Trabant 601 - The Beast from the East (of Germany)
Discussion
Well another morning spent on the Trabant 
First off we got the fuel lines replaced so we can actually refill the tank now without it dribbling all over the drive (the HT leads will be seperated before we get it back up and running, i have only just noticed they are tied together!)
We then only had time to make a start stripping the left hand side to see what rust issues we were fighting against next. The cat obviusly came to help Jon remove the rear light
For anyone interested in what the Duroplast panels are like, to remove them they are held on with a mix of self tappers, rivets and a bead or what looks like decorators caulk. Here you can see the sealant type mix that has spilled out and the self tapper hole
These are hidden by a piece of aluminium trim
After all the screws and rivets are removed we had to break the bead of sealant with a mix of screwdrivers and chisels. The duroplast is more flexible than fibreglass and is very strong.
Here is where the fun part began. The panel did not want to pull away easily but once the top was free this is what we could see in the gap
And the excellent expanding foam repair was revealed!
It looks like it has had a minor shunt in the past and the foam has been used to fill the gap between the duroplast panel and metal arch. It was really satisfying digging it all out
After all of the remaining foam was wire brushed off we could see the extent of the rust. Thankfully it is not quite as bad as the other side.
We ran out of time by this point (Jon had to get to work) so we re-hung the panel and it is now all ready to start repairing next time
First off we got the fuel lines replaced so we can actually refill the tank now without it dribbling all over the drive (the HT leads will be seperated before we get it back up and running, i have only just noticed they are tied together!)
We then only had time to make a start stripping the left hand side to see what rust issues we were fighting against next. The cat obviusly came to help Jon remove the rear light
For anyone interested in what the Duroplast panels are like, to remove them they are held on with a mix of self tappers, rivets and a bead or what looks like decorators caulk. Here you can see the sealant type mix that has spilled out and the self tapper hole
These are hidden by a piece of aluminium trim
After all the screws and rivets are removed we had to break the bead of sealant with a mix of screwdrivers and chisels. The duroplast is more flexible than fibreglass and is very strong.
Here is where the fun part began. The panel did not want to pull away easily but once the top was free this is what we could see in the gap
And the excellent expanding foam repair was revealed!
It looks like it has had a minor shunt in the past and the foam has been used to fill the gap between the duroplast panel and metal arch. It was really satisfying digging it all out
After all of the remaining foam was wire brushed off we could see the extent of the rust. Thankfully it is not quite as bad as the other side.
We ran out of time by this point (Jon had to get to work) so we re-hung the panel and it is now all ready to start repairing next time
Edited by AceOfHearts on Friday 19th June 23:12
Long time no update, but today we made a start on welding up the left had side. Unfortunately we found some previous owner bodge work of the upper sill so that has been written off and a new one has been ordered from Germany. To get free shipping we upped the order and got some suspension goodies too but more of that later 
But we managed to remove all of the old sill, and repaired the wheel arch tub completely and made a few repairs to the floor. Next time we just need to fit the new main and upper sill pieces and then the welding is complete (so we can start on the fun stuff!)
Ghetto panel fabrication
And what was left over
But we managed to remove all of the old sill, and repaired the wheel arch tub completely and made a few repairs to the floor. Next time we just need to fit the new main and upper sill pieces and then the welding is complete (so we can start on the fun stuff!)
Ghetto panel fabrication
And what was left over
Finally some more progress today. Got the new sill and upper fitted, started on the floors so will hopefully get all of the welding complete tomorrow 
New sill in
Old upper cut out with previous repair
Jon mocking up the new panel
And welded in
Sill patch making
And random action shot
Another update tomorrow
New sill in
Old upper cut out with previous repair
Jon mocking up the new panel
And welded in
Sill patch making
And random action shot
Another update tomorrow
steveo3002 said:
bit late to mention it , but try and cover the glass when grinding , the sparks melt in and really ruin it , just a bit of card over it will save it
Oh no, it's fine, trust me. Only takes a few weeks with a Stanley blade to get it clean again. Don't ask me how I know.Loving the Trabant. When people harp on about German engineering, they think of slightly heavier version of a normal car, with harder seats. I think of Trabants and Beetles
Keep going!
Good commitment here lads, keep it up
Couple of months back I was in Dresden as part of our holiday. We went with Trabi Safari and did a tour of the city in a 601 "Limousine" (in quotes because...!!) and had a great time. It was a very hot day and the others on the tour opted to take the Cabrio cars, glad we didn't as they looked quite hot and bothered by the time we all got back! The workshop they have is pretty cool, it is full of Trabi's in various states of (dis)repair, some are being fixed up and some are so f
ked that they are in bits, used as donor cars to keep all the others on the road. I did take some photos but don't have them to hand - if you are interested I can post them up 
Couple of months back I was in Dresden as part of our holiday. We went with Trabi Safari and did a tour of the city in a 601 "Limousine" (in quotes because...!!) and had a great time. It was a very hot day and the others on the tour opted to take the Cabrio cars, glad we didn't as they looked quite hot and bothered by the time we all got back! The workshop they have is pretty cool, it is full of Trabi's in various states of (dis)repair, some are being fixed up and some are so f
ked that they are in bits, used as donor cars to keep all the others on the road. I did take some photos but don't have them to hand - if you are interested I can post them up Cheers for the comments
We finally finished off the main welding today and refitted the wing. Welds ground back and started painting so its starting to look a lot better now. Ran out of daylight though so had to stop for the day. We have made quite good progress over the last two days and I am glad the weldathon is over. Jon is off home tonight but I will finish of the paint tomorrow and hopefully get some better pictures of the finished work.
Looking forward to start on the mechanicals and cosmetics soon
We finally finished off the main welding today and refitted the wing. Welds ground back and started painting so its starting to look a lot better now. Ran out of daylight though so had to stop for the day. We have made quite good progress over the last two days and I am glad the weldathon is over. Jon is off home tonight but I will finish of the paint tomorrow and hopefully get some better pictures of the finished work.
Looking forward to start on the mechanicals and cosmetics soon
TotalControl said:
This is a pretty cool project. Will you want to drop another engine in at any point?
I'd love to do an engine swap, but really that's bottom of the list at the moment. Probably more likely to look at putting an expansion chamber in the exhaust which is meant to boost power to high mediocre levels!LeoZwalf said:
Good commitment here lads, keep it up
Couple of months back I was in Dresden as part of our holiday. We went with Trabi Safari and did a tour of the city in a 601 "Limousine" (in quotes because...!!) and had a great time. It was a very hot day and the others on the tour opted to take the Cabrio cars, glad we didn't as they looked quite hot and bothered by the time we all got back! The workshop they have is pretty cool, it is full of Trabi's in various states of (dis)repair, some are being fixed up and some are so fked that they are in bits, used as donor cars to keep all the others on the road. I did take some photos but don't have them to hand - if you are interested I can post them up
I'd be interested to see the photos if you can find them. Couple of months back I was in Dresden as part of our holiday. We went with Trabi Safari and did a tour of the city in a 601 "Limousine" (in quotes because...!!) and had a great time. It was a very hot day and the others on the tour opted to take the Cabrio cars, glad we didn't as they looked quite hot and bothered by the time we all got back! The workshop they have is pretty cool, it is full of Trabi's in various states of (dis)repair, some are being fixed up and some are so f
ked that they are in bits, used as donor cars to keep all the others on the road. I did take some photos but don't have them to hand - if you are interested I can post them up You should seek out a copy of Two Stroke Tuners Handbook by Gordon Jennings (perhaps a PDF version may exist somewhere on the world wide web 
) and design your own expansion chamber if you fancy a challenge as Jon looks like he's handy with the welder. If it's st then it doesn't really matter all that much here and you'll learn a thing or two from it and if it works you'll have saved yourself a shedload 
) and design your own expansion chamber if you fancy a challenge as Jon looks like he's handy with the welder. If it's st then it doesn't really matter all that much here and you'll learn a thing or two from it and if it works you'll have saved yourself a shedload Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff