Felly Fav and Trum. *Wanna see a fupped gearbox?*

[Yoss]

14 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

The wheel bearings are probably the same as were also on the Audi 80 I owned. They were in use on vag products well into the 2000s so very common. And I'm guessing you have a 4x100 bolt pattern on the rims? That should help narrow down which Kia model the brake discs are from.  I'm guessing Rio but could be anything from 2000 to the latest model.

Yes, they are 4x100, a product of the VAG takeover as mk1s which are entirely Škoda have 4x98s. I guess VW wanted to do a bit of standardisation.

13 hours ago, junkyarddog said:

Definitely not a MK2 Golf rear caliper,they are cast iron.

More than likely a Mk4 Golf caliper,a popular upgrade for the Mk2.

Thanks, I didn't know that, I only had what the seller told me to go on . I'm learning as I go though it's taking awhile as it's generally pretty reliable.

[AnnoyingPentium]

@Yoss, seems your Favorit was spotted!

[Yoss]

6 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

@Yoss, seems your Favorit was spotted!

I can't really hide can I? I'm glad they thought it looked mint because I think it's bloody filthy at the mo. 

I was just on my way back from @Skcats place to pick up some spares and stopped off there for a pub lunch. 240 mile round trip and it obviously didn't miss a beat. No reason why it should of course. 

[Yoss]

I really should update this more but there's not really much going on at the moment. I really try not to work on cars between November and March if I can help it. Do a few little jobs in autumn and hope they'll last until spring without touching them. Being Škodas they're quite good at that.

So instead we'll have a little light relief. Can't help thinking the base blue on Czech railway locos is quite close to the blue on my Favorit. This first picture is a bit dark, this was taken at twilight, they do look lighter in the flesh.

But is it just me that can see more than a passing resemblance in the styling too. They are cousins after all. The locos were built by Škoda at Plzeň and the car by Škoda at Mladá Boleslav ať a time when both were still the same company (only Škoda Auto were sold to Volkswagen, Škoda Transportation are still a proper Czech company). The locos were built between 1984 and 1992. Škoda had the design for the Favorit pretty much ready to go by 1983 but for some reason the government wouldn't let them build it until 1987 and my car is 1992. 

Neither design has a curved panel anywhere and both look quite utilitarian though as far as I know Mr Bertone was not involved in the design of the locos although he might have looked at one before coming up with the Favorit.

I am tempted to get a white and dark blue wrap over my bonnet and get some ČD logos made up.

 

 

Or I could just do this.

One has to assume that thirty years ago all railway staff cars would have been Favs.

[grogee]

On 02/02/2024 at 19:36, Yoss said:

Škoda had the design for the Favorit pretty much ready to go by 1983 but for some reason the government wouldn't let them build it until 1987 and my car is 1992. 

That sounds very Iron Curtain (but also quite BL). 

Is there any literature about Skoda and the Fav development story? It must have been extremely hard doing all that in the East with the limited tech available to them. 

[Yoss]

2 hours ago, grogee said:

That sounds very Iron Curtain (but also quite BL). 

Is there any literature about Skoda and the Fav development story? It must have been extremely hard doing all that in the East with the limited tech available to them. 

This book seems to have been written just for me.

There is a brief history of the development of Škoda cars in general but the vast majority of the 118 pages are just about getting the Favorit in to production.

Disguised test mule. Note Granada tow car. Not something I would have thought was readily available in Communist era CZ.

And one of the first running prototypes used a Mazda 323 body shell. 

To me at least, it's a fascinating read, but I'd have to admit it's a bit niche.

[grogee]

31 minutes ago, Yoss said:

This book seems to have been written just for me.

There is a brief history of the development of Škoda cars in general but the vast majority of the 118 pages are just about getting the Favorit in to production.

Disguised test mule. Note Granada tow car. Not something I would have thought was readily available in Communist era CZ.

And one of the first running prototypes used a Mazda 323 body shell. 

To me at least, it's a fascinating read, but I'd have to admit it's a bit niche.

I'd like to read that, is it still available for not £billionty? 

[Yoss]

20 minutes ago, grogee said:

I'd like to read that, is it still available for not £billionty? 

I didn't realise it had become so rare. There were several others on eBay when I bought mine. Now I can find no mention of it anywhere. Even the authors own website, which has a list of his works makes no mention of it. I certainly won't be selling mine, sorry.

[grogee]

Just now, Yoss said:

I didn't realise it had become so rare. There were several others on eBay when I bought mine. Now I can find no mention of it anywhere. Even the authors own website, which has a list of his works makes no mention of it. I certainly won't be selling mine, sorry.

Totally understand, don't worry about it. I've still got some BL doom reading to get through which will keep me busy for a while... 

[Yoss]

Can I tease you with a front engine, rear drive Estelle?

 

Or this front wheel drive one. Which is basically a reshelled Renault 12, as you tell by the 3 stud wheels.

[Dyslexic Viking]

The Favorit must have been quite a modern car if it had been launched in 1983. I have always felt that the Czechs were always a bit ahead of most other Eastern Bloc countries and sometimes the West as well. Tatra trucks are a good example also Zetor I have read in several places that the Zetor 3011 was the world's most modern tractor in its segment when it was launched in 1960 and in 1968 when the Zetor 8011 and 8045 were launched they were far ahead of the competion also in the west. 

I have finally got hold of a book similar to the one about the Favorit but about Zetor tractors, I can't wait to it arrives and i get to read it.

[LightBulbFun]

2 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I have always felt that the Czechs were always a bit ahead of most other Eastern Bloc countries

its funny you say that, I was just thinking that when seeing @Yoss's pictures

because it reminded me of their lightbulbs, of all the eastern block countries, Czech's state run lightbulb manufacturer, Tesla Holešovice

was really quite advanced, they produced quality lightbulbs, and had quite the technical prowess developing many technical lamps that other eastern block countries did not

they where the first eastern block to develop a high pressure sodium lamp for example http://www.lamptech.co.uk/Spec Sheets/D SHP Tesla SHC400 Nb-cup.htm

 

and again their lamps where generally always pretty decent for example I was very given my a fellow collector in Lithuania, a *large* bundle of eastern European/soviet tubes in exchange for sourcing and shipping over to him some specific western tubes he really wanted and just could not find.

(I was the only nutter who was not phased about sending 25 4ft glass tubes all the way to Lithuania )

anyways

heres a quick picture I took of 2 of the tubes as I was unpacking one of the parcels he sent me (ignore the black writing on the top tube, I did not put that there!)

the top tube is a PZGRL, Poltava gas discharge lamp manufacturing plant soviet fluorescent tube from Ukraine 

the bottom tube is a similar age Tesla Holešovice tube of Czechoslovakia

and I think one can clearly see even from this quick photo just how much better the Tesla tube is constructed, its still a bit crude by western standards of the 1980's but its *way* better constructed then the soviet tube of the USSR (the Tesla tube has proper full sized cathodes with plenty of emitter while the PZGRL tube has wimpy cathodes with hardly any emitter on them)

and also rather to my surprise even the Tesla tube has cathode guards, not something found on a lot of western tubes even.

 

so yeah I hope @Yoss does not mind the lightbulb diversion, but I just found it interesting to see what I see in their lightbulbs, also reflected in their cars, or should that be what one sees in their cars, also reflected in their lightbulbs? you know what I mean  

[Yoss]

4 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

The Favorit must have been quite a modern car if it had been launched in 1983. I have always felt that the Czechs were always a bit ahead of most other Eastern Bloc countries and sometimes the West as well. Tatra trucks are a good example also Zetor I have read in several places that the Zetor 3011 was the world's most modern tractor in its segment when it was launched in 1960 and in 1968 when the Zetor 8011 and 8045 were launched they were far ahead of the competion also in the west. 

I have finally got hold of a book similar to the one about the Favorit but about Zetor tractors, I can't wait to it arrives and i get to read it.

Indeed, I think Škodas, and Tatras of course, were quite highly regarded before the war. And whilst they were held back during the Communist years, they must have had the same minds in the company. One of the reasons Volkswagen wanted them was because they were impressed by the engineering. Particularly the aluminium casting side. The Favorit engine was all aluminium long before that was normal. in fact they had aluminium blocks right back to the 1000MB.

It used to annoy me (but admittedly probably nobody else) when there were still lots of Felicias around you would quite often see adverts stating that it was a Polo underneath (as if that was a good thing) when they are nothing of the sort. They are in fact Favorits with all the sharp edges rounded off.

[Yoss]

3 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

its funny you say that, I was just thinking that when seeing @Yoss's pictures

because it reminded me of their lightbulbs, of all the eastern block countries, Czech's state run lightbulb manufacturer, Tesla Holešovice

was really quite advanced, they produced quality lightbulbs, and had quite the technical prowess developing many technical lamps that other eastern block countries did not

they where the first eastern block to develop a high pressure sodium lamp for example http://www.lamptech.co.uk/Spec Sheets/D SHP Tesla SHC400 Nb-cup.htm

 

and again their lamps where generally always pretty decent for example I was very given my a fellow collector in Lithuania, a *large* bundle of eastern European/soviet tubes in exchange for sourcing and shipping over to him some specific western tubes he really wanted and just could not find.

(I was the only nutter who was not phased about sending 25 4ft glass tubes all the way to Lithuania )

anyways

heres a quick picture I took of 2 of the tubes as I was unpacking one of the parcels he sent me (ignore the black writing on the top tube, I did not put that there!)

the top tube is a PZGRL, Poltava gas discharge lamp manufacturing plant soviet fluorescent tube from Ukraine 

the bottom tube is a similar age Tesla Holešovice tube of Czechoslovakia

and I think one can clearly see even from this quick photo just how much better the Tesla tube is constructed, its still a bit crude by western standards of the 1980's but its *way* better constructed then the soviet tube of the USSR (the Tesla tube has proper full sized cathodes with plenty of emitter while the PZGRL tube has wimpy cathodes with hardly any emitter on them)

and also rather to my surprise even the Tesla tube has cathode guards, not something found on a lot of western tubes even.

 

so yeah I hope @Yoss does not mind the lightbulb diversion, but I just found it interesting to see what I see in their lightbulbs, also reflected in their cars, or should that be what one sees in their cars, also reflected in their lightbulbs? you know what I mean  

Favorit clocks are made by Tesla.

Though admittedly mine needs replacing. I do have a spare one in the garage but it's not very high up the priority list. 

I'm not sure that the Czech company or Elon Musk have any real claim to use the name as Nikola Tesla the very clever inventor whose name they are obviously playing off was born in what is now Croatia and buried in Serbia.

[Rust Collector]

9 minutes ago, Yoss said:

Favorit clocks are made by Tesla.

 

Phun Phact:

Grandmother-in-law RC worked for Tesla in the days of the country being Czechoslovakia, she had the pleasure of working on the solder baths. She says she recalls working on a lot of video and audio recording equipment.

[Yoss]

22 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

Phun Phact:

Grandmother-in-law RC worked for Tesla in the days of the country being Czechoslovakia, she had the pleasure of working on the solder baths. She says she recalls working on a lot of video and audio recording equipment.

I am genuinely impressed by that.

 

[Yoss]

Well that's sent me down a whole new rabbit hole.

The first Tesla TV from 1953.

 

And matching radio from the same year.

 

By the 70s they looked like this.

 

And the headquarters in Hloubětín on the outskirts of Praha.

 

This is the tip of the iceberg. if you can think of an electrical device , Tesla made it. Right up to a military radar system that was said to be the first in the world to be able to detect stealth aircraft. It was mounted on eight Tatra T815 trucks that would park up in different places and somehow coordinate with each other to detect enemy aircraft. 

 

[Rust Collector]

4 minutes ago, Yoss said:

Well that's sent me down a whole new rabbit hole.

It's infectious!

I couldn't help checking the classifieds:

https://ostatne.bazos.sk/inzerat/161503759/starozitne-radio-tesla-talisman-307u-po-kompletni-renovaci.php

Phwoar!!

[Yoss]

2 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

It's infectious!

I couldn't help checking the classifieds:

https://ostatne.bazos.sk/inzerat/161503759/starozitne-radio-tesla-talisman-307u-po-kompletni-renovaci.php

Phwoar!!

Wow, that's fabulous. That last picture is just a list of places that I either have been to or want to visit. I'll be able to cross two of them off in May, Braşov and Bucureşti. 

All those exotic places. And Droitwich. 

[Matty]

3 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

It's infectious!

I couldn't help checking the classifieds:

https://ostatne.bazos.sk/inzerat/161503759/starozitne-radio-tesla-talisman-307u-po-kompletni-renovaci.php

Phwoar!!

Being as its part of the family history, you're gonna have to buy something. It's the rules (in my head at least). 

[Asimo]

3 hours ago, Yoss said:

Right up to a military radar system that was said to be the first in the world to be able to detect stealth aircraft

https://www.military.com/military-life/how-air-force-pilot-became-friends-man-who-shot-down-his-f-117.html
 

[Dyslexic Viking]

6 minutes ago, Matty said:

Being as its part of the family history, you're gonna have to buy something. It's the rules (in my head at least). 

And then the Christmas present or birthday present this year for his partner is done as well.

Yes dear I thought you always wanted an old broken radio...

[Matty]

49 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

And then the Christmas present or birthday present this year for his partner is done as well.

Yes dear I thought you always wanted an old broken radio...

My gran worked at Mullards in Blackburn. They made valves for radios and TVs. Still don't have a desire for a black and white telly for some reason 🤣

[Yoss]

Been having a bit of minor trouble with blue Favorit. About every fourth or fifth time you go to start it it makes a nasty graunching sound as if the teeth of starter and ring gear aren't quite connecting.

I figured the solenoid might not be firing properly and it probably just needs taking out, cleaning up, lubricating and putting back in. So I whipped it out and judging by the state of the edge of the teeth this is exactly what has been happening.

Not ideal but I figured that as long as the solenoid is firing properly this shouldn't be a problem as there is plenty of meat on the rest of the teeth. I checked the teeth on the ring gear and they still look fine. So I cleaned it all up and put it back but it was the same. It always fires eventually even if it takes a couple of attempts but the noise when it doesn't quite engage can be a bit embarrassing and scares passers by.

This was annoying. I'd even made up a professional* test rig. 

The thin wire is attached to the terminal on the back of the solenoid and if you strike the other end of the wire on to the big terminal that the red jump lead is attached to it fires the motor. I fired it dozens of times and it worked every time so it was a bit disappointing when I refitted it and it didn't work every time.

 I have a Felicia motor in the garage. It's one of these newfangled high torque things so it's about half the size of the Favorit one. This came off a 1.6 but even the 1.3s with the same engine as the Favorit used them so I thought I'd dig it out.

As you can see, it's tiny. It's barely bigger than the solenoid.

But the mounting points and connectors are the same and both have nine teeth so I bunged it on. Fits perfectly. Spot the starter motor. It's in there somewhere.

This also shows how spacious the engine bay is. You can change the motor over in under ten minutes so nothing to lose really.

 

Well it didn't work. It just clicked as the pinion hit the starter ring but did not engage. I think the pinion might be slightly larger, I'm guessing they used a slightly different ring gear on the Felicia.

So I swapped them back again and ordered a new one off eBay. £50 seems very reasonable for a new one. Low demand I guess.

 

[Yoss]

Well this hasn't gone to plan at all. First of all I ordered the motor above. That evening I get a message from the seller asking for my reg number. Fair enough so I sent it to them. Got up the next morning to find another message saying the order has been cancelled - reason for cancellation? Buyer requested cancellation. No I didn't, I just sent them my reg number. I sent them a message saying as much but got no reply. The motor had been relisted but I decided I didn't want to deal with them any more.

So I found another one. It was ten pounds more but I decided it was worth it for peace of mind. I've already documented this on the grumpy thread but a quick recap. Got an email from DPD in the morning saying they would deliver between 13.30 and 14.30. I got home from work at 13.20. At 14.24 I get a 'sorry we missed you' email whilst I'm sitting on the sofa looking out of the window waiting for it!

It then says they are now going to drop it off at a local shop and they will let me know when it is ready for collection. I get that message about an hour later and go straight up to the shop but it is not there. Shopkeeper says try again tomorrow but of course it is still not there. So I get back to the seller and he agrees to refund me if it didn't turn up within a couple of days. 

In the meantime I spent a fruitless afternoon trying to contact a human at DPD. But every method of communication starts with them requesting a tracking number whereby they would just tell me it was at the shop, which it obviously wasn't. I found a phone number which starts by requesting the tracking number to be entered on the keypad which I did. A robot voice then told me the packet was ready to collect and instantly hung up without me being able to respond. The WhatsApp chat went much the same way and obviously wasn't a human.

Anyway two days later eBay seller messages me to say DPD have found it and we're returning it to him. And indeed when I checked the tracker on my phone it had changed from ready to collect at shop to now being returned to sender. I don't know why they couldn't have delivered it to me but at least they'd found it. God only knows where it had been. 

I would say how can they lose it between my house and the shop at the top of the hill but of course they never actually came here even though they claimed they did. 

So eBay seller said he could still refund me or he could send it out with a different courier when it gets back to him. I still need one so I asked for the latter. We shall see what happens next.

[Back_For_More]

I've just had the same..... DPD had my package from a Lada supplier. Card was illegible - checked the local ripoff points and none had it. 

Now got email from supplier it is back with them....... DPD can do one 

[Yoss]

He sent it Royal Mail this time so I was able to intercept it at the office. It arrived yesterday.

It looks nice. Compared to the other one anyway. It's not identical, it has some extra bracing around the aluminium casting which can only be a good thing.

 

And if it is new it's new old stock .

Seeing as Czechoslovakia ceased to be a thing in 1994.

 

But the main thing is the pinion teeth look like this.

 

Instead of this.

 

I always thought my engine bay looked quite tidy but this shows the rest of it up now.

But it can stay like that for now as it's still in everyday use.

[tooSavvy]

My Estelle got through starter motors (a dealer purchase/brand new...) 🙄

*never paid for them 😎

[Yoss]

Seems like it's starter motor season. Green Favorit has been getting slow to start recently especially in the morning which you would think would point to a flat battery. I even went as far as putting a spare battery and jump leads in the boot as a precaution.

Then on Monday night we drove in to town and as I was reversing in to a space I stalled it and when I went to restart it seemed like the battery was flat. This made me wonder if the alternator was charging as we had just driven in to town with the lights on but the warning light wasn't on.

As we were blocking the car park I just decided to push it in to the space and go and have something to eat, which is why were there in the first place, and worry about it afterwards. Like I say there was a spare battery in the boot and if all else failed we could bump start it, it's not a heavy car.

Came back from our meal and it started first time! Drove home with just the sidelights on just in case. 

So I went out next morning when it was cold. The battery on its own was on 12.6v and with it running (it started easily) was on 14.4v which would suggest the battery and alternator are fine. I had been wondering about the motor itself they can draw more power than they are supposed to if they are starting to seize up, I'd imagine.

So I dug out the old Felicia motor that didn't fit blue Fav about two weeks ago (see about three posts back). They are definitely the same type this time. Felicia one on the right, Fav on the left 

 

The one I just removed had a sticker on saying guarantee void if removed which I thought was odd because you'd have to remove it if it was faulty.

Then I realised it probably meant if the sticker was removed. But apart from that it had no other markings at all.

Whereas the Felly one had this on the back.

And if you look very closely it says made in Czech Republic on the body so I'm thinking this is a quality original part and the other one is cheap German copy made for Volkswagens.

 

Anyway, the job itself was exactly the same as on the blue car except there isn't quite as much room what with the bigger engine. It's down there under the fan and the power steering reservoir and all those hoses.

 

The teeth on the old one are bit worn but nothing like the one on the blue car.

so we shall see what happens now, but I'll keep the spare battery in the boot for a while longer just in case.

[LightBulbFun]

Starter motor season? 

 

so, preemptively, how does one change the starter motor on a Routemaster?