Post a recent picture of your car

[Tailhappy]

It's always great to see the older Skodas out snd about so please do share a pic or two of yours - and any info to go along with the pic.

 

I'll start. My 1988 105 LUX from today. All standard / original apart from alloy wheels, electronic ignition and gauge cluster from a 105 GL (not sold in the UK). It was my first car, gifted by a neighbour.

 

[nta16]

Absolutely fantastic.  And to see it being used nearly 35 years after build.

 

1988 was IIRC before VW went to the factory and actually reduced the build quality.

[Tailhappy]

14 hours ago, nta16 said:

Absolutely fantastic.  And to see it being used nearly 35 years after build.

 

1988 was IIRC before VW went to the factory and actually reduced the build quality.

Thanks. Yes it's really an impressive car. Even now not a single rattle or squeak and it keeps up well with modern traffic up to around 60. Interesting what you say about VW reducing quality - my 1989 Rapid Coupé had rust issues which I never understood.

[nta16]

The VW take over was later, early 90s, I was told by the Skoda garage I don't think we used the term "Dealership" then for such a garage then, that the quality had dropped because they were taking in new cars so knew.  That used to be a good thing about Skoda then their "Dealerships" were small and friendly places, certainly the one I went to and the other local ones were privately owned and not part of some massive group selling Skoda one year and  Citroen the next.

 

In case you didn't know in the mid-80s the comic know as The Sun (newspaper) ran a constant campaign of taking the ****, who knows how much other manufacturers who products were twice the price influenced this.  Some of the criticism was valid as it would have been for other manufacturer's products but it led to owners and customer being more loyal and/or locked into the brand for trade-in replacements.

 

I knew every joke from the sheep that read The Sun, some were very funny but more than once I had someone whisper in my ear that they'd owned one and they weren't that bad.

 

I can't think the VW takeover would have necessary went down too well with the Skoda factory workers given the German army invading and taking over Czech at the start of WW2.  My older neighbour said they wanted the Czech to make tanks/parts (I forget which) because they were better made than the German tanks.

 

I don't know if this was the same for Skodas back then as the cars were imported by Skoda UK(?) or whatever it was called to Norfolk IIRC they put on UK wheels and tyres.  I think they went out to sellers reasonably quickly but at some time some new cars were stored on grass and they'd be there so long that the grass grew under the car and possible transported moisture, when, who I forget but aerial photo would sometimes be shown on national news.

 

I had a new 1986 130 5-speed Rapid and I can't say I got along with it well, some minor niggles I forget what but the 1300 engine wasn't as nippy as the 1200 120LS saloon I traded-in.  I mostly changed to get the 5th gear because the 120 LS was a bit noisy in 4th, later in life I'd have made a few minor changes inexpensive changes to take the edge of and not worry about the times 5th was useful.  I had a few cars later without 5th gear.

 

I had a 1987 130 saloon and IIRC the rear seat back covers wore on that so whether at some point in the 80s they tried saving on materials I don't know, didn't worry me as you could get loose covers to fit over.

 

I put some Goodyear Eagle tyres on the 130 saloon and they made the handling even better, on some local back roads I had a BMW 3 series and he put his foot down no doubt expecting to get respectable distance from the lower car in his rear views, I too fancied a drive so put my foot down but keeping a reasonable distance as at the time many BMW drivers weren't as good at driving as they thought they were and their model wasn't as quick as they thought it was.  No speeding but I kept with him until we reached 30 town limit where I dropped back so that he would get through the traffic lights on green and I wouldn't.

 

Great tyres but obviously wore quickly and I used the cars for work so when I changed the Eagles I went for a set of four more standard type tyres.  The fitter advised me to take easy on the new set of tyres even after the run-in as though they were new they'd not grip like the worn Eagles which I expected, but not so much difference, just had to adjust to the change.

 

In the past if you had any Porsche 911or Golf GTi owning friends or acquaintances the following was good to show them. 😁

 

  

[Tailhappy]

Thanks for the info! Well it still divides opinion. Some people want to entusiasically chat about it or even buy it there and then and some do dodgy overtakes and cut me off even when I have a car in front (usually Audi drivers) who feel it is below them to be following the cheapest car available 1987-1988. They can't have much else to think about! 

[nta16]

21 hours ago, Tailhappy said:

usually Audi drivers

Yeah some of them Aldi drivers, previous generation of those were in BMWs, don't bother engaging with them as the have most to loose having the nicer car.  I've found older Aldi diesels kick out the worst black **** clouds I've ever seen, one was from my neighbour's, much worse than some old bus in the 70s.

 

But to be fair, the go-faster stripe possibly goaded the pea-brain.  😄

 

[wesacosa]

that looks great @Tailhappy

I am getting my 1990 120L 5 speed next week 

 

 

incidentally what electronic ignition do you use on yours as I will look to fit something to mine 

[nta16]

@wesacosado bear in mind the electronic kits only deal with the top ignition part of the distributor the mechanical bottom part can still be worn but a good top kit can improve starting and running whereas a cheap crap kit can be unreliable and suddenly stop working.  Also some cheap rotor arms and dissy caps can be a very false economy.

 

If(?) you can get and can afford a good fully electronic dissy for the car that will be fit 'n' forget for tuning and much of the maintenance and give biggest improvements for reliable better starting and running performance.

 

Good quality and condition HT leads, not necessarily expensive ones, can make a good improvement too, just because existing parts are working doesn't mean they're working at their best or are not way beyond their optimum.

 

First thing for ignition (after the car's battery being in good state of charge and condition for starting) is the spark plugs, first ignition part I'd replace (after charging or if required changing the battery and checking battery and main leads and earths and their connections).

 

If you are only used to front-wheel drive cars then take care to slowly build up driving faster in the 120L (needle dial speed doesn't matter, too fast can be at very low speeds as it depends on circumstances) and what you learn this spring and summer remember to appropriate for autumn and winter driving.  They're a fun car to drive and don't need to be driven like an elderly aunt going to Sunday service, unless you want to.  Get some decent (standard or near enough size) tyres on them and the handling can be very good indeed.

 

[Tailhappy]

19 hours ago, wesacosa said:

that looks great @Tailhappy

I am getting my 1990 120L 5 speed next week 

 

 

incidentally what electronic ignition do you use on yours as I will look to fit something to mine 

Lovely 120. And the paint looks good too - someone has looked after it!

 

I use Luminition electronic ignition. It is not affected by wear in the distributor shaft as it uses an optical assembly in place of points. I've run it for 15 years now and it's been great.

 

Any help with your 120 I'm happy to give. Following on from the previous post the only decent tyre available in original fitment are Continental. Quite a few of the budget ones are trailer tyres and work very poorly on cars.

[wesacosa]

thanks guys..the paint is a bit tired close up but I have seen worse.  Only done 30k so hopefully some life in the mechanics yet

 

I have driven RWD cars pretty much since my first car , a mk2 Escort in 1995 but not a rear engine swing axle set up before so should be fun !

 

I know from the current owner it idles a bit rough when cold and needs a fair bit of choke to warm it up but apparently runs ok other than that but was thinking either full electronic ignition or if not one of those eleconic systems which keep the points but only as a low voltage switch and replaces condenser with an electronic box. I have a Gammatonix system on my Fiat Panda which seems to work well

 

One thing I did notice when looking for parts is I can't seem to see any vacuum advance units for sale. Are they no longer available? 

[AnnoyingPentium]

20 hours ago, wesacosa said:

I am getting my 1990 120L 5 speed next week 

 

You kept this one quiet over on the 'beige, didn't you. Or did I just not notice?

[Tailhappy]

Vacuum advance capsules came as part of the distributor for as long as I can remember but I have a new one somewhere. Message me if you need one and it's yours for the price of postage.

[wesacosa]

50 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

 

You kept this one quiet over on the 'beige, didn't you. Or did I just not notice?

 

Ha. I posted I had viewed it on news 24 in march but was going to do a detailed on when it turned up. Its been ongoing since January!

[wesacosa]

48 minutes ago, Tailhappy said:

Vacuum advance capsules came as part of the distributor for as long as I can remember but I have a new one somewhere. Message me if you need one and it's yours for the price of postage.

thanks for the kind offer. I not sure I have an issue with it yet or not but just preempting what I may need. I suspect it's more likely carb fiddling required 

[nta16]

The tyre size of 165/80r13 has a few possible reasonable alternatives but by far the best would be from a real enthusiast (and bit of a character) of Blockley tyres, plenty of good quality rubber, full 80 profile, period tread look and suitable for road or casual sport use and with a (genuine) 1,000-mile money back  guarantee. "if these Blockley tyres are not the best that a customer has driven on, then drive 1,000 or so miles on them and we will refund. Every one of these tyres is inspected and checked for dynamic balance - the small painted yellow circle on the side wall can be aligned with the valve stem by the tyre fitter so they know the optimum place to put it. We perform this additional inspection process as part of supplying the best possible no-compromise product."  You just drive them steady for the first thirty miles and then however you like the next 970 miles.

 

I've no connection with the company and nothing to gain or lose whatever you buy.  Blockley were going to be my next tyre purchase on my "classic" before its sudden departure.  Modern tyres in these sort of sizes can be disappointing without out the grip or even reasonable wear of the same make and model of tyre only a few years previously. - https://www.blockleytyre.com/product/165hr13

 

There's a few ugly rim weights on the front wheel, do you know what the manufacture date is on the tyres (four digits, first two are the number week of the year, second two the year, three digits and a triangle on its side they're last century and IIRC pre-1990s three digits only). 

 

For wear of the bottom part of the dissy I was more thinking of plates, bob-weights, and perhaps vacuums units.

 

I've no memory of what dissy is fitted to the Estelle and some might have been change to other dissys,  but for old Lucas you can still get separate NOS vacuum units, springs, weights, plates, bodies, etc., rebuild of existing.

 

I have heard other good reports about Lumenition electronic ignition units, there are two types, Magnettronic and Optronic, I've had neither of these but have had an Aldon (Pertronix) Ignitor and a NOS earlier BL version of the Lumenition Optronic and both worked well but are now expensive compared to (if available) a fully electronic dissy like CSI or 123-ignition.

 

If you're going electronic then get rid of the points, otherwise IMO there's little point (pun intended) the more good quality electronics ignition you go to the better as far as I'm concerned, cheap and/or low-quality is a real gamble if you want reliability and not have to carry spares "just in case".  The prevention of fit 'n' forget is better.

 

Such a low mileage car needs a good service, of the whole car, then proper regular use, on reasonable length journeys, not just short test runs, and that will iron out any initial wrinkles and get the car running better.  For the engine old cars particularly love clean engine air filter, engine oil & filter change, spark plugs and CB points setting.  No point doing too much fiddling with the carb until the engine is reasonably well set as carb setting is end of the set up list and may need redoing if you adjust settings in the list before the carb.

 

Mk2 Escort would have given you a very reasonable idea of RWD, if you can remember it.  You shouldn't really experience the pendulum / fishtail / tankslapper of the rear engine unless you make a mistake, as I once did when not concentrating on what I was doing leaving a dual-carriageway on the exit slip road and suddenly saw a stationary car and over reacted with a sharp right then left turn of the steering wheel, lesson learnt.   

Edited 7 May, 2023 by nta16

[wesacosa]

thanks for the reply. I agree on ideally replacing the points but from what I had read previously there didn't seem to be too many options for full electronic ignition and at least the system I have on my Panda improves the life of the points and makes their condition less critical but agree full eleconic ignition is better

 

as for the wheels, they have been professionally restored since the picture was taken.  Thats an old picture the current owner had posted a while ago on Facebook. I haven't any of my own yet but will take some once I pick the car up. Not sure what rubber is on at the moment but thank you for your recommendations 

[nta16]

I might as complete my ideas on getting and old car ("classic") that is new to you.  Well before sorting the engine fully number one priority is brakes, then steering and suspension, all three include the tyres, then on to safety electrics, lights, wiper, blower, horn and glass, windows mirrors and reflective number plates, see and be seen.

 

In between using or running the car I'd do a staged full 36k-mile service/check flushing and changing brake fluid, coolant, gear oils.  Much of servicing ,maintenance and some repairs mainly boil down to clean and lubricate, including dissy and points if you keep the originals

 

You'll get gradual improvements from the regular driving over reasonable distance journeys and the staggered servicing but the overall improvement will be probably very noticeable.

 

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

 

[wesacosa]

well its finally here!

looking a bit sorry for itself paint wise but I think it will clean up well. Minimal rust spotted so far.  It runs like crap though so thats job number one. I think it's likely carb related given its not been driven for couple of years so maybe needs a clean and fresh fuel

 

[nta16]

Looks good, a quick wash and polish or wax for now just to protect it  and if you clean the large black and glass areas (and reflective number plates the car will look cleaner and shinier if if you don't touch the paintwork at all.  I used AutoGlym Bumper & Trim Gel, applied with a 25mm cube of clean used sponge (many over products are available).  Clean black rubber seals last in case they shed their blackness.  Clean from top to bottom, gutters, air vents, door handles, mirror overs, fuel cap, boot spoiler, front grille bumpers.

 

For the tyres I use Armor All Tire Foam, spray and walk away, the way all cleaning should be.

 

Don't fall into the standard "classic" car owner mindset of the carb needs fiddling with, yes it may need adjustment but it is on the end of the adjustment list for the engine and as I put before the engine is not the most important component, system or part on the car.

 

Check and adjust as required in the order of valves (tappets), CB points, spark plugs, timing and carb mixture in that order, if you adjust any item in the chain then you need to check/adjust all items that follow.  We've cover the ignition parts, personally after checking, charging or replacing the battery on an old car new to me for ignition I'd put in new spark plugs as they so inexpensive and to be sure of their condition and I'd take a good look at and check the HT lead set too as again good quality sets are so inexpensive now or you can make up your own sets,  Just because parts like spark plugs and HT leads are working doesn't mean they're working well I always expected my "classics" to run well and not be the stereotypical slow, unreliable, poor handling old car that unfortunately many "classics" are because of the owners.

 

As I put before between using or running the car so you get to know it, how to drive it and what it is capable of and what niggles need sorting first, I'd do a staged full 36k-mile service/check.

 

30+ years of getting "classics" has given me a very little knowledge (what and when I remember) but also a lot of expensive experience, avoid the expensive bit and make use of my experience for free with the advice I've given.  And keep on top of the servicing and maintenance, it's not really that much once you have the car reasonably sorted.

 

I noticed it has the lights in the grille which I thought I had on one of my three Estelles but they're not on any of the photos I still have, they were an option IIRC.  It might be my memory or because it's a later car than my three but I don't remember the dash being like that.  I do remember all the storage space available, the front boot and the very useful out of sight behind the rear seats.

 

I expect you've seen the Hubnut and others videos of driving Estelles, the Hubnut vid particularly is how you can drive them and have fun on interesting roads, get into the driving and away from carb-fiddling as soon as you can.  Enjoy.

     

[wesacosa]

Thanks. The car will be getting a full going over both in terms of cleaning and servicing . Reason I mentioned carb is that it just doesn't idle and moving it from the tow truck to my driveway it would randomly cut out under load, the exact same symptoms when I got my Fiat Panda which turned out to be muck in the carb blocking the idle jets. 

 

The grille with the fog lights is apparently an owner's club after market one. Not sure I like it so I will be looking for an original replacement

 

Interesting point on the dash.  The very late ones did get the more modern looking instrument binnacle from the Rapid. There is currently a blue G reg one for sale on Facebook which has this.  Surprised mine has the older dash for a 1990 model but im actually pleased it does as I think it suits the car better and I like all the Czechoslovakia branding on the gauges 

[nta16]

1 hour ago, wesacosa said:

Reason I mentioned carb is that it just doesn't idle and moving it from the tow truck to my driveway it would randomly cut out under load, the exact same symptoms when I got my Fiat Panda which turned out to be muck in the carb blocking the idle jets. 

That could be for many reasons which is why it's best to be methodical and start with the basics and at the start of the basics. If you want to improve this you could consider how old the petrol is, whether it is E10 or E5, or if the previous owner used any additives.  Then have a look (replace) the engine air filter and clean the housing on the inside and inside of all hoses/trunking to/from it it if required.  Taking the air filter out IIRC and you should be able to see if the carb plate is in a right state or not or any blockages from storage or static lack of use of the car.

 

TBH I'd not bother with the grille lights I've never found front spots or fog lights to be of much use.

 

Brings me on to another thing I'd forgot, I always advise that you don't think about dealing with cosmetic changes or upgrades or improvements (unless the item needs to be replaced anyway) until at least 12 months of year round use of the car on reasonable length journeys through the range of driving environments and conditions.  Otherwise you could be spending money on items that might be needed for more pressing and important items in the future plus as I put until you have fully driven the car in various circumstances you wont know what the car really needs and what you want with the car or what you get used to.  What you think you want when first getting the car may change or disappear with using the car.  Plus many improvements and upgrades can turn out to be the opposite or not the most effective way to make the upgrades or improvements you may want.

 

A good battery in good condition and state of charge is always good but can be very necessary if you have electrical or starting issues as a good battery will help with diagnosing and sorting the issue whereas a poor and/or low battery will hinder and even perhaps cover what the actual cause is or that the issue has been resolved and the battery is now the issue.

 

Good tyres can be a big improvement and upgrade for braking, steering, road holding ride comfort and noise.

 

Memory is a funny thing, I remembered my Rapid as having a very variable wiper settings on the intermittent but when I looked at a Rapid at the NEC Classic Motor Show the three(?) switches weren't there.

 

Has yours got the radio aerial in the rear window?

 

Check you oil for coolant, and if you find it necessary after driving the car perhaps get a tester pipe kit as I remember head gasket failures weren't uncommon.

 

[wesacosa]

no sign of coolant in the oil but will keep eye out for head gasket symptoms as I know they can be a weak spot

I believe the aerial is on the sunroof but I may be misremembering 

[nta16]

Obviously coolant in oil isn't the only sign of HGF, difficult to start is another hence not wanting to confuse that with a weak battery, but having no milky mess on the underside of oil cap also hopefully means the car wasn't used or engine running only for short periods of time.

 

I wasn't sure if I could see the, at the time ubiquitous, glass sunroof in the photos, yes the aerial was there, a much better location than the rear window as the heater was in the rear window it would cause radio interference when both were on.

 

If you have the Driver's Handbook / Owner's Manual have a good read of that and refer to it frequently, I can't remember how thorough or comprehensive they were by that time and if they gave details of not only operating the car but also maintenance and servicing illustrations and instructions.  Workshop manuals and the likes of Haynes don't cover the necessary information that the Driver's Handbooks do.

 

If you have any paperwork and bills and receipts for the car put them in strict reverse chronological order and see what might still be relevant for condition and running of the car.  Some people keep a receipt for a paint touch-up can from decades ago but loose the paperwork for the important stuff.  With a very low mileage car a bill for a part from decades ago may still be relevant as the part may still be on the car which can be a good thing or not so good thing depending on the item, something like 20+ year old tyres generally are not good.

 

Finding stuff left in the car can sometimes be interesting, amazing what some people leave.

 

[wesacosa]

I have a handbook which I have read. interestingly it says from late 89 they were modified for unleaded. mine is an April 90 registered but the sticker on the airbox says its not unleaded. Need to find the engine number for final confirmation. 

In terms of receipts there's nothing from 1990-2011.  it was recommissioned in 2011 after some time off the road, not sure how long but possibly as early as 1994.  There are some receipts also for work done 2014 to 2021 by the person I bought the car from. I suspect given how long car was off the road these probably do represent most of the work done on the car (its only done about 7000 miles between 1994 and 2021)

[nta16]

Could the airbox be from another vehicle.  If you have any papers for work done on the engine or cylinder head it might say if it was converted (hardened valve seat fitted) - if it was required anyway.  Otherwise you can get additives that cover lead replacement and ethanol (and even with octane enhancement).  Valvemaster range from the MG Owners Club and Millers VSPe Power Plus Multi Shot from Millers Oils and possibly others that I don't know about.

 

Not unusual to find that only one or two people kept any history, you're lucky if you get the original Owner's Handbook and spare keys that came with the car new as these are the types of things that owners mislaid.

 

If you have a Haynes workshop manual for the range and it doesn't match with what is in the Owner's Handbook (subject to that being correct for your car) always suspect the Haynes has it wrong as that is most likely.   And the Haynes wont give you the useful information the original Owner's Handbook does but do bear in mind that was written over 30 years ago and oils and some parts have improved a lot since then (some modern made parts though are now crap).

 

MoT history might give you some idea of what was being done to or with the car at the times but there can be a lot of personal opinion with Mot testers and the same advisories can come and go over the years.

 

More important of course is how the car is now, if the car has been used since 2021 even more reason to carry out a staggered fully  36k-mile service/checks to build from a good base  and datum point, if you do the work you know for certain what was done and when and how.