[USMA:46873] Re: VW and wrench

[Michael Payne]

Having read what Stan has said reminds me of the beetle I worked on about 35 
years ago, all I can remember is that I needed far more special tools than I 
had. This would tend to support the point that it needed more than a couple of 
wrenches.

Michael Payne
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Stanislav Jakuba 
  To: U.S. Metric Association 
  Sent: Sunday, 07 March 2010 15:14
  Subject: [USMA:46867] VW and wrench


  As a comment to the story below, this 
Ferdinand-Porsche-and-his-two-wrench-Beatle myth has been reoccurring on this 
forum and elsewhere for decades. No way to stop it. Some even claim the 
existence of a 13 mm wrench, but no such bolt heads existed in Porsche's time. 
My brother and I took apart and rebuilt a WWII KdF, a military version of the 
original KdF Beatle. We sure needed the whole set of wrenches. There were 
plenty of other sizes; the need for them is obvious to anyone who ever took any 
car apart, including its auxiliaries and accessories. Although the "Beatle" KdF 
and the military KdF differ, it certainly would have been more important to 
minimize tools in the military KdF. Another myth about Ferdinand the elder is 
that he was German. In fact, he was a Bohemian, and a citizen of Czechoslovakia 
until that country stopped existing. His KdF contained several patent 
infringement on the Czechoslovakian Tatra designs. In his defense, it is said 
that Hitler told Porsche "Make it like the Tatra." Hitler admired the 
rear-mounted, air-cooled engined, aerodynamic Tatra cars. Porsche apparently 
was not to worry about any neighboring countries' patents.

  While on the wrench subject, you might appreciate to learn (and remember) how 
to select wrenches to ordinary hex-heads (those made to ISO or ISO-DIN or EU 
standards).
  M4    7
  M6    10
  M8    13
  M10    16
  M12    18
  M16    24
  M20    30
  Notice the pattern change after M10. I will leave it up to you to figure out 
the calculation for M4 thru M10 and then deduce the simpler pattern from M12 to 
M20. That way you will remember it longer.

  And now something easier yet: Allen wrenches (also known as Imbus) sizes:
  M4    3
  M5    4
  M6    5    
  M8    6
  M10    8
  M12    10
  No thought process is involved here. Just repeating numbers line-shifted. 
  Good luck.
  Stan Jakuba

   
  On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 5:18 PM, Pat Naughtin 
<pat.naugh...@metricationmatters.com> wrote:

    Dear Carleton, 


    As I understand it, Ferdinand Porsche designed the first model Volkswagen 
(1934 I think) with three bolt-head and nut sizes. Almost all of these were 
either 10 millimetre or 14 millimetre sizes and the third size was for the five 
larger nuts that held on each wheel with one for the steering wheel. Porsche's 
plan was that your entire tool kit could consist of two spanners (wrenches) 
that were 10 mm and 14 mm and that you would own a rarely used 27 mm spanner 
for the very odd occasions when you needed to remove a wheel. Together with a 
screwdriver your whole Volkswagen tool kit was intended to fit into a single 
pocket of your overalls.