Making a Trabant Tramp Go and Stop Again

I make this Trabant Tramp go and stop so the owner can sell it. There's not much more to it than that.
Patreon: / agingwheels
Merchandise: teespring.com/stores/aging-wh...

[@agingwheels]

Full Disclosure: The original plan was for me to buy this Tramp and reverse the millions of modifications. I ended up not buying it because this Tramp, as of right now, has no title.

[@TheSpinCycle7]

I assume your state laws require a title even for a vehicle that old...?

[@agingwheels]

Indeed

[@TheSpinCycle7]

What a load of crap.. my opinion is once a car is 20 years or older, a bill of sale should be more than sufficient considering they've got an electronic trace of the VIN in many cases. Can you not apply for a title? When I moved back to Georgia from Vermont, I did not have the title for my RX-7 as VT does not require one. I kinda had to jump through a few hoops, but they issued me a Georgia title for it. Was the tramp previously registered in a state that did not require a title due to the age ?

[@agingwheels]

This is an imported car with an unknown history. I have no idea if it was ever registered in Missouri or any other state.

[@TheSpinCycle7]

Sorry, I had an appointment to get to and was only able to watch like the first 30 seconds of the vid.. and to be honest I know nothing about Trabants. Maybe another will come along that is at least road legal. :) I'll pray to the rotary gods for ya and maybe they'll put in a good word with your people.

[@EradWir]

Here's a Joke: In the DDR in East Berlin there was a Crash of 2 Trabants there where 50 People injured. The 2 Drivers and 48 People who got in a fight over the replacement parts.

[@no00ob]

Ok quite a good one

[@mastermindd]

XD

[@mastermindd]

There are some jokes of the Trabant in hungarian too. Sad that they can't be translated to english correctly.

[@EradWir]

@@mastermindd even the German one loses some of its bite

[@emolgatheelectricsquirrel6734]

haaa

[@edgybatfurry5996]

How to quadruple the value of your Trabant: Step 1: have the specialized brake tool Step 2: have a full tank of gas

[@raven4k998]

and have a brake drum on your wheels muhahahahahahahahaha

[@raven4k998]

@Sonstiges step one get a container full of Trabants bring it to America step two sell em and make your small fortune muhahahahahahahahahahahaha

[@raven4k998]

@Sonstiges so get another one then I am happy with my bmw i3s which can do zero to moving at the speed limit in a fraction of the time it take's an old gasoline vehicle to do it in in the summer muhahahahahahah

[@andrewbailey7999]

25:53 that car going across was timed perfectly to make me think you'd lost your mind and were driving like a madman without having tested the brakes yet!

[@briananthony4044]

Yeah that got me too. I was wondering why he was driving so fast before knowing if the brakes work.

[@MarkLoves2Fly]

Same for me, I thought, "What is he doing?!?!" XD

[@maks.tardis8304]

Same I genuinely thought that was the Trabant zooming past.

[@zesteinl6497]

HA stands for Hinterachse(rear axle)

[@OtherTheDave]

Are you sure? Maybe they just wanted to give whoever was fixing it something to laugh about?

[@squirrelnut]

@@OtherTheDave Plenty to laugh about already on that car without adding more.

[@Fuzy2K]

@@OtherTheDave Maybe it was "HÄ?" :P

[@johnnason7019]

@ghgg humor would be inefficient!

[@ThatAwkwardTeenager]

Never thought I was gonna learn German from a Car channels comments

[@stevethepocket]

♫ _It's a Tramp_ _But I love it_ _Breaks a new part_ _Every day_ _It's a Tramp_ _It was stock once_ _Just a shame it didn't stay that way_ ♪ ♫ _It's a Tramp_ _It's a two-stroke_ _It's a shitbox_ _It's a pile_ _It's a Tramp_ _But I want one_ _Yes, even I admit I like its style_ ♪ ♪ _There's no roof or doors, it's got no trunk_ _Less of a car than a hobby_ _I guess it's just a piece of junk_ _But, I guess, I dig this Trabbi_ ♫ ♫ _It's a Tramp_ _It's a kübel_ _And there's nothing more to say_ _If it's a Tramp_ _'Least it's running_ _And I wish that I could drive it someday_ _Wish that I could drive it someday_ _Wish that I could drive it someday_ ♪

[@Owlpunk]

I'm German, but I'm not mad at you, I'm laughing my ass off :D Also, my brother and his best friend owned a Tramp once, that car was ridiculous fun. Sadly, it burned out after an unfortunate fireworks mishap one new year's eve.

[@EdHotchkin]

Sounds like it died happy! :)

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

_OOPS...._

[@the_clockwork_jackass6897]

I'm incredibly curious as to how that happened. My father used to have a 1972 Ford F150 that we accidentally set on fire in the same way on independence day in 2002, but, after it was done burning, he put new soft lines, an interior, and some over melty stuff, and for about $1000 dollars, he got it running, he sold it last year when he got a better work truck. In our case, a firework fell over, shooting a sizable amount of sparks, under to truck, thankfully, it was running on its usual fuel, being whatever drops of half-lacquered gas/petrol he found in other bits of machinery.

[@Owlpunk]

@@the_clockwork_jackass6897 Due to the Trabant's building material ("Duroplast", which is basically a kind of low-grade fiberglass), the chasis was also quite damaged and unsalvageable. And even if it hadn't been: Trabants (even Tramps) are still to this day extremely common and cheap in Germany - and more so in 2009, when this happened - so it simply wouldn't have been worth it.

[@the_clockwork_jackass6897]

@@Owlpunk I honestly didn't know they didn't have a metal body. I wish they were common in the states, I'd love to have one. It wasn't really worth it for my dad to restore that F150 either, they're common, and it wasn't it good shape before the fire, but he was stubborn and cheap, he's now slightly less stubborn 😂

[@friddevonfrankenstein]

I'm not actually certain about this but I believe "HA" stands for "Hinterachse" (rear axle). I also have to say I love your videos, especially the ones about Trabants. There is something really nostalgic about those good ol' twobangers. I was born in the GDR (1989...close call :D) and I remember the 601 being a pretty common sight for quite a while even after reunification. I can literally smell it 🖤

[@HKlink]

I'm German and HA immediately comes to mind as Hinterachse, rear axle, so I'd say you are right!

[@TheIdiotPlays]

"There's probably a special tool for removing these springs as well, but i prefer to try to kill myself with needle nose pliers." Ahh the good ol' pliers.

[@DSFARGEG00]

I swear I've done more damage to myself than useful work with needle nose pliers.

[@Lucas-tr9hh]

Yesterday I almost killed myself with needlenose pliers working on a lawn mower. A LAWN MOWER.

[@1320gearhead]

Your supposed to remove the emergency brake lever from the old brake shoe and install it on the new one.

[@John-1984]

I like how he complained about the bodge job on the fuel tank when he neglected to do the rear brakes correctly.

[@geoffdearth7360]

I've done that before.

[@TH3C001]

Oh well, car only weighs 2 ounces lol.

[@mannequinfukr]

Im doing brakes on mine and how do you remove that lever? Me and my dad tried alot to remove it but no avail

[@tisstuart]

@@mannequinfukr You are probably done by now, but itis a slip notch. Twisting the bar around and poking the shorter tab along the slot undoes it. Sometimes though they are bent a bit. So a pair of vise grips can unbend the tiny edges.

[@fisqual]

I'm so mad that I've never thought to use a ratchet strap to hold down brake shoes during assembly...

[@kevinsmyth364]

Must agree many hours swearing and shredding fingers on my old viva

[@johncoops6897]

I've always fitted the springs, then levered the brake shoes (as a pair, joined with the spring) into position. Much easier... isn't that how everyone does it?

[@johanness.2553]

Yeah please fix your own Trabant! And it was nice to hear how you tried to speak German. Greetings from Germany

[@delcat8168]

When removing brake springs... I save time by grating my knuckles with a cheese grater first ;-)

[@Fanzindel]

😂

[@ferrumignis]

Free tip Friday: For small tricky sections of brake line, flare the brake tube first, and bend it afterwards. Use a piece of string to measure the length of the old one. Don't forget to forget to put the tube nuts on first so you can enjoy the experience at least twice.

[@agenericaccount3935]

Ok. That was 30 minutes of my life I don’t mind losing. Well done AW

[@prieten49]

In my neck of the German woods, Kübel means trashcan. I am so impressed with your skill, persistence and improvisation (both in humor and metal/plastic work). You are a genius! Never a dull moment.

[@samserios6428]

"The boxes on these sad "links" which is german for "left", so im sure these are the right ones." No, they are the left ones :P

[@classicpontiac37]

Looks like a mix between a mini cooper and a VW thing.

[@brokkrep]

you have a point

[@stevethepocket]

Specifically, it looks like someone kitbashed the front of a Mini with the back of a Thing, like how people say the Aztek looks like the halves of two cars mashed together.

[@andreasvonsinnen]

@@stevethepocket actually, what you call "vw thing" is called "kübelwagen" (bucket car) in germany and is also the civilian version of a military car, this time in west germany, just like it has been mentioned in this video for the trabant tramp in east germany, which has just been called "kübel" (bucket)

[@buddyclem7328]

It also looks like a VW Squareback. I still miss my 1971 Volksamatic.

[@twogitsinacar4811]

Reminds me a little bit of a Mini Moke

[@Dsdcain]

I can't help it. I was sitting here yelling at my computer screen "Use JB Weld for now, JB Weld!" like an idiot. Glad you heard me. *:-)* Love your channel. I sincerely thank you for sharing these videos.

[@1320gearhead]

Brake fluid will soften JB weld. I know because of a custom hotwheels car I was making. I used some JB weld on it before soaking it in brake fluid to remove the paint. After it soaked for a few days I found the Jb weld was had gotten soft so I had to redo it.

[@ayitsyaboi]

Haha same. The whole time I was like "epoxy... epoxy... epoxy... okay soldering iron."

[@TH3C001]

It's funny you say that because I was thinking to myself, "plastic weld it, you gotta try to plastic weld it dude."

[@daveshrum1749]

Just found your channel the other day. My favorite saying of yours so far has to be " using the power of guessing" lol. For some reason that killed me I had tears coming out of my eyes🤪.

[@setupbilateral2080]

you should have drilled small holes to the end of the crack dude. Anyway, nice videos. Seems like you're turning into a genuine eastern germany citizen who compensated the lack of new parts by fixing the old ones. I am really proud of you

[@MobileTech296]

I know very little about cars and even less about brakes but even I could tell there was something wrong as soon as you took that first wheel off. That double take was hilarious.

[@Crisdapari]

Safety glasses when working with springs always a good idea.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

*AGREED.*

[@fixins]

You haven't made brake lines until you've flared the line without the nut on it or on backwards. The resulting line after cutting the flare off will be too short.

[@Daaremikkel]

Been there. Done that. Once or maybe even twice.

[@Stoney3K]

The same with fabricating cables, when you soldered the connector on but forgot to put the boot on the wire beforehand.

[@Ragnar8504]

@@Stoney3K Less annoying but still bad: some European mains plugs require the cover to be slid over the flex before you connect the flex to the plug. In that case it's only screws though. Worse: use crimp splices to repair a cable and forget to slide the heatshrink on first.

[@PiperAmadeus]

i love this guys when he chooses the most simple yet not safest route to fix something.

[@paulhorn2665]

Here in germany you see the Kübel/Tramp sometimes going around...But someday, somewhere in Germany there was a Stanley-steamcar meeting and one of the visitors was chasing a stanley-steamer with his Trabant-Kübelwagen for getting some photos of the nice Stanley Steamer 735. Things you do not see often and I doubt you see in the USA :-)

[@DeadBaron]

Okay the ignition cutoff got me LMAO.

[@zwz.zdenek]

I suppose it was made ridiculous on purpose to fool the wannabe thieves.

[@Stoney3K]

@@zwz.zdenek "Ha, nobody is going to steal my car now that it's got an immobilizer!" You just need to be cautious of people picking your car up and flipping it over while it's parked, just for the practical joke of it, but hey, at least they can't steal it. Not even by putting a paperclip across a damn key switch.

[@adamjoanis4955]

Watching you for awhile, found this old gem looking back. The chrome "brush guard" is 3/4" and 1/2" copper plumbing pipe... wow that's awesome, who ever did the updates to this car was a tradesman. Cool shit.

[@HubNut]

Ah, brake springs. The greatest evil in the world.

[@OdykKayne]

Nice to see you here too Hubnut! :)

[@connorm430]

As illustrated with Tuk! :-)

[@Crazy_Borg]

Had to wrestle with those times before. We agreed to disagree. With a hammer.

[@lofty7180]

oh ian, can you imagine the unremarkable car tomfoolery that you and mr ageing wheels could get up to,,,what would he make of wonderful little TWC ?

[@MichaelSmith-on1ig]

Isn't spring brake a thing in America and why is it in a commie car?

[@Spekticon]

I was at a point in this video where there was basically no talking and I started falling asleep. Then this damn AMBER alert plays on 5 of my devices. I swear my heart rate jumped to near deadly 😂

[@TremereTT]

Why do some Trabants have a heated rear window? In order to warm your hands while pushing.

[@SpotTiger]

22:26 - The horror on His face. 😂 The genuine and sudden realisation of what has just been discovered is absolutely glorious! Had to rewind a few times to bask in its glory!🤣

[@TomBaddley]

A year later, and I'm just now catching this video. Fun to watch you work, particularly when things turn out ok.

[@andrewgaeraths1737]

I love that double take when he notices there's no brake drum!

[@trekaddict]

Every time I see these things, I bemoan you not having one of the very late ones (built between April 1990 and 1991), which had a VW-sourced four-stroke engine.

[@Pedroleum100]

... and finally a fuel filler cap in the rear.

[@NFS4LFE]

What a sweet little machine! Shame it was customized by a blind man.

[@trashcarfj45]

I don’t think blind is far enough he must be deaf as well because he would of heard everyone say how ugly it looks

[@raven4k998]

@@trashcarfj45 hmm I wonder if the car could be modded to use the bmw i3's range extender engine then you'd have a 4 cycle engine with slightly more power that is probably more efficient on gas running the Trabant that would be cool to see done to one of them

[@ericdoe2318]

5:19 hes going to pop!

[@DavidPlass]

I love how excited you get over your successes!

[@OdykKayne]

Another great video! Glad to see more Trabant content! Looking forward to seeing more of your own...the more I see them the more I want one!

[@XeloX]

I love the progress you show throughout this video, the first brake line took you a minute and 20 seconds to make but the second only took 8 seconds! nice job

[@CreeperGreenMC]

Maybe HA stands for hintere Achse or Heck Achse (both means rear axle)

[@doktorzappergeck492]

You're right, it's short for Hinterachse. VA is Vorderachse (front axle).

[@BreakingBrick]

08:46 yep, HA means Heckachse.

[@NCCElroon]

Takeshi Nakagawa Heckachse?? Niemand sagt Heckachse. Es heißt Hinterachse. Genauso wenig wie man es Frontachse nennt. Sondern Vorderachse. ..

[@BreakingBrick]

NCC ich weiß ja nicht, in welcher Region du daheim bist, aber bei uns in Südbayern sagen wir "Heckachs". Heißt auch bei uns "der Butter" und "Tür" und nicht "Türe". Spätestens beim Krapfen oder zur Semmel haben wir eh ein Verständigungsproblem.

[@NCCElroon]

Takeshi Nakagawa Mittelfranken :D "Krapfen" und "Semmel" sagen wir hier auch, wobei wir Semmel auch häufig als "Weck" oder "Weckle" bezeichnen. Die Butter ist für mich allerdings feminin! :P

[@MrManniG]

Watching you from east Germany, seeing thar you live the spirit of drivin in east germany in the 80's... It is just it was more like 2 years until you found that part you needed instead of 2 weeks. Please never stop posting Trabant videos

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

It takes a special kind of dedication to own and service a Trabant. My hat's off to you, Sir! (It helps to have your own car lift!)

[@quas392]

That is absolutely amazing. Congratulations on working on it.

[@terranceolive6792]

I'm not sure why I like this channel so much the unusual cars or his zany monologue

[@thierrybudts6687]

Amazing I smelled the fumes,love your channel ,good vibes, greets from Belgium 🇧🇪

[@RichieRouge206]

Great video, still good to watch and not boring at all

[@emolgatheelectricsquirrel6734]

GO GET ZHE BUCKET

[@leftmorningstar6954]

because the donald trump wanted it just like that..( yes life is hard) :( whats 9+10= ??

[@tiborklein5349]

Shnell, shnell!

[@intel_celeron_d_326]

I GOT ZHE BUCKET

[@usaverageguy]

Your videos are so fun to watch. Thanks!

[@danieldimitrov6062]

Bulgarian joke: The DDR sent 5 Trabans to the United States for advertising purposes. The Americans answered them - cardboard models are good, send us real cars.

[@rv9990]

Loved to see more video’s on this quirky car

[@don7406]

Great job on the brake lines. I was hoping you would make your own. Great video.

[@karmatose]

My favourite brake line bending tool is a beer bottle. Cheap and there's usually at least a few kicking around.

[@BalooUriza]

"I hate springs" reminded me of "A Case of Spring Fever", which is a movie I strongly recommend looking up the rifftrax of.

[@MichaelSteeves]

I made the same attempt to plastic weld the water tank under my tent trailer! I went through the same process -- soldering iron followed by epoxy after initial failure.

[@StapleCactus]

The previous owner of my 4wheeler decided to hold the plastic fancy bits on by screwing it into the gas tank (surely by accident). I got the screw out and melted the plastic just like you did. Works a treat! No leaks! Unfortunately, the brake system is a pressurized thing, so I don't think it would ever work.

[@Hessi]

A comrade had bought such a Trabant Cabriolet from the NVA in 1990. It was a strange feeling to drive through the barracks in such a car as a German army soldier. After all, the GDR called us “class enemy”. :-) The Trabant felt amazingly robust, even though it was so small. Of course, that was no comparison to our VW Iltis, which was at least capable of off-road driving. At Citysax you can order an electric conversion kit for the Trabant, then it finally doesn't stink and rattle any more. It also accelerates faster. :-)

[@averageforzaplayer1048]

10:40 chrisis fix

[@Carstuff111]

A NEW VIDEO, WOOT! Been looking forward to a new video :) And no, the video was not boring :D

[@uni-byte]

Fill the tubing with fine sand (pack it in) before bending and plug the ends. This will prevent kinking.

[@AlexanderTrefz]

Put fine sand in a brakeline sound like very poor advice

[@uni-byte]

@@AlexanderTrefz It's actually fine. You just need to flush the tubing after the bends have been made. Of course.

[@stefanhaustein503]

most entertaining/educating car channel ever! makes me want to buy a beat up Trabby and go get to it :-)

[@NormanF62]

A Trabant Kubelwagen for the NVA! Kool find. 👍

[@TheCreedBratton]

I love your videos. Please keep them coming!

[@clivekibbler4578]

good fun to watch thank you for making this film

[@lolimanLP]

I am from Germany🇩🇪, i am not getting mad at you for speaking german, i think it’s hilarious😂

[@tiborklein5349]

Why didn't you just slap some Flex Tape on that reservoir?

[@xbox360e9]

Tibor Klein i don't think ot was major damage. Phil Swift would have beaten his ass if he used flex tape on minor damage. Actually i asked the same question. They make clear flex seal

[@Schmidt54]

SLAP IT ON WITH THE MIGHT OF ZEUS

[@tiborklein5349]

If you do the thing and you do it right and you don't fuck it up, it works! It just works! It's not a fucking miracle product... SLAP ON THAT FLEX TAPE!

[@Schmidt54]

I SAWED THIS TRABANT IN HALF

[@tiborklein5349]

THATS A LOTTA DAA MIDGE!

[@mooneyes2k478]

Kübel is short for Kübelwagen, and essentially means "bucket-seat", because military versions of both the Trabbie and the Volkswagen Beetle had such seats, so as to keep soldiers from falling out of the thing.

[@McRocket]

You have a natural charm.

[@xirabolt]

Maybe Germany needs to be more like Sweden. I ordered a new radio module for my car from a shop in Sweden, it arrived to my hotel room in Minnesota literally 3 days later. Now anything from California, on the other hand, will spend 4-5 days in Sacramento.

[@Bortbytingen]

Hi, great fun watching this just FYI : -they sell "compact" models of the pipecutter -instead of trying to use tools in the back working on the fittings -rotate the wheelcylinder instead, the pipes can usually stand the bending

[@lewisjob2899]

I love your fast pace video clip

[@mariusberger3297]

as a german, I found you speaking german absolutely hilarious! Thank you for the great entertainment, greetings from me and Jürgen, my 1977 Trabant 601 deluxe

[@Simcard__]

Can't you transfer the lever to the new shoe?

[@davydmir6565]

Rust= the most manliest make up!

[@jm036]

Mazda owner spotted lmao

[@Jammerx65]

Was pretty interesting, btw. HA on the rear drum assembly stands for "Hinterachse" or rear axle.

[@edoardomigliavacca9343]

I love how when entering in the garage you putted the foot like if the brakes failed you would have stopped it

[@Barabass42]

He was a bit too fast to be able to stop at the intendet spot, but he would have stopped it. A Trabant isn't too heavy, after all.

[@blhtml]

I like your personality! Keep it up!

[@pcno2832]

9:00 Add Trabant to the short list of cars, like recent model Corvettes, the Opel GT and the Cadillac Allante that used transverse leaf-spring independent suspensions. This one doesn't seem to have the anti-roll properties (which would require 2 mounting points) for which the Corvette was famous, but it looks very similar. From the camera perspective, it looks as if the shocks are acting as non-load-bearing McPherson struts, though it could be the trailing links holding the wheel hubs steady. Whichever way they did it, it seems to work.

[@captainzoll3303]

mini moke vs trabant tramp vs citroen mehari!

[@Mike-uy3zp]

Good video bud love seeing your videos show up in my notifications all the way here in Australia.

[@MonaichFother]

Scotland here, this channel is a MUST WATCH but he needs to lose the background music please.

[@Dave_Sisson]

I went to carsales.com.au and searched for "Trabant". Sadly, but not surprisingly, none are for sale in Australia. I wonder if there are any in this country at all?

[@BobAbc0815]

For a while new Trabants got delivered whithout fire extinguishers because of a fire extinguisher shortage. Aparently this one was build during a front brake shortage.

[@Nick-yj4yi]

I'm a German and I'm enjoying it very much...

[@uhfnutbar1]

I like your videos there fun and your well spoken host :)

[@mrflamewars]

I had to transplant the parking brake lever on my Toyota Corolla, so that would apparently be a common thing. Drum brakes are the work of beelzebub and anyone who prefers drums over discs is insane.

[@95thFoot]

I own a Trabant, and it's a wonderful little car, unbelievably reliable. Easy to fix, when needed. Invest in a brake spring compressor and a brake retaining spring clip depressor. Cheap tools that make your life much easier and you don't get hurt by flying springs ad pinching pliers. Oh, and when you own a foreign car, and you have to order parts, buy the whole brake system replacement parts. Cheaper to batch your purchases, and you build up a spare parts storage for your vehicle as needed.

[@fredroper398]

great video reallly enjoyed watching

[@westernspud504]

one thing i like about this guy is yeah he knows mechanics mess up ,Now you dont have to order break lines just make them yourself ! on any car

[@kitaryakysubae3156]

This is why I love small, lightweight peppy cars. They're just fun to drive, like gokarts.

[@zoiglbua627]

The "HA" on the Box is the german abbreviation for Hinterachse which translates to Rear Axle. Since there is just one cylinder you dont need to differentiate between left or right

[@bynrdskynrd]

Robert, the noise of the Trabant IS the engine. Add sound dampening to the engine bay=quiet Trabant.

[@marzsit9833]

needle nose vise grip pliers are my go-to for drum brake springs. there are special pliers for drum brakes but they are clunky to use....

[@risingembersgaming7740]

Nice! A communist Jeep!

[@MetalTrabant]

Search for UAZ 469 and GAZ 69, those were the real communist Jeeps ;-) And they're still making the UAZ, just in a slightly updated version, but basically the same ancient relic as the old one...

[@leftmorningstar6954]

because the donald trump wanted it just like that..( yes life is hard) :( whats 9+10= ??

[@thelastmemphian]

Lefteris Gaming fuck off idiot you don’t know English

[@kpdvw]

I'd prefer a VW Typ 82 Kuebelwagen any day!

[@masterzz57]

škoda babeta is better

[@jacksondeford3304]

This right here is what i call England Top Gear mixed with roadkill humor, but on a budget.

[@maxeluy]

Never Boring!

[@OddCars]

As one USA trabant owner to another, I'm always happy to see your videos. Since my trabby is hepatitis yellow, I'm often bombarded with interest in the car. From time to time, your videos are mentioned by trabby enthusiasts. Everyone is always amazed when I tell me "Yes I take my car on the Interstate", and no they don't smoke that bad. I just recently did a full brake job on my car, so here are a few random facts about the process: The front wheel cylinders can not be switched between sides ( so let's say your wheel cylinders fell out the boxes and got mixed up, you would then have to look up the angle at which the brake shoes to make sure you have the correct sides) Please be sure to check those brake adjusters whenever you're inside the drum. Though they are simple, alot of times they will be worn out when trying to hold pressure against the shoe. On my new set of brakes, they did not come with the lever (or hardware to swap to the new set of shoes) So, I too used my old rear lever brake shoe on the car. When it comes to your beige smoky trabby, if you have not fixed by now try taking off the air filter hose and putting your hand over the carb while running. If it shuts off then you know your engine is sealed well. I would bet heavily that your points, and ignition timing are way off. The timing marks on the engine cases are usely wrong. The only good way of timing, is to use a socket extension in the sparkplug while looking at a dial indicator on a magnetic base plate. My trabby frequently goes over 60 mph, and needs no starting fluid to get it going. Thanks for the videos.

[@agingwheels]

It's always nice to hear from another US Trabant owner. Regarding the timing on mine, I've adjusted the timing on two separate occasions a year apart from each other. I found TDC using a dial gauge in the spark plug hole and adjusted both cylinders to a number I don't remember off the top of my head BTDC. The timing (when revved up to fully activate the advance) is correct on both cylinders, BUT it has a nasty habit of jumping around randomly as viewed by the timing light. I've adjusted the points before and I'll probably adjust them again soon, but I can't help but think electronic ignition would be an easier solution to this problem. I've long suspected I have a crankcase seal leak somewhere because bad timing doesn't explain all the issues. Your simple trick of covering the intake hose is something I've never thought of, and I'll have to try it the next chance I get. There will almost certainly be a video about all of this in the future. Thanks for the tips! I'm always worried about someone that knows what they're doing watching my videos and thinking I'm a complete idiot. That's why I sprinkle in heavy doses of the "This is not instructional. I don't know what I'm doing" type of talk.

[@OddCars]

If your timing is jumping like crazy, it may be the dinky springs on the point arms. Seems the original DDR points are hit and miss(many companies made trabi electrical parts!). Or maybe the springs on the centrifugal shaft in the middle. If you want, I have a new set of crank seals(bought a crap load of stuff from Trabi welt.. I thought I needed to use a different engine-with the old style of seals. So I have no use for these... Also new condensers. Lucked out with my 10/89 engine case being just fine. I had to get a new crank....... Be happy to send them to you for the same cost I payed. Just without the crippling shipping fee! I'll drop you a line on the trabbi forums.

[@OddCars]

Almost forgot, it could also be the timing port plates on the crank. When they wear, they get comically worn, and clatter on the crank pins. With the cylinders off, you can try and see if there is any rotational play in them. When there really bad, these will wobble lick a d!ck in a shirt sleeve!

[@OddCars]

damn auto correct...

[@jacobkueker7779]

I love how he makes new brake lines with the easiest parts to get thinking the originals we’re made any differently

[@thatonedashiedude]

11:32 I'm not mad, I'm just impressed

[@user-74652]

Now I'd definitely like to see you fix your own Trabant.

[@unclebrr8139]

You can easily put the springs back this way: - attach the upper part; - put the right brake shoe in its place; - put thе spring on; - place the handle of the hammer at free (left) brake shoe in order to pre-load the spring; - make a strong and quick push towards the front of the car. The brake shoe is in place, the spring is in place. I takes a second and saves your fingers :)

[@johncoops6897]

Yep. I've never seen somebody try to fit the spring after the shoes are fitted, that's too damn difficult.

[@2bonk22]

The park brake lever is supposed to be removed from the old shoe and reused on the new ones. That's standard practice on all drum brakes even on American cars. Also you can cut the ends off the brake lines and re-flare them with a flaring tool available as a loaner from most chain parts stores.