Oldtimers & Youngtimers in Serbia

[Kaiser Soze]

A nice way to start a new year is to stumble across an old car on your way home from the party

Datsun B210:

[Kaiser Soze]

1980 Audi 200, asking price was 350 euro:

[happyc]

it doesn't look too bad..
but there's some strange colour on the dashboard

[turbaxel]

Besides from the red (eeeek) and the dents in the hood not to shabby. (As far as images are concerned.)

And no "Schiebedach", which will probaby result in less roof rust

350 aren't to bad, arent they?
And since he vandalised the car, it'll be cheaper still

PS.: The Datsun has been used as a bird's cage? And it's got Munich`s Plates on it??? Weired.

[ruud]

Wenn ich richtig sehe, hat er rechts ein Ausstelfenster und links nicht.

gr, Ruud

[Kaiser Soze]

I saw the ad the same day it was posted and called, but the car was already sold. Red parts are trully horrible, and they make you wonder how was the car treated. For instance, where did the tachometer needle go, why is there no radiator etc. Either way, it was a complete car for a good price, even if it was only useful for parts - 200 interior is always a nice thing to have
To get the idea what is expensive (at least in terms of car parts, electronic devices and such), multiply by 4. For instance, imagine that 1 litre of petrol is 5.4 euros, Typ43 clutch 1000, new tires 1200 etc. Livin la vida loca

Last time I drove past where Datsun is was two and a half years ago, and I don't remember seeing it. This time it was morning on January 1st, so I didn't want to disturb and check if anyone's home and get a story on the car.

[Kaiser Soze]

I found some pictures from an oldtimer meet in Banja Luka in May 2011, where I drove this:



1963 Imperial, powered by 413 Wedge (6.8 liter V8) coped to a push-button automatic transmision. Interesting feature is an oval steering wheel with hillariously powerful servo pump (absolutely no resistance whatsoever), and headlights that are outside of body.





And here it is compared to Opel Kadett B Combi

[Kaiser Soze]

And now, a very interesting story.

1910 Audi truck, the last one in the world


The story of this Audi truck begins in river Morava, where it was accidentally discovered during gravel excavation.
Thanks to sand and mud in which it was buried for over 70 years, metal parts were in relatively preserved shape, there was even gasoline in tank and oil in engine.



Some data acquired from Audi Tradicion:
In 1898, Horch gets an order to produce a number of light truck for the army. 220 were built on passenger car chasis. Herr Horch names these trucks Audi. Usually, only chasis and engine were delivered to the buyer, and the bodywork was done later in independent workshops. These vehicles were usually built as Ambulance, light truck or passenger bus. Engine is 4-zylinder, gasoline powered, 3850ccm and 35ps @ 1800 RPM. Gearbox had 4 forward and one reverse gear. Lubrication had to be done manually every 50 kilometers, wheels were 32" with wooden spokes and solid tires, handbrake operated rear wheels, and foot brake was on drive shaft. Brake and clutch padding was leather (like on a bottom of a shoe), headlights acetylene with carbide, ignition magnetic Bosch.
This is the only surviving example, since the Audi museum in Zwickau was bombed by Allies and everything was destroyed.

How it got into Morava:
On the old road from Belgrade to Nis there was an old wooden bridge in village Skobalj. There, a truck fell into the river, and since its current is very fast at that point, it carried the truck for the whole 50 meteres, finally lodging it into willow roots. Later, the river changed its course and the truck remained burried under gravel and sand.

Right now it is about 80% restored.

[Kaiser Soze]

Another one bites the dust



It's too far for me to go in person, I'll try to find someone to take off any usable parts before the car is crushed, but as long as weather is like this...

This is how my Audi looked like after 2 days outside:

[turbaxel]

Pretty darn cold, isn`t it?

I (personally) wonder about *so* many deaths in eastern europe (not south eastern!). They ought to be experienced about this type of winter, aren`t they?

How long took it to recover your car?

[Kaiser Soze]

I dont know, but here it's the worst winter in decades. This week an extreme circumstances were declared (I don't know the exact term in English), i.e. the schools aren't working etc. Transport is almost brought to a halt, in remote areas the food and supplies are delivered by helicopters, and generally this snow and low temperatures are really affecting everything. Even here in the city it's getting quite difficult to commute, as the snow falls faster than it can be cleared - the time to shine for owners of Lada Niva.
In eastern Bosnia (I have relatives there) temperatures rarely go above -24C during the day, and at night they go as low as -37C.

Related to the topic, a picture from this morning:



It is a WWII-production Jeep that has been in Normandy, inside is a Volkswagen 1600 diesel engine (the most famous engine in this part of the world, along with Mercedes' 200D).

[turbaxel]

Hi,

the term is `state of emergyency`, if I'm right

Yeah, serbian SAR helicopters even rescued a few (non-)serbian bosniacs. A woman on TV just said: "Because the need help!"
Good things come out of the worst, some times

Nice Willys! But a VW diesel engine? This is as if Luke Skywalker would use a Tie-Fighter to fight the Death Star...

I like it!

[Kaiser Soze]

No, you know... The war is the ugliest thing there is, but the situation is not nearly as bad as the Hollywood movies would like you believe. All three sides did some horrible stuff, but else what can you expect in a civil war? Right now the only hatred Serbians have regarding the war is towards Angelina Jolie

German cars in general enjoy a god-like status on the Balkans, and VW and Mercedes, especially diesels, are at the top. 1600D is extremely reliable, the parts are really cheap, it has excellent fuel economy, and will run on pretty much everything, from Euro diesel and D2, to heating and transformator oil. There was even some talk about erecting a monument to Golf 2 in Sarajevo, due to a fact that it's the only thing that never let anyone down during the hardest times. There is a joke about how you check if your Golf is ready for a long trip - Put the key in the ignition and turn it. If it starts, you are ready, the engine will never stop running
As for Mercedes 200D, it is also a legend around here, but it has also always been expensive, and by the time it gets into shape in which you can afford it, you just don't want it anymore It has a nickname, created by those who dislike German cars and Mercedes, but I think only gives more credit to the car - Ciganska radost, which means "Gypsy joy". My take on the subject is, if an expensive car, such as Mercedes, comes to that state that even a Gypsy can afford it, and still be happy and drive it around for years without ever investing a cent, than it's a remarcable car indeed.
Another thing - they are under 2000 ccm, and it's a big deal around here. For instance, registration, insurance and taxes for my 1921ccm Audi are ~190 euros, but for 2144ccm 5S they would amount to ~300. Many old USA cars were converted to 200D for that reason. Even my first car, the W116 280SE, had a 200D engine in it.

[turbaxel]

Hmmm,

I just hope the situation sloooowly becomes 'normal' again.
Finally and in the *long* run, everyone would like to end up in the EU. So they have to come together a little. I should think they'd all benefit from this. Like it? Uhmmmm, that's a whole different story

Most people here I know have vivid memories of the war. Albeit third-hand (news/tv/...) only - luckyly. Everyone was deeply shocked to realize that a full fledged war (with ethnic cleansing) could still happen in Europe at the End of the 20th century. Just some 1300 km away.
So Angelina probably brought it back only for the very young ones. No need to tear her apart

Regarding reliable cars. What about the good ol' Yugo. I remember it quite positively from a long ago vacation in old YU.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 8YSNJLrzgU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN6sK1Lvi14

[Kaiser Soze]

Yugo and reliable - not in a same sentence
The only good thing about it was that it's cheap and simple. New was ~7000 DEM / 3500 euro, so people here can be divided to those who wanted a new car (basically same ones who now buy Punto and Dacia), and those who wanted something else, i.e. 10-15 year-old Volkswagen/Audi/Mercedes. Guess who is still driving around
What makes it popular among younger people is a fact that for a relatively small amount of money you can fit a Fiat 1.6 liter engine in it, and get respectable performance.

I personally don't like Yugo, never have. From position behind the wheel (like doing a number two while reading a magazine), to an overall feeling of bad manufacturing and cheapness.
What I do like is Fića - Zastava 750, based on Fiat 600.



You can say it is a car that motorised the nation. Production started in 1955 and went on to 1985, had a rear-mounted 767 ccm engine producing 27 horsepower.