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Are Yugo-ing to leave your hat on?


brownnova

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A friend in work heard of my new purchase. She used to own a Yugo 45 a few years ago. 

Today she turned up with a gift for me from her Yugo owning days... 

91E26AF0-288A-4D36-B813-AB0F10443F8F.jpeg

To quote “I loved my Yugo, I always regretted selling it.”

She’ll get the opportunity for some nostalgia when it’s finished! 

I will post my (very minor) progress later, that just takes longer than a quick update! 

And yes, the Yugo puns will keep on coming! 

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Will Yugo??? 

First job let’s try and work out why it’s not starting... 

A4888D6B-B103-4CED-B868-6CFEDF5C522B.jpeg

Here’s the engine.. phwoar!! Air filter cover removed to access the carb. 

D2D21C42-663A-4E55-873F-618E7C603449.jpeg

So a dribble of fuel in the carb and let’s see if there’s anything....

Crank crank crank cough splutter splutter die... 

Take 2... same result. 

Ok so there appears to be life! 

Spark plugs: 

B6191F22-475D-414D-8016-B99B3C853AAE.jpeg

Ok a little blackened, but a check shows that there is spark at the plugs. Good news. 

Underneath the carb... 

9C7D4F91-ED71-4013-B98D-707F7AE1311E.jpeg

E78FF247-7EEA-4A8C-A4A4-4D4970B90C4C.jpeg

Am I being thick...? I was only expecting one fuel pipe into the carb... 

Repeated cranking meant That all the power was now sapped and I couldn’t have another go with more fuel. 

How much fuel should I be putting in the carb? 

 

So in conclusion, we have life, albeit running for just a couple of seconds, so not really long enough to judge if it actually idles. Spark is there, but I think I’ll replace the ignition bits once I have some actual running. (i.e. know the engines not toast) 

Anyway have a bonus shot of the Yugo in the garage

F564B6FB-12E0-432D-BDB4-C45D42E26C52.jpeg

 

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Unplug one and see if fuel comes out.  If it comes out of the carb it's probably the return, if it comes out of the pipe (might need to crank to make it do this) then it's probably the in pipe.  If it'll crank but won't idle that's a pretty good start, did you have any better joy putting foot to the floor when cranking?  Could be choke-related issue, so sticking a good amount of throttle on can counteract that at least to get the thing started.  Can't be that difficult to get it running again, these aren't much more complicated than a pull-back-and-go toy car.

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Thanks gents. 

I can be a bit novice-y at times. I’ve not done a complete resto, so I’ll have lots of questions... 

I’ll pull it off (fnarr fnarr) next time I get at it. We’ll see if we have any fuel pumping as my prediction is that we’re not. Tried foot flat to the floor, I’ve tried pumping the accelerator (works on the van when it’s been stood for a bit) and I've tried not touching the accelerator. 

We’ll get there... 

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1 minute ago, Fumbler said:

Great work so far. In my mind, I would be debating if hooking up a temporary tank to see if the engine will idle with some choke/throttle fiddling would be better than to find the fuelling problems. Either that or I've been watching too much Mustie1...

If we have no fuel pumping that’s the next step. 

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One hose will just disappear down the back of the engine back to the fuel tank.  Probably the smaller of the two.  Following the other though you'll come to the fuel pump.  Entirely likely it will have a manual priming lever on.

There will probably be a few vacuum lines as well, especially if this has automatic choke.

I usually use the cap of my fuel can to measure out fuel and put a couple of cap fulls in, then try on about 1/2 throttle as a starting point.

If you can access the float chamber (there's usually a vent into the carb throat), you can fill that using a syringe and *if* the jets aren't totally clogged it should run for a couple of tens of seconds then.  Long enough to confirm you've got oil pressure, the charging system wakes up, making sure it's not blowing more smoke out the breather than the exhaust etc...

 

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To get this running

Find an old washing up bottle. ( Fairy, or cheaper option) Clean it out Fill it with petrol, enabling you to squirt it where needed. 

Take top off air filter. Open choke, so you can see down barrels. 

Give both barrels a good squirt.  Ignition on, throttle jammed to the floor. Do not move the throttle till it runs. Crank

 

it will take a few seconds but once the mixture stabilises, with air, the engine will catch, stutter, then cough into life. 

As as it does so, feather the throttle to keep it running as long as possible, as gently as possible. As it starts to die, pull out the choke for an extra couple of seconds

Repeat process twice.

 

if the fuel pump hasn’t caught, and primed by your engine by then, it isn’t going too-& will need investigation.  You’ve a 50/50 that it will catch,, assuming you have at least 7 litres in the tank. 2 litres won’t cut it, allowing air into a tired system.

If it needs further inv3stigation, most will aim for the fuel pump. I’d disconnect the inlet pipe on pump, and lay on floor.  see if it dribbles. If it does, disconnect the carb inlet, reconnect pump pipe, suck hard to prime it. Will take effort. Alternately, disconnect carb inlet pipe, and back fill from fairy bottle. About1/4 bottle.Leave 10 mins, then try again 

More likely the fuel pipe has an air leak, nearly always the tank to metal pipe around rear axle. Disconnect at tank. Tape length of new, ethanol friendly replacement. Crawl under, ( raise on wheel ramp ( one) by cranking in reverse on starter. Chock. Disconnect flexi just in front of axle and pull through. Connect new pipe st both ends. Jobbed

No? Check other flexi’s. One or more will have a pin hole, allowing air in. Prob all need changing.

Really unlucky? Tanks gummed. Remove fuel sender and clean out pipe. Foul job, rare to need.

 

Nigel dictated this to me, to pass on. Hope it makes sense. Stu

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Also meant to add - a lot of over the counter fuel hose at motor factors these days is shocking.  I've had stuff from both Halfords and Motorserv perishing to the extent of falling off after less than six months on the car.

I'm exclusively using Marine A1 rated hose on my cars now.  It's a bit more expensive but is resistant to just about everything including nuclear attack and should in a normal automotive application be a "fit and forget" solution.  Rather than buying hose from Halfords and finding that six months later you've got to do the whole job again.

Don't know the layout of this engine bay - but if the carb is over the exhaust manifold like on Ladas it's doubly important given the potential results of a fuel leak!

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Good info from Nigel there.  Hopefully you won't need to get underneath and clean out the fuel tank, but if you do, be careful of spillages.  I wasn't when doing the Senator's fuel pump and got an ear full of pez.  Three weeks later it's still not right, must have burnt my inner ear.  Lesson learnt!

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The original dealer plates were kept by the original owner. This was a bit of a shame, but considering they’d had it for 30 years, understandable. So I placed an order with A1 show plates for some new ones. They arrived today. So...

41B433C9-3554-45BF-B620-EDB4A28724DE.jpeg87E05CDC-3DC6-409E-9886-EAFED1B2246F.jpeg

Looks like a proper car again now. 

Annoyed that I didn’t get to Yugo fettling last weekend, but at least one day this weekend will have Yugo activity! 

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In my reading up on Yugos I can’t across this: 

‘Yugo next’ was an art exhibition where art students were invited to make art out if Yugos. Yep really.

I thought you all might enjoy a look at Yugo art. 

Forgive me Yugo for I have sinned... 

7040C597-BBD9-4611-A700-9B15914BB095.jpeg
 

Saturday night at the movies who cares what picture we see (as long as it’s Yugoslavian)

 

6E30FEEB-4B6B-4CA7-9E55-2D251166FE96.jpeg
 

Id have this fireplace in my house... A44B921B-BCF9-4E24-B441-EF0101AFD405.jpeg

Yugoslavia vs the USSR....F2762AA4-F435-4005-95D6-5F034DCC1F0D.jpeg

Anyone got a light...? 379A9495-06F1-466E-A589-0F7CAE219419.jpeg
At least Yugo owners wouldn’t have to go far to post a letter.... B0C6EF65-6F92-4FAF-8BD2-3340D750DF53.jpeg

Yugo giving head...DF3431E0-7A70-4257-9F07-AFAE34FF0AC0.jpeg

”Hello Yugo spares department...”3B3E3CD2-AF96-4CC8-8C8C-888CEB32F0FF.jpeg

Crikey it’s the Yugoslavian child Rozzers.022727F4-CB8A-4999-B3F6-C755748674C3.jpeg

Many a good tunes been played on an old... Yugo...21B43BD8-613E-432E-AA7F-529CB02338A2.jpeg

Shoot a duck... 5C16D271-DD7D-44AF-83CC-2BF729921D98.jpeg

Steamy Yugo action... 8F888CB4-9554-4A99-A28D-28CC9F8EC966.jpeg

Prize every spin!! 8D8CDD9B-E073-47C8-996B-F51834A797C7.jpeg
Ive seen the rust on a Yugo, that ain’t gonna be watertight D9BA9CC7-31D6-4870-8925-B89CDE7435A1.jpeg

Going down on a Yugo... to the subway. 46F1958C-B8B3-4ACB-B3A4-94891F2F39AA.jpeg
Toasty... well apparently the heaters are pretty good... EC2AABA0-3AB1-45F6-ACAA-EBC19FF1ABBE.jpeg

Well there it is, hope you’ve enjoyed your look through Yugo art... 

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I used to get 'What Car?' magazine from the late 1980s. A couple of times they ran group tests of the Yugo 45a and 65a against the Austin Rover/Rover Group Mini 1000. The Yugo would get rated one place below the the Mini, which I couldn't quite understand. The Mini didn't have a proper hatchback or a folding rear seat. Is the Yugo really that cramped inside? Maybe the Mini trumped the Yugo with it's large dashboard storage? :?

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3 hours ago, ProgRocker said:

I used to get 'What Car?' magazine from the late 1980s. A couple of times they ran group tests of the Yugo 45a and 65a against the Austin Rover/Rover Group Mini 1000. The Yugo would get rated one place below the the Mini, which I couldn't quite understand. The Mini didn't have a proper hatchback or a folding rear seat. Is the Yugo really that cramped inside? Maybe the Mini trumped the Yugo with it's large dashboard storage? :?

I had an Autocar or Motor or Autocar and Motor which had a Yugo 65 road test in. 65 GLX I think, it had the body kit. 

That magazine is in the fantastic Triggers retro Road Tests. 

I still remember a brilliant line from the article. 

"The speedometer showed an ego delighting 115 mph at a true 90mph"

Or very similar words. 

Photos showed the inside rear wheel lifting when cornering so it had a thorough testing. 

Think it came out OK in the test. After all a Yugo was a new car from £3000 in 1985.

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2 hours ago, brownnova said:

I bought this

7E5F9E4D-8A6E-43C5-9E62-F35832B75A18.jpeg Because It had a Yugo vs 2CV (and others) road test! 

2A1BA902-67DE-468B-AAEC-A422E697E3FB.jpeg8294921E-35A8-4511-9DDA-86285A31E2F8.jpeg
 

Results were a bit vague... think the 2CV or the Skoda won, I’ll need to check. 
 

Amazingly the magazine is older than I am!! 

It wouldn't surprise me if the Skoda had been declared a winner. Estelles often were the journalist's choice of the very low price new cars of the mid to late 1980s. The price was low, reasonable mpg, light controls and pleasant to drive. They were reasonably spacious inside, the boot at the front might have lost marks. 

What car used to pick the Estelle as the under £3000 choice. 

The Yugos were often a bit dearer, their more modern Fiat lineage didn't always get the class win. 

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