Time warp Skoda

[crocodile tears]

If I had the money and had a clue about anything.. I'd love to keep it looking oem but put a 200bhp lightweightish engine in there and sort out its handling

[kev b]

Carrying on from a previous thread about how modern cars are too easy to drive but impossible to drive to their limits, this car would give you the early 911 experience at 20mph on a damp road.I have driven just about every late 1960s/1970s car but the Skoda takes the prize for worst handling. Even at normal speeds the lift off oversteer is epic, compounded by a rubbish gear change and a mile long throttle cable connected to a hideous Jikov carb that looked like an eastern bloc knock-off 1950s Solex. The interior smelt of fish and inner tube, the floor was covered in rubber matting (source of the smell?).Drums all round allied with a transverse cart spring if I remember correctly. Did Skoda borrow the design from a Renault or Simca?
We sold one to a retired chap who crashed it 2 miles after driving off the forecourt.
I say buy it, you will soon realise just how good current cars are.

Edited by kev b on Wednesday 22 February 00:07

[lunchbox]

Someone did a 13B rotary Estelle once...

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2007/02/23/spaz...

Edited by lunchbox on Wednesday 22 February 00:57

[AlpineWhite]

Ah, we used to have an Estelle when I was a kid. Yeah, it was ugly. Yeah, it smelt a bit odd. Of course everyone took the piss.

But it was solid and unshakeably reliable. It took us all over the place on holiday, when we were able to go, with no problems at all.

As transport, it did the job perfectly. And that's all we could have asked for at the time.

So to those of you who are trying so hard to slate it, remember what it was designed for and judge it on that, please. No one cared if the handling was a bit ropey.

[Fat Albert]

I used to work on the forecourt of a garage that was also a Skoda dealership in the Mid '80s and during the holidays I would work in the showroom.

What we used to do is get in something like a 2 year old Polo and sit it on the forecourt for £4,750, when a punter came in to ask about it we would stand them in front of an Estelle in the showroom stickered at around £4,500 brand new and go off into the office to 'fetch the paperwork' on the Polo.

We would then leave them alone for a while and watch....when we saw them open the door of the Skoda and sit in it we would then go back out for the kill..

...Brand new car sat outside your council house for the price of a 2 year old Polo with more space and features?

Shooting fish in a barrel

[anonymous-user]

My Grandad had about 3 of these from new, peaked at a grey rapid I think. So he was ultra cool in his twilight years, without even knowing it!

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 22 February 09:18

[sday12]

Jimboka said:

My Grandad had about 3 of these from new, peaked at a grey rapide I think. So he was ultra cool in his twilight years, without even knowing it!

Don't start this again. Rapid

[deltashad]

rswift said:

Got me looking on the net now.

Check this out, if the Estelle floats your boat, a 136 Rapide coupe.

I'd also forgotten they did a rather hideous cabriolet version !

http://www.skodarapid.com/

The Rapide Coupes, nice, I kind of liked them. I recken I could almost like this car, with a nice set of retro wheels and ride height sorted with this sort of mileage would make a tidy everyday.

[Wild Rumpus]

kev b said:

Carrying on from a previous thread about how modern cars are too easy to drive but impossible to drive to their limits, this car would give you the early 911 experience at 20mph on a damp road.I have driven just about every late 1960s/1970s car but the Skoda takes the prize for worst handling. Even at normal speeds the lift off oversteer is epic, compounded by a rubbish gear change and a mile long throttle cable connected to a hideous Jikov carb that looked like an eastern bloc knock-off 1950s Solex. The interior smelt of fish and inner tube, the floor was covered in rubber matting (source of the smell?).Drums all round allied with a transverse cart spring if I remember correctly. Did Skoda borrow the design from a Renault or Simca?
We sold one to a retired chap who crashed it 2 miles after driving off the forecourt.
I say buy it, you will soon realise just how good current cars are.

Edited by kev b on Wednesday 22 February 00:07

The late model Estelle (which this is) had much, much better handling than the early ones. The swing axle rear was replaced with a proper semi-trailing arm setup and the steering box was replaced with a rack. The Rapid Coupe was one of "Performance Car" magazines favourite cheap cars in the late '80s/early 90s.

[MC Bodge]

There must be some potential

[anonymous-user]

Oh, well, if I must.

[MC Bodge]

Skodasupercar said:

Oh, well, if I must.

What have you got under the, er, boot, mister?

[jamiebae]

lunchbox said:

Someone did a 13B rotary Estelle once...

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2007/02/23/spaz...

Edited by lunchbox on Wednesday 22 February 00:57

Anyone know where it is now? It was owned by a mate of mine (that's him reflected in the window taking the pic) and kept eating driveshafts as it ran an aircooled VW box mated to the rotary with van shafts.

[anonymous-user]

1300cc engine from a Rapid sport, mildly ported and polished head, lumpy cam, a set of bike carbs, and soon a custom made exhaust.

The engine was previously dyno'd at 98 bhp with a webber carb and fairly stock exhaust, so should be good for 100bhp when finished.

A step up from the previous 47bhp. It also has a full set of uprated front bushes, lowered, tweeked rear suspention etc.

There is still a LOAD of stuff I want to do to get it 'just right' but I want to get out and enjoy her this summer, so all that can wait for next winter.

Lewis

[Frances The Mute]

Skodasupercar said:

Oh, well, if I must.

Is it wrong that I'm rubbing my thighs at this photo?

[mooseracer]

Wild Rumpus said:

The late model Estelle (which this is) had much, much better handling than the early ones. The swing axle rear was replaced with a proper semi-trailing arm setup and the steering box was replaced with a rack. The Rapid Coupe was one of "Performance Car" magazines favourite cheap cars in the late '80s/early 90s.

I don't think the semi-trailing rear suspension ever made it onto the 120L, only the 120/130 Rapids and the 130 series Estelles. I could be wrong though and kind of hope that I am as there's far better things to remember in life.

[Crook]

I was once towed behind a Skoda like the Ebay one in a canoe. Down some green lanes. At night.

[tali1]

Fire99 said:

tali1 said:

Willy Nilly said:

Fire99 said:

I remember back in 1847, going to the London Motor Show and there was the Skoda Estelle Sport, in white. That was back in the 80's and they wanted £6995 for it..

Something oddly endearing. Not sure if owning one would be as much fun.

They were never £6995, you would have probably got a little change out of £4500. I've owned an Estelle for a couple of years and my parents have Skodas for 30 years. They were never well finished, but they were durable little cars.

Yeah, £4840 was price of highest spec Estelle in 1991
Can't find anything on Skoda Estelle Sport - maybe it was overpriced given it's curious rarity ??
One of first cars i went in was a 1970s H reg 105 - fecking hell - never seen a car with a radio before -wow!

Honestly I remember it to the day. It was a special for something (that part I can't remember) but I'll never forget the car. It was all white (no Michael Barrymore) and it was definitely over £6k. You don't forget these things as a car mad teenager.

These are only pics i could find -at that price it must have been a hardcore rally special
http://retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=re...

[mooseracer]

tali1 said:

These are only pics i could find -at that price it must have been a hardcore rally special
http://retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=re...

Skoda sold Estelle and Rapid Sports. I remember reading a magazine review of one - noisy, not particularly fast but great fun about summed it up. It wasn't a rally special but I guess an attempt to cash in on their rallying success. I'm surprised there isn't more info on the net about them.

I'm pretty sure there was a dealer who would sell you turbo-charged one's too.

[Steve_W]

Skodasupercar said:

Oh, well, if I must.

Nice - for some reason it made me think of the Saab 99 shape.

Reminds me of the 130 my mate's mum had when we were first getting into cars (paving slabs in the front luggage compartment as I recall) that was subjected to more than one rapid entry/drift/exit from the big roundabout outside Yeovil hospital - accompanied by mad cackling from us inside it!