Do not underestimate the power of the little Isetta

by Samuel Reynolds (published in the Isetta Gazette October 1981 - courtesy of the Woonsocket Call)

In the late 1950's they were not hot sellers, and some were even given as premiums to folks who bought Cadillacs, but BMW Isetta 300's, like that 1958 model of Daniel Sadwin's, will be coming back into their own - if they can be found.

Originally, the funny little two seater was part of a family of 8,000 imported to the USA, and it is estimated that only 1,000 or so are still in existance. A combing of barns and auto yards might disclose more.

"If you find one, grab it," said Sadwin - who is working with his son to restore the little critter. "Grab it because parts are available, and besides the fun you will have in restoration, you will be able to zip by the drivers of gas gobblers who will hate you, your car, and its 63 miles per gallon."

Sadwin bought the car a couple of months ago, along with a couple of cartons of spare parts.

The 59 year old father of racing drivers said that it was in pretty good shape when he picked it up, but that he had seen a few things that needed to be done before putting it on the road - like a complete restoration.

It is expected that the project will be delayed somewhat because this is the start of the racing season, but work will be sandwiched between other projects.

When the car arrived, Sadwin wiped off the dust and found an a sparkling, almost unblemished robin's egg blue finish. The folding sun roof - which caused it to be classified a convertible- is in fine shape, but the interior is in need of a thorough sprucing up.

Sadwin and his son, who are nasty-neat when it comes to cars, have other ideas. It is planned to strip it down and re-do each part, re-upholster the single bench seat in the original type fabric, unbend or replace the thin pliable bumpers, and equip it with new tyres. A major problem is that modern tyres of the size for the car are radials, and the originals were bias ply.

The car was originally designed and built by Iso Werk of Italy, but BMW, the German firm, bought licence to the Isetta, and by 1955 began turning it out with modified lighting and trim and powered by their R/27 motorcycle engine, which was so revamped with four forward gears and a reverse, plus a complete detuning to drive the 780 pounds of vehicle with a mere 13 horsepower, that virtually no parts are interchangeable between the two engines.

Since the cars were manufactured in five countries; England, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Brazil, there are parts spread all around the world, if you know where to look for them. The one person in the country who knows where to look for them is Marilyn Felling of California, who has parlayed a childhood love of the little beast - with the help of her husband - into a thriving business of supplying the needs of the 800 known owners of the little car in the US.

The cars were originally delivered for about $995, or $1,098 for the bubble windowed version like that which Marilyn restored, as to as much as $1,165 for the deluxe sliding window convertible like that of Sadwin. Because theyt were unappreciated in the late 1950's, they were often discounted to as little as $800.

With the Isetta 300 you do not straddle puddles or pot-holes, you go around them, because the rear wheels, which are close coupled to the transmission, which is also connected directly to the single cylinder air cooled engine, are only about a foot and a half apart.

There is no storage space, but the bench seat will accomodate two not-too-ample adults, a a driver and a couple of pre-teens. This is reached by opening the front of the car. The steering wheel folds out of the way when the door opens. The car has a heater and a defroster, direction signals, clutch cable, hydraulic brakes and a handbrake that really works, four speed gearshift lever, horn, and a single windshield wiper, although there is provision made for the installation of a second wiper - or the main wiper in countries with right hand drive.

Keep your eyes open for Sadwin and his half pint car. Flag him down and he'll be happy to show you his fun car. When he gets through restoring his 1958 Isetta it will look even better than it does now - and now it looks awfully good!