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Re: Trabants

To: vortex@worldaccess.nl
Subject: Re: Trabants
From: dmeadow@juno.com (David C Littlefield)
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 1997 20:25:55 EST
Bert:-

I started the thread in the first place, but not intentionally.  I
enjoyed your post, thanks for the insight.

David Littlefield
Houston, TX


On Fri, 31 Jan 1997 16:58:39 GMT vortex@worldaccess.nl (Bert Palte)
writes:
>Somebody wrote (I don't know, who, as I did not see the original 
>message):
>
>>> It has been some time since I read about them, but as I recall they 
>had a
>>> two cylinder *two stroke* engine.  Hence the characteristic dirty 
>exhaust
>>> of a two-stroke.
>>> 
>
>I actually own one!
>
>I bought one in Eastern Germany, shortly after the Fall Of The Berlin 
>Wall.
>At the time, you could buy them for next to nothing there, as people 
>wanted
>nothing else 
>but drive  a 'real'  car instead. 
>This was at once made possible with the  introduction of the 
>hard-currency
>Deutschmark there.
>I remember having witnessed complete dumping sites of almost complete
>Trabants along the road.
>
>I bought an example that was still in use, not an unattended one, as, 
>of
>course, I also needed the
>car's East German documents for re-registration over here in Holland. 
>We drove it home, 'only' a 500 mile trip BTW.
>
>Yes, they have a two-cylinder two-stroke engine, transversely 
>installed. 
>Front wheel drive and four-speed gearbox, which was something VERY 
>modern at
>the time of
>introduction (1957 or 1958). The last major facelift came in 1964.
>
>My own Trabant is from 1968 (as a 'historic' car still eligible for
>registration here, 
>so it can be driven, a 1972 or later year car with two-stroke engine 
>would
>never qualify).
>It was rebuilt, at undoubtedly very high cost, in 1988, i.e. just 
>before the
>FOTBW in 1989.    
>
>It is a sensation to drive one!
>
>First, everything that you take for granted in any car, is NOT in a 
>Trabant!
>Don't expect the interior light to switch on when you open the door.
>There is NO fuel gauge, but rather a motorcycle style fuel valve.
>No heater fan. (Having said that, not much heater, either! Like in my 
>MGB).
>
>There is, however, an ash tray (In Eastern Europe, almost everybody  
>smokes).
>
>You attract a lot of attention when you drive one.
>The sound is very characteristic (from the outside), as is the smell.
>The sound is very loud (from the inside).
>When you drive at about 80 km/h (50 mph), the noise level is about the 
>same as
>at full speed in a Ferrari!  
>
>The steering and gearbox are very good and pleasant. 
>What is not so good, is the lack of power. 
>Top speed is about 100 km/h, but then you need earplugs!
>In city traffic, the little car is quite  fast.
>But on any other road, its lack of speed makes is rather dangerous.  
>The door skins and wings are made of resin impregnated cotton, 
>that behaves like cardboard in case of an accident. 
>So all in all, it is a very unsafe car!
>
>Filling her up with gas is quite an adventure: first you open the 
>hood. 
>Then you use a dipstick to gauge, how much gas is left. 
>(Yes, that's right: the fuel tank  is in the engine bay, right above 
>the
>engine, 
>eliminating the need for a fuel pump. Ralph Nader would probably have 
>a stroke 
>if he ever saw one...)
>Then you determine, how many litres to add. But first, you pour in 2 
>percent
>of that 
>quantity in two-stroke oil.
>I forgot to mention that whenever you are at a filling station, it 
>will only
>take one minute or so 
>before you have at least ten people standing around the car to see 
>what the
>h*ll is going on. 
>
>As with an MG, the car is not very complicated, most work could be 
>done by
>the owners.
>This was also more or less required as both service and spare parts
>availability were 
>very poor in Eastern Germany (a country resembling, in many respects,
>today's Cuba).
>
>Hope this is of some interest to whoever wrote about Trabants in the 
>first
>place. 
>
>Bert
>palte@rt.el.utwente.nl
>
>

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