Borgward Isabella Engine Parts – Identification & Advice please.

 Hello from Greece, I am a long-time classic car enthusiast and have restored and maintain my four American classics. Many years ago I came across a Borgward Isabella engine that had been installed as a replacement engine in a 1954 Mercury — a conversion sometimes made in Greece at the time for better fuel economy. Before the car was scrapped, I personally removed and kept a few of the engine parts shown in the photo, hoping that one day they might help another Borgward enthusiast. Having spent many years searching for hard-to-find original parts for my own classics, I know how valuable such parts can sometimes be, and I now feel the time has come to pass them on to someone who can put them back to good use. I would appreciate any help from the experienced members here in confirming that these parts are from the higher-horsepower Isabella engine, their exact applications, and also some advice on how best to proceed in offering them to anyone who may be interested. I can provide detailed photographs and their part numbers/markings for any individual part. Best regards from Athens,Aris
 

Yes, these parts come from an Isabella TS - engine, carb 32 PAITA, distributor should be VJR 4 BR 15.
Instead of the temperature - sensor, a tap is fitted on the thermostat - housing.

Regards to Greece from Bulgaria.

Dear Aris,

these parts are already confirmed to be the 75 Hp motor of the Isabella model. 
To be very honest, they are not extremely rare here in Germany since we have a couple of distributors around too. On top, we no longer have many restorer in need of these parts hence the value you may be looking for is rather low. 
A price tack below 1000€ may result in sales success. Furthermore, the cost for transportation from Greece to Germany with to the high weight, may even be another show stopper. 

Best regards and good luck also with your US classic. 

Jean-Claude

Jean-Claude, thank you very much for your prompt and informative reply. Together with the previous post here it is  good to know  that these parts are indeed from an OEM big  Borgward engine.I am trying to decide the best way to pass them on, and I am in no hurry since Ive had them in storay for about three decades anyway!   I bought my first classic back in  '68, long before eBay existed, and like some of us have maintained my classics to this da, so parts hunting I am very much aware of, however as a buyer only, as I am no trader.  I am now  wondering whether it would make more sense to offer them all together probably  on eBay, or to offer some  individually, knowing  that condition matters (some appear very good, while others show corrosion).  From your experience, are there any particular items in thelot that would be better offered individually because they are more useful and also rare? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again,Aris 



 

You see, hardly anybody would fit these old steel - fans any more - too many radiators have been damaged by self - destroying fans, so, this is something you might as well put into the bin.
Inlet - manifold and valve - cover and thermostat - housing - how often do you need them ? They never wear out; only if they are missing, somebody might need them. Very unlikely.
Some people - including me - would not fit 6 - Volt - starters - motors or dynamos any more - because they do a 12 V - conversion.
Very unlikely a regulator, lying about for decades, will work - and, same problem; it is 6 Volts...
Water - pump may spin freely - but, having said that, if somebody fits it, it will not last very long before it will start leaking. 
Again : it will need overhaul.
Provided the housing is still somewhat all - right.
You may offer the carb - but again, it will have to be dismantled and may need new diaphragms. Not 100 %, but mostly likely.
If you get 100 Euros for water - pump and carb, this is your lot.
Apart from that : looking at " cars.gr ", there are sometimes Borgwards for sale. 
Best thing might be to help a Greek - Borgward - owner, who might be grateful..
Good luck and regards from Bulgaria....

Dear friend from neighboring Bulgaria,

Thank you for taking the time to explain your point of view. I understand your reasoning, although it appears that we probably come from slightly different schools of classic-car restoration.

My philosophy has always been to preserve my cars as close as possible to exactly how they left the factory. I have always strived to keep my classics essentially 100% original in specification, and I do not make conversions simply for convenience. I only compromise where there is a genuine safety or reliability benefit, and even then only if it can be completely invisible and reversible.

One example is the original mechanical fuel pumps, which remain in place and can pass inspection, while I discreetly hide an in-line electric pump simply to prime the system after the car has been standing for a long time. This way it starts on the spot, almost as if it had been driven yesterday.

This is simply my philosophy as a hands-on restorer, and perhaps these parts might appeal to a similarly minded Borgward restorer.

Having said that, your comments about the condition and the possible need for rebuilding some of the parts are useful, and I will certainly take them into account. Besides eBay, I also plan to list them on car.gr, where I am registered.

Many thanks again for your advice!
Aris

With pleasure ! You see, if you drive a car every day - at night, in the mountains, in foggy conditions - you simply try to improve. Especially, if you not young any more and wear glasses.
12 V - components are available everywhere - as far as the petrol - pump is concerned, I agree.
I would never fit an electrical one. But I have a spare mecanical one in the boot, just in case..
I appreciate your attitude to keep cars original - my opinion is, that some things can be improved - instead of battling with original components.
We do not breathe the same air as 1960 - and we cannot put the same petrol into the reservoir.
There are limits to originality. 
Everything is just a matter of personal preferences....by the way, after a car has been standing about for a long time, it is n o good, if it starts straight away. You better take out the rotor of the distributor - just to avoid that. Reason : she should have a tiny little bit of oil pressure. It does not apply to my Isabella, she hardly stands for more than two days, but on cars, which have been standing for a long time, I do that. Sometimes, I even take the covers of the valve - cover off - to pour some oil onto rocker - arms and shaft.
Regards to Athens !
 

Thank you! Absolutely — personal preferences, and that is part of what makes this hobby so interesting.All the best from Athens!Aris

Hello ArisL,

First of all, a warm welcome to the forum.

It’s great that you’re offering these parts here.
However, I don’t entirely share the opinion of the person who commented before me.
Of course, metal fan wheels aren't used anymore these days, as they often failed due to material fatigue.
But take, for example, a 32-Paida carburetor, an ignition distributor, a water pump, or a fuel pump. Or a rocker arm shaft.
In my opinion, these are interesting parts. Rocker arms are in demand too, provided they aren't excessively worn.
Many die-cast aluminum parts age over time and often end up being unusable.
So, it would be helpful if you could describe the condition of the parts in a bit more detail
or post individual photos of them.

That’s my suggestion.

I think it’s very difficult to estimate the value of the parts without knowing their condition.

That’s how I see it.

Best regards,
Joachim

Übersetzung:

Hallo ArisL,

zunächst einmal ein herzliches Willkommen im Forum.

Es ist toll, dass du diese Teile hier anbietest. Allerdings teile ich die Meinung meines Vorredners nicht in allen Bereichen.
Natürlich werden heutzutage keine Lüfterräder aus Metall mehr verwendet, da sie oft aufgrund von Materialermüdung auseinanderfliegen.
Aber nimmt man zum Beispiel einen 32-Paida-Vergaser, einen Zündverteiler, eine Wasserpumpe oder eine Kraftstoffpumpe. Oder eine Kipphebelwelle.
Meiner Meinung nach sind das interessante Teile.
Auch Kipphebel sind gefragt, sofern sie nicht übermäßig verschlissen sind.
Viele Aluminium-Druckgussteile altern mit der Zeit, zerpröseln und sind oft nicht mehr zu gebrauchen.

Es wäre also hilfreich, wenn du den Zustand der Teile etwas genauer beschreiben kannst
oder einzelne Fotos davon einstellen könntest.

Das ist mein Vorschlag.

Ich denke, es ist sehr schwierig, den Wert der Teile einzuschätzen, ohne ihren Zustand zu kennen.

Meine Meinung.

Viele Grüße,
Joachim

Dear Joachim,You are absolutely right in everything you wrote. My purpose in joining here was, first, to confirm that these were indeed Borgward engine parts and, secondly, to see whether they could find their way to a Borgward enthusiast who might actually need them.As soon as I find the time and, mostly, the energy — at my age, looking after my own classics is becoming more difficult! — I will disassemble and inspect the parts that need it, such as the rocker arm assembly and water pump, and post detailed photographs together with my own assessment of their condition.I am very glad that I found your excellent forum. Owners’ forums have been invaluable to me in restoring and maintaining my American classics — not only for parts, but also for the technical knowledge they provide, especially for older classics when, like me, you do much of the work yourself.Thanks again,Aris
Here is a German translation again with our AI help! 

Lieber Joachim,
du hast mit allem, was du geschrieben hast, vollkommen recht. Mein Anliegen hier im Forum war zunächst, sicherzugehen, dass diese Teile tatsächlich von einem Borgward-Motor stammen, und zweitens herauszufinden, ob sie vielleicht ihren Weg zu einem Borgward-Liebhaber finden können, der sie wirklich gebrauchen kann.
Sobald ich die Zeit und vor allem die Energie dafür finde – in meinem Alter wird es langsam schwieriger, mich auch noch um meine eigenen Klassiker zu kümmern! – werde ich die Teile, bei denen es nötig ist, zerlegen und genauer prüfen, insbesondere die Kipphebelwelle und die Wasserpumpe. Danach werde ich detaillierte Fotos zusammen mit meiner eigenen Einschätzung ihres Zustands hier einstellen.
Ich bin sehr froh, dass ich euer ausgezeichnetes Forum gefunden habe. Besitzerforen waren für mich bei der Restaurierung und Erhaltung meiner amerikanischen Klassiker immer von unschätzbarem Wert – nicht nur bei der Suche nach Ersatzteilen, sondern vor allem wegen des technischen Wissens, das dort geteilt wird. Gerade bei älteren Klassikern ist das besonders wichtig, wenn man, so wie ich, einen großen Teil der Arbeiten selbst macht.
Nochmals vielen Dank!
Aris

Dear Joachim,
I am now ready to post the photos together with my comments on each part. Before I do, could you please advise me on the best way to present everything properly in the forum?

Should I prepare everything in a Word document with the photos inserted and then copy/paste it into the post, or is there a better way to make sure the text, paragraph spacing and photos appear correctly?
I don't want to make a mess of the forum! 😊

Thanks,
Aris

Hi Aris,

You can post the photos individually here or upload them all at once.
If you want to insert text in between, you can write the text first and insert an image at the cursor's position.

Alternatively, you can save the text and images as a PDF file and upload that.
Depending on the file size, that might be a good option.

I look forward to your post.

Best regards,
Joachim

Testing picture insert 
 
 

Hi guys, sorry for the test but i think now the .pdf will work.... (I hope...) 

Dear Borgward friends,

Just a follow-up to my previous post. I took quite a few pictures of the parts and, since there were so many,
uploaded them in a PDF together with my comments.As I haven't received any feedback,
I wonder whether you can open and view the PDF properly.
I would really appreciate your opinions on whether any of these parts might still be usable or of interest to someone
restoring a Borgward.Many thanks! Aris

Liebe Borgward-Freunde,eine kurze Nachfrage zu meinem letzten Beitrag. Ich habe ziemlich viele Fotos von den Teilen gemacht
und sie deshalb zusammen mit meinen Anmerkungen in einer PDF-Datei hochgeladen.
Da ich bisher noch keine Rückmeldungen erhalten habe, frage ich mich, ob ihr die PDF-Datei problemlos öffnen und ansehen könnt.

Ich würde mich sehr über eure Einschätzung freuen, ob einige dieser Teile noch verwendbar oder für jemanden interessant sein könnten,
der einen Borgward restauriert.

Vielen Dank!
Aris

Hallo  ArisL, 

ich kann die PDF- Datei sehen und öffnen und ich gehe davon aus, dass alle anderen Usern das auch können.
Leider hat die Website schon seit längerer Zeit ein Problem mit der Text- Formatierung.
Daher versuche ich das entsprechend nachzuarbeiten.

Was die Nachfrage an Teilen anbetrifft, so muss man feststellen, dass die allgemeine Nachfrage momentan sehr dürftig ist.
Dem gegenüber besteht aber zur Zeit ein Überangebot, wenn ich beispielsweise bei ebay oder Kleinanzeigen die Angebote sehe.
Selbst bei Facebook werde Unmengen Borgward- Teile angeboten.

Woran das liegt, kann man spekulieren. "Alter der Borgward- Besitzer, Überangebot durch Sterbefälle usw."

Was bei deinen Angeboten helfen könnte wäre, wenn du eine Preisvorstellung der Einzelteile angeben würdest.

Schöne Grüße
Joachim

Many thanks, Joachim, for your helpful and frank reply.

Unfortunately, I've been personally witnessing exactly what you describe: older enthusiasts passing away, while the next generations understandably develop a passion for cars from later decades.

Yes, it's sad to think that the cars we grew up loving and admiring, that some of us were fortunate enough to own, may eventually end up gathering dust in museums... if they even make it that far.

I am one of those older enthusiasts myself, but luckily my son, now in his forties, has shared my passion for classic cars for decades. So I hope that my own classics will continue to mean something to him and my daughter, and hopefully to their children too!

Anyway, following your comments, I took a closer look at eBay, Kleinanzeigen and other sites for parts, and yes, there really are quite a lot of Borgward parts out there!

On the other hand, this oversupply may eventually help me establish some realistic price levels for the parts I've kept all these years, so that they won't end up as scrap or be sold for peanuts.

Whenever I find the time to do this, I may return here to share what I've found.

Again, many thanks for your expert and valuable assistance!

Best regards,
Aris