Trabant 601 - A Car Built From Almost Nothing (Technical Summary and Historical Background)

Let's have a closer look at the Trabant 601, a very special car you can only understand if you understand the history behind it.
How was Germany structured before the 2nd World War?
Which difficulties did the Auto Union engineers have to overcome?
Why did luxury car designers (Horch, Audi) create the small Trabant after the war?
Why is it a prime example for simplicity in car industry?
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www.mdz-moskau.eu
www.freiepresse.de
www.industrie-kultur-ost.de
www.brandenburger-in.de
www.auto.de
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www.audi-mediacenter.com
www.ddr-postkarten-museum.de
www.fahrzeugbilder.de
twitter @littlewisehen

[@jozsefizsak]

After the fall of the Berlin wall, we started hearing about the Trabant a lot more and regarded it as a very bad joke, undoubtedly designed by a collection of people who knew or cared nothing about real cars. Thank you so much for telling the real story that countless automobile journalists never bothered to tell. Shame on them.

[@danpatterson8009]

Genau. Engineering ingenuity to make the best of what you have.

[@trizvanov]

Same people still think that Trabant was a Soviet car.

[@COIcultist]

Lots of engine parts are interchangable with MZ motorcycles.

[@jozsefizsak]

@@COIcultist Interesting.

[@TommyWylie]

The entire East German engineering industry was built on ingenuity. That's why I hold East German products in high esteem, despite their inevitable flaws.

[@r.j.b.1236]

Designing and building things as simple and cheap as possible is much more genius, than making them complex, heavy and expensive !

[@vidtech2630]

Not in this instance, but a true statement

[@dallesamllhals9161]

2 horse French says oui!

[@62Cristoforo]

When you’re steeped in systemic poverty you rely on ingenuity to compensate for the loss. Wealthier nations can afford to design and build more luxurious items, while developing nations struggle with frugally designed parts and other consumer goods. During the war Allies came up with ingenious ideas to beat the enemy. What they lacked in technology they made up for in brains and brawn. And courage, let’s say.

[@pakopepefdez185]

@@62Cristoforo pretty cars exists for capitalist car market competition. No user wanted aerospacial fins.

[@Skoda130]

@@pakopepefdez185 same goes for car innovation. It would only create class differences if the Trabant had been updated too much, since it creates favoritism towards the newer vehicles.

[@davidjames2910]

It's really good to learn about the background of this car and how it compared with others when it came out, rather than just how absurd it looked as a new car in 1989. Thank you. Also, doing it all in English is excellent and the soft tone of your accent is easy to listen to.

[@BSport320]

Thank you very much!

[@Eden-NoEye]

High quality video as always. The LED Display looks so cool and the way it works is brilliant. My respect for the Trabant has grown thx to this.

[@BSport320]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@klausulltscht]

it was called "Mäusekino" something like a "cinema for mouses" it was build in to save fuel. but it showed only the consumtion per time not per kilometer

[@TommyWylie]

At last! Someone who acknowledges that the BMC Mini wasn't the first ever production car with a transverse engine and front wheel drive!

[@receptayyip1410]

BMC is now a Turkish company.

[@TommyWylie]

@Dragomir Ronilac I mean the DKW F8.

[@TheGearhead222]

A buddy of mine brought his 1990 Trabbie 601 to the US after the Wall fell. He replaced the 1990 VIN with a 1974 VIN via glue and had the correct German title;). "Otto" was a joy to look at and drive. The Trabant is a great example of practical auto engineering-John in Texas

[@baksatibi]

My family had one in Hungary in the 90's. My best memory is when we were coming home from a wedding from the other side of the country and the dinamo just fell out of the car. Fortunately my father was able to put it back using some wires and we were able to drive home with that thing just hanging there. The car is long gone but I still have the owner's manual.

[@dave9t5]

Remarkable engineering in this vehicle! Created with minimal machines/staff/resources yet excess bureaucracy (actually just like many engineering projects)! Enjoyable presentation, as usual, I didn't think I would sit through 18 minutes about the Trabii...!

[@BSport320]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! Excessive bureaucracy at the Trabi meant, that all updates and changes had to be approved by the political leadership, so that's a bit more extreme than today.

[@auggie803]

-Well though out. Like the small gas tank above the carburetor & that means no fuel pump needed.

[@mrle0719]

thank you very much, one of the best videos about the trabant i've seen yet

[@BSport320]

Wow, thank you!

[@NikiDaDude]

I have many fond childhood memories with the Trabant. The Duraplast body panels were also very easy to replace if you got into a minor crash, which was something that happened on a few occasions with our car. If I remember correctly there are no electric pumps at all in the car, even the windshield washer pump is hand operated.

[@BSport320]

Very true. Mine is a later model from 1986 and has an electrical pump for the washers. But apart from that there are no other pumps.

[@coffeeisgood102]

I have fully transitioned to electric vehicles, but just the same I find the engine just fascinating. Indeed, the whole car is just downright cool. Thanks for the education.

[@lolzlarkin3059]

Can't wait for a full CFD analysis!

[@declanlee5440]

Thanks for a very informative video.I have 40 year old MZ motorcycle ( also a DDR creation) and the design genius is very apparent.These vehicles are remarkable in their ease of maintenance and longevity and also the relative quality of the materials used in their construction.History will be the judge but maybe in the rush for reunification some babies were thrown out with the bathwater- so to speak! Gruss aus Irland!

[@BSport320]

Great to hear, Simsons and MZs are very good designs. My family and friends had multiple MZs, I fixed my 40 year old Simson during the winter and enjoy it every day!

[@klausulltscht]

i find it fascinating what you can exchange a lot of parts between Simson, MZ, Trabant, Wartburg, IFA Truck W50 and the farming machines from FORTSCHRITT

[@gkdresden]

Although I lived 24 years in the GDR my family never had this very famous car. Our first family car was a Wartburg 353W (over GENEX). So I personally had only experiences with the military Kübel version of the Trabant 601. And I must say, this was really a fun car and I enjoyed driving this car very much. The limited power of the Trabant was more an issue of its limited velocity. During acceleration it behaved not really so much limited as one would guess. The reason was its very low weight. This car had also some advantages compared to others. One advantage was its reliability and good cold starting behavior. The fuel consumption was also relatively low if you don't push it too hard. It was furthermore very easy to repair.

[@CP-zi3eg]

Finally, after so much boring technology 😀 ...beautiful explanation of a piece of history !

[@BSport320]

Glad you liked it!

[@frankr6702]

Thank you for presenting the history that makes one appreciate the enginerring of the Trabant for what it is and it isn't. I have little doubt that driving that car helps freshen the appreciation of your nicer cars as well.

[@SONO4B11T]

Pretty Cool! I've only seen this car on an old episode of Top Gear, and man they didn't do it justice. Very informative

[@BSport320]

Glad you liked it!

[@sullybiker6520]

This is such an even-handed and studious approach. I take my hat off to you.

[@valencianiste6451]

Your video has convinced me to buying a new Trabant on 2023. Going to uni with this.

[@ca7nip]

Not going to lie, this has made me want to get one as a second car 😅 Great video, as always, fantastic insight!

[@BSport320]

Glad you liked it!

[@auggie803]

-The Trabant would make a very nice second car.

[@Najvrtson]

Thank you for excellent video. Trabant is always in my heart, I used to have four of them. It was pleasure to drive Trabant...

[@BSport320]

You are welcome!

[@samgreebo]

An inspirational account of how a car which improved the lives of millions of people rose from the chaos and destruction of the war. This is a story of remarkable ingenuity, told with a real gift for bringing historical narrative alive.

[@BSport320]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@wjekat]

Any real engineer will hold the Trabant and any other peoples‘ car in the highest regard. It‘s comparatively easier to design a cost is no issue car like a Bugatti (throw money at the problem) than a Trabant. Under the circumstances, basically a lack of everything, the Trabant was a triumph. Lack of quality materials, lack of machinery, lack of skilled labor, lack of foreign exchange, lack of fuel, lack of food all had to be overcome. It‘s a shame that the party officials didn‘t understand that technical products evolve and change with the times and require a sustained development effort. No engineer wants to be responsible for stagnation, so most eventually left for greener pastures, further weakening the East German car industry.

[@kyle8952]

They did understand that, there was always design programs funded for new models. They came up with a lot of them. The problem was that the investment to put a new design into production was seen as too big of a risk, because it means shutting down the whole factory for years to replace obsolete machines and retrain everyone. In 1984 they committed to VW engine. In 1989 it finally reaches customers, but was a huge cost to the state budget. If they could shut the factory down totally maybe it would be out in 1986, but then that's 2 years with no new cars. In western countries there is always more than one factory for each model, so it's not a problem there. But there was only one for trabant, one for wartberg, and a third one for the barkas.

[@robenglish416]

This was the best Quick guide of DDR car history on KZbin! Really nice to see and hear someone who actually have memories of the car. If you would like the long version there’s the book Plaste, Blech und Planwirtschaft! In German of course.😊

[@rockyravine1155]

Very through explanation of the Trabi. I bought one in '92 for 200DM (about $125) and drove it all over Europe, then gave it to my future wife when I left Europe for home at the end of the Summer. They are easy to make fun of, but actually are very space efficient, reliable, easy to work on, durable, and fun to drive. The DDR had pre-mix pumps: 50:1 for city driving and 25:1 for autobahn driving. 7-15 year waiting line was common and you had to prove you had a garage to keep it in at purchase; cash in hand. Like all luxury items in the DDR they were very expensive and it would take most of those waiting years to save up the cash any ways For people with money, like bakers, there was the Wartburg.

[@klausulltscht]

i think to drive long distances is a pain because of the loud noise especially on "higher" speed. but it wasn't built for long distances

[@kyle8952]

I was told it was common that when you have a baby, to order a car in the baby's name. Then the long wait is finished by the time the kid is old enough to drive. If you do this with multiple children you can sell the old car for more money than the new one costs, to someone who wants to avoid long wait. So every 2 years or so you get brand new car and a big profit.

[@klausulltscht]

@@kyle8952 nearly right, if you order it with the estimatet time was around 10-12 years. in the last days it increased to about 15 years. My Order used my uncle when i was 14 years. You could sell an order for about 3000-4000 DDR Mark. this was 4-5 monthly wages. Or you could take the car and drive it to an market (one of them was in Leipzig) and sell the car for about 10000 DDR-Mark profit. Used Trabant cost depending on the condition 20000+ DDR Mark. How old the car was was not so importend much more importend was the condition. So also quit old cars were rebuild and bulid again. It was not a big problem because the spare parts did not change often and when they changed they fitted also for old cars. It was the same for the other cars in the GDR. Wartburg, Dacia, Skoda, Lada etc.

[@nlpnt]

@@klausulltscht In the Western media when the Wall fell the wait time was quoted anywhere from 11-18 years. I would presume it depended on whether they were told the what was being quoted to someone ordering their car in fall 1989 could expect to wait vs. when those who took delivery at that pont had ordered their cars.

[@oscare.quiros6349]

The best Trabant review on the internet. Excellent and detailed presentation with graphics and all. Thanks

[@BSport320]

Glad you liked it!

[@ESmith-ik8vu]

Thank you. Let's have some more on this and its big brother, the Wartburg. The eastern cars were ridiculed in the west, but the fact remains that quite a lot of them were equal to their western equivalents, the Skoda 1000 MB was a better car than the VW at the time. And the Trabi solved a problem, too. Only sad, that metalurgical inefficiencies due to the military's preference made products inferior in the last ten years of the Wall. Do please continue!

[@Ivecos480]

Thank you very much for explaining the history part. I find it valuable, because you're German. You find informations in your native language, and present it in English which is more approachable for bigger audience. Thank you!

[@BSport320]

Thanks! That’s the idea of this channel.

[@Sid0Fernwilter]

Good video! As far as I know no Trabbis were sold in Sweden, but I remember when I was 6-7 years old (late 50's) my friend's Dad actually had an IFA P70, which he spent much time to keep it running. So I figure that at least a handful of these were sold here. I have also seen one P70 at a car museum in Finland, but those two are the only ones I've seen in real life.

[@BSport320]

DKW was quite popular in Sweden before the war because the small and simple cars could cope well with the Swedish winter. After the war the East-German cars had the same simple technology, but the political landscape made it harder to get them.

[@becconvideo]

@@BSport320 Well the Swedes loved Two-Strokes as in the old Saab. (had no problem mixing oil with petrol)

[@kcraig51]

A lot of really great information. Thanks for sharing!

[@BSport320]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@birgitwest4493]

Thank you for sharing this! Very interesting!!'

[@shadowwsk3507]

Man this is genuinely interesting

[@BSport320]

Glad you like it!

[@mosca3289]

Incredible variety of subjects on the channel. Great history.

[@BSport320]

Glad you enjoyed it! The point of this channel is to bring everything that's interesting from a technical point of view, doesn't matter how fast or slow it is.

[@mosca3289]

@@BSport320 I’m there 👍🏻

[@robertwoodliff2536]

This is the best channel I have come across...

[@BSport320]

Thank you! Tell your friends!

[@robertwoodliff5622]

@@BSport320 Andrew Harris Director Ltd ....... Very good Dank u.

[@robertwoodliff5622]

@@BSport320 Lovely Video, Bob. Thanks. I've driven a Trabant several times when I lived in East Germany sonitnwas interesting to see the positive design elements explained. Yours John

[@kitko33]

Nevermind Hungary, I met an old couple from DDR in Bulgaria, retired university teachers, in a Trabant. It's over 2000 km. Must have been an adventure :)

[@kevinmason1477]

A great video. Interesting and informative 👌 👏 Thank you

[@BSport320]

Glad you liked it!

[@MrSkoda105s]

Thank you for this video. Enjoyed it a lot. Greetings from Holland.

[@BSport320]

You are welcome!

[@drazzlefun8232]

What a brilliant video! Well done matw

[@BSport320]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@becconvideo]

The Trabant always has its little ailments - but it never breaks down. And if so - you can always help yourself. The belt is one of the week points - if it breaks you loose cooling and the alternator. But you can easily replace it with a lady's pair of tights. Given the short supply of things these days, there are stories of families who went down to the Golden Coast of Bulgaria like that. A popular saying: "Hast Du Hammer, Zange, Klingeldraht fährst Du bis nach Stalingrad" - As long as you have a hammer, a set of pliers and some wires you can drive up to Stalingrad (how far the Wehrmacht came into Russa in WW II)

[@becconvideo]

@@goldenhawk352 Yes the GDR had their own brand "Esda" - but as I remember - those things got repaired when having ladders/long wholes in them instead of beeing thrown away. On the other side: there was no roadside assistance, no tow trucks, most families didn't even had telephones at home - no way to can call daddy to pick you up - you were on your own when having a breakdown. Eastern women were not so whiny ...

[@carolramsey6287]

There you go. To beat the "Climate Emergency" all we need to do is resume Trabant production but fit them with electric motors. Job done!

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

A Trabant chassis with a fraction of a Tesla motor and batteries would probably still have better power and range than a brand new Tesla.

[@jackthebassman1]

Extremely well done documentary, very informative and may I compliment your excellent English.

[@BSport320]

Thanks a lot! More to come!

[@S.AlienLife]

This is brilliant… thank you!

[@BSport320]

Glad you liked it!

[@pascalcoole2725]

Seen a couple of your vids. Verry educating and fun, total different from all other motorcar related enthousiasts. Like the Trabant. Schonne grusse aus die Niederlande

[@BSport320]

Glad you like it! I’m basically doing the videos I was missing on KZbin 😁

[@EIGYRO]

Thank you. Very interesting. There is an engineering philisophy which says ' The best part is no part'.

[@BSport320]

Very true! Thanks!

[@basilb4733]

What a great summary on these interesting historical and technical details. Thanks! Still wondering why your subscriber count isn't tenfold.

[@BSport320]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@nigelrg1]

Very interesting, thanks.

[@BSport320]

Very welcome

[@SA-hl9hr]

Danke! Dziękuję za film! Pozdrawiam!

[@elektrofumigator]

Thank you so much for explaining the economiser. I have the 1984 model so it's the last before it was introduced and before you explained, i thought it's just a simple fuel filter. Great car and video, thanks for sharing!

[@BSport320]

Great to hear!

[@0Harriz0]

Absolut Hammer. Stark abgeliefert 👍🏽

[@BSport320]

Danke!

[@johannes7059]

A video on the trabant, love it 😍🥰

[@johannes7059]

The video is perfect, i dont know how you got this much information in this short video. I did not expect to learn anything new about the trabi, but I did. So great job as always

[@BSport320]

Thanks! I think it's my longest video so far

[@johannes7059]

@@BSport320 I hope you have even more interesting cars you can make such a video about. If you ever want to do one on the MX5 NA, I have one standing around, and I am not that far, I guess from the numberplate ;)

[@eegaugh]

Thank you for this interesting video. The fuel system reminds me of the pre-war Austin Seven. My 1969 edition of the Observer's Book of Automobiles contains a short, factual description of the Trabant including the comment "Neat, compact design".

[@crossleydd42]

You didn't mention the Wartburg, another East German car, which I owned, second-hand, for about 6 years in the 1970s, in the UK. It was an updated model and quite stylish at that time. It was better than the Trabant, in that it had a three-cylinder two-stroke engine, still with the radiator behind the engine. I changed the noisy coarse-pitched fan blade for a finer electric one to make it quieter, only coming on when the engine got too hot. It had a free-wheel system and you could change gear up and down without using the clutch, only using the clutch when pulling away and stopping. I only bought it as a stop-gap for a few months, but it was seven years old when I sold it and it only ever needed a clutch cable! Great fun!

[@BSport320]

Good story. The Wartburg would be another video. This was for the Trabant only.

[@crossleydd42]

@@BSport320 Great! Didn't want you to forget it, that's all. I look forward to the Wartburg one.

[@ciscosebanes]

Simple problem less car. What's funny is,it works.😍

[@jandoerlidoe3412]

A very good in depth technical look on this car, including its history and the political / social climate in which it was conceived & build....Looks like a practical work horse ( those are in fact the best & most affordable cars, also today ) I drive a Dacia Logan MCV....

[@AR_434]

Klasse Video! Vielen Dank!

[@BSport320]

Gerne!

[@andrzejpl9897]

I haven’t owned one , but had chance to try one . Despite post Cold War propaganda I think they ware grate and practical on short distances and everyday life . I made lots of converters from 6 V to 12 V to power radios .

[@laszlokaestner5766]

You forgot the "night vision" rear view mirror which if my memory serves was also a fantastic bit of simplistic engineering. The mirror was fully reversible with one side having a normal reflective surface for day time use and the other having a dimmed reflective surface so that you wouldn't be blinded by following cars at night.

[@BSport320]

True, but mine doesn't have that, so I couldn't show it. There will be more Trabant videos in the future, there is so much more interesting engineering to show!

[@neilfoster814]

Mine has it. You turn the whole mirror 180 degrees so the darker side is facing the driver.

[@Porsche996driver]

U2 had a Trabant on a crane during their 1992 (?) concert tour. I was in the US Army in West Germany and remember the first time I heard a Trabant in east Berlin lol. I thought “what’s wrong with that little car!” 🤣🏁👌🏼

[@myparadiseing]

Trabant was for the worker and foreman, the Skoda 100 was the Director's car. And if you drove a Lada or Moskvich you were definitely "trained" in Moscow.

[@BSport320]

Very true

[@YTUSER583]

Top! DANKE

[@banehawi]

I love the sound of the engine.

[@ioannpapaioann7678]

thanks

[@hansmuller1625]

When i was a kid we traveled through germany, both east and west, quite a bit. I remember the trabis running on that low quality fuel, they stunk quite bad.

[@mcanderson0]

Nice! I love small cars man. I drive a new age compact car and I truly love the compact nature, the handling, and the efficiency. Traffic is incredibly easy with a manual transmission-equipped small car, but I'm not sure if it would feel so sporty with the column-mounted controls! Cheers from Texas

[@gafrers]

Lovely

[@NormanF62]

German efficiency reflected in minimalism and lack of redundancy! The Trabi to a T.

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

Always had a fondness for the little Trabi, and they were quite common in Yugoslavia, however nowdays they just disappeared completely from here. Thinking of probably buying one in Germany and driving it all the way over here, and doing it like the tourists did back in the day; no phones, no GPS, just a map and battery-powered radio in the back seat.

[@BSport320]

I enjoy to use it daily. Very practical car!

[@FlixTV]

Where is the vortex generator on Trabant?

[@BSport320]

There are lots of vortices...

[@the_lost_navigator7266]

My local motor club in the UK used to organise historic car rallies, and I remember one of these being entered one year. Quite a distinctive sound with the 2 stroke engine. I wonder if the Trabant name will make a comeback, maybe a small EV similar to the Citroen Ami.

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

Unlikely as Germany makes a very focused effort to remove or silence any trace of the GDR.

[@drlegendre]

Thus ends one of the few positive reminiscences of the Trabant I've ever come across. You'll notice he made no comment on the reliability of the drivetrain. I wonder why that is?

[@BSport320]

Can’t really say anything negative about drivetrain reliability. I drive the car daily, even with trailer but never had issues.

[@neilfoster814]

I own one of the few Trabant P601's in the UK! Mine was built in 1988, and is the P601s Kombi (estate) version in Papyrus White. Ich liebe mien kliene Trabi......peep peep!

[@BSport320]

Nice! Have fun with it there!

[@petermathieson5692]

A car built from almost nothing. Sounds perfect for where Davos man wants to take us, to a place where we'll own (almost) nothing and be happy: Trabant 2.0

[@becconvideo]

Italy had exact the same problem as East Germany in the 50ies when they build their car for the masses: the lack of sheet metal. They solved it by downsizing their Cinquecento to a tiny size. We Ossies - East Germans - all have had a love/hate relationship with the Trabant - but I have to admit that we had the better solution. Also compared to the French 2CV or the West German Lloyd. East Germany had the advantage of having the chemical industry in Mitteldeutschland - producing plastic, raisin and synthetic rubber at Espenhain, Leuna and Buna - literally from dirt - lignite (brown coal) found in abundance the area. Notorious for their incredible air and water polution, these complexes were the base for producing many consumer goods such as the Trabant

[@Blazs120gl]

I had a job where the boss had a Trabant and he let me drive it. Just having earned my drivers license, it was kinda traumatic experience (after having learnt on a Suzuki Swift). One thing was for sure, each and every ride the Trabi had something of a nasty suprise. Ran out of fuel (some joker has put the fuel tap into "A" when it already was low on fuel), dropping the exhaust pipe (the latch holding it gave away), sliding on snow with frozen drum brakes locking straight into a barrier with an unimaginable low speed (only a turn indicator cover was broken) etc. Sometime you just don't have the chemistry with a car, the Trabi was a 'love or hate but no middle road' one. My first car has then become a Skoda 120, old for the era but much more like a car.

[@brankog7]

Fascinating, Thanks

[@sullybiker6520]

That distinctive hum the Brabant makes, (I hear it in all the videos) is that the fan or some kind of exhaust resonance?

[@prieten49]

"Resin" not "resign." You have a very nice 601 Trabant. It has a newfound cult status today. There are several KZbinrs who are making sporty, low riders out of these Trabants and they look really great. But the original, classic shape is still my favorite.

[@BSport320]

Yea thanks, I overlooked that one. I also like the modified Trabis but mine will stay original.

[@bobblowhard8823]

Very peculiar.

[@ForelliBoy]

It was an interesting surprise to learn that the B in BMW didn't apply to their cars at first cause they started in Eisenach lol.

[@BSport320]

Yes, and Mercedes actually build BMW bodies in Sindelfingen and delivered them to Eisenach... More about this in a future video!

[@The8c9]

And when do we attach the oversized Venturi tunnel??

[@hillbillycarwreck]

i would buy one ! i want one,

[@johnstonewall917]

One could always tell when there was a Trabby about, there was a certain perfume in the air. Sadly, it was not a pleasant perfume.

[@BSport320]

I always liked the 2 stroke smell, but the Trabant is really giving you a lot of it.

[@johnstonewall917]

@@BSport320 Yes, me too. However there was something odd about the Trabby smell that was different and indeed it was unpleasant.

[@Hunter_Bidens_Crackpipe_]

It would still be the best car if they updated it

[@cademckee7276]

I’d love to see some info on the rally Trabants

[@OsbornTramain]

i thought it was interesting when you gave the history of the German Car market, you mentioned BMW but BMW was pretty small. Borgward and NSU which were bigger were left off the map entirely, no mention at all of Bremen and it's car industry with Borgward, Goliath, Hansa and Lloyd. I owned a Dacia as well as a Trabant in the early 2000 decade, both neat little cars. My Trabant was a 1967 model and my Dacia from Romania was from 1973

[@BSport320]

That is true, I could have included Borgward and NSU.

[@carllinden533]

Wonderful video! I must ask, how essential is that second fuel line going from the top of the fuel line to that T fitting? My Trabant is missing this part so to speak, does it matter? I understand some trabi's don't have them altogether

[@BSport320]

I asked myself the same question when I saw that. This bleeding line became standard when the fuel flow meter became standard in 1984, because the meter is quite a big volume and can contain air that is hard to bleed. If any air moves up while driving, it can block the fuel flow in the original setup. So this line helps to bleed while driving.

[@carllinden533]

@@BSport320 Thank you! This is the best and only explanation I've got for this, and I'm willing to believe it because my car has the flow meter too, though it's not connected.

[@BSport320]

@@carllinden533 Thanks! The original position of the flow meter creates lots of problems because it’s the lowest point and fuel doesn’t always reach the carburettor. I changed the position to what you can see in the video and now it works without problems.

[@carllinden533]

@@BSport320 Fascinating! I wish it was the cause of my problems, but it's not connected, I have an issue where the car doesn't want to idle randomly, thought it was air in the fuel line, and it *could* be, but the red light in the instrument panel comes on before it stalls, making me think it's electrical somehow?

[@BSport320]

@@carllinden533 The red light just comes on when the idle is too slow and the generator doesn't charge the battery enough. Random idle problems sound like false air. Common problem is the seal between carburetor and engine. There are very good solutions for this today. Other thing could be the crank case seals.

[@paulds65]

Absolutely agree, my ex ltr never heard "no" from her father. Sense of entitlement through the roof.

[@marguskiis7711]

2stroke engines are underrated. They are simple and revving up very fast. Time to comeback.

[@pcno2832]

12:45 I wonder how that feature changed over the years. LEDs were fairly unusual in the 1960s; did the early versions of the car use an incandescent lamp instead?

[@BSport320]

No they only introduced the fuel flow meter in 1984. Before that it wasn’t available.

[@erlingpedersen1423]

Very good Information about Trabant, but in this time we have E10 bioethanol in the Petrol, it is bad for the Trabant, so people who buy one have to think about that, hoses, Packing, can, have to be changed, but then you can drive on, just thought as a help. ( I have been there, not funny to have a breakdown, people tease about bad Eastern Product, but it is helpless)

[@becconvideo]

I do not think it causes damage. What can it break? As long as the engine has sufficient oil (1:50 mix) it's OK. Nowadays you have to mix yourself - in DDR time every petrol station had mixer pumps (all Trabants, Wartburgs and MZ motorcycles went on Gemisch)

[@P_RO_]

@@becconvideo The problem is over-stated, but it does happen. It takes a different type of rubber or plastic to resist alcohol-enhanced fuels, so pipes and seals which contact the fuel mix are affected. Since it wasn't needed factories didn't use it, but new replacements are compatible. How soon you get failure is also a factor of original part quality; higher-grade seals and pipes experience little deterioration while cheap ones may crack or crumble in just a few years.

[@iuopunderstandyourjokes9914]

It is fairly pretty for being made cheap and for the masses

[@McRocket]

REALLY impressive and informative video, imo. Question - what did the headlight adjustment do? The high beams? I learned about the Trabant from 'Aging Wheels'. But this was more informative - though he did disassemble and reassemble an engine. I LOVE the looks of this little car. Almost, every car today is a deformed, jelly bean shape. This car - with it's little tailfins - is handsomely cute (to me) and REFRESHING. I hate the engine (I despise 2 strokes - had one on my motorbike when I was a kid. Noisy, smoky and the fuel is annoying.). But I love the simplicity and the looks and the rust free panels of the Trabant. Make an EV version and I would want one. Thank you for this. ☮

[@BSport320]

Thank you! High and low beam is the same headlight. The adjustment tilts the light, so it works for both (high and low beam).

[@johnwakefield5007]

Interesting video. I think car was good .have you a video on wartburg car.311 and 353 models. 👍🥰🇩🇪❤from uk

[@BSport320]

You can check out my DKW F9 videos, they include Wartburgs as their successor: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqbTmpqijt5kiaM kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4Wof2SjraZro7s

[@Sonnell]

Very cool review, but where is the usual aerodynamic analysis and the proper CFD? :)

[@BSport320]

Coming soon!

[@Sonnell]

@@BSport320 coooool! :)

[@smitthone]

what about those last produced with the VW Polo 4 cyl, 4 stroke engine? Which are the main improvements?

[@kyle8952]

The VW engine version is almost completely new car, only main body structure is kept the same. New lights, fenders, hood, interior, electrics, transimission, suspension. All different. Very late 601 actually uses rear suspension of VW model.

[@gord307]

Good video, and I have long held the view that the Trabant was comparable to other small family cars around Europe when it was released. I must, however, correct your statement that the American Air Force bombed strategically and the British did not. Britain was well known for strategic bombing in WW2, and developed many specialised bombs for the purpose, most famously being the bouncing bomb used against dams, but also the Tallboy and Grand Slam which were designed to destroy substantial and important buildings. Britain only switched to area bombing in 1942 after the London and Coventry Blitz. The bombing of Dresden in 1945 was actually a British and American joint effort. Just before this time Germany had switched to bombing England with V1 and V2 bombs, which by their very nature, had very large target area.

[@cybair9341]

Here in Quebec, cars rust fast. So, I owned 2 Saturns and 1 Pontiac Fiero whose body construction might have been inspired by the Trabant. These American cars have plastic body panels bolted to a sheetmetal frame structure. The body panels never rust and allow the cars to last longer and look better as they age. Moreover, those body panels are more resilient to damage. I would like to buy a more recent car with that type of construction but the manufacturers prefer to sell cars that rust fast so that they can sell you another one.

[@demian7567]

The weak point of saturns and fieros was the engine, and I'd guess that's the reason you no longer see them around. I had a Saturn SL2 that burned a quart of oil per gas tank, I had to try pretty hard to find a yard that would give me any money for it when I finally had to junk it.

[@marin4311]

The Trabant is close to be the car of the future. An electric version obviously.

[@OfficialRainsynth]

There's also a rumour, that many Eastern German owners of the Trabant used to give names to their cars and treated the car as a member of the family.

[@BSport320]

Of course, if you had to wait for them for more than 10 years and used cars were more expensive than new ones, you treated what you had like a family member.

[@maikfronz456]

Unbedingt den Lüfter anpassen an das Kühlergehäuse,damit kein Spalt offen ist, dadurch geht Kühlluft verloren, hab dadurch schon Probleme im Sommer mit Überhitzung gehabt. LG. Da gibt es ein gummi zum dichten..

[@BSport320]

Danke fuer den Tipp! Werde beim Zusammenbau darauf achten!