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Post by the light works on Jul 24, 2015 14:23:27 GMT
i'm always nervous transporting the department barbecue. there is no adjusting the muirrors until you can see the trailer, and you can't feel it behind you, unless you hit a pretty severe bump. View AttachmentAnd you sure wouldn't want to lose such a valuable piece of fire apparatus. absolutely so. addendum: and forget backing it - if you can see where the trailer is, it is too late to correct.
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Post by OziRiS on Jul 24, 2015 19:47:04 GMT
i'm always nervous transporting the department barbecue. there is no adjusting the muirrors until you can see the trailer, and you can't feel it behind you, unless you hit a pretty severe bump. View AttachmentAnd you sure wouldn't want to lose such a valuable piece of fire apparatus. Of course not! It's the only piece of fire apparatus they have! The rest is for fighting fires
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Post by c64 on Jul 24, 2015 21:05:21 GMT
And there is a problem... I have driven vehicles with trailers "You dont know are there", and that is a major problem, you "forget"?.... I had a wagon-and-drag out a while back, and I had to remember the trailer every time I did a tight corner, because the view from the rigid's mirrors suddenly got filled with trailer when I turned, and that was disconcerting ... It was a light load, so the pull from the engine didnt feel like I had any weight behind me. Having too much power can encourage you to have the tail wag the dog, the bit when the trailer starts to oscillate and affect the handling adversely, because you are driving too damned fast. I have followed trailer like that, and wondered why?.. it wears out things on the trailers eventually. And its dangerous... it can create a sudden loss of control, just when you may need it. There is a golden patch where you get the weight and trailer just right for the power. This isnt to say that larger vehicles should not tow light trailers... Of course not. Just have the mirror extensions on, and put a piece of tape around the steering wheel to "Remind" you "something is different today"?.... I have heard this works for many people. Me?.. I have the annoying habit of what a driving instructor for car licence would call over reliance on mirrors... I check them too often?.. its part of HGV driving I cant loose when in a car, so I am constantly looking at the trailer. If I cant see the trailer from the mirrors, I will alter the mirrors until I can. i'm always nervous transporting the department barbecue. there is no adjusting the muirrors until you can see the trailer, and you can't feel it behind you, unless you hit a pretty severe bump. View AttachmentYou can install a small house on top. And it is one of the few kinds of vehicles which won't become destroyed during a Czech rally.
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Post by c64 on Jul 24, 2015 21:12:17 GMT
And you sure wouldn't want to lose such a valuable piece of fire apparatus. absolutely so. addendum: and forget backing it - if you can see where the trailer is, it is too late to correct. Or you completely forget it. I was about to parallel park when I noticed that the trailer indicator flashed along with the turn signal indicator...
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Post by ponytail61 on Jul 25, 2015 4:35:47 GMT
Sounds like a cold war east German made Wartburg 311, a design fully obsolete 10 years before those cars were made. I think I see the problem with that car. They put the engine in backwards! Why would you have the radiator back near the firewall?
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Post by silverdragon on Jul 25, 2015 7:02:35 GMT
Sounds like a cold war east German made Wartburg 311, a design fully obsolete 10 years before those cars were made. I think I see the problem with that car. They put the engine in backwards! Why would you have the radiator back near the firewall? To make it easier to get at the part you need to replace every week. The engine. I have heard this discussion before, from a mechanic who knew Wartburgs, and he liked the idea of having the parts he needed to work on where it was easier to get at them.... I dont know how having the radiator "not at the front" affects airflow, but I suspect if the fan gives up, so will the engine. However, I have driven trucks with engine and fan reversed, and that always works well.
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Post by the light works on Jul 25, 2015 13:22:14 GMT
To make it easier to get at the part you need to replace every week. The engine. I have heard this discussion before, from a mechanic who knew Wartburgs, and he liked the idea of having the parts he needed to work on where it was easier to get at them.... I dont know how having the radiator "not at the front" affects airflow, but I suspect if the fan gives up, so will the engine. However, I have driven trucks with engine and fan reversed, and that always works well. also, if the engine compartment is tapered, then having the radiator at the wide end, lets you have a bigger radiator. it does look like that's a direct drive fan, so if the fan gives up, it is likely the engine has, already.
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Post by GTCGreg on Jul 25, 2015 20:12:22 GMT
I think I see the problem with that car. They put the engine in backwards! Why would you have the radiator back near the firewall? Here's a better picture of the Wartburg engine. C-64 sent this to me a couple of years ago when he was helping someone restore one. The engine isn't in backwards, it's just the radiator that is mounted at the rear of the engine. I think C-64 said that they used part of the radiator to heat the cab and that's why is was near the firewall. Attachment Deleted
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Post by silverdragon on Jul 26, 2015 5:12:07 GMT
Thats an old petrol can zip-tied on?.... Its only three-pot as well?...
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Post by the light works on Jul 26, 2015 12:02:51 GMT
Thats an old petrol can zip-tied on?.... Its only three-pot as well?... I'm wondering if it is coolant or windshield washer solution, or something like that. at first glance I thought it was just sitting there when the picture was taken. and yes, only three pot, as I recall, he said it was a tiny engine - if they went with more cylinders, they'd have to start miniaturizing. addendum: yes, .9 liter, which is smaller cylinders than any car I have owned.
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Post by GTCGreg on Jul 26, 2015 12:52:01 GMT
Thats an old petrol can zip-tied on?.... Its only three-pot as well?... I'm wondering if it is coolant or windshield washer solution, or something like that. at first glance I thought it was just sitting there when the picture was taken. and yes, only three pot, as I recall, he said it was a tiny engine - if they went with more cylinders, they'd have to start miniaturizing. addendum: yes, .9 liter, which is smaller cylinders than any car I have owned. Surprised I still had it as C-64 sent me that picture in August of 2009, but in the email that went with the picture, he said the blue container was a temporary gas can they were using while trying to get the engine to fire up. The car's original gas tank was full of gunk. Looks a little dangerous but I guess it didn't blow up as he still posts here. And the only thing I ever drove with a smaller engine than that was a riding lawnmower. On second thought, maybe it wasn't smaller.
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Post by the light works on Jul 26, 2015 13:02:34 GMT
I'm wondering if it is coolant or windshield washer solution, or something like that. at first glance I thought it was just sitting there when the picture was taken. and yes, only three pot, as I recall, he said it was a tiny engine - if they went with more cylinders, they'd have to start miniaturizing. addendum: yes, .9 liter, which is smaller cylinders than any car I have owned. Surprised I still had it as C-64 sent me that picture in August of 2009, but in the email that went with the picture, he said the blue container was a temporary gas can they were using while trying to get the engine to fire up. The car's original gas tank was full of gunk. Looks a little dangerous but I guess it didn't blow up as he still posts here. And the only thing I ever drove with a smaller engine than that was a riding lawnmower. On second thought, maybe it wasn't smaller. I don't know my lawnmower's displacement. my bike DOES have smaller cylinders at .700cc in a 4 cylinder.
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Post by c64 on Jul 26, 2015 14:46:10 GMT
Thats an old petrol can zip-tied on?.... Its only three-pot as well?... Yes, the Wartburg was the Eastern "Mercedes". 50% more cylinders than the standard car a common East German Citizen could afford (and wait up to 15 years after ordering one), the Trabant 601. The Wartburg was mostly for high ranked party members only. The number in the triangle (ignition indicator) stands for the "quality" of the car. 2 is advanced quality and was for high ranked politicians only and usually "official cars". 1 is "Folk quality" and was available for party members with an income above average and used as police cars. The one we had restored had a blank triangle...
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Post by c64 on Jul 26, 2015 14:48:53 GMT
Surprised I still had it as C-64 sent me that picture in August of 2009, but in the email that went with the picture, he said the blue container was a temporary gas can they were using while trying to get the engine to fire up. The car's original gas tank was full of gunk. Looks a little dangerous but I guess it didn't blow up as he still posts here. And the only thing I ever drove with a smaller engine than that was a riding lawnmower. On second thought, maybe it wasn't smaller. I don't know my lawnmower's displacement. my bike DOES have smaller cylinders at .700cc in a 4 cylinder. The gas can holds 5 liters and as you can see, the engine isn't really any bigger than the can. So a lot of US cars have more displacement than the entire Wartburg block has in total volume!
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Post by c64 on Jul 26, 2015 15:03:50 GMT
I'm wondering if it is coolant or windshield washer solution, or something like that. at first glance I thought it was just sitting there when the picture was taken. and yes, only three pot, as I recall, he said it was a tiny engine - if they went with more cylinders, they'd have to start miniaturizing. addendum: yes, .9 liter, which is smaller cylinders than any car I have owned. Surprised I still had it as C-64 sent me that picture in August of 2009, but in the email that went with the picture, he said the blue container was a temporary gas can they were using while trying to get the engine to fire up. The car's original gas tank was full of gunk. Looks a little dangerous but I guess it didn't blow up as he still posts here. And the only thing I ever drove with a smaller engine than that was a riding lawnmower. On second thought, maybe it wasn't smaller. Trust me, this is safer than the average Wartburg in original configuration. This thing spills lots of gas all the time anyway so half a pint of gas sitting in a plastic container on top of the carburettor is safer than filling the original gas tank. And by the way, the Trabant 601 has a very crude gas tank right on top of the engine anyway: Yes, the black box is the gas tank of the car. And the black stripe tucked under the strut of the hood is the gas gauge. If you want to know how much fuel you have left, you stop, open the hood and use the dip stick. Of course you should not smoke doing this since when there is not much gas left and the engine is really hot, the gas in the tank might boil somewhat.
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Post by GTCGreg on Jul 26, 2015 15:16:58 GMT
We had a VW Beetle (59 I think) that had a similar fuel management system. The jack handle, which was stored next to the fuel tank, had calibration marks on it indicating fuel quantity. You just stuck in down into the tank and you instantly knew how much fuel you had. It had another nice feature in case you didn't check often enough. There was a small (about 1 liter) can inside the fuel tank that was connected to a lever on the firewall. Turning the lever dumped the can and gave you about a 10 mile reserve. The only problem was that if you used your reserve, you had to make sure you reset the lever when you filled up the tank.
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Post by the light works on Jul 26, 2015 15:18:27 GMT
so did it have mixed gas, or did it do its own mixing, or did they have a way to do a two stroke with an oil sump in the crankcase?
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Post by c64 on Jul 26, 2015 15:33:30 GMT
so did it have mixed gas, or did it do its own mixing, or did they have a way to do a two stroke with an oil sump in the crankcase? You just pour in oil before pumping gas. Most Wartburg/Trabant drivers then put their foot on the bumper and "shake". The amount of oil isn't that critical, just make sure you put at least "enough" in and then some. There is an old saying, "first you smell a Trabant coming, then you hear it and then you see it."
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Post by the light works on Jul 26, 2015 15:39:22 GMT
We had a VW Beetle (59 I think) that had a similar fuel management system. The jack handle, which was stored next to the fuel tank, had calibration marks on it indicating fuel quantity. You just stuck in down into the tank and you instantly knew how much fuel you had. It had another nice feature in case you didn't check often enough. There was a small (about 1 liter) can inside the fuel tank that was connected to a lever on the firewall. Turning the lever dumped the can and gave you about a 10 mile reserve. The only problem was that if you used your reserve, you had to make sure you reset the lever when you filled up the tank. if it was a literal reserve can that was dumped, you could fix that by putting a return spring on the lever. if it was a valve with a tall and short inlet, it wouldn't work.
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Post by the light works on Jul 26, 2015 15:43:26 GMT
so did it have mixed gas, or did it do its own mixing, or did they have a way to do a two stroke with an oil sump in the crankcase? You just pour in oil before pumping gas. Most Wartburg/Trabant drivers then put their foot on the bumper and "shake". The amount of oil isn't that critical, just make sure you put at least "enough" in and then some. There is an old saying, "first you smell a Trabant coming, then you hear it and then you see it." that would count as mixed for me. - I was meaning whether it was mixed in the gas tank or later. in the 90s the bigger two stroke machines here started having injectors that mixed the oil from a separate tank, but some people never trusted them, and they mixed the gas in the tank, anyway.
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