Year and place: 1951, Norrköping

Sheet-metal worker Alvar Berglund worked with car bodies. In 1949 he decided to build a car for himself. His idea was a 3-wheeler, so he made a model. When it was finished, he decided to build a 4-wheeler instead.

He made a wooden frame, mounted seats for driver and rear passenger, fastened a large sheet of paper on the wall, placed his daughter in the rear seat and himself in front - and then let his wife draw the contour on the paper. With this sketch he made a mockup.

After 1.100 hours of work and 2.000 swedish kronor, he was the owner of a 2+2-seater with a steel-sheet frame and an aluminium body. Alvar had bought engine, wheels and a part for the steering mechanism, but the rest he had constructed himself.

The 280 cm long and 132 cm wide car weighed 420 kg. With the 250cc 9hp Jawa motorcycle engine it had a top speed of 70 km/h, with a fuel consumption of 0,3 litre/metric mile (=10 km).

Among the technical solutions were the starter, with a stick connected to the engines kick starter. The car had 3 gears forward. To be able to drive backwards, it had an ignition switch that also could start the engine running backwards.

2000-04-21. www.konditori100.se. Text/pictures: Arne Granfoss ©. Prod: AG Informice