"Giles007" (Giles007)
01/22/2014 at 09:50 • Filed to: NPOCP, Skoda
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"Giles007" (Giles007)
01/22/2014 at 09:50 • Filed to: NPOCP, Skoda | 2
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Can anyone tell me anything about this car? I know nothing about these and I am having a hard time finding much info on them. But what I really want to know is, how hoonable is this car? It's RWD with it's engine is in the back, so I'm assuming quite.
The seller is asking $1200 as it has been sitting on the market for a while (was originally listed at $1500) and this price includes a parts car. I'm always a sucker for a parts car. It feels as if the car comes with a warranty... until it breaks. The car is currently owned by an auto enthusiast from a local autocross club. Check out the ad on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
Also, how rare do you suppose these are? How much power does the 1.3L make? Nice Price or Rob Ford?
Party-vi
> Giles007
01/22/2014 at 09:59 |
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It's an old rusted hulk of a car. 58bhp, 5spd trans, 95mph top speed and 0-60 in forever. I don't think they're rare, and if you really wanted one I'd hold out for an '87 or later since they got an extra 3bhp.
505Turbeaux
> Giles007
01/22/2014 at 10:00 |
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looks like a 130 rapid? Interesting, but man that is a weird car. Not too fast or Rapid. Supposedly in the 70's the car did well in rallying, so maybe there is a chance it would be fun.
GhostZ
> Giles007
01/22/2014 at 10:03 |
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CAn someone explain to me why they latched the hood this way? It seems like it would make it more dangerous, uneven weight, and more likely to break the latch. Or is there some cost/mechanical advantage?
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> Giles007
01/22/2014 at 10:07 |
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It's a Skoda 130 Rapid. The carburated 1.3l 4 pot that powers it is placed behind the rear axle, and angled at 20 degrees. It makes 58 hp @ 5000 revs and 97 NM @ 2850 revs.
The 130 is the basic model, from the 1987 facelifting 135 and 136 models were also available. The 135 used a version of the 130 engine with reduced compression, but had almost identical performance (same power, 3 NM less). The 136 had 62 hp and 100NM, and was the most economical of the bunch.
The most well known characteristic of those cars was the incredibly scary handling. Owners would often carry sandbags in the frong luggage compartment to offset the horrible balance caused by a rear mounted engine. About 45 000 Rapids were made overall, with the vast majority being 1.3 models (a 1.2 was also available). The 130 was by far the most common. Incredibly, all models had fully independent suspension all the way 'round.
Funnily enough, Skoda used a modified version of that 1.3 well into the 00's. Displacement was increased to 1.4 and the engine was offered in Fabias and Octavias as 1.4 MPI 8v (not to be confused with VW's 1.4 16v).
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Giles007
> Party-vi
01/22/2014 at 10:10 |
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Lol. Thanks I could not for the life of me find that page. 3 HP you say? Well then the search continues...nope.
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Giles007
> GhostZ
01/22/2014 at 10:12 |
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Maybe so it doesn't smash your windshield when the latch inevitably breaks?
BJ
> Giles007
01/22/2014 at 10:16 |
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Even with the parts car, I'd find it difficult to spend $1200 on this. For that kind of money you can buy all sorts of beater cars that are much newer. On the plus side, it has nice wheels and a sunroof.
If you can get him down to $750-800, maybe then it'd be worth it..
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GhostZ
> Giles007
01/22/2014 at 10:16 |
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But but but clamshell!
That's actually a pretty good reason though. It's not something a normal automaker would do because they probably think their latches are good enough.
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Party-vi
> Giles007
01/22/2014 at 10:17 |
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Look for a SEAT 128, because they are awesome. Although this might be hard to find outside of Spain...
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Giles007
> . .
01/22/2014 at 10:23 |
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Wow, thanks for the Skoda lesson. So, scary handling sounds like fun. But if it's very unbalanced would you say it be easy to oversteer or would it be prone to just spinning out? Also, was that engine used by/developed by any other manufacturers?
Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
> Giles007
01/22/2014 at 10:27 |
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Looks like an ideal sleeper for a `Busa motor swap! Needs a big ducktail spoiler and some rally spots.
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Giles007
> GhostZ
01/22/2014 at 10:27 |
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I love that style. I'll never forget opening the hood of an E21.
And as far as build quality goes, I'm not sure what the Chez's track record is like.
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Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
> GhostZ
01/22/2014 at 10:29 |
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Maybe it was so that you could access the "trunk" while standing on the curb?
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> Giles007
01/22/2014 at 10:29 |
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Well, the car was known as a bit of a widowmaker around central and northern Europe so make of that what you will. Apparently it was absolutely terrifying in anything but good conditions. It's probably fair to attribute early 911 handling characteristics to it, except without the power to help you make a save, and sloppier suspension setup. I personally know a person who half-Orloved (ditched without rolling) his Skoda 742 (4 door version of the Rapid) simply because he slightly got scared and lifted mid corner. Well, at least traction off the line was good.
As for the engine, I'm not aware of any other manufacturers using it. It's not like it was worth a damn (especially in the 00's, when it was by far the shittiest option).
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> Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
01/22/2014 at 10:34 |
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Jeff-God-of-Biscuits got it. It's safer than the usual way hoods open, and way more practical than a clamshell.
duurtlang
> . .
01/22/2014 at 10:48 |
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As the engine was used, slightly modified, in VW era Skodas, would you say it's plausible engines that fit in the Octavia would fit in this too, with some modification? Swapping in a 1.8T, 2.0 or 1.9 TDI would make it faster. And probably even more dangerous.
Textured Soy Protein
> Giles007
01/22/2014 at 11:13 |
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I love the sideways opening frunk.
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> duurtlang
01/22/2014 at 11:20 |
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I think that fitting a VW 1.4 or 1.6 could be possible, with larger engines the space in the engine compartment may turn out to be a limiting factor.
A 1.9 TDI would probably be far more problematic. It'd probably require some body strenghtening and a considerable amount of suspension modifications due to its large weight and torque compared to the stock motor. The heaviness of the diesel would also contribute to even worse weight balance of the car and make its handling characteristics even scarier.
Klaus Schmoll
> Giles007
01/22/2014 at 11:22 |
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The only upside I see with this car(s) is the fact that it's one of the rare coupes, not a 4-door sedan.
BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> Giles007
01/22/2014 at 12:44 |
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Neat Skoda Rapid. Not actually rapid in the slightest, but very interesting. Engine's all alloy I think, but don't quote me on that.
I'd place it in the same 'interesting but crap, so really rather fun' category as Raph's Bug.
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Giles007
> . .
01/22/2014 at 17:33 |
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This does not sound like an ideal platform to start throwing money at.