When a veteran is mentioned, most of us will certainly imagine a cared for car that is spent most of the year in the garage and only looks out for “festive occasions”.
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But this Škoda Rapid from 1940 is a slightly different veteran. He is also loved and cared for, but he is also often in the team. Its owner Miroslav Strouhal does not own another car, so Rapida basically uses it like a normal car. He goes shopping in it, regularly travels with him on an almost three-hour journey from Prague to a cottage in southern Bohemia and back, but he has already transported a wood splitter, for example. Skoda itself recently drew attention to an unusual story.
“I normally drive because I don’t have others,” explains the owner. “What good would it do me? I’ve been going to work all my life by tram and train, it’s a nervous car around Prague. When I need it somewhere, Rapid will take me, “he adds.
But let’s go back first to the beginning, to 1940, when this Škoda was made in Mladá Boleslav. Apparently, the wealthier owner ordered the car, at least the version suggests. The Rapid OHV was a special design, which differed from the original Rapid by a jet body and a more powerful engine. According to company archives, only 101 specimens of the OHV aerodynamic design were created. The price of CZK 40,280 significantly exceeded the amount of CZK 33,200 for the standard version.
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Instead of a 1.4-liter four-cylinder car with SV distribution, the car received almost 16,000 OHVs and strengthened from 31 to 42 horsepower. With a standard three-speed transmission, the top speed was 110 km / h. However, Miroslav Strouhal’s specimen has 46 horsepower on the production plate and a stated speed of 120 km / h. The production at that time allowed for various modifications directly in the car factory, and so even though they do not mention such a variant of the encyclopedia, apparently at least one such piece was assembled for a customer in Czechoslovakia.
Why Rapid?
“I was looking for it and an acquaintance once found in my archive that a few cars had higher performance, allegedly some jets and convertibles. It was a factory modification, perhaps the grinding of the intake and exhaust pipes, “reveals the owner.
Rapid was bought by Rapid in 1978. And for good reason: he needed a car to commute to meet a girl. As he hurried, he nodded at a purchase that was not exactly what he had imagined. Rapid wished, but standard, his father’s. But then he discovered an ad only on the OHV version.
“It was a complete coincidence that I fell into such a car. But the young lady was a serious acquaintance, so I just bought the car. The young lady became my wife, today she is a grandmother, she is a grandfather and I am a veteran in the car, “says Strouhal with a smile.
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Shortly after the purchase, however, the car went into a ditch during parking and crumpled its entire bow. The young enthusiastic owner did not make a head out of the crimped sheets. He knew the car would need repairs anyway, and he estimated the work to be five summer vacations. Many parts could be obtained on stock exchanges, and as a mechanical locksmith he believed that he would simply produce something. But as he plunged into the renovation, he discovered more and more components he wanted to keep in perfect condition. In the end, working on the car took him thirty years. He was done in 2010.
“I did a general, from the engine, through the axles to the body. What could be saved, I saved, I made new thresholds, logs, sheets. I also made new pin bushings, I cast the steering myself. I also didn’t succeed right away, I had to finish something on the stove at home. Once it splashed out next to me in a pot of soup, “says the owner, who has embarked on more complex adjustments.
For example, he returned the original three-speed transmission to the car instead of the four-speed transmission fitted to the Rapida by the previous owner. There are also original details, such as an adjustable blind at the rear window or a cable-operated screen in front of the radiator, for faster engine warm-up in winter.
There are only a few extra things on the car: for example, non-original, but of course period, and also easily removable turn signals. The car originally had only inconspicuous tilting levers, which the drivers would easily overlook in current traffic.
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“Because I usually drive a car, I also have daytime running lights there, discreetly hidden above the headlights. And if I happen to need to back up at night, I take a magnetic flashlight out of my suitcase, which I can attach to the bumper, ”describes Strouhal.
An interesting element of the equipment is also a lamp radio from Mende. It has been in the car from the beginning, as the first owner ordered it.
The current one, with the renovated Rapid, covered 24,600 kilometers in 10 years, the furthest was in Switzerland, when he fulfilled his dream of a trip to the Alps. Only in the winter is a rare veteran at rest, Mr. Strouhal still hides him in the garage during this period.
From today’s point of view, the “mandatory equipment” that Strouhal drives in the car is also funny. The suitcase is still loaded with a pile of parts, if a well-maintained specimen needs something while driving. “I carry with me not only the original spare wheel, but also the head gasket, spool, spark plugs, V-belt and plenty of tools. So it used to be quite common, I have to take into account that Rapid is old. But I still enjoy it and I feel that the car also enjoys driving, “concludes Miroslav Strouhal.
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