21.11.2011, 14:16
Hilmer Svensson, Frank. So hies er...
Zitat:...
Through the years, Hilmer became somewhat of a mythical character, and today it’s hard to know what is truth and what is myth among all the anecdotes about his life. It is anyway true that he: Patented his own Wankel engine. A working prototype was built, but development was never completed on the construction. Built his own wind-driven powerplant. Stretched a Volvo P1800 to make its luggage compartment bigger. Welded a Ford Taunus back together – it had been hit by a train and split in two. Modified a number of sedans into estates by welding rear ends from crashed station wagons onto them. Built a sports car with a plastic body – that didn’t look like anything else. Planned to install a 300-hp aircraft engine in the Valiant, but his health reduced his work ability. Manufactured his own dialysis machines, built from parts from cars, washing machines and other things available nearby. In total, hilmer bought seven dialysis machines, both portable ones that he could carry on his back, and machines that were hooked up to the car. That way he could have dialysis while he was driving – even during a holiday in Spain. This is what accompanies the images: - Hilmer in his glory days in 1968, when the side windows were still split and all the metal in front of the windscreen was one big hood. A TV documentary tells the story of Hilmer’s last months and the hunt for new kidneys. In 2000, his body couldn’t take it anymore, and one of the world’s strangest Smålands-men passed away. - The car was to be called Dragoon. Hilmer liked the idea, and made a Dragoon emblem that was fitted to the rear bootlid. - Hilmer had an idea that cars could be salvaged through their wheels being placed in separate niches in the rear luggage compartment. - The car’s lines are reminiscent of the “cars of the Future” in the car magazines of the 1950s. The side window on the passenger side is one big piece of glass, which Hilmer considered to help the car’s looks. - Hilmer’s Car caused much ado in the local newspapers.
