petergarforth

David Lloyd McKinney has a ton of stuff and is super helpful

There is a very healthy old Skoda community in the UK and quite a few people have vast stashes of spares but this isn't the place to find them. The Skoda OC has most of the people you'd need to meet and there are a number of groups on Facebook.....you will also be able to connect with the Czechs there. I've sold 2 cars in the last 2 years - both to Czechs via Facebook

Oh well if you were willing to tow anything on the road in a 1959 Landrover then you'll easily be able to put up with a 4 speed Estelle......however re-sale wise a 5 speed box adds a lot of saleability and value if you weren't planning on keeping it forever.

The pistons are pretty much indestructible on them so a set of rings should do - stuff isn't as available for the 120 engine because it's simply not that desirable - the 130 has bigger mains and is more durable as well as putting out a fair bit more torque and power. I take it your car has the 4 speed box? If it does you'd do well to see if you can find a 120L5 5 speed box......the 4 speed box, whilst quite durable is pretty dire and not good if you want to use the car in modern traffic conditions......fine if you're ok at 50 mph but 60-70 and things get noisy and thrashy! The 120L5 box will fit in without any modification (unless you have a mk1 or Super Estelle).

I've never had an issue with valve seats on the Skoda engines - I guess if you were planning on doing a lot of miles it would be worth it or if you were going to thrash it regularly and over extended periods it might be worth it but otherwise no. It won't really add to the value and it takes 10s of thousands of miles of fairly hard driving to cause any significant damage. My race car revved to 7500 rpm and I did over a thousand miles most years for about 8 years (most of those miles were on track at 5000-7500rpm) and never had an issue.

The simple answer is not - the liners are larger on a 130. I don't know where you've been looking but Skopart.de list everything you'd need to rebuild a 120 - https://www.skopart.de/en/ Not sure how the lock down has affected things but he is usually very efficient and you pay and get parts in a week. Not the cheapest but the service is spot on and the stuff he has is incredible

I have the answer....you're just going to have to be patient and hope I remember to check when I'm in the garage - I think 5322 but I will check!

You do realise this post is nearly 9 years old???!!!😊

No - the engine for the MB was all new.....that engine was then modified in various ways through S series cars, Estelle/Rapid, Favorit, Felicia and finally being used in some budget models of pick ups and Fabias until 2007. Pre 1964 engines were different......capacities aren't the same, they're just all small capacity engines where they are similar.

You are correct....the Rapid has 4 pot calipers and smaller discs and they are not as freely available as the 252mm ones. I think the answer would be buy 252 and employ a machine shop to take them down to 245mm if you are really stuck

If you want to keep the Estelle starter motor then all you need to do is change the ring gear over from the 120 to the 136 flywheel because the pitch of the teeth is very different......or at least that's all you need to do on the earlier type of Favorit and Felicia flywheels. You've picked a really difficult engine to do the conversion with....it would be a whole lot easier to buy a Favorit engine or earlier Felicia one and start from there! Machining the crank and converting everything to the wide belt is going to be a bit of a pain and more expensive in the long run. For parts, you could try advertising on the Facebook - Skoda Estelles for sale and wanted.

Almost nothing is compatible from your old engine....the crank main bearings are a different size. As Kieran pointed out on Facebook the engine also doesn't have a fuel pump take off so you'll need to fit an electric pump. Inlet manifold is one of the main problems because the FWD ones won't work with RWD configuration as they are - if you know someone with a machine shop they can possibly cut one to sit at the right angle.....but RWD specific ones are super rare because only the Rapid 136 had them and they didn't sell many. You may also have problems with finding a pulley to fit if the crank is the later larger type.......see if your 120 crank pulley fits.....if it doesn't then there is no pulley to fit that uses the Estelle v belt configuration. Exhaust wise....you should be able to get a Favorit or Felicia manifold and modify it, or buy an aftermarket exhaust system from CZ.....but that would cost (£500+)

Here is a photo of what the end of the crank needs to look like.....the cut out is designed to have a 6202 bearing sat in it that the input shaft fits into

Yes they certainly are......that isn't compatible....you need to get the crank machined unfortunately......there should be a cut out with a bearing in it for the input shaft to sit in.

I wrote a piece on what was needed to convert a 136 to fit in an Estelle......looking at your engine without a dizzy it makes me think it may not have the necessary cut out in the end of the crank to work in an Estelle.......take a picture of the flywheel end of the crank and I'll tell you. If it doesn't then you'll need to take the crank out and get it machined. In the meantime I'll see if I can find the list of parts you need and what can be swapped over.

Yes I replaced mine with those too......you will probably end up having to replace the entire brake pipe system because the blocks disintegrate and the pipes bend. I started at the back of a car 2 years ago trying to replace that connector and ended up replacing every last cm of pipe!

Don't worry about unleaded for the 5 port engines unless you're planning on thrashing them......never yet come across anyone suffering valve seat recession. It usually only significantly occurs on high mileage high rev engines. I doubt you'll do either in an iron head Skoda.

Ok then.....the rubber boot will go a long way to contain it. I've just been to look at my spare box and there is no O-ring rubber seal where the diagram you posted shows, it is a metal end with a groove for the boot to fit onto......perhaps the 4 speed box is different though.

Forget the gearbox.....they pretty much all leak....but replacing the rubber boot would sort it. I've never heard of Opel springs fitting but if you cut 1.5 coils from the front springs it will drop it to level the car.....either that or buy lowering springs....Speedpro.CZ sell a pair of -35mm front springs. Timing chain is - sump off, oil pick up off, fan belt and alternator off, distributor out...remove cover and then undo the crank and camshaft bolts.......fit the chain 12 links between the marks as per the dealer (or Haynes manual) guide. If you read English well then a Haynes manual is worth getting.....it will be of good assistance on most jobs.

Banham produced a straight manifold that comes out of the head and fits a Weber 40 DCOE which allows clearance however your chances of finding a used one these days are probably slim. A company like Bogg Brothers in North Yorkshire (or many other fabrication places) will be able to make you something though. I think if you join some of the more active Skoda groups on Facebook you will find there are 3 or 4 other Banhams out there and you'll be able to get pictures of what they have. It's also worth advertising on there as quite a lot of people have stocks of parts and you never know someone may have something suitable lying in their garage. You definitely don't want the up and over Skoda Manifold that Ken mentions, that will never fit. In terms of spares I don't think there is anyone left in the UK running a business anymore (Paul Wyatt under the name Skoparts International has gone again I think) - but in Germany Skopart.de is a great source of things.......he has parts catalogues in English and a simply vast range. Another German company called Ossttimer.de also do Skoda stuff but they are a bit less reliable! Some places in CZ will also post to the UK but off the top of my head I can't think of them and often they don't take anything other than foreign money transfers (no cards or Paypal)

I believe Skopart.de and places in CZ sell 1st grind bearing and if your machine places grinds to spec they will fit. As for the balance.....could be a nightmare if it is out....you'll get a lot of vibration and the engine will have a shorter life (how short depends on how far out it is)

I suspect you are talking about an experience from a by gone era.....the car is amazing...it looks fantastic and I've no doubt it goes like a train but its not remotely legal and I'd imagine the insurance is also null and void given the situation

I am not aware of any other vehicle that shares its springs with the venerable Skoda but you should be able to get someone to make a pair fairly cheaply

Not using leaded or lead replacement would possibly cause valve seat recession.....not yet come across anyone who has suffered that, but even if your car had suffered it, the result wouldn't be blue smoke. Blue smoke is oil burning and that will be either worn piston rings or valve stem/cylinder head wear. I use unleaded in my race car and have suffered no issues and it revs to over 7000rpm. To cause valve seat recession you need to do a hell of a lot of miles at quite high revs. I'm guessing you probably don't rev your 120 past 5000 rpm very often and you probably don't cover 10000+ miles a year.

Not the same set up as a Favorit though.....it ran an ancient Bendix type injection and a proper Heath Robinson cobble together in the engine bay! Favorit injection will fit onto the Rapid 136 engine....but you're going to need a lot of wiring and a swirl pot and high pressure injection pump...and some work on the bellhousing I suspect to fit a crank sensor.