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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