Konig History

[Steve Litzell]

Not quite Ralph, the money thing was later, maybe in 87 or 88, that is when the factory was behind on motor delivery to the Russians, and Deiter did not want us in factory because everyone was busy. I just rolled my sleeves up and went to work,we made delivery a head of schedule and this meant bonus thimble for Konig. We delivered some 40 motors 3 to4 day’s in advance, and all I wanted to do is do a crank for my D and putpistons in it. After Dieter offered me money,and I refused, and he said that, he said ok, if you don’t take my money, you will take my parts. This worked out very well for me, and if you remember I brought back to USA in my back pack, a new FA to run as a RB for you. We never did, and I have that new FA in my hord. Also got a steak dinner on bet out of Konig because my old D made more power than his new one at the time. The D bet went on for a couple years until 89 when I won the 700 worlds in California. That nite I bought Deiter a steak. Good times for sure and I still miss my friend very much to this day. He had such a impact on my young life as others too have. Thanks, Steve

[Donald]

Sorry, I get the years mixed up, we had so many back then. I do remember now, you had a carry on that I bet weighted 100 pounds full of Koenig parts. You could never get by with that now. Which year did Dieter, Hans and families come to Sarasota and you took them water skiing, we called you skinhead for a time after that. I have some pictures of that trip some place. I'ii try to find them.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Keep the stories coming Ralph, and we are looking forward to more of the trip to Grein, but I need to ask this question. Dieter took me to a place in 1975 that had orchestra music and a big dance floor in front of the stage. Behind the stage were water fountains spouting up, weaving back and forth , and sometimes jumping up and down and it was all co-ordinated with different colored lighting. Besides the phones with numbers at each table, there were pneumatic tubes and pencils and papers. You could write notes and send them to a table as well as call them up. That was in West Berlin. I went with Dieter to a club in East Berlin in 1976 with Walt Blankenstein to meet Bernie Danisch, but what you posted sounds to me like the club in West Berlin. Very old, and dating back to the 1920's.

[Steve Litzell]

Hi Wane, I seen the one in West Berlin and was told about it, but the one Ralph was speaking of is in East Berlin. We went over to that side to have dinner and meet with the East Berlin drivers. Bernie was there and also Bern Bechausen, the man that drove the Zimple motors to a few championships with. That motor gave Deiter ulcers in the A class. Fun time. Also that was when Deiter showed me how to smuggle money across the border. If you remember you had to buy East German marks and exchange rate was 1 for 1. They would do the same with a US Dollar as well. A East German mark would trade in the West at 12 to 1 West marks and West marks at the time was over 3 to 1 dollar. The East would only let you have maybe a Hundred East Marks at a 24 hour visit. I’ll tell you, that stuff scared the Sh out of me as they were a serious up tite bunch of folks. Found that out the hard way on first trip when driving through a check point coming West, had guns pointed at us and threats because I drove by a guard shack big enough for one person approaching the main check point. I still have the ticket they gave me. Cost me 20 bucks to get out of that one.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

We went to a very nice restaurant in East Berlin Steve. Each item on the menu was around 90 East marks, and I worried about the bill. But we paid with West marks and it was only about 20 marks total for the whole bunch. I was worried too because Walt Blankenstein was smuggling in plans of one of John Yale's hydros and a calculator to convert from inches in to millimeters. Dieter had me taking in a box of chocolates and if they asked what I was doing with them, I was to tell the guards I was planning to eat the whole box while visiting East Berlin. Walt and I had to go and come back out through Checkpoint Charlie, while Dieter had to come and go through a different crossing because he was a German living in West Berlin. I went to East Berlin the next day by myself to visit someone I had met the night before. I borrowed Flo's little American car. It was a Ford, but I can't remember the model, although it was a compact. And it had a sticky throttle. When stopped you had to push harder and harder on the accelerator for it to rev up, then sometimes it would jump and go RRRRRRRrrrrrrrr very loud. Walt and I walked through the checkpoint the day before and Dieter picked us up on the other side. This time I was driving out. There were tank traps you had to weave around to prevent anyone from crashing through the barriers. I pulled up, and like you say Steve, the guards leveled machine guns at me while they took my passport to run it through, and they also popped the trunk and had a mirror on wheels they ran underneath the car. When I got my passport back and they raised the pole to let me pass through I was praying hard that I could get Flo's car moving without the throttle jumping and revving the motor up high. My ticket was a lot less than yours Steve and I still have mine too. It was 8 DM for driving the wrong way on one way street. It was only about a 20 meter jog to get across to the road offset on the other side. I would have to circle two blocks to come back around to do it correctly, but I did not see any Politzei cars around. Soon as I crossed the intersection a whistle blew. There was a Politizie on the corner on foot. He asked for my international drivers license, which I did not have one, so I gave him my Texas license. Most everybody around the world knows about Texas, especially Germans who love John Wayne and westerns, so it worked. He gave me the ticket and I paid him on the spot. The border guards are very intimidating. They hold your passport up so the can look at it, then at your face, look at the passport again, then your face again, back and forth for a few minutes to see if they can make you sweat or get nervous. Never saying a word, just a hard grimace on their face and stare with cold mean eyes into yours. I was nervous, but I figured it was better to stare back than try to look away or down because I figured that would look suspicious. Very interesting times. Debbie and I went over to East Berlin on a tour bus during our "honigmonde" and it was much easier. Tour bus tourists don't get the scrutiny like you and I did. I'm glad now that I did it because you get a true sense of what it must be like for the people to live in a police state.

[Donald]

Wayne, It was definitely east Berlin, and I remember that Dieter had to go through a different checkpoint. On that same trip, Dieter also took us to a spa, where they had pools like a small swimming pool. There was a hot, or I should say warm pool and a cold pool, a sauna, and a steam room. Men and women were all using them together, and all were naked.

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

When we were there racing the tunnel boats in the 6 hour, Alan Yaw from Abilene Marine, Tommy Posey, and a few others including Ted May went to East Berlin to visit. Yes, they made us exchange our West German marks to East German & were told we had to return with no money . So we drank our lunch. Needless to say all were feeling little pain. The real story was with my name being Schubert, my passport went through a slot in the wall. I was finally cleared. Now the bigger issue was Ted Amat. Not only did his passport go behind the wall, so did he for quite some time. He came out with a big grin as only Ted would.
the other thing that I remembered was all the pock marks on the concrete surfaces from bullets on the buildings from WWII.