I have recently aquired a 105S Estelle and am in the process of converting it for Classic Trials. Planned is a 1300 engine, fit front and underbody skid plate (it already has a sump guard), a twin spare wheel holder is now fitted and the front valance is being trimmed of about 5 inches depth with the front wings to be trimmed as well. Am I allowed to replace the existing 1050cc engine with a Favorit engine of 1300 and stay in Class 4? If so, does anyone have any info on that swap? For the Skoda experts, do I remove the anti-roll bar? Are there any other easily available 14 inch wheels, apart from Skoda that I gather are very rare? Should I raise the front and rear suspension and, if so, how? I plan to plate the rear trailing arms with 14 gauge (?) steel sheet. Should both the upper and lower front wishbones be boxed in? Are there any other areas on the chassis that need strengthening? When I fit the 1300 engine, I understand that fitting an SU carb is recommended. Which one and what manifold is advised? I plan to make a dedicated A frame to tow the car. I know that this is not seen as stricty playing by the rules by some but I live in Carlisle and am the wrong side of 50 now so like my comfort in between going loony (I hope) so towing it will be!!! I plan to use the existing front bumper fitting holes in the chassis, plus another on both sides to make three. I will make up a cross member with new legs to go down the chassis then mount fittings on the cross member for my frame. Any comments about this from anyone who tows to events would be appreciated.
I would appreciate any feedback on any or all of these questions either on this site or via my e-mail of
myke@ talkgas.net or on 01228-530555
In the mean time, I look forward to seeing many of you (I hope) on the Northern Classic.
Many thanks in anticipation
( A brief note especially for Simon Robson. Whilst the Skoda you sold to Chris Veevers is now no more, some parts do live on in my Estelle)
Myke Pocock
Myke I'm afraid I know nothing about Skodas or modifications to Skodas! I have towed my Buggy on an A-frame for the past 15 years though and continue to do so for the further flung events. Despite the impression that you may have reeceived to the contrary, there are no rules about towing to or from classic trials - if there were I don't think we'd get many motorbikes on MCC events! I've never experienced any problems towing with the A-frame - in fact it's been more stable than any trailer that we've used. You do have to remember that you won't be able to reverse with it though (I think because of the steering on the towed vehicle) and obviously your braking distances increase. I understand that the law are taking more of an interest in a-frames because there are alot more of them on the roads these days and I did hear of a guy using a transit to tow a buggy who was stopped by the Police and told to produce his documents and get his vehicles weighed at a weighbridge etc Other than the obvious (lightboard for the back of your skoda, breakaway chain etc) the main thing you need to worry about is the weight of your unbraked trailer (ie your skoda). My understanding of the law is that your towing vehicle must have an unladen weight of at least twice the towing weight of the trailer eg for a 500kg trailer the towing vehicle must weigh at least 1000kg. The towing weight of your trailer must also conform to the weight limits specified by the towing vehicle manufacturer. There may also be an absolute maximum weight limit for an unbraked trailer but I don't know if this is actually the case or what the weight would be. Finally, cars manufactured after a certain date (late 90s I think) have to have a CE marked towbar and comply with additional European legislation regarding towing but I've never worried about this as my tow car is so old! Hope this helps and if all else fails you could always ask Dick Dastardly to drive your skoda back whilst you have a kip
ReplyDeleteMyke, I have just been speaking to Simon Robson on the phone. He will log on over the week-end and try to give you some answers based on his experience. Michael
ReplyDeleteHi Myke, I'm glad to hear that some of "Excaliber" still lives on. Did you buy the engine ? gearbox ? Front suspension ? Rear suspension ? If so you will be OK, They are proven parts / mods. If not then to answer your question re the engine, yes you are OK to use the engine from the Favorit, it is the same casting as used in the 136 Coupe model of the Estelle, and several other Skoda's competing regularly have been using it for some time. Re the anti roll bar, I removed it from Excaliber to allow greater front wheel articulation over the rough stuff, (you can't steer if the front wheels are not in contact with the ground). The 14 inch wheels I had were genuine Skoda ones which although soft and easily bent on rough sections, always beat back into shape easily with the ubiquitous 2 lb lump hammer carried at the ready ! Yes, raise both front and especially rear suspension, too much to describe in this answer but call me on 01462-451139 and I'll give you the run-down plus things to be aware of. Likewise re the boxing in of the suspension members. An SU carb is not essential, a Webber 40DCOE goes well if you have the right manifold, but the 1.75 SU can work well with an adapter to the existing manifold and a good set-up. The Favorit exhaust manifold is good, just extend the 2 pipes from it before they finally come to one such that you have a length approx. 34 inches from the manifold gasket. I can't advise re the A frame, we always drove Excaliber the whole way there and back, but I see you already have recieved some anyway so that's covered. I do still have some Skoda bits if you are interested. Enjoy your car, we did ours, it did the MCC events, a number of the ACTC events, Falcon PCT's and Summer Autotest series (double driven) every year, and was also my son's road car for a while. We have very fond memories of it. Simon Robson
ReplyDeleteMyke and Simon, Can I add that from my memory of Simons trialling that you have to space out the driveshafts when you raise the rear suspension. Otherwise the balls pop out of the CVJ's when the supension is on full drop. I well remember this happening to Simon and Matt on Litton on the White Peaks. They spent hours searching though the mud, found all the balls, re-assembled the joint and drove home! Michael
ReplyDeleteHi, we've trialled an Estelle for the last couple of years, but has now been ditched in favour of a Rapid 136 due to the greater flexibilty of the IRS setup. It is true to say that the driveshafts need spacers on the wheel end to stop the inner "tripode" joints popping out on full drop. Also, portions of the tripode cups have to be machined off to allow the shaft to pass through a greater angle - in part due to the raised suspension, and prt due to the spacers creating a yet steeper angle. This is not a situation that would happen on a standard Estelle as they have swing axles, which by their nature would limit the amount that their suspension can be raised due to the whacky positive camber induced with such a set up. Having said that, we did win class 4 in Ebworth last year with such a set-up. The IRS suspension can apparently be fitted to the Estelle, but I don't know what would have to be done at the inner (gearbox) end for the different shafts. Hopefully the Rapid will be ready by next weekend for the Clouds. Looks like it might snow! Mark.
ReplyDelete