Still around, but working on the Tatra

[CraigS]

Just thought I should check in and say that I am still around ! Been working on obtaining parts for the Tatra since my visit down under. Discovered during the course of the work on it that the front brake drums were rusted out on the inside - to the extent that the outer edge of the drum had broken away. No chance to have it repaired, and certainly not possible to replace it in Australia, so have been trawling the net to find new ones. Finally found some in Czechoslovakia for EUR 78 each, plus freight. Did find some interesting Tatra sites and parts suppliers in the process so I guess it has been worth it. Have had the rear suspension rebuilt, and the front (Macpherson strut style) has also been rebuilt, but awaiting outer tie rod ends -  another part that I had to source, and equally as difficult until you find the right source. I don't think any of these parts have been off the car in years - if ever, so it has proved to be a somewhat more complicated restoration than I expected. The combination of Czech and English roads with their salt takes it's toll. Also had to remake the rear trailing arms from scratch as I couldn't find any. Here is a photo of them, and a couple of pictures of the car for those that haven't seen any of my previous postings of the car.

[WGB]

Nice to hear you are OK.

I think you are very brave tackling a Tatra.

Might be worth the effort in the future when communism is a little less remembered and the film industry or a cashed up someone wants to remember "The Good old days".

What attracted you to the car Craig?

Bill

[CraigS]

I've been a fan of Hans Ledwinka for a long time. He was a brilliant engineer and well ahead of his time. If it was not for him (and his son), there would not have been a VW Beetle ! Ferdinand Porsche copied his designs for the Tatra T97, after Hitler saw it as the Berlin Motor show and invited him for dinner.

I would dearly love to have a T87, but they go for serious money these days, so a 603 was the next best option, and still has what could be called, unique styling, although the word styling may cause unease with some ! It is also nice to know that it is unlikely that I am going to pass another one on the road when it is finished.

[Big_Richard]

an air cooled v8 ?

That thing must sound like a beast. What does it sound like ?

[CraigS]

I THINK this a clip from YouTube of a 603 starting up. I can't check it because Turkey has blocked access to You Tube - again ! It's a bit like a V8 VW !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjbFuZvtlcM

[Big_Richard]

Sick!

what a controversial car to be driving, especially when you know their history. Awesome.

[WGB]

Thanks for the video -we in the free world can watch it - even in Honk Kong.

I think there is at least one  in the Southward Car Museum at Paraparaumu NZ - a few K's down the Road from my Parents who now live at Waikanae.

I haven't been into it for a few years and kept driving past the entrance meaning to go for a walk around when I was back visiting the Olds a month or so ago but never did it.

My memory of the Tatra they had was that it was a dull grey-green colour but this picture shows a bright blue car which I think is a Tatra.

Southward Car Museum

The last time I walked in they had a 300SL Gullwing with the doors open rotating on a plinth in the foyer and the time before that the "Blitzen" Benz. They also have a number of significent Benzes including one of Hitler's Grossers.

Bill

[CraigS]

Yes, there is one there. I have a photo of it that someone sent me a few years ago. There are also, to my knowledge, 3 in Melbourne, 1 in Sydney, 1 in Canberra, and mine in Queensland - although one of those in Melbourne may be one that went to Sydney. The one that was auctioned in Sydney last year went to Melbourne, so what the exact numbers are, I'm not really sure, but certainly less than 10 at most.
Of those in Melbourne, one belongs to Izzy Herzog, an expatriate Czech, who uses it only occasionally, and is really just a reminder of his bygone days. There is another one in the Pine Ridge museum at Arthurs Seat, and has not been driven on the roads in a long time, and the third one I don't know, but as mentioned, it may be the one now in Sydney. The one in Canberra does apparently get out and about as I saw some photos of the car at a Canberra rally/car meet, but the club holding the event has refused to reply to my requests for the name of the owner.

There are also a (small) number of Tatraplans in Australia (also known as the 600) as they were sold, in RHD configuration in the early 1950's. Both of them that I know of were in Queensland, and could have bought one, if not both of them. In retrospect, I probably should have, although the Tatraplan has not become as much of a collectors car as the 603 because of it's 4 cylinder engine. While browsing through web sites in the former Eastern Block last night, I saw one 603 for sale for almost A$50,000. Generally, they sell for between $15,000 and $20,000 now in Czechoslovakia or neighbouring countries. Outside of this area, the UK is the largest market, with probably 50 - 60 Tatra's, and almost half of them being 603's. It should be remembered that these were produced for almost 20 years, and only around 20,000 built, so not great production as sales were limited to government and/or large NGO companies chief executives, who were also friends of the communist regime. Interestingly, every car went back to the factory even 7 years or so for refurbishment and upgrade. In my case, born 1963, and back to the factory in 1968, but just missed out on the disk brake upgrade ! It also features electronic ignition - built into it in 1963.

[oscar]

Here I am whinging about the inability to get youtube through our work intranet, yet it's blocked completely from Turkey.   

You wont be able to see this yet then Craig but when you do get a chance and have a spare 603 engine -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyZx0xd4mTM&feature=related

[CraigS]

Maybe next week ! Geocities was blocked a week or so ago and that seems to be working now. Not that there is censorship here of course !

[oscar]

Oh well, I'll ease the suspense.  It's a 603 engine fitted to a custom motorbike with drive shaft.  The sound is amazing.

None of the other youtube tatras sound as beefy presumably due to whatever stock exhaust is on.  What are they like to drive and is the engine powerful?

A while back when talking about parts availability for w116's, someone (maybe yourself) said something on the lines how good we've got it compared to the guys restoring vintage cars that have to resort to making parts themselves.  I saw those trailing arms and it reminded me of that comment.  Nice work BTW, but I'm glad we don't have to resort to that kind of effort yet.

That 7 year refurbishment - was that paid for by tatra?  Interesting customer support.  Beats current 5yr warranties.

[CraigS]

Sounds pretty cool ! One day I might get to see if when they lift the ban for insulting Ataturk - again !

Interesting to drive is the best I can do. Apart from being a left hooker, it is a reverse H pattern column gear shift, and because the cables need to go to the rear of the car, adjustment is critical. Needless to say, that part still needs to be mastered.

You're right about the parts. We are lucky - so far. Fortunately, Mercedes are one of the few that do tend to look after their heritage, albeit that you might need to wait for the car to be 50 years old, not 30.

The refurbishment was paid for by the factory, aka the government. It was a way of keeping people in employment and often involved completely re-bodying the car and refurbishing the mechanicals. May have just been better to give them a new one ! Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing what the factory did. There are no records that are available. Fortunately, there is a good enthusiast group in the UK, and lots of handy replacement parts that have been experimented with, such as an early BMW E31 clutch plate fits perfectly,  VW outer tie rods from a Transporter are apparently a direct replacement, etc. etc. I have also found a number of web sites in that part of the world, and they have a lot of Tatra parts. The problem is that I don't speak any of the languages, so it is just a case of sending off an email and asking if they speak English, and see if they reply. I probably get 1 out of 10 that does.