A 1961 Skoda Octavia Restoration-And a Slow One, At That!

[Andyroo!]

Having been piggy-backing on an Antipodean thread about a 1964 Skoda Octavia until now, I thought it only fair that I should start my own, and so I'll summarise what's happened with the car so far: 

 

I acquired the car in December 2020, from a guy in Kent, in whose family it had been since it was new. I bought it "sight unseen" and, while appreciating the risks this might involve, I had long conversations with the owner and felt comfortable with things, not least because the cars are so rare I'd be lucky to ever see another one! 

 

 

 

The car was delivered by transporter to a lock-up I'd rented in Whetstone, north London, exclusively for storing the car and I quickly realised what a great car I had! The boot was crammed with parts, the engine turned over happily and the bodywork looked pretty good. In addition, the previous owner handed me an ENORMOUS file, including the original bill of sale, numerous M.O.T.s and associated documents-brilliant! The boot contained the car's original number-plates, although the car sported a newer registration. The previous owner had already explained that the car had "slid off the radar" of the D.V.L.A. & so had received a new number. Fortunately I managed to re-register the car with its original number, with the assistance of the the Skoda Owners Club, and sort out another anomaly in the car's details at the same time-result! The entire process took less than a fortnight and, as this was over the Christmas and New Year festivities, I was most impressed with the speed of the service! 

 

All the engine needed was a battery & new plugs and I had it running in no time, albeit from a 5 litre can. Later I changed the fuel pump, to assist the fuel delivery, but there was (and still is!) a problem with the fuel line, but that's for another day! The car had no brakes at all, a fact of which I was aware, so progress up and down the road adjacent to the lock-up was, of necessity, limited.

 

The intervention of more stringent Covid restrictions meant very little could be done for several months, and when I did have a chance to work on the car again, the starter motor had failed! To describe the removal of the starter motor from a Skoda Octavia as "difficult" would be an understatement of a magnitude unimaginable! Oddly, there's a trailer for a new series of "Bangers and Cash Restorations" on T.V. at the moment, in which a restoration mechanic says that it's possible to spend 4 hours just undoing one nut........I know how he feels! The starter is held in by two 17mm nuts, one of which it's just possible to get at, with the aid of extreme dexterity. The other one-forget it! The workshop manual says 2 specific spanners are needed and lists the part numbers......some hope! No-one had them, or had even heard of them. But this morning, I "bit the bullet" and e-v-e-n-t-u-a-l-l-y I removed it! I suspect the right-hand drive cars had several design problems, not least being the removal of said starter motor. I removed the gearbox link from the steering column, the metal heater pipe linking the front lower hose to the heater matrix, the vacuum pipe from the carburettor to the distributor and this allowed me to get a 17mm spanner onto the inner nut, between the engine block and the starter motor. I "cracked" it and, once cracked, the 17mm socket slowly shifted it & the starter came free.....

 

Removing it from the engine bay meant unscrewing the 4 nuts holding the down pipe to the exhaust manifold, and, once shifted, I extracted the starter motor. By now it was 3pm on a sunny Saturday, so I adjourned to a "local hostelry" for several "cold ones". On Monday I'll take the starter to Unit Exchange in Borehamwood, for a refurbish.     

[KenONeill]

3 hours ago, Andyroo! said:

2 specific spanners

I usually read "right size sockets, wobble bar and 15deg ratchet" when I see this,

[J.R.]

What a beautiful car!

[Bete Noir]

Have you got any exterior shots showing the whole car in all its glory? If so please share.

[Andyroo!]

I'll post a few more here when I have. chance, although describing the car as "glorious" is overplaying it a bit! 

[Baxlin]

Toured parts of Sweden and Norway in a new Octavia van in 1968.  IIRC, the H-pattern gearshift is reversed, ie 1st where 3rd usually is, etc.  And rear suspension so that when jacked up the wheels ‘droop’, so when it’s back on the ground there’s a huge amount of positive camber.

Edited 12 July, 2022 by Baxlin

[Andyroo!]

29 minutes ago, Baxlin said:

Toured parts of Sweden and Norway in a new Octavia van in 1968.  IIRC, the H-pattern gearshift is reversed, ie 1st where 3rd usually is, etc.  And rear suspension so that when jacked up the wheels ‘droop’, so when it’s back on the ground there’s a huge amount of positive camber.

Yes, I'm aware of the "back-to-front" gearbox arrangement, which was commented upon by "Motoring Which" when they tested the car in 1965. Their testers quickly became used to it, though. The report went on to say that, although the Skoda Octavia Super was over £100 less to buy than a Ford Cortina or B.M.C. 1100, the apparent saving was wiped out by higher fuel costs (the Skoda did 29 M.P.G., compared to the Cortina's 34) MUCH higher servicing costs (The Skoda had 12 greasing points & servicing every 1,000 miles whereas the Cortina had NONE, and servicing intervals of 5,000 miles) and bigger depreciation. All in all, NOT a good buy!  

 

The huge positive camber was a problem with the car when it was lightly loaded and caused some handling problems if driven hard. Some reports suggested the suspension setup was designed for the poor roads of eastern Europe and not the smoother ones in the west, and one specific report said that dealers would remove a leaf or two from the rear suspension, to give the car a softer ride and better handling. 

[Andyroo!]

I've successfully fitted a new air filter and housing to the top of the engine, so that's another job done! I'm moving onto the brakes now, and I've removed the off-side front wheel with a view to refitting the brakes. The previous owner had removed the brake shoes and informed me of this, leaving the brakes in the boot. My job is now to re-fit them and I need a little advice before I go in with a heavy hand. Having studied both the workshop manual AND the instruction booklet I'm no clearer how to remove the drum. The instruction booklet explains both how to bleed and adjust the brakes, but not how to access the shoes themselves. Having removed the wheel the brake drum looks like it simply "pops off" with the aid of some judicial lateral tapping to the rear. However, some enthusiastic tapping has not resulted in any movement of the drum. Does the hub nut have to be removed first? I hope not, as that'll involve a great deal more work! Any thoughts? 

[Andyroo!]

I've removed the front brake drum using a two armed puller with the arms inserted into the holes in the drum through which the brakes are adjusted. Having removed it I've now fitted the shoes, complete with the three springs (blimey, who thought up that way of doing things?) and the two rather primitive steady posts. That was fairly simple, once I'd realised just how much strength was needed to lever them into place! Now the drum won't go back on! I should add at this stage that as a retired V.W. mechanic I'm familiar with all the usual "tricks" to "persuade" the drum back onto the hub, but this one's having none of it....I've retired to contemplate my next move, over a glass or 12 of something chilled, and will report more soon. The shoes are the ones removed by the previous owner and ARE the front ones, the rear ones having a bar joining the shoes to accept the handbrake connection, so I know they're the front shoes. Referring once again to the Motoring Which report from April 1965, the Skoda's brakes were described as being heavy in normal use and as having "an extremely heavy return spring"; a fact to which I can now attest!   

[KenONeill]

3 hours ago, Andyroo! said:

Now the drum won't go back on!

Is there a wear or corrosion lip on the braking surface of the drums?

[Andyroo!]

On 09/07/2022 at 20:12, KenONeill said:

I usually read "right size sockets, wobble bar and 15deg ratchet" when I see this,

 

Taking advice from another contributor I've bought a set of "obstruction" spanners; basically spanners that go round corners, I expect they'll help quite a lot! 

[KenONeill]

31 minutes ago, Andyroo! said:

 

Taking advice from another contributor I've bought a set of "obstruction" spanners; basically spanners that go round corners, I expect they'll help quite a lot! 

Ideally you'd have both; they actually do have different applications.

[Andyroo!]

I spent the afternoon removing the brake cylinder from the off-side front wheel, as I've decided to have them refurbished before going any further with the brakes. It's a matter of safety and I'm not prepared to compromise, as (to quote the workshop manual) "Not only the life of the car, but human lives depend on the sound condition of the brake system."

 

Now I've removed the drum I've examined it in detail and there's no "lip" on the inside, as I've seen on many brake drums in the past. In fact, the opposite's true; the drum's internal rubbing surface, against which the shoes grip when the brakes are applied is slightly smaller than the diameter at the edge of the drum. 

 

Onwards and upwards-Removing the brake cylinder from the backplate was not as difficult as I'd envisaged; two 10mm bolts holding it in place and a 17mm open spanner to disconnect the flexible brake hose. There's a firm in Ipswich I've used before to refurbish wheel cylinders and I'll contact them regarding prices and timings. I'll also check the prigos.cz website regarding the cost of new ones. Mine are the earlier ones, with wheels at each end, that are adjusted through the gaps in the drum.    

Edited 13 August, 2022 by Andyroo!

[Andyroo!]

Ladies and Gents, 

 

Owing to a drastic increase in the rental charge for my lock-up, and an inability to find another one nearby at an acceptable rental I'm having to consider moving my Skoda Octavia on. I should very much like it to go to a fellow enthusiast, who would appreciate its quirkiness and its odd-ball character. In addition I have a strong aversion to disposing of cars such as these via E-Bay, so that will be a last resort. Although the car has to go, the lock-up rental increase is not for a couple of months, so I do have some breathing space. 

 

Should any readers of this Forum be interested in the car I'm happy to supply more information on request. Contact me on email at: *****@*****.tld or call me on (removed) if you have any questions. The car is in Southgate, North London and would need trailering away. Sensible offers accepted! 

Edited 5 March, 2023 by john999boy
Phone number removal

[KenONeill]

18 minutes ago, Andyroo! said:

Owing to a drastic increase in the rental charge for my lock-up, and an inability to find another one nearby at an acceptable rental I'm having to consider moving my Skoda Octavia on.

😞 

[Andyroo!]

Given that this Forum prevents email addresses being added, I shall keep an eye on this Forum if anyone leaves a message. My mobile 'phone number IS displayed, so call or text if you wish! 

Edited 5 March, 2023 by Andyroo!

[john999boy]

On 05/03/2023 at 09:59, Andyroo! said:

Given that this Forum prevents email addresses being added, I shall keep an eye on this Forum if anyone leaves a message. My mobile 'phone number IS displayed, so call or text if you wish! 

The phone number has now been removed too!

Also, can you make an advert (in the correct place) for this as we also need the price you're selling for.

Edited 6 March, 2023 by john999boy
Typo

[Andyroo!]

This vehicle has now been sold to someone who will be able to continue the restoration.