C_two

[darkoford]

Trabant = three meters of plastic + fifteen meters of smoke.

[Frank S]

Trabant = three meters of plastic + fifteen meters of smoke.

What would one expect from a 2 stroke prior to the upgrade to needle bearing connecting rods so 50 to 1 mix ratio could be used.
Not sure if any of them could run fast enough to leave a 15 meter smoke trail before it dissipated add a little Citronella to the mix and the Mosquito population could have been placed on the endangered species list.

[Frank S]

Funny thing is the Trabant is still a popular platform to make rally cars out of
The Trabant Safari Rally Car
https://www.stagweb.co.uk/activities/trabantrally.asp

[PJs]

Trabant = three meters of plastic + fifteen meters of smoke.

I love the smell of unburned hydrocarbons in the morning!

Not sure what year this Trabant is but a funny true story from my sorted past in reference to "Green". I bought a 70' Sedan DeVille (~76') out of a big flood in our area for $100 because I wanted to drive it in the local demo-derby and figured a big motor, solid frame and body of a land yacht like this would be perfect. It had been in water up half way in the dash, so I opened it all up pulled out the seats and carpets to dry it out then drained/changed all the fluids and scraped mud for 3 days...and much more. Bottom line was it ran fine after taking the key switch and a few other things apart to get the mud out...even the window & seat motors. That 472 purred like a kitten and had low miles as it was owned by an older couple mainly driving around town. Unfortunately my first wife and I broke up about then so I ended up keeping it (leaving her the Audi) and lived in it for two weeks until I could get situated...not too bad with some shag carpet and a sleeping bag waking up seeing the beach in the morning. Hemingway, I kept it for several years and could say it probably saved my life in some ways during that period.

I've always been pretty good about keeping my cars/bikes running like a top and have only been stranded once in 6+ decades. In California the smog requirement is every two years and the morning I had to get it done I went out to start it and it was flooded to beat the band. Popped the massive hood and futzed for a minute then finally pulled the top off the Quadrajet and the floats had sunk!!! Called my buddy, went to the parts store for a float and carb kit. Pulled the carb and luckly had a half can of carb dip. Tore it down put it in the dip for a 1/2hr rinsed and blew it out and put it back together in about an hour total. Stuck my tack and dwell meter, a vacuum gauge, and a timing light on it and proceeded to dial it in. I specialized in carbs and fuel systems my last few years of turning a wrench and have been to all the schools back then including 3C school so I could dial in a carb with out a smog machine pretty well by ear and was about to find out how good.

At the smog shop I didn't say to much to the guy or tell him I just flash rebuilt the carb and stood out side the stall to watch. He hooked it all up to the machine and put the sniffer in the tail pipe and started it up. Purred like a kitten and he ran it up and down a few times and then stood there for a minute then came out and moved the sniffer in and out into a different position, went back in ran it up and down a few more times...rinse and repeat...3 times total. Then he called me in to look at the machine. As I had my smog license I knew what the numbers were and he said; "I've never seen anything like this, it's cleaner than any new car with all the smog gear and a CAT". Basically it barely registered on CO and NOx. I just looked at him and smiled and told him I just rebuilt the carb an hour ago and dialed it in by ear...we had a good laugh and talked shop for a few. I didn't tell him that I used to take care of all the local GTO club cars, (especially 3 deuces) or did a half dozen Weber conversions on Z cars and VW's and anything with SU's were my specialty. Think I could still rebuild a quadrajet in my sleep.

Loved that boat and have many fond memories until I picked up a 72" Olds Cutlass...headers, meats, suspension...then sold the Caddy for $300 to a kid that needed some wheels cheep. Then passed the Cutlass to my son because of a long commute when I was teaching and picked up a 1500S Honda (fun slot car on rails, swapped for a computer) then my 92' SC400, which his son will probably get. Haven't put a ton of money into my wheels over my decades, except maybe the bikes but they all ran clean and have had long lives.

Not sure this belongs here or in "Shop Truths, Phrases, Tales; and Outright Lies" but it feels appropriate to this idea of Cutting Edge Vs Old School and what is "Green" and what isn't...and it is probably WTMI in my normal dissertation fascism.

PJ