Trabant 601 Sonderwunsch

[vauxviva]

i bought this trabant just over a year ago, i have wanted one for years but just been waiting for the right one to come up for sale

there a lots if nice shiny Trabants for sale regularly in the uk, but i didn't want a mint show car

i wanted a trabant that's a bit rough around the edges but solid underneath , one i can use regularly without worrying about getting it dirty

since i bought it i have just enjoyed driving it and have done many miles in it but the list of jobs its needs has slowly grown and its now time to start work

since i have owned it the rear silencer has fell to pieces, i don't really have any back brakes anymore, the front brakes squeal when hot, the speedo broke and it needs 4 tyres as they have cracked badly with age

also the carb needs looking at, it brakes down often when i use it, i carry spare carbs to swap

i am use to this now i have got good at swapping the carb in 5 mins on the side of the road , it breaks down but i have always got it going again


so the plans are

sort the carb out

i have ordered parts from Germany full brake kit, carb kit, new coils, points/ condenser, plug leads, air filter

also ordered lowering kit and camber spacers for front and rear

exhaust silencer , i am going to modify and make my own

wheels are going to be banded, unsure of size yet

[jimspolicev8sd1]

Very nice. I agree regarding the slightly worn look.

[strikey]

i thought it looked pretty tidy...!!

[austinpowers]

Very nice. The best bit of advice I can give is to bin the factory carb. They are temperamental and the latter fuel saver carburetor is even worse. Switch to a Mikuni and the difference is like night and day. A lot smoother and a bit more power. Combine it with a good exhaust and it will go quite well. The camber kit is a good idea, I have fited one to the back end on mine and has made cornering a lot more safer. I can now go around a roundabout on four wheels instead of three. If you can convert the ignition system to a later electronic unit it will also help make it a lot more reliable for daily use.
If you need any advice feel free to ask and I will see if I can help.

[totti]

Bookmarked!

[vauxviva]

Jan 1, 2019 22:09:27 GMT austinpowers said:

Very nice. The best bit of advice I can give is to bin the factory carb. They are temperamental and the latter fuel saver carburetor is even worse. Switch to a Mikuni and the difference is like night and day. A lot smoother and a bit more power. Combine it with a good exhaust and it will go quite well. The camber kit is a good idea, I have fited one to the back end on mine and has made cornering a lot more safer. I can now go around a roundabout on four wheels instead of three. If you can convert the ignition system to a later electronic unit it will also help make it a lot more reliable for daily use.
If you need any advice feel free to ask and I will see if I can help

thanks for info

i have seen the Mikuni carbs and will probably be a future purchase

i am currently running the 28hb4 carb its temperamental but seems to be ok a the moment

i have a 28hb carb that someone gave me, its a new recon carb from ldm tuning, i put this on and it ran great with more power but it just died on me suddenly and i had to change back to the old carb on the side of the road

i have since got it running again on the new carb but now wont idle, i think its trying to idle of the main circuit but i haven't had time to investigate yet

[vauxviva]

trabantwelt 150mm lowering kit fitted

I'm happy with the height, springs might settle a bit over time

the back can come down a bit more if i want

its also going to go lower with new tyre size choice

exhaust is close to floor at the front so will need modifying











no camber spacers fitted yet

[austinpowers]

One of the main causes of running problems with the Trabi carb,is the float level not at the correct height. They are very sensitive and the slightest difference in height could make it run like c**p.
The tick over has to be set with the lights on.
Looking good so far, be interesting to see what other plans you have for the Trabi.

[accord83]

I hope the camber and lowering improves the handling Tomi, I have visions of Reckless Ray popping the windows at the back and hanging out like the passenger on a racing sidecar unit!

[vauxviva]

front exhaust cut, bent and welded so sit closer to the subframe, hopefully this gives enough clearance
if not the next option reroute above the wishbone








rear silencer made

electric exhaust valve fitted

i bought the valve kit and the rest of the silencer is made from bits i had lying around

so i can have loud straight through exhaust or quiet through silencer at the flick of a switch


camber spacers also fitted in this picture

[rangie]

Please forgive my comments but I have owned 2 of these cars.

A 2 stroke engine is going to need some back pressure to work properly.....how will it run when you are switching to straight through?

Just curious...

[vauxviva]

Jan 5, 2019 21:47:09 GMT rangie said:

Please forgive my comments but I have owned 2 of these cars.

A 2 stroke engine is going to need some back pressure to work properly.....how will it run when you are switching to straight through?

Just curious...

thanks for comment

i am no expert when it come two stroke engines but from what i have read the front pre silencer is the important bit for creating most of the back pressure

i still have this fitted

there are lots of modified Trabants in Germany running straight pipes with no rear silencers so i am assuming this doesn't cause any major problems

i haven't driven the car yet with the new exhaust so i cant comment on if it effects the performance or not

[austinpowers]

That front box is the important one as it’s an expansion pipe. The smallest of adjustments to it can have a huge affect on the running of the engine.

[vauxviva]

i wasn't happy with the exhaust i made in the last post so there is currently a mk2 version being built


wheels have been sent away for banding




brakes rebuilt with new parts








drive shafts cleaned and re greased






sun strip sprayed on screen using teroson window bond primer

its best removing screen to do this but the rubber has gone hard with age so masked it up and sprayed in situ

[vauxviva]

exhaust mk2

the cheap Chinese electric valve was curse word, it didn't seal properly and couldn't hold back the exhaust gasses, with the trabant having a loud popping engine it was too loud when closed


new idea is using an old throttle body, this is made better and has a good seal when closed

now mounted nearer the front and branching off the side

this works much better, just need to buy a choke cable to operate it

its now a lot quieter than the original exhaust the with new silencer


this has been made because i want a loud exhaust but i live on a quiet housing estate so I'm trying not to upset the neighbours

[vauxviva]

wheel paint stripped removing two layers/ shades of beige paint

revealing what looks to be the original silver


wheels banded by banded wheels Stockport

two at 2 inch and 2.5 inch

making them 6 and 6.5 wide

165 55 13 tracmax tyres

[totti]

That wheels look spot on!Nothing beats banded steelies!

Great!

[SmokeEm]

Lovely looking Trabby. Wheels are perfect!

[Speedle]

Superb wheel choice, that really does look very smart now.

[rattlecan]

Looks ace. I had one briefly in the same colour. It had been used by Warner Bros for the Man from Uncle film.
I was a bit busy with other projects at the time & sold it on to a guy in Leicester without ever really driving it.
It was back on eBay last week, gone off now, although I don’t think it sold.