, bumpers, all the trim.  Picking colors, and above all, just taking a chance they will sell after putting all that work in them. All of the pieces came together for the Bremen Sport team. 

It is just as much a tribute to them the number of cars still on the road as well as the global presence of those cars. So the next time you are out enjoying your car, take a moment to think of the history behind it.