According to the official press release in the 1960's the maximum speed in water for the Amphicar was quoted as "Wasserfahrt: -Hoechstgeschwindigkeit 10km/h" (6.2mph/5.4knots). No manufacturer would deliberately undersell his product therefore it is fairly safe to assume that 6.2 mph is in fact the max speed you will ever get out of an Amphicar. You would have thought that with over 50 years more development that someone could better this - well you can't. Water speed for a displacement hull is a function of the square root of the water line in metres multiplied by 2.8 for mph, 2.4 for knots or 4.5 for kph. The 4 Wheel Drive Surf with its 8" diameter impeller (upgraded from 6" on the earlier 2wd) has a speed of approx 5-6mph, which ties in very neatly with the above formula and is impressive considering the extra carrying capacity, size and specification compared with the much smaller 2wd Amphicar.

Click on the pictures below for a larger version.

Early amphibious cars had no problems with low powered, cool lamps but today's modern lamps run hot and it is not possible to drive into water with them switched on without cracking the glass, for this reason every front and rear lamp on the Surf is protected with high impact 5/16" (8mm) clear acrylic plastic so none of the lamps can ever contact the water.

Special attention has been paid to the sealing of the prop shafts (the only components going thru the hull).

To eliminate the need for a mild steel chassis the hull and deck are manufactured as one piece mouldings which are then bonded together to form a single homogeneous monocoque self coloured structure, all the load bearing areas - engine, gearbox, transfer box, steering, f/r axles, dampers, springs etc - have marine grade stainless steel spreader plates imbedded into the laminate. The advantage of a self coloured modern plastic composite is that it can be repaired and scratches easily rubbed out. An anti-slip pattern is moulded into various areas of the deck as an aid to safety. Being plastic composite there is never any need to wash the car regardless of whether it has been in fresh or salt water.

Some funny things happen when you put a car in water, here are a few and our solutions to them:-

• When a car is driven on the road the brakes and axles always heat up. If the car is then driven into water the temperature of the axles suddenly drops due to the water always being colder than the surrounding air. This causes the air trapped inside the axles to contract very quickly - so quickly that the negative pressure actually sucks water passed the oil seals into the axle with dire results. This phenomenon is called axle suck. On the Surf both axles are vented to air (well above the water line) so any sudden pressure drop is accommodated with no effect.

  Exhaust system

• If you have ever tried to start a car that has had it's exhaust system immersed in water you will know that you have a major problem, this is because auto silencers are filled with fibre wadding, when this gets wet it blocks the system and either the engine won't turn over or it starts and the exhaust blows up. To overcome this our system (which is part made from stainless steel) uses a specially made perforated tube type silencer, if the car is left in water and the silencer fills up simply turning the engine over with the starter motor clears out the system. Also incorporated into the system is a high U bend that stops any water from being drawn back into the engine.

  Mild steel v aluminium v stainless steel

• Typically aluminium is 3 times and stainless steel 6 times more expensive than mild steel but this significant extra cost is more than compensated for by the knowledge that your amphibious car won't simply rust away and sink before your very eyes. It is almost impossible to imagine a more inappropriate material to make an amphibious car out of than mild steel unless of course you want it to end up looking like a colander! And to make the point this picture shows a typical old boat trailer made from mild steel, imagine this happening to your steel bodied amphibious car........

• It is a fact that all ferrous metals, if unprotected, will corrode by the natural process in which iron is converted back to it's naturally occurring form of iron oxide under the influence of water and oxygen. Therefore corrosion would not occur if the steel could be coated with a film which is completely impervious to water or to oxygen since both are required for corrosion reactions. The front and rear axles (the only Suzuki parts on the "wet" side) are completely stripped and painted with 3 coats of marine phosphate primer, marine under coat and marine topcoat. All components we fit (including nuts & bolts) on the "wet" side of the car are all manufactured from marine quality AISI 316 stainless steel. With stainless steel the anodic reaction leads to the formation of an oxide film, this so called "passive oxide film" is insoluble in water and hence the metal is well protected and can be left in it's natural state.

  Why plastic?

• It's really hard to believe that only 60 years ago (when plastic had already been invented) that someone would actually be paid to sit down and deliberately design and build an amphibious car out of highly corrosive mild steel but that is exactly what they did in the 1960's with the Amphicar and the results are all to obvious today - at one extreme rusty cars that leak and at other end of the extreme - immaculate cars that the owners won't take into water in case they start to rust and leak again. Have you any idea how annoying and time consuming it is to have to thoroughly wash down a mild steel hulled car with a high-pressure fresh water hose every time it comes out of the water? - And that's assuming that there is a standpipe near the slip in the first place. With a plastic car you NEVER have to wash it down.

  Back-up flushing

• Although not very likely with a jet it is always possible that seaweed or underwater debris can get wrapped around the impeller. To solve this simply put the gearbox in reverse, this ejects the debris back out thru the intake duct.

  Radiator

• On some amphibious cars the radiator is stuck out right at the front so if you ever nudge anything the first item to get smashed is the radiator. In the Surf the oil and water radiators are both concealed inside the safety of the engine bay.

None of the Suzuki components (other than the transfer box) are modified which means that if any servicing /repair work is required any competent garage can undertake it, also spares will be available anywhere in the World where the Suzuki is sold. We recommend that once a year (normally at the end of the season) The underside of the car is examined, in particular the steel axle/suspension components and if they have been scratched and the paint removed they are cleaned up and high quality marine paint re-applied.


As part of our continual commitment to customer service we now offer check ups on all our amphibs, including an extended water test. After the testing we will advise if any work/servicing needs doing. You can at any time remove your car or in the alternate you can authorize us to do all or some of the work. Winter in the UK is now approaching and it's time to do the compulsory checking of the front and rear brake systems etc, putting it off until next Spring and not winterizing your Dutton now may end up being an expensive option, this is our standard servicing procedure:-

SERVICE for all 4WD DUTTON (Commander & Surf)

Check oil in gearbox/f axle/r axle

Remove wheels

Check fan belts

Replace oil/air filters

Replace engine oil

Paint all steel components under hull, f/r axles/suspension/steering/ both prop shafts etc

Check all rubber gaiters/ball joints

Check condition of front calipers/pads/discs

Dismantle and check condition of rear brake shoes, dismantle handbrake adjusters and pack with grease, re-adjust handbrake system. Clean up rear drums

Check all underside nuts/bolts

Remove poupe deck/sun deck check all fuel lines, jet belt tension

Check and grease 2 challis/jet pillow block/dog clutch and spline

TOTAL 10 hours

If you want any additional work or have specific requirements please advise. If you are interested in our servicing then please email/call us, we can collect cars if required or arrange for them to be collected from anywhere in the world.

There are 2016 model year improvements that can be retro fitted to your Commander and Surf, see "owners page". In particular stainless steel exhaust system and converting the electronic transfer box to manual.

1. 1300cc twin cam petrol Manual.

JET-:

• Stainless steel drive shaft.
• All bearings "sealed for life" and maintenance free.
• 8" diameter cast impeller in marine grade LM6 aluminium.
  
• Unit can be "run dry"
• Stainless steel rudder
  
• Drive to jet from mechanical take off from back of transfer box.
  
• Jet disconnected from drive train via dog clutch lever between front seats.