Folks,
Now that I've been to a few events, to see what it is exactly that you lot get up to, I think I'm ready to commence my trials career.
I'm going to start in this - my latest acquisition - an aircooled 2-stroke 2 cylinder FWD 594cc Trabant 600S.
I've recently "liberated" it from Leipzig.
Anyone been out in one of these delightful little devices before?
Assuming it's allowed, what class would it run in?
Also, what tyres would be best.
And before anyone mentions it, they're not made out of cardboard eggboxes at all........................................They're made out of shoeboxes.
Tallyho!
Dai.
Attachment: b&w trabbi.bmp
Hi Dai A quick look on the MCC site will confirm the Class. I don't know if it is FWD , front engined rear drive or rear engine rear drive which would be class 1, 3 or 4. Full height MX pattern remoulds seem to work ok and quite a few people use them. Seems like a good addition to the entry! cheers Mark
ReplyDeleteHi Mark,
ReplyDeleteYep, she sure is front wheel drive. The Saxons were building transverse
engined front wheel drive things when Issigonis was in nappies (well,,,,,,, not
quite).
I'm extremely anxious to get the little thing out on a few hills.
Lord only knows what will happen, what with me being an absolute novice,
but the little trabbi certainly makes an interesting noise at full chat.
The smell has it's own unique piquancy too! Not exactly Castrol R, but
certainly different.
She goes off to Rudi the Austrian (Bank Top Garage, Hirwaun) next week to
be prepared for her british reg'.
Then, I think a bit of practice is called for on the lovely Welsh
Hills.
Thanks for your rapid delivery of info.
Regards,
Dai.
go for it! with the fuel tank up front, there is little to place in the rear, so don't! Early trabbis had quite a pokey engine...good for 80mph! Colway remoulds are the best bet for tyres...see their website...their agent will post them to you... dont forget to buy inner tubes as well! you should do just as well as the Citroen 2CV's!
ReplyDeletehi dai,
ReplyDeletea few years ago in one of our local club {minehead} PCTs a chap used a trabbant and it went fairly well. The PCT was one of our rougher events, but nothing in comparison to a classic trial,and the front suspension arms bent quite badly.Just thought I'd mention it as it might be worth looking in to a bit of "beefing up"in this area.
hope this is of use
cheers
nick
Thanks Alastair for your sterling encouragement & advice.
ReplyDeleteFar from being ridiculed for the lunatic Trabbi idea, it's seems that all
the experienced trials types I've talked to are full of enthusiasm to
see this beginner, and his little east german devil, attempt a few hills,
(but then I suspect that with your sense of humour, you lot would
also encourage me to leap from The Eiffel Tower wearing cotton bedsheet
"wings" - just for the giggle.)
Anyway, If what this studious professor type guy has said is true, on a
website I found, (I've pasted it below), then I shan't be doing trials in a
ludicrous and laughable car, but actually helping to save Our
Planet!
Blue Clouds for Ever!
Dai.
PS. She's running like a KGB (Stasi?) copy of a Swiss Watch! From
deepest Wales to Cheltenham & back yesterday. Bloomin' marvellous!
__________________________________________________________
"......symbol of
communist communist misery perhaps, but the Trabi is definitively not a
seriously polluting car.
My research thesis for my
doctorate examined this issue in detail, and once the numbers were crunched,
no-one could have been more astonished than I by the results.
The fact is that the most
polluting aspect of any car is it's initial production. An average "clean" large
4/stroke car, constructed largely of steel and plastics, and with a typical
lifespan of 8 - 10 years, will have generated roughly 10 times as much
environmentally damaging pollution during it's manufacture, than it's engine
will produce during it's life.
Not so the Trabant. Although
it's 2/stroke engine is undoubtedly "dirtier" than that of say a modern 2.5
litre Mercedes. There are other factors to be borne in mind:
1) Made almost entirely from
recycled materials from it's
inception, and with what steel it
contains being
completely galvanised, the amount of
pollution generated
during it's manufacture is less than 18% of
that of the
Mercedes. Which means in measuring TOTAL pollution
generated by each car during it's life, the Trabant
is
off to a flying start in the 'clean' stakes.
2) Despite
having a 'dirty' engine, and running on 'dirty'
fuel, the
Trabant's engine is tiny (less than 600cc), and
so uses a mere
fraction of the fuel of the Mercedes -
during their equivalent
lifetimes, And the important
factor to bear in mind here, is
that once again,
pollution at THE PRODUCTION END and DURING
Yet more encouragment for the lunatic Trabbi trials enterprise. Thanks. I think that's just great! I've examined the suspension, and it appears to be quite strong looking (transverse leafs front & back) but I'm sure you're probably right about the weakness you suspect may be present, so I'll set about breaking things first, in order to know what to fix - working on the principle that "cure is better than prevention" - for an engineering illiterate like me. As for the car, the more I drive it, the more enthusiastic I become - especially seeing as it cost £35 pounds less to buy and bring back from Leipzig, than the exhaust system for my Celica cost! Plus, I had a great time while there. If anything sizeable goes down on it, I'll just go over and get another complete car. If I buy the 'utility/kombi' estate car type variant for spares, I can probably fill it up with enough duty free vino to cover the entire cost. Crazy! I keep finding new things to enthuse about on the little green demon. What with living up in the Hills of Wales, we've had quite a bit of early morning frost hereabouts already. No problem for the Trabbi however. Air-cooled, so no waiting for any water to heat up. Near instant hot air from an incredibly efficient interior/screen heat system, clearly designed for operation in Siberia or Vladivostok or somewhere weird and very, very cold. Ha, ha, ha! Outstanding!!! Dai.
ReplyDeletetrabants were ddesigned to survive ina non-sophisticated automotive environment....much like a trial, really....those east euro roads were no better than a lot of trials sections...so the trabbi is no tarmac queen....unlike the celica? just keep the weight down, and carry only those spares which are vital to the forward motion of the car.....I suspect the driveshafts will be your weakest link.....if easy to replace, put a couple in the front (strapped in!).....ditch the radio...it'll weigh more than the car!
ReplyDeleteDear Alastair,
ReplyDeleteYour comments on my Trabi (I have now been informed by a resident of
Dresden, no less, that this is the correct way to spell the colloquial
name), about it coming from an "unsophisticated automotive environment,"
are certainly correct.
I remember that the first time I saw one 'in action' was about 10 or 12
years ago when I was covering the RAC rally for some magazine, (when the
RAC was still a 'proper' rally), and two east german guys were entered in a
white Trabant 600.
They had no service crew whatsoever in attendance, and carried all their
spares/tools/food, etc.; in the competing machine.
No-one expected it to survive the first 'mickey mouse' spectator stage,
even.
By the time they got to Keilder Forest in Yorkshire (a real car destroyer),
still in one piece, and having required no substantial repairs, everyone thought
the game was finally up.
The german lads were duly cautioned as to what to expect in Keilder, but
yowled and popped off into the stage at high pitch, showing little signs of
trepidation.
On emerging unscathed at the other end, (unlike about half of the rest of
the multi-million pound entry, which was littered in carnage throughout the
stage), they were asked what they thought of what was probably then britain's
most notorious rally wrecker's yard.
I'll never forget their comment. It went something like this:
" Ha,ha,,,where we come from,,,ze autobahns ist rougher zan
zat!"
I think they finished the event - and not even in last place.
Now I know from my recent research, since my interest was
thankfully aroused, that many of the sections on Classic
Trials make Keilder seem as smooth as a billiard ball.
But I'm not going to know if the Trabi's up to it, or what mods are needed
to make it so, until I try.
So I'd like to thank all of you for giving me so much encouragement so
far.
It might be a totally barmy idea, but at least we'll all get a good giggle
once I get out in it.
And even if the little green
Ost-Deutsche demon proves
wanting for trials purposes, I'm going to hang on to it anyway just to spectate
and bomb around in, as I've truly been smitten by so much
about her.
Thanks again everyone!
Dai
James.
Dear Alastair,
ReplyDeleteSupplementary to my last comment on the Trabi, I'm afraid I must take
exception to your description of the Celica as a "tarmac queen."
Admittedly, It's public image is that of a bit of a 'hairdresser's'
car.
But honestly, I've found them (and lot's of other Toyota models), to be
eminently practical for my purposes and virtually indestructible.
One can buy an old Celica that isn't too rusty (the amount of miles on the
clock is usually irrelevant), for a few hundred quid, put a set of "african
spec'" roadsprings on it, some good german dampers, and a sumpguard and you're
set up with one of the best motoring journalist's tools around.
Us accredited press lot are deemed fortunate when covering
rallies to get access to parts of special stages that are barred to the
public.
What's less well known is that rally organisers take a perverse delight in
locating these 'press zones', at the end of tracks that would not be out of
place as a section on one of your Classic Trials.
As I'm freelance these days, and can't afford a fleet of purpose
specific cars, I need something that can reliably cover 50,000+ miles a
year, and be dropped down a mineshaft without breaking.
I've found Toyotas fit the bill.
I would never drive on the roads in a hulking, unstable, thirsty,
dangerous, 4x4 - with a stopping distance longer than a bulk cargo
tanker's.
And I could never take a Mondeo to the places I have to work.
Having seen a few trials now though, I fully understand that my wife's 2
litre Celica automatic would be completely worthless for this type of
thing.
(yes, foolishly I initially rang up Simon Woodall, and asked him
if my wife's car would be any good for trialling,,,,,,,,,,,Ah!
The naivite of it all!!).
So the Trabi will have to be tossed into the fray.
And may The Good Lord have Mercy Upon my
Soul!
Tallyho!!!!
Dai.
no offence intended.....but looking around the car park at my place of work (yes, I do work!), the celicas I see would self destruct if asked to cross a kerb.....as would nearly all cars sold generally today in this country......and with their low profile laggy bands for tyres, even pot holes are studiously avoided!....gone are the days where a car could be bought, and driven over moderately dubious roads....today there is so much emphasis on lack of ground clearance....the usual, non-enthusiast response to my comments centres on "if you want to go over grass verges, by a 4wd!" Of course, selctive fitment of equipment and protection changes things....as any trials exponent will attest. long live the Indian car industry...real cars for real roads! just what exactly was Simon Woodalls' reply?
ReplyDeletePossible you both are comparing different Celias. The current effort seems to be Alastair's as i doubt the car park is full of Sainz GT4 replicas. We have one here. nice piece of kit! Mark
ReplyDeleteMy Reply on the subject of Celicas? From memory, I think I was quite tactful, and suggested that whilst the rules allowed ( almost ) anything, automatics did not live up to their theoretical promises, and that a look at some events would answer his questions better.
ReplyDelete