How to Drive a Trabant

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  • čas přidán 9. 06. 2024
  • In a rare informational video, I show you how to steal my Trabant if you happen to find it with the keys inside. Typically, I don't let this happen, but you'll be prepared to make off in my communist box if I do. I'm not worried. You won't exactly outrun the police in a Trabant.
    Of course, all of these instructions assume you already know how to drive a car with a manual. I'm not letting you near my Trabant if you don't already know that.
  • Auta a dopravní prostředky

Komentáře • 3,4K

  • @tonywagner1626
    @tonywagner1626 Před 5 lety +4528

    I ordered one 11 years before reunification. Still waiting for it.

    • @Skyline25
      @Skyline25 Před 5 lety +114

      Is this a joke or actually real?

    • @dts5791
      @dts5791 Před 5 lety +187

      - Skyline - i can imagine this is real

    • @bubisbublek6864
      @bubisbublek6864 Před 5 lety +404

      @@Skyline25 In the eastern bloc you had to wait for years after the order. Back then it was a big deal to sell used cars because they gave more money for them because they didn't had to wait years for the cars this way.

    • @nichderjeniche
      @nichderjeniche Před 5 lety +278

      @@Skyline25 Real, in east Germany you had to wait like 10-15 years after your order for your new Trabant, this was normal. Because export to other east block countries like Hungary had priority. My parents been lucky they could find a used one and didn't had to wait. 👌

    • @janosvarga962
      @janosvarga962 Před 4 lety +200

      Depreciation was inexistent. You rolled out on the gate and your car worth 5x times of it price you paid.

  • @jordanbotsov9133
    @jordanbotsov9133 Před 5 lety +2543

    The longest car in the World! - 3 meters car and 30 meters of smoke

    • @lucfxgambitgaming7494
      @lucfxgambitgaming7494 Před 5 lety +16

      hahaha

    • @macko006
      @macko006 Před 4 lety +38

      no its a wartburg and one balkan band have song about it and in it say 4m sheet metal and 5m smoke....ofc its 2 stroke engine,people pour alot of stuff in it and it use to go just had bigger smoke lol much better car then trabant :)

    • @marko43zla23
      @marko43zla23 Před 4 lety +2

      Wartburg bre

    • @darkomiceski3755
      @darkomiceski3755 Před 4 lety +3

      wartburg limuzina czcams.com/video/pvG7vi3bFCY/video.html

    • @Nooziterp1
      @Nooziterp1 Před 4 lety +1

      Lol!

  • @baji.5900
    @baji.5900 Před 3 lety +2488

    Car: East German
    License plate: Hungarian
    Driver: American
    Hotel? Trivago.

  • @subsoar5734
    @subsoar5734 Před 3 lety +693

    “And up into 4th.”
    “And up into 4th.”
    “And up into 4th.”

    • @Fuzy2K
      @Fuzy2K Před 3 lety +37

      And reverse...
      And reverse...
      *clunk*
      There we go!

    • @RandyLent
      @RandyLent Před 3 lety +12

      cha cha real smooth.

    • @varsam
      @varsam Před rokem +7

      He is gentle ... and this is trabant, it needs some violence for a nice releationship.

    • @oof_tvyt
      @oof_tvyt Před 10 měsíci +3

      @@varsamJust like every relationship should! (jk)

    • @loliboly9100
      @loliboly9100 Před 4 měsíci +2

      did you mean
      10 print "And up into 4th"
      20 goto 10

  • @dereisbaer1977
    @dereisbaer1977 Před 4 lety +2175

    In Germany we say: "If you can drive a Trabant you can drive everything."

  • @jloveshe
    @jloveshe Před 4 lety +3515

    How do you double the value of a trabant? Fill the gas tank.

    • @damnedlegionaire
      @damnedlegionaire Před 4 lety +331

      How do you triple the value?
      Buy a fuel cap.

    • @asd3841
      @asd3841 Před 4 lety +108

      My farger once bought one. The gas tank was full, and the gas was worth more than the entire car. Early 2000's in Hungary. That one comes from here as well. :D

    • @ionavram4002
      @ionavram4002 Před 3 lety +40

      @@damnedlegionaire u can quadruple it buy buying a spare tire

    • @MrAranton
      @MrAranton Před 3 lety +71

      @@ionavram4002 Or putting a pair of sneakers in the trunk. Btw. That's also how you turn a Trabant into a sports car.

    • @harrisonsmetana2506
      @harrisonsmetana2506 Před 3 lety +8

      If these are this cheap we need some of these in the states

  • @boogaloohowie5105
    @boogaloohowie5105 Před 3 lety +615

    “What country is this from?”
    “It no longer exists.”

    • @emmanuelvakakis1374
      @emmanuelvakakis1374 Před 3 lety +6

      Simpsons

    • @hansgoober35
      @hansgoober35 Před 3 lety +18

      Put it in H!

    • @roya.cathcartjr.5042
      @roya.cathcartjr.5042 Před 3 lety +10

      @Boogaloo Howie it was produced behind the "Iron Curtain" in Soviet Union controlled East Germany.
      Essentially a Communist Government inexpensively manufactured automobile and like the owner of it in the video stated that seatbelts were laughable as the car had as much accident safety quality as if it were made of cotton cloth or tin foil.
      A step up in the automobile from the Trabant was the Lada and the Yugo.

    • @henryseidel5469
      @henryseidel5469 Před 3 lety +10

      @@roya.cathcartjr.5042 Yet the real reason of constructing the Trabant this way was the embargo of steel products against East Germany. That is why they used Russian cotton to make a car body from.

    • @roya.cathcartjr.5042
      @roya.cathcartjr.5042 Před 3 lety +8

      @@henryseidel5469 using those materials I'm sure kept the Trabant from being Rust Buckets like steel vehicles.
      Here in the State of Pennsylvania in the United States our highway department is generous with spreading salt on the roads during the winter months.
      You are lucky if your vehicle hasn't disintegrated into flakes of rust within 10 years.

  • @falklevien
    @falklevien Před rokem +34

    Z means zu (closed), A means auf (open) and R obviously means Reserve, which is the same in German and English.
    Our Trabant actually had a little device nicknamed "Mäusekino" (mice cinema), which was an engine rpm indicator with little green, yellow and red lamps.

  • @oficzer
    @oficzer Před 6 lety +2394

    I'm a simple eastern European. I see a Trabant I press like.

  • @cristian-mihailmiehs8926
    @cristian-mihailmiehs8926 Před 5 lety +1815

    My father bought a Trabant 601 in 1966, and I learned to drive it while I was a teenager. In 1981 I managed to buy my own Trabant 601S. Even now I regret that I had to sell it in 2001. I had not to take my hands from the driving wheel when changing gears; it was enough to stretch the fingers of the right hand, and to move the “door handle”, how my friends named it in derision. Only the reverse gear needed a strong push forwards and then downwards, which requested my hand to leave the driving wheel. For me it was a wonderful car, it worked summer and winter, day or night. Even when my battery was almost dead, I could start it by pushing the car alone, without any help: opened the driver’s window, choose the 1st gear, turned the ignition key, stepped out of the car, pushed with the shoulder against the doorframe, while holding the right hand on the gear lever. When, after pushing 2-3 steps, the engine started, I moved the level into the neutral position, than I opened the door and could sit on my seat and drive away. Nostalgic memories…

    • @gui18bif
      @gui18bif Před 5 lety +89

      Memories we don't get with new cars.

    • @vince_nevermind1159
      @vince_nevermind1159 Před 5 lety +51

      @@gui18bif that's why I like having a car older than me ^^ not a verry old car ( 1994 peugeot 106) but before every part of a car was electric car had character , on month ago I had my first problem due to a very cold winter , I had to go to my "university" ( technical university institute to be precise) for an exam on saturday morning , I get rid of the frost on the windshield than discovered my door was frozen , the key won't opened it , I entered the car by the passenger seat , go join the friend I was driving to the exam and ask him to help me with the windshield , we drove to the exam and he had to help me geting out of the car because the lock won't let me ^^ it was a hard time , but it was fun and a great story and I'm happy that I have those memory for later

    • @AmstradExin
      @AmstradExin Před 5 lety +32

      I don't think I ever saw a car again that you could manually start so fast. When I was a kid...i mean around 7-8...I was able to start the car with a little help from my dad sitting in it. The car is so light, it literally rolls away standing if you don't use the handbrake.

    • @Handyman1199
      @Handyman1199 Před 5 lety +27

      i just bought a ´89 Trabant 601L back in November ´18 and currently fixing it up. It was in the Garage of the preowner for 10 years, but i´ll soon get it registrered here in West-Germany.

    • @route6295
      @route6295 Před 5 lety +16

      My ...is built 1965.
      I'm the second owner. Yeah...still running!

  • @JaredSchmidt
    @JaredSchmidt Před 3 lety +81

    I was a US Expat living in Fót, Hungary from 2003-2005. My 6'6" self drove a Trabant every day a few kilometers from the house I was staying in to the bus stop to catch the bus to Budapest for work (how I fit, I'll never know). There are times I miss that car and all of its delightful quirks. It was amazing at times that the thing even ran. It's incredible that you have one in the US. Awesome stuff!

    • @justjaguar2314
      @justjaguar2314 Před rokem +4

      These old cars are a space mystery. They look tiny, and are too, but somehow, you can fit everything in them. They're absolutely magical.

    • @aqema
      @aqema Před rokem +8

      @@justjaguar2314 maybe because the paper thin walls don't take away from the inside space, they take away from your life expectancy.

  • @ekim000
    @ekim000 Před rokem +36

    A man who chooses to drive, let alone own and maintain, a trabby deserves a hug and a 6 month voucher for counseling services. Love your channel.

    • @DanteTorn
      @DanteTorn Před 2 měsíci

      That's the beauty of this channel.

  • @Gyrbae
    @Gyrbae Před 5 lety +586

    She'll go 300 hectares on a single tank of kerosene.

    • @FuzzBass66
      @FuzzBass66 Před 4 lety +55

      "Poot it in H!!!"

    • @JMG_86
      @JMG_86 Před 4 lety +41

      _"The country where this car was made doesn't exist anymore"_

    • @roflstomps324
      @roflstomps324 Před 4 lety +7

      @@FuzzBass66 HAHA. I can see that scene in my head... losing it.

    • @fiftyracer192
      @fiftyracer192 Před 3 lety +13

      Take it for a drive and you'll agree, Zagreb minik zloty diev!

    • @leiladekwatro3147
      @leiladekwatro3147 Před 3 lety +1

      @@JMG_86 and you'll agree

  • @unreliablenarrator6649
    @unreliablenarrator6649 Před 4 lety +928

    When I lived in Berlin in the early 90's "Trabies" were the favorite cheap first car for engineering students, and because of the (non-rusting) plastic bodies, you could easily make body modifications and spray paint them with graffiti for art. Lots of them were restored to "better then new" with machine shop parts. The Berlin government made a grandfather clause to exempt Trabants from environmental regulations as historical vehicles, and there are still a lot of Berliners who keep them as a hobby and join together for road trips on weekends. I think I may have lost my virginity in one, but maybe was too drunk to remember.

    • @cherrypepsi2815
      @cherrypepsi2815 Před 2 lety +222

      This entire comment was really wholesome until the last sentence

    • @aris95
      @aris95 Před 2 lety +10

      Is it allowed to drive Trabant nowadays because of extreme pollution?

    • @mhplayer
      @mhplayer Před 2 lety +41

      @@aris95 tanks can be driven as long as it's for historical events or things like that, i guess if you don't make it a daily and keep it in the best shape possible with regular restorations you might be able to do so :³

    • @liontron8317
      @liontron8317 Před 2 lety +59

      Yeah, we will now always remember the Trabant as that one dudes sex car

    • @AgentTasmania
      @AgentTasmania Před 2 lety +2

      A little skill and a dollop of enthusiasm, a swap to a better and cleaner engine wouldn't be difficult

  • @jimmybarr9411
    @jimmybarr9411 Před 3 lety +53

    Robert: This is a fairly rare car in the United States, so I want to save it as much as possible
    Also Robert: takes it auto crossing rally style

  • @SANVgmxDE
    @SANVgmxDE Před rokem +79

    Every German Trabant-Buyer would be shocked by watching you driving! ;) The engine of a Trabi is designed for very high tournaments and only if you force them, you are able to drive the Trabi quick and most efficient. Only by hearing the typical yowling of the engine, you can feel the Trabi is working well (which means 30 km/h in gear 1, 50 km/h in gear 2 and 70 km/h in gear 3).

    • @LMvdB02
      @LMvdB02 Před rokem +2

      You mean rounds per minute not tournaments hahaha.

    • @henryseidel5469
      @henryseidel5469 Před 11 měsíci

      @@LMvdB02 That's RpM ! (rotations)

    • @jan-pieter4538
      @jan-pieter4538 Před 9 měsíci +1

      No, rpm stands for revolutions per minute. As in a rotating revolver cylinder and “revving-up” an engine.

    • @jan-pieter4538
      @jan-pieter4538 Před 9 měsíci

      Addition: In the context of the performance of a machine gun: yes, rounds (bullets) per minute.

    • @henryseidel5469
      @henryseidel5469 Před 9 měsíci

      @@jan-pieter4538 Indeed the English term is 'revolutions', but a foreign speaker tends to avoid this word - in order not to mix it up with the history of the Soviet Union.

  • @stevethepocket
    @stevethepocket Před 6 lety +421

    "What country is this from?" "It no longer exists."

    • @marcoeisenkratzer7815
      @marcoeisenkratzer7815 Před 6 lety +37

      East Germany or "German Democratic Republic" (GDR), in german "Deutsche Demokratische Republik" (DDR)

    • @bullmannn
      @bullmannn Před 6 lety +43

      Pocket Fluff Productions put it in H!"

    • @billhill7330
      @billhill7330 Před 6 lety +7

      Patrick Grainger Blyat!!! You beat me to it!!!!

    • @brettknoss486
      @brettknoss486 Před 6 lety +41

      It will do 40 hectares on single tank of kerosene.

    • @balazsszabo9137
      @balazsszabo9137 Před 6 lety +15

      Hungary "H"

  • @Thunder-qf5dm
    @Thunder-qf5dm Před 6 lety +1823

    R Stands for Reserve
    Z Stands for Zu (Closed)
    A Stands for Auf (Opened)
    Great Video! Greetings From Germany.

    • @YouBazinga
      @YouBazinga Před 6 lety +142

      In Balkans it's:
      R - Rezerva (no need to translate)
      Z - Zatvoreno ("Closed")
      A - Ajmo ("Lets go") :)
      An amazingly durable car despite its questionable quality and constant mockery, since it first came out. I still see them driving around :)

    • @YouBazinga
      @YouBazinga Před 6 lety +74

      A few nicknames for the car:
      - trabi
      - pekperepek (the sound of the Trabant engine)
      - plastik fantastik
      - smrdljivac (stinky)

    • @johnnyhun1
      @johnnyhun1 Před 6 lety +17

      doesnt R for Rückwarts ?

    • @Blablubam
      @Blablubam Před 6 lety +21

      +johnnyhun1 no. He said its the reserve. not reverse. It wouldnt make a lot of sense.

    • @tonitreiber
      @tonitreiber Před 6 lety +17

      NOPE! it meany RALLYE!! :)

  • @sannox01
    @sannox01 Před 3 lety +13

    Brilliant video :-) I was camping many years ago and was awoken at 7am by the sound of 2 stroke engines, I stuck my head out of the tent, expecting some old 80's motorbikes but no, 5 of these things had arrived, driven all the way from East Germany, what really impressed me the most was I was camping at Loch Ness, in Scotland!

  • @simasimson5798
    @simasimson5798 Před 2 lety +4

    My neighbor still drives this thing. Some 20 years ago he put a Goldoni 14hp diesel engine in it and it still works somehow. Top speed 60km/h, fuel consumption something like 1,5l/100km.
    Best part is, Goldoni engine fits the transmission without any modifications

  • @catriona_drummond
    @catriona_drummond Před 5 lety +768

    Your Trabant has a heater?! Decadent Luxury! Standard Trabants were issued without one.

    • @grahamlive
      @grahamlive Před 4 lety +107

      Heaters are for capitalist pigs!

    • @EdPMur
      @EdPMur Před 4 lety +131

      Also, you don't listen to the radio. The radio listens to you (if it has one)

    • @thetrabantguy3934
      @thetrabantguy3934 Před 4 lety +41

      In the deluxe version it had a rpm gauge and a fuel gauge with a radio installed and a heater

    • @metro6028
      @metro6028 Před 4 lety +4

      @Nihil Patel to frigging funny caught me by surprise!

    • @thefreedomguyuk
      @thefreedomguyuk Před 3 lety +2

      It's the high spec version they sold as Trabant Limousine.

  • @SpeedComparer
    @SpeedComparer Před 5 lety +753

    This really makes me want a trabant

    • @caromac_
      @caromac_ Před 3 lety +20

      Get in line.

    • @tonywagner1626
      @tonywagner1626 Před 3 lety +56

      Order today and get it by 2035!

    • @phorzer32
      @phorzer32 Před 3 lety +7

      Hey Speed Comparer. Ich hab einen, kannst ihn dir ja mal für ein Video leihen^^

    • @gotthatswag4502
      @gotthatswag4502 Před 3 lety +7

      The car is just plastic trust me my grandma drives her 50 year old to this day and its a mess

    • @phorzer32
      @phorzer32 Před 3 lety +9

      mess? No, its just a car. I have one and can drive it like any other car.

  • @ThePressurizer
    @ThePressurizer Před 10 měsíci +3

    I lived and worked in East Germany for a year and lots of enthusiasts there lovingly keep their Trabants alive. One day I was idling at a red light and suddenly there was a horrible rattling noise. I was worried it was my engine, but then I noticed there was a wheezing Trabant behind me.

  • @jussikuusela7345
    @jussikuusela7345 Před 3 lety +35

    My maternal grandfather had a Trabant when I was very young... he tuned it up to a beast, says my family. He then got a Wartburg, which he also slightly modded. He was a guy who did what he wanted when others did what they could. Always tinkering with something, always learning more about different gadgets. He even put some of that spirit in me. Sadly he didn't have many more years with us. Sometimes I wonder how he would have felt about living through the digital revolution for example... would he have liked the more modern cars etc... he would be 105 now though and likely never driven a 2000's car.

    • @raven4k998
      @raven4k998 Před 10 měsíci +1

      How to Drive a Trabant simple just floor the hell out of it like crazy and you'll be fine🤣🤣🤣

  • @WorksOnMyComputer
    @WorksOnMyComputer Před 6 lety +639

    You forgot the most important feature of the Trabant - character. Also if you are a young single bloke and a Trabant is your daily driver and you meet a girl who still wants to marry you. You know you have a keeper.

    • @Bemoderso
      @Bemoderso Před 6 lety +22

      Daniel Dacey she must be really desperate

    • @KainRazielMT
      @KainRazielMT Před 6 lety +71

      We're talking about the car, not you Ben.

    • @jamesrobinson9194
      @jamesrobinson9194 Před 6 lety +11

      Pushing it will save on gym fees 😂😂 and you'll appreciate buses and trains more

    • @baronvonlimbourgh1716
      @baronvonlimbourgh1716 Před 5 lety +8

      Actually, girls think it's cute and it does get you lots of attention.
      Almost as effective as a puppy haha.

    • @antigen4
      @antigen4 Před 5 lety +1

      yes so true - such things can be a 'quality woman magnet' !

  • @AndreAndre-yd5gw
    @AndreAndre-yd5gw Před 5 lety +337

    My grandpa had the kombi version ( station wagon ). I remember him and I driving from Budapest to lake Balaton and picking up two hot hitchhiking East German girls. Along the way I tried my limited German and they tried their limited Hungarian. At one point the focus of the conversation became the car. I told them we called it 'Paper Jaguar'. They understood why and we had a good laugh. That car never broke down and it was cheap to run. It was great for fishing trips and giving rides to beautiful East German girls. We dropped them off at one of the camping sites at the lake. I got a kiss from the blond girl right on the cheeks. I felt like a man. I was only 11.

    • @sbrunner1234
      @sbrunner1234 Před 3 lety +29

      It was called Rennpappe in Germany, which means racing-cardboard (box) ...

    • @davidjones332
      @davidjones332 Před 3 lety +32

      @@sbrunner1234 I remember driving in Germany just after the Hungarians relaxed their border controls with the fall of communism. The autobahnen were full of Hungarian Trabants off to see the wonders of the free world, and all trailing long plumes of blue smoke!

    • @CsImre
      @CsImre Před rokem +1

      @@davidjones332 Those were likely East Germans.

    • @justjaguar2314
      @justjaguar2314 Před rokem +2

      The wildly underrated, old cardboard cars. Good ol' Trabants.

    • @tomsmodeltime6662
      @tomsmodeltime6662 Před rokem +4

      I once drove a Trabant myself, it was great fun and felt like driving a MiG-15 fighter. Incredibly noisy and smelly, so at 60 km/h it was like driving at 250. Super cool, but not somthing you would rely on.

  • @pulesz8
    @pulesz8 Před 3 lety +7

    I am from Hungary and my father used to have a Trabant when I was a child. The sound of the engine brings back memories, thanks for the video!

  • @Zatracenec
    @Zatracenec Před rokem +10

    We had Trabant and we did a pretty long trips with it. I live in Czech republic and we went to Slovakia, Germany, etc... My father loved that car and I really never understood why. Today I'm starting to get it. Nice video. I'm glad it still runs even in the US.

    • @henryseidel5469
      @henryseidel5469 Před 11 měsíci

      Went from East Germany even to Poland, Hungary and Romania in the Trabant. The maximum speed was about
      110 kmh. On a motorway it was a nuisance, but on ordinary roads it was not a problem keeping pace with the ordinary traffic flow.

  • @PearComputingDevices
    @PearComputingDevices Před 4 lety +146

    I've always aid a Yugo was a huge step up from this car and a bus pass was a huge step up from both of them.

    • @aris95
      @aris95 Před 2 lety +8

      I remember trabi was almost the same pre-war third reich DKW technology. Yugo was designed 40 years later.

    • @joanatadeusz5352
      @joanatadeusz5352 Před 8 měsíci

      The Yugos were made on the basis of Fiat. Mechanically, everything was from Fiat. Only the bodywork of the Yugo 45/55 was designed in Serbia. The same story for the later Yugo Sana, based on the Fiat Tipo. @@aris95

  • @MrCmon113
    @MrCmon113 Před 5 lety +296

    The hardest part of driving a Trabant in the DDR was to get one in the first place.

    • @klausadrift7568
      @klausadrift7568 Před 2 lety +10

      Yeah, a 15 years waiting list and the price continued increasing throughout the years. If you didn't have the right amount of cash at the end of your waiting time, then you lost your bid. You had to wait another 15 years then. And there are people who are still thinking back with nostalgie about the "good old days".

    • @donaldduck4489
      @donaldduck4489 Před rokem +3

      @@klausadrift7568 it was a mix of 18, 15, 9, and if you were lucky 2 or 3

    • @alex52741
      @alex52741 Před rokem +1

      zumindest als Neuwagen und gebraucht überteuert

    • @renegade25_banhammertech_40
      @renegade25_banhammertech_40 Před rokem +1

      @@klausadrift7568 literally nobody ever waited more than 2 years for one of them

    • @klausadrift7568
      @klausadrift7568 Před rokem

      @@renegade25_banhammertech_40 Many thanks indeed, I take your good word for it. I visited East Berlin in 1969 and was explained by some locals about how the system works and of course the long waiting list.

  • @tsopuaifa
    @tsopuaifa Před rokem +3

    The SAAB is a treat I gotta say. Worked building SAAB in the 80's but the 96 V4 is the coolest of them all.

  • @Martipar
    @Martipar Před 11 měsíci +2

    I love how you acknowledge the cars you feature are often terrible and shouldn't have been made in the first place but should also be looked after and preserved. I like the "This is crap, I don't know why it was made but it was and so we should ensure it's looked after as there's not many around" attitude.

  • @qwertyuiop6006
    @qwertyuiop6006 Před 5 lety +651

    Lmao imagine you are driving and someone overtakes you in this thing.

    • @perun3706
      @perun3706 Před 5 lety +87

      Imagine when he overtakes other cars. Those drivers must be boiling to see a cheap communist car shaming their "big tiger".

    • @zsszeli
      @zsszeli Před 5 lety +29

      Lazo Vodolazo stock Trabies won’t overtake you in normal conditions (if you both keep speed limit and stuff). These don’t really have power in any ways. 2 strokes hardly get to 100 kph, believe me.

    • @nichderjeniche
      @nichderjeniche Před 5 lety +42

      @@zsszeli 130kmh is possible with luck. source: my own eyes.

    • @mr.appalachia9787
      @mr.appalachia9787 Před 4 lety +22

      *Trabant suddenly transforms into T-72B*

    • @JamieBainbridge
      @JamieBainbridge Před 4 lety +8

      You have to imagine it because it will never actually happen.

  • @imdjc4
    @imdjc4 Před 3 lety +145

    A true car aficionado...no music, no talking and no anything else. Just car. Bonus points for you sir.

  • @greenfire887
    @greenfire887 Před rokem +2

    My dad let me drive one when I was a kid, living in east Berlin. It’s nice to see that they are still some of those cars around. I enjoyed your video.

  • @turulmagyar2768
    @turulmagyar2768 Před 3 lety +3

    Very special to see a Trabant (from Hungary) driving around in the US. I can imagine they are very rare. If you are in need of spare parts please get in touch. I have a Wartburg 1.3 (1991) One of the last build before the closed factory. Enjoy the Trabant. Greetings from Hungary.

  • @1wandersmann
    @1wandersmann Před 6 lety +195

    The smell when you start the trabant when it's cold. As a 80's kid from thuringia in east germany a trabant smells like childhood. :D

    • @peytonpanos7026
      @peytonpanos7026 Před 5 lety

      Is that even a real country?
      Edit: nvm its probably a town name

    • @dejan.b17
      @dejan.b17 Před 5 lety +18

      @@peytonpanos7026 No it is not a town name, it is the name of one of 16 German states. Thuringia is located between the state of Bavaria and Saxony

    • @peytonpanos7026
      @peytonpanos7026 Před 5 lety +1

      @@dejan.b17 thank you.

    • @teutonalex
      @teutonalex Před 5 lety

      Stimmt.

    • @toniadvanced7726
      @toniadvanced7726 Před 5 lety +4

      2 Takt Geruch ist einfach geil und für ostler lebensnotwendig

  • @sseventyturbovolvo8562
    @sseventyturbovolvo8562 Před 6 lety +213

    As an experienced Trabant owner for years I must tell you this: There is no need to have the engine idle so much and therefore no need to constantly shift forth and back between 3rd and 4th gear. My engine worked perfectly fine for over 23 years!!! in every condition of the year, the lubrication works well in 1st to 3rd gear if the car pushes the engine downhill, it will not seize at all! Its bult so, that there is always enough oil, also consider the power rating and cooling if it is pushed, it cant overheat, the fan is still running via the belt, no need to be supercareful. Rather get new bearings for the crankshaft, it does not sound good anymore... after changing the crankshaftbearings the engine is fine for the next years coming. Enjoy!! :-) P.S.: Mix fuel to oil you should go more to 33:1 in winter, in summer I used always 50:1 ...so 33:1 is ALWAYS good, but leaves a bit more smoke behind...

    • @danmackintosh6325
      @danmackintosh6325 Před 6 lety +23

      Agreed, I would worry more about wearing out the gearbox/linkages/clutch etc with the constant shifting than I'd worry about engine wear. You stand a better chance of being able to get engine parts in the US than drivetrain parts (heck I think you'd only need to find appropriate pistons/rings, the barrels could even be sleeved when too far gone to bore out & bearings/seals ought not to be an issue at all). Love the sound of the gear whine and 2T buzz, like a 4 wheeled version of my MZ TS250 :)

    • @texbankuk
      @texbankuk Před 5 lety +2

      @@danmackintosh6325 Nobody has mentioned the Wartburg Knight Which l drove like a 2T motorcycle Hell to anyone following (Smoke) It Had 3 cylinders classics.honestjohn.co.uk/reviews/wartburg/353knight/ I liked it And has anyone driven the older Czech Skodas?
      Other quirky cars on my list in No Order The Japanese Kei Cars ,The Euro Quad cars and vans with the Kubota Engines and belt drive (CVT ) transmission (Lot of models The French? Axiam Megavan is seen sometimes around the UK in Streetmarkets or short local delivery runs www.autotrader.co.uk/vans/used-vans/AIXAM/MEGA www.aixam.com/en/
      Another Classic was the Dutch Daf with A Renault power plant & CVT Dafs only Car!. Daf =Daffodil (Built in the Netherlands) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAF_66
      More? How about the UK Bond Cars of the 60's Which were propelled By British Motorcycle engines and you had sometimes climb into the Engine compartment to Kick start the engine! BTW Reliability was bad Lighting 6 volt Joe Lucas !!! 🤔
      Reliant 3 wheelers and the 4 wheel Kitten/Rebels. Not forgetting the Bond Bug(with the Leicester cheese wedge body)
      Another Manual gear shift type Does any one have experience of the Renault 4 Push pull dashboard Gear shift? Became 2nd Nature after taking a few corners albeit slow. PS The Pudding stirrer shift on the MK1 Minis which were really fun to drive. Started by the Solenoid button between the front seats farm6.staticflickr.com/5825/21093740794_722220155f_b.jpg all British cars Had a Crash 1st gear till the Mid 70's and the Syncro would break often on 2nd sometimes 3rd Leaving you to Change down Carefully ....Motor cycles NEVER have syncro change but never encountered a Bad change in Many years riding Bar an early Test ride whose bike had stripped the 2nd gear cog
      PPS Have encountered Some big differences on Parking brake lever layouts RE the Handbrake sited on the side next to the drivers door and the Shooting brake on the Dashboard on Bench seat Models (with Column gear change)

    • @XH1927
      @XH1927 Před 5 lety +1

      Motorcycles don't need syncros, they're almost universally constant mesh. There may be exceptions far enough back in history or on any odd Eastern European cycles of which I'm not aware. Be interested in knowing about them if there are!

  • @kovacszoltan9196
    @kovacszoltan9196 Před 2 lety +3

    My Mother drove our Trabi with owner 100kmh , suddenly one of the piston rings decided to break and made deep grooves into the cylinder .
    We came home with only one cylinder in the freezing winter time , no power , no heating , that was an adventure ! :)

  • @smokerich8120
    @smokerich8120 Před rokem +3

    Hi, I am from germany and the "Trabant 601 s deluxe" was my first car in 1996/97.
    It was a great car and a nighmare. I could repair and maintane everything all by my self, no electronics just bare mechanical Problems and there where not much.
    For the downside: it was loud, I melted in the heat of the summer (no ac) and was freezing in the winter because the heater was a joke. It uses the heat of the engine to heat up the air that comes into the cabin - it does not work well.
    But great memories and a great east-german car.

  • @IstvanF
    @IstvanF Před 5 lety +618

    As a Hungarian I love you kept the Hungarian number plate 😁

    • @gabortamas7493
      @gabortamas7493 Před 4 lety +36

      Helyesen ugy hívják : license plate.

    • @domtron8873
      @domtron8873 Před 4 lety +7

      I grew up in Germany and these were the subject of many funny jokes from my parents. So this car is a bit of nostalgia for me

    • @datsun100a3
      @datsun100a3 Před 3 lety +8

      Istvan Farkas some friendly Hungarian people made a nice game called “The Long Drive” you should check it out

    • @IstvanF
      @IstvanF Před 3 lety +18

      @@gabortamas7493 Köszi, anglia északi részen number plate-nek hívják 🤓

    • @IstvanF
      @IstvanF Před 3 lety +3

      @@datsun100a3 Thanks I'll have a look

  • @MonoChorMe
    @MonoChorMe Před 4 lety +199

    The fact that you have that red sticker on the rear, saying: "When I grow up, I'll become a Mercedes! ^_^" ... I found that to be so cute lol :D

  • @test-rj2vl
    @test-rj2vl Před rokem +3

    This stick shift is the best anti-theft device I have seen so far. would be interesting to see hidden camera footage someone trying to drive away with that and then give up after 3 hours of trying :D

  • @3d-marabu
    @3d-marabu Před 3 lety +4

    Have you ever checked whether this was a Trabant sport? In the sport version there were 2 pairs of trainers in the trunk! 😂🤣😅
    But you have to admit one thing to the Trabi ... the thing was indestructible...and always ready for action in wind and weather. In East Germany, the Trabi was something like the Model T for the USA.

  • @QuizmasterLaw
    @QuizmasterLaw Před 5 lety +232

    The Trabant (trabi) is a ZERO emissions vehicle!
    it has Zero emissions controls in place!

    • @windhelmguard5295
      @windhelmguard5295 Před 4 lety +16

      a recent study carried out by the kraftfahrtbundesamt (federal institution of powered traffic) found that the trabant is, to this day, the cleanest production car ever built, outperforming even smart cars in terms of amount of CO₂ produced per kilometre driven.

    • @zacharytracy3797
      @zacharytracy3797 Před 4 lety +3

      Got the name of that study?

    • @eDoc2020
      @eDoc2020 Před 3 lety +6

      @@windhelmguard5295 Cleanliness of exhaust and amount of CO2 are completely separate issues. CO2 is relatively harmless and is just a function of the fuel burned. Dirty exhaust can contain nitrous oxides, unburnt fuel, and more which have direct health consequences.

    • @windhelmguard5295
      @windhelmguard5295 Před 3 lety +3

      @@eDoc2020 the truth is that the laws of physics dictate that, the less fuel you're burning, the less dirt of all kinds is produced in total.
      all gasoline engines produce nitrous oxides, more so than the trabant even, since they have to burn more fuel to get the desired result. soot is also produced by all combustion engines, difference being that "dirty" old cars produce soot with larger particles (hence why their exhaust is visible and considered dirtier) which are fairly harmless because the human nose can filter those out, the soot modern cars produce has smaller particles (which is why you can't see it), which can actually get into the lungs and cause health issues.

    • @eDoc2020
      @eDoc2020 Před 3 lety +4

      @@windhelmguard5295 My understanding is that the more tightly controlled AFR provided by EFI reduces emissions at the engine itself (too lean makes NOX and too rich makes soot) and the catalytic converter reduces the emissions more. Also not burning the oil surely helps. Do you happen to have the emissions numbers for the Trabant?

  • @sim.frischh9781
    @sim.frischh9781 Před 6 lety +95

    You don´t drive Trabant, Traband drives you (insane).

  • @wrightmf
    @wrightmf Před rokem +6

    Interesting. Old guy here and I remember driving cars with column shift, I didn't find it difficult. However, I can imagine very difficult if learned that in one car like your Saab, then jump into a Trabant and it's the opposite! No gas gauge, reminds me of early VWs with no gas gauge. I find it fascinating you manage to get a Trabbie and license it for the roads. I imagine many people turn their heads in puzzlement "why does that car sound like a leaf blower?" I've heard the story "too bad they didn't design it with dual exhaust, it'd make a fine wheelbarrow."

    • @ValleyOakPaper
      @ValleyOakPaper Před 8 měsíci

      It's probably registered as a vintage car.

  • @chaysefox
    @chaysefox Před 3 lety +2

    This is the kind of content we need should we end up with a Trabant that we need to know how to operate.

  • @Snaketide0
    @Snaketide0 Před 6 lety +510

    And up into 4th... And up into 4th... And up into 4th... Made me laugh harder than it should

    • @dubl33_27
      @dubl33_27 Před 6 lety +1

      ikr

    • @1988Demien
      @1988Demien Před 6 lety +4

      All those old shifters are like that you put it into gear or you don't or it just skips.

    • @ElevatingEurope
      @ElevatingEurope Před 6 lety +4

      “And off the gas at 70 mph... 70 km/h, ‘scuse me.”

    • @adamhanby8220
      @adamhanby8220 Před 5 lety +5

      1:28 And reverse is all the way forward, and down... And down... And down- there we go. That's reverse.
      I wish I had one.

  • @vagant091
    @vagant091 Před 5 lety +128

    beware! keep some space, keep some space. a trabant has no breaks, a trabant has a "delay" only
    it's amazing to see a trabant driving on the streets of the united states

    • @roberttoth8923
      @roberttoth8923 Před 3 lety

      and it's made of cardboard

    • @RobiBue
      @RobiBue Před 3 lety +5

      roberttoth8923 how many people does it take to build a Trabi?
      Two! One holds the cardboard, the other one applies the glue! 🤣😂

  • @amishrobots
    @amishrobots Před rokem +1

    I gotta love that there is a can of starter fluid, a wrench, and a roll of tape sitting ready in the dash tray, as absolutely essential accessories for driving this thing

  • @piccalillipit9211
    @piccalillipit9211 Před 2 lety +1

    A FRIEND OF MINE drove one across Africa - it was hysterical...
    But the cornering is astonishing in them, they are so light they corner AMAZINGLY.

  • @brettb.7425
    @brettb.7425 Před 5 lety +51

    As I’m sure you know by now, idle quality in a 2 stroke has a lot to do with how well the crankcase is sealed. As seals and gaskets begin to leak, idle quality suffers. Pressure and vacuum tests verify this situation though. Thanks for the video!

    • @Chappomusic
      @Chappomusic Před 2 lety +2

      It's fairly simple job , maybe it's also the reason that he finds 70 a good cruising speed . we always had pedal to the metal and drove 105 -:)

  • @whothoughtthiswasagoodidea
    @whothoughtthiswasagoodidea Před 5 lety +62

    My grandfather still has one of these badboys.
    (The 4 stroke actually but still)

    • @rauschi3863
      @rauschi3863 Před 3 lety +4

      Then it was one of the last. With the VW engine.

  • @poly_hexamethyl
    @poly_hexamethyl Před rokem +5

    Actually seems like not such a bad car. Reminds me a bit of the old VW Beetles, of which I had several in the 60's/70's. Nice and simple, easy to get to the wiring behind the dashboard. Nowdays you have to dismantle the entire dashboard to change a light bulb. Nothing wrong with sophisticated, electronic, high-performance cars for those that want them, but it's too bad they don't make any simple cars at all any more these days. I also had a Lada, which was built like a tank and simple too. You could practically do a complete overhaul with the few hand tools provided in the tool bag :-)

  • @sbrunner1234
    @sbrunner1234 Před 3 lety +10

    There is another way to keep the engine from ceasing when you coast, and this is to give the gas-pedal a little jolt once in a while when you go downhill. You could step on the clutch and just rev it, or simply accelerate for fraction of a second. The freewheeling in fourth gear is per design. Many of these small engine cars drive like digital: gas or no gas. My mom had the Western version of the Trabbi a VW Polo that probably did not drive that differently, although it had a four-stroke engine, that one that later made it into the Trabbi in its final years. You do not need a tachometer to change gears. You can easily hear and feel when to switch to keep the engine happy. In these small engines, the torque band is so narrow, specifically with these two-strokes, that "feeling" it is is much easier than setting it into to any given RPM range. Given the roads in those days, you rarely would have driven it much above 30 MPH anyway. The 50-65 MPH it made was adequate for the East Autobahn that had a speed limit of 80 and 100 km/h (while in the West you had of course none).

    • @henryseidel5469
      @henryseidel5469 Před 11 měsíci

      It was not that easy. The two-stroke engine was lubricated by a mixture of oil and petrol, so you always had to make sure the lubrication was not interrupted with the engine getting blocked.

  • @DaNeShady90
    @DaNeShady90 Před 6 lety +667

    I love that you kept the Hungarian plate :D

  • @jurek.425
    @jurek.425 Před 5 lety +61

    6:48 *a wild tricycle appears"

  • @robmonkey
    @robmonkey Před rokem +3

    It's nice the windshield wipers are always right in your line of sight. Otherwise you might forget you have them.

  • @Buledde
    @Buledde Před 3 lety +3

    This is so interesting, I always wondered why my Mom used to use the gas so inconsistently even in modern cars.

  • @ivansidorov6391
    @ivansidorov6391 Před 5 lety +17

    No longass intros and straight to a topic.
    My man.

  • @tpsu129
    @tpsu129 Před 5 lety +599

    I saw one on the road a few months ago.
    I was like, “Holy Shit, a Trabant.”
    My friends were like, “what’s a Trabant?”
    East Germany’s best automobile. The Pride of Communism.
    They all watched the video of the manufacturing process. And laughed at the poor comrade trying to bend the metal door and Goodson it would shut.

    • @Sachsenfuchs
      @Sachsenfuchs Před 4 lety +5

      From which Country came you? :-)
      I'am from GDR! :D

    • @maikwei8402
      @maikwei8402 Před 3 lety +10

      Lada was the prestige car

    • @ionavram4002
      @ionavram4002 Před 3 lety +15

      metal door? komerade i thing u mean cardboard and cotton

    • @TheLtVoss
      @TheLtVoss Před 3 lety +6

      @@ionavram4002 he referred to the metal frame on that the car bord cotton mix was secured with resin

    • @RobiBue
      @RobiBue Před 3 lety +1

      Maik Weiß the Lada Niva? 😅✌️

  • @therustedtincan3385
    @therustedtincan3385 Před rokem

    the cameras pov on ur silent drive is rlly good. Being so far back in the car looks great!

  • @jeanman501
    @jeanman501 Před 3 lety

    I was watching Amazing Race and they had to drive a Trabant, a search of CZcams brought me to your video. We met at Stone Mountain in 2016 I have the 1967 MC the same color as yours. I love your videos!

  • @Skaitania
    @Skaitania Před 6 lety +64

    What this neglects to show is how behind you all the leaves turn to brown and fall off. But it looks cute, with its wide eyes, looking in wonder at the huge American cars, who try not to step on it.

    • @agingwheels
      @agingwheels  Před 6 lety +21

      You are the most elegant commenter

    • @hamfish225
      @hamfish225 Před 6 lety +4

      I loved that there was a Nissan leaf that drove past too

    • @quadronom
      @quadronom Před 5 lety

      I would frame that comment and put it over my bed

  • @metal0n0v
    @metal0n0v Před 6 lety +800

    its made from duroplast - it never rusts!

    • @GerdLPluu
      @GerdLPluu Před 6 lety +128

      The panels are. The rest rusts like crazy, you just don't see the thing rusting on first glance.

    • @lazarnedeljkovic5615
      @lazarnedeljkovic5615 Před 6 lety +75

      And gets eaten by rats

    • @powellchester6580
      @powellchester6580 Před 6 lety +49

      And goats! In case you ever run low of fodder in the collective farm, comrade...

    • @ribik64
      @ribik64 Před 6 lety +17

      Mental Gear and a pig from the movie Bubamara

    • @jozefsan
      @jozefsan Před 6 lety

      fiberglass

  • @stefanemanuelsson2201
    @stefanemanuelsson2201 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Having the 4th gear in up position makes perfect sense since then the lever will be out of the way most of the time. Like the R4 that in early 70s had the 4th when the lever was pushed in but later changed to normal config which meant the lever was in the way most of the time

  • @ordinaryelectric2081
    @ordinaryelectric2081 Před 2 lety +1

    This video is interesting. I can relate to the turn signals because I drive a 2002 GEM car with non-self-cancelling turn signals and a burned out interior blinker fuse (so I can't tell if they're on without sticking my head out the window) - and I was learning German around the time that the Berlin wall came down and seeing a Trabant takes me back.

  • @zsoltminya5718
    @zsoltminya5718 Před 5 lety +123

    I have only one question HOW DID YOU FIND A HUNGARIAN TRABANT IN GOOD CONDITION???????????!?!!!?!!?

  • @BiTDI_Micha
    @BiTDI_Micha Před 6 lety +67

    I love the Trabant. Great video :D
    Greetings from Zwickau, where the Trabant was built :D

    • @RandallFlaggNY
      @RandallFlaggNY Před 5 lety +1

      Galant, greetings from NY. I was shocked to see the Trabi had cup holders. I thought they were considered Bourgeois... no?

    • @nichderjeniche
      @nichderjeniche Před 5 lety +2

      @@RandallFlaggNY Like most old european cars, Trabant did not have any cup holders, he put him there himself.

    • @LouRaX
      @LouRaX Před 4 lety

      Galantdriver :D

  • @thatdeathstepguy8719
    @thatdeathstepguy8719 Před 3 lety

    This is the best car you reviewed and i cant decide if its an insult or a praise.

  • @jonifresh8813
    @jonifresh8813 Před 3 lety +4

    0:29 Z, A and R stands for "Zu"(closed),"Auf"(opened), and Reserve(reserve).

  • @bluemoondiadochi
    @bluemoondiadochi Před 6 lety +420

    for all who smirk at Trabant: you shouldn't. people find Trabant a laughing stock because it's outdated, small and austere. but, it's not the car's fault that it stayed in production way too long and technology moved on. that was a political decision. it's not the car's fault that it was conceived as a budget car in a poor country. btw. this car was technically very innovative when it first appeared (for the time): light, front wheel drive, reliable, zippy, rugged and affordable. i mean, just look at comparable generation japanese small cars - huge similarities - small, square, 2-stroke. secondly, it was the first car to use recycled materials. thirdly the car was designed in a very short time out of a project which was originally intended to be a motorcycle with trailer.
    the car itself has preformed it's role of providing transportation on an affordable budget in countries with horrid road infrastructure plagued with usual parts shortage. and for this it needs to be respected both as a technical solution in austere social context and for the service it has provided in such conditions over decades.

    • @MetalTrabant
      @MetalTrabant Před 6 lety +13

      Very well said, sir! :)

    • @sirboomsalot4902
      @sirboomsalot4902 Před 6 lety +11

      Amen

    • @Gynkys
      @Gynkys Před 6 lety +30

      >poor country
      it was made in communist (east) germany darling, it was just a very very poor car
      and it deffinetly wasnt anywhere close to zippy, or rugged,... or reliable, they were very crappy cars when they came out, and they remained that way. the japanese had rotary engines in that period arleady, quite good luxury cars, and very good cars in general.

    • @charredlizard1389
      @charredlizard1389 Před 6 lety +32

      east the average person in east germane was very poor 'darling' the Russians did not care all the much for the Germans and the only real reason the country was there was as an extra buffer. it wasn't until Germany unified that people were finally able to live proper lives and the infrastructure was rebuilt to a reasonable standard.

    • @MetalTrabant
      @MetalTrabant Před 6 lety +26

      @Gynkys: It IS zippy, rugged and reliable, and I know that from actually using one as my only car for 6 years now, not from some stupid Western gossip... only one breakdown was in that period, and always starts if the battery is good.
      Of course it needs some servicing here and then, but which 34 years old car doesn't? Definitely needs less servicing than a rotary Mazda or NSU from that age, or a luxury car filled with useless electronic crap destined to pricy failures...
      And for the record, there were Trabant prototypes with rotary and diesel engines, just the frickin' Communist Party didn't allow any large modifications to the base model.

  • @BarneyBarnett
    @BarneyBarnett Před 5 lety +74

    The older a car is the faster 70km/h seems
    Edit: We had a Morris minor 1000 70km/h seems like 100mph
    I had ride in a 1919 t model ford... it Feld like 100 mph when it was at 30km/h

  • @MH-uc7zt
    @MH-uc7zt Před rokem

    This car sounds more like a Brush Cutter attached to a skid steer. I viewed a video of the Trabant quality control line...Here people were adjusting fit and alignment with hammers, blocks of wood, body checking and kicking panels into alignment. Very high tech and precise.

  • @JohnSmith-nj9qo
    @JohnSmith-nj9qo Před 2 lety +1

    Imagine being this guy's neighbor and watching him drive up and down the street in this little death trap contraption.

  • @domi1617hun
    @domi1617hun Před 4 lety +53

    5:10 it has an old hungarian licence plate!😮

  • @holgerczubka5453
    @holgerczubka5453 Před 4 lety +13

    I learned driving a car in a Trabi when I was 12 years old. This was in 1984 in the GDR.

  • @allistairneil8968
    @allistairneil8968 Před 2 lety

    This is quite simply the best darn car video on utube. Serene.

  • @mbc1994
    @mbc1994 Před 3 lety

    Have had and have som real old cars myself, one of the funniest things is that you feel like a rallcross driver when driving according to speed limit, to brake the speed limit is more a goal while driving, especially in winter conditions. And you are really DRIVING, your shifting, braking etc gives direct feedback, a modern car is so forgiving I have seen 10yo stealing their parents cars, wont happen with e.g a Trabant.. Cheers from Scandinavia

  • @ibims2353
    @ibims2353 Před 6 lety +118

    The Z stands for "Zu" which means closed, the A stands for "Auf" which means open and the R stands for "Reserve" which you can probably figure out yourself^^

    • @agingwheels
      @agingwheels  Před 6 lety +15

      It was the Zu I had trouble finding. This is mostly because I thought German for "on" was "ein", but I clearly know nothing.

    • @gerionbenz4507
      @gerionbenz4507 Před 6 lety

      Jonas Simson power

    • @brockbain8656
      @brockbain8656 Před 6 lety +1

      Ein is singular isnt it "ich bin ein mann"
      Eine is feminine and Einen is when you possess something (I believe)

    • @4ssiprinz
      @4ssiprinz Před 6 lety +11

      'ein' has two meanings in German. As a pronoun (a/an), and as an adjective (on). However, in German, you can switch stuff 'on/ein', but valves and similar machinery are referred to as being open or closed, instead of on or off. Also, 'ein' in the sense of 'on' was later replaced by 'an' ('anschalten' meaning 'to switch on'). I know, our language is weird.

    • @commanderbaccara8578
      @commanderbaccara8578 Před 6 lety +2

      Broienk Baieyne You're completely right! Ich komme übrigens aus Deutschland 😉

  • @lonewanderer7693
    @lonewanderer7693 Před 6 lety +38

    I am from Germany and my grandma had her Trabant from 1961 and still drive like Pro

  • @tannerin
    @tannerin Před 3 lety +1

    I love the shelf that runs the entire length of the dash for the copious tools you’ll need to bring with you

    • @juliogonzo2718
      @juliogonzo2718 Před 3 lety

      Probably just need a hammer, flat head screwdriver, and a couple wrenches. Roll of tape too

  • @MrMarco84
    @MrMarco84 Před 11 měsíci +1

    My childhood was just before reunification of Germany and my hometown was completely full of these cars and I remember how faszinated I was of how much smoke these little cars produced. The exhaust pipe was covered by a thick black stuff up to 10 cm from the end so you can tell how much oil it burned up!

  • @thomasallen4340
    @thomasallen4340 Před 6 lety +148

    Now that's a true chick magnet. Love the Trabants

    • @Replevideo
      @Replevideo Před 5 lety +10

      Definitely. If his rivals for a young lady's attention only had mopeds, the Trabant owner was king.

    • @dreadpenguinlord340
      @dreadpenguinlord340 Před 5 lety +19

      It's a magnet, but oftentimes the wrong polarity...

    • @bunzeebear2973
      @bunzeebear2973 Před 4 lety +4

      Blind deaf chicks that can't detect odors?

    • @hunchanchoc8418
      @hunchanchoc8418 Před 4 lety +2

      My wife loved the vibration coming up through the passenger seat. No kidding.

  • @zaimm.7539
    @zaimm.7539 Před 3 lety +13

    As a German, I'm happy to see that this Car is stil getting respected

    • @ZGryphon
      @ZGryphon Před 3 lety +2

      I'm not sure "respected" is really the word. :)

    • @topg7290
      @topg7290 Před 3 lety

      Jo sind meine Eltern damals gefahren. Schönes Auto.

    • @henryseidel5469
      @henryseidel5469 Před 3 lety +1

      @@ZGryphon Don't forget the technology is over sixty years old. And it is still working. After my grandfather had come back from the war he was happy about this little "pearl", which was his first car after a life in sadness and misery.

  • @KRAFTWERK2K6
    @KRAFTWERK2K6 Před 3 lety

    As an east german, who's grandfather used to drive a Trabbi, i'm really happy to see this east german classic getting some love from overseas :)

  • @Ignisan_66
    @Ignisan_66 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Trabant was very popular here in former Czechoslovakia (now Czechia and Slovakia), my grandpa owned a combi version.

  • @CTXDful
    @CTXDful Před 6 lety +29

    Im from east Germany near the City of Dresden if you live here you kinda enjoy this there are Hundreds of these... not as Historical pieces but as normal every day Cars they keep on working there are some that are 50years old and have lived through 800.000 kilometers because Replacement Parts are so cheap to find here... especialy in the smaler vilages you can see lots of these...

    • @vasek987
      @vasek987 Před 6 lety +3

      Thats interesting. You can barely see any Trabant in Czech republic today. Sometimes in the villages sometimes some enthusiast...

    • @Jonathan1234345
      @Jonathan1234345 Před 6 lety +1

      Yeah ikr here near Erfurt you also see them quite alot.

    • @kampfmeersau
      @kampfmeersau Před 5 lety +6

      vasek987 But you czechs still have a lot of old Skodas and a fanbase around it. Beautiful cars.

    • @Innochamp
      @Innochamp Před 5 lety

      Leider nicht mehr. Ein paar fahren in Dresden als Mietautos rum, der Rest in nur noch in Liebhaberhand

    • @Innochamp
      @Innochamp Před 5 lety

      @@Jonathan1234345 aber viele sind es wirklich nicht mehr.

  • @mikesolarz1561
    @mikesolarz1561 Před 4 lety +12

    I used to have a pea green one in 2001 when I lived in Poland. I loved it. It was very quick in first gear. Loved the smell of the 2 stroke exhaust fumes. 👃

  • @J.R.in_WV
    @J.R.in_WV Před rokem +1

    If it’s got an inconsistent idle that varies wildly I’d look at the throttle shaft bushings on the carburetor first as this is usually the issue when you can’t get a consistent idle. When worn badly enough they’ll allow a vacuum leak that changes often due to where the shaft ends up letting air in each time you let off the gas.

  • @alisterbaker-lowe
    @alisterbaker-lowe Před 3 lety +1

    Ah, yes. Leave us with the 'peaceful' ending that is a Trabant wheezing down the road, while many parts are rattling, clucking, and the engine groans down the road. And all while melting a small icecap.
    How peaceful.

  • @REVOLTAR53
    @REVOLTAR53 Před 6 lety +38

    If you are having problems with idling, your engine might be loosing compression, or you have incorrect air/fuel ratio. What type of carburetor are you using? If it is the 28H 1-1 it has a bypass idling fuel and air nozzles, or how do you cal them... passages inside the carb itself, so you may need to clean them, there is also a needle screw behind the throttle - choke linkage that needs cleaning and re-adjusting. Older carburetors seem to be running without issues from my experience. Oh, and I almost forgot, the level of the fuel inside the carb needs to be set correctly, so it does not overflow and flood the intake. There is a needle that gets worn down above the float ball, if it is faulty, not closing the fuel valve will cause the gas to drip underneath the car in a few minutes. Hope you find this helpful!

    • @95thFoot
      @95thFoot Před 6 lety +1

      It might also be an air leak between the air cleaner and the carburetor. Mine does that, and I have to get a better quality air intake hose. Put your hand over the air cleaner while the car is running. If the car starts to shut off, the air path is OK. But if it does nothing, and then only starts to shut off when you put you hand over the carburetor throat itself, then the air intake hose needs to be replaced.

    • @REVOLTAR53
      @REVOLTAR53 Před 6 lety

      I have removed the air filter and replaced it with a cone filter - the car runs with no problem, and runs the same without an air filter, so a bad hose should not be a problem.

    • @michaelszczys8316
      @michaelszczys8316 Před 5 lety

      I would have to say a Trabant engine doesn’t get hurt from going down a hill with throttle closed so much as more likely from running too lean or not having enough oil in the gas in the first place. With needle bearing connecting rods you KNOW when you don’t have enough oil.

  • @captlarry-3525
    @captlarry-3525 Před 5 lety +17

    I still prefer the 2CV...but this has undeniable motorhead charm.

  • @JohnMitch
    @JohnMitch Před 3 lety

    I am amazed you were able to get it registered for use in the USA

  • @ondoreoku
    @ondoreoku Před 9 měsíci

    I am surprised at how this video is much more interesting than what I thought it was going to be. Love cars

  • @robertsarghei9408
    @robertsarghei9408 Před 6 lety +48

    Trabant owner here! This car is a legend to me! Apreciate the video.

  • @Wolficefang
    @Wolficefang Před 4 lety +18

    OMG This is exactly the car Bob Parr had in The Incredibles!!!

  • @cristian-mihailmiehs8926

    I also possessed and drove a Trabant from 1980 till 1996. I loved that car and I toured the entire country (Romania) during holidays. Nostalgy. I have to tell that I used to change gears 1-4 without taking the hand from the driving wheel. I held it with 2 fingers an pull-rotated it with the other 3. Only for reverse I Had to use the entire hand, but that gear is possible only when the car stands still, so it is no problem… Best regards.

  • @NandNProduction1
    @NandNProduction1 Před rokem

    I am not sure if you are going to read this, but I just bought a Trabant because of your videos. I also got the original german version of the manual. The answer to your gas valve (peacock?) question is A=Auf (open) Z=Zu (closed) R= Reserve (reserve i hope this is spelled right). If you ever have a problem with the translation just DM me.
    I love your videos have a nice day.