The current hunger for old Škoda cars is being abused by Hochstaplers, who pretend to be assembled, boiled and boiled cars in all sorts of careful renovations. Let’s look at the key places.
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The amazing erko, which recently appeared on Auto.cz and was borrowed directly from the Škoda Museum in Mladá Boleslav, was in a completely extraordinary condition. It was bought from the original owner in 2007 by the racer and seller of Škoda Auto Ing. Josef Michl. However, it is very difficult to find such a car.
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Look for a little used piece
However, even this now perfect piece did not have a completely simple return to life. The car was badly repaired after the accident at the front, but it had only driven 5,700 km. He hid the jewel in the garage at home for twelve years, and sold it this year. The renovation consisted of cleaning, painting the body, upholstering some parts of the interior and resealing the engine, all the main things are original. Most importantly, however, it is really 1971, which no one has modernized yet. “The original is not only a two-eyed front, but also fenders with moldings, a pop-up tank lid and a rear decorative grille with black metal, which disappeared less than a year after the start of car production,” explains Michal Velebný, head of the Škoda Auto renovation workshop. It is only from him that we learn that the tachometer is no longer overturned, but that we have devalued the car by one-eighth for seven hundred kilometers. We’re probably the first to drive him hard. In the completely untightened body, there was almost no major shortage of these cars, namely resonance at critical frequencies at 2800 rpm. According to witnesses, some pieces used to be so strong that the driver had to change gear, otherwise the seals would fall out.
World of engines 41/2020
Not just carpets
The tested car contains original and very delicate interior parts. The leatherette of the seats hardened in the frost and then easily cracked. The plateau under the rear window literally burned the sun again after a few years. It’s all very nice here. Only carpets are already made of contemporary materials. The originals are not available for a long time, so most restorers have no choice but to look as similar as possible.
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When you look at this car, it is even in the same color as on the first brochures. But he still lacks something: black lines on the thresholds! Although they looked like corrosion smeared with asphalt, they visually increased the car, but every erko still had them. That Škoda would beautify the car with renovations? No, he said he didn’t really have them from production, probably a requirement of a specific market.
How to renovate?
Verifying the originality, ie whether the appearance and technique of the car fits on the date of its production, is the first task when buying a veteran. And it often ends on him, because, for example, the two-eyed forehead has practically never been preserved. When the four-seater came in 1973, it was assembled by the owners of older cars at the first opportunity. Even with us, during the test, several people argued that the erko was always with four headlights.
“When it comes to the condition of the body, the most important thing is the floor. The original is made of profiled sheet metal. Straight means poor quality repair. The handles of the front arms were also torn out, they are often attached to the disturbed floor in all sorts of ways – with thick welds, patches and the like, “explains Daniel Říha from Reincars in Trutnov, whose Škoda collection is already famous and did not hesitate to lecture.
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The perfect condition of the body can probably be forgotten. The fenders were mounted on rubber during production and then painted, so the sheet metal under the rubber was not protected by anything and corrosion often abounded from the first moment. Every nice car will be renovated. At the same time, however, Erko is a huge problem to save properly. “The production of body parts was not accurate at all, spare parts were made on significantly worn dies. The correct renovation procedure is to assemble the body before painting and fit everything, which in practice means bending and knocking out parts, piercing holes for screws and other ant work. Then disassemble, paint the frame and body parts from the inside, then reassemble and spray from the outside, ”Dan explains the only procedure that leads to even joints, smooth door closing and at least a little sealing frameless windows.
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Parts not available
The key is the condition of the parts, which can no longer be obtained. “The car from the museum is driving so nicely because it has an unrunning snail. Here, too, where we have been collecting old supplies for years, we have the last new piece. While the company of Mr. Jirouš in Žacléř is already producing them again for frame felicias, spartaks or octavias, there is nothing for newer Škoda cars, ”says Říha sadly. Similar cases are the rubber necks of the fuel tanks and the ever-flowing taps draining hot water from the engine into the heater under the rear seats. Old Škoda cars are often sold by heirs, who also clear the property. The car is sold, the rest of the garages, land and cellars fly into the container. And that is a huge mistake. In drawers and boxes, older motorists used to have parts for several lives of a car that you can’t find today. Various rubber roller cylinders, distributor fingers, aged brake pads made of old asbestos materials that do not whistle.
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Compulsory reading: The Three Bibles
Anyone interested in the Škoda 100 R, who does not want to be just a hostage of dealers, should first be well informed. The main bible is the book Embéčko or 1000 Little Pains by Jaroslav Gereg. In hundreds of hours in the archive, the author mapped all production changes, always by date and engine number. There are descriptions of upholstery of the given years, lists of color shades, prices and photographs of individual designs. The book by the experienced journalist Jan Tuček, The Legendary Škoda 100/110, is definitely worth reading, in which he focuses on the Škoda 110 R and the circumstances of its creation on twelve pages. Color reproductions of original photographs and brochures are very valuable. In order not to delay the purchase of spare parts, but to report the number to the grumpy warehouseman, each owner of the old Škoda received a Spare Parts List. Not that you would buy any of them in Škoda today, but accurate drawings of individual units are valuable. Ask the sellers to search the library after their grandfather – the third bible of every Škoda will certainly be there somewhere.
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Example from an advertisement: A piece for half a million
This is what the car looks like from Czech advertising, for which the owner requires CZK 500,000. The non-original sash at the stern and sill rails can be removed. It’s worse with the new varnish, which did not stick to any of the period shades. Dart red ČSN 8125 looks different. The car has right-hand drive, many interior modifications, the radiator comes from a Škoda 1000 MB (the original 110 R engine required a more powerful, brass) and according to the battery moved from behind the rear seats into the engine compartment, we believe that in the past it ran on gas. Is this supposed to be an investment veteran?
Škoda 110 R
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