R_Blue

I also want to add an important detail. The discussion is about an owner's 23 years old engine. We are not in 2003 when the Felicia's engine could be considered new. @D.FYLAKTOS 's engine has already been bedded in with thicker oils. Oil pump has been worn. As we all know, when the engines age, internal clearances increase and so the oil requirement. If we were discussing about priming a completely renewed Felicia 1.3 engine, discussion may be more logical. But, suddenly reducing the oil thickness without doing anything mechanically does not makes sense to me. The oil pump works like squeezing the oil. If you reduce the oil thickness too much it won't be able to squeeze the oil properly and oil starvation might happen especially at high revolutions just like @Thefeliciahacker mentioned.

What's your opinion on a swap like this? What would be effects of a heavier engine (also slanted forwards) to the handling characteristics? Long term effects on chassis? Are these projects made for limited use, like race circuit use for weekends, or suitable for daily use?

Return of the Legend. I salute you. Forum was lonely without you.

Nice find. I want to know how they did it too.

Like this: This was one of the hottest days of the summer. Even before the noon the temp was over 30ºC. There were four people in the car plus some luggage.

I'm back to the topic with more data. I was going to record more videos but winter conditions and some other obstacles in life have prevented further input. I went to a trip to that road I've mentioned in this topic. I've almost recorded every detail I've been telling you along with real-time gps data. First here is some general data about the car for the upcoming videos: - 1993 Skoda Forman LX (I'm owner from January 2021. Multiple previous owners. Unknown milage. I found an old bill when working inside the car. That indicates 160K Km dated 2004) Current mileage over 130K. - The car has LPG system installed. Dual fuel capable. - VW Vento 5.5" steel rims with 175/70 R13 summer tires. (Factory standard is 165/70 R13 with 4.5" steel rims.) - Full three piece water shield in the front bottom. Plus, there is a 10Kg plate shield covering all engine/transmission area. - Renault 12 distributor with custom high-power ignition. - Stock gearbox with 4.167 final drive. - Felicia 1.6 radiator, fan and fan shroud. First video: Including an example on my original post. See the part near end for that. In the beginning the car is going on fifth gear, with the incline I drop to 4th around 1:20. Incline mark is %6 on this road. After that it's pedal-to-the-metal 4th gear. As you can see no easy overtakes like other cars. Around 03:00 I drop to 2nd, then 3rd and 4th. Full throttle until the end of climb. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Second video is about the 10% climbing part: In this video the car is heavier. There are 4 people inside with some luggage too. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Third video: Fast run, top speed run on highway. The car is on 5th gear full throttle. Near the end there is a long flat straight. This part is mostly flat. You can check live altitude data on every video. Under every video, there is data about car weight written in video description. Some of the videos could be taken down due to the music in the background. These are parts are from a 260Km road trip. Including fast highway parts and mountains. Total trip time is around 3 hours.

Thank you for letting us know about this first hand experience.

Please check this out: After removing the iron coolant pipe for the first time, what I've discovered: I regret that I've never checked this pipe. My initial tests show that, after replacing this pipe, cooling capacity of the car has noticeably increased. I've replaced almost everything regarding cooling system. This pipe and the coolant pump was the only parts still remaining. Cracks on the old expansion tank is visible. It wasn't leaking but I think it was a good idea to replace this. A friendly remainder: If you buy an aftermarket expansion tank, check its hose connection parts. Mine had its small pipe entry blocked with plastic from factory. I had to drill it. If you miss something like this, results could be terrible. As a rule of the thumb, don't trust aftermarket parts.

Thanks. I've never thought it was possible to drop the speedometer gear in the gearbox. My advise to all viewers, measure gearbox oil level with dipping a vernier caliper's stick extension or use a long wood stick, dip it into oil and measure the oil level on the stick just like measuring engine oil. I did this many times before but I won't use the speedometer gear for measuring the oil level ever again. The engine is back inside its bay. The car is running again. You may ask, "why did you removed engine and gearbox together? You could just remove the gearbox." I had some other plans with the engine but we cancelled all due to time constraints. I couldn't even deal with the minor oil leaks. What else did I do? Must have's: - Replaced axle seals. - Replaced gear selector shaft seal with its rubber boot. - The fork pins I've mentioned above are not broken. Actually there is only one fork pin. It was under a heavy coat of grease and dirt. I've placed the bearing back to its place after cleaning it. - New gasket for manifolds. - New gasket for thermostat housing. - New gasket for exhaust down-pipe connection. - Inspected the clutch. Still has life. Compressed thickness 7mm. Worn items: - CV joint boots were worn on left side. I've replaced both inner and outer. - The iron pipe of the coolant system had its hanging attachment broken. I mean the part to bolt it on the engine. I've bought a new pipe. I'm glad I did that... - There were cracks on the old original coolant reservoir. I've replaced that too. - In the last days, fan thermal switch was acting erratic. I was using a Calorstat TS1151. It started to run the fan again for a short duration after completing its normal cooling period. I couldn't find a direct replacement this time. So I'm using a TDS 87-92. For future readers; If you are going to remove both axles, please don't forget to insert something into the first axle socket you remove to hold the gear inside. It should resist moving of the gearbox itself when carrying. If you forget this little step, the gears inside the differential will drop inside the gearbox.

I'll check if I stored them somewhere. If not, I can take new photos. I'm still using the system. No problems so far. This is the best upgrade ever.

Stages: 1- I saw it deep down. 2- Getting closer After 3 hours of non-stop fishing, the damn thing is out. Notes about the work; If something like this happens to, you, forget about getting this gear from oil plug, shaft inputs, etc. You can only remove it from the gearbox exactly how it dropped. First, I've tried to remove it with the plastic part facing upwards. It's getting stuck that way. Practically, I can put everything on the car after getting gaskets.

Long story short: The speedometer gear has decided to take a dive into the depths of the gear box. It's the older one with a metal shaft. So the engine is inside house now. There is a week long holiday here. The only day I'll have access to the work shops or parts stores is Monday. I need the car on July 3rd. It's very important. So please advise. I'm making a list of gaskets etc. What do I have to check when the engine is out? As you can see there is a broken tooth on the flywheel. Is that important? Also, I don't know If I can remove the speedometer gear without separating the gear box. Is there a known way? If I separate it, can I join it again with basic tools? Should I take it to a gearbox specialist? When removing the gear box from the engine, fork pins are broken. Can I replace those with bolts?

Impossible! Now if you tell me this, I think either you are a noble or someone famous like Mr.Brewer or you live in a really humble folk. Because, in where I live, if someone becomes famous, they become like gods. They have no business among mere mortals. That's exactly what I was mentioning about. That's called "TV magic". They always try to give the audience "an alternate reality feeling which is better than actual reality" In other words, what is shown on the tv is usually an alternate pretty reality with sugar on top. But, still it's not real. I'm not complaining. That's just how entertainment business works. Sometimes I see things like removal of a 40 years old bolt and say: "Hey you are not removing that bolt after long years of neglect, it's been removed and maybe replaced before the show" but I know, that's not the point of the show. I learned many useful tips from wheeler dealers. I like the show and also Mike Brewer. He is fun and knows his stuff well. I think some people who are watching the show, interested in fixing cars but never actually did something on a car maybe other than changing a wheel or bulbs. I was like that in the past. I know how I was thinking before doing some "harder work" on the car and how I think now. I think older episodes of the show with Ed China is more to my liking now and newer ones are more to my previous version in the past. Foe example; in newer episodes, usually everything is so clean and we are talking about 30-40 years old cars. Again it's not a complain. Only thing I can complain is, I don't remember if they ever included a Škoda. 😞

Now I see why you said that but still, compared to lots of amateur videos I saw before, it's good. That part should've been included. Fine by me. I can understand most of it even without subtitles. I must remind you, especially when used by actresses, the audience usually find some British accents attractive. So, is there a chance to see your old car on TV? I watch some British tv shows related to cars including wheeler dealers and some others. I'm old enough to know that, the TV is all about entertainment and let's say, 90% what is shown is not real. Also, with your experience on the cars, if you say something is fake, I believe you. Not the TV. I knew the 1.3 version's engine power is close to my car so I asked the actual value to be able compare what I see from the video while the car is accelerating. I guessed right. It is more powerful than factory stock.

Medium strength. F40 is a different kind of breed. It doesn't have any luxury details so, it's lighter compared to other Fezzas. I think it's a privilege to see one from close. Riding in it? You are very lucky. They are rare cars. Actually I saw it before but it didn't seem like a hurried video to me. So I thought there was some other video you were mentioning about. I also watched the Midget. That midget was yours right? I liked the sound of the engine. Car's general condition was excellent. Who bought it is a lucky person. I saw the electronic distributor which you've mentioned before. Do you know exact hp value at the time that video was recorded? That Westfield is impressive. It is designed to give the owner a hard-core old school pure sports car experience with a small budget. Also, many of its parts are from easy to obtain common road vehicles, so an owner can make the maintenance and repairs if they want.

Of course I did. Impressive. It's like 1/billion chance but yes of course I will. I checked Noble M400 and it has a good power to weight ratio. Fezzas are powerful but usually they are heavy. Some of them are heavier than 1.500Kg. Yes, please. I'd like to watch it. I understand your logic. Most high performance cars' 1st gear ratios are adjusted to be able to reach 60mph before red-line. In real world with such a car, where the legal speed limit is 50mph, will you use only the first gear or maybe the first and the second? Where is the fun in that?

Do you have a MPI flywheel? I'm not 100% percent sure but I think the flywheel on carb. engines and MPI has differences. There is an alternate solution for crankshaft sensor. Here: I'm also interested in in carb. to custom ECU conversions so I'll follow your post.

Sorry, it's my fault. I didn't clarify the intention of my reply. It was an explanation of why some old stereos could be better in sound quality than new, huge touch screen, feature rich but bad sounding stereos and how to move aux cables to somewhere else. @vucko1011 I'm very sorry to hear that... I know how it feels. Please take your time and rest for a while. We will be here for more of your brilliant projects.

Always a pleasure. Hahaha. I'd like to see that. Looks like they are more suited for boulevards of Las Vegas. A Midget won't cut you from the environment completely. You can enjoy both the surroundings and the road itself. You can drive on everyday roads with a sporty, spirited fashion while keeping your modesty. Jag 220 can't provide that. I understand. It's good to know that kind of spirit is still present somewhere in the world. Thanks for the reply. It was a good read as always.

That stereo is from an older era because it has CD tray. I don't know that particular Sony car stereo, but if it sounds superior compared to today's generic brand, huge touch screen models, there is a possibility, @vucko1011 may be an audiophile and they value sound quality over touch screens etc. All you need is that AUX input. You connect your phone or any other music player via 3.5mm jack and you are good to go. If there is another input at the back side of that stereo unit, (usually they are red/white RCA jacks) one can build a RCA to female 3.5mm surface mount jack to hide that cable in the front of the stereo, but when you install your phone to that 3.5mm jack there will be a visible cable again somewhere else. High quality server fans have miniature double ball bearings. They are very durable. If they are not loud like @Papez stated above, you have a good solution.

I say cheers to that. It is more aerodynamic. Because it has mudguards mounted closely on the tire. Unlike ordinary cars, in this design the mudguard is connected to the suspension and it moves with the tire. So she didn't like the Cooper but she liked Favorit. That was something I kept thinking about. Are there safety measures for flip overs? Of course I've never saw one in real life but I know the car. It's a famous design. Before widespread internet available, I knew the car as Caterham 7. I think I had a toy car like that and of course I saw it in video games, on tv etc. I didn't know it was originally Lotus and had many copies. Cars that are tailored to their homeland and people. Like German's autobahn cars and Japanese Kei cars. You wouldn't enjoy a huge merc. or a kei car on those beautiful roads. But... When talking about speed, please don't forget about... Jaguar XJ220 and of course the venerated, legendary McLaren F1. The TRW package you have found has a date mark from 2011. My TRW package is from 2018. Packages can change in 7 years. Now I have Cifam. A metelli group brand. It's Italian. Same group have the Graf brand. Which I know from Fav./Fel. coolant pump. Currently, in the local market, they are selling Graf coolant pumps as a premium product and other Chinese brands as cheaper alternatives. I hope it will be reliable.

Excellent. So you will upgrade the brakes (I know you have another post for that) and it will be an exotic car. Cheers.

🤣 If you think like that, it is already a "lab animal". Because of unreliable parts like @nta16 described, some user before me adopted a Renault distributor. The car has a custom ignition. Also, there is LPG conversion too. I have one year to consider DOT5. One year is a long time for me to make future plans. How will I or my car be, one year later, is a mystery. DOT5's paint friendly and easier on rubber parts features are good but if @nta16 is right and I think he is even DOT5 won't save rubber parts that are too low on quality. I've read your reply two times. That kind of experience is hard to come by. You are a true gem to the classic community. Thanks for all the info. The picture you have posted, deserves to be framed and hanged on a wall in a cozy space. Just looking to it...So many memories. Three cars have one thing in common. They are pure machines. I guess, it provides lots of fun to drive them. Especially the V8 on such a light chassis. Crazy. 🤩

I think this is the ultimate Favorit that the Czech would create with their prototype 1.6 engine if they could. There is a high chance, your Favorit is now the only one in the world in its current state. Congratulations! A quick question. I think it's heavier in the front now. Do you have some kind of modification in the front suspension?

The first thing I would do is a visual check. You can run the engine without the air filter box. (For checking purpose, don't drive without the air filter) That way, you can see the choke plate. When the engine is hot, it should be all open. Because of being automatic, a correct functioning choke is vital for the engine's operation. Also, you can listen to it this way. If there is an air leak somewhere, you will hear a gurgling sound. Without an air leak, carburetor should have a constant hiss. Like listening to the end of a vacuum cleaner's hose.