Trabbing

[nigel bickle]

Recall us exhuming this 2 stroke last Spring, and  dragging it back from the West Country?

 

well, today this happened- finally.  
 

 

As you can see, we missed a couple of minor items, but we rebuilt the whole damn front end, that had seized solid. Everything - brakes, suspension, steering etc

Anyway, it’s back road legal- first time since 1995, Do I  use it through winter, or wait till Spring?

 

 
 

On to the 4 stroke Wartie next- have a nice Scirocco transplant awaiting! 

[hairnet]

lmfao

good colour - better than beige or baby blue

need video for ring ding ding da ding ness  

[Zelandeth]

I'd say use it sympathetically.  Nothing is worse for a car than sitting around...plus this way you'll hopefully find that by the time the show season and the time of year it's most fun to use it rolls around you'll have already dealt with most of the snagging list.  This time of year will highlight any issues with damp affecting the ignition system carb icing etc too.

[jonathan_dyane]

Excellent stuff!

Did you ever get the two stroke Wartburg on the road? I remember liking that a lot.

[nigel bickle]

I did. But couldn’t find a use, then, so passed it on to a mate

Zee, thanks. I’m well used to 2 strokes ( owning a batch of 60’s Suzuki’s) & used to import/ resurrect these back when the wall came down.

This is going to be treated VERY gently for the first few hundred miles, with a big tool kit in the boot.  Niggly issues  will abound, and it will be quite a while before I’ll trust it.   Feels good though, on light load.  

“ Running In- Please Pass” is already adorning rear window
 

[castros_bro]

Use it as it's a car, hopefully it will be as *good* as the plagues of them i lusted after before and as the wall came down (Ich bin ein ex-Berliner) I used to be a jam doughnut.  Assume a heater was an optional extra involving exhaust fumes.

[barefoot]

I remember that the heater in mine was very furnace, after about 500 yards.

[Mrs6C]

Fantastic news! What a lovely car and in a great colour.

Personally, if you don't have to take it out, I'd steer clear of using it on wet or icy days or whenever there has been grit/salt applied to the road... life is too short for washing off the undersides of cars in the winter or having to deal with the corrosion aftermath of not doing so after a car has been out and about with winter road surface treatments and muddy water splashed up into every nook and cranny.

It's up to you though. It is your car, after all!

 

[bub2006]

I'd love a go in a 2 stroke. Never managed it yet,curious as to what happened to the fiat also?

[Inspector Morose]

Use it and use it hard. It’s a coil sprung one so it’s ideal for everyday use. Should be the later engine and carb so only needs a weaker two stroke mix but I’d run it rich on oil for a while to let everything settle in. 
I would if I ever had the chance again. The best times was the daily 60 mile commute in my coil sprung combi during wintertime.

Looking forward to the Wartburg/VW mash up - only for a friend like.

[TrabbieRonnie]

Had my own Trabi out up the lane on Sunday, after a few months dormancy... Started first time after battery refit, but brakes are pulling to the right.  I'd rather fettle the mechanicals after a hibernation than deal with the rust, but then I am in north-east Scotland!  Trabi heaters are pretty good once going, the exhaust pipe passes through a heat exchanger, which then directs the heated fresh air to the cabin through a mixing valve (which is also fed by a ram air pipe).  Basically, the harder you work the engine, the toastier you can be! 

Trabbies rule, well done that man...

 

 

and oi!!!  Inspector, nothing wrong with a transverse leaf spring! 

Edited December 17, 2019 by TrabbieRonnie
silliness!

[LightBulbFun]

Yay  More trabants!  

as others say, id say, use it/daily it, but avoid the road salt!

(although your talking to someone who plans to daily an Invacar, so perhaps I should not be giving advice when someone asks about if they should or should not dailly something!)

is it really from 1989/imported in 1991? if so clearly did not spend long behind the wall!, also must of been one of the first trabants in the UK?

[nigel bickle]

Thanks all. I used to bulk import these. ( still have a couple in store) 

This seems right. Proven Ownership  from the early 90’s, & dates tie up. I’m surprised it’s still on 4x 160’s though.  I was attracted because it’s literally rust free- nothing at all in all those key places.

im  running it rich, sod the smoke, till I’m happy it’s degumned the rings and settled down. I don’t want to seize this one. 
so gentle trips over the dark season, more use next Spring

Bub- the Marea had a container of hardbacks bounce off it when they fell off a lorry. Buggered off, though I saw him watch it in the mirror. Sorted now, and also mot’d this week.

[Cavcraft]

That's magic. Use it immediately! 

[Inspector Morose]

Yeah, it’s very much like teaching a grandmother to suck eggs. Nice to hear you have a few more in reserve.

[High Jetter]

I thought the white plaque was DOR for Dorset before zooming in! Well done with getting it legal, and use it as much as time, weather and roads allow. Love the colour, surely not original?

[purplebargeken]

Trabis are bloody ace. I'd love to have one but I fear the 2 stroke boat has passed.

I have driven one and get  on well with the column shift.

[SiC]

A Trabi has been in my bucket list of cars to own for a long, long time. I will manage to get one, one of these days. 

[Schaefft]

My parent had one of these in that color in the late 80s/early 90s, I can still remember it vaguely. Was eventually replaced by a red Corsa A they got from my grandma.

Also this seems quite fitting:

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

11 hours ago, High Jetter said:

I thought the white plaque was DOR for Dorset before zooming in! ...

DDR also = Dance Dance Revolution!

[MarvinsMom]

well a trabbi is made from "duraplast" so won't rust given the amount the council is spreading on the roads round here.... use and enjoy!

[captain_70s]

54 minutes ago, MarvinsMom said:

well a trabbi is made from "duraplast" so won't rust given the amount the council is spreading on the roads round here.... use and enjoy!

Only the body panels, the main monocoque is still steel with a thin veneer of Duroplast on top IIRC, so they can rot.

[MarvinsMom]

52 minutes ago, captain_70s said:

Only the body panels, the main monocoque is still steel with a thin veneer of Duroplast on top IIRC, so they can rot.

spoil sport....

[Cheggers]

Looks familiar...

[bezzabsa]

wonder what a Trabbi with a RG500 Gamma engine would go like!!!!!!

The Suzuki RG500 Gamma is based on the factory racing machines, first introduced in 1974 and eventually winning seven world 500 Grand Prix titles, firstly with Barry Sheene, and lastly with Kenny Roberts Jr. in 2000. The street version was introduced in 1986 (the G model) and was well received but considered somewhat impractical and more of a racer replica than a straight street bike, something that was reflected in limited sales.

The performance of the Suzuki was excellent, albeit they were somewhat heavy on fuel (40 + around 70 mph, but substantially less if the revs /speed were increased). Interestingly, the last of the street RG500s (the H model) had almost the same power output as the original works racers!

The RG had a power to weight ratio of 95 hp:340 lb’s (dry) which ensured rapid acceleration and a top speed of around 150 mph. The handling matched the engine’s performance with a single shock rear mounted to Suzuki’s full floating suspension system. The forks had adjustable pre-load and a sophisticated Anti-dive system that reduced dive but would be instantly bypassed (via special valves) should the bike suddenly hit a bump.

[nigel bickle]

S’not me Cheg,  mine is  smoking like a damn chimney right now -& it’s deliberate!

[somewhatfoolish]

4 hours ago, bezzabsa said:

wonder what a Trabbi with a RG500 Gamma engine would go like!!!!!!

Quickly into the nearest ditch?

[Inspector Morose]

More power sir?

You need a Wabant. They're real, go look it up.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 hour ago, Inspector Morose said:

More power sir?

You need a Wabant. They're real, go look it up.

That looks excellent. 

[Zelandeth]

Really do need to get a shot of one of these.  Having owned multiple Skodas and Ladas and driven a plethora of Iron Curtain motors (Tatra T613 probably being the one I wanted to hand the keys back for the least...not to mention one of the most surreal cars I've ever driven. There's something downright strange about piloting something the size of a small country while holding a Skoda Estelle steering wheel and looking at a dash scattered with bits of Estelle and assorted equally high quality Czech parts bin gauges and switches)....but I've never had a shot of either a Trabbie or a proper Wartburg.  Have driven a Polo engined one but don't think that counts...needs to be a two stroke really.